A selection of 18 apps for you today:
Whale Trail
UK studio ustwo has been working on Whale Trail for a long time, and it shows. It's a beautifully-crafted casual game with one-tap controls to steer a whale through a psychedelic skyscape. What's more, Super Furry Animals mainman Gruff Rhys has contributed the theme song, which fits perfectly. This chilled whale has a chance of knocking Angry Birds off its perch.
iPhone / iPad
Time Populist
Time magazine has gathered a heap of pop culture lists and wrapped them up in a slick iPad app. There are hundreds of lists to browse in categories including music, films, books, TV shows and games. "With new lists added every week, PopuList is a perfect recommendation and discovery tool," claims the company.
iPad
Spotify for BlackBerry
Streaming music service Spotify has finally launched a BlackBerry app, although it's being described as a "preview" that has so far only been tested on five handsets: the 9780 Bold, 9700 Bold, 9300 Curve, 9000 Bold and 8520 Curve. It includes offline playlists, search and Last.fm scrobbling.
BlackBerry
DK My First Word Play App
Dorling Kindersley's latest iOS app is aimed at kids and based on the My First books. It gets pre-school children engaging with words through simple and colourful games, as well as a virtual fridge door with magnets to move around.
iPhone / iPad
AudioFuel Running Music + GPS Run Tracker
AudioFuel makes compilation CDs with music specifically composed for exercising to. Now it has an app on iPhone, offering 14 of those compilations as well as features to track your runs and share them with Facebook and Twitter friends. Two compilations come free, while others are accessed through a paid in-app subscription.
iPhone
The Early Edition 2
iPad news aggregation app The Early Edition has spawned a sequel, with more features including a column-based page layout pulling in stories from RSS feeds. The app has been rebuilt from the ground up for iOS 5, hence the developer's decision to launch it as a new paid app rather than a free update for existing users.
iPad
Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots
Fruit-slashing casual game Fruit Ninja has a new version based on upcoming animated film Puss in Boots. You're still swiping the screen to slice fruit (and tomatoes), with elements from the movie finding their way into the action too. Magic beans, anyone?
iPhone
Liverpool FC Fantasy Manager 2012
Liverpool are resurgent under new (old) manager Kenny Dalglish, and now they have their very own fantasy football game for iPhone. The official app has been developed by From The Bench, which has made similar games for Chelsea, Barcelona and AC Milan.
iPhone
Facebook Messenger for BlackBerry
It's a good week for RIM in terms of high-profile new BlackBerry apps, although the launch of Facebook Messenger may be bittersweet. As with the versions on other smartphones, it gives people a slick (and free) way to message their Facebook contacts. That means, of course, that it's potentially disruptive for RIM's own BBM service.
BlackBerry
ecoigo
ecoigo claims to be London's "premier environmentally conscious car service": cabs that promise to cut carbon dioxide emissions and donate to forest preservation and developing world campaigns. Now there's an app for that, to book the cabs from an iPhone or iPad.
iPhone / iPad
Paper Glider Crazy Copter 3D
More than one million people downloaded Paper Glider Crazy Copter 3D on iOS in the first week after its release. Now developer Neon Play has taken it to Android, letting Google-powered smartphone owners join the flying fun.
Android
Debenhams for iPad
UK retailer Debenhams has launched an iPad app to join its existing iPhone, Android and Nokia versions, which have so far generated 700,000 downloads and £3m of sales. The iPad edition lets people browse and buy from Debenhams' collection, with a gift-finder feature to help with tricky Christmas presents.
iPad
The Phantom Clickerist
The Phantom Clickerist is a characterful iPad app for children, with colourful characters spread over 26 virtual pages. What's more, the developer is promising to adopt a polar bear with the WWF for every 5,000 sales.
iPad
Bike Baron
Biking game Bike Baron is the work of developer Mountain Sheep, which made the excellent Minigore and Death Rally games on iOS. This new one sees 40 tracks to race along, complete with an editor to create your own.
iPhone / iPad
Best Burgers London
Hungry and stumped for lunch options in London? The Best Burgers app is your friend, promising a guide to gourmet burger joints across the capital. Users are invited to rate the burgers they eat to refine its reviews, too.
iPhone
Military Books
Military Books is a combined e-reader and bookstore app for illustrated military books, complete with artwork and maps. Based around a virtual bookshelf iBooks-style, it has a selection of historical books available to buy, as well as a networking feature to chat to other military buffs.
iPhone / iPad
DriveSafe.ly Pro
DriveSafe.ly Pro wants to prevent BlackBerry-fuelled car accidents by speaking text messages and emails aloud, while letting people respond by speaking rather than typing. It's one of the apps that's been made free by RIM as part of its apology to BlackBerry users for the recent service outage.
BlackBerry
Love@Tube 2.0
Here's a nice idea: a dating app specifically for people who get London's tube system to work. "love@tube can turn your boring tube journey into a date and London's Popular transport system into a buzzing dating hub," promises its App Store listing. "You can search for co-passenger profiles who share your daily tube journeys and can post missed connection messages." The app is free, but charges for credits that are spent on messaging and contacts.
iPhone
