You bought the latest smartphone and probably spent quite a bit of money. You want to enjoy all what your phone can offer you and have the latest apps, but you spent your cash on the smartphone itself. Rather than feel left out, learn how you can get free mobile apps and still have the great functionality a smartphone provides.Use the built-in appsMany smartphones these days come equipped with quite a few apps already pre-installed, ranging from email apps to weather apps to games. If cost is a concern for you, look for the smartphone that gives you the most free apps for your money and save the cash for something else. Android phones commonly come with a music player, weather app, productivity software and a few lite games right out of the box. That feature alone saves you money you might have had to spend on a phone without these apps.Talk to a customer service representative for your wireless service provider. He or she can tell you all about the phones with pre-installed apps and help you find the right smartphone for your needs and budget. Hit the marketBoth the Android Market and the Apple App Store have options for you to search for the top Free apps available in their respective stores. Often these apps are versions of their software offering limited-time or reduced-functionality for free. Sometimes, a developer may run versions of their paid apps in the free section that are full-fledged, coinciding with an update or promotion. These downloads may include limited time offers, especially for hot ticket items like interactive games. You might surprise yourself and find a great free app that beats out your friend's $.99 app. If you are using an Android phone, it is worth your time to download the Amazon Android Marketplace. Amazon offers one paid app for free every day. These apps range from high-end games, to battery management sofware to bank software. This way, you can get a random, high-rated paid app for free forever.Talk with your friendsTalk to your friends who have the same smartphone as you. They might have great recommendations on what free apps to install and what free apps to avoid. They can use apps such as ShareApps and Bump to send you their favorite apps by link to try out. They can give you a good idea of which apps are worth the download, free or not.Check the Blogs.There are a wealth of sites out there dedicated to providing links and updates on great apps for free every day. One of the most popular is FreeAppADay.com, which shows you by platform which games are free and for how long. That way, you won't miss out on any steals of the day!Finding free apps for your smartphone requires a bit of work and patience, but with determination and checking with the right sources, you can equip your smartphone with some of the coolest free apps on the market.