The groundbreaking release of the Apple iPhone in 2007 ultimately altered the world of tomorrow. The phone was simple to use, it was clean, it was innovative. But the most important thing about the iPhone was its heavy reliance on third-party applications. Since then, millions and millions of applications have made an appearance — some are free, some are not–, and soon, the application sensation has swept most of the nation. Applications have an infinite amount of uses and every day, new apps are added to the market and older apps are updated.
Though applications allow for ultimate customization and uniqueness, not all applications are hits– in fact, many are misses. Here’s a list for what I feel are the best 5 and worst 5 applications the Apple/Android/Droid market has to offer.

The best five apps on the market:

1)      Fruit Ninja (Free Lite Version or $0.99)

There’s something about Fruit Ninja that makes it so addicting; adding to its value is that it’s so easy to learn that anyone can just pick it up and play. Most apps are like that, but Fruit Ninja is simply moving your fingers to cut fruit and that’s it.

Worth buying the full version: Yes, because it includes a pallet swap and two more gameplay modes; the lite version has a limit for how many points you can score in a game.

2)      Ninjump (Free Lite Version or $0.99)

If cutting fruit isn’t your interest, then Ninjump might be. In this app, a ninja runs up a wall while you tap the screen for him to jump to the other wall in order to avoid obstacles and hostile projectiles. It’s pretty easy to learn, almost as easy as Fruit Ninja, but it’s a lot more technical.

Worth buying the full version: No, the lite version basically has everything the full version does. The difference is just pallet swaps.

3)      Shazam (Free or $5.99 for Shazam Encore; Full version)

Have you ever heard a song that was catchy and you liked it, but don’t know what it’s called? With Shazam, that would no longer be a problem. Every month, you’re supplied with 5 free song tags; just hold your device with Shazam somewhere it can hear the song. After a couple seconds, it’ll identify the artist, album, name of the song and even provide you with links to Youtube videos of it and more.

Worth buying the full version: Yes and no. How often you do you listen to songs you don’t know of? And then ask yourself if you’ll use Shazam Encore enough to pay $6.

4)      Angry Birds (Free Lite Version or $0.99)
Often hailed as the number one app on both the Apple and Android market, Angry Birds is sweeping the nation with its addictive gameplay. At the beginning of each round, players get a variety of birds that they use to catapult into different barriers that shields your enemies, the pigs. Each bird has its own identity; some can increase in speed, some divide into three projectiles, and some can even drop bombs.
Worth buying the full version: Yes, the full version features more levels and access to every type of bird, increasing the variety and amount of things you can do.

See our previous review of this app here: https://kerronicle.com/2011/05/angry-birds/

5)      Words  With Friends (Free Lite Version or $0.99)
The popular boardgame Scrabble has entered the mobile world of today and changed its name to Word With Friends. The creators of it will argue it’s not Scrabble to avoid legal issues, but anyone who plays this will agree it is basically Scrabble. But in a way, the creators are right. Word With Friends is addictive, fun, and the best part is that it’s mobile. That’s how it’s not Scrabble.

Worth buying the full version: No, to the umpteenth power. The difference is the absence of advertising. Unless you’re in a spendy mood and just really hate ads, there’s really no reason at all.

And the indefinitely worst five apps that were/are on the market:

1)      I Am Rich ($999.99)

You know it’s a bad app when it gets released on day one and is then discontinued on day two. Other signs of a bad app are having a rating of one. I Am Rich costs $1,000 and when opened, it just says, “I am rich, I deserve it, I am good, healthy & successful.” This app was so bad that one unfortunate customer complained, “I saw this app with a few friends and we jokingly clicked ‘buy’ thinking it was a joke, to see what would happen. … THIS IS NO JOKE…DO NOT BUY THIS APP AND APPLE PLEASE REMOVE THIS FROM THE APP STORE.” Apple heard this plea and removed the app the day after.

2)      Calm Candle ($4.99)
Five dollars can go a long way: five items at the dollar store or rent a movie from RedBox for five days (exclude the tax). What you probably didn’t know is that you can, with $5, buy a virtual candle that supposedly melts in real-time. But that’s about it. It’s just a candle that produces light and flickers. For five whole dollars. I need not say more.

3)      Hold On! ($0.99)

Hold On…to your money! A dollar can go a long way, depending on where you’re at or what you’re buying. But apparently, it can also buy you a test of patience; how long can you keep a button pressed? That’s pretty much it to this app.

4)      iNap@Work ($0.99)

Though it’s more intended for those who have a sense of humor and is a gag app, the iNap@Work app is so useless and a waste of money. So what does it do? Well, have you ever wanted to sleep, but afraid you’d get caught? Turn on this app and it plays a variety of different sounds that you’d hear in an office (Like keyboards typing, paper crumpling, etc.) and you can also change how frequent the sound reoccurs.
Most apps should be free; those that aren’t should be offering something worth buying, regardless of its price tag. This one is not free and offers nothing. Terrible idea.

5)      That’s What She Said (Free)They say the best things in life are free. Whoever said that must’ve never heard of this app because it is not “the best”. When you open the app, it has a button which, when pressed, says “that’s what she said”. Though the app is basic and simple, it features so many problems. The first is that it’s not even said in Steve Carrell’s voice, the face of this phrase. The second problem is that it’s just useless; why would you pull out your device, unlock it, turn on the app and press the button when you could have just said “that’s what she said”? By the time you pressed it, the timing is wrong and the joke is dead. Just leave this app alone and stray away from