The annual Appy Awards are dedicated to acknowledging creativity and excellence in app design. <<READ MORE
The Appys honor extraordinary Applications on all platforms: mobile, social and web-based. The Appy Awards are unbiased to App's format, platform or device; instead we focus on the best apps in a diverse range of categories, from Games and News, to Health and Fitness, Social Networking, Photography and many others.
The Appy Awards judging takes place in February 2013, and the Winners are announced at the Appy Awards "Get Appy" party in March 2013 at MediaPost’s OMMA Global Conference & Expo in San Francisco, CA.
Once you submit your entry, your app is automatically and instantly eligible to be featured as our “App of the Week”. As a “Featured App”, you can expect a special placement on our website, an “Appy Awards Featured App” badge for your website and promotional and marketing efforts, and a featured review article written by our team and published in the weekly “Appy Awards News” newsletter (subscribe to it below). <<CLOSE
The Appy Awards judging takes place in February 2013, and the Winners are announced at the Appy Awards "Get Appy" party in March 2013 at MediaPost’s OMMA Global Conference & Expo in San Francisco, CA.
Once you submit your entry, your app is automatically and instantly eligible to be featured as our “App of the Week”. As a “Featured App”, you can expect a special placement on our website, an “Appy Awards Featured App” badge for your website and promotional and marketing efforts, and a featured review article written by our team and published in the weekly “Appy Awards News” newsletter (subscribe to it below). <<CLOSE
Winners will be announced at SXSW on March 8 at the Appy Awards Cocktail Party. Party tickets are complimentary with
any
Kids. They're adorable. Especially when they're someone else's. But
when they're yours, they canbe a handful. And there's nothing like an iPad to give you a little break by distracting and entertaining the little angel for as long as their attention span holds. All
you need are the right apps. One of the best choices is the National Wildlife Federation's Ranger Rick Jr. Appventures: Lions. The app was created as a companion to NWF's new magazineRanger Rick Jr.,
spun off from 50-year-old kid-oriented magazineRanger Rick, and animated by award-winning Moonbot Studios, the app introduces Ricky Raccoon, a new character designed to guide kids through the
grasslands of Africa where they will encounter among other things - you guessed it - lions. 
I
wasn't excited about this iPhone-only app at first. Then I learned how to use it. Why, I thought, would I want to make a photo magazine of pictures from my phone?
The answer is easy: the final product -- the
photo magazine -- isn't for you. It's for the recipient. In my world, I would send the virtual magazines to the people in my life who would want bundled photos of things like my dog, the streets of
NYC, my redecorated apartment -- think parents, grandparents, cross-country friends. The app is really easy to navigate and takes you directly into the photos already in your phone. From there you
just tap the photos you want included in the "magazine," and voila! Since my dog and pictures of New York City comprise the majority of photos in my phone, I had two magazines in mind. Once I had
chosen 5 or so photos of my dog, I clicked through and was able to edit the cover of the magazine. I chose a title (my dog's name), month and my name to be on the cover. Then I had the option of
sending to anyone I wanted through a variety of means. My mother received the photos in her email, my old roommate received them via text and then I blasted it out to my Twitter feed for good measure.
There is also the option to post to Facebook. Also, this app is free. Is there anything better? 
It will probably make users want a JJ
sandwich -- which leads to the app's only problem: it doesn't include any information on store locators or a link back to the Web site. If you're looking for a goofy way to kill time and make your
friends laugh, this app is a good choice. After all, if you know someone who doesn't like delicious sandwiches thrown at their face, then it's time to get new friends. 
The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America's "GI Buddy" app for iPhone allows those living with an inflammatory bowel disease to better manage their symptoms and treatment. The
app, which is a free iPhone download and also available via Web on your desktop, allows users to track their symptoms, interact with message boards that feature topics relevant to the disease, and
generate reports based on the information input, among other features. The message boards include topics for young adults, women, symptom management, surgery, emotional wellness and treatments.
Each topic has many threads where users can interact with and add to the discussions. 
One of the most interesting and useful features, however, is the
reports section. Here, users can find a detailed daily log to take to their physician that includes information about how the user was feeling, what activities they had participated in and what they
were eating on a certain day. There aren't many downsides to this helpful app, but they are worth pointing out. "GI Buddy" doesn't seem to be completely iPhone optimized -- there is no way to zoom
in on message boards. Another frustrating feature is that the app is fixed vertically. Without the ability to zoom in on a topic or turn your device horizontally, users may find the technology
slightly lacking. Overall, the app is a great tool for people living with Crohn's and colitis that should help users better organize their symptoms to manage their disease. Get the app here:
I've been seeing their commercials on TV for weeks -- this 100+-year-old company is officially on my radar -- and probably that of everyone else in the NY area. Helzberg Diamonds has
made their presence known just in time for Valentine's Day, the helpful holiday that reminds men to be romantic (and maybe some women too!). In the romance reminder category, Helzberg also created
a FREE iPhone app the "Proposal Pro" to help plan the perfect proposal. Being a newlywed, I decided to test this out to see how it compared to my now husband's proposal. The app stacks up pretty
well from a female's perspective. It includes a timeline for choosing the date, the ring (I'll take one of each, thanks!), getting the blessing of the parents, finding the right location (powered by
Yelp), a proposal generator and the ability to share the news by connecting with Facebook (because of course she'll say yes after you did all of this work). This little helper also features a
learning section to understand more about different ring types, the 4c's of diamonds, starting prices, and a store locator. 
This app is straightforward, easy to use, provides great information and a cool integration with
Yelp -- the use of Facebookconnect is also a nice touch because it makes sense! I was also surprised because the proposal generator came up with some short and sweet proposals that I think any gal
would be happy to hear. While I thought my husband's proposal to me was perfect, if he used this app to do plan it, I would have never been the wiser! 
Who needs a schmancy fashion
mag, when you can download the FREE Forever 21 app from the iTunes Store (available for both iPhone & iPad). Clearly 1 million fashionistas have seen the light! 
Fashion lovers can swipe their way through beautiful glossy editorial photos
in the "lookbook" section curated by the company's top stylists. These looks (and more, of course!) can be purchased online via the app's interface or in store (via the store locator function). The
super social user can go the extra mile and enter the barcode of their favorite F21 tog and share it out with friends on their favorite social network. The app also pulls in content from the
Forever 21 blog, which includes some great Instagram snaps, interviews with fashion bloggers, runway news (for big budgets too!) and fashion trends. Deals and customer exclusives are offered via
push messages. Every time a unique message is deployed, a 500% increase in traffic is seen on the Forever 21 shopping experience. Rated 4.5 stars in the App Store, the Forever 21 app boasts over
2000+ reviews from fans calling the app their "favorite fashion app" and an "easy shopping experience." The app itself is free, the clothes are not (but we can dream, right?). 