Molly Klinefelter

Notes Plus isn't cheap, but comes full of features for those who want more than just a basic note-taking app.

Notability lets you take and sync handwritten and audio notes, organize them how you like and save them to the cloud.

Noteshelf comes decked out with bells and whistles, such as password protection and palm rejection, but is this note-taking app worth its asking price?

Evernote for the iPad organizes all of your thoughts and multimedia into one place, and then syncs it across all your devices.

A replacement for Google Talk, Google Hangouts adds group message and video chat, but its quality could be better.

This free app lets you chat and text for free -- including with Facebook friends -- but is the price to call worth it?

TextPlus offers free messaging and voice calls, but has fewer features than its competitors.

Facebook Messenger lets you send free messages with a handy new Chat Heads feature, as well as make calls and send photos to your Facebook friends.

T-Mobile's iPhone 5 may be late to the game, but it offers fast LTE speeds, HD Voice calling and value-priced, contract-free plans.

The Viber app lets you text, call and share photos and videos for free using a well-designed interface. It tops our list of messaging apps.

WhatsApp lets you group message and send photos and videos via an easy-to-use interface--without having to pay texting fees to your carrier.

This sleek mouse lets Windows 8 users quickly return to the Start screen.