Ever fancied the idea of striding up to a street-side mahjong game and taking on all comers? China Mahjong 2 – sometimes listed simply as China Mahjong, so look for the telltale ‘2’ on the logo – might well be your ticket to success. Using mainland Chinese rules (those familiar with Hong Kong or international variants might have to adjust their playing styles), the app is geared towards short, swift games rather than epic battles, and complete newbies might be more than a little lost. But for a lousy 6RMB, you can’t really go wrong.
If the language barrier is getting between you and a full belly then China Menu is the app for you. With over 220 categorised dishes, plus tips on Chinese dining etiquette, how to express preferences and ways to deal with troublesome waiters, it should serve you well. However, discerning food seekers may find that some of the translations are a little vague and merely variations on specific foods and drinks. The insistence on referring to ‘soda’ rather than specific brand names is a particular bugbear, but on the whole this is a fine little app. 30RMB on iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.
Tiny
Tower asks you to construct a building full of apartments and businesses to attract adorable little ‘bitizens’. They can then be assigned different jobs according to their interests and abilities – if they’re happy with your decision, you’ll get a green smiley face and a tingle of parental pride. The pixellated characters make this an island of super-cuteness amid an
ocean of Angry Birds clones, and a great way to cheer yourself up after a tiring day at work. Free on Android, iPad, iPhone and iTouch.
Arrange content from all your favourite websites in a neat, magazine-style format this November.
As any news junkie can attest, the creation of the RSS feed was like the invention of the wheel for those wanting to keep up to date. Now, there are lots of RSS feed apps on offer, but if you’re after one with the sex appeal of a Ferrari, try Pulse News. This app takes content from your favourite websites and presents them in an attractive, coherent way that looks more like a magazine than conventional RSS content – your imported feeds are lined up in rows, with each story represented by a thumbnail picture and headline. Better still, once loaded, the stories can be read offline.Free on Android, iPad and iPhone.
Find nearby restaurants with our app of the month this October.
You’re out on the town and hungry but you can’t decide what or where to eat. Never fear, Youzhu is here for you and your stomach! This super directory of an app tells you what restaurants are nearby, giving telephone numbers, the distance from your current location and directions using Google Maps. You can narrow your search by categories ranging from Peking duck to Vietnamese, and from Japanese to Italian. Just don’t expect that many results for Mexican. Bars, clubs, hotels, foreign supermarkets, parks, museums and temples are all also listed by distance.Free on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
Learning made easy with our app of the month this September. 
Anki is a godsend for Mandarin learners. This memory flashcard app comes with thousands of preloaded lists, from country capitals to biology terms. Students of Putonghua, however, will be most excited to learn that there are flashcards that pair with popular textbooks such as New Practical Chinese Reader. You can also create your own flashcards and the app supports both simple and traditional Mandarin characters, giving you a personal database of Chinese study material, so there’s no excuse not to jia you. Free on Android. 113RMB on iPhone and iPad.
Edit and even add audio to your photos with our app of the month this August.
If it’s true that a picture is worth 1,000 words, Viddy probably packs an entire almanac. This iPhone app for the editing and sharing of mobile videos is idiot-proof. Choose from six filters, such as vintage, 3D, hued, or classic black and white. Afterwards, you can also perform colour correction and dub your clip with audio. Once satisfied, your masterpiece can then be shared on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, if you have access. It’s that easy. You’ll have to be one snappy snapper though; the app only allows 15 seconds of fame. Free on iPhone and iPad. Requires iOS 4.1 or later.
Take and edit photos on the go with our app of the month this July.
Your camera phone is great for when you’re out and have forgotten to bring your proper snapper, but often the pictures come out too dark, too bright or just plain bad. Thank goodness then for this bare-bones app version of Adobe’s Photoshop, beloved by wrinkly celebrities everywhere. From cropping to contrast changes and colour-scale effects, you can even put the picture in soft focus, which is great for portrait shots. Best of all, though, unlike the real Photoshop, it’s free and simple to use. Free on Android.
Check real-time sports scores and stats with our app of the month this June. 
Got tennis fever with Roland Garros and Wimbledon this month? Whether your sport is indeed tennis, cricket or rugby, ice hockey or golf, football (American) or football (British), you need never miss another set, wicket, goal or touchdown again. With this beauty of an app from US sports news hub ESPN, you can have near real-time scores and stats delivered straight to your phone. Create your own ‘my teams’ tab and you can personalise your display to keep track of your favourite squads across different sports, including over 500 domestic leagues and international competitions. Back of the net! Free on iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android.
Get re-addicted to this retro game with our app of the month for May. 
There have been several unofficial versions of Tetris available for a while on the Android platform, but with most of these now removed, the original can reclaim its rightful place. The graphics have been made slightly more 3D, and you can employ added tricks such as the ‘bubble breaker’ and ‘wrecking ball’ in ‘magic mode’, but this is essentially the same old classic we all know and love. Positioning the brick is surprisingly intuitive on touchscreen phones. One complaint though: who decided to use techno as the background music? No matter, this is easily resolved by flicking to silent. Free on Android; 6RMB on iPhone and iPod touch; 17RMB on Nokia Ovi; 32RMB on iPad; 47.50RMB on Samsung.