The Archives
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12.20.12Brrr! Miffy In The Snow app gets wintery on iPadGood news for fans of Dick Bruna's cartoon bunny Miffy: she's returning to the App Store with her latest app, Miffy In The Snow. Released by Sanoma Media, it's her fourth iPad app following Miffy's Garden, Miffy Goes Flying and Miffy at School, which have all been released in 2012. Aimed at toddlers and pre-school kids – although our five year-old has also enjoyed the previous apps – this sees Miffy donning her best Winter clothes and heading out into the snow for a spot of sleigh-riding. Continue Reading...
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12.17.12Kids Company gets a charitable Christmas Cracker appLondon charity Kids Company has been helping children across the capital since 1996: you may have seen founder Camila Batmanghelidjh on TV, as she's regularly asked to talk about children's issues. Now the charity has an app for Christmas. It's called Kids Company Christmas Cracker 2012, and wants to provide some digital fun for kids everywhere, while also raising more money for the charity. Expect virtual hats, jokes and toys, complete with the voices of comedians Peter Serafinowicz and Sarah Alexander telling the jokes. But more importantly, there's a feature to send a text message to donate £5 to Kids Company, which ...
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12.12.12Rudolph’s Gift game will keep giving at ChristmasOceanhouse Media usually makes book-apps – it's the company behind all the Dr. Seuss apps – but now it's turning its hand to gaming for a Christmas treat starring Santa's most famous reindeer. Rudolph's Gift is a free game for iPhone and iPad that sees the red-nosed reindeer pulling a sleigh to deliver presents around the world, dodging obstacles and picking up power-ups to boost his progress. Based on a 1964 US TV special, the game includes various festive characters, uses Apple's Game Center system to track your high-scores, and unlocks different features as your child's score improves. Continue Reading...
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12.10.12Colin The Reindeer farts his way onto iPadYep, farts. We may try to deny it, but all parents know how funny bottom-gas is for the average child. Now there's a Christmas book-app based on the phenomenon called Colin The Reindeer. "Colin is a reindeer who desperately wants to be a part of Santa’s Christmas delivery team. The problem is, he isn’t very good," explains its App Store listing. "On top of that, the other reindeer don’t want to be in the team with Colin because he has a gas problem caused by eating Christmas trees." We've all been there. Well, not through Christmas trees, necessarily... Continue Reading...
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12.10.12James Patterson’s SantaKid comes to iPad for ChristmasAuthor James Patterson may be most famous for his thrillers, but he's also turned his pen to children's fiction with picture-book SantaKid. Now it's been turned into an iPad app. Released by publisher Hachette Book Group, it tells the story of the nefarious Warrie Ransom, Big Boss of the Exmas Express Company, who tries to rebrand Christmas as Exmas. The results aren't good: "Everything at the North Pole seems to change overnight--the elves stop making kids' favorite toys, the Christmas doves won't fly or sing, and no one seems to laugh anymore. It looks like Christmas is going to be ruined." Continue ...
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12.07.12Portable North Pole Android app gets festive on Google PlayWe wrote about the iPad version last week, but now there's a Portable North Pole Android app available to buy from the Google Play store. It's called iPNP 2012, and ties into the Portable North Pole website, where parents can create Santa Clause video messages and calls for their children, to keep them pepped up for Christmas 2012. It's an app of two halves. The Parent's Corner section helps you create the videos, or download those you've made on the website already. Continue Reading...
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12.05.12Moving Christmas book-app gets festive on iPadChristmas children's apps are coming thick and fast now, but thankfully this year there are plenty of good ones to get your kids in a festive mood. Moving Christmas is a great example. Released today for iPad by a developer called Trusted Cape, it tells the tale of Frank Duffy – "mover of the impossible" – who steps in to save Christmas when Santa Claus is laid low by... climate change. Yes, there's an ecological message here, although the emphasis is still on a rollicking Christmas story for children to enjoy. Expect 40 interactive pages, lots of sounds, music and voice narration, ...
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12.03.12Wombi Christmas Toys app gets festive for kidsBack in October, we liked a playful app called Wombi Toys, which saw your children fixing a succession of virtual toys. Now it's getting a Christmas version. Wombi Christmas Toys is a free app for iPhone and iPad, with the previous game's workshop replaced by Santa's workshop as he prepares for his annual delivery run. "Pull the lever and let everything roll into the workshop. Polish, build and decorate! And when everything is done, pack it all up in Santa’s sack," explains the App Store listing. Continue Reading...
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12.01.12Portable North Pole app returns for Christmas 2012A new Portable North Pole app for iPad has been released in good time for Christmas, with iPhone and Android versions set to follow in the coming days. What's the Portable North Pole? Its website tells all: a Christmas-focused service that includes the ability for parents to create personalised video messages from Santa Claus to their children, while also buying letters, certificates, books and other products. Yes, there's an app for that. iPNP 2012 HD was just released for iPad today on the App Store, but judging by the 'coming soon' message on the Portable North Pole website, there will also be ...
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11.27.12Cbeebies Magazine App gets a Christmas editionWe were impressed by the CBeebies Magazine App when it was released in September for iPhone and iPad. Now it's getting updated with a second issue. Topically, it's a Christmas edition, complete with a digital advent calendar that's promising new stuff every week between now and 25 December: on the 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd, to be specific. Okay, no chocolates – you'll need a real-life advent calendar for those – but instead your kids can expect a mixture of digital stickers, colouring, workbooks and a reward chart, as well as stories with favourite CBeebies characters. Continue Reading...
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