Currently, there are over one million applications available for iOS and Android-powered devices, many of which are designed by average app users with a unique and original idea. Alas, many of these apps range from the ridiculous to the downright useless.

There’s an app that demeans you to your social network when you skip going to the gym. Another application exists simply to tell you that Abe Vigoda is still alive (he is). But amidst all the chatter, there are countless downloads that match their creativeness with the potential to actually make our lives better. Here is a cross-section of some of the most exciting ways to enrich your world with your mobile:

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Duolingo

We’re not simply regurgitating Apple’s in-house kudos in touting the company’s bid for iPhone app of 2013: it’s more than tres creatif. Using voice recognition and pictorial cues — a brilliant stroke for visual learners — the app teaches its owner another language (Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, or French). And for the ten o’clock scholars among us, Duolingo even bribes you into keeping up your study, by awarding you experience points you can use to buy rewards. On top of all this, it’s free.

Vyclone

Guerilla filmmakers take note: without exaggeration, this little app could very well change the way the moving image is composed and compiled. As soon as you begin shooting footage through Vyclone, the app will automatically seek other video users nearby and begin to edit all feeds together in one coherent whole. On the one hand, this app will weave a multi-authored visual tapestry with collaborators who happen to be standing next to you. But harnessed by an intentional crew, Vyclone can instantly do with a phone what a Coppola or Scorcese would need weeks — and an army of underlings — to accomplish.

Venmo

In these paperless days, many are the times we’re caught off guard without cash for more informal micro-transactions: You spotted your buddy $2.00 at the taco truck; you couldn’t name all N’Sync members after all, and lost five bucks. Venmo syncs up to your checking account and settles up even the most trifling amounts to other iPhone users without any processing fees whatsoever (you can also hit debtors up with friendly reminders). Think of it as a way of recovering all that metaphoric chump change that falls through the cracks of our lives… and maybe a way to rescue some friendships!

Shazam

“Hey I heard this great song the other day, it’s like, ‘Drinkin’ pina colada with some dude in a cape’?” Coming to the rescue of your friends’ ears (as well as your personal dignity), Shazam can recognize that amazing song you caught at the club or on the radio but just couldn’t make out. Essentially a sonic search engine, Shazam simply uses your phone’s microphone to create a clip of a given tune, and then identify that sample using a vast database. 

Afterlight

Given that many users view their mobile devices as a camera that happens to have a phone attached (rather than the other way around), it’s no shocker that many of the coolest new apps are photo-related. Afterlight might be the cream of the crop, acting as a proxy version of Photoshop Elements with its expansive toolbar of filters and effects. As you’d probably expect, Afterlight also has a pipeline to your social media accounts once your inner Annie Leibovitz is satisfied.

Third Love

Decidedly not an app for everyone — it’s only intended for roughly 55% of the population and RuPaul — Third Love is living proof of the innovative ways that digital technology can jump off the screen and into our “real” lives in intimate ways. Yes, Third Love is a phone-based bra-fitter that not only uses your photos to determine the ideal bra size, but also uses the specs to order a custom-crafted model from the app’s creators. Women who’ve witnessed the elusiveness of the perfect fit even in real life can attest to the amazingless of this one. An uplifting innovation that points the way of how online apparel shopping may be revolutionized.

Indeed, it seems about the only thing today’s apps can’t do is tuck you into bed at night… But with a custom bra-fitter out there, it’s really just a matter of time. 

Author Bio:

Marcela De Vivo is a passionate writer who dedicates her time to researching and developing stories of various topics. Her favorite subject to focus on is emerging technology trends and its overall effect within business expansion and relations. She is a frequent contributor for  FreeCCNAStudyGuide, provider of study guides on network routing and IP addressing. She hopes the readers of TechTipLib.com enjoy this article as much as she enjoyed writing it!