The Best New Apps: Mobile roundup

We recap the weird and wonderful new smartphone and tablet computer apps released over the past fortnight, including breaking sports news, Top Gear, an encyclopaedia of bicycles and a huggable Woogie.

Netflix
Platforms: iOS and Android
Publisher: Netflix
Price: £5.99 per month
US media giant Netflix arrived in the UK and Ireland this month, offering a vast library of movies and TV shows on Android and Apple smartphones and tablet computers. Users can access advanced search and recommendation systems for browsing the content, and share their favourite discoveries on Facebook.

Brit Awards 2012 Voting App
Platform: iPhone
Publisher: Activision
Price: Free
The Brit Awards return next month, as superstar musicians and legions of fans pack the O2 Arena for the showpiece in the UK music industry calendar. This year, the awards have launched a dedicated iPhone app for the public to vote for their preferred artists in the 'British Single', 'British Group' and 'British Breakthrough' categories.

Call of Duty: Elite
Platforms: iOS and Android (next week)
Publisher: Activision
Price: Free
Activision's new mobile app provides access to four main areas of the Call of Duty: Elite service - Career Summary will give an overview of the user's statistics across Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops; Recent Matches recaps after-action report from the most recent matches; Challenge Tracker record progress in specific challenges; and Custom Classes allow users to modify their weapon, perks and equipment loadouts.

Ask Ziggy
Platform: Windows Phone 7
Publisher: Shai Leib
Price: Free
This innovative app brings voice navigation to Windows Phone 7 handsets, similarly to Apple's Siri system in the iPhone 4S. Users can operate their handsets with voice commands, such as performing web searches and updating Facebook. Any time Ziggy gets stumped, the app defers to Microsoft's voice activated Bing service.

Lonely Planet Magazine Dream Trips
Platforms: iPad
Publisher: immediate Media Company
Price: £3.99
Lonely Planet Magazine's first iPad app features nine different top trips on iPad, offering insider travel tips and know-how from the magazine's staff. The app includes exclusive photos not previously published, along with interactive maps pinpointing key locations on Google Maps.

Top Gear Portfolio
Platforms: iPad
Publisher: Immediate Media Company
Price: £3.99
The latest iPad app for the magazine spinoff of the BBC's motoring programme is designed to take users on "an automotive trip around the planet". It features images of the world's most exotic cars taken by the magazine on past photoshoots in various locations.

Sky Sports News
Platforms: iPad
Publisher: Sky
Price: Free for Sky subscribers, £4.99 per month without
Get access to the latest breaking news from Sky Sports on the iPad in a specially-designed app supporting live video streams and editorial content. Staffed by a dedicated Sky Sports News team, the app features dedicated homepages for all the major sports, including football, rugby and cricket, covering the latest fixtures, standings and results.

Cyclepedia
Platforms: iPad
Publisher: Heuristic-Media
Price: £6.99
Whether you are a complete cycling nut or have just a passing interest, this new app offers a wide variety of information on the evolution of cycling. The informative and fully-interactive iPad offers a guide to 100 famous bicycles.

Woogie
Platforms: iPhone and iPod Touch
Publisher: Griffin Technology
Price: Free
The Woogie app works with the Woogie 2 iPhone case, which protects the smartphone and turns it into a huggable toy. Launched at CES, the app brings ten unique faces linked to actions, including laughing when the Woogie is tickled, dizziness when it is shaken, and falling asleep when left alone. It can also repeat words and phrases spoken into the device.