The iPhone Mom

Aneurysm is easy to play. There’s a glowing blue orb on the screen. Move it around and try to avoid the other colored orbs that start shooting around. If you are hit then you  have the option to move the game back a few seconds in time.

My only problem with this game was that I had a tough time keeping track of the blue orb when it was under my finger. The option to go back in time is nice though.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Abhijeet Wable

Thank you to everyone for your wonderful comments on the iBend post. Five random numbers were selected and it’s a big congratulations to Lynette, Ann, Michelle, Alison & Kristeen. Hope you enjoy your iBends!

I’m constantly amazed at what can be done with an app. With the right idea a  developer can create a terrific experience using graphics, sound effects and special features. Play Marbles is one of those apps. It has amazing graphics and the game play makes good use of the accelerometer in the iPhone. You can view a You Tube demo of the app here.

This app allows you to play a game of marbles using your phone. You can play single games or tournament style. You can select the location for your game (school yard, playroom, TV studio or white screen). You can choose what kind of marble you’d like to play with and whether you’d like to have a single or multiplayer game. My son got a hold of this app before I did and figured out how to customize his profile. I was impressed and also scared about what he’s able to do with my phone. You can customize your own profile but you’ll probably want to use a more flattering photo. You can also use your photos to customize your marbles.

I’d suggest going through the tutorial in the app before you start to play. It explains how to use your iPhone and also the rules of the game. It looks like Play Marbles will have regular updates which will include new marbles and playing arenas. There are tons of features to this app, take time to explore them all.

You may find that the app can be a bit slow to load and transition to the marble game from the menu. I didn’t find it to be too long of a wait and once you’ve seen the graphics it’ll make sense. The bottom line is this is an extremely well done app that’s also fun to play.

*There is a contest going on where you can “Pimp My Marbles”. Winners will be chosen and included in future app updates. Pretty cool.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

Seller: Darkside Entertainment

Kids Play: Construction sets your child loose on a construction scene. There’s a dump truck that they can drive by tapping on it and then tilting the iPhone. Tilt the phone too far and the dump truck will even end up upside down.  Tap the screen to create blocks and boulders. Tap on these and then drag your finger to move them. They’ll tumble and turn as well.  Swipe your finger across the screen to pan across the construction zone and create more room to drive the dump truck. There’s also a tiny bulldozer that you can move around too.

The drawback to this app is that the construction scene isn’t very big. Eventually the dump truck runs into a wall and then you’ve got to turn it around and go back. According to the iTunes description the next version will have a larger scene, more vehicles to drive and sound. It might also be nice to have a way to adjust the app’s sensitivity to the iPhone movements.

I liked the physics behind Kids Play: Construction and the way you can manipulate what’s on the screen. It responds well to the iPhone’s movement – almost too well in some cases. My dump truck went flying through the air more then a couple of times. Hopefully the next version will expand the playing area because the basis behind this app is great.

*Since writing this review my kids have figured out how to build catapults with the construction materials that show up in this app. This has provided a good amount of entertainment (and relief) for all.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Luktek

Ten Thousand is a great dice game. The object is to roll the dice and score points. The winner is the first to score 10,000 points. It’s a simple game to learn. There’s no explanation of the rules within the app now but it appears the next version will have them. For now you can read the rules in the iTunes store description.

Features I liked in the Ten Thousand game. You can play against your iPhone or against three other people. You can also adjust how aggressively your iPhone plays. You can also adjust scoring options within the game. I lowered the minimum start score and you can also lower the amount you’re playing to. So 10,000 can become 3,000 if you want a quick game.

Add another addictive iPhone game to my list.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

Seller: Three Jacks Software

The idea behind CardStar is for you to keep all of your store and membership card information on your iPhone so they’re not cluttering up your wallet. Instead of spending time hunting for them at the checkout you open up CardStar, select the appropriate card and scan the barcode directly from your iPhone. Ok, this sounds fabulous but I ran into a couple of problems. First, the majority of my cards weren’t already in the CardStar database. Shouldn’t be a problem because the app lets you enter your own in but I just couldn’t get the barcodes to work. Probably user error. Second, and yes I’m going to admit this, my screen protector is filthy. I try to keep it clean but between my kids sticky fingers and makeup that rubs off when I’m talking on the phone it’s kind of a lost cause. I don’t think that any barcode will scan off my screen in the state it’s in. Since that’s pretty much a normal state this app probably work well for me. Now I know people that absolutely rave about this app and it’s been fetured on plenty of liss. So I’m curious- has anyone out there used CardStar and how if so, how successfully did it work for you? Can you share any tips with me?

Price when Reviewed: Free

Seller: Mesa Dynamics, LLC

Let me begin by saying that I’m not nearly as health conscious with food choices as I should be. I think I’ve eaten enough preservatives to guarantee myself a very long shelf life should the need arise. Most of the time I don’t  read that fine print but there was a time when my son had a wheat allergy and we were reading labels and trying to decipher the gibberish on them. I did some research online and then had a note stuck to my fridge listing all the ingredients that he needed to avoid. The system worked out okay at home but when I was in the grocery store it got tricky. This was pre iPhone days so I couldn’t even do a google search from the cracker aisle.  What R U Eating would have been a handy app to have around. It allows you to search from a database of over 80 food additives. Select one and you’ll get a description of what it does along with foods it’s commonly found in. The search is easy to navigate and full of information  you’d probably rather not know about if you’re really going to enjoy that Oreo cookie.

What R U Eating also comes with a game but I could not figure out how to play it. It features falling junk food and a set of teeth trying to eat the food. I just couldn’t get the teeth to go where I wanted them to be. Instead the game kept pausing on me. According to the iTunes description once you’ve eaten all the food all of the additives you’ve just consumed will be displayed. I never got to that point.

If you need to know exactly what’s in your packaged food this would be a nice app to have on your iPhone. It’d come in extremely handy when you’re grocery shopping. Buy it for that reason, not the game.

*Update – Marc contacted me to explain the teeth game. It’s based on the iPhone game Falling Balls and the teeth are meant to move left to right along the bottom of the screen as you tilt your iPhone. I was trying to use my finger to get the teeth to move so no wonder they didn’t catch any junk food. Thanks Marc!

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Marc Edwards

There are some seriously talented people over at Duck Duck Moose. These are the developers behind the Wheels on the Bus app (that we love at our house) and they’ve done it again with Old MacDonald. The concept of the app is the same. You hear the song and there are pictures to go along with the lyrics. Each part of the song will play over and over until you advance to the next “page”. You can listen to the recorded lyrics or your child can record themselves singing. You can even turn off the lyrics and listen to the song done by a kazoo. If kazoos aren’t your thing (and truthfully, does any mom like to listen to kazoos?) then you can choose from a more, um, traditional instrument.

Your child can poke or slide things on the screen to make things happen. My son’s favorite part of the song is about the pigs. You tap the chandelier and it falls on a pig. He finds this hilarious. Hopefully that’s not an indication of psychological problems down the road. The developers have gone beyond the action in Wheels on the Bus. There are a lot of things to make happen in this app.

Old MacDonald is already on it’s way to becoming one of my kids’ favorites. I’m thrilled with it and you will not be disappointed if you grab it from the app store. I’ve been told that it’s going to be 50% off for the next three days so please go get it. It’s that good.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Duck Duck Moose

When I upgraded to the new iPhone OS3 I heard that you’d be able to email multiple photos. I was excited. Then I tried to do it and couldn’t figure out how to do it. So the next time I wanted to email out some photos I tried to do it and couldn’t figure  it out. And so on and on and on. Now keep in mind that I had a baby the beginning of July. Right in the middle of summer vacation and that means that ALL my kids are home ALL day long. Fellow moms out there know exactly what that means. It means that it is impossible to concentrate on anything for more than a few seconds because you are constantly being interrupted. Trying to figure out how to make the photos work was beyond me.

Last night my husband emailed me three photos. They all arrived on my phone in one email. Taking advantage of the fact that there were no children talking in my ear I asked him HOW DID YOU DO THAT? Now when I tell you how he did it please remember that it’s summer and I just had my fourth child, because I’m feeling pretty dumb for not figuring this out on my own. I’m owning up to my ignorance just in case there are some you out there who are also trying to mail multiple photos. I’m going to save you from having to ask your husbands for help.

Open the camera on your iPhone. Tap the small square on the lower left of your screen and then tap “Camera Roll” in the top left of the screen. This pulls up all your photos at once. Now tap on the “forward” icon on the lower left of the screen. Then tap on the photos you want to email. You can select up to five. At the bottom it now says “Share, Copy and Delete”. When you’ve selected all your photos tap “share” and then email away.  You could also select copy (self explanatory I think) or delete to clean up your camera roll.

Hope this helps another mom out there!

The Snaggle Find app was designed by a group of parents who were inspired by their kids. The idea behind the app is to go on a photographic scavenger hunt with your iPhone. The app provides you with hunts that you can complete and you can also create your own original hunt to share with others. You can share your hunts from the app, through www.snagglefind.com or using Facebook.

I’d suggest visiting the help section (found when you tap “Account”) before you start. It’ll give you an idea of how to navigate through the app. To choose a hunt you’ll want to tap the “Hunt” button at the bottom of the screen. Then choose “In Progress” if you’ve got a hunt already started or “New” to begin a brand new one. On the new screen you’ll see a list of Snaggle Find hunts. You can sort them by date, alphabetically, by rating or by difficulty. (Rating & difficulty are explained in the help section.) If you want to view hunts that have been completed then tap the “View” button at the bottom of the screen. Here you can see public albums, your albums or those of your friends. There’s also a competitive aspect to Snaggle Find so check out the help section to learn how to score points.

I thought that Snaggle Find was a very innovative app and I liked that it’s got the potential to get me out of the house with my kids. I think going on a photo scavenger hunt sounds like a perfect Sunday afternoon activity and with users all over the world creating and sharing hunts there’ll always be new ones to choose from.

*You can also get help on www.snagglefind.com under FAQ.

Price when Reviewed:$1.99

Seller: N-Tonic, Inc