The Archives
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05.09.13Disney’s Story is a photo-sharing app for mums (and dads)Parents love to share (and, yes, sometimes over-share) photos of their families. Mostly on Facebook, although Twitter, Instagram and other social networks/apps also get their fair share of kidpics. Now Disney is getting in on the action with a new app called Story, released initially for iPhone. Here's the pitch: "On your phone, you have countless moments captured in photographs and videos. The Story app gathers those moments and helps you transform them into stories that are easy to personalise, save and share" Continue Reading...
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02.11.13Kidomatic splits out its children’s camera apps for iOSLast December, we really liked the idea of Kidomatic, a photography app for kids that offered themed packs of digital stickers so children could customise their snapshots: Christmas, Police, Princess etc. You had to pay for those packs using in-app purchases (IAP), which it seems didn't go down well with some of Kidomatic's potential users (or rather: their parents). Now the company has responded to requests to remove the IAP. How? It has released the different packs as individual apps, each costing £1.49 with no more purchases necessary. So, you can buy Kidomatic Original Camera, Kidomatic Police Camera, Kidomatic Princess Camera, Kidomatic ...
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12.19.12Kidomatic is a fun photography app for childrenOur children love taking photos with iPhones and iPads, and they're also partial to a fair few digital-stickering apps. It was only a matter of time before someone combined the two: meet Kidomatic. Published by Swedish company JAJDO, it's a camera app for iOS designed for kids to take pictures with, then customise them with stickers, frames and digital scribblings. The basic app is free, but you can pay extra money through in-app purchases for themes: Christmas, Police, Princess and Monster at the time of writing. Each theme costs £1.49, and comes with its own look and feel, as well as suitable ...
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11.26.12Fisher-Price Moments of Joy is like an Instagram just for parentsYou'd think the launch of a photo-sharing app for parents by popular toymaker Fisher-Price would have made a big splash, but so far nobody seems to have noticed. Well, we have. It's called Fisher-Price Moments of Joy, and it's a free download for iPhone and iPod touch. It was quietly released a couple of weeks ago on the App Store. The idea, according to its App Store listing: "Capture and share your child’s everyday Moments of Joy—those special times that make you smile or say “Awww.” Browse other moments, comment on posts, and join a community of Fisher-Price families. Your moment could ...
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11.19.12Eye Paint Animals and Just Colors apps get kids using camerasOne of the things we're excited about going into 2013 is the growing number of children's apps that use the iPhone or iPad's camera, getting kids to look at the real world as part of their digital play. We discovered two new examples this month, which go well together. First: Eye Paint Animals from developer Curious Hat, which encourages children to "paint with the camera capturing colours, patterns and textures around you". This involves completing a series of illustrations by tapping on the screen, and taking a photo of something to capture its colour and pattern for use in the picture. Continue ...
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10.09.12Color Hunt for Kids iPhone app gets children out and aboutWe think one of the big areas for further innovation in children's apps is use of the camera, with kids increasingly proficient at taking digital snaps. Color Hunt for Kids is a good example. Its aim is to bring "children outside and engaged with their surroundings", through stories. The idea being that they read a story in the app, but every so often are prompted by characters to help them by finding a particular colour – "Whether it's a chameleon that somehow lost its colors or the balloon owner Dan Balloon who only has white balloons". Continue Reading...
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10.02.12Trick or Treat: Picture Me app gets (not too) scaryHalloween is coming. Time to get a job-lot of Mars Bars in (then don't answer the door to any trick-or-treaters on the night so you can eat them all, obviously...) Also, time to get some spooky apps for your kids, perhaps. Trick or Treat: Picture Me is a likely candidate, since it's a spooky book-app where your child can star in the story. Released by Oceanhouse Media, it takes your child's face and pastes it onto scarecrows, pumpkins and other Halloween-themed characters. And don't worry, the app supports multiple photos, so there's no need for sibling rows. The app is aimed at pre-schoolers, ...
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10.01.12Spook up your pet with Disney’s Frankenweenie appWe're really looking forward to Disney's new Frankenweenie film, not least because it's directed by Tim Burton. Now there's an official app for iPhone and iPad. Called simply Frankenweenie, it's a free download that aims to "give your pet a new leash on life by Frankenweenie-fying it in Victor’s Lab" (Victor being the main boy character in the film). It's basically a photo manipulation app, designed to be used with your children's own pets. They (or you) take a photo of the animal, then plaster new googly eyes, ears and accessories onto the pic to make them look more spooky. Continue Reading...
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09.27.12Get snappy with Kapu Tickle Toy Camera appFor an increasing number of children, their first camera may well be an iPod touch (or a parent's iPhone or iPad) – and one that they may be using at a much younger age than our generation would have been allowed near a camera. The potential is intriguing, especially with children's apps designed to make use of an iOS device's camera. A good new example is Kapu Tickle Toy Camera. Developer Kapu Toys describes it as "a super-fun toy, which combines classic kids games and toys such as peek-a-boo, tickle tag and the jumping-jack puppet with modern technology", which sums it up neatly. ...
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09.19.12PHLIP is a ‘Photo Something’ game for childrenIt's not called 'Photo Something', but that's the comparison that immediately sprung to mind when we saw PHLIP: an iPhone and iPad game that's a bit like the popular Draw Something, but using photos that you take. But yes, PHLIP. It's the work of developer Curious Hat, which previously made another intriguing camera-based kid-app called Color Vacuum. It was a bit fiddly to use, but PHLIP looks more fun. The app describes itself as a "visual puzzle aimed at children and inquisitive adults of all ages", which involves taking a photo of something around you, then dividing it up into tiles and ...
recent posts
- Gry & Vitus for iPad gets our seal of approval!
- Animal Train for Toddlers is a fun ride for iPad and iPhone
- This Goldilocks app for iPad and iPhone stands out from the crowd – and is free until Monday 27th May
- Jörgits is an iPad sci-fi storybook for kids about global warming
- Dot-to-Dot Adventure on iPad lets kids of all ages get puzzly
- Symmetry School iPad app teaches geometry to kids
- Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom brings Magic School to iOS
