The iPhone Mom

Little Pim Word Bag is designed to help your child learn vocabulary in either French or Spanish. The app is based on an award winning  DVD series Pim is a panda and he’s got some fantastic things in his bag. There are things to do with eating and drinking, things to do with waking up smiling and things to do with playtime. Choose the category you’d like to explore and get ready to learn. Tap on Pim’s bag and watch him take out something to do with eating, waking, etc. There’s a colorful picture representing the item and then it’s name is written out underneath. Pim pronounces the word for you and then you can tap his bag again. The items all line up along the bottom of the screen and you can tap on them again to hear their name repeated. Little Pim never says the words in English so your children will need to be old enough to identify the pictures of the items. Otherwise they’ll have no idea what Pim’s talking about. Of course you can also use the app together and help guide them through it.

Little Pim Word Bag does a nice job presenting some common vocabulary in a cute way. It’s something different than simple flashcards and I like the way you can interact with Pim. To close I’d also like to apologize to Pim – I’ve no idea if he is a she or she is a he, so no offense intended Mr/Ms Panda!

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

Seller: Little Pim Co.

Have you ever visited the IMDb (Internet Movie Database) website? It’s my go-to place when I’m watching a show and I know that I’ve seen the actor somewhere before and it’s bugging me that I can’t figure it out. I’ve got so many other, more important things to worry about but there are times when these trivial things get stuck in my brain and the only way I can move past them is to find the answer. 

About two months ago IMDb released a free iPhone app. You can search the app just like you would the website. Enter in an actor’s name or the name of a movie and find out all sorts of interesting tidbits. Movie casts will be listed, plot summaries and synopsis available. Under an actor’s listing you can see the other movies and TV shows that they’ve appeared in as well as some personal information.

There’s more the the IMDb app than just looking up trivial entertainment information. The main screen is broken up into three sections, movies, TV and people. Here’s a quick rundown of what each offers.

Movies – The app will use your location to provide local movie showtimes. From there you can click on a movie title and see all the information that I just mentioned above.  There’s also a list of movies that are “coming soon”. In case you’re interested in the US Box Office Results or the most searched titles on IMDb that information is provided here as well.`And if that’s not enough you can see a list of the top 250 movies as voted on by IMDb users. Browsing that list will give you plenty of ideas for video rentals.

TV - “US TV Tonight” provides you with the evening’s TV listings. Tap on a listing and you’ll see more information about it, including the plot summary, cast and crew and even quotes from the episode.  “US TV Recaps” gives you a list of recaps from recent shows. I’m not sure how these shows are selected because not every network or program is available.

People – The “STARmeter” is a list of the most searched stars on IMDb. Tapping on their names takes you to their information page and you can see plenty of information about them. With “Born Today” you can find out which stars are celebrating a birthday that day.

The IMDb app does a great job taking the massive amount of information that’s available on their website and translating it into an iPhone friendly format. You could easily lose track of time when you get in and start exploring all the movies. For me it’s nice to be able to figure out who’s who in my BBC dramas without hauling out the laptop.

Price when Reviewed: Free

Seller: IMDb

Another big Apple event  has come and gone. To be honest I was more than a bit disappointed that there was no mention of a new iPhone OR that they’ll soon be available through service providers other than AT&T. But I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that maybe next time that wonderful news will come. Yesterday’s big reveal was the iPad. The device itself seems great but all I can think about is that unfortunate name.  Was there no one on the naming committee that couldn’t see all the awful jokes that will come from iPad? No women? No men who know any women?

I haven’t done an extensive amount of research into what this device is capable of. To be honest I was a bit turned off by all the earlier hype and couldn’t really understand what the big deal about a tablet was. My thinking was if there’s no keyboard how useful can it be? Then I saw the photos and thought ok, it’s got that slick Apple look  but there’s no way that will fit in my purse. I’m still not convinced the iPad is the greatest thing ever but I’m beginning to see it’s appeal. First of all, it can run apps. Apps that I already have. It’d be nice to play Settlers of Catan on an almost 10” screen. Or to watch movies in bed. Or surf the internet and  answer email without having to fire up the laptop. I use my iPhone to do a lot of that and a bigger screen and faster experience would be an improvement. Plus it turns out a keyboard dock will be available. I also like the thought of my kids being able to use their educational apps on a screen this size. A storybook app becomes an entirely different experience when it’s the size of an actual book. So I’m not completely sold yet, nor have I forgotten the “ick” I feel about the name, but I’m beginning to see what some of the appeal might be all about. I do know for certain that I’m not going to show my kids any pictures of the iPad because I am really not ready to be bombarded with requests for a giant iPod Touch.

What about you?? What do you think about the new Apple iPad? Will you be lining up to grab one?

Seb’s Tail is a storybook app offered by Kiwa Media. (They refer to it as a QBook.) This app has some of the more traditional features of a storybook app, as well as a couple of twists. Here are the app’s highlights:

You can listen to a read aloud version of the story or you read the story to yourself. It’s easy to switch between the two modes without having to go back to a main menu. Tap on the screen and a control bar appears. This is how you turn the page, record yourself, exit the book, etc. I suggest visiting the information section the first time you use the app to get a feel for what the buttons mean. You can also record yourself as the narrator. My kids go crazy for this type of feature.

When you choose to read the story to yourself you can tap on the words as you go along and then hear them read aloud individually. If you slide your finger from left to right the words that you touch will be read. If you press and hold a word it’s read and then spelled out. As the words are being read they’re highlighted and they literally jump up from the page. I liked being able to control the pace of the story with my finger.

The QBook allows you to color the book’s pages and then use them as the illustrations if you like. To access the coloring book feature tap on the screen and you’ll see a coloring icon on the control bar. To use your illustrations you’ll need to visit the app’s settings (main screen).

The app includes a memory game based on the story and a word search. The level of difficulty can be adjusted in the app’s settings.

Several languages are offered including English, Spanish, Portuguese and Maori. When you choose a new language it changes both the text and the narration. Very nice!

Finally, a simple thing but it made me smile. When you first open the app it asks you who the book belongs to. Enter in your child’s name and from then on, when you start up the QBook the first screen says “This Book Belongs to…” It’s a bookplate for your app. Darling.

I tried out the lite version of Seb’s Tail. It has only the first few pages of the story, a teaser really, but it gave me a great feel for what the full QBook would be like. From what I’ve been told Kiwa Media will soon be turning children’s books from Penguin into QBooks. When I hear more I’ll be sure to let you know.

Price when Reviewed: Full app – $4.99, Lite app – Free

Seller: Kiwa Media

Experimenter is a collection of fourteen science experiments. To give you a small idea of what’s on this app I’ll tell you that some of the experiments involve Pepsi & Mentos, dry ice, glowing water and fireproof balloons. The app gives you a list of the supplies needed to conduct each experiment and then a list of written instructions to follow. There’s information on safety and an explanation of how the experiment works. There’s also a video demonstration to watch. I found that the experiments made more sense to me  if I read the instructions, watched the video and then read the instructions again. The videos don’t come with narration, they’re just a visual demonstration set to music, so you’ll definitely need those instructions. Narration would be a nice addition I think. Finally, there is also a blooper reel that shows footage of experiments gone wrong. Nice to see the mistakes but the song they chose to accompany the footage has some questionable language in it. There I go being a prudish mom again. (Song changed in update)

I wouldn’t recommend that you let your kids use Experimenter unsupervised. This is an app that needs to be watched over or you might find your house filled with instant ice…or worse.  You must be 17 to download this app and I believe that’s probably due to some of the supplies needed.  Several experiments call for things that you probably don’t want your kids handling. For example, whiskey and the “balloon alternative” the app suggests for the fireproof balloons. And that’s all I’m going to say about that. 

So, if you’re looking for a few science experiments to try with your kids and you’d like to have the instructions and video right there on your phone then Experimenter appears to be a good source. I personally didn’t try out any of the actual experiments because there’s enough experimenting going on in my kitchen on a daily basis. It’s called dinner and it’s usually much scarier than anything else could be.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Cramzy

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.

I was recently asked to contribute a guest post to www.mobilebehavior.com. If you’re not sick of hearing from me yet you can read it here.

Clever, clever, clever and sneaky! Math Bumpies-Adventure on Math Island: Addition & Subtraction had me practicing my math facts while thinking that I was playing a game. And yes, I said me. I tried this one out because I can always use practice with my addition and subtraction. But you better believe I’m going to encourage my girls to try out this new “game” though. They’ll have their math facts down cold after a few go arounds with the Bumpies.

In Math Bumpies you choose a character to take you around Math Island. I chose Mister Chickenpants simply because he has an awesome name.  Next you choose your level, easy medium or hard. You also choose whether you want to play with addition facts, subtraction or both. And now you’re ready to journey around the island. You begin at Easy Street. The idea is to tilt your iPhone  and roll your character from left to right. As  you travel along you’ll see math problems in the sky. Solve the math problem and then tap on the screen when your character is under the correct answer. If you bump the right one you’ll score some points. When you reach the finish line you’re given your final score based on correct answers and the time it took you to finish. Then you’re off to the next round. The app allows you to create more than one player profile and you will select your level of difficulty and area of focus each time. This means that kids with different sill levels can all share the app and as they improve their skills they can continue to challenge themselves with more difficult questions. Math Bumpies also has a leaderboard that will keep track of individual player stats and high scores. Just a bit of friendly competition among siblings, right?

I thought Math Bumpies – Adventure on Math Island was a lot of fun for a math app! I loved the way it combines the math practice with the game. My only issue with the game was the voice over when you  bump into an incorrect answer. It’s really a pretty nitpicky thing too. Sometimes you hear “sorry” and sometimes you hear “whatever”.  “Whatever” is a phrase that I don’t particularly care for. I’ve never really liked it but I think I’m even more aware of it now that I’ve got a ten year old who tells me that with a “look” on a daily basis. I get the look and I can just read the “Whatever” in her mind. So I’m not that keen on having her (or my sassy seven year old) hearing that on a frequent basis. But it’s absolutely not a big enough complaint for me to keep them off Math Bumpies. The app is too fantastic for that and it even comes with a mute button. If you’re looking for a way to make math practice fun at your house this app will do the trick.  I’m hoping that there are multiplication and division adventures soon to come.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Rookie Labs, LLC

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.

The I Love Free Things app provides a constantly updated list of free samples that are simply out there for the taking. The app shows the list of free offers and you simply tap on the ones that you’d like to learn more about. You’ll then see a brief summary explaining what is being offered and what you need to do to receive the sample. There’s a line just below the summary that says “Visit this offer”. If you tap here you’ll be taken to a website where you can fill out the necessary forms. There’s also a line about comments. Here you can read what others have to say about the offer or put in your own two cents. You should see a star at the top right of the screen when you’re viewing the offer. Tap it and this free offer is added to a favorites list. As you go down the main list viewing each offer they will be marked as “read”. You can also mark all as read if you don’t want to take the time to look at them individually. In the top right corner is a refresh button. Tap that and the main list will update. Along the bottom of the screen are two buttons. One for “Search” and one for “Favorites”. Pretty self-explanatory. Search allows you to enter keywords about freebies you’re looking for. Favorites shows the offers that you’ve marked.

As I went through the list I saw a few things that interested me but the ones I was interested in wanted me to join their mailing lists. Unfortunately, I’m not willing to do that unless the freebie is a product I really want and I don’t mind the inevitable email. I’m not going to join a mailing list just to get something for free that I’ll probably never use again. To be fair, there were probably offers on the list that didn’t require that. I just didn’t select those products. Ok, coming off the soapbox now. None of that little rant has much to do with the I Love Free Things app itself. It is fine, easy to use and well done. The app does what it says it will, it provides you with access to oodles of free sample offers. I Love Free Things is free so it’s worth checking out to see if there’s something out there that you just can’t live without.

Enough of my ranting about mailing lists, I’m going to close with something that gave me a chuckle this past weekend. It also actually relates to free things and how they can be wonderful, or not, depending on your perspective. I visited our local Co-Op grocery store last weekend for the first time. It was a lot to take in, I had no idea how much stuff could be packed into one building, but I did notice a sign on the counter of the coffee bar tucked right in the middle of the store. The sign read “Unattended children will be given a free espresso and puppy”. My seven year old daughter was with me and she really wanted to know what unattended children meant. I think she was hoping that she was one so she could take a puppy home. No such luck I’m afraid. I loved the sign but I wouldn’t love those freebies, that’s for sure! Talk about an effective threat! I’ll bet every parent who visits the Co-Op keeps a firm grip on their kiddos!

Price when Reviewed: Free

Seller: mobile.ilovefreethings.com

I Love Free Things Website – www.ilovefreethings.com

Today I’ve got a blurb from Nancy Daniels, a developer of the Photo Match for Tots app. She recently attended the big CES (Consumer Electronics) Show that was held in Las Vegas a few weeks ago.  The convention was mentioned on several big news sites because of the way they incorporated moms into the convention this year. Did you know we moms are the real decision makers when it comes to technology? The media is now saying it’s true but I think we moms have known it all along. Nancy was kind enough to share some of her thoughts about her experience at the convention. You can see her app in the iTunes store or at her website www.weilyapps.com. Thanks Nancy!

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I went to the Mommy Tech and Kids@Play section of the GiNorMous Consumer Electronics Convention (CES) in Las Vegas recently. I attended as a specialist in children’s learning, an iPhone App developer and a Mom. The Mommy Tech track was new this year and had a terrific showing of mom bloggers, market researchers, product reps and internet safety advocates. Here are some nuggets that I picked up:

-Mommy Tech is a big movement with powerful impact and growing influence in the marketplace.

-It’s all about tech that makes a mom’s life easier. Whether managing the family’s schedule, health and fostering connections, moms want the devices that facilitate their lives.

-Moms (not just Dads) love gadgets.

For me the role that resonated the most was that of the CMO: Chief Memory Officer, that Tina Sharkey, the dynamic Chairperson of BabyCenter, described in detail. Documenting and sharing family memories is a responsibility which moms are happy to hold, even if sometimes a hassle to maintain. One of my company’s apps is PhotoMatch for Tots, the classic memory game where kids use photos from their own iPhone albums to play the game. I’m excited that our App is great for learning AND for tapping into the CMO’s world.

Intension is a game of wits. A game that requires strategy and paying attention. I am more of an UNO kind of a gal. I know that some people apply wits and strategy to their UNO cards but I’m all for laying the cards out there and then watching what happens. I think what I’m trying to say is I stunk at this game. Beat every time by the iPhone.

The game itself, as I understand it, is pretty basic. Keep in mind I said basic. I might be missing something, which could explain my numerous losses. Every player picks a number. The player who picked the highest number wins the round. Another round starts and you pick a new number, but it can’t be the the number you picked previously. The highest number wins the round. The winner of the game is the person who won the most rounds. The trick comes in figuring out when to pick a high number, when to pick a low one and to somehow keep track of what the other players are choosing. Is it any wonder I couldn’t keep up?

Intension allows you to play as a single player, against the iPhone, or in a multiplayer game. There weren’t any instructions on how the multiplayer game works, but I think you’d play it with friends, who also have the app, over a wireless network. Just a guess though. The game runs smoothly, has a clean design and some unusual avatars that you can choose to represent yourself in the game. The funny thing about the avatars is their faces reflect how you’re doing in the game. As you can see from my screenshot above, mine wasn’t too pleased with my performance. Overall Intension wasn’t for me, but that’s not a reflection on the app but rather on my inability to focus on a game more difficult than Pass the Pigs or Feed the Kitty right now. Such is my life.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: LambdaMu Games

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.