It may seem like today’s generation of phones is vastly different from those of a few years ago, but the core features have hardly changed. The phone, browser, messaging, music player and calendar apps that come with your phone today are the same as the ones that came on your phone five years ago – with minimal functional and visual overhauls.

It’s time for these basic functions to change. Just as replacements such as instagram have made the default camera app nearly taboo, alternative apps for the core functions of our phones are quickly making their way into the standard app repertoire.

The Phone

The default phone app is … phoney. Our contact book is far less extensive and detailed than our social media lists of “friends” and “followers”, so why should we limit our phone to just people in our contact list? Imagine receiving a call, and in those three seconds before you answer having the ability to know who is calling, what their last tweet was and what they emailed or texted you recently. That way, next time your boss calls and asks you about “that email,” you can be prepared. Replace your stock phone with an app like CallApp (pictured below) or SideCar – it may just save your job.

Music Player

People take music seriously. Lock a metalhead and a dubstep fan in the same room and it might get a little out of control. We spend so much time and money downloading music and purchasing high end headphones to optimize our experience with music, but we don’t realize that what’s really limiting it is the default music player on our phones. Try downloading a full-featured music player like PowerAMP (pictured below) or doubleTwist, which allow you to truly listen to your music in a way that would make the artist proud.

Browser

Open a browser on your computer and then open your stock mobile browser. Which experience is better? Imagine having the same features on your phone’s browser as you do on your computer at home. This means things like multiple-tabs, gestures, themes, additional customization, flash players and download managers. That’s a lot of features your current browser is missing. You don’t need to fear browsing on your phone, it should be seamless and convenient: try an app like Maxthon (pictured below), Dolphin Browser, Skyfire or Opera Mini:

There are many other apps that come standard with your phone that are upgradeable for other apps. Don’t take our word for it – go search for apps to replace your calendar, messaging and clock apps and tweet us @quixey with your favorite apps!