Kit Eaton

For the final installment of App Smart, a look at apps that have true staying power, either by being fabulously useful, well designed or best in class.

You can skip paper and pencil by using these tools to help streamline the process of outlining ideas visually.

Traditional diaries get an upgrade with apps that encourage writing, organize notes, use photographs and protect entries from nosy little brothers.

Help meet your new goals with apps that can help you stick to your plan, even if that means not checking your phone quite so often.

A variety of apps, some using Google’s Cardboard viewer, allow users to sample films and games with 3-D imagery.

Tomb Raider, Pac-Man and Grand Theft Auto are retro, and reinvented as apps, as well.

Texts have become so ingrained that apps have borrowed the chat format for storytelling, news or gaming.

For fans of “Star Wars,” “Star Trek” and science fiction, in a galaxy right here today, there is a lot of content designed for the supercomputer smartphone in your pocket.

A news curator based on what friends are reading, an easy-to-access universe of NPR audio, and an upgraded beer-tracking app are among our top picks.

Gift-buying season has arrived, and there are plenty of apps to help make you a smarter shopper.