An easy, last-minute Christmas gift could be as simple as downloading an app. An estimated 2.4 billion apps are expected to be downloaded during the holidays. Thanks to app developers at New Mexico State University, new mobile device owners have access to free apps on a variety of research-based topics.

NMSU's Learning Games Lab has produced several apps for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, which are available at its website http://apps.nmsu.edu.

NMSU's Learning Games Lab works with a variety of different researchers as part of the Cooperative Extension Service.

"Our goal is to apply university-based research and knowledge to help people solve everyday problems," said Barbara Chamberlin, NMSU Extension instructional design and education media specialist. "We're learning great things about how people can best learn math, how they can make healthier eating choices, and how to have more sustainable landscapes. We're thrilled to share apps that help people do all of these things better."

Math learners in grades three through eight will enjoy resources from the Math Snacks research project. Based on research on frequently misunderstood math concepts, two Math Snacks apps help youth improve their number sense, application of rate and ratio, and other content usually learned in mid-school.

The free app games are also available with additional resources at mathsnacks.com.

The free app, Eat-and-Move-O-Matic, helps youth explore the balance between calories they eat in food, and the calories they burn through different physical activity. Users spin different wheels to compare calories in a large and small soda, for example, and the amount of time it would take to burn off each in different exercises.

The Eat-and-Move-O-Matic was recently listed in Best Fitness Apps for Kids 2012 and endorsed by Boost Cooperative as their November Free App of the Month.

For gardeners, NMSU also offers the perfect app to transform a home's landscape to a low-water user. The Southwest Plant Selector shows the plant and the vital information for raising plants in our semi-arid climate. Users can search for information about planting time, water use, and color of the bloom, and then take the app and marked 'favorites' with them when shopping for plants.

This app is free and highly rated. It was included in Nursery Management online in October and was featured this month by Lisisoft.com, a service of appfinder.com.

Stay abreast of NMSU's new releases by visiting http://apps.nmsu.edu and http://www.facebook.com/apps/nmsu.edu.