Bird’s eye-view
Angry Birds and Facebook were the most downloaded applications of the year that went by, says Natasha Baker

Angry Birds and Facebook were the most downloaded iPhone applications of 2011, according to Apple, but some less predictable apps also made their lists. Craig Palli, a vice president at Fiksu, a marketing company for application developers, explained that last year’s top apps incorporate three main trends: the ability to connect with friends, discovery and games that let users pass the time and pick up from where they left off.

The top app in the social networking category was Facebook. But Palli said the trend of connecting with friends extends further.

"It also encompasses Skype, all the free texting apps and even Bump. These are all apps that lend themselves to enriching our lives through an easier and greater amount of communication and connections with friends," Palli explained.

In the music category, Pandora, which generates personalised radio stations for its users based on their music preferences, was the top app.

"Pandora is such a good app that they don’t really need to spend money in marketing. They just get user after user because it’s such a compelling experience," Palli said.

TuneIn Radio Pro, which provides access to more than 50,000 local and global stations, was another popular music app.

In the games category, Words with Friends, a multi-player game, and Angry Birds were the most downloaded apps. Games captured nine of the top ten spots on the paid apps list.

He added that phones are beginning to replace cameras, which explains the success of apps in the photo and video category.

"First it was the Polaroid camera, then it was the in-the-pocket digital camera. It's now just your phone."

Instagram, also named Apple’s iPhone app of the year, topped the camera category. It allows users to take photos, add filters and share them with friends. Camera+, which extends the iPhone’s camera with features like zoom, also made the list.

In the health and fitness category, Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker and Nike+ GPS, an app for tracking runs and workouts, were winners. But Palli said the category has fewer downloads than others.

"The volume of downloads that occur in this category is less than one tenth of the other categories," he said, but he predicts that this category will grow in 2012 as people become more health-conscious and apps "augment the actual device itself with something physical." — Reuters