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Millions of apps have been released for the iPhone and Android devices over the years.
In the early days of smartphones, there were some apps and games that were particularly popular and important.
Let’s check in on some of them.
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
People weren’t just downloading the latest trendy social media app.
Let’s take a look back at some old favorites and see where they are today.
Download:Android
Boxcar for iPhone
iPhone notifications have never been great.
Back in the day, slow or nonexistent push notifications were a common annoyance.
“Boxcar” enabled super-fast notifications for email services, Facebook, Twitter, and more.
It was a must-have app for power users.
The app was released to the App Store in 2009 and removed due to iOS incompatibilities in 2019.
Dolphin surfing app was one of the first third-party browsers on the scene.
Big-name mobile browsers likeChromeandEdgeare very good nowadays, but Dolphin is still a nice option.
It has over 50 million downloads.
Both are still available and active today, but not nearly as popular since bigger social networksadopted their features.
Many of the ideas from Goggles are still present today in Google Lens.
He released the patched version of the app as a standalone email app.
In 2022, it wasacquired by Mozilla, and will be relaunched as “Thunderbird for Android.”
When it launched in 2010 it was the Android launcher.
Sadly, it was abandoned in 2011.
The app made it easy to create full 360-degree panoramas with your camera.
It’s currently available in theMicrosoft Pix app for iPhone.
Sky Map
Being an early adopter of smartphones meant showing off what they could do.
Sky Map—released in 2009—was the perfect Android app for the job.
It was super impressive, andstill fun to use to this day.
Zedge
The best part of getting your first smartphone was customizing it to your liking.
The company opened shop in 2003 and was available on smartphones in 2009.
Zedge is still alive and kicking today.
Games
Simple mobile games were a huge deal in the early years of smartphones.
There are a handful of iconic games that were released between 2009 and 2011.
Angry Birds
The first Angry Birds was released in 2009 and was a smash hit.
As of February 2023, the latest game isAngry Birds Journey.
Cut the Rope
Cut the Rope was released in 2010.
There have been nine sequels since the original, and the series has been downloadedover a billion times.
Doodle Jump
Doodle Jump is another mega hit that was released in 2009.
This simple game took advantage of smartphones having accelerometers.
By tilting the phone, you control a a cute creature as he jumps from platform to platform.
Fruit Ninja
Fruit Ninja is a perfect example of a game taking advantage of touchscreens.
It was extremely addictive, and that addictive gameplay has beenreborn for virtual reality headsets.
This addictive game tasked you with stacking the correct burger ingredients by tilting your machine from side to side.
It is sadly no longer available to download.
Temple Run
The Temple Run explorers first started running in 2011.
In 2012, a spinoff wasreleased for the Pixar movie “Brave.
Words with Friends
In 2009, Zynga released Words With Friends, a cross-platform online version of Scrabble.
It’s still a very popular game on iPhone, Android, and Facebook.
I love looking back at old mobile apps.
Nowadays, we have a lot of options, and that’s cool too.
