Apple application were limitess in 2011

Alec Lautanen
Executive Opinion Editor

Whether they are used for entertainment, information or education, iOS applications have become a mainstay of Apple products. Successful apps must combine ease-of-use with unique features or purposes. Last year, many apps met these criteria and presented users with a one-of-a-kind experience.

Apple product users have downloaded over 15 billion apps since the App Store’s debut in 2008. Apps can either be downloaded on computers or mobile device and can range anywhere in price from free to hundreds of dollars.

Two apps that stand out as iPhone utilities are Prey, a device tracker, and Wolfram Alpha, which provides an extensive number of useful calculations. Prey is an upgrade to the standard “Find My iPhone” app in that it allows users to remotely activate the phone’s camera and employ wireless network location to find a missing device.
Wolfram Alpha lets users submit queries in natural language, much like the iPhone 4S program Siri. Wolfram also displays a page of compiled data and information instead of a list of web pages, like normal search engines do.

The iOS App Store provides useful tools as well, and Word Lens, which translates written words in real time, is among the top. This app gives users the ability to view text through the camera lens and translate directly into another language.

For world information, nothing tops Flipboard, a news aggregator that pulls from both newspapers and social media sites. Information is displayed in a magazine-like layout and makes sifting through a large amount of updates and stories simple and efficient for users.

Strategy game DragonVale takes a new twist on the animal game genre. In it, users are instructed to “raise, breed and feed” their own species of dragons. DragonVale provides limitless combinations of dragon care and husbandry in a cartoonish and aesthetically pleasing atmosphere.

The variety in iOS applications is limitless, and last year brought many useful and intuitive apps to Apple devices. From news to tools to games, Apple users were satisfied by the 2011 products.