App reviews: NASA, Alphabear

NASA

With the mysteries of Pluto now tantalizingly in reach, it's not a bad time to brush up on the basic wonders of space. Who better to ask than NASA? The agency's app is full of images, videos, news and facts about space, spaceflight and astronomy. There's also access to live video and audio broadcasts, as well as a feed of tweets from official NASA accounts.

And, of course, there's plenty of information about Pluto and the historic New Horizons mission for those who are clamoring to know more about our solar system's outer reaches. The app does ask permission to access your location for tracking for features such as live views from the International Space Station. You can also give the app an address if you prefer not to share that information. Overall, the app does a good job providing basic information for kids and other casual NASA fans - and gives you a nice link to the rest of the solar system. Free, for iOS and Android devices.

Alphabear

Wordsmiths, get ready: There's a new game in town. Alphabear is a fun word game featuring adorable bears that grow when you nourish them with good words. Letter tiles are arranged - a la Scrabble - around a bear and are worth different points. Depending on the letters you pick, your bear expands to fit the space, sometimes resulting in comically wide or cone-headed characters. The bigger the bear, the more points you can score, and the aesthetics add a nice level to the game.

If you leave a letter unused for too long, it can turn into a rock and keep your bear from growing. You can also find rare bears as you play, which have powers such as earning you score boosts when you use certain letters. There are in-app purchases in Alphabear. As with many mobile games, you run out of fuel - in this case, honey - after playing and need to either pay or wait to regenerate your supplies. But it's possible to play without spending real-world cash, and this little game is a fun way for language lovers to stretch their brains. Free, for Android.