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The New Essential Apps July 2012

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iPhones. iPads. Android. We've updated all of our essential apps lists to include a few forgotten favorites, some long awaited arrivals and, as always, even more amazing apps. Check them out!

If you want to jump to see the best apps in a specific platform, click here:


iPhone | Android | iPad

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The Best iPhone Apps July 2012

The end of the month is here, and that means it's time to do a little housekeeping on our list of the absolute best iPhone apps. Which ones were tops?

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Brewster: There are about a dozen ways you can get a hold of someone, which can make for a messy address book. Organization on your own is tedious, but Brewster pulls together all of your contacts from Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, your address book, and more into one place. Free

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Checkmark: It's so easy to forget those mundane things you have to do every day-pick up the laundry, wash the car, drop off a prescription. Checkmark, however, is a location-based reminders app that will send you a notification based on where you are, so you never have an excuse to space on your errands. $0.99

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Solar: The iPhone's native weather app does its job well enough. And the Weather Channel app gives you every piece of data you could ever imagine. But they're not much to look at. Solar, by contrast, is exquisitely designed. It has color schemes that reflect the weather, and it responds to intuitive touch-based controls. $0.99

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Chameleon Clock: Careful. If you don't look closely enough you might miss it-a clock that uses its camera to blend in with its surroundings. While there are tons of timekeeper apps around, this one does it in a very unique way, displaying its background as its face. $0.99

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Flock: There's always that one friend you constantly have to beg to email or upload pics. But if you have this app you'll never have that problem again. It figures out who you're Facebook friends with and finds the ones that have the same camera metadata as you (time and location), and adds all those images to the same album like magic. Free

Visit our updated list of the Best iPhone Apps right here


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The Best Android Apps July 2012

It's a new month and that means new apps.

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Untappd: There are countless brews out there for you to try. But which one will you like? This social app will help you discover new beers to try as well as identify the bars near you that have them. What an excuse to drink! Free

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First Aid - American Red Cross: This app helps you out whether you've got a minor scrape or you're riding out a hurricane. Be prepared for the worst with reliable advice on how to handle your injuries as well as even natural disasters. Free

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DJrun: It's hard to work out, let alone run, without the right soundtrack. Using your phone's accelerometers, this app promises to give you the perfect playlist to match your your pace to keep your motivation up and your feet moving. Free

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Word Lens: It's disorienting and confusing to be dropped in a country where you don't know the language. This handy app uses augmented reality through your phone's camera and automatically translates signs and other things in the real world into your native tongue. $2.99

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Ticketmaster: With lots of fees and red tape, Ticketmaster is a pain. But the reality is you still have to go through it for a lot of concerts. The app makes it easy to cop your tickets on the go next time your favorite band rolls through town.

Visit our updated list of the Best Android Apps right here


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The Best iPad Apps July 2012

Here are the iPad apps you should download to play on your new iPad.

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Polymer: Stretch your brain muscle a little bit with Polymer. It's a smart puzzle app that's a little bit lego, a little bit rubix cube, that offers tons of different shape creating games of varying levels of difficulty. $1.99

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Wikiweb: The Wikipedia app is fine for simple searching but it does nothing for discovery-or for the eyes. Wikiweb visualizes the connections between articles on everyone's favorite online encyclopedia as firework-like webs. The layout is lovely, and you just might learn something new. $4.99

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Guest'dIf you run a business you want to keep track of the people that stop in. This helps you save all that information in beautiful, completely customizable guest books for your iPad. $9.99

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Echograph: GIFs are sharable, and it's entertaining to send them back and forth between your friends, but many of the apps for making them are pretty low-quality. Not Echograph-with support for high-res images, it's meant for creative folks and pro photographers. $3.99

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Gilt Taste: Eating well is not cheap, but it feels so good. This app-from the same folks that have brought you fashion deals for the last few years-helps you cut the cost on your highbrow tastes by offering daily discounts on gourmet items, as well as recipe ideas from prominent chefs and food writers. Free

Visit our updated list of the Best iPad Apps right here


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The Best Windows Phone Apps July 2012

It's been a pretty busy few months for Windows Phone 7 and there are new titles worth featuring. Here are some new apps worth downloading to your device.

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Nextgen Reader: Need a solution for going through Google Reader on your phone? This app lets you do it, Metro-style. Features offline caching and Mango support. $1.99

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Skyscanner: Travel is expensive, so anytime you go somewhere, you want to find a bargain. This app searches more than 1,000 databases to find you the best deal, and it will send you the info if you can't book right away. Free

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Photosynth: This is a beautiful social panorama social network app. Take large lovely pics of the people and places around you and share them with your friends. Free

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Translator: Need an interpreter? This is a really versatile way to translate a language—it can do it through the phone's camera with text and it supports spoken word as well. Free

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Baconit: Are you an avid Redditor? This is an awesome way to check out the front page of the internet. The speedy, live-updating app lets you do all the things you can do on the regular old site, including up- and down-voting, commenting, posting, and perusing subreddits. Free

Visit our updated list of the Best Windows Phone 7 Apps right here