Miximal
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Daily App: Miximal teaches children basic sounds by letting them dial in animals
Miximal is a clever learning app from Yatatoy that teaches young children about sounds and syllables. The app uses simple, but adorable animated animal graphics to represent sounds in a flip book-style approach to learning. The app includes a spinner wheel that allows kids to dial in three images as they assemble an animal and its associated word. Each graphic represents a syllable in the word that is repeated audibly when a child presses the "play" button. The app is free-form allowing kids to create wacky animals like a "Pen-No-Saur," a penguin head on a dinosaur body and legs. When kids create the real animal, a Di-No-Saur in this case, they are rewarded with a silly animation. Miximal is designed for the kindergarten-aged children and has catchy graphics that'll appeal to that age group. Graphics are simple to select and the buttons are over-sized, which makes them easy to tap. The app does a nice job of balancing interactivity with ease of use. The animations made my 4-year-old giggle, and the app had just enough easy interaction to keep him engaged for short periods of time. There are no in-app purchases, but there is one ad for Yatatoy's other app, Drawnimal. The ad is viewable only on the launch screen and is tappable, but it is locked down with a gesture that requires the user to swipe with one finger to view the content. The "About" section with social links is locked down in a similar manner. Miximal is available in the iOS App Store for $1.99. It is compatible with the iPhone and iPad and requires iOS 6.1 or later.
