This year-end editorial compilation showcases pinglio staff recommendations for the most impressive mobile applications discovered during 2011, reflecting the diverse app ecosystem that defined early smartphone adoption. The collaborative review features selections from Patrick Bisch, Eric Wilborn, and Marc Angeli across iOS and Android platforms, demonstrating how different users prioritized gaming, productivity, security, and entertainment applications. The timing capitalizes on holiday app store promotions when premium apps temporarily became free, highlighting the seasonal marketing strategies that app developers used to gain user adoption and App Store visibility.
Patrick's selections emphasize entertainment and security with Jetpack Joyride representing the addictive casual gaming that became synonymous with mobile entertainment, Snapseed showcasing advanced photo editing features that preceded Instagram's dominance, and Prey Anti-Theft addressing growing smartphone security concerns. Eric's Android-focused recommendations highlight productivity through Evernote's cross-device synchronization, music streaming via TinyShark's GrooveShark connection, and remote media management with Torrent-fu, reflecting power user needs for complete device control and content access.
Marc's picks show social connectivity and entertainment connection through Find My Friends' location sharing despite privacy concerns, My Xbox LIVE's companion features that extended gaming experiences beyond consoles, and Connect360's Mac-Xbox media streaming that bridged different technology ecosystems. The diverse selection spans free and paid applications, mobile and desktop software, and platform-specific versus cross-platform solutions, illustrating the fragmented but innovative app landscape of 2011.
This editorial app roundup captures the peak period of mobile app discovery when smartphones transitioned from communication devices to complete computing platforms supporting diverse user workflows and entertainment needs. Looking back 13+ years later, several selections proved remarkably prescient - Snapseed was acquired by Google and influenced mobile photography development, Evernote became a productivity standard before declining due to competition, and location-sharing evolved into fundamental social features across platforms. The gaming recommendations reflect the casual mobile gaming boom that established freemium models and simple touch controls as industry standards. The security focus through Prey anticipates modern device protection features that became built into operating systems rather than requiring third-party solutions. The entertainment connection preferences shown in Xbox companion apps and media streaming tools predicted the connected entertainment ecosystems that now dominate living room technology. While specific apps like TinyShark and Torrent-fu became obsolete due to legal and platform changes, the underlying user desires for remote content access evolved into legitimate streaming services and cloud computing solutions. The emphasis on cross-platform features reflects user demands that eventually drove industry standardization around cloud services and platform-agnostic applications. This moment represents the period when mobile apps transformed from simple utilities into complete alternatives to desktop software, establishing usage patterns and expectations that continue to define modern computing experiences.
This summary was created by Dave Rogers. The original post was written by Patrick Bisch and published on December 1, 2011.
If you'd like to view the original post, you can find it here.