As 2011 draws to a close it’s time to look back at some of the best Symbian apps to hit the Nokia Store over the past twelve months. Among the thousands available are some real gems, so we’ve checked out some of the best and most popular apps for the likes of your Nokia N8, Nokia C7 or Nokia 700, to bring you a selection of our favourites this year.

Swype brought to you by Nokia
Texting the old fashioned way doesn’t cut it any more. Instead of tapping away on a QWERTY keyboard or touchscreen, Swype asks users to text in a new way on their Symbian smartphone by swiping across each desired letter to form words and sentences. On first glance it looks impossible, but get the hang of Swype and you’ll find it is actually quicker than conventional texting.

Eternal Legacy HD
Mobile gaming on Symbian doesn’t get much bigger than this. As Astrian, players will explore the type of worlds that, up to now, had yet to be seen on Nokia devices. Players must save the world of Algoad from certain doom, and restore harmony between humans and nature, in one of the most beautiful-looking Symbian games available at the Nokia Store.

BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer is a must for any fan of BBC television shows, be it sport, TV dramas, movies or current affairs. The app works in the same vein as the web service. Shows that went out over the past seven days on television can easily be caught up with using the BBC iPlayer app, so that you’ll never miss an episode of The Apprentice or Dr. Who on your Symbian phone again.

WhatsApp Messenger
With WhatsApp you can instant message your friends for free on your Symbian smartphone. Simply enter a login name for yourself that you’d like to be known as, and then add the phone number of friends you wish to add. As long as you’ve got a data plan in place, WhatsApp won’t incur any extra charges.

Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD
The latest rubber-burning ride in the Asphalt series features over 40 cars and bikes from some of the world’s top manufacturers. Players can customise and tune their vehicles to the max before ripping the streets of L.A, Tokyo and more, while multiplayer modes and access to up to 11 different leagues over 50 events add to the thrills.

Shazam
If you’re a music fan, Shazam is an essential purchase. You know that feeling when you’ve just heard a song but don’t know what it is? Avoid that tuneless feeling of helplessness by downloading Shazam and firing it up the next time you hear a banger. Shazam will ‘tag’ it to decipher the song name and band and you’ll soon be on your way to discovering your new favourite artists.

BBC Sport
For a sports fan, being away from the television is hell. Instead of fretting over the scores, why not just download and fire up the free BBC Sport app on your Symbian smartphone. Like the website itself, the app constantly updates with the latest news from every major sport, so that you’ll no longer need to get home to discover the football results.

Spotify
Free your music and transform your Symbian Nokia handset into a portable Spotify music player using this fantastic free app. Spotify for Symbian phones lets you access your entire music collection over a 3G and/or Wi-Fi connection and listen to offline playlists wherever you are - even on the tube underground or on a plane.

Sports Tracker
Sports Tracker transforms your Nokia Symbian phone into a fat-conquering fitness device that analyses performance and workout patterns, with an aim to getting users fighting fit. This great app also displays activity, start times, end times, calories spent, distance covered and plenty more, making it an essential download for fitness fans.

TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor is a free app that helps holidaymakers the world over choose where to go, which hotels to stay at and choose the cheapest flights. Because everything is available on your Nokia Symbian handset, you can plan your holiday on the way to work, in bed, or whenever you have a spare moment with your phone so that you’ll always have time to get away. Go on, you deserve it!

With these fantastic Symbian apps, you can enjoy more great usability than ever on your Nokia Symbian phone. And with all of them available right now for some truly low prices, you'd be mad not to try them out, so why not download and install these unbeatable apps on your phone right now?