The end of the year allows us all to look back on the biggest successes of the year and put things into perspective. Apple does this each year at this time on iTunes, listing the top iPhone apps downloaded across the globe throughout the year overall and on a category-by-category basis.
We scoured the lists for Top Grossing (most revenue made) and Top Free apps downloaded across the globe for the ones made in Massachusetts. 7 companies made the cut and continue to keep the “M” in Mass. standing for Mobile. How many of these flagship apps do you have?
Rewind 2010: Top Free
Fidelity Investments
In the competitive Finance category, Boston-based Fidelity climbed the ranks after launching its iPhone app in March and following up with an iPad app launch this Fall. The company is featured as one of the top 10 most downloaded free finance apps of 2010. Complete with slick graphs and monitoring tools, this app lets you monitor your portfolio, research investments and stocks, follow market news, and even place trades right from your phone.
KAYAK Free
Kayak Free is ad-supported and was a top Travel app in 2010. The app has you covered at every point around your flight: pre-flight comparisons, booking tickets, checking flight statuses, searching for stores at the Airport, and even checking for area car rentals or hotels. Kayak’s paid app also made the Top Grossing list.
Rock Band Free
The Rock Band music game was built by Harmonix here in Cambridge (which was subsequently sold to Viacom, and more recently the company bought itself back to stand on its own). Although the game’s iPhone app development seems to have been outsourced to Electronic Arts, their free iPhone app is one of the Top 10 free apps not only in the Games section, but Overall for 2010 across all categories (and alongside apps like Facebook and The Weather Channel).
RunKeeper Free
A local favorite given the Boston Marathon, RunKeeper’s GPS-enabled free app made the top 10 free Healthcare & Fitness app list. Use this app to track your fitness activity, including how far you went, how long it took, your pace, how many calories you burned, as well as the path you traveled. RunKeeper’s paid app also made the Top Grossing list.
WHERE
WHERE was recently awarded a major geofencing patent, and made this year’s Top 10 Free Navigation apps. Where is a one-stop-shop for answering most any question you have when on the go, like where to eat, drink, go for entertainment and even getting local info on everything from comparing gas prices to the getting the news. The app recently got a makeover, and now boasts a recommendation engine that offers local “best bets.”
Rewind 2010: Top Grossing
KAYAK PRO Flights
At $0.99, Kayak’s ad-free travel app was one of the Top 10 Grossing Travel apps for 2010. To clarify, the more revenue an app makes, the higher it is in Top Grossing section. The more downloads an app gets, the higher it is in the Top Paid section. Kayak’s app is the only Boston-built app to make the Top Paid apps of 2010.
LogMeIn Ignition
Priced at a steep $29.99, LogMeIn’s Ignition app was one of the Top 10 Productivity apps of 2010. For people on the go or who need to stay connected all the time, the app is worth it. It lets you directly control your computers from anywhere, allowing you to remotely access your files, programs and more.
RunKeeper Pro
RunKeeper Pro is priced at $9.99 and was one of the top apps in the competitive Healthcare & Fitness section. If getting in shape is part of your New Year’s resolution and you plan to be serious about it, spend the ten bucks on this GPS-enabled app to keep you motivated and plan and track your fitness.
Vlingo
While the Vlingo app itself is free, the app made the Top 10 Productivity apps of 2010 becacuse you can purchase additional voice to action features inside the app. For free you can talk to update your Facebook status, find businesses near you on a map, or voice dial. After getting addicted (most users use Vlingo 5x a day!), you can send a text message or email just by speaking by purchasing each feature for $6.99 or both for $9.99.
