iPhones. iPads. Android. We've updated all of our essential apps lists to include a few forgotten favorites, some long awaited arrivals and, as always, even more amazing apps. Check them out!
If you want to jump to see the best apps in a specific platform, click here:
The Best iPhone Apps February 2012
The end of the month is here, and that means it's time to do a little housekeeping on our list of the absolute best iPhone apps. Who will be inducted?
Added:
Buzz Contacts: Buzz Contacts puts the traditional iOS contacts system on its head, making it infinitely more useful and faster. Its focus is getting you to contacting your contacts as fast and elegantly as possible, through whichever medium you decide to use: phone, SMS, email or FaceTime. $1
Fitness Buddy: 1700 different workout exercises. 1000 workout videos. 4000 exercise photos. And sweat searing instructions for all of them. Fitness Buddy is an absolutely amazing tool to track your workouts, learn new workouts, build a workout routine and see your body's progress. $1
Cinemagram: Cinemagram uses your iPhone camera to capture a short video clip, and then convert it into an cinemagraph, which is a highly-stylized animated GIF where only one part of the image moves. You record a clip and cut it down to a length Cinemagram deems acceptable (generally a couple of seconds). Then you mask the area you want to move. $2
Clear: The new Clear to-do list app takes a different and fresh approach from others in that it's not loaded with auxiliary features. Clear is the quickest, simplest and most intuitive to-do list for busy people who need a straightforward list to juggle a million tasks a day. $1
Clik: Clik controls web browsers from your phone. Why the hell would you need to do that, you ask? Laziness. With niche apps like this, it's always laziness. What kind of masochist wants to screw with the keyboard or trackpad or oh god the mouse? No one. Those can all go to a shallow gadget hell grave.
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective: A lovely adventure game with a lovely story and a lovely score. You play as a character who starts out dead and you need to figure out who you are, who killed you and why. An interesting take with 10 levels of gameplay.
MLB At Bat: The best sports app is back in the app store for the 2012 MLB season. An indispensable app for baseball fans, MLB At Bat keeps track of everything going on in baseball—from scores to videos and stats. If you pay $15 you can get radio broadcasts and a live game every day. If you subscribe to MLB.tv, you get to stream every game.
Visit our updated list of the Best iPhone Apps right here
The Best Android Apps February 2012
It's a new month and that means new apps.
Added:
Syncly: The app keeps an eye on your Android device's SD card and automatically uploads any photos added to that card to your DropBox account. After an initial setup, the app just does its job in the background. Upload images over Wi-Fi or your device's 3G/4G connection. Free
Osmos HD: Kotaku considers Osmos HD a "masterpiece". It's a puzzle game where you control a single-celled organism in space and try to absorb other smaller organisms and navigate through the dangers of space. Of course, you can be absorbed too so you have to stay alert.
Chrome: Chrome for Android features a host of improvements over the old Android browser, but the biggest highlight has got to be automatic tab and bookmark syncing between your desktop and phone. So you've got a few tabs open at home, and have to run out the door? Not a problem, you've got those same tabs open on your phone with a quick tap.
Cloud Magic: Think of CloudMagic as a search engine that only searches you. It indexes your Google and Twitter data and then cuts down search speed significantly because it doesn't get bogged down by any network or server delays. It's like if Spotlight (or Quicksilver) for the Mac was available on your Android phone. You can search through your Twitter, Gmail, Google Apps, Docs, Calendar and Contacts through CloudMagic.
Cartoon Camera: This app is like Hipstamatic except instead of being tailored to aloof artsy people, it's created for people with a sense of humor-or at least people who like the funny papers. The app does an admirably good job of turning your photos into sketch-like cartoons-especially for a free app. Free
Clik: Clik allows you to control any web-enabled screen from your phone. You point your web browser to ClikThis.com and then open the Clik app on your smartphone. Scan the QR code on ClikThis.com and that web browser now becomes a big screen to watch videos on (with the Clik app being your snazzy remote).
Dialer One: The best speed dialer for Android". Why? Well you can speed dial by holding down a number on the keypad, instant searches a contact from typing in a number or name and looks great too. Free
Fitness Buddy: 1700 different workout exercises. 1000 workout videos. 4000 exercise photos. And sweat searing instructions for all of them. Fitness Buddy is an absolutely amazing tool to track your workouts, learn new workouts, build a workout routine and see your body's progress. $1
MLB At Bat: The best sports app is back in the Android market for the 2012 MLB season. An indispensable app for baseball fans, MLB At Bat keeps track of everything going on in baseball—from scores to videos and stats. If you pay $15 you can get radio broadcasts and a live game every day. If you subscribe to MLB.tv, you get to stream every game
Visit our updated list of the Best Android Apps right here
The Best iPad Apps February 2012
Here are the iPad apps you should download before you get your new iPad.
Added:
OnLive Desktop: OnLive gives you Windows on your iPad. It means you can have Office on your iPad right now, today, and free, which was the promise of the original OnLive Desktop. You can edit documents, run video in PowerPoint presentations and basically do anything that you could if you were using Office on a desktop. You can use a software keyboard for input (which includes a Windows-centric keyboard layout) or hook up a bluetooth keyboard.
NPR Music: Beyond the live streams from 100 public radio stations, NPR Music has exclusive content like advanced access to albums and stuff like music news, interviews and reviews. What's particularly nice is that the app can scan your iTunes library and spit out personalized recommendations to make sure you keep on discovering stuff that vibes with your style. Free
Tweetbot: The app is the most aggressively designed Twitter app on the planet. It squeezes every last feature it can out of the service while continuing to present a clean interface that's easy to use. I can customize the app how I like and quickly, tweet, retweet, and reply to tweets. Or, just use it as is and still enjoy the same rewarding experience. $3
Seamless: Not really sure there's anything that screams TECHNOLOGY louder than using your iPad to order delicious delivery food from Seamless. It's beautiful, yes-giant photos of your food, a surprisingly effective plate-based GUI-but it also offers a lot the website simply doesn't. Filtering is a swipe-based breeze, allowing you to look for a place that serves sushi and BBQ, for instance.
Photoshop Touch: Photoshop Touch for iOS packs a number of the core Photoshop features, optimized for use on tablets. In particular, it handles layers, features pro-style effects, and allows users to touch up photos. One nice little feature is the Scribble Selection Tool: a lazy squiggle over the area of your choice simplifies the way in which you select areas. $10
Avid Studio: While not fully intended to be a replacement for the powerful film editing software AVID Studio on desktop PCs, Avid for iPad is still a prosumer app that's intended to complement its professional desktop counterpart. And while it will supposedly do most things desktop editing suites can do, it won't be able to execute on everything. Still! Avid! On your iPad! $5
TurboTax: Will doing your taxes on a touchscreen make it less annoying? Maybe? Okay fine, probably not but TurboTax for iPad is optimized so you can caress your tax return and hope it spits out a fatty tax refund.
MLB At Bat: The best sports app is back in the app store for the 2012 MLB season. An indispensable app for baseball fans, MLB At Bat keeps track of everything going on in baseball—from scores to videos and stats. If you pay $15 you can get radio broadcasts and a live game every day. If you subscribe to MLB.tv, you get to stream every game.
Visit our updated list of the Best iPad Apps right here