The iPhone Mom

Card Bank lets you store your loyalty cards in your iPhone. It’s very easy to add the card information. Just a matter of tapping “edit”, then “add” and then selecting a store from a list. The iTunes description says there are 120 programs currently available in the app and they have plans to add more. You can also send the developers a card request through the app’s help screen. There were about five on the list that I can use.

After you’ve selected your store you’ll enter in the card’s number. When that’s done the app will generate a bar code to go with that card. Now you’ve got your card stored and you can use it while shopping. I haven’t taken Card Bank on a field test yet but the app says if you view the barcode in landscape mode, have it scanned by a hand held scanner and have your screen on full brightness it should work just fine. The iTunes reviews for this app were all over the place. Some loved it, some hated it. I’m wondering how many of the people who couldn’t get it to work weren’t following the scanning tips. As for it being a waste of money, my feeling is it’s only $.99. If it were a pricier app and was giving you trouble I’d be complaining. But for $.99 I say keep trying and watch for updates to catch the bugs and improve the card selection.

Life is starting to normalize (a little) so I should be able to take Card Bank out shopping soon. Once I do I’ll let you know how successfully it works for me.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Bar Code Graphics, Inc.

Preschool Pairs is a memory game about musical instruments. You begin with a set of cards turned face down. Tap one to turn it over and then tap another to find it’s match. Each card features a musical instrument and when you tap it you’ll hear the music it plays. When you find a match the app shows you the name of the instrument. There are two modes to this game. Toddler mode shows you all the cards, no flipping required. Preschool mode begins with the cards face down.  In preschool mode there are different levels of difficulty and the games are timed and scored.

The app information says that more instruments will be added in future updates. I think the price might be a dollar too high but Preschool Pairs is a simple memory game and if your child likes music it’s one they’ll enjoy.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

Seller: babyantz media

I know my math skills have been improving as I’ve been trying out all the wonderful math apps available.  Now I can add two more to my list – Math Time and Math Time EX. In Math Time you’re given various problems in the areas of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Tap “Show Problem” and a problem appears on the screen. Solve it in your head and then tap “Display Answer” to see if you gotten it right. Math Time EX operates the same way only it involves problems where you are squaring a number, finding the square root or doing multi-addition or multi-subtraction problems. Is squaring a number the right way to put it?

These are two simple and effective apps that will help your child practice their math facts. I love having “flashcards” that don’t have to be flipped through and cannot be lost.  Now here’s the cool thing about these apps. They were designed by an eleven year old boy named Owen. (One of my favorite boy names by the way.) Owen and his brother Finn have been featured in many news stories and even on the Rush Limbaugh show. You can read all about their press here. As the mom of a ten year old I’m thoroughly impressed with what these kids have accomplished. Owen has mastered a new programming language and  built a useful app that he should be very proud of. Math Time and Math Time EX are well done, effective and helpful to all the other kids who need that extra bit of practice with math.

**Update 1/27/10 - Owen has just released a new version of his Math Time app.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: John Voorhees/Squibner Software

Math Time

Math Time EX

My kids absolutely love pet pictures. Anything cute and cuddly gets plenty of oooohs and ahhhs. If the pet is wearing clothes or in a bed of flowers the response will be even more enthusiastic. I’m guessing this isn’t something unique to my children because there is an entire app devoted to pet pictures. It’s called The Pet Show and it allows  you to view pet photos and vote on which ones you like the best. You can tap on a photo and then rank it from one to four. The pictures are screened before they show up but if you find something that doesn’t belong you can mark it as “disqualify”. The app keeps a running count of which pets have the most votes and you can see a list of the top ten. When you’re gazing on those fluffy kitties you can add the picture to a favorites list or email it out to a kitty loving friend. Now here’s the best part. You can upload photos of your own pet to be included in the voting. This feature has me wanting to turn off my phone’s camera before my kids have flooded The Pet Show with picture after picture of our Haveshire pup.  If your kids are pet crazy this is a great app for your phone. It’s only $.99 and the pictures will keep changing. Plus it beats watching Pet Star reruns on a Saturday morning with Slater from Saved by the Bell.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Eternal Vision Investments/Monkey Business

There is also a free version of The Pet Show available.

Summer road trips are now a thing of the past but soon it will be time for the holidays. Before we know it we’ll be back in the car heading over the river and through the woods with bored children in the back of our van. The Fun Kids Car Travel Game is an app designed for keeping your kids entertained AND interacting with each other in a non-combative way. With this app they can work together and play as a team against the clock or they can play against each other.

Begin by entering a team name (if you’re playing against the clock) or the names of up to six players (if playing against each other). Next choose “Town” or “Country” questions. This means the questions you’re given will relate to where you’re traveling – in the town or in the country. You can also select how many seconds are allowed between questions and what the winning score needs to be. Once the game has begun questions will appear on the screen. They’ll ask you to look out the car window and find different things. One person needs to be in charge of the score keeping. It will be their job to tap the team name when the object has been spotted. If you are playing against each other then the score keeper taps the name of the first person to spot the object. For each tap the app will keep score. When someone reaches the winning score the game is over.

The Fun Kids Car Travel Game is an app that will keep your kiddos entertained on a road trip and hopefully co-existing in peace in the back of your car.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Mark Sanchez/Notion Arts

This is not your lazy-dazy connect the dots experience. Like the title says it’s “extreme”. Extreme in that the line you’re drawing is moving while you’re trying to connect the dots. You chose from nine simple shapes and then tap the red dot as it moves around the screen. If you’re quick the line will follow your dots and you’ll end up with something that sort of resembles the shape you were trying to create. If you’re like me and your lightening fast reflexes are a thing of the past, then you’ll be lucky to tap all the dots before the line is done. While you play there are points to be scored and the app keeps track of high scores.

A tip – if you go to the settings section you can adjust your line’s speed. All the way from turtle to rabbit. You can also turn the extreme game off. If you do this then the app becomes a simple connect the dots game. I appreciate this feature because it means the app can appeal to everyone from myself to my youngest child.

I’ll admit that I found Connect the Dots Extreme to be a bit tricky to master. Watching this video helped. How did we ever manage without You Tube? It would be nice to be able to control the lines a little more. My daughter says that you have to be fast for this app and even when you get the dots the line doesn’t go where you tapped. That was my experience too. But this is version 1.0 of the app and one of my favorite things about apps is that they’re constantly being improved. We purchase them and give them a try and let the developers know what we think. They do some tweaking and reworking and a new version is soon available without additional cost to us.  I like the concept of Connect the Dots Extreme and think with a few improvements to the “lines” it’ll be a terrific app.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: poccaDot

Sorry for the interruption of regular iPhone programming but I saw this today and wanted to share. Are we the only people on the planet who didn’t know that there’s a Lego Rock Band game coming out??? It’s being released on November 3rd and I am more excited then a thirty-something mom of four should be. Why? We’re probably the last people on the planet who do not own Rock Band or Guitar Hero. I’ve just never been able to purchase them because of the song choices. My kids pick up on everything and there are some lyrics I just don’t want to explain. Also the characters scare me. There, I said it. We recently borrowed Beatles Rock Band and that’s been a hit so I can’t wait for this one. It’s described as having family friendly songs plus the characters are Lego figures. I hope the person who came up with that combination got a promotion. I know what’s going at the top of our Santa list this year.

Sorry for the interruption of regular iPhone programming but I saw this today and wanted to share. Are we the only people on the planet who didn’t know that there’s a Lego Rock Band game coming out??? It’s being released on November 3rd and I am more excited then a thirty-something mom of four should be. Why? We’re probably the last people on the planet who do not own Rock Band or Guitar Hero. I’ve just never been able to purchase them because of the song choices. My kids pick up on everything and there are some lyrics I just don’t want to explain. Also the characters scare me. There, I said it. We recently borrowed Beatles Rock Band and that’s been a hit so I can’t wait for this one. It’s described as having family friendly songs plus the characters are Lego figures. I hope the person who came up with that combination got a promotion. I know what’s going at the top of our Santa list this year.

Confession time. I’m not a big fan of Chinese food. However I am a big fan of fortune cookies. Love their flavor and those inspiring messages. Ok, another confession. Some inspire me and others just give me the giggles. So the LuckyFortune app is the best of both worlds for me. Fortune cookies without the Chinese food. I’ll miss out on the actual cookie but I guess I’d be missing out on the calories too.

LuckyFortune shows you a single fortune cookie. Shake your  phone and the cookie breaks, revealing your fortune. It’s then read outloud by a Chinese gentleman. Shake your iPhone again to receive another cookie. Simple fun.

My girls are just old enough to begin to appreciate the wisdom inside a fortune cookie and they’re getting a kick out of LuckyFortune. Now if only some of those fortunes would actually come true…..

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: FunVid Apps, LLC

Two last apps from www.anusen.com. Match Magic is a simple matching game that has your child draw a line from one item to it’s match, using their finger on the iPhone screen.  On the bottom of the screen are four buttons – pictures, shapes, counts and colors. Pictures and shapes ask your child to match identical pictures and shapes. Counts has them matching up a written number with a drawing of that many items. Colors has  color blots that match with an item of the same color. Good concept but one thing I noticed was that some of the colors seemed a little too much alike. I know they’re different but they looked similar enough to possibly be tricky for the younger kiddos.

Match ‘em Up Words displays pictures and words side by side. Again using their finger your child will need to draw a line from the word to the matching picture. When they’ve got everything matched up correctly the app will pull up a new challenge. 

Math Magic

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Match ‘em Up Words

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: anusen.com