Award Winning Android Apps of 2014

Data from 2014 shows that 84% of time on mobiles is spent using Apps, compared to 14% on the mobile web. The App industry therefore continues to become an important area for IT recruitment growth; reportedly creating more than 500,000 jobs and becoming a $25bn economy in the US alone already.

As we wait to see which Apps will prove the most innovative and useful in 2015, we look back to the best of 2014:

1.       Learn Languages: Rosetta Stone

This Android Education app won the “2014 Academics’ Choice Smart Media Award” and the “2014 Tabby Awards Winner” as well as the “Users’ Choice pick.” What makes this language learning app special is the extensive access to 24 different languages, of which the first lesson is free to access. It boasts voice recognition and the app creators have additionally pioneered interactive software to improve language learning. Nowadays, international travel is common and ambitious professionals may need to learn a language to expand opportunities to work internationally. This could be the perfect app if The Wall Street Journal is correct: “Rosetta Stone may be the next best thing to living in a country.”

2.       Hotel Tonight  

Hotel Tonight carries the motto ‘Plan Less. Live More.’ and scooped the Best Android App at 2014’s Tabby Awards in the Lifestyle category. The App provides guaranteed best rates at hand-picked, top-rated hotels, which you can then ‘book in 10 seconds with 3 taps and a swipe.’ The hotels are grouped into categories such as Basic, Hip and Luxe as well as ‘themed playlists’ that will tell you which hotels have great pools, for example. The Top 3 reasons why each hotel has been selected is also provided to enable users to understand the benefits with a quick glimpse. And to cap it all off, the App is backed by real people offering 24/7 customer service.

3.       Marvel Puzzle Quest

This App is another Tabby Awards Winner, in the category of, ‘Game: Puzzle, Games & Family.’ This game combines all of the famous Marvel characters such as Captain America, Spider-Man and Hulk on different gameplay puzzles that give you the options of: player-vs-player tournaments; unlocking new characters; collecting comics; fighting against the Marvel enemies; and reading epic original story lines. Players gradually unlock different characters by collecting comic covers, which in turn strengthen associated skills. Users can improve their gaming puzzle skills anywhere, on their mobile or tablet.

“An intricately crafted, remarkably deep experience — Marvel Puzzle Quest doesn’t merely meet the expectations of its name, it exceeds them.” – IGN.com (Editors’ Choice Award).

2015 should produce some innovative and truly engaging Apps, as well as an increasing need for both freelance and permanent app developers. This article was provided by The IT Job Board, who currently have hundreds of App developer jobs available on their site.