App reviews: Reddit, Spinny Circle

Reddit has finally launched its own official app, bringing the sprawling and at times unruly site into a format that fits neatly on a smartphone screen. The app offers a clean layout that should be simple enough for anyone to navigate. For the more casual Reddit user, it's an easy way to keep up with the site, or with the communities in Reddit that you may follow.

There are differences - largely cosmetic - between the iOS and Android versions. One key feature is available only on the iOS app - a fast-scanning tool called Speed Read. This lets you skip through threads by jumping between comments that include remarks from the original poster, which is particularly useful for its online Q&A features known as AMAs. On both platforms, however, users can access features such as a "night mode" that flips the black-on-white color scheme to reduce screen glare in bed, and "card view," which gives you an easy way to see multimedia embeds in posts.

Free, for iOS and Android.

Spinny Circle

This game requires fast-tapping and quick pattern recognition to succeed. A bouncing ball in the center of Spinny Circle's multicolored wheel changes color with each hit; it's up to players to tap and turn the wheel so that the ball lands on the corresponding section of the wheel. It's not complicated, but it can be difficult, particularly since the wheel turns in only one direction. (You can choose clockwise or counterclockwise.) Get a mismatch on impact, and it's game over.

The free version of the app will call up an ad every three failures - which can be pretty frequent, depending on your performance. You can pay $3 to get rid of ads. The ads can detract from the overall experience, but they're also a pretty good excuse to tear yourself away from what can be an addictive game.

Free, for iOS and Android.