daily ipad app
Latest
Daily iPad App: Rich Notes is another snazzy note-taking solution for your iPad
There are a ton of great note-taking apps out there for the iPad at this point (one of my favorites is Penultimate), and because there are so many available, choosing one is really up to personal preference at this point. Rich Notes is a relatively new entry to the pantheon, but it's free (which is always nice), and will let you take fully formatted notes on your iPad you like. The app is simple and clean, and features full text formatting (bold, italic, and underline to start), iCloud compatibility, the ability to share your notes out via email or copy them to the clipboard, and a nice wide landscape orientation editor for typing into. The one real issue I have with Rich Notes is the fact that much of the app's really shiny formatting options (like the ability to use strikethrough text, change the text's color, or use highlighting) are hidden behind in-app purchases. That you have to buy these features isn't so bad (obviously the app's developer worked hard, and deserves to be paid for his work), but the buttons for these features are permanently in the interface, and you are only reminded that you need to purchase them once you've gone through, selected your text, and then hit the "highlight" button, for example. That can be frustrating, especially when you're in the middle of taking notes fast and want to highlight something without remembering that you haven't made the in-app purchase yet. So it would be nice if the IAP features were a little more well-thought out. Obviously, buying the features means you won't have any problems, but the model is just a little weird (especially because, from what I've seen, many purchasers of productivity apps are more than happy to pay for a well-made experience). At any rate, if you want another notes app to try out, Rich Notes is currently available as a free download on the App Store. I doubt it will sway you away from a solution if you've already found something you love, but again, finding a notes app you like at this point is mostly a matter of personal taste. So in that light, it's probably worth a try.
Daily iPad App: Imagewind shows you the images of the world
Imagewind gives you a glimpse of our fast-changing world by letting you admire photos from all around the globe. The app is an aggregator that pulls down photos in near real-time from services like Instagram, Twitter, and Flickr. You can select which photo services you want to use and how long you want each image to display on your screen. When an image captures your attention, you can share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more. You can also export it to your photo roll and save it foroffline viewing. I was skeptical at first about the information overload offered by Imagewind, but once I slowed the pace of the images, I was captivated by all the different photos passing through my stream. Imagewind is available for free from the iOS App Store. It's a universal app, so you can get the iPad and the iPhone version with a single purchase.
Daily iPad App: Flowstate is a brutal writing app that produces results
Flowstate describes itself as the most brutal writing app and I have to agree. Flowstate, for those who have not stumbled across it, is an iOS writing app designed to minimize distractions and get the words flowing by putting the screws to you. The app launches with a full-screen editor and a countdown timer. You select the amount of time you want to write and start typing away. Sounds like a pleasant experience until you stop writing to look at your tweets and gasp in horror as your wonderful prose is deleted by the app. Don't try to exit Flowstate to check your email as the app will take the big ole eraser to your text as well. Just keep writing and don't stop until the timer is up, and you will get to keep your precious ramblings. It's a novel way to force you to stop over-thinking and start putting your thoughts down on paper. If you are glutton for punishment, then check out Flowstate. It costs US$1.99 and is available for the iPad and iPhone. I recommend sticking with the iPad version because the tablet is more suitable for typing.
Daily iPad App: Versu lets you play the role of a character in a story
Versu is a living storybook app that adds an interesting twist to its storytelling. Instead of merely reading an engaging tale of love and adventure, users actually get to take part in the story. When you open a book in Versu, you get to choose the character that you want to portray. As the story unravels, you have the opportunity to select how you respond to other characters in the narrative. Your responses influence how the story proceeds and even how it ends. Versu includes several short books, and you can buy an additional one for US$4.99. It's a new app, so its interactive book catalog is small, but growing. The iPad app is available for free from the iOS App Store.
Daily iPad App: NotesTab seamlessly syncs your notes between iOS, Mac and Windows 8
When it comes to note-taking, I prefer apps that are lightweight and easy to use. I want to be able to quickly open a note, capture a thought before it disappears and then move on. Recently, I've ditched iOS Notes and have been using NotesTab from Fiplab. NotesTab is a universal app, but I've been using it primarily on the iPad because I find it easier to take notes on the slightly bigger screen of my iPad mini. NotesTab uses a two-pane interface to display a list of your notes on the left and the contents of individual notes on the right. You can easily switch between landscape and portrait orientation and keep this same layout. You can also fullscreen an individual note if you need more space for writing. Notes are plain text and there are no drawing or image import options. The app does allow you to add text styling like bold, underline and italics to your text. It also supports URLs so you can click on a link in a note and open a web page in mobile Safari. There are some other useful features like note timestamps, starring so you can mark notes as important and search. NotesTab, though, is more than just a standalone iPad app. It has a companion desktop app that is available for OS X and Windows 8. I don't use Windows 8, but this could be an important feature for folks working in a mixed-platform environment. The app really shines when it comes to syncing. Once I setup my account and entered my credentials into the iPad, iPhone and OS X app, my notes immediately appeared on all my devices. When I deleted a note, the change was pushed to the devices right away. This was so much better at syncing than iOS Notes and iCloud that it won me over in an instant. NotesTab is available for US$0.99 in the iOS App Store. The companion desktop app, NotesTab Pro, is available for $4.99 from the Mac App Store. There is a free version of the desktop app, but it doesn't support syncing and other advanced features.
Daily iPad App: Watchup is your personal video news station
Sometimes reading the news just doesn't jive with what you are doing. For those times, iPad owners can turn to Watchup, a video news aggregator that pulls content from the top news channels. Watchup lets you create your own custom newscasts that you can watch when you have some free time at the breakfast table or during your evening commute. You can pick the length of the newscast and choose the duration that fits into your schedule. The app also lets you pick the channels that you want to add to your newscast and includes a handful of the best news sources in the business including CNN, WSJ, TED, TechCrunch and more. Watchup compiles the newscast for you at the same time each day, so your news will be ready and waiting for you when you need it. When your newscast is ready to watch, all you have to do is press play and then sit back and enjoy the show. Watchup will stream the clips in succession, so you never have to touch your screen. Navigation controls lets you move forward and back through your newscast, which means you can skip the items you don't want to watch and review the ones you might have missed. The app also has social features that let you share the video clips via Facebook, Twitter or email. An AirPlay option lets you stream the newscast to your Apple TV. Watchup has a beautiful UI and its performance has been flawless in the times that I have used it. You do need an Internet connection to play the clips in the newscast, which may be a hindrance to those who don't have a cellular capable iPad or a local WiFi connection. Watchup is free in the iOS App Store. Give it a spin and let us know what you think about the app in the comments.
Daily iPad App: Endless Alphabet is an enjoyable way for kids to learn their ABCs
Endless Alphabet from Callaway Digital Arts is one of those children's apps that you know is going to be a hit with your kids as soon as you open it. It has bouncy, eye-catching graphics and fantastic sound effects that grab your child's attention and hold it long enough for them to learn their letters and some new words. The home screen in the app is a large, smiling cartoon character whose mouth holds the words for each letter in the alphabet. Each letter has at least one word, and the words are challenging for the pre-K crowd that is targeted in this app. Most words in the app are common, but complex words like sticky, tangle and umbrella. This is not a Run, Spot, Run type of app, which is a bonus as it teaches letters and enhances your child's vocabulary at the same time. After your child selects a word, the word is spoken and all of the letters in the word are scattered on the screen. Children must then select a letter and drag it to its position in the word. When a child taps on a letter, the letter begins to shake, animations appear and the app repeats the sound of the letter. When the letter is dropped into its correct position in the word, the app then says the name of the letter. I love the combo of animation, phonetics and letter-learning provided by Endless Alphabet -- it's entertaining and educational at the same time. After your child spells the word, the app speaks the word out loud and then explains what the word means on a level that a young child would understand. There's also a cute animation that accompanies this explanation. Just like everything else in Endless Alphabet, the vocabulary lesson is well-crafted. Endless Alphabet launched with one word per letter, and the developer is regularly adding new words to the app. Parents will appreciate that there are no ads in the app and the settings are locked down from tap-happy children. Settings are minimal and only contain the contact information for the developer. To access the settings, parents have to enter the numbers spelled out in an easy word-based captcha. Endless Alphabet is available for free from the iOS App Store.
Daily iPad App: WWF Together combines conservation with stunning wildlife photography
WWF Together is an educational and entertaining iPad app from the World Wildlife Fund. Like most wildlife apps, WWF Together includes stunning videos and photos of animals in their natural habitats There's also conservation information as well as interesting and oddball facts about each animal. WWF Together features eight animals, with additional wildlife added each month. What sets WWF apart from similar wildlife apps is its clever panel layout (shown above) that lets you digest small bits and pieces about each animal. When you view an entry, you can scroll up/down or left/right to view a new panel. Some panels have images, while others have a collection of scrollable short facts. There's even a few interactive games thrown in the mix as well. Each animal has about eight to nine panels of information. If you have children, they will love the origami feature of the WWF Together app. The app allows you to watch and then send an origami video of each animal to your friends or family. You can also download instructions to create your own folded-paper creations. WWF Together is great for a quick read when you have some free time. If the facts don't strike your fancy, then you will definitely appreciate the gorgeous images. I frequently find myself firing up WWF Together just to gaze at the wildlife photographs. WWF Together is available for free from the iOS App Store.
Daily iPad App: Spend more time drawing, less time tweaking with Inspire Pro
Inspire Pro is an iPad app for anyone with a flair for painting. It was recently updated to version 2, which includes a refreshed UI with new graphics and a powerful new painting engine that was built from scratch by KiwiPixel. The new Sorcery Engine is based on OpenGL ES 2.0 and works with the GPU in all iPads, including the iPad 1. Inspire Pro's new painting engine has allowed KiwiPixel to expand the number of brushes and settings available to users. The 2.0 version has bumped up the number of brushes from five to 30 and has increased the number of settings for each brush. Brushes are broken down into three sets -- Oil Paint, Airbrushes and Basic Shapes. You can choose between using each brush as a wet brush to apply paint, a dry brush to blend colors and an eraser to sculpt and craft your paintings. Once you figure out all the settings, each brush can be tweaked to meet most of your painting needs. You get smooth bristle strokes when you use the wet brushes and the blending with a dry bush is pleasingly subtle. Added options like Glaze and Scatter let you get the effect that complements your painting. Performance was smooth on the iPad 2, iPad 4 and the iPad mini. The mini though was less than ideal as I missed the bigger canvas of the full-sized iPad. There are still a few features missing from Inspire Pro that did not make it into this latest version. Most notable are the lack of layers for the canvas and support for third-party backup services like Dropbox. Maximum canvas size of 2,048 x 1,536 is also smaller than that offered by competitors like Sketchbook Pro and Procreate. In comparison to its competitors, Inspire Pro has fewer overall options, but its simpler UI does make it easier to use. Despite these drawbacks, Inspire Pro is still worth a look. Both beginning artists and experienced pros will appreciate the variety of brushes, and the smooth performance of the Sorcery Engine. It may not replace the feeling of a real brush on canvas, but Inspire Pro's portability and ease of use means you will never miss a moment of inspiration. Inspire Pro is available from the iOS App Store for US$7.99. For MacWorld attendees, KiwiPixel will be demoing Inspire Pro on Thursday, January 31st and Friday, February 1st at their iPad sketch station.
Daily iPad App: Penny Arcade The Game: Gamers vs. Evil is simple but excellent deck-building action
Playdek is a developer that's caught my eye recently. They're the folks behind what I think are the best card games on the App Store, including the great Ascension (which Gary Games, now called StoneBlade Entertainment, actually designed but Playdek brought to iOS), as well as the excellent Nightfall and Summoner Wars. Their latest title is an adaptation of Cryptozoic's deck-building card game based on the Penny Arcade webcomic, and just like the other titles, it's a full-featured, well-made game that feels right at home on the iPad. The game is not the best deck-building game I've ever played. The process, if you've never seen it before, is that you spend some currency cards to buy other cards, which then add in to your deck and unlock various actions and extra currency for you every turn. It's essentially a board game, though you're moving cards around, and Playdek more or less just sticks to digital versions of the analog cards rather than adding a lot of extra digital fluff to the game. But this company is now so familiar with these types of games that the tutorial is great and all of the movement is very intuitive as you play. The added theme of Penny Arcade can be a little off-putting if you don't like the comic or its dark and often gross humor, but the core game itself is solid and fun. Just like all of Playdek's other games, there are multiple options for playing the game itself, and you can play with any number of AI players at various difficulties, or go online to play against other humans. I would like to see a few more cards in the mix, but just like the real-life card game, the proceedings are very expandable, and so you can expect to see some more packs added in the future, probably via in-app purchase. Even with just the included content (available for US$4.99 on the App Store), this is probably one of the most accessible games of this type out there. Try this to see what you think, and if you like it as much as I do, you can move on to a more complicated game like Nightfall, or the very impressive SolForge, set for a release later on this year.
Daily iPad App: Q & A Diary - Roller Journal uses questions to keep your journal entries lively
Keeping a daily journal can be difficult, especially when you run out of things to write about. Journaling fans who need a creative kick should check out Roller Journal, a question-and-answer-based diary app for iOS. Roller Journal is a full-featured journaling app that prompts you to answer a new question each day. The app ships with some basic questions that'll stimulate your writing and you can buy additional packs for US$0.99 each. Each question pack has a theme, including a writer's pack, a productivity pack, a traveler's pack and seasonal packs. As with any diary, you can look back and compare your answer to the same question over time. You can also backup to Dropbox to make sure your entries are preserved even when you change devices. A password helps to keep your diary safe from prying eyes, while support for Facebook and Twitter let you share your more public thoughts. Q & A Diary - Roller Journal is compatible with the iPad and iPhone. It's available for $0.99 from the iOS App Store.
Daily iPad App: The Orchestra for iPad is a home run for classical music fans
If you love classical music you really need to think about getting The Orchestra for iPad from Touch Press. The US$13.99 app is about the best use of multimedia audio and video I've seen on any computer platform. The Orchestra allows you to experience eight classical selections, from Haydn to contemporary composers like Lutoslawski. You pick your music, and on screen you see a window with conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. Another window shows the Philharmonia Orchestra, and a third window presents a diagram of the orchestra seen from above. More on that later in this review. You can also see the score scrolling horizontally synched to the music. In addition, there are chapters on each selection performed, and conductor Salonen offers a commentary on the music you are hearing in real time. %Gallery-174341% One unique feature lets you touch any section of the orchestra to hear its instruments isolated from the rest of the orchestra. By default, this feature is available in Beethoven's 5th Symphony. To unlock it for the other seven selections requires a $0.99 in-app purchase. I don't think I've seen any other app utilize the power of a computer in a better or more compelling way. The app is not a series of performances, but contains many insights into the selections, and the composers. Having said that, I have a few nits to pick. Charging an additional $0.99 in an app that is already $14 seems very Scrooge-like. It should just be thrown in. The selections themselves are excerpts, not complete works. I realize complete symphonies would take a lot of space, and hearing a movement is just not the same as getting the whole performance. There are links to the iTunes Store to download the complete works. This is the kind of app that should support Apple AirPlay so it can be seen on a big screen with better audio. Sadly, the app doesn't appear to fully support it. I could see an image of the orchestra on my Apple TV-powered display, but the music never started playing. It did work in mirror mode, but the aspect ratio isn't right. The audio is pretty good, and is in stereo if you listen on a headset or an external source. The iPad speaker is no way to experience this app. The Orchestra is an extraordinary way to show off what a great app can do. Classical music lovers will enjoy this app very much. This app is, not surprisingly, a big one. Almost 2 GB without the in-app purchase, and I had to do a bit of house cleaning to make it fit. This app requires iOS 6.0 or above, and works on the second-, third- and fourth-generation iPad, and iPad mini.
Daily iPad App: Infinite Refrigerator stores your child's refrigerator art
Children love to hang their drawings on the refrigerator, but it's impossible to keep their creations for any length of time. Parents looking for a permanent storage solution for their children's artwork should take a look at Infinite Refrigerator from Sharp Talon Software. Infinite Refrigerator is a photo gallery app that uses a cartoonish kitchen with a refrigerator as its canvas. Parents can choose a brightly colored refrigerator and pin photos to the front of the virtual appliance. Each picture can have a caption and an audio commentary so you can remember details about the drawing. You can easily fit about nine to 10 photos per refrigerator without overlapping. The app lets you overlap the images or even resize them if you want to fit more or less pictures on the appliance. Parents with more than one child can create multiple refrigerators and name them in a manner that'll help you remember their content. When a refrigerator is full, you can export it to your camera roll, print it or share it via Twitter, MMS or email. The refrigerator is set in a small kitchen with a countertop blender that blends, a fan that turns on and a toaster, Fortune Toast, that dispenses words of wisdom. The kitchen also features a picture frame and a calendar that you can customize with different pictures each month. There's also a place to drop encouraging notes. Infinite Refrigerator is perfect for anyone with younger children. It does a great job storing your photos and its theme is whimsical and fun. The iPad app is available for free from the iOS App Store. The free app lets you create multiple refrigerators, but only allows you to select the Glacier Blue model. If you want additional colors, you have to pay US$1.99 for a five-color bundle. Infinite Refrigerator is compatible with any iPad running iOS 6 or later.
Daily iPad App: Letz: The Story of Zed does match 3 right
Letz is a game that doesn't necessarily excel in its mechanics -- it's a match 3 game, basically, though there is a fun addition in the form of a word-making challenge as well. But where Letz really shines is in the icing. The sounds and graphics on this one are just pure sugary pleasure -- the kind of great bleeps and bloops that you hear on the floor of a casino when everyone around you is winning lots of money. Ok, so maybe it's not for everyone, but I am completely charmed by Letz's cotton candy graphics and all the sounds the game makes. Match 3 isn't that complicated a game form, obviously, and that's what you're doing here (though you can collect letters as you match tiles, and then match those letters up into words, including one story word per stage in the campaign as you play through it). But despite the simplicity, the game's big board allows you to chain tiles and shapes to your heart's content, sometimes getting up to a minute or two of dings, rings and rewards for just the right match. An XP system with plenty of objectives also keeps the action interesting, and the whole package is just excellently charming throughout the game's huge amount of content. Letz (full title, The Story of Zed) is a bargain for just US$1.99 on the iPad. It's a very well-polished game that's almost excessively rewarding, and match 3 aficionados especially will have a great time with it. If you've yet to be convinced, there's a lite version to try out as well.
Daily iPad App: Battle of the Bulge is brilliant but obscure historical simulation
Battle of the Bulge is a really incredible game that I think a lot of people will overlook, unfortunately. In terms of war simulation games on the App Store, I haven't seen a better game than Battle of the Bulge. As you can tell from the title, it's a full-scale recreation of the legendary German offensive in 1944, the biggest and worst battle fought in World War II. This title is pure historical strategy gaming bliss, put together by a fledgling studio named Shenandoah Games. It's all turn-based gameplay and plays out like a board game, more or less, with you moving various troops and units around on a 2D game board, making strategical moves as carefully as possible and trying to complete whatever objectives the game throws at you. The depth here just can't be understated: Shenandoah clearly cares a lot about war games and the history of this legendary battle, and as you explore the title on your iPad, you'll be astounded at just what's included here, from a full tutorial to two different modes, full online multiplayer and even historical information and photos to fill you in on the real battle itself. The game itself is simple to play, but very hard to master, and as you can see from this gameplay video, strategy gamers will just plain love it. But therein lies the problem: The App Store is traditionally filled with casual gamers, and players expecting the shallow thrills of a game like Angry Birds will be hopelessly disappointed here. This is a real strategy war game, so there are no easy moves or simple decisions, and as you might imagine, a deep knowledge of the actual battle and how it played out is fairly important to being successful at this title. A lot of gamers, even strategy fans, will probably be turned off, eventually, given how slavishly devoted Battle of the Bulge is to portraying the titular battle itself. It's too bad, really, because the game's mechanics are terrific, and I'd love to see this really incredible core strategy game fleshed out into other maps or even settings. Shenendoah's not at fault here at all -- they set out to make a wargame based on the Battle of the Bulge, and they succeeded brilliantly at that goal. If you have any interest in that period of history (or the finer points of WWII strategy at all), the game's well worth the US$9.99 purchase. But it's too bad such great talent was used on a such a narrow focus. Hopefully in the future, we'll see the studio bring their expertise to something slightly more accessible.
Daily iPad App: TurnPlay lets you play with vinyl records on your iPad
If you love vinyl and can't get your hands on a working turntable, then the next best thing is the TurnPlay app from Ramotion. The iPad app has rich graphics that simulate the look and feel of a vintage record player. TurnPlay brings me back to my childhood when I used to sneak into my older sister's room and listen to her Earth, Wind and Fire 45s. The premise behind TurnPlay is simple -- the app allows you to select a song from your music library and play it on a virtual record player. There's a tone arm with a virtual needle that you can drop anywhere within the track and a knob that turns the player on and off. There's even a speed adjustment that lets you slow down or speed up the track and a scratch feature for you hip-hop DJs. When you load a track from your music library, TurnPlay also imports the album art, which was a big part of the vinyl record experience. You can import one track at a time and the track must be stored locally on your device. Like most third-party music apps, TurnPlay doesn't work with iTunes Match or any other third-party cloud music services. You can download TurnPlay from the iOS App Store for US$1.99.
Daily iPad App: Green Kitchen offers healthy recipes in a great-looking app
Green Kitchen was just featured on Apple's best of 2012 list -- it's a really well-designed cooking app with a focus on healthy recipes. It's all based on the Green Kitchen Stories blog, so looking through the content over there will show you what the app is all about: Healthy, interesting food. It's not necessarily the more traditional staples, so if you just want a heads up on how to cook some simple items, you should probably look elsewhere (I personally really like the How to Cook Everything app if you want a more straightforward cooking experience). But the Green Kitchen app does have some good and interesting ideas, and everything is organized well. Once you choose a recipe (which you can find either in a list or by browsing through big pictures in the app itself), you get an interactive list of instructions that clearly guides you through each step of the recipe. And throughout the whole process, everything is very clean and smartly put together. The app's big drawback is that while it is fun to browse through big pictures of the recipes, if you're looking for something specific (like a certain dietary restriction or a central ingredient), you just have to drill down through the recipes in there. There aren't a lot of recipes, either, especially compared to bigger and older apps. But more are being added all the time, and again, this isn't a traditional cookbook: It's more a nice list of options when you want to try cooking something different. Green Kitchen is available in the App Store now for US$3.99.
Daily iPad App: Color Blindness Test by EnChroma
Color blindness is a common vision problem that affects up to 8 percent of men and 0.5 percent of women in the population. People are usually diagnosed when they visit their optometrist for a routine vision check, but you can screen yourself at home using the new Color Blindness Test from EnChroma. The Color Blindness app steps you through a series of pictures to evaluate the type and severity of your color blindness. It presents you with images of varying colors and asks you to identify the shapes (square, diamond or circle) that you see. In some images, the color differences are great and the shapes are readily visible. In other images, the color differences are subtle and the shapes are difficult to see, especially for those who are color blind. When you have completed the test, the app will tell you whether you have normal or impaired vision. If you are color blind, the app will let you know if you are a deutan or protan and whether it is mild, moderate or severe. Protan and deutan are two types of red-green color blindness. I tested the app with my 11-year-old son who has been diagnosed with severe red-green color blindness and the EnChroma test was spot on. I watched him take the test and he failed to discern several shapes and misidentified many of the squares and diamonds as circles. He was classified as a severe deutan by the EnChroma test, which is the same diagnosis he has received from two different optometrists. The Color Blindness Test is available in the iOS App Store for free. It works on the iPhone, the iPod touch and the iPad. I chose to review the iPad version because the big screen made it easier to take the test. If you download the Color Blindness Test, please remember that the app is meant to be a screening tool and shouldn't be used to diagnosis a vision problem. You should see an optometrist or ophthalmologist for detailed information about any potential color vision deficiency you might have.
Daily iPad App: Beastly ABCs is a delightful way to teach your child their alphabet
Young children may still sing the traditional alphabet song, but many now learn their ABCs using alternative methods. One of the more creative ways for kids to learn their ABCs is the new narrative learning app My Beastly ABCs from Duncan Studio. My Beastly ABCs is an interactive and educational story about a young boy's magical day with beasts from all over the world. It starts off with the letter "A" and the Abominable snowman and ends with "Z" and a group of zombies. Each letter tells a different tale and introduces a new beast -- some beasts like the Will-o'-the-wisps are friendly, while others like the Vampire are a bit scary. Each letter also has an interactive element that lets your child take part in the story. My favorite scene was the letter B which featured a green boogey monster hiding in a dark closet. Your child has control over a flashlight that lights up a small portion of the closet and they must find the boogey man with the light and scare him away. As soon as your child finds him, though, the boogey man disappears to another part of the closet and the hunt for him begins again. My Beastly ABCs is a carefully constructed tale that is enjoyable for children and adults alike. The story is fun and whimsical, while the narration work of Jim Dale, who also did the Harry Potter audio books, is top notch. There's an attention to detail in the app that you often don't find in children's apps. This is reflected in the gentle glow used to the highlight interactive element in each scene. Rather than tapping randomly on items to see if they moved, my kids loved searching for the small item that was glowing on each page. My Beastly ABCs is available from the iOS App Store for US$3.99. It is compatible with any iPad running iOS 4.3 or later.
Daily iPad App: Chuggington Traintastic Adventures
Kids love trains and the locomotives from the British children's TV series Chuggington are downright adorable. As its name implies, Chuggington is a fictional town that is home to several young locomotives that zip around the town and its surrounding countryside. Kids who love the TV show will also love the new Chuggington Traintastic Adventures app from Budge Studios. Chuggington Traintastic brings the world of Chuggington to the iPad and iPhone. The colorful app recreates the town and features model trains that children can drive around. In Build & Play mode, children can design their own Chuggington trains with wacky add-ons that let them fly their locomotive and run it super-fast on the tracks with a booster pack. Kids are free to explore the world of Chuggington by drawing a path for their train using their fingers. Once their path is drawn, the trains will chug along the tracks. Chuggington Traintastic also includes four adventure modes that follow actual episodes. In this part of the game, children must follow directions to complete tasks such as loading and unloading cargo. This part of the app features clips from the TV series that walks your kids through the adventure. Fireworks and other positive reinforcements reward your children for a job well-done. The Chuggington Traintastic app is an entertaining app for train-lovers in the 6-year-old and under group. The adventure mode is filled with challenging, age-appropriate tasks, while the Build & Play mode is whimsical and fun. Even though he can't control all parts of it, my 3-year-old loves playing with his Chuggington friends. Chuggington Traintastic Adventures is a universal app and is available for US$5.99 from the iOS App Store.
