By Martine Powers
Globe Staff

Reviewing: Sunrise
By: Adair Systems
Available on: iPhone
Price: 99 cents
Should you get it? Yes, if sunlight is kind of your thing.

The "Sunrise" app is so bare-basics, it feels like it should come pre-uploaded on every iPhone, a la "Weather" and "Stocks."

It's been a staple on my iPhone for years, but I was flummoxed when a co-worker - brooding about daylight savings - announced that she'd never even heard of the app, which functions as a solar calculator.

The concept is simple: "Sunrise" uses your GPS coordinates (or one of hundreds of pre-uploaded locations worldwide) to determine the exact moment of sunrise and sunset at your spot, as well as moonrise and the end of twilight.

Since I downloaded this almost-freebie, I use it way more often than I ever anticipated. Will you have time for a post-work run before it gets too dark? Trying to time your lighthouse visit to coincide with a romantic sunset? Planning a road trip and want to hit the road before dawn? This app has answers.

And there are a few features other than sunrise and sunset: Data on lunar phases helps plan when to go on that moonlit walk. And I'm not really sure I ever cared to know when "solar noon" takes place, but it's a fun fact to have handy!

"Sunrise" is particularly helpful for travel or hiking. If you choose one of hundreds of pre-loaded locations around the globe (rather than your real-time GPS location) the app has saved a database of solar data for years to come. That way, even if you're in a place with 3G or wi-fi access (think: a remote Caribbean island or the wilds of the Berkshires) you can still get the stats to maximize your daytime.

Of course, if you download the app, you'll discover that - surprise! - the recent "fall back" in daylight savings time means the sun now sets at 4:35 p.m. Which is kind of depressing. Seriously.

But at least you'll know that solar noon takes place at 11:29 a.m.!

By Joe Allen-Black
Boston.com Staff

Reviewing: FlightTrack Pro
By: Mobiata
Available for: iPhone, iPad, and Android
Price: $9.99
Should you get it? Yes, if you want to be organized while traveling

Planning a trip has always been an intense process for me. I'm the type of person who likes to have every detail mapped out, full directions at my fingertips, and all times laid out in a quickly accessible way. For a trip to Detroit a few years back, I had a 100-page binder with color-coordinated tabs separating all the information I needed like directions, flight tickets, and hotel reservations. I was both impressed by and scared of the organization.

Thousands of forests of trees are probably rejoicing that my iPhone can handle all that organization that I once lugged around in binders. My biggest help? An app named FlightTrack Pro from Mobiata.

By Teresa Hanafin
Boston.com Staff

Reviewing: Waze
By: Waze Mobile
Available for: iPhone
Price: Free
Should you get it? Yes, if you appreciate crowdsourcing

The GPS navigation app market is crowded with big and familiar names: Garmin N. America ($59.99), Magellan RoadMate USA ($34.99), TomTom USA ($36.99), Navigon USA ($29.99), and more.

But none have what I have found to be an indispensable part of my daily commute: The wisdom of crowds.

Waze does. It's what makes this app stand out. It's a superior GPS navigator with the added bonus of real-time reports about traffic tie-ups, accidents, construction slowdowns, police, and speed traps -- all from fellow drivers.

As I sit here at Boston.com on Morrissey Boulevard on a summer Friday, for example, I can see in my Waze app that traffic heading south on the Expressway is traveling at just 31 mph, and there's been a minor accident on Columbia Road near the JFK T stop. Oh, wait -- I reported that minor accident on my way in this morning. Never mind.

Here's a look at Waze's best features and a couple of minor annoyances.