mania

Basketball Mania from Mouse Games is an Android app that's fairly easy to get the hang of and very fun to play. Even if you never go near a real court, you could easily become addicted to this game.

Basketball Mania's vibrant but simple interface enhances the gaming experience. By simply clicking Play, you are transferred to the skins screen. In the beginning there is only one screen or environment to choose from, but you'll be able to earn tickets as you make shots and use them to buy new skins. Gameplay is easy to pick up, … Read more

Bubble Mania is a free iOS app that will bring back the days when you used to pop bubbles to have fun and kill time while you were waiting for something. This time the bubbles come back with a tweak: you have to put them in the right order.

The app's interface couldn't be simpler, with instructions provided ahead of the game: pop 50 bubbles in less than 25 seconds, following the order of the bubbles at the top.

Yeah, that sounds like an easy job to do, and it really is on the first level, where you … Read more

According to a recent study by IDC, the iPad has definitively dominated the tablet market, accounting for almost 90 percent of tablets shipped worldwide in the third quarter of 2010. It stands to reason that fourth-quarter results will probably be even higher after the big holiday season. Now that many of the early naysayers have come around to the larger iOS device, I have to think the launch of the iPad 2 in April will be leaps and bounds more successful right out of the gate.

I got the first-generation iPad when it came out for obvious reasons, and probably won't be buying the new iPad personally at launch time (though we will certainly have them here at CNET for testing). But what about you? Are you one of those who decided to wait for the second-generation iPad?

As usual, Apple is not telling us much about its shiny new device, but there have been plenty of rumors regarding a higher-resolution screen, front- and rear-facing cameras, and much more at the various rumor sites.

I'm interested to see who is planning to pull the trigger on the new iPad in April. Let us know your plans in the comments.

This week's apps include a strange interactive storytelling app and a shooting game that cleverly uses the iPhone 4's gyroscope technology.… Read more

The big news this week was Apple's announcement Friday morning regarding the antenna issues on the iPhone 4. Steve Jobs came to the stage in a very unique Apple event to talk about the iOS 4.0.1 update that he says shows signal strength much more reliably. As a way to quell concerns about dropping calls by gripping the iPhone 4 a certain way, which Jobs admitted decreases signal strength in some circumstances, Apple is offering free bumper-style cases for everyone. Those who have already bought the bumper will receive a full refund. iPhone 4 users will be able to sign up for a free bumper or refund starting next week at Apple's site.

I have had the iPhone 4 for exactly a week now and I haven't experienced any connection issues so far, but I bought the bumper a couple of days ago for protection, in case I drop it. I was wondering what Apple would do with people like me who already bought the bumper (most people I talked to agreed that I was out of luck), so it was a pleasant surprise to hear I would get a refund, too.

This week's apps include a slick-looking and useful calculator app and a drift racing game that challenges you to master the controlled slide.

Calcbot (99 cents for a limited time) from the makers of stylish currency converter Convertbot brings more than your iPhone's included calculator wrapped up in a nice package. Like other apps from Tapbots, when you launch Calcbot, the first thing you notice is the slick-looking design. Features include a live as-you-type expression view so you know you have all your values correct, a history tape so you can track back to earlier calculations, and an advanced functions screen, all accessible with a swipe of your finger.

For all of Calcbot's class and functionality, it's not the most feature-rich calculator in the iTunes App Store. But if all you need is to make basic calculations (and some advanced functions) and the ability to send your work elsewhere, Calcbot is an attractive option. A swipe downward brings up the history tape, and a swipe to the left brings up the advanced function screen. I'm a little disappointed there is no graphing calculator, but Calcbot is an excellent alternative to the iPhone home screen calculator.

Drift Mania Championship (99 cents) is a drift racing game that offers excellent controls, smooth graphics, and challenging gameplay, and even though it's a little short on content, the price makes it a must have for drift racing fans. The precise tilt controls work better than most racing games in the iTunes App Store, letting you truly control how you attack each corner. Your speed is controlled by where you place your finger on the throttle bar on the right side of the screen, and you'll need to adjust your speed a lot to get the best drift through each turn.… Read more

DJ Mania provides a simple set of tools for recreating the world of the turntable expert. By breaking this elaborate artform down into a few simple functions, it makes the club scene accessible to all, but it's missing a few key ingredients of the actual experience.

DJ Mania's interface took a little work to understand, even thought it's a fairly simple layout. Without a Help file or instructions we were left to explore, but luckily it only took a few minutes to fully grasp the program. The basic function of this program was its ability to recreate … Read more

FarmMania is a hectic time management game in which Anna must help her grandfather save the family farm. By raising produce and livestock and producing other goods, all while racing against the clock, users help Anna earn enough money to make the farm a profitable venture.

The program's graphics are cartoon-style and not particularly impressive, but they're not bad for what they are, and overall the game is fairly attractive. Users start off by planting vegetables, which must be watered, weeded, harvested, and sent into town to be sold. As players advance the game becomes more complex, with … Read more

We certainly think that gardening and farming can be a worthwhile endeavor in real life. Farm Mania, however, seems to emphasize the drudgery of farming, the repetitive, tedious chores. Although it's well designed, we found the game to be downright boring.

We've played other games from SpinTop and have typically found them to contain quality graphics, and Farm Mania is no exception. The characters are cartoons with a limited range of motion, but for the most part the program looks good. The premise of Farm Mania is that Anna has gone to help her grandfather on his failing … Read more

Poker Mania offers a single game of draw poker, but leaves a lot to be desired. While it was easy to pick up, we quickly grew bored with the program's lack of variety.

Even though we are not regular poker players, we felt instantly at home with this simple interface. The program's onscreen instructions were great and the Help file's list of winning hands clarified a lot. Poker has countless variations and we were expecting to find at least a few to choose from. Instead, we were quickly disappointed to find that the program only consisted of … Read more

EPCOT CENTER, Fla.--Ah, lawyers.

I was sitting inside a small dome, antsy to get going on the special Segway tour of this famous theme park that I had arranged. But before they would let me or any of the others on the tour head out and ride around on our gyroscopic human transporters, we had to sit through more than half an hour of tedious, but entirely practical, training.

As our instructors told us how to get on and how to get off, how to speed up and how to slow down and so many other crucial things, I … Read more