Apps in Review - What we Loved

As the year ends, I think it is important to reflect on some of the coolest tech trends of the year. To make things a little easier, I've categorised the changes based on the biggest tech names.

---

Google and Android

Android 5.0 and Material Design

This year clearly belonged to Android 5.0 Lollipop, an upgrade of tremendous significance that brought about fantastic changes. The new OS is simpler, nimbler and far more intuitive than its predecessor. Of course, one of its biggest draws was the new material design update, which was well received by the public and helped create a more coherent design philosophy for Google. With the new OS update and the material design movement, Google can confidently set itself apart from Apple and the rest of the competition.

Inbox

I think this app deserve some special praise. I know few people have used this and while it is incomplete, the concept is very interesting and helps change the way people view their inbox. It encourages productivity and smarter management of emails. So thumbs up Google.

---

Apple

iPhone 6 and 6 Plus

Apple finally chose to get bigger rather than go home. The result was a fabulously designed iPhone 6  iPhone 6 Plus. Long overdue but fantastic nevertheless, with Apple the best things are indeed worth the wait.

Yosemite OS Update

From an Android/Windows user's perspective, Yosemite has a lot of goodies to drool over (but I’m still sticking with Windows) and the best thing about the update is the seamless integration with Apple devices. That sort of standard integration is years away from landing on Windows. Air Droid is a good option for those who want to integrate their smart devices with the PCs, but keep in mind that some of the best features remain firmly behind a paywall.

---

Microsoft

Office

Say what you will about Google Drive or Open Office, there is nothing to beat MS Office 2013. The quality of the Office Suite is unbeatable and there is no small wonder that it's one of Microsoft's most priced assets. Now MS Office is free on Mobile and tablet devices. Office 365 is free and all you need is an Outlook account.

One Drive

Although it trails behind better-known storage systems like Google Drive and Dropbox, cloud Microsoft’s cloud storage system is the best value for money. With a MS Office subscription, users get unlimited space (right now, it's 1TB of data). Even if you don't get an office subscription, its comes with about 25 GB free. That's much more than what Google Offers.

By Navam Niles