Gordon Ramsay is on his best behaviour for his iPad app this month, but The Thick Of It star Malcolm Tucker has no need for restraint in his own iPhone app.

We did plenty of shopping on our iPads in the run-up to Christmas through websites alone. However, Amazon’s new Windowshop native app for iPad makes the process much more tablet-friendly.

Remember the days when your contacts were stored in a single (physical) address book? Now, they’re spread across your phone and various social networks.

Google’s Latitude location service has been available on Android and other smartphones for ages, but technical issues (and a rumoured block from Apple) kept it off iPhone.

So, the Facebook massive didn’t manage to derail the X Factor’s Christmas chart train this time.

Persuading people to break the ice at parties can be hard, at least until you fill them full of booze and put Oops Upside Your Head on the stereo.

Hashable is another new service that aims to help people to meet each other, although this is firmly focused on business.

“Have you ever wanted to cook with Gordon Ramsay in the comfort of your own kitchen?” asks the blurb for this app. Frankly? No, not unless he gets a bit less shouty.

We always wanted a Babel Fish, ever since reading about it in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Economics and business mag The Economist has always prided itself on its thoughtful nature, and that has translated to its official iPhone and iPad apps, which are available separately on the App Store.

David Guetta is a globetrotting superstar DJ who’s also found time to produce artists like Rihanna, Madonna and the Black Eyed Peas. A man with clout, in other words.

Where would parents be without Supernanny? The parenting show has been hugely popular both in the UK and now the US too.

You can’t argue with robots. Well, you can, but it might end badly for humanity. We’ve had a fascination with all things android (note lower-case ‘a’) for nearly a century, right back to the earliest science fiction.

There is no shortage of ways to share photos from your iPhone, with the Facebook app the most popular by far. However, new app Path has been launched as a counterpoint to that, promising to create a ‘personal network’ limited to just your closest friends and family.

There’s already one Jamie Oliver app available for iPhone – Jamie’s 20 Minute Meals – and it’s been very popular. Its follow-up is free, but uses in-app payments to sell you bundles of recipes according to theme. Classic Comfort Food, Tasty Tray-Bakes and the like.

Children love pull-out wooden puzzles, where they have to fit shapes into holes by dropping them in. The only problem is the inevitable tears when a shape goes missing.

If you’re reading this just before Christmas and panicking about festive food, Waitrose’s classy Christmas app is an essential download.