Best Of The Best: 6 Apps From Apple's 'Best of 2013' iTunes Winners
Take A Bow
This year, the app market has been flourishing and 2013 has quickly flown by. Whether using an iPad or iPhone, read on and download Apple's picks for its yearly "best-of" list of iTunes apps.
Duolingo: Learn Languages For Free
As the Apple editors' choice for app of the year, this iPhone, iPad and iPod touch app will let a user learn a new language for free. Developed by Duolingo and released in 2012, this app already has at least 10 million downloads. Duolingo will teach several languages including Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian and English. It's great for learning and practicing while having fun. Once opened, this app teaches languages as though it's a game, using pictures, smartphone microphones and video clips to learn words, recite and write them out.
VSCO Cam: Photo Editing Made Easy
The next runner-up on the iTunes list is VSCO Cam, a photo-editing app. Developed by Visual Supply Co., this simple interface and photo-editing tool gives users the ability to create a visually enhanced photo. Available for iOS devices and Android devices, this app has various filters and can be shared through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, email or Google+. This is one easy app to use in editing and presenting stunning images, and it's free.
Notability: Stay Productive
When preparing for meetings, jotting down notes at a conference or coming up with new ideas, the Notability app helps users stay productive. Developed by Ginger Labs, for $2.99, a user can write, illustrate, annotate and choose the right pen and type of paper for any task. PDF documents also can be marked up, so any form, contract, worksheet document and presentation can be written on -- and imported to -- Google Drive. Notability allows any office worker or student to keep notes, information and ideas organized for easy access. This app also allows lectures and meetings to be recorded, so it always can be accessed when needed.
Umano: Interesting News Read To You
Rest your eyes and open your ears. When traveling, working at the gym or doing daily chores, the Umano app will read current news from a user's favorite news sources, just like an audiobook. Developed by SoThree, this free app provides real voice actors to read daily headline news and thousands of other articles from any section of the news, from current events, to technology to lifestyle. Playlists can be created; articles can be downloaded for listening offline.
Argus: Motion And Fitness Tracker
The holidays mean ample amounts of delicious food, and the New Year will probably entail efforts to hit the gym. Developed by Azumio, Argus is a free motion, fitness and health tracker app that will help any health-conscious person get back in the groove. The app will monitor and manage activities, food, workouts, sleep, hydration, weight and vitals to help reach health goals. This app will track your daily steps and see how much physical movement a user is getting. With quick food snapping, a food diary can be kept. There is also an active calorie counter, allowing a user to see how much they are actually taking in when eating. This app is necessary and helpful in setting and reaching goals for the New Year!
IFTTT: Get The Task Done
"If This, Then That," is the motto with this productive app. IFTTT is a clever app that brings automation straight to an iPhone. This free app connects between Internet services and devices, including Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, Etsy, Phillips Hue, Belkin WeMo and more. IFTTT works by creating a task, also known as a "recipe," to complete "If This Then That." So if a user takes pictures on Instagram, it then can be automatically uploaded to Dropbox. IFTTT is a solution that will automate and archive digital services, so a user doesn't have to worry about completing a task every time it is done. After implementing some rules, everything is automatically done with IFTTT.