BEST FREE APPS

Great ways to get more from all your Apple gear

- IAN OSBORNE

SOFTWARE CAN BE expensive.The Mac's 3D modelling tool ViaCAD Pro 12, for example, sets you back $700 on the Mac App Store, and on the iPhone and iPad, professional piano-tuning app Verituner costs $600.

But you don't have to break the bank to bag an app. There's a huge range of software available for your Apple gear that's entirely free of charge. "Free" doesn't mean "bad" either.

Some of the best apps in their class are freebies. HandBrake, for example, has long been the Mac's go-to app for video conversion, and it's completely free to download and use. If you're struggling to play a video file, the free VLC app can probably do it and The Unarchiver is the only tool you need for decompressing archived files.

In this feature, we take a look at the Mac's best free apps, and also fantastic freebies for iPhone and iPad too.

So what are you waiting for? Put your wallet away and check out some great software.

Numbers, Pages & Keynote

> FROM www.apple.​com > ALSO ON iPhone, iPad, iCloud

Where else could we start but with the Mac's sensational suite of productivity apps? Previously commercial products, the Pages word processor, Numbers spreadsheet app and Keynote presenter are all available completely free.

Pages is a fantastic word processor that's just at home with images as it is with text. As well as writing a quick letter to your bank manager, you can also use it to lay out newsletters or leaflets, make posters, print business cards and plenty more. You don't need Microsoft Excel to make a spreadsheet.

The excellent Numbers app has all the formula and function features you could need to create an informative spreadsheet, and can include shapes, pictures, and even videos too. And with Keynote, making great presentations is an absolute breeze.

Thunderbird

> FROM www.thunderbird.net > ALSO ON Windows, Linux, Android