PLANET OF THE APPS:3RD JANUARY 2012

NEWS - Look back at the Apps and the stats of 2011.

Appy Christmas (and the best apps of 2011)

How big a Christmas was it for apps? Huge! 6.8 million new Android devices and iPhone/iPads were activated on Christmas Day alone, according to mobile analytics company Flurry. And 242 million iOS and Android apps were downloaded on Christmas Day - it thinks one billion were downloaded between Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Another company, Distimo, has a chart of the most popular 10 apps of 2011: Angry Birds, Facebook, Skype, Angry Birds Rio, Google Maps, iBooks, Angry Birds Seasons, Fruit Ninja, Talking Tom Cat and Twitter.

NEW APPS

Psonar / 7Digital (both iPhone, Android)

Two new apps promising cloud music went live over Christmas: Psonar and 7Digital. They're different though. Psonar has a catalogue of songs for you to play - but you pay per play, 1p a time. 7Digital has been around for a while as a rival to iTunes but it's only been allowed onto iPhone and iPad - you can download MP3's you've bought from the 7Digital store.

Band Boss

Managing bands? There's an app for that. Band Boss is a new iPhone game that gets you to take the artist to the top (or to the bottom, depending on your skills) - developed here in the UK.

Topical Focus - FITNESS APPS

Here are three of the best fitness apps to help you track your attempts to get back in shape in 2012.

Runkeeper (iPhone, Android, Windows Phone)

Endomondo (iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry)

Sports Tracker (IPhone, Android, Windows Phone)