Top apps for every smartphone user

Whether it is an Android, Blackberry, or iPhone, anyone with a smartphone knows just how many apps there are to choose from in the market. Narrowing down the endless possibility of gadgets might seem impossible, but thanks to an anonymous survey of 12 University of Maryland students, 66.7 percent of which admitted to using apps "extremely often," deciding what to download just got a little easier.

Due to the vast enormity of apps available, the survey broke down into smaller categories, beginning with the top applications that assist in productivity. Out of all the answers, the winner was a weather app, with nine out of the 12 surveyors listing either the iPhone's weather app or the Weather Channel's app as a helpful tool.

Map applications came in a close second with eight mentions, something sophomore Shelby Gluck was not surprised to hear. "I love the GPS feature in the Map applications. I get lost frequently, and regular GPS are bulky. This is extremely convenient," Gluck said. 

News outlets such as CNN, Fox News, AP News, and the Washington Post came in third with seven mentions, followed by the Dictionary.com app with four mentions. ESPN, Twitter and gas locators all tied for fifth with two mentions each. 

Contrary to the apps above, the next category dealt with guilty pleasures, that is, the most distracting apps that are worthy of a download. Not surprisingly, Facebook came out on top with 10 mentions, followed by Twitter with eight mentions, SportsCenter with four mentions, and Words with Friends, Angry Birds, and Tumblr, which all came in with two mentions.

"I am not at all surprised that Facebook was the most distracting," sophomore Nikki Summers said. "I go on it every day." Junior Uyen Nguyen agreed that the Facebook app was incredibly addicting. "Checking Facebook is like checking the time," Nguyen said.

If Facebook is not distracting enough, try some of the surveyor's favorite game applications. Words with Friends, which is akin to the online version of scrabble, was the undisputed winner with eight mentions, followed with five mentions for Solitaire, four for Angry Birds, and three for Bejeweled. Sudoku, Hanging with Friends, Tetris, and Fruit Ninja all tied for fifth place with two mentions.

Summers thought that Angry Birds, the game that pelts round birds with an attitude at bricks, deserved a higher ranking. "I love Angry Birds. It's mindless fun," she said.

If there is one app that the surveyors would recommend the most, it is Words with Friends. So open those dictionary apps and get studying smartphone users, and find some friends to challenge. Happy apping!