by Stuart Dredge
Angry Birds Star Wars
iPhone/iPad/Android/Windows – Price varies
Not just the best Angry Birds game: the best Star Wars spin-off in a long time. You still fire birds at pigs, but it’s augmented with light sabres, lasers, etc.
Barefoot World Atlas
iPhone/iPad – £2.99
Why should an atlas on a touchscreen device look like a printed book? This app opts for a spinable, zoomable virtual globe packed with information, stats and sights and sounds.
Chrome
iPhone/iPad/Android – Free
Google’s browser came to smartphones and tablets in 2012. Its ability to synchronise bookmarks, passwords, website history and open tabs across devices is a time-saver.
Clash of Clans
iPhone/iPad – Free
This has been one of the biggest gaming hits of the year on Apple devices: like FarmVille crossed with a war game as you build a village, train troops and fight other players.
Fantastical
iPhone – £1.49
Fantastical replaces the iPhone’s default calendar. Voice dictation, integration with Facebook events and the ability to use it with Google Calendar make it a winner.
Figure
iPhone/iPad – £0.69
Techno music app based on powerful technology, but with a playful interface on top. Within minutes you’ll be creating beats, melodies and building-shaking bass lines.
The Magazine
iPhone/iPad – Free trial
An intriguing attempt to find out what a magazine designed from the ground up for smartphones and tablets might look like. It costs £1.49 a month for two issues.
Me Books
iPhone/iPad – Free
A picture-book store where parents can browse and buy stories featuring Peppa Pig, Charlie and Lola, Peter Rabbit and other Ladybird classics, then read them with children.
Netflix
iPhone/iPad/Android/Windows Phone – Free
Netflix charges you £5.99 a month for access to its growing catalogue of films and TV shows, including slick smartphone and tablet apps.
New Star Soccer
iPhone/iPad/Android – Free
If you love football and haven’t played this, what are you waiting for? It’s a ferociously addictive game that puts you in the boots of a player, passing and shooting to glory.
Nokia City Lens
Windows Phone – Free
One of the best attempts yet to use “augmented reality” to help you find your way around the real world, while highlighting points of interest you might otherwise miss.
The Orchestra
iPad – £9.99
A wonderful dive into eight performances by the Philharmonia orchestra, with video, audio, a synchronised score and information about instruments and players.
Paper by FiftyThree
iPad – Free
There are plenty of ways to write text notes on an iPad, but Paper is a beautifully designed app for other scribblings: sketches, diagrams, flow charts and doodles.
Pocket Planes
iPhone/iPad/Android – Free
Running a global airline might not sound like the stuff of gaming dreams, but this makes it fun. Buy and upgrade aircraft, plan your routes and hook up with friends’ airlines.
Radioplayer
iPhone/Android – Free
Looking to stream British radio stations to your smartphone? This aggregates hundreds, including all of the BBC’s and commercial, community and student stations.
Romeo and Juliet: Explore Shakespeare
iPad – £9.99
A new way into Shakespeare’s play. It offers the full text, an audio performance, word clouds and a theme line to explain key concepts.
SongPop
iPhone/iPad/Android – Free
The game involves guessing the titles of songs from clips as quickly as possible in a range of genres, before challenging friends to beat you. Very addictive.
Sparrow
iPhone – £1.99
The iPhone’s Mail app is fine for most people, but Sparrow was an excellent alternative. With extra features, intuitive swipe controls and a smart way of sorting your contacts.
SwiftKey 3 Keyboard
Android – £2.99
An alternative keyboard for Android smartphones with very clever predictive typing that also corrects your spelling and missing spaces as you tap away.
Toca Band
iPhone/iPad – £1.49
The best children’s app for 2012 gets youngsters to create a song by dragging and dropping colourful characters, each with their own sound, onto the screen. Joyful.
Xbox SmartGlass
iPhone/Android/Windows Phone – Free
An intriguing glimpse of the future for games consoles – your tablet or smartphone acts as a remote control when not playing games, and a second screen for additional content.The Guardian
