The final five of CIO.com blogger James A. Martin's personal favorite apps of 2012 include one Windows RT app and an app for a service that you really should be paying $36 a year for. And now, the moment you’ve (probably not) been waiting for: the final five winners in my top 15 apps of 2012. As with the earlier apps in Part I and Part II, these are apps I reviewed in 2012 that I love, find useful and recommend. LinkedIn (Social Media) Android, iOS; Free SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe LinkedIn, the social network for professionals, has done itself proud in the app department, especially with its nicely designed iOS app that’s optimized for iPads. While you can’t do everything in a LinkedIn app you can do on the site itself, the gap continues to narrow with each app update. Mint (Personal Finance) Android, iOS; Free I’ve resisted setting budgets and sticking to them. How are you supposed to remember what your annual tech budget is when I’m eyeballing a tablet in Best Buy? Mint, that’s how. The money management website’s mobile apps make it easy to record cash expenditures on the spot and, yes, see how much money you have left in your tech budget. Microsoft Word on Microsoft Surface RT Tablet (Word Processing) Windows RT; Free but comes pre-installed on Windows 8 and RT tablets. This is the only non-Android, non-iOS app on my list. And, to be honest, I had a bumpy beginning using Word 2013 on my Surface RT tablet. Once Microsoft released a stable version of its Office 2013 software for Windows RT, however, I’ve been cranking out the text without problems. It’s truly a pleasure to have a bona fide copy of Office, as opposed to a third-party compatible version, on a sleek tablet like the Surface. Nike+ Running (Exercise) Android, iOS; Free Nike+ Running is a terrific app for tracking distance, time, calories burned and other data, both indoors (as on a treadmill) and out. It’s easy to use and provides useful feedback and graphics of your activity history. The app got a significant overhaul this year and made its debut on Android. And while there are plenty of competitors, Nike+ Running is still best in its class, as far as I’m concerned. Pandora (Music) Android, iOS, BlackBerry; Free Pandora offers an excellent service with which you can create customized ”radio” stations that play your favorite artist or tune, plus stuff that’s similar. This year, Pandora’s mobile apps received a major overhaul, including the capability to add more versatility to your radio stations and get song lyrics. Suggestion: Support Pandora by paying for the $36/year ad-free service; it’s worth every cent and more. The Top 15 (in Alphabetical Order) In case you missed the earlier posts, here’s the complete list of my favorite 15 apps of 2012. AirDroid Any.DO Circa News CloudOn Current Caller ID Dragon Remote Microphone Flipboard Jetpac iPhoto Klout LinkedIn Mint Microsoft Word on Microsoft Surface RT Tablet Nike+ Running Pandora What about your favorite apps of 2012? Please share them in the comments section below. Related content feature Mastercard preps for the post-quantum cybersecurity threat A cryptographically relevant quantum computer will put everyday online transactions at risk. Mastercard is preparing for such an eventuality — today. By Poornima Apte Sep 22, 2023 6 mins CIO 100 CIO 100 CIO 100 feature 9 famous analytics and AI disasters Insights from data and machine learning algorithms can be invaluable, but mistakes can cost you reputation, revenue, or even lives. These high-profile analytics and AI blunders illustrate what can go wrong. By Thor Olavsrud Sep 22, 2023 13 mins Technology Industry Technology Industry Technology Industry feature Top 15 data management platforms available today Data management platforms (DMPs) help organizations collect and manage data from a wide array of sources — and are becoming increasingly important for customer-centric sales and marketing campaigns. By Peter Wayner Sep 22, 2023 10 mins Marketing Software Data Management opinion Four questions for a casino InfoSec director By Beth Kormanik Sep 21, 2023 3 mins Media and Entertainment Industry Events Security Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe