Our Favorite Android, iOS and Windows Phone Apps of theWeek

Our Favorite Android, iOS and Windows Phone Apps of the Week

SThanksgiving is almost here, and that means sitting awkwardly at a dinner table with people youprobably only see once a year. Load up your phone with some brand-spankin'-new apps, so you'vegot something to distract yourself when the conversation turns uncomfortably personal or political.Or both.Multi-Platform UpdatesAirBnB

SThoroughly revamped, the new, free AirBnB app allows hosts to post listings, respond to inquiries,and manage calendars directly in-app. The guest side boasts streamlined communication, bookingand payment functions, and a handy nav button to get you to that secluded cabin in the woods.

[Android] [iOS]MapQuest

SYes, that MapQuest. The O.G. mapping site is back as a free, satisfyingly useful app. Starting fromthe basic map, you can add layers for traffic, food and accommodations, and the directions godeeper than turn-by-turn, giving you cues like "if you reach So And So Street, you've gone too far."Nice to see you again, old friend. [Android] [iOS]AndroidCamera Awesome

SNewly landed in Androidville, SmugMug's photo app gives you Burst, Interval, Timer and othershooting modes, composition guides, and the ability to fiddle with all the exposure, white balanceand ISO settings that probably already befuddle you on your dedicated camera. And of course,there's social sharing. [$3]Dayframe

STurning your tablet or phone into a 21st-century picture frame, Dayframe scrolls through yourexisting photostreams, or taps into your Instagram for a live photo feed if you're having a party ordoing some other cool thing. Great as a screensaver of sorts for your current device, it's even betteras a way to repurpose that old tablet gathering dust in a bottom drawer. [Free]Black Friday by Slickdeals

SWith the power of Slickdeals' discount hunting ability, Black Friday lets you scan for discounts bystore or category, online or offline, with full size images of the ads you use to have to fish out of theSunday paper. Turn on notifications, and you'll never miss a screaming Black Friday sale. [Free]iOSMustbin

SThis cloud-based storage setup uses your iThing's camera to capture important documents,encrypting them and syncing them across your devices. Once captured, you can organize yourdocuments into categorized bins, and securely share them with people you trust. Much better thanthat heavy sheetmetal filing cabinet you've been lugging everywhere. [Free]Pocket

SAlready well-loved among read-it-later types, Pocket 5.0 brings streamlined navigation, unifiedsearch across all your lists, and Highlights, which pulls up the most relevant content among thethings you promised yourself you'd read. [Free]

GmailSVisual updates across the board are nice, but this revamped app brings big changes for iPad users.Full screen portrait view, full screen compose, a slimmed-down navigation bar and improvedscrolling make this feel like more than an overgrown iPhone app. [Free]iBooks

SAfter all the flat-this, antiskeuomorphic-that of iOS7, iBooks finally sheds its IKEA wood shelf. Now,books just sort of float on a ceiling-tile-colored background. Maybe it's a glass shelf, like the glassstaircases in the flagship Apple stores? The app leaves it up to you to decide. [Free]Windows PhoneVine

SYes, now you Windows Phone folks are in the six-second loop. We shouldn't have to explain this oneto you -- if you've got a smartphone, you know what Vine is. But just in case, this lets you take a littlesix-second video, loop it, and share it on the social medias. Like making your own GIF. [Free]

Related Windows Phone Folks Can Finally Get In on the Looping Vine FunThisgoes out to the Windows Phone users who've been envious of their iPhone- and Android-using peer'sability to snap six-second video... Read...