How to Make your smartphones smarter ?

You've got the basic apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Google Maps on your smartphone, so what's next?

USEFUL

Out of bread? Just whip out your Android, iPhone or BlackBerry phone, load up the free OurGroceries app and add bread to the shopping list, which will be automatically updated on your partner's phone so they can pick some up on the way home from work (made by HeadCode).

Instapaper ($6.49) for the iPhone lets you clip and save online articles so you can read them when you have time (Marco Arment). There's a free Android version too, EverPaper (Hiroshi Araki).

On holiday in Spain but can't understand the menus? Just point your camera at words and Word Lens uses augmented reality technology to translate for you in real time (Quest Visual).

FunBecome an instant bartender with the Mixology app for iPhone and Android, which lets you put in all the liquor and mixers you have and pulls up cocktails you can make. The app is free and has more than 7900 recipes (Digital Outcrop).

Got a song in your head but can't remember what it's called? It's SoundHound to the rescue. The free app for Android, Apple, Windows Phone 7 and Nokia devices can recognise songs played to it, and if you say the name of an artist or band it will call up song lyrics and YouTube videos (SoundHound).

Emailing is so passe. Bump lets you select a photo, app, song, Laptop Battery , message and so on and share it with your friend (who also has the app, which is free for Android and iPhone) by simply bumping your two phones together (Bump Technologies).

PHOTOS

You've probably seen the retro-looking photos with a circa 1970s feel on friends' Facebook pages and wondered how they did it. The answer is Hipstamatic, a $2.59 iPhone app that lets you swap lenses, films and flashes to create different photo effects (Synthetic Corp).

Photo sharing is simple with Instagram, a free iPhone app that also lets you put retro finishes on photos and then share them through the app's social network or Twitter and Facebook (Burbn). For Android-owners, there's Lightbox, which is much the same as Instagram and also free (Lightbox).

Got a postcard-worthy snap? Postino – free for Android, iPhone and Windows Phone, lets you convert photos into real-life postcards (AnguriaLab).

FoodWith more than 28,000 recipes, Epicurious is one of the most popular cooking apps available, and also lets you create shopping lists and email them and recipes to yourself and friends. Free for iPhones, Windows Phone and Android.

For a foodie app with a local flavour check out Fast, Fresh & Tasty ($6.49, for the iPhone). It's the first app by Wellington firm Click Suite, which teamed up with local food producers such as Silver Fern Farms for seasonal recipes.

Get the kids interested in cooking with iCooking Little Chefs, $1.30 for Android. It has 56 recipes that little ones will find easy to prepare; now you've just got to get them to do the washing up (Apps of All Nations).

TRAVEL

Draw on the collective wisdom of more than 50 million traveller reviews of hotels, restaurants and tours, and find cheap flights with the free TripAdvisor app for iPhone, Android, Nokia and Windows Phone smartphones (TripAdvisor).

Find the nearest petrol station, restaurant or supermarket with AroundMe, free for iPhone and Android (Attorno A Me S.R.L). Like Google Places (also free for iPhone and Android), it uses your phone's GPS to figure out where you are and what's around you.

Keep track of your travel details with TripCase, a free app for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android. The app will store your travel-related information, like flights, hotels and car reservations, and will warn of flight delays, gate changes and let you search for alternate flights .