Last year I wrote a couple of posts about my favorite apps – here and here. I was having a blast with my Droid and getting a lot of use out of it. It was fun to share what apps I was enjoying and hear about yours, too. However, as much as I liked my Droid, I hated how it crashed all the time. I went through three or four different models in a short period of time before crying uncle and moving over to the iPhone. And I haven’t looked back, once. I heart my iPhone!

Droid v. iPhone - Yes, there are a few differences between the apps (and apps available) between the Droid and iPhone. My experience is that, for the most part, the apps are fairly similar although there are some that are exclusive to each. I’ve learned from my tech friends that the Droid market is open to developers and apps can be published easily and available early – whereas the Apple store has tighter restrictions on what apps they’ll allow and have a review process of sorts. What this means for the consumer? With the Droid you’ll get faster access to cutting edge technology and apps. With the iPhone you’ll get a more stable platform, higher quality (read: vetted) apps and a higher chance your phone can handle extreme multi-tasking – especially if you are an intensive superuser like me.

Here are the apps I currently adore and use most often.

1. Instagram – You’ve heard me rave about Instagram (such as my Instagram photo challenge). If you like taking photos with your smart phone, you’ll love being able to edit and share them on Instagram (a social app), as well as have the ability to cross-post to your other networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Posterous, Tumblr, etc. Instagram was named the number one iPhone app of 2011 by the good people at Apple. So there ya go. (I’ve read they are in development for a Droid version).

2. Snapseed – This is the best photo-editing app I’ve found yet, based on recs from my fellow Instagrammers (read: iPhone photo geeks). Although we all get basic photo editing via our phones or within Instagram, Snapseed seems to be the best (right now) at giving quick and easy cropping, tuning and other photo editing options. Few on filters but big on tools – I typically edit my photos in Snapseed before pulling them into Instagram. It’s not quite as good as having a full Photoshop program on your desktop, but is far better than the free Photoshop app for your phone (in my opinion, of course).

3. YouTube - You can quickly upload short videos with your phone directly to your YouTube channel via this app. It’s simple and immediate, but a bit of a battery drain. Pro tip: take videos on your phone in the horizontal orientation – not vertical. This is something I struggle to remember, but my professional video friends continue to remind me how much better it looks as a wide shot rather than a tall skinny frame with black bars on either side. And, hey, let’s not forget the power of YouTube. Example from this week – I was talking about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at dinner with my son on the holiday in his honor. We talked about civil rights. We talked about skin color. We talked about the “I have a Dream” speech. I grabbed my iPhone and went straight to YouTube. Within seconds we were watching this 5 minute bio on Dr. King’s legacy. Amazing.

4. Twitter – There are many different apps for twitter on your phone, however the ones I loved on my Droid don’t work the same on the iPhone. In fact, I’ve found the basic Twitter app to be the easiest and most versatile for my needs. I keep Hootsuite around for a back up and use occasionally. The latest iOS software release for the iPhone includes Tweeting as a standard sharing function – in other words… Twitter is here to stay and Apple is making it even more integrated to encourage us to use it. I’m down with that.

Use the Red Stamp App to create and send digital greeting cards.

5. Red Stamp – Send someone you love (or just like) a fancy little greeting card via text message… or Facebook… or email… or even a post card. You’ll be amazed at all the different designs they have (most free, a few cost $). This is a super fun and easy app that helps you spread kindness… and Lord knows we need more of that in this world.

6. Netflix – Okay, the screen on your smart phone isn’t the best for watching TV shows and movies. But did you know you can connect your iPhone/iPad to your TV and watch the Netflix digital stream on your big screen? Yeah… me neither. Took me quite awhile to figure that one out. It’s pretty cool – you can find those adapter cables online or at your local Apple store. Pretty sweet.

7. Evernote - I’m still using Evernote every day and can’t recommend it enough. For grocery lists. For important health care information. For reminders. To save screen shots of important online purchases. The app and software is free and you can have it on all your devices and computers – I have it on my iPhone, iPad, work computer and home computer and am never far away from what I need. It’s basically a cloud for your notes. And it’s brilliant.

8.  Lose it! – Resolution to lose weight in the new year? This app helps you track your caloric intake, exercise and weight and measure against your goals. It was recommended to me by a nutritionist and I find it’s a great way to stay mindful of what I’m eating throughout the day. The latest software upgrade included a barcode scanner – so you can simply scan your yogurt’s UPC symbol and it automatically knows the calories and nutritional value. That, my friends, is awesome.

9. Open Table - Make dinner reservations via your cell phone. This app is quick and easy to use once you set up your initial account. The only bummer is that not every restaurant is signed up with them so there are times I’d like to use it, but can’t and have to actually (gasp) call the restaurant. I use this one quite a bit.

10. Maps – The map functions on smartphones keep getting better and better! I loved the google map function on the Droid – but the map on the iPhone seems way more user friendly. I never look up addresses, directions or anything else before leaving the house anymore. All you need to do is enter the business name into the search box in the map application and it will pull up the business location – then you simply select that you need directions to there from where you are at the moment. It will give you route choices, a live map, the ability to see traffic density/flow and more. This is a big time saver for me!

Of course there are so many more apps I love that I could share with you – my banking app, weather, movies, QR code scanners, and oodles and oodles of kids apps! Instead of going on into infinity, though,  I’d love to hear from you - what apps have you been loving lately that you’d like to share?

p.s. Are we connected yet on Facebook and Twitter? Let’s do that!