Golf games require a finesse, a certain je ne sais quoi that encourages patience and foresight. Gamers predisposed to mashing buttons to chainsaw zombies in half may get teed off by the tender golf-clap moments of Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online. But if they manage to learn the ropes, there’s a rich and rewarding experience to be found.

With Nike+ included with the latest iPhones and iPods, it’s hard for an outsider to compete in the gadget-aided exercise race. But Adidas leaps past Nike’s and Apple’s home-court offering in one big way: heart rate tracking. The miCoach requires more hardware--annoying, especially for runners--but heart rate data allows for more specific workout instructions. That level of detail and the comprehensive online training tools win in a sprint, but some visual feedback would help miCoach to go the distance.

Though we may be waiting some time for an official Twitter option for iPad, fans of Twitterrific for iPhone and Mac will be pleased to hear that the iPad version leads the current pack of third-party options. Twitterrific's grey-heavy interface is simple and clean-looking, letting you clearly scroll through the tweets of those you follow and take in Twitter's trending topics all on the same page (in landscape orientation).

SoundHound takes Shazam's pioneering song-recognition approach to a whole new level, letting you not only identify recorded songs, but also use your own vocal cords to generate a result. The ability to sing or hum a few bars of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" or Rihanna's "Rude Boy" and get a correct identification is pretty mind-blowing, and a testament to the power of SoundHound's inner workings.