2011 was a great year for apps. Both the Android Market and the Apple App Store grew exponentially and users now have so many choices that it is hard to sort all of them out. December was an especially big months for apps as publishers revved up for consumers to unwrap new devices during the holiday season. Christmas is the biggest app-downloading day of the year for many publishers. From empirical observations, publishers started ramping up a few days before the holiday with Dec. 22 one of the biggest days of the year fo the App Store, with literally thousands of apps published. What was new and exciting in the last month of 2011? Check out our selections below.After several months of putting app updates in the column, we have noticed a trend: about a third of your apps will be issued updates on any given month. See the popular updates section at the end of the column.The list, as always, is a bit subjective so please let us know in the comments if we missed an app or you have found one that you cannot live without.A word from our sponsor:Zoho CRM offers a complete customer life cycle management service online. Zoho CRM helps you manage your Sales, Marketing & Customer Interactions online. Automation, customization, integration, and collaboration allow you to grow your business and have a 360-degree view of your business. Get Started with 3 Users Free!Ad powered by BTBucketsCROSS-PLATFORM APPSQuickOffice Pro ($14.99 -- iOS, Android)QuickOffice Pro is a mobile office solution for the businessperson on the go. Everybody that needs QuickOffice probably already has the free version but the pro version adds much more capability to the app such as the new SmartTouch capability for easy editing and an all new PowerPoint editor for when you need to change your presentation at the last minute. The price is a bit hefty but imagine if you were to put this on your PC? $15 seems like a steal. The app was updated with new functionality in December for bot h iOS and Android.
Google Currents -- (Free - iOS, Android)Watchout Flipboard, Zite, News360, Pulse ... really, any of your favorite news reader apps. Google has gotten into the game and is feeding Google News into this new mobile user interface that gives the reader a whole new dynamic when checking out the latest Google News headlines. Unlike other Google apps made for iOS, the iPhone and iPad versions function well and give the user a dynamic interface for surfacing the best stories of the day in a variety of topics.
Beaver's Revenge -- ($0.99 -- iOS, Android)Twisted Games brings us this beaver ... and he is pissed off. The lumberjacks have invaded his home and now he is out for revenge. This Angry Birds clone gives a new meaning to launching furious wildlife.
Skyscanner: All Flights -- (Free - iOS, Android)A new entry into the world finding cheap flights fast. Skyscanner allows users to search for flights across 600 budget and scheduled airlines with over 700,000 routes. Available in 28 languages and completely independent from any carrier or search engine. If you find Kayak or Hipmunk not to your liking, check out Skyscanner.
IOSFlipboard For iPhone -- (Free, iPhone)Six months after telling us it was working on an iPhone app, Flipboard finally delivered in December. It is everything you have come to expect from the iPhone version, just slimmed down for your iPhone. If you have not done so yet, grab the one of the best and most innovative readers out there for your iPhone.
Wolfram Words Reference App -- ($0.99, iPhone/iPad)You thought that Wolfram Alpha was just for math geeks running algorithms through search engines? Think again. The Wolfram Words app is not just a dictionary, it is a thesaurus, teaches pronunciation, finds the score for the word in word games, historical crossword puzzle clues, translates it to Morse code and Braille and more. Wolfram is taking language to the next level.
Final Fantasy III -- ($16.99, iPad)One of the greatest things about the new mobile revolution is the release of favorite old video games to the new mobile platforms. Final Fantasy III for the iPad is a great example of that. It is expensive for an iPad game but those that love Final Fantasy will find it well worth it to be able to bring the game everywhere they go. It works best on an iPad 2 upgraded to iOS version 5.0.1.
Michael Jackson: The Experience HD -- ($4.99, iPad)Dance along with MJ in this iPad game that brings the King of Pop to Apple's tablet. Trace shapes to get Jackson and his entourage to dance to some of the most iconic music to ever be released. The game comes with four tracks to start and puts Apple's in-app purchasing to the test with the ability to buy more song when you have mastered the originals. Great HD graphics set with historic pop music and Michael Jackson. Kind of like Rock Band meets Tap Tap Revenge and with some furious moves.
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