For mobile photographer pros looking to move beyond the looping whimsy of goofy GIFs, the Kinotopic iOS app ($1) is a new take on the animated photo. The style of not quite a photo, but not a video was first made popular on the Cinemagraph website, for the photographers' blend of gorgeous moments captured in traditional still photo, with a hidden animated twist that pulls the viewer further into Read more

Amidst the healthy goals of the New Year, there's one annual food tradition lurking in the background that you can't help but fanatically pine for — Girl Scout Cookie time! While the Girl Scouts themselves say, cookies can go on sale anywhere between January and April, there's a new way to take the guesswork out of this yearly treat. The free iOS Girl Scout Cookie Locator app searches your Read more

You've upgraded to the Facebook Timeline, but now comes the hardest step of all, beyond acceptance of yet another layout change: selecting the perfect cover photo. Choosing one slightly quirky, but fun, yet flattering square profile picture was enough, but compound that with the new creatively charged large rectangle to small square picture combination, and you get a recipe for Facebook-induced Read more

While there are still months until the Mars Curiosity rover lands on the Red Planet, get your Martian fix with the free Mars Images app for iOS and Android devices. The app lets you browse the latest images from the Opportunity rover, on the planet since 2004. Take a cue from David Bowie and dream of life on Mars with daily refreshes on the rover's planetary explorations. Read more

The basics of photography are not so, well, basic. Between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO setting, capturing the perfect picture with a DSLR outside of the automatic setting is a challenge. Enter the Master Your DSLR Camera iPad app ($10). It may cost a bit more than your typical tablet app, but think of your sense of accomplishment when you can actually wield that SLR camera like a pro. The Read more

Wondering which path you should take in 2012? Don't leave it up to chance — ask the Onion Magic Answer Ball ($1) instead. This app from the hilarious minds of The Onion was created to give you some magical (if not totally sarcastic) insight to the questions surrounding your life. Ask loud and clear, and you shall receive an answer. Whether or not it's the answer you're looking for is totally Read more

I remember a few years back when disposable cameras at parties were all the rage. They allowed guests to take snapshots of moments you would have otherwise missed. This analog idea goes digital with the Hipstamatic D-Series app, which lets you share a "roll" of film with other guests at your next event. Even easier than asking guests to upload pics to a massive Flickr album, this app lets you Read more

When you're doing the right-before-the-holidays gift scramble, you've got no time to lose wading through crowds looking for the best bargain. Vanquish hours of time spent on the phone calling shops searching for one item. Google's here to save the day and your sanity with the Google Shopper app that identifies local stores with the products you've been searching for. Free for both Android and Read more

Want to quickly get world news in the palm of your hand without shuffling through an undermanaged and wordy RSS feed? Download the Newser app (free). Drawing from the best news sources on the web including CNN, The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and BBC, Newser editors condense the news into bite-sized articles that you can read on the go. Get stories in the customized grid Read more

More than just a simple note-taking app, the Pad & Quill app ($1) acts as your virtual library by organizing your notes in separate sections, or in this case, separate "books." Have one book for work notes, another for private, school, activities, food journal, etc, and the Pad & Quill app will keep you organized (instead of tossing all your notes into one stack like the native Notes app Read more