Best new Android, iPhone and iPad apps for December 2012

This is our monthly app selection with no games included. Go here for the best Android, iPhone and iPad games of December 2012.

2013 is already here and in full swing, getting ready for the biggest electronics show for North America, CES 2013, kicking off in just a few days, but in the meantime we’ll have just enough time to take a quick look back at December, the last month of 2012, and see what awesome apps it brought to us.

First, we have to say that this was an amazing year for apps and games on mobile. Best news of the year is that for smartphones there is now almost no app gap between Android and the iPhone. Developers have finally realized we’re living in a world of smartphone duality and began coding for both platforms.

Most high-profile apps are now being released simultaneously for both iOS and Android. The brightest example came with Snapseed this month. The $4.99 iOS app acquired earlier by Google made a splashing debut on Android, selling for the sweet price of zero, and the price on iOS was also slashed to free.

But we have some innovative and surprising apps in this month’s list. What’s more important - we have plenty of reasons to get excited about app development in the forthcoming year. While hardware now goes to quad-cores and 1080p displays, we are already starting to see less excitement about specs, and more about what we can do with all this hardware. And that’s the question that really matters.

Best new Android, iPhone and iPad for December 2012

Snapseed - Android, iOS - Free

Energy Flow - iOS, Android - Free

Foldify for iPad - $1.99

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Best new Android, iPhone and iPad for December 2012

Snapseed revolves around the idea of complex image manipulations done via simple gestures. What makes the app stand out from the ever popular Instagram is exactly the complexity of manipulations and the simplicity of execution. You could apply filters on top of filters on particular parts of an image easily, a level of control you don’t have with Instagram.

Download Snapseed on Android

Download Snapseed for iPhone, iPad

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Best new Android, iPhone and iPad for December 2012

1. Snapseed - Android, iOS - Free

2. Energy Flow - iOS, Android - Free

"A filmic dream rush of paintings in motion: Energy Flow is an immersive film experience that is unique every time it is played, exploring the complexity of how things are connected in our lives today - the fragile equilibrium between physical, political, and cultural tensions.”

Download Energy Flow on Android

Download Energy Flow for iPhone, iPad

3. Foldify for iPad - $1.99

”Draw, create, print and fold beautiful 3D figures with Foldify. You don't need drawing skills, Foldify has tons of free content to create amazing, high quality figures!”

Download Foldify for iPad

4. Facebook for Android - Free

Facebook for Android was probably one of the biggest pains of the most prolific smartphone platform - it was not native, hence slow, hence painful. In December, this was all fixed for good when Zuckerberg and company finally overhauled their Android app making it native, fast, everything it had to be from the start.

Download Facebook for Android

5. Google Maps for iOS - Free

”Navigate your world with Google Maps, now available for iPhone. Get comprehensive, accurate and easy-to-use maps with built-in Google local search, voice guided turn-by-turn navigation, public transit directions, Street View and more. Use Google Maps to discover great places to eat, drink, shop and play, with ratings and reviews from people you trust. Sign in to save your favorite places and quickly access all your past searches and directions from your computer, right on your phone.”

Download Google Maps for iOS

6. Nike Training Club - Android - Free

”Nike’s most popular training app so far arrives in the Google Play Store.
Nike Training Club gives you your own personal trainer, anytime, anywhere. Get lean, toned and strong with more than 114 custom-built workouts. Unlock exclusive workouts from Rihanna’s personal trainer Ary Nuñez and professional athletes like Paula Radcliffe, Alex Morgan and Hope Solo.”

Nike Training Club for Android

7. London - A City Through Time for iPhone - $6.99

”Whether a native Londoner, moving-in or just passing through, ‘London – A City Through Time’ is the perfect companion. Probably the most advanced and complete portrait of London ever produced, it offers an indispensable reference to the 2000-year history of the world’s most complex city. It boasts over 6000 articles on the capital’s museums, statues, buildings, streets, trades, people, parks, rivers and more. Over 2000 rare prints and photographs. Thirty-five video documentaries and clips from the archives of the Pathé movie library.”

Download London - A City Through Time for iPhone

8. Voxeet - Android - Free

Promising “such a radical improvement to conference calls it’s hard to imagine going back,” Voxeet is a VoIP client that definitely sets the expectation bar high. With top-notch sound quality, algorithms reducing sound noise, speaker recognition and the ability to transfer a call from desktop to mobile without hanging up, it might as well meet them.

Download Voxeet on Android

9. Google Zeitgeist 2012 - Android - Free

”Every year, Google aggregates billions of search queries (over 1.2 trillion in 2012) and finds trends among who and what is being searched for throughout the world. We compile all of this data into "Top 10" lists, which cover everything from Sports to Fashion to the News. Was PSY trending more than Justin Bieber? Did Hurricane Sandy cause more searches than the Presidential Election?”

Download Google Zeitgeist 2012 on Android

10. Send It Pro - Android - $2.91

”Send It takes your file, uploads it to your Google Drive (or Skydrive), and sends the recipient an SMS with a download link.

You can also send the link directly to your clipboard (or other apps in Pro) so you can paste it into an email or share it via Twitter etc..”

Download Send It Pro on Android

11. Rise Alarm Clock - iOS - $1.99

”Rise Alarm Clock for iOS is an application that takes the alarm interface seriously yet simply. With an uncluttered interface and a simple idea - drag your finger up or down to change the time, swipe right to turn it off.”

Download Rise Alarm Clock for iPhone, iPad

12. Press - Android - $1.99

”Press is a Google Reader app that is all about the reading experience. It has been designed with the purpose of making your news easier to read. Quickly move from screen to screen and effortlessly manage the articles you want and the ones you don't.”

Download Press for Android

13. Weather Live - Android - $0.99

”Don't let bad weather take you by surprise! Whether it is cloudy, rainy, snowy or even stormy outside, Weather Live will provide you with current weather conditions and forecast in your city and multiple locations all around the world.”

Download Weather Live on Android

14. YouTube Capture - iOS - Free

YouTube Capture is not just a simple and easy way to film and upload to YouTube, but in it you can easily correct colors, tweak stabilization, trimming, and music tracks.

Download YouTube Capture for iPhone, iPad

15. Strum - iOS - Free

”With the tap of your finger, transform simple videos into beautiful vignettes, viral vids, or touching holiday greetings that your friends and family will love.”

Download Strum for iPhone, iPad

posted on 03 Jan 2013, 07:39 3

1. kartik4u98 (Posts: 511; Member since: 19 May 2012)

It's true that Facebook app on android is now lot more faster and smoother !
Now, photos load a LOT LOT FASTER !!

posted on 03 Jan 2013, 07:50 2

2. windroid (unregistered)

What about including best WP8 apps too?

posted on 03 Jan 2013, 07:56 10

4. PAPINYC (banned) (Posts: 2315; Member since: 30 Jul 2011)

Are there any...??????

posted on 03 Jan 2013, 07:59 5

5. windroid (unregistered)

Phonearena thinks the same way as you...

posted on 03 Jan 2013, 08:31 2

6. PAPINYC (banned) (Posts: 2315; Member since: 30 Jul 2011)

Well there's a rarity: 'stop the presses'!

posted on 03 Jan 2013, 09:24

7. windroid (unregistered)

Yes, kind of rare, bet all WP apps became crap in December...

- Best new Android, iOS and Windows Phone apps for September 2012
- Best new Android, iOS and Windows Phone apps for October 2012
- Best new Android, iPhone, iPad and Windows Phone apps for November 2012

posted on 03 Jan 2013, 07:55 3

3. PAPINYC (banned) (Posts: 2315; Member since: 30 Jul 2011)

That Send It Pro app' looks killer; probably best and most efficient of the bunch!

I also think it was very magnanimous of Google to make available [again] Google Maps for iOS [FOR FREE], considering the iNgraciOus nature of that platform's parent company.