Instagram is Apple's iPhone App of the Year

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Every year-end, Apple publishes its top-downloaded apps from the App Store, categorized into free and paid, between the iPhone and iPad. Apple also gets to choose its own selection for App of the Year, and for 2011, the honor goes to Instagram.

Apple has recently published its iTunes Rewind 2011 and App Store Rewind 2011, which details the popular apps, songs, TV shows, movies and podcasts throughout 2011. To recap, following are the top apps from the App Store, listed according to popularity among users.

Top Paid iPhone Apps

1. Angry Birds
2. Fruit Ninja
3. Angry Birds Seasons
4. Cut the Rope
5. Tiny Wings
6. Angry Birds Rio
7. Words With Friends
8. Camera+
9. Doodle Jump
10. Plants vs. Zombies

Top Free iPhone Apps

1. Facebook
2. Pandora RAdio
3. Words With Friends Free
4. Angry Birds Free
5. Skype
6. Netflix
7. Angry Birds Rio Free
8. Groupon
9. Fruit Ninja Lite
10. Twitter

Top Paid iPad Apps

1. Angry Birds HD
2. Pages
3. Angry Birds Seasons
4. GarageBand
5. Angry Birds Rio HD
6. Penultimate
7. Fruit Ninja HD
8. Cut the Rope HD
9. SCRABBLE for iPad
10. Keynote

Top Free iPad Apps

1. Angry Birds HD Free
2. The Weather Channel for iPad
3. Netflix
4. CNN for iPad
5. Angry Birds Rio HD Free
6. Kindle
7. Skype
8. Calculator for iPad Free
9. Pandora Radio
10. Calculator Pro for iPad Free

What’s notable in these lists is that a big percentage of the most-downloaded apps are games. 90% of the top paid iPhone apps are games, while 70% of the top paid iPad apps are likewise games. Meanwhile, free apps are dominated more by productivity and social networking apps, both on the iPhone and iPad.

Another interesting observation would be how spin-offs can be popular. Angry Birds gets a big share of the top-10 lists, both in the iPhone and iPad, even with its spinoffs Seasons and Rio, both free and paid.

Aside from the top-downloaded apps, Apple also gets to choose an editor’s pick. For the iPhone, the favorite app for 2011 is Instagram, while the editorial pick for the iPad this year is photo app Snapseed. Tiny Tower and Dead Space for iPad were chosen as games of the year.

Do these trends indicate what developers should be focusing on building in 2012? If the trend will remain the same, then popular-brand casual games like Angry Birds might again dominate the iPhone and iPad app marketplace.