App reviews: Orbit, LinkedIn Learning

Orbit

Sometimes it's frustrating to go round in circles. But that's the whole point of Orbit, a simple app in which players get to create planets and (try to) put them into orbit around a black hole. Obviously, this takes a bit of careful planning to keep these newborn planets from falling into the abyss. It gets particularly tricky as the game progresses and players are asked to find orbits that keep planets from colliding with one another, among other goals.

The app has 45 free levels and is ad-supported, although users can pay 99 cents to ditch the ads. For those feeling particularly cosmic, the game also offers a $2.99 upgrade that will let you create your own universes and control in-game elements such as time and gravity. Orbit is not a particularly flashy game, but it is fun and surprisingly addictive - especially for the perfectionists among us who want to get the orbit paths just right.

Free, for iOS and Android.

LinkedIn Learning

Many people think of LinkedIn as little more than a place for their online résumé. But the company has been expanding its ambitions and recently launched an app devoted to a different part of career development - ongoing education. With the LinkedIn Learning app, the professional social network has given users access to a vast catalog of classes that promise to offer everything from basic grounding in Java to a quick primer on media training. The app will suggest skills you may want to work on, based on your LinkedIn profile, or users can search for classes.

You will need a LinkedIn account to get access to the courses, whose depth and range will vary depending on the instructor. Class materials, generally in video form, can be downloaded for offline learning as well. This is no substitute for an MBA program or even a good computer science class - don't expect the moon from these courses. But if you're interested in augmenting the "skills" section of your LinkedIn profile, it's a good place to start. Free, for iOS and Android.