The developers are up to something. I heard them rustling around in our forums, planning special surprises for you. If you have time this App Friday, stop by the Apps Kids Love Facebook Page to say hello. I’ll show up at 10:00am San Francisco time, but at this point, I believe it’s worth visiting early. Thanks and enjoy the featured apps!
NOTE: I’m receiving reports that not all apps are available to download due to an iTunes software upgrade. We’ll keep you posted.
Featured Apps (Click the image to read the app descriptions in iTunes. App Friday promotional pricing lasts until 8pm US PST Friday, unless extended by the developer.)
Princess Pony Jigsaw, by Apps Kids Love, $.99 for App Friday. Choose your puzzle design and solve. This company should be named “Apps Lorraine Loves”, because I am SO EXCITED that there are no buttons that take you outside of the app. The child can focus without being transported to ads, game center, facebook, twitter, email, websites, or anything. All game play is 100% purely contained within the app. Other titles on sale this week include the Matching Dogs Memory Game and the Photo Memory Game, both for $.99.
Magic Sorter by Igromatic, PLANNED TO BE FREE for App Friday, but iTunes is still modifying the price. Very upbeat! You can select which theme you’d like to sort (shapes, silhouette, size, puzzle, color) and then you drag and drop the images into the correct locations. When done correctly the fish do a happy dance. Social media buttons do exist on the home page, so parents should monitor entry into the app. But after you get past those, it’s a nice polished interface.
Plants HD by Sprout Labs, FREE for App Friday. My daughter and I learned the plant lifecycle by dragging each element into order and experimenting by trial and error. Pretty fun. Each stage has Did-You-Know information sheets and pop quizzes. YAY Science!!! There is one email button behind the information screen.
Enchanted Dictionary by Golden Communications, PLANNED TO BE FREE for App Friday, but iTunes is still modifying the price. Pick your topic subject and play by dragging the unscrambled words of the definition into place. There are lots of definitions to learn in here, sorted by educational category. Once you guess the correct placement of the word, it locks into place.
Sarah Little Fairy and Grandma by Sanoen, FREE for App Friday. This story teaches about Alzheimer’s disease, and takes the reader on a family’s journey after Grandma has come to live with them. This app has more than storytelling, but important life lessons also. Social media access behind the envelope and the logo on the home page, so take note.
Funny Alphabet from Ritlabs, $.99 for App Friday. Every letter has items that start with that letter on the same page. Swipe through pages like a book. On this page, kids can tap the grapes to “eat” them up. Version 1.4 just went live with more animations, voice narrations, and a small “bubbles” game. Direct link to Facebook from the homepage, so take note before handing off.
BabyFirst Encyclopedia from BabyFirst Games, FREE always. Select the category of topics you’d like to see (vehicles, sea, harvest, farm, etc.) and then view images of items. Tapping on an item instigates the text and narrated word. There is a ‘more games’ button at the end of the train, but you have to hold down and swipe, so it’s not immediate and gives you some fair warning before exiting the app. BabyFirst Games successfully funded a new version of this app that will include more facts and iPad support, via an MWA-supported Appbackr campaign. Congratulations!
Princess Pony’s One Year Anniversary on Facebook
We’ll be gathering at the Apps Kids Love Facebook Page for Princess Pony’s one year anniversary. The folks Down Under will be kicking off the party early (Thursday night), but the official start is 10:00am Pacific Time / 1:00pm Eastern Time on Friday Feb 3rd. The page is open to the public, so please stop by to join the fun. If you miss the 10:00am slot, head over to the Moms With Apps page for anytime news.
More App News, With Love
Scott Weiner, the developer who manages our ever-growing forum of almost 1000 app developers, just released a new title this week called Valentines Coloring Book. It’s at a special introductory price of $.99. Enjoy!
Have you noticed Pirate Scribblebeard kidoodling all over my banner? They are a creative bunch. If you’d like to meet a fantastic developer with lots of app ideas in store for you, check out our Banner Program this week.
The Jellybean Tunes App Report, a weekly recap of new releases from Moms With Apps, reaches Volume 15! If you are looking for fresh content, this is the article to grab: https://blog.momswithapps.com/2012/02/01/the-jellybean-tunes-app-report-volume-15/
The Link Exchange
Add links to your favorite apps, blog posts, Facebook pages – or any link that covers family-friendly apps. Please include the app name (or page name) in the Link Title, your email, and a URL. Thanks for participating!
I just tried to download some of the apps, and I received the message that they are being modified. Does that mean they will be available later today?
I’ve received several messages with people having trouble downloading the apps. One of the developers spoke with Apple, and there is an iTunes Software Update that they are working on. I’ll keep monitoring the situation and will see what can be done to make up for the trouble. –Lorraine