Unlike many other news and opinion publications, The Week didn't rush an app onto the market during the heady days immediately following the launch of the iPhone. When the magazine's app finally arrived last year, however, it did so fully formed, headlined by an exclusive "Daily Briefing" section designed to keep readers coming back between weekly issues. Design-wise, The Week's app is as easy to navigate as the print publication itself, eschewing large bricks of content in favor of tablet-optimized navigation.

 One of the media world's eminent providers of content finally has an app capable of showcasing that content. The new NYT Android app unveiled last December represents a leap forward from what preceded it, with more than 25 sections worth of Times content and the ability to display slide shows and other multimedia material on screens big and small. For the first time, the Times offers text-to-speech functionality, courtesy of Google's voice engine. Plus the design automatically adjusts to accommodate the size of the screen, whether smartphone- or tablet-sized.

 Even before its redesign, the News360 app provided one of the best news-aggregation experiences on any platform. After it, the app is more or less peerless. What makes it so useful is its balance: users can tweak the News360 app to deliver their desired doses of personalized news (about teams, bands, etc.) and "important" news (world headlines, weather). At the same time, the News360 app suggests new topics on a semi-regular basis, getting smarter and more accurate as it learns from the user's in-app behavior.

 There's a reason so few cycling apps have made a dent among hard-core riders: Most can't begin to approximate the power of bike computers that to which those riders have become accustomed. That's probably why riders responded to the arrival of Abvio's Cyclemeter with something close to astonishment. Unlike nearly all others, the app taps Apple's iCloud for data sharing and updates workouts as they happen - providing the info that bikers want and the is-everything-okay? solace that family members and friends need.

 Healthcare behemoths generally aren't known for their embrace of new technologies, nor for the user-friendliness of their web sites. Thus UnitedHealthcare's Health4Me app feels like a revelation: It's easy to navigate and packed with the sort of smart, helpful features - including one through which consumers can learn the approximate cost of around 100 treatments and procedures without having to visit a doctor's office - usually associated with brands like Apple or Honda. It also gets the essentials right, allowing users to check the status of their claims, connect directly with …

 Users can do a lot with Walgreens' mobile app - find store locations and most anything else one would expect from a large retailer's offering. But Walgreens chose to focus on the prescription ordering and fulfillment processes, including a feature that allows customers to order refills by scanning prescription bottles. The app's most recent iteration made it easier for customers to relocate their pharmacy business to Walgreens. Transfer Prescriptions lets customers transfer a prescription to Walgreens by snapping a photo of the bottle and transmitting it through the app.

Stunt School Revolution is the most graphically impressive app in the Branded Gaming App category.  It plays most like a traditional video game its controls utilizes the user’s smartphone’s accelerometer as the main form of control.  While the game is extremely impressive graphically, it can be a bit redundant as the main objective of the game is completing stunts throughout.  While …

At first glance Car Town Streets appears to be geared more towards a younger audience as its graphics are cartoonish, which is strange as it is a branded game for Nitto Tires in which children are obviously not the target market.  However, once the user delves into the game further they will realize it is an immersive gameplay experience …

 NBA King of the Court 2 provides the user with an easy to play, yet fun experience.  Ogmento provides the users with clear directions and logical controls that make for a quick learning curve.  The game also incorporates different elements of basketball:  shooting, passing, avoiding defenders, etc. which keeps the game interesting, challenging, realistic and most importantly entertaining.  The developers did a good job …

The Reading Rainbow App is a new take on traditional reading for children.  The app kick-starts with a video tutorial from Reading Rainbow television host Lavar Burton which is a thorough and easy to follow instructional video that is easy to follow for both adults and children alike.  The best part about this app is that it stays true to the …