Nearly six years after the debut of the iPhone, mobile applications are beginning to mature. The best mobile apps of 2012 – with a few notable exceptions – are more about refined practicality rather than anything revolutionary.
So while this year’s list lacks medium-defining breakthroughs like Instagram and Shazam, it showcases new and meaningfully updated apps that simply work better than their competitors. In this age of algorithmic aggregation, we also salute titles that have a decidedly human touch.
Of course, any attempt to rank the “best” apps within any period of time will be questioned and debated. Ask 100 different people to rank their favorites, and you’ll likely get 100 different variations.
The apps we selected were either released or significantly updated between January 1 and December 21 of this year. Titles that debuted on iOS or Android in 2012 that were previously available on another platform are eligible for inclusion. All of our selections were sourced, ranked and finalized by Appolicious advisors and members of our community. In all, about a dozen members of the Appolicious editorial team offered their favorites. We also surveyed the most active and influential users of Appolicious sites and applications. We did not account for the number of app downloads or overall popularity. Our qualitative assessment is based primarily on the production value, utility and creativity baked into each cited application.
Here goes.
Google Maps (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android free)
While Tim Cook was a runner-up to President Obama for Time Magazine’s Person of the Year 2012, the app of the year comes from Apple’s primary nemesis. Google Maps was far from broken when Apple, for business reasons, elected to go with its own Map app for iOS 6. When the iPhone 5 came out, users tapping into the iOS 6 Maps app couldn’t see the Statue of Liberty. This was just one of countless Apple Maps fails. Of course, it’s easy to lambaste Apple for laying an egg here. Yet the larger point is that we take for granted the reliability, clarity, and ease of use of Google Maps. This stuff is hard. That is why we are thankful that Apple earlier this month approved a brand-new version of Google Maps for iOS 6 devices. New competition from Apple, which will inevitably improve its mapping capabilities, pushed Google to develop the best map app yet for any device.
Camera Awesome (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad free)
During our mid-year check-in, we had Camera Awesome as the best new app to come out during the first half of 2012. Developer SmugMug is not resting on any laurels. Since that time, Camera Awesome became universally available on all iOS devices and is inspiring many of us to snap pics with our iPads. Camera Awesome – which is superior to the pre-installed iPhone camera and all other third-party photography apps – also integrated with Tumblr. The app’s “1-Tap Share” feature is now accessible with all major social networks.
Slices for Twitter (iPhone, iPod touch $4.99 Android free)
From reading commentary during live news and sporting events, to sharing information about public transportation during Hurricane Sandy, to finding out what your friends are up to this weekend, Twitter in 2012 emerged as a (if not the) primary resource for real-time news and information for mainstream users. With millions of feeds to follow, however, it’s challenging for five-year veterans and newbies alike to keep this vast flow of information organized. While there are many third-party apps that help users categorize who and what they follow on Twitter, Slices is the best one for smartphones right now.
Flipboard (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android free)
The worldwide leader in socially curated news had a busy year after being named our favorite app of 2011. Highlights from 2012 include Flipboard’s arrival on Android devices, YouTube, and Google+ integration, as well as a picture-perfect partnership with the New York Times. I’d argue that it’s better to read all the news that’s fit to print via Flipboard than anywhere else.
Khan Academy (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad free)
Touchscreen devices will revolutionize education in the months and years ahead. In early 2012, Salman Khan took his library of more than 3,500 lesson-specific educational videos to iDevices. The Khan Academy app enables users to easily navigate their way through comprehensive and engaging tutorials on subjects that range from raising venture capital to the Baroque period in art history. Khan Academy also lets users view the transcripts from each lesson, and easily find and drill down on passages that are most insightful.
Songza (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android free)
Audio streaming services like Pandora, Slacker and Spotify are changing the ways in which we consume music. Rather than listening to albums or pre-programmed playlists, we now have access to entire “stations” on our computers and mobile devices built around our favorite artists and songs. This year, the Songza app added a human element to this kind of algorithmic-driven music curation with a major update that showcases playlists created for particular moods or times of day. Best of all, even after hundreds of hours of happy listening, I still haven’t heard an ad on the free service.
Viggle (iPhone, iPod touch, Android free)
You no longer need to feel guilty about wasting the day away curled up on the couch watching television. With the Viggle iPhone app, you can get compensated from the likes of Amazon.com, Starbucks and the Gap merely for watching and checking in to many of your favorite programs. Viggle uses audio recognition technology similar to what is found in apps like IntoNow and Shazam to do much of the work for you. Just sit back and appreciate that you are getting rewarded for doing absolutely nothing.
Brewster Address Book (iPhone, iPod touch free)
Keeping track of all your contacts across email, telephone numbers and social networks is challenging. Brewster is an uber contact-management tool that syncs to your iPhone’s contact list, but also Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Gmail and Foursquare. The app has a simple and visually striking interface that showcases the images and names of your contacts as you scroll across the screen. Brewster will automatically determine your “Favorites” based on activity, and lets you easily search for contacts or create your own distinct lists.
Next Draft – The Day’s Most Fascinating News (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad free)
While there is nothing technologically groundbreaking about this app, which publishes daily email newsletter content from satirist and current events junkie Dave Pell, you will feel smarter and happier after you download it. There are hundreds of apps that let you filter and curate news around your particular interests, but there is only one that compiles 10 of the “Day’s Most Fascinating News” stories with Pell’s unique wit and insight.
Action Movie FX (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad free)
From the production company of producer J.J. Abrams (Lost, Super 8, and the latest iteration of Star Trek) comes this entertaining app, which lets users superimpose special effects into video clips they record with their iDevices. While Action Movie FX suffered from early stability issues and is not really an app you’ll need to use every day, its playful production values and Skywalker-inspired sound effects make it worthy of top billing.
Atlas by Collins (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad $6.99)
The world is at your fingertips with Atlas by Collins. This robust app features satellite mapping images, physical maps, political maps with states and territories marked out, environmental maps, population statistics and even mobile technology and Internet usage maps. Atlas By Collins also features street-level viewing for any location on the map, in-depth country profiles, and 200,000 data points for cities, towns and major natural landmarks.
Crackle – Movies & TV (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android free)
While there were no technological breakthroughs from this Sony-developed video-streaming service in 2012, we salute Crackle for its exclusive programming. In August, Jerry Seinfeld returned to the small screen with his “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” online series that was shown exclusively on Crackle. Netflix and Hulu may be splashier, but neither could show Seinfeld riffing with Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner while eating Chicken in the Pot soup and watching Jeopardy.
Vyclone (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad free)
Vyclone may be the next big video-editing app thanks to its social take on video recording. When users take a video with Vyclone, the app looks for others who are shooting video nearby and then edits the video clips together so the same footage can be seen from multiple angles. Ideal for large events like sports games, events and concerts, Vyclone could create a new socially focused, video-editing standard.
Stitcher Radio (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android free)
Although podcasts don’t have the same pop-culture cachet as apps, the digital audio files are a godsend to talk-radio junkies and anyone who appreciates the spoken word. From past episodes of This American Life and Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! to comedy programs like The Nerdist and WTF with Marc Maron, to long-form interviews from your favorite sports commentators, there are podcasts that appeal to virtually every interest. Regrettably, the Podcasts app that Apple debuted earlier this year is buggy and – if not monitored correctly – can eat up a lot of storage. The best bet for podcast discovery on iOS and Android devices comes from the fifth-generation edition of Stitcher Radio, which rolled out earlier this year.
Highlight (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android free)
Highlight, which alerts you when a Facebook friend or individual with similar interests is in your vicinity, was the most successful app of its kind to emerge from South By Southwest in March. Since that time, Highlight has significantly improved with new features that let users send group messages to those nearby and comment on their friends’ profiles. The app’s notification system is also vastly improved.
Clear (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad $0.99)
What separates Clear from hundreds of other task-management apps are its ease of use and beautiful design. A recent update enables the app to work alongside iCloud, so you can share task lists between your MacBook and iPhone seamlessly. Other newer features include the ability to switch lists quickly, and paste text into Clear and have it auto-format into a list.
Pocket (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android free)
While many were predicting the demise of Pocket with the arrival of iOS 6 and the ability to read articles offline in Safari, the app remains the best “Read it Later” alternative for all iOS and Android devices. Accessing content through the app is a pleasure. Its other features – such as changing text size, sharing through myriad services, and archiving finished content – are simple and intuitive.
Showyou (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad free)
A fully operational Apple TV is at least six months away — likely longer. In the meantime, there are a handful of great video-discovery apps that can be viewed on the big screen thanks to Apple TV and AirPlay Mirroring. Showyou is the best. This year, Showyou completely revamped its iPhone application, making it easy to locate videos shared by Facebook and Twitter contacts, as well as via search and a curated directory. What separates Showyou from its competitors are clever in-app messaging features and a vibrant community.
Paper by FiftyThree (iPad free)
Doodlers and more serious artists alike can embrace this beautifully designed iPad application, also named by Apple as one of the best of 2012. Created by the Microsoft team that brought us Courier, Paper cleverly labels drawing tools by utility (“sketch”) rather than their actual name (“pencil”). There is a lot here that can be enjoyed for free, with extra tools on sale within the app.
Zinio (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android free)
Although Zinio first appeared on iOS devices in 2009, the digital magazine application is more recently pioneering how consumers purchase advertised and editorially curated products on touchscreen devices. A partnership with ShopAdvisor lets readers purchase and learn more about products they are interested in without leaving the page they are reading. Zinio has a roster of more than 5,500 publications that can be read seamlessly across any mobile and desktop device worth owning.

WP8 Native Access Webserver Lets you see Registry Keys & File System [Homebrew]Windows Phone 8 homebrew has not even started but the revolution has already begin which we shared with you in our post “Windows Phone 8 Homebrew Apps might become a Reality“.

Today, we are sharing probably one of the first Windows Phone 8 Homebrew app for Unlocked Phones which was pretty popular with Windows Phone 7 Mango — WP8 Native Access Web server.
This application lets you access Windows Phone 8 File system and registry hive over Web, if you can connect your phone and PC over the same WIFI network. To be honest, the app isn’t new but yesterday the developer, GoodDayToDie, added Registry Viewer to it.
Features of the app:

• Browser Windows Phone 8 native file system — Very limited and there is no access to Images, music etc. It’s core root and that’s it’s why called native.
• View Registry Keys — You can browse and view keys and its values for many settings including Dev-unlock info and Current User registry hive

As of now there is no option like editing a registry key or uploading a registry file or even changing it. It’s under testing but as per the dev, the whole registry, and most of the file system, is off-limits for writing. Even though the reading part should not have been possible too.
That said, this app is not for everyone. It’s mostly developer stuff where you want to figure out registry values and so on. We will keep you posted if something else shows up here.
Download:
First you need an unlocked phone which will cost you as low as 19$ (in current offering) and developer tools to unlock your phone. Download the files from here. Note it may get downloaded as .ZIP file which you need to rename as .XAP and then deploy.

Windows Phone 8 may get its WP8 Root Tools soon

What is a Root Tool:
This is similar to Android’s Super User program, allowing you to run unauthorized or uncertified apps to run on Windows Phone which in turn can also make use of special permissions and access areas which generally are not allowed to regular programs which we download from Windows Phone store.
The first Root Tool came out for Windows Phone 7 devices almost 2 years ago, which then resulted in tons of apps bringing in features which Windows Phone did not have at that time.

The guy behind is the genius Heathcliff74 who gave us WP7 Root Tools.
WP8 Root Tools Progress:
Today, Heathcliff74, posted more details on his progress on WP8 Root Tools. Mind you Windows Phone 8 comes  with lots of security features and closed APIs which make it quite difficult to hack it but the developers don’t give up easy!!
He has detailed a lot of things about it on his posts but here are some major facts:

• WP8 Root Tools is not a reality as of now. Windows Phone 8 new security engine uses sandboxing mechanism where all apps seems to be running but at Kernel Level  there is still some scope.
• He started by targeting the emulator instead of putting lot of efforts directly on the device. After a lot of effort made, he has ROOT Access to the Emulator. This is a big news because he was able to bypass the Windows Phone 8 security feature by a large margin. However taking this to the devices is completely different story.
• Even though GoodDayToDie was able to inerop-unlock Samsung ATIV-S, Heathcliff74 says that Interop-Unlocked still needs some empowerment to work with Root Access. Looks like Microsoft did lock down things here as this was an easy hack on Windows Phone 7.
• Root access for the Windows Phone 8 emulator is an approach from the kernel-side and Interop-Unlock is an approach from the application-side, but they still need to meet in the middle. So far, that hasn’t happened for Windows Phone 8 yet and this will need a lot more research.

All that said, since he has root access to emulator, he will be working towards a prototype of WP8 Root Tools of which some core-parts are already done.
Concluding, to all my regular readers, please ignore this if this was bit of overdose. In short Windows Phone 8 will soon be able to run third-party and homebrew apps and may bring in features which many of us been dreaming off. Nevertheless, this is not an easy job.
A big applause to all the guys working on it.


*******you can get paid apps for free on windows phone 8 without root access

this link open this in your mobile and download the app

With this tool you get root-access to your WP7 device. The current version contains the Policy Unlock Installer, a registry-editor, a file-explorer with many file-operations, certificate-stores, a policy-editor and a tweaks-section. This is your all-in-one system-tool for Windows Phone 7.

Discussion thread on XDA is here.
Windows Phone is a closed system to protect the user and his/her personal data from malware and to protect the intellectual property of the developers. The downside of this closed system is that homebrew developers are very limited in their ability to control and tweak a Windows Phone device. With WP7 Root Tools I attempt to open up the system in a gentle way, so that users stay in control of their device, while homebrew apps can get more control to get the maximum power out of your Windows Phone device!
Supported Devices

• Samsung first and second generation devices wth Interop Unlock
• LG devices
• HTC first generation devices with Mango v1 drivers (SPL 4.x or lower)
• Samsung first generation devices with custom ROM and Full Unlock
• HTC first and second generation devices with custom ROM and Full Unlock
• NOKIA devices with custom ROM and Full Unlock

Your phone needs to have at least INTEROP-UNLOCK. If you get error 0x81030120 when you deploy WP7 Root Tools to your device, then please google it. WP7 Root Tools will also work on devices with Full Unlock. If you want to know more about the different types of unlocks or if you want to know why WP7 Root Tools may or may not run on your WP7 device.


This license governs use of the "WP7 Root Tools" software. If you use the software, you accept this license. If you do not accept the license, do not use the software.


Don't be stupid, make a backup!!
This tool make changes to the operating system of your phone at a very low level. It also provides you with high privileges with which you can alter low level settings and data on this device. All this may result in unexpected and undesired behavior, which may ultimately damage your device. Use this tool with care and use it at your own risk. The developer of this tool cannot be hold responsible for any kind of damages, caused directly or indirectly by using this tool.
You can find backup-programs on the XDA forums. For example WP7 Easy Backup Tool by MarcHoover or WP7 Backup App by hx4700 Killer.
Installation
On devices with custom ROM and Full Unlock, the installation of WP7 Root Tools will be pretty straight-forward. You install the XAP and it works. On devices with stock ROM's WP7 Root Tools need to install Root Access. The first time it runs, a 2-phase-installation will start. The app will inform you to start the first install-phase. Then the device will reboot after a few seconds. After the reboot you need to start WP7 Root Tools again immediately! Then the second phase of the installation will start and your device will be rebooted again. After the second reboot you are ready to use WP7 Root Tools.
Update to a new version
If you have an earlier version of WP7 Root Tools installed and you have WP7 Root Tools Policy Unlock, I strongly advise to UPDATE the app, instead of doing a full install-cycle. Many XAP installers will do a full install-cycle. That can lead to problems, because during the installation WP7 Root Tools will temporary loose its Root Access. In that case WP7 Root Tools needs to do the 2-phase-installation again. This is usually not a problem, but future OEM- or OS-updates could make it possible that the reinstall will not be possible. So, to be on the safe side, first make a backup of the device (use a backup tool from the XDA forums) and then use a XAP installer that has the possibility to update an app. One such utility is XAPDeployX 0.9.
For developers
I also created an SDK for developers, who can use to profit from Root Access. It provides a way to gain access to the filesystem and the registry (and more) from their managed Silverlight application. No need to worry about COM interop and C++ anymore! The package contains a read-me with short instructions. More details and examples will follow soon here on this site!
The new WP7 Root Tools has Policy Unlock v2 to unlock Homebrew Native Executables. You can do that using the WP7 Root Tools Explorer. But if a developers want to use such binaries in an app, it wo
uld be very user-unfriendly if the user needed to unlock these binaries manually. For this purpose I added functionality in the WP7 Root Tools Policy Editor. When an app is give Root Access, it will scan the app for a file called RootAccess.xml. If present, the xml is parsed and the binaries that are listed will automatically be given Root Access too. This is the format for RootAccess.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<RootAccess>
 <Executable File="Native\NativeApp.exe" />
 <Executable File="Native\NativeWinApp.exe" >
  <Destination Path="\Windows\NativeWinApp.exe" />
 </Executable>
 <Library File="Native\NativeLib.dll" />
 <Library File="Native\NativeWinLib.dll" >
  <Destination Path="\Windows\NativeWinLib.dll" />
 </Library>
</RootAccess>

notes:

• The Destination paths are optional
• Libraries are signed in Source and Destination
• Executables are signed in Source and Destination
• Executable gets policies in Source and Destination
• File-path-attribute-value is relative to app path
• Destination path is absolute

          


Desktop Sync

Ultrashot has released WMDC Launcher some time ago. Back then it was only possible to use that on devices with Full Unlock. With the introduction of Policy Unlock v2, it is also possible to run the app on devices that are compatible with WP7 Root Tools. Ultrashot has added RootAccess.xml to the xap-package, so the app will automatically be configured when it is given Root Access. Warning: it may take a while to apply on all unlocks, so be patient and let WP7 Root Tools do its job.
After WMDC Launcher is installed, given Root Access and lauched, you can use it to sync file-system and registry with your PC. On the PC you need to have Zune installed and running, and you need to have Windows Mobile Device Center installed and running. After that you Windows Phone will show up as Mobile Device in Windows Explorer.

For unrestricted remote Registry editing you can use Registry Workshop, or similar. In the registry editor you have to connect to the Mobile Device.

Version history

• 0.1 - 2011/04/04 - Initial release: only registry-editor
• 0.2 - 2011/04/13 - Performance improvements and minor fixes
• 0.3 - 2011/04/14 - Bugfix in registry-editor
• 0.4 - 2011/06/14 - File browser added
• 0.5 - 2011/06/24 - File Explorer with basic file operations and certificate installer
• 0.6 - 2011/09/17 - Compatible with Interop-Unlocked Samsung Mango devices
• 0.7 - 2011/09/17 - Bugfix in registry-editor
• 0.8 - 2012/01/02 - Session and Multi-Tasking awareness + Mango UI improvements (better responsiveness)
• 0.9 - 2012/03/28 - Complete rewrite of the app (many device supported, full root access, policy-editor, etc)
• 0.10 - 2012/09/02 - Many user interface enhancements, Multi-file operations added, Improved performance in file-explorer, Shell handling added in file-explorer, better error handling and reporting and lots of small bug-fixes.
• 0.11 - 2012/09/03 - Bug-fixes and better device support.
• 0.12 - 2012/11/12 - Policy Unlock v2, 16 languages, lauch apps from applis, applist also includes all system-apps now, advanced file-system-search, advanced registry-search, certificate Stores, tweaks-section, many bug-fixes and performance improvements.
• 0.13 - 2012/12/04 - Many bug-fixes and performance-improvements.
• 1.0 - 2013/01/06 - Samsung installer-issue fully fixed, User Interface improvements in the Explorer.
• 1.1 - 2013/03/26 - New Accent Color Editor.
• 1.2 - 2013/05/07 - Added color values to Accent Color editor, improved data-connection speed tweak, added Internet Connection Sharing unlock, added Automatic Data Configuration function, added shell-handler in Explorer for provxml-files, removed wrong buttons on Device tab, disabled cache for filesystem and searches, removed ads for better Root Tools experience ;)

DOWNLOADS REQUIRED:

multi language tool
 http://wp7roottools.com/index.php/downloads/doc_download/34-wp7-root-tools-1-2-multilanguage

Interop Unlock for 1st gen Samsung WP7 devices

 http://wp7roottools.com/index.php/downloads/doc_download/26-interop-unlock-for-1st-gen-samsung-wp7-devices

 

Interop Unlock for 2st gen Samsung WP7 devices

 http://wp7roottools.com/index.php/downloads/doc_download/28-interop-unlock-for-2nd-gen-samsung-wp7-devices-v3

 

WP7 Root Tools SDK 1.1 

 http://wp7roottools.com/index.php/downloads/doc_download/29-wp7-root-tools-sdk-1-1

 

copy right +SACHINCZAR

 

 

 

 

Dustin Howett is working on a new Safari Download Manager for iOS 7. Lets you download all different file types directly to the iOS filesystem. Incredibly useful. No ETA yet.

Tweet (https://twitter.com/DHowett/status/418591043245064192) by Dustin Howett

The most popular source of these was Hackul0us but they shut up shop very suddenly at the end of 2012. So, here, for your benefit are the top 5 repos for downloading cracked apps.
To add the repo:

1. Open Cydia
2. Tap Manage > Sources > Edit > Add and type in one of the repos addresses below.

Top Cydia Repo’s to Download Jailbreak Apps :

• http://repo.insanelyi.com

This is one of the top repos that house a lot of cracked apps, as well as those that are paid and “legal”.  It contains a wide range of apps, themes, tweaks and mods to customize your device in any way you see fit. The most popular app is AppSwitcher .

• http://repo.hackyouriphone.org

HackYouriPhone contains a lot of themes, including dreamboard ones.  Alongside this there are loads of games and other tweaks and apps that have been cracked. Popular apps included iSHSHit and AndroidLock .

• http://sinfuliphonerepo.com

This is one of the top sources for Cydia apps, tweaks and themes, including a lot of cracked ones. Some of the more popular apps are MyWi and BiteSMS.

• http://cydia.xsellize.com

As well as being a source of cracked apps, this repo is also home to most of the most popular apps, tweaks and themes that you will find on other repos, including BiteSMS, MyWi and AndroidLock amongst others.

• http://ihackstore.com/repo

The final in our top 5 for downloading cracked apps is this one. It contains a wide selection of cracked apps and you can also find most other popular apps here as well. The most popular download is Auxo AppSwitcher.
So, there you have it, 5 ways to get your cracked apps.  It must be said, however, that we do not support piracy in any form. By all means try the apps and, if you find one you like you should consider buying it from the developer who built it for you. Also be aware that you are running a high risk of downloading malware or a virus onto your device.

How To Jailbreak iOS 7 on iPhone and iPad

• 5 minutes of your time!
• A computer, running Windows (XP minimum), Mac OS X (10.6 minimum) or Linux (x86 / x86_64)
• iTunes installed if you’re running Windows
• An iPhone, iPad or iPod running iOS 7.0 through 7.0.4 (you may check in Settings / General / About => Version)
• A USB cable to connect the device to the computer

• Backup your device using iTunes (or iCloud) before using evasi0n. If something breaks, you’ll always be able to recover your data.
• Please disable the lock passcode of your iOS device before using evasi0n. It can cause issues.
• Avoid all iOS and iTunes related tasks until evasi0n is complete. Why not just enjoy a brief break from the computer to stretch your legs?
• If the process gets stuck somewhere, it’s safe to restart the program, reboot the device (if necessary by holding down Power and Home until it shuts down), and rerun the process.
• If you get an error on OS X 10.8 saying that evasi0n can’t be opened, control-click (or right-click) the app and on the revealed context menu, choose ‘Open.’ On the ensuing dialogue box, choose ‘Open’ as well.