Start here: the best apps for all your new devices

The Android train just won't stop: from design to performance to simple availability, the grass is looking greener and greener. After you’ve picked up the usual suspects — Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and obviously Dots — the harder choices come in. Will you use Google Keep for your notes or go with Evernote or Simplenote? What’s the best app to wring the most out of the pictures you take on your phone? Will you be reading books on Kindle, articles in Pocket, or news in Flipboard or Press? With Android, you're not wanting for options, but that means you need help choosing between them. Fortunately, we’ve collected our favorites here, so get ready to click some links and fill up your home screen.

This year we've picked out some of the very best apps, games, books, and downloads for your new devices. Dig into our top selections for Android apps, Android games, iPhone apps, iPad apps, iOS games, Windows Phone apps, Kindle books, console games, and for your Mac and PC.

Goodbye, Game Boy. The best mobile game platform is iOS, and both the iPhone and the iPad have an embarrassing depth of riches to plumb. Whether you’re a classic shoot-em-up gamer or just looking for something fun and simple to relax with, trust us, the games are here. But iOS is also connected to the internet, which means that playing games with your friends is easier than ever: you can challenge people with quizzes, word games, and show off your high score on Facebook. Here are our favorites this year.

This year we've picked out some of the very best apps, games, books, and downloads for your new devices. Dig into our top selections for Android apps, Android games, iPhone apps, iPad apps, iOS games, Windows Phone apps, Kindle books, console games, and for your Mac and PC.

Even if you already own an iPhone — in which case many iPad apps will automatically sync over for you during setup — you’ll find that getting apps for your iPad is an easy process. Pop open the app store and you’ll find thousands, but the “top apps” list is filled with as much junk as it is gold. Fear not, we’ve collected our favorite below — from great writing to great drawing to great music-making, the myth that the iPad isn’t great for “productivity” is officially dead.

This year we've picked out some of the very best apps, games, books, and downloads for your new devices. Dig into our top selections for Android apps, Android games, iPhone apps, iPad apps, iOS games, Windows Phone apps, Kindle books, and for your Mac and PC. Next up: the best stylus for the iPad.

Anyone picking up a blank Kindle this year is running headlong into the paradox of choice. The device stocks 23 million titles and counting, ranging from War & Peace to algorithmically generated self-help books -- and unlike iPhone apps, people have been writing these things for hundreds of years. Where to start? How to even make a dent in it all? Our suggestion: start here.

New Kindle

Whether you're among the chosen to get a new computer for the holidays or are burdened with the responsibility of playing family tech support, we've got you covered with an essential pack of Mac apps, utilities, tools, and time-wasters. Grab another moose-shaped mug of eggnog and start downloading.

Android gets a bad rap for not having as many good games as iOS, and while it’s true that the platform hasn’t yet closed the gap, there are still plenty of great games to be had. But if you just want our favorites for this year — from a zenlike strategy game to monster-punch madness — we’ve collected them all right here.

This year we've picked out some of the very best apps, games, books, and downloads for your new devices. Dig into our top selections for Android apps, Android games, iPhone apps, iPad apps, iOS games, Windows Phone apps, Kindle books, console games, and for your Mac and PC.

A year ago, we got a new Xbox and a new Playstation, with more power and more features than anything we've ever seen before. This year, we got the games. If you got a new console this year, or unwrapped a slightly smaller package with a Nintendo 3DS or a PlayStation Vita, what you need next is to find something to play. Here's where to start.

This year we've picked out some of the very best apps, games, books, and downloads for your new devices. Dig into our top selections for Android apps, Android games, iPhone apps, iPad apps, iOS games, Windows Phone apps, Kindle books, console games, and for your Mac and PC.

In A Christmas Story, young Ralphie begs his parents for a Red Ryder BB gun. Alas, how times have changed. Today, you’re more likely begging for a red iPhone — but just as the Red Ryder is useless without BBs, the iPhone is useless without apps. Apps for shooting photos, keeping track of your schedule, and for logging your every thought and bike ride. An app to tell you when it’s snowing, and an app to keep track of your favorite blogs. We’ll break down the best apps no iPhone should be without, so when you’re cozied up by the fire, you’ll have something to do — and an IFTTT app to auto-send holiday greetings on Christmas morning.

This year we've picked out some of the very best apps, games, books, and downloads for your new devices. Dig into our top selections for Android apps, Android games, iPhone apps, iPad apps, iOS games, Windows Phone apps, Kindle books, console games, and for your Mac and PC.