College students have a continuing addiction: phone applications.

Whether they are at a store, in a restaurant or even in class, students are always on their iPhone and Android phones.

Phone apps are becoming a common necessity – especially if they are free.

Here are some of the best free phone apps – useful and for leisure – for college students:

Draw Something

Draw Something is the newest craze in the phone app industry. Users go head-to-head and take turns guessing each other’s drawing – no drawing skills required.

Senior accounting major Louie Villasenor said he rarely played games on his iPhone before playing Draw Something.

“It’s a recent favorite because it’s like a game of Pictionary,” Villasenor said. “I’m not much of an artist, but it’s cool to play against family and friends miles away.”

Sophomore business major Allen Virtusio said he had “funny experiences” while playing Draw Something with his friends.

“My friends would draw something random that doesn’t relate to what the actual word is,” Virtusio said. Instagram

Previously an exclusive iPhone app, Instagram became available on April 3 for Android users. Users can transform their photos with multiple filters into new, artistic creations. Also, they can share their photos in a photo stream for their friends to “Like” and comment.

Senior social work major Nani Macugay said she is addicted to Instagram since she is able to see her friends’ daily whereabouts.

“It’s like seeing people’s Facebook statuses visually,”Macugay said. “Instead of reading about their day and trying to picture it, I can see it for myself.”

InkPad Notepad

Students can jot down their to-do lists on InkPad Notepad. The Android app is useful for students on-the-go and who have to store their checklists and shopping lists or write lyrics and poems. The easy-to-use app looks like an actual notepad, too.

“I can write down all the things I need to get done, such as groceries and shopping,” Virtusio said.

Sigalert

Commuters can avoid traffic hour with this convenient app. Sigalert features updated traffic reports and displays real-time camera coverage allowing users to view traffic conditions through their phones.

“It helps me check to see how traffic is and judge what time I should leave for work,” Villasenor said.

Yelp

Yelp is useful to find local eateries and places to shop. Users are able to rate and review the places they go and even read others’ reviews. Pictures of the place add the convenience of helping first-time visitors find their destination. Users can also view business hours, phone numbers and other information through the app.

Although Villasenor is an avid user of Yelp, he mentioned a downside to the app.

“Sometimes people that give reviews have different tastes than I do,” Villasenor said.

ESPN ScoreCenter

Sports fanatics can stay updated with their favorite teams. ScoreCenter provides play-by-play details and final scores of games.

The app displays “The Lead” which is updated sports news – and lists how many hours ago the news was posted.

Users can also use the “myTeams” feature to only view the scores of their favorite sports and teams.

Bible

Students can read and study verses of the Bible on their phones. Users can easily navigate and bookmark their favorite verses. Also, the app offers daily reading plans to help users keep up with their readings.

“It’s useful since it’s broken down by topics and themes,” Macugay said. “It’s also easy to find uplifting Bible verses to comfort me in stressful times.”

Shazam

When listening to the same song gets old, users can identify new music playing anywhere with a click of a button. Shazam allows its users to discover new songs, view lyrics and share music with friends on social networks and through email.

Users can view the songs they “shazammed” in the “My Tags” section.

The Shazam app also features the “Chart” section which displays the current top-10 most tagged tracks by users.

iPeriod

Female students can predict their next period with the iPeriod app. The app allows its users to view data graphs and receive alerts for their expected period.

“I have an irregular pattern,” Macugay said. “The last time it (the app) gave me a prediction, it was only off by a couple days.”

As convenient as phone apps are, they have disadvantages.

“They (apps) take up my time that could be used for more important things, such as homework, cleaning my room and doing chores at home,” said junior pre-nursing major Jessica Molina.

Virtusio said there are disadvantages to phone apps.

“(The problem is) they drain a lot of battery and I need my phone to last me the whole day,” Virtusio said.

Conversely, phone apps are an addicted convenience for college students.

“They’re easily accessible and give people things to talk about,” Macugay said.

Jordan Riturban can be reached at [email protected]