iOS devices have long enjoyed the richest app ecosystem around, with nearly 1 million applications available in all. Even if 90% of them were rubbish, that would still leave roughly 100,000 worthwhile ones.
With so many apps in the store it can be easy for some to get buried and ironically, it can actually make it harder to find the apps you're looking for.
With that in mind, turning your iPhone or iPad into an entertainment and media hub can be hard work. But it needn't be - just grab these 10 essential apps and your entertainment needs should be covered.
1. Crackle (free)
Crackle is a godsend for movie lovers. Like Quickflix, it's a streaming service with hundreds of films and TV shows available on demand.
Unlike Quickflix, it's totally free of charge. The app's free and there's no subscription fee.
How does it manage this? Well, it's ad supported, so that's something you'll have to put up with.
Its selection isn't great, though, as it consists mostly of older films alongside those that no one has ever heard of (Shakes the Clown anyone?).
But it has a reasonably large collection and even has a few original shows, such as Woke Up Dead and Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Plus did we mention it's free?
2. TuneIn Radio (free)
While many phones come with a built in FM radio, the iPhone surprisingly doesn't.
That's not too much of a problem though, as while FM radio is off the table, there are many digital radio apps available to download from the App Store.
The best of these is probably TuneIn Radio. It has over 70,000 live radio stations spanning the globe and covering just about every music genre, as well as sports, news, talk and comedy.
So whatever your mood, you should be able to find something to listen to.
3. SoundCloud (free)
SoundCloud is a community for audio creation and discovery. The focus is arguably on music, giving you the ability to follow both professional and amateur musicians and listen to any new music they post.
However, you can also listen to other audio streams that users have uploaded, such as news and comedy shows.
You can favourite things that you want to listen to again or search for specific audio streams, some of which can't be found anywhere else.
Listening to content is only half the story though, as if you're so inclined, you can also upload your own music or other audio content, unleashing it into an unsuspecting world.
4. Procreate ($6.49)
Music and video isn't all there is to entertainment. For anyone with an artist's soul, Procreate is absolutely essential.
It's an incredibly feature rich painting and drawing app, as with 120 different brushes, up to 128 layers per image, custom canvas sizes and the ability to create and alter brushes, there are very few limits on the images you can create with it.
Add to that a slick, smooth interface that's minimalist and easy to learn, and you have a sublime portable art app. Plus, it continuously auto saves and has Dropbox integration to ensure you never lose your artwork and can easily get it off your iPad.
5. Foxtel Go
Foxtel Go is great if you have a Foxtel subscription but find yourself not at home long enough to actually enjoy the service.
Currently it has 59 live channels and over 50 channels for on demand catch up viewing, including Disney, National Geographic, Channel V, Fox8, SoHo, Lifestyle, Speed and a handful of sports channels.
The app is for free, but you will need a fixed Foxtel subscription. The app will also allow you to set recordings for a show to be activated on your set-top box.
Keep in mind that Foxtel has a streaming service called Foxtel Presto and an updated set-top box coming soon, both which may end up being further integrated with the Go app as well.
6. IMDB (free)
Life's too short for bad films and the easiest way to find out whether a film is any good or not before you watch it is to check out the IMDB.
Not only does it have critics and user reviews for just about every film ever made, but it also has full cast and crew listings, trailers and information on actors. Then there's soundtrack listings, plot summaries, quotes, goofs and trivia.
All in all it's probably the most comprehensive listing of film details available anywhere, giving you a wealth of information in the palm of your hand.
While it's primarily a website, the iOS app makes it a whole lot more digestible on your iPhone or iPad.
7. VLC for iOS (free)
Watching videos on an iPhone or iPad can be great. The screen quality is high and on an iPad you get to enjoy things on quite a large screen too.
But the stock Videos app leaves a little to be desired, particularly in its unwillingness to play certain file types.
VLC is much more robust in that regard, playing most formats without conversion.
It also supports file synchronisation through iTunes and Dropbox and it can stream videos from a UPnP media server.
It's not the most attractive player, but for function over form VLC is hard to beat.
8. KORG iMS-20 ($15.99)
The KORG iMS-20 is serious business. It's a complete recreation of the KORG MS-20 synth, but as well as a synthesiser it also includes an analogue sequencer, a six-part drum machine and a seven-channel mixer with 14 different effects.
It also has dual Kaoss Pads which generate music when you slide your fingers over them and once you're done creating your musical masterpiece you have the option to share it straight to SoundCloud.
Be warned that this is designed with professional users in mind, so while it's jammed full of features, if you've not used a synth before you might be a bit lost.
9. Spotify ($11.99 per month)
Music ownership is dead, or at least it might as well be with a subscription to Spotify.
$11.99 per month gives you unlimited access to millions of songs with more being added all the time.
Stream them, make playlists, share them with friends, even download them for offline listening.
Or if you're not sure what you want to listen to just check out some of the genre based and curated radio stations. Spotify has it all.
10. SoundHound (free)
SoundHound makes it easy to identify any song that's playing. Just point your phone at the music, tap the SoundHound button and wait a few seconds for it to find a match.
Once a match has been found you can buy the song from iTunes or watch related videos on YouTube.
You can even launch the song on Spotify or Rdio if you want to listen to it again straight away or add it to a playlist. SoundHound also has the unique ability of even being able to recognise music that you sing or hum.
So if a song gets stuck in your head and you can't remember what it's called, simply sing at your phone, just maybe don't do it in public.
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