The iPhone Mom

The Nurse with the Red Clown Nose is a sweet story about a nurse who works with children that are battling cancer. She keeps them laughing and lifts up their spirits throughout the story. I thought the story gave a nice perspective on a tough disease. It was realistic but not scary and it manages to stay upbeat inspite of the tough subject matter. It was refreshing to see a storybook app for kids that deals with real life subject matter.

I’ve got two promo codes to give away for this app. First two comments will win them. Codes only valid in the US App Store.

***All sales of The Nurse with the Red Clown Nose benefit to the Children’s Cancer Foundation. Awesome!

I have two promo codes to give away. First come first served today…first two comments will get an email from me later in the day with the promo code.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: StoryBoy

Shop Ethical! is an app out of Australia that gives you information about a company’s record regarding the environment and social issues. You can search for a product by name or browse through the different categories. You’ll be able to view a list of products sorted alphabetically or by their ethical rating. Next to the products will be a symbol showing what the rating is. The app also provides information about industry alerts and principles for shopping ethically. When you begin using the app you’ll want to go through the “Get Informed” section. This will explain the information in the app and where it’s been gathered from. You’ll also want to take a look at the app’s legend so you know what the symbols next to the products and companies represent.

If you’re interested in making an impact through your shopping and you live in Australia then this might be the app for you. I’m hoping the developers will let me know if the app begins featuring products from other countries.

Price when Reviewed: $2.99

Seller: Outware Mobile

Litterbug! is a cute game for younger children. My five year old was telling me tonight that it’s easy for him but he loves it. His words. In Litterbug! you are a ladybug who is in charge of cleaning up trash. You’ve got to pick it up and sort it into either the trash can or recycling bin. To make things more difficult there are animals wandering around the screen. If they eat the trash they’ll be sick so you’ve got to be quick. As you progress through the game the number of things on the ground increases and the animals start to move faster.  Litterbug! has four different types of scenes – the park, a snowy forest and the ocean.

Litterbug! is a fun game that also teaches kids about recycling. It is on the easy side, probably best suited for early preschoolers. On a side note, I wish my trash can was as cute as the one in this app. No happy smiley face on mine that’s for sure.

*A free version of Litterbug! is available. It features the first level (the park) of the full game.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: HeistDevice

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

Light the App allows you to post dedications and “light candles” for those you know who have been affected by leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma. You can add your “lights” by entering in their name, state of residence and a dedication. The app lets you view only your lights or all the lights/dedications that have been done through the app. There is also a search feature. The app also allows you to make a donation to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Price when Reviewed: FREE

Seller: GlobalMagic

Family Matters is not an app that you use to distract your kids or keep them occupied. It’s meant to help you connect with each other through actual face to face interaction.  The app features questions and activities that are designed to help you communicate with your children more effectively, learning more about them as you go.

Family Matters features questions/activities that are designed for four situations where you might find yourself sitting around with time to talk. They are: Restaurant, Road Trip, Dr. Office and a General category. The different categories have questions that relate to these situations.  The idea is to go through the app and use it to begin discussions with  your child. For example – the Restaurant category might ask you to “name your favorite food that is your favorite color” or “what is your favorite meal that your parents make you?” Some questions are lighthearted, some will foster deeper conversations. As you are going through them all you can mark activities/questions as favorites or even delete them. You can also add your own to the lists. Family Matters also features advice on how to best use the application and ideas to get you started.  I found this section be be very helpful. I’ve been told that an update featuring the category of “Airports” has been submitted to Apple and they are working on “Waiting in Line” for early 2010.

If you’re finding it difficult to really talk with your children and you don’t know how to get beyond the “How was your day? It was okay.” routine this app will get you going.  I think it’s a fantastic idea and a great way to use the iPhone as a positive tool for families. The only thing that I didn’t really care for were the graphics. I found them a little distracting and not really necessary given the nature of the app. But that’s just me. Everything else was terrific.

On a side note, the creation of this app was actually a family affair for the Weiner family. The development involved dad, mom and their three children. Pretty cool! Throughout the month of December they are donating half of the proceeds from Family Matters to the Ronald McDonald House Charities. Which makes this an app that can benefit your own family while you help someone else’s.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

Seller: Weiner Family Studios

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

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that the ICE4me app had gone pink in support of breast cancer research. They’ve done the same thing with their family version, ICE4family. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this special version will be donated.

Here are my thoughts on the pink ICE4me app.

And my thoughts on the original ICE4family.

Finally, thoughts on the original ICE4me (also known as EMS Alert).

Lots of thoughts for a good cause. I have a promo code to give away for the pink ICE4family app. First comment wins.

ICE4me was created by the maker of smartICE 4 Family and smart-ICE. The only real difference between ICE4me and the original EMS Alert app, which turned into smart-ICE, is the pink color. This is an app that stores all of your key personal information, medical information, emergency contacts, etc. Everything that you’d want someone to know in case of an emergency. The ICE icon is widely recognized and the idea is that emergency personnel would see it on your iPhone and know that the app contained your key information.

ICE4me has a pink background for an important reason.  A portion of the revenue from sales of the pink ICE4me app will be donated to help with the fight against breast cancer. I’ve been told that a pink edition of smartICE 4 Family is also on the way. Donations will be made from it’s proceeds as well.

I’ve said it before but I’m going to repeat myself. These are the type of apps you never want to use but if they’re ever needed you’ll be so glad they were on your phone.

Price when Reviewed: $.99 (a portion will be donated to help fight breast cancer)

Seller: EMS Options, LLC