What is the one application you always load first or make sure you install on any new mobile device you purchase?

All you iPad owners just got another dose of “Cool”. The PhatWare folks just made it possible for you to write your missives and eliminate the need for your keypad in doing so. And you get a tie-in to your Dropbox account as a bonus. Here’s how it all works:

WritePad for iPad 4.2 Syncs with Dropbox
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You can now synchronize your WritePad documents with Dropbox and share them with other devices and computers. If you don’t have a Dropbox account, just touch the Create New Account button in the Dropbox Login window when you synchronize WritePad for the first time.

WritePad is a cool notetaker for iPads which converts practically any handwriting into computer text. This feature-reach, Star-Trek-like technology makes the on-screen soft keyboard obsolete. Notes created with WritePad can be emailed, Tweeted, saved, translated to other languages, synced with Dropbox, or exchanged directly between 2 or more iPads.

With WritePad you can
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* Create and modify text documents using the advanced handwriting recognition engine or iPad keyboard for text entry in landscape or portrait mode

* Improve productivity by utilizing inline gestures, spell checker, context analyzer, and shorthand features
* Email, Tweet, or Synchronize WritePad documents
* Translate documents to 13 supported languages using Bing Translator
* Change WritePad appearance by manipulating text, page and ink colors, and fonts with the customizable Styles feature

Device Requirements:
* Compatible with iPad
* Requires iPhone OS 3.2 or later
* 3.5 MB

* WritePad for iPad 4.1 International Editions have also been released, now you can obtain WritePad for German, French, and Spanish languages.

Available from the App Store for $9.99

The average consumer, be they business or private individual, seems to gravitate to what’s popular. In browsing, IE and Firefox have become the standard (some would say Safari should be mentioned, but I think you’ll find more Mac users loading Firefox than PC users loading Safari, just to make my point).

When it comes to media players, the field of choices widens considerably. And a lot of them are good. But it would seem that iTunes has become the default choice of the average person, whether they own an iPod or iPhone or whatever.

I have noticed the business community thinks it ends up influencing what people choose and use. I tend to think our children might be driving the bus. They try everything and they make their opinions clear. They actually spurred the growth of DivX, for a while. They seem to have embraced Chrome among themselves and kind of chuckle at any conversation about Firefox and the like. And iTunes seems to have been given their nod as the only media player to even bother talking about.

I could be making all that up. The question for today is, has iTunes reached the tipping point with the masses and become king of the hill, from which they will not be dethroned?

There is an ever growing list of photo editing software “out there”, and some really good ones that are free. There are viewers and organizers as well. The default choice of most photographers for years now has been Photoshop, but it has many features most people don’t know how to use and it is really expensive.

PAINT.NET is an open-source and free application closely resembling Photoshop. Photoshop Elements and Photoshop Essentials, priced from $69 to$99, offer the not so professional a way to edit and organize their work. Google’s Picasa is free editing and organizing software also allowing web storage and sharing. GIMP, ImageForge, and Irfanview are also popular freeware, with different levels of use difficulty. And we haven’t even touched on the web-based applications.

What is your application of choice and which one would/have you paid for and would willingly pay for again?

(If you have found satisfactory freeware that would keep you from ever paying for others, what is it?)

It might just be me, but I have so many gadgets, purchased over time, that as I move on to other devices and scenarios in my life, I sometimes forget I have some really useful tools still available.

Case in point. With the improvement in battery life of the current crop of phones, not getting thru a day on one charge has been minimized. My HTC Tilt 2 so rarely threatens needing to be plugged in before bed time, I have stopped thinking about when it might. I keep a great external battery in my car for emergencies, the really sweet Tekkeon Power-All, but it is just big enough that I don’t relish carrying it unnecessarily. Yesterday, after a rare day of much Wi-fi, Bluetooth and extended call usage, and my car was elsewhere, I was on an important call and got the dreaded “low battery” warning. I really needed to be able to finish this call. It dawned on me, like one of those “well duh!”, I also have the Proporta USB Turbo Charger 3400 in my bag. I plugged it in an had enough juice to save my bacon and get me home. This little gem is so convenient to carry, I forgot why I do AND how valuable it is.

So if you are looking for convenience and inter-device support in the charging arena, I’d recommend checking out the Proporta 3400. Here’s some specs and features:

This ridiculously handy product allows you to recharge your mobile devices on the move again and again. Simply plug any USB/micro USB powered gadget (including your Apple iPhone 3G/3G S, Apple iPod, BlackBerry, most digital cameras, GPS units and mobile phones) into the USB TurboCharger’s standard USB port and it’ll keep even the most power hungry device juiced up and ready to go. An LED display shows the level of charge, and this lightweight and stylish battery is so small that you’ll hardly even notice you’ve got it with you.

• Charge anywhere, recharge anything – over and over

• Comes with retractable cable and range of interchangeable connector heads including 1 x DS Lite, 1 x iPod, 1 x Nokia, 1 x Sony Ericsson, 1 x Micro USB and 1 x Mini USB.

• LED display shows level of charge.

• Capacity : 3400 mAh, Input: 5V DC500 mA, Output: 5.5V 700mA

• Impressive 3400 mAh storage – enough to recharge your devices several times.

• Dimensions (in cm) : 9.8 x 6 x 1.6

Available for $46.95, for another $10 a “world pack” is available that comes with connections for more devices and travel convertors.

Visit the Porporta Site for this and other mobile friendly accessories.