Regardless of whether you use iPhone or Android (or even Windows Phone), having the right apps will dramatically improve your experience with your smartphone.

With that in mind, here are the top 10 essential apps across all platforms every smartphone user should download to their phones.

1. Evernote
Free
(iOS, Android, WP7, BlackBerry)

Evernote is the most complete note-taking app available, and it's available on pretty much every platform. Syncing all your notes – including text, voice recording and photos to the cloud, it means you can easily access every note you take no matter where you are.

2. DropBox
Free
(iOS, Android, BlackBerry)

Dropbox gives you access to all your important documents no matter where you are. With 2GB of free storage for just signing up, plus easy ways to increase that without paying a cent, Dropbox offers plenty of storage for all types of files. You can also upload and share files simply from the app itself.

3. Instagram
Free
(iPhone)

Retro photography meets social networking with this incredible iPhone app. With a collection of retro filters to give your photo a distinguished feel, you can then share your camera skills with the Instagram community, Facebook and Twitter buddies, or pin it to a location on Foursquare.

4. Flipboard
Free
(iOS)

Flipboard is the best way to experience the web on a tablet. Pulling content from your Facebook and Twitter feeds – as well as any other RSS or social media source – and laying it out like a classically designed magazine, Flipboard offers a stunning way to engage with content.

5. Swiftkey
$3.99
(Android)

Typing on a touchscreen is nowhere near as efficient or ergonomic as a proper keypad. Swiftkey changes that by using intelligent algorithms to study the way you type, then predicting what you want to say before you actually say it, saving you from actually having to type it out.

6. Consume
$2.99
(iOS)

Consume's mission is simple: track how much you use in your monthly accounts. Whether it's your mobile phone's data consumption, your frequent flyer points or the delivery of a new gadget, Consume lets you tap into the backend of the service's site to show you your consumption's progress in a stunningly simple way.

7. Kindle
Free
(iOS, Android, WP7, BlackBerry)

With Kindle, you can buy a book on your PC or Mac in the morning; start reading it on your iPad; switch to your iPhone or Android; flip over to your WP7 or Blackberry and then finish the book on your Kindle, all without losing your place thanks to Amazon's free WhisperSync service. Brilliant.

8. Runkeeper
Free
(iPhone, Android, WP7)

Runkeeper is designed to help you use technology to stay fit. Actively tracking your location via the phone's GPS chip, the app analyses your run, uploading it to the web to let you compete against your personal bests and friends. It even lets you pair your phone with a heart rate monitor.

9. ABC iView
Free
(iPad)

Even though it's a few years old, ABC iView is still the best video on demand TV streaming app available. Offering hundreds of episodes of ABC programming streamed directly to your iPad, the intuitive user interface and wide selection of constantly updated content makes it the perfect partner to Apple's tablet.

10. TuneIn Radio Pro
$0.99
(iOS, Android, BlackBerry)

Offering live streams of more than 50,000 radio stations from around the world, the Pro version of the app lets you record your favourite programs to listen to later. An intelligent buffering system means you can listen to the radio uninterrupted, even when out of range of a mobile signal.

Bonus: SMH/The Age
Free
(iPad)