2011 was a banner year for smartphone apps. You don’t need to throw Alec Baldwin off a flight to know that Words With Friends is extremely addictive, and I know as many grandmothers obsessed with Angry Birds as I do 8 year olds.

You may have heard that Apple recently announced that more than 500,000 apps are available at its App Store, and that customers are continuing to download more than 1 billion apps per month.

That’s a lot of apps.

While you probably don’t have room on your phone for all of them, we were talking about our favorites in the office the other day.

One of my new favorites is called Photosynth. It’s a free app that allows you to use your smartphone to take 360° photos of your surroundings! It’s amazingly easy and fun to use. Check out some examples on their site.

 

Another cool app is called SkyView. It has free and paid versions (I have the free one). It blends the camera view of your smartphone with incredible 3D graphics of sky objects to provide a really cool view of the universe. You can take it out at night to find out more about the stars above you, or use it during the day to figure out where exactly the moon is at any given time. The paid option apparently gives you TONS more information about particular stars and planets, so I’ll probably upgrade before too long.

I asked some folks here in the office to tell me about their favorite apps, regardless of whether or not they were released this year. Feel free to check them out below, and then add your favorite in the comments section!
 

Lynne Viera, CEO:

Glympse
A friend who was coming for dinner introduced me to this app. It’s a great way of allowing someone to keep track of your travel progress. You basically text or email someone with a “glympse” of where you are located. Recipient clicks on the link and lo and behold, there’s a map with an arrow that shows you EXACTLY where the person is. No need to download a special app or anything. I was able to see her travel from her house to mine which gave me a good sense of how long I had to finish what I was doing and greet her outside when she pulled up.

Very cool and I can see great applications of this for keeping my company posted on where I am if I’m off-site, parents keeping track of their kids walking home from school, etc.

 

Amber Wilkins, Sr. Art Director:

This one is my favorite: Snapseed.  

Snapseed turns the iPad into a high-powered photo editing and post-processing workstation—it’s like Photoshop but easier! Whether you’re an amateur or pro, Snapseed helps your photos look better though many filters and features.

Carolyn Waldron-Parr, Videographer & Editor:

My favorite app is the iHandy flashlight app. The iHandy flashlight app uses your phone camera’s LED flash as a flashlight. Use this app in the dark—duh. It’s wicked cheap, wicked cool, and wicked bright.

Andrew Zubatkin, Sr. Videographer: 

Zombie, Run! is one hell of a game you can plan on your smartphone. It allows you to create your own Zombie Apocalypse and then try to survive said event! You’re gonna need to run fast because once they see you, they won’t stop coming after you. Ever.

Jason Bacon, Director of Photography:

I really love this one: Shake it.

It takes digital photos and gives them that old-school Polaroid look, complete with the “shaking” process to help the “developing.” You can choose the border and immediately post the photos to Facebook, Twitter, email... It’s great fun!

So tell us—what was your favorite app of 2011?