Windows Phone 7 is finally coming out in full force on smartphones, and it may not be long before we start seeing tablets running it, too, seeing as their popularity grows exponentially every month. The new mobile OS has a lot of strong points, from its innovative interface to the excellent support for DirectX 9, Shader Model 3.0 and the Xbox gaming engine, which make gaming and graphics apps much better than even those on the iPhone 4.

The apps marketplace is growing at an exponential rate every week, and there are already over three thousand apps there, all high quality and useful for the users, as cookie cutter ones are simply not accepted due to the strict verification process. If it continues at this rate, Windows Phone 7 may actually catch up to Android in the number of apps by summer 2011 – that would be very impressive.

If you got a new Windows Phone 7 smartphone, you should definitely open the Market hub and check out the apps you can find there. If you’re still undecided about getting a WP7 phone over an Android device or an iPhone, you can download Zune to check out all the apps on the Windows Phone 7 marketplace and see if they fit your needs better than those on iTunes or Android Market. Either way, here are a few great free apps for Windows Phone 7 to get you started:

IMDB. For all of the movie buffs out there and for people who love an occasional movie or theater session, IMBD, the largest site for all things related to movies and actors, has released their official app for Windows Phone 7, and it is really one of the best entertainment apps out there. You can find news about the latest movies, read reviews of all the movies that have ever been released, discuss anything with other movie fans, read information about actors/celebrities, and much more! If you like the site or movies in general, this is a must have app for your phone!

Shazam. Shazam is yet another app for those who need entertainment on their phone, and it’s specifically targeted towards those who like music. It allows you to identify any song by using your phone’s microphone, so you can easily find out what song is playing on the radio, TV or even YouTube (if the uploader didn’t provide the information). You can then buy the song from an online store or find the lyrics, if you want to.

Twitter. Twitter is the leading micro-blogging platform on the Internet, and a lot of people are using it on a daily basis. A client for your smartphone is simply a must have, seeing as Twitter is intended for frequent updates, and the official app works very well on Windows Phone 7. You can do anything you’re able to do on the site itself and more: upload pictures, post tweets and read replies, upload video/audio, follow other people, etc.

Flashlight 7. Flashlight 7 is a nice flash light app that turns the screen brightness to the maximum. Despite being so simple, it is amazing how useful it can be when you’re in a dark room or other place, and need something to be able to see what you’re doing.

Spin Crisis. Spin Crisis is a great game for Windows that is basically a spin (pun intended 🙂 on the classic Labyrinth game for Android and iPhone. You guide a marble through a series of increasingly difficult 3D labyrinths using your accelerometer. The graphics and controls are great, and you can easily spend hours on end playing it.

Windows Phone 7 is definitely a very capable OS and a good competitor to Android and iOS, which currently dominate the mobile market. It’s still in its infancy, and has a lot of issues that need to be sorted out, but just like Android, it has a high chance of becoming a great and stable operating system for everyone, from usual consumers to business professionals, especially with a huge company like Microsoft promoting it.