Come on, you have a line, and if you don’t, the person behind you likely wishes you did.

As an avid Starbucks coffee drinker, and supreme embracer of the company’s mobile features, I was in position to review Starbuck’s new mobile app last week given its launch on March 19, but the NCAA games lured me away.

Starbucks by Starbucks Coffee Company

Price: Free

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. "Starbucks expects to introduce a complete update to the Starbucks for Android™ app, including a digital tipping feature, later this year."

Should you get it? The perks associated with the Starbucks Rewards program, bevy of promotions and the convenience this app brings to my everyday routine, place it in my top 5 most used apps.

Recently Starbucks redesigned its mobile app, serving up digital tipping and shake to pay options. However the primary function of the app remains, the ability to pay using your mobile device, though only at participating Starbucks locations. I’ve been caught off guard at a Target store or two, which is a bummer given the app’s scan feature earns users free food and drink through the Starbucks Rewards program.

In addition to still being able to track these rewards, check balances, reload your card and even consolidate all those stocking-stuffer gift cards into one place, the new app now allows you to thank your baristas without having to scavenger hunt through your car console or pat down your back pockets.

The digital tipping feature is the biggest addition to the new Starbucks app. After paying you can select $.50, $1.00 or $2.00. If you forget, and now you’re on the train heading to work, you have up to two hours before the transaction closes out. Though I wonder if this window will become a security concern?

The only other negative I have to report is, even while the new Starbucks app still connects to Passbook, has the ability to email gift cards and notifies me of the free iTunes music download each week, the actual “content” on this app has been removed.

In a major effort to streamline this edition the entire menu is no longer. No more descriptions or favorites lists, not even a single nutrition fact.

Oh well. I bet the marketers at Starbucks have calculated that the customers religiously using the app already have their line down.

If the changes to the Starbucks app aren’t your cup of tea, New England favorite Dunkin’ Donuts of course has a mobile app. Similar to the Starbucks’ Rewards Plan, the app can be used with the DD Perks plan, which allows customers to earn points for every dollar spent.

Or if you like to brew at home, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has an app called K-Cup Finder, used to find hundreds of K-Cups including Tully’s and Barista Prima. Plus, when you share reviews with other K-Cup Finder users, you’ll receive promotions and discounts.

Since not every company recognizes March Madness as a holiday like Boston software company, Backupify, this week we’ll explore a mobile app to help you embrace the college basketball teams you love. Now even if you’re stuck behind an office desk, you’ll have unlimited access to the 2014 NCAA Division games.

NCAA March Madness Live by NCAA Digital

Price: The APP is free, as is watching any of the CBS games, but please note you’ll need a TV subscription for games broadcasting on TBS, TNT and truTV. However, you can access a 3-hour live video pass.

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android

Should you get it? The app is a class-act. It's the heartbreak (Dayton Stuns Syracuse 55-53) I could do without.

You’ll never miss a game or feel wanting for the latest scores and stats with the official NCAA March Madness Live mobile app.

Schedules and brackets are clearly displayed, and clicking practically anywhere provides more in-depth information about the teams, players and individual games including a breakdown of the app’s Four Factors of Success: shooting, turnovers, rebounds and free throws.

The NCAA March Madness Live app also keeps viewers extremely connected to social, gathering a stream of real-time Key Moments and Fan Chats across Twitter, Facebook and Google+ for each game.

Fans can also participate in the NCAA March Madness Bracket Challenge by logging in to track picks and achievements, as well as schedule Notifications to stay up to date on the action.

But probably my favorite feature is the News section that houses a collection of beautifully produced short, shareable Video Recaps that provide highlights for each game - perfect for re-living that big shot!

More ways to enjoy March Madness on your mobile devices: CBS Sports, NCAA Sports and the ESPN Tournament Challenge.

Now to your Most Downloaded iPhone and iPad Apps of the Week.

Say goodbye to virus-prone torrent downloads or less than legal (and low resolution) YouTube copies of HBO shows and movies. With HBO’s online network, you can now watch the finale of True Detective from your iPhone nestled in your favorite coffee house club chair, or relive the last season of Game of Thrones on a long plane flight.

HBO GO via Home Box Office, Inc

Price: The APP and online service are Free w/ HBO subscription (or if you have a password-sharing pal)

Platforms: Iphone, Ipad, Android*

Should you get it? Absolutely. Stellar programming combined with the convenience of mobile, on demand access.

Free with subscription, HBO offers unlimited access to HBO shows and movies online at HBOgo.com, and it’s paired HBO GO mobile app.

HBO launched the online service last year, which allows subscribers to stream and watch any HBO show live, anytime, from various online devices.

Fans can also download full movies, behind-the-scene extras and more not available on television to any personal computing device for no additional cost, including your iPhone, iPad and Android.

And according to HBO execs, users are allowed to share their HBO Go account with non-subscribers, for now.

In regards to password sharing, HBO CEO Richard Pleper said, “To us, it’s a terrific marketing vehicle for the next generation of viewers, and to us, it is actually not material at all to business growth...It presents the brand to more and more people, and gives them an opportunity hopefully to become addicted to it. What we’re in the business of doing is building addicts, of building video addicts. The way we do that is by exposing our product, our brand, our shows, to more and more people.”

For me HBO Go is “addictive” because I'm now able to watch the high quality entertainment and documentary programming I looked forward to each Sunday, wherever and whenever I wish.

By creating a customized Watchlist, I can start a show from my laptop while getting ready for work, then switch over to my iPad when riding the T into Boston. Now in the office, AirPlay allows me to stream the show onto my TV.

Plus, HBO GO's TIVO-like feature called Series Pass, automatically sends new episodes of my favorite shows to my Watchlist. A second screen feature allows pure addicts to watch new episodes simultaneously as they premiere on HBO.

*In addition to HBOgo.com, iPhone, iPad, Android and Apple TV, you can also watch HBO online on Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo Wii, Kindle Fire, Google Play and Amazon Video, as well as on Dish Anywhere and Xfinity TV Go mobile apps.

Now to your Most Downloaded iPhone and iPad Apps of the Week.

If you weren't able to break out of Bean Town and head to the Big Easy for Mardi Gras this year, I'd like to introduce you to a lively app by EarthCam that lands you in the heart of New Orleans, delivering the Mardi Gras action LIVE to your iPhone and iPad.

Mardi Gras LIVE! via EarthCam

Price: $2.99

Platforms: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Should you get it? Well, it's less expensive than a plane ticket, and the app has some fun photo and image side features.

While I generally don’t gravitate to apps that cost money to download given the great many free mobile apps on the market, EarthCam connects viewers to Mardi Gras with live web cameras streaming in real-time throughout the city of New Orleans - a destination and international attraction I wish I could experience in person, but one my schedule doesn’t allot for. I hope it’s worth it…

Upon opening the app I am greeted with a countdown. Only a couple more days until Fat Tuesday!

Now I can choose from Live Cams, Map View and Party. Let’s go for the goods and see what’s going on now.

Hey, wait a second! Only three cams to choose from? It appears EarthCam’s coverage only consists of a small cluster of Google Map pindrops on the corner of Bourbon and St. Peter Streets. The cameras are titled Cats Meow Karaoke, Bourbon Street and Cats Meow Balcony.

Clicking on Cats Meow Karaoke, it takes a short time to download and then there you are, as promised, inside a Mardi Gras karaoke party, complete with singing, dancing, t-shirt giveaways and of course, synchronized group shots. The camera is pretty clear, the sound is actually great, and the content is what it is - a crazy Mardi Gras karaoke party.

Now switching over to the Bourbon Street cam I see lots of foot traffic from a ground view. The Cats Meow Balcony cam, however, is positioned to cover the street activity from above, which could make this camera great for watching a Mardi Gras parade.

The Mardi Gras Live! app also checks the New Orleans time and weather, and offers some cute special features under the Party button, such as a virtual photo booth with several digital Mardi Gras costumes from masks to beads.

Choosing a colorful peacock feather mask to impose over my picture. I'm now given sharing options of text, email, Twitter and Facebook, so I'll saved the picture onto my phone to post to Instagram later.

Also under the Party tab is a section called Party Box. It houses audio clips to a few Big Easy sounds like the crack of a brew, Mardi Gras music and cheers for beads. Clicking back and forth between the sounds to create a little remix is amusing I confess.

To complete my journey, I just text my friend some virtual beads. Happy Mardi Gras!

More Mobile Apps by EarthCam, Inc.

After you've had your digital fun, you may be inspired to Celebrate Mardi Gras In the Boston Area. Boston.com has compiled an extensive list of Fat Tuesday celebrations in Boston and beyond over the next week.

However you celebrate, make sure responsibly. Use Uber's Mobile App to locate a driver. Who knows, you may end up getting a lift from former Bolocco CEO John Pepper!

Facebook Closes $19 Billion Acquisition of WhatsApp Smartphone Messenger

Facebook’s recent purchase of WhatsApp, a texting application company with roughly 450 million active users worldwide, is reported to be 19 times more than Facebook paid for Instagram in 2012. This bold move could reflect Facebook’s willingness to gather more successful mobile apps before rivals Google and Apple, especially given the WhatsApp’s expansive following in India as the companies all strive to continue growing overseas.

However some loyal users of the mobile messenger are already voicing concern the free app, currently void of advertisements, will transform into something much different after the buyout.

That said, Instagram users have more than doubled since Facebook’s takeover less than two years ago - even after Instagram’s introduction of ads.

"Our mission is to make the world more open and connected," Mark Zukerburg shared via Facebook post. "We do this by building services that help people share any type of content with any group of people they want. WhatsApp will help us do this by continuing to develop a service that people around the world love to use every day."

WhatsApp Messenger via Facebook

Price: Free to Download. $0.99 after the first year.

Platforms: Telephony App only for iPhone & Android

Should you get it? If you like being on the pulse.

WhatsApp Messenger uses 3G/EDGE or WIFI when available to send and receive multimedia messages such as texts and pictures, but also audio notes and video messages.

The app works with your mobile number, integrating with your existing phone address book without the need for an additional account pin and username.

Push notifications also allow users to log in/out from other computers and devices seamlessly. Even if you miss a notification or your phone is shut off, WhatsApp will save your messages offline until you view them.

Unlike many other social sharing platforms, WhatsApp does not require you to add contacts. Because your address book connects to the app, contacts who are already using WhatsApp Messenger will automatically display under your Favorites.

Now you are in position to start layering content, broadcasting messages and having fun with WhatsApp Messenger. Share locations and places, exchange contacts, add custom notification sounds and wallpapers, as well as enjoy Landscape mode, message timestamps and the ability to access email chat history.

Currently the first year of WhatsApp is free, with the service costing $0.99 each year thereafter for continued unlimited messaging regardless of the amount of information sent or received, or how many contacts in a user’s profile and Group Chats.

Group Chats are conversations on WhatsApp with more than one of your contacts. There is no limit to how many contacts can join in a group chat, plus you can add or remove participants easily.

This includes anyone in your network sharing messages from overseas, which means there are no additional charges to send international messages. I feel this is what makes WhatsApp so attractive to Big Money Brands like Facebook as Zuckerberg continues his mission to bring Internet access to the remaining ⅔ of the world currently without.

If you have any feedback, questions or concerns, you can email WhatsApp at iphone.support@whatsapp.com, visit the FAQ page of the WhatsApp website or post to twitter @WhatsApp.

Something else to note, Facebook reports Messenger, Facebook’s chat app, and WhatsApp will remain separate.

Now to your Most Downloaded iPhone and iPad Apps of the Week.

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day! With many of you preparing for a special Saturday, I've decided to share with you a Mobile App designed to help you distinguish between Endless Love or The Heat of the Moment.

Horny Girl App via Pandora Maclean-Hoover

Price: Free

Platforms: Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Should you get it? I feel the awareness the topics in this app may provide young minds is worth a download, especially for parents looking for a tech-friendly way to communicate with their children about intimacy.

The Horny Girl App was developed by Licensed Social Worker Pandora Maclean-Hoover as a way to help her clients at the Think-Diff Institute trust their own decisions. Whether in the heat of the moment, or just in thought about their relationship, this mobile app allows users to do a quick check-in with themselves to make sure the time is right.

"HGA fosters confident decision-making in the moment. Should I, or shouldn't I? That passionate feeling, or what we call 'the horny girl running away with the situation,' can impact our lives the next day. So this app helps you to stay present by guiding your decisions one question at a time," said Pandora.

Getting started you're alerted upon download, as well as when you first open the application, of its sexual content. Then the survey begins, asking you to please rate yourself from 1 to 7 on several self-awareness topics such as...

Based on your answers you are now provided a summary as to whether you are insecure and unsure about your ability to make this decision, or a message confirming that you trust yourself, and that the decision is YOURS.

"I've worked with many teenagers and young adults, and have discovered a big gap in what parents are telling kids and what kids will listen to from parents, as well as what they get from educational programs and what they find on their own either from talking with peers or scanning the internet. Hopefully this app will help by aiding them to think for themselves," said Pandora.

Learn More: The Think-Diff Institute Fosters Awareness and Promotes a Fresh Way of Thinking

In today’s consumer first digital age, where Content Remains King and the masses are always hungry for MORE, Facebook now offers a new mobile app that promises beautiful, seamless, immediate and integrated story sharing. So in this week’s APPtitude Test let’s review the app, while discovering who on Paper is sharing #Sochi2014.

Paper - Stories from Facebook by Facebook, Inc

Price: Free

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch & Android

Should you get it: Let the Games Begin!

Two days into the Winter Olympics and after last night's breathtaking Opening Ceremony, combined with Snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg's GOLD, I'm delighted to turn the discussion from no toilet paper to Paper - Stories on Facebook.

Described by Facebook as, “A deck of animated cards that gracefully weaves together text, photo, and video from your friends and the web’s trending content,” I agree that Paper’s design is visually spectacular with the stories elegantly organized by topic and personalized to your interests, which in my case today is the U.S. Olympic Team.

Paper starts with your Facebook news feed. This is where you’ll find stories from friends and sources you follow. Next, you can check out other sections and drag the stories you like into your feed. This makes Paper a customizable and shareable social platform of community voices.

There are several section topics including Tech for tomorrow’s innovators, Enterprise for savvy investors and Score, “Sport news and commentary from journalist, fans and the athletes themselves.”

Similar to the Facebook app, you can still post status updates, like images and message friends, but Paper’s high-resolution photos, unfolding stories and news shares make this app a step above the rest, especially when you get to conveniently engage with the athletes themselves thanks to Paper’s seamless and immediate integration. Truly a great way to view Facebook.

I hope all these storytellers are following the official Olympics Social Media, Blogging and Internet Guidelines.

Compare Paper to Facebook's other mobile apps: Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Facebook Pages Manager, Facebook Camera & Facebook Poke.

Now to your Most Downloaded iPhone and iPad Apps of the Week.

Are you ready for some football?

The Seattle Seahawks are in position to battle the Denver Broncos today, Super Bowl Sunday. In celebration, Fox has taken down its paywall, offering a live-stream of the game to all through their Fox Sports Go iOS app. The stream starts at 10 a.m. ET with the Fox Super Bowl Kickoff show and continues into the game at 6 p.m.

Coverage of course to include all the infamous Super Bowl commercials, but I used our featured mobile app of the week to watch some of the 2014 ads in advance, as well as browse the best commercials of our yesteryears (see McDonald's ad from 1993 featuring Bird vs. Jordan).

Super Ads by AppBurst

Price: Free

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch & Android

Should you get it: Touchdown!

Whether you live for the sport, or you’re in it for the beer-infused chili, everyone gathers around the watercooler come Monday to discuss the Super Bowl commercials (and the Puppy Bowl).

Since I fall into the ‘eats’ category, I’ve decided to pregame with Super Ads, an app that displays over 200 Super Bowl ads, including a few NEW 2014 commercials and trailers.

While all of these videos are hosted, played, and therefore available on YouTube, Super Ads did a great job of gathering together the Super Bowl commercials from 2006-2013, as well as highlight the most popular ads from over the last four decades.

Given the amount of content, Super Ads is well-organized, allowing users to search for a specific showstopper, browse fan favorites by year, or scroll through designated sections based on company and brand names.

Brands featured on the app include GoDaddy, Samsung and Audi, with a list of “best all-time” ads displaying Apple, Google, Heineken and no surprise, Old Spice.

Users can also share ads via email, Facebook or Twitter. My professional share? Apple capturing stories with the new iPad Air. My 'not so professional' share? Doritos “Finger Cleaner.” I won’t ruin it for you...

Regardless of whichever commercial tickles your fancy, keep the pregame fun going with Hulu AdZone or YouTube’s Ad Blitz to watch, share and vote for your favorite commercials during the Super Bowl.

Now to your Most Downloaded iPhone and iPad Apps of the Week.

REVIEW: North End Yoga Mobile App!

Time to lift, stretch, sprint and jab your way into a fitter you, fueled by the fierce support of your New Year promises!

I know that’s at least my mantra each year. So how is it possible I start out with such conviction, yet continue to allow work to prevent me from grabbing the brass ring?

According to a new study on the Top 10 New Years resolutions for 2014, weight loss ranks number one on the list, while staying fit and healthy placed fifth. The study also shows only a small percentage of people complete their resolutions, falling off the charts as the year moves on.

I identify. Regardless of coordinating my schedule around my favorite classes, or purposely committing to programs with yearly memberships and reoccurring monthly fees, I historically gravitate to prioritizing my work over my workout.

So this year I’m exploring Real-Time accountability, scheduling and support by choosing a program in Boston that offers a fitness Mobile App.

North End Yoga by Petrol Designs

Price: Free

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch

Should you get it: What have you got to lose?

Whether you call them resolutions, goals or intentions, we all start the New Year with the hope of acquiring more happiness, prosperity and health in the future.

As part of my resolutions, this year I’ve decided to explore mobile apps as a way not only to conveniently search and book fitness classes, but to help me stay accountable in regards to my attendance. Otherwise I wait until the last minute to stop working on a project, and forgo the class as to not disrupt the members with a late arrival.

With only a handful of Boston fitness businesses offering apps, I’ve selected North End Yoga among the lot to help kick my fitness goals into gear.

Having just downloaded the free app onto my iPad Air, I’m prompted to create an account that keeps track of the classes I’ve scheduled, my attendance, what purchases I’ve made and how much money I have left in my account. Exactly what I’m looking for, let’s get started!

The app opens to a calendar and list of available classes, which I find very impressive as the options are plentiful throughout the year. The search feature in the upper left corner also filters classes by teacher or class type.

As I click down the row, a summary defines each class, and informs me of the instructor scheduled to lead the session. I value this. Additional details make me feel more comfortable when paying for anything online.

After selecting a class I can either make a single reservation or schedule a recurring reservation…but wait! “There was an error booking Vinyasa Per Tutti. You have no available payment option.” Apparently you must prepay before you’re allowed to schedule a class.

I navigate to Get Classes, a lengthy page of packages with corresponding prices that range from $10 AM Drop In Yoga to $1650 Mysore One Year Unlimited membership. What does that mean? Scrolling down the list I don’t see my Tutti class, and unlike the schedule page, there are no descriptions to define the packages.

Since Vinyasa Flow is a form of yoga and the class is in the evening, I guess that equates to a Drop in Yoga session for $15? Let’s see, pay time.

After plugging in my credit card information I’m automatically taken back to the pricing menu, but I need to see if I just purchased the right class before paying for anything else, so I return to the scheduling page to make a single reservation. I could do without all the back and forth, but it worked and in the future I’ll look into multi-class, monthly or yearly packages that will allow me the “payment option” to more easily schedule classes.

I am now signed up for Vinyasa Per Tutti. Would I like to add this class to my calendar? Yes please. I’ll set myself a reminder and sync the business address with my mobile GPS, which will tell me approximately when I need to leave the office to make it to the class on time.

Here are 6 more Boston Fitness Mobile Apps to help you along your path to resolution success. Or to learn more about the best DYI apps to get in shape, read Good Health and Fitness Apps for Your Smartphone.

Featured: Boston Running Center

Price: Free

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch

Details: BRC is an app for runners being coached by the Boston Running Center, and/or using the BRC logbook to track runs.

Featured: Beantown Bootcamp

Price: Free

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android

Details: View class schedules to plan and book your classes online. You can also buy class packages and view ongoing promotions.

Featured: Velo-City

Price: Free

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android

Details: Cycling studio offering a mobile app to schedule classes on the go. You can also click through to Velo-City’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Featured: Boston Pilates Plus

Price: Free

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch

Details: Boutique fitness studio offering unique workouts. Book your classes and plan workouts while learning about special promotions and sharing your reservations on Facebook.

Featured: Redline Flight Sports

Price: Free

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android

Details: This app is for either current or potential members of Redline Fight Sports to stay updated on gym news, social events and class scheduling. One of the longer running apps out of the group, created in Dec 2011.

Featured: Burn Fitness Studios

Price: Free

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch

Details: Another fitness app by Petrol, the layouts appear to be similar offering options to plan and schedule classes, as well as view business contact information and promotions.

By Daniel B. Kline
Boston.com Staff

Reviewing: Trivie
By: Trivie
Available on: iPad, iPhone
Price: Free (upgrades are available for a price)
Should you get it? Maybe

Trivie offers fairly basic trivia action in a game show-style format. Players must either create an account or log in through Facebook to play, and all games are head-to-head against either a friend you invite or a stranger you are matched against randomly.

The basic game play has players competing in a four-round match where the early rounds are multiple-choice questions and the final round is a single question a la Final Jeopardy. There are rotating free categories as well as a selection of topics that can be paid for. You can also buy other items in the game like fancier avatars or the ability to earn credits to buy even more stuff faster.

Trivie works much like Words with Friends or an online board game like chess or checkers in that once the first user completes a round, he must wait for his opponent to play before scores are compared and the second round becomes playable. This makes for somewhat unsatisfying game play as playing a round takes longer than many games with similar styles of play.

In addition, over the handful of games I played with strangers, it seems that if one player builds a commanding early lead, the other tends to not come back to finish. If that happens, instead of a forfeit victory, the player in the lead is simply stuck in an unfinished game. And, since Trivie does track how many victories a player has, creating a big lead only to have your opponent not finish can be somewhat frustrating.

Trivie's website claims the app has more than 75,000 trivia questions and in frequent play, I did not see a repeat very often. The questions are somewhat easy in general and the game is more aimed at the Wheel of Fortune audience than the Jeopardy crowd.

Trivie is a decent, but not great, app that suffers from the intermittent game play. A single player option would be nice, as would faster gameplay.