Best BlackBerry Applications (Apps) and Free Downloads

5. Trapster(Free)

Until TomTom or Garmin fulfils our dream of an all-in-one GPS and radar detector, Trapster may be the next best thing. Using a BlackBerry’s built-in GPS capabilities, it will drop you on a map dotted with user-submitted speed traps, red light cameras and other wallet hazards, warning you before you come up on them and allowing you to peg the traps you spot for other users, too. Clearly, it’s not going to be as good as the Valentine One you’ve been eying for a decade, but then again, it doesn’t cost $400, either. It’s actually free.

4. Evernote

Replace your butt-worn spiral notebook with this 21st century version, which allows you to capture the same brainstorms, thoughts and musings in a much more organized manner. Besides text, you can also file away photos (like snaps of whiteboard) and audio (like a spur-of-the-moment interview) from either your desktop or your phone, then effortlessly search through them later.

3. WorldMate Live (Free)

When you’re stranded in Laramie, Wyoming, on a rainy Monday night without a place to stay, sitting in a parking lot with a broken car that won’t be fixed until Monday, you’ll be thankful you downloaded WorldMate Live. Within seconds, you can thumb through a list of hotel rooms sorted by distance from your location, with prices for each room and even a page for booking one. And that’s just scratching the surface of what it can do. You can also use it to track flights, sort itineraries, convert currency, look at maps, and check the weather where you’re headed. Download it before you leave home (and pray for cell signal in Laramie).

2. Pandora (Free)

The best streaming music site on the Web has gone mobile. Not only has Pandora always done a superb job matching you to music you might like based on artists you already like, the mobile version has been streamlined enough to play just fine over EDGE connections, meaning you’re able to listen pretty much anywhere you get decent signal, not just in major cities. (That also means you don’t need a 3G BlackBerry to download it). You might just find yourself liking the app so much that you don’t even load your own music on your phone. It’s that good.

1. Buzzd(Free)

In general, BlackBerry apps seem to lag behind iPhone apps on style factor, but this one defies the trend. Buzzd not only does it look incredibly slick, it’s one of the most useful apps in our arsenal, combining the listings of Zagat, Citysearch, Upcoming.org and Flavorpill into one local super search. You can also “buzz” local listings up or down (thrill or kill) to let other users know whether establishments are worth the trip or a waste of time. Like a lot of social apps, it will only get better as more people contribute, so join up and get buzzing.