Maddie McGillicuddy ’13
EE Staff Writer
With students receiving phone upgrades each and every day, the decision about which phone to purchase can be stressful. While there are so many choices now-a-days, students typically pick what is most popular. For example, 20 out of 24 students have an iPhone. With this being said, one must question why so many students have chosen the iPhone? This question can be answered with one word: apps.
The iPhone is known for its variety of applications ranging from Instagram to hangman to translators and Shazam.
“But which apps are most worth downloading?” asks recent iPhone 5 consumer Amanda Burtnett. Depending on whether you are more interested in social networking or gaming, your choices will fluctuate. However, according to the App Store which is the center for all apps being purchased, the top five include both socializing and entertainment.
In first place, as expected, is the Facebook application for the iPhone. With millions of users on Facebook as well as millions of iPhone consumers, it is an easily drawn conclusion that Facebook would take the cake for most downloaded app as of December 2012.
In second, comes Instagram, which like Facebook, had a rapid growth spurt as the iPhone became more trendy, sky-rocketing this application into one of the most desirable apps on the iPhone. The infamous Instagram is a photo based social network that allows one to edit and then post pictures, as well as search and “like” your friends pictures too.
The third most well-liked app was Youtube, a well-known site commonly used to look up songs, covers of songs, and any how-to video necessary. Just this month, approximately 4,306 people have downloaded Youtube already!
Next in the procession is the new and increasingly popular application Snapchat, which is a photo database allowing its users to send and receive a Snapchat to any user for ten seconds or less before disappearing forever. While this app may be relatively new to the technological world, its status has grown incredibly quick. With Snapchat fame rising, it has now become normal to witness at least one person taking a Snapchat“selfie” throughout the day, which is hilarious to witness but quite embarrassing if you are one taking the photograph of yourself making a ridiculous face.
Lastly, rounding off the count of the five most popular iPhone applications is Words with Friends, a modern-day Scrabble played through the iPhone. After downloading the app, users can request friends who are already on words with friends, or even select for a random user. Afterwards, a technological version of the well-known word game Scrabble forms. This allows consumers to spend countless hours trying to come up with a word that will score then the most points and win them the game.
Although there are numerous well known applications not mentioned above such as Twitter or Temple Run, according to the application store, if you have newly purchased an iPhone, it is highly recommended that these top five apps are checked out and downloaded. So enjoy your tweeting, gaming and “selfie-taking”apps, but always remember if it is posted on the Internet, it never truly goes away!