What is the best language App?

[Trafalgar]

I will be spending a lot of time in another country for work and am looking for a language app. I am only hoping to learn some vocabulary and some commonly used phrases. I am interested in what other people's experiences are and whether it is worthwhile. I hope to take some in person lessons after arrive but I would like to get a head start.

[Tarmor]

I've tried about half a dozen of the free language apps that I'd seen advertised, and gave up on all of them pretty quickly. Most of them wanted me to learn a whole lot things that I don't want/need to learn, or didn't allow focus on specific things, or wanted me to pay to continue. The language you want to learn could make a big difference. I'd like to learn more Mandarin than I do, to speak with my in-laws, but I don't want to learn to read a Chinese newspaper. All the apps I tried were determined to give me characters, and not (always) pin-yin for the words.
I'm all in support of the Lonely Planet phrasebooks as a good starting point for languages. If you really want a good app, you may have to be prepared to pay for one to make sure you get something worthwhile and with good support.

[Radar]

I have good experiences with Duolingo. New vocabulary is grouped by subject and the learning process involves varied tasks, so the app teaches both passive and active language skills. If you just want to learn everyday phrases it should be enough to get you started and after that just using the new language in real life will be more than enough.