by: Esther Pransky, Lubicom Marketing Staff

That person standing in shul on a weekday engrossed in his phone?

Maybe he’s checking his Facebook feed. . .

. . . or maybe he’s using a davening app.

It’s a brave new world out there with apps changing the way we eat, play, and pray. Here are some of the best in top-rated, useful, and just plain cool Jewish apps.

A little note: Unless commented otherwise, these apps are all available for Android and iOS and can be downloaded in the U.S., Israel, Canada, the U.K., and more. Click on the link for each app to access the downloads.

Say Your Prayers Apps

In a world of Kindles and Nooks, it’s no wonder that prayer books are giving way to prayer apps. No matter where you are, if you have your phone, you have the text of all the daily davening, bentching, and lots more.

The Siddur and Zmanim app is one example. It does everything short of praying for you.

Choose your nusach (version of the prayers), and you’re on your way with prayers customized for the day. Plus, it comes with all sorts of extras, like:

• a mizrach compass

• local zmanim (mandatory times) for davening

• notification options

It even includes the Minyan Now app, which helps you put together a minyan dynamically wherever you are: park, airport, event, etc.

And if you need zmanim on the fly, you need MyZmanim – literally! MyZmanim is a full-service zmanim app. But what sets it apart is its in-flight Zmanim service.

International and cross-country flights wreak havoc on davening times. And on a fast day, you can actually fly in and out of the fast.

Enter your flight info into this super-cool app, and it will calculate your in-flight zmanim and send you a pdf with the times.

Shabbos and Holidays Apps

Have you ever made a hard-to-schedule appointment at the doctor’s office, only to come home and realize you made it for (UH, OH!) the first day of Pesach?

CalJ is an all-in-one Jewish calendar app. Aside from the all-important integrated Jewish-Gregorian calendar and scheduler, it includes zmanim, Shabbos and holiday times, and event reminders. This app does it all.

Then there’s Shabbat.com. Shabbat.com is a Jewish social network that connects members worldwide for Shabbos hosting, plus events, jobs, dating, and more.

Never spend Shabbos alone again! Whether you join as a guest or a host, you’ll make connections with Jews from all over. Maybe you’ll find a long lost relative.

It’s Jewish geography on steroids.

Food Apps

Feeling hungry on the road? It used to be that travelers relied on canned tuna and crackers.

But that’s all in the past.

Now you can find kosher food wherever you are with Kosher Near Me. The app searches your area for all the kosher restaurants, grocery stores, and takeout.

Plus, it includes reviews and online ordering.

Kosher GPS can also find kosher restaurants, in addition to minyanim and a mikvah. According to their tagline, it’s one-stop service “whether you’re looking to eat, daven or dip.”

(We hope not all at the same time.)

Kosher GPS is only available in the US, England, France, Amsterdam, Australia, and Canada so far.

And, kosher shoppers, here’s one for you:

Have you ever stared longingly at a product on the shelf, but not recognized the kosher symbol? Now you can take a picture, and The Kosher App will give you all the info you need about the kosher certification.

So far, there’s only an iOS version, but it’s fairly new, so Android users stay tuned!

Jewish Learning Apps

We’re not just the people of the Book, we’re the people of many, many books, some very large and heavy.

But they all fit into your phone now with Sefaria. Sefaria’s library of Jewish texts includes Tanach, Talmud, commentaries, and more, with many translated.

It’s super useful to students and teachers. And you can seriously impress your friends by finding obscure sources with the search feature.

TorahAnytime delivers exactly that. It gives audio or video access to an incredible array of speakers on countless topics, many streamed live.

And you gotta love their tagline: “G-d’s reason for the internet.”

(Are there classes on reading His mind, too?)

Apps for Jewish Kids

Of course, Jewish kids need Jewish apps!

The Bedtime Shema App for kids can smooth out the wrinkles in your bedtime routine with fun, interactive reminders, customizable for boys or girls.

And you probably already know about PJ Library, which sends Jewish books to Jewish children around the world.

But have you heard of the new PJ Library App? It streams interactive Jewish music videos, on-demand music, and featured kid musicians to your children.

Just for Fun Jewish Apps

Speaking of music, adults also want Jewish music.

JStream delivers streamed Jewish music from all over the world for iOS and Android users. It’ll play Jewish music in the background, but automatically stop when a call comes in.

And why do you need Shalomoji?

Well, how could you possibly live without its Jewish emojis, animated stickers, and GIFS? You’ll have the perfect emoji for mazel tov messages, WhatsApp conversations, and holiday emails.

And if you haven’t found an app on our list that speaks to you, no worries! The world of apps is constantly evolving and updating, revolutionizing our lives 24/6.

Who knows what’s next on the kosher Jewish app scene?