Tech Blog

[#1]

I saw someone on Twitter mention they were going to the Apple store to get an iPod Touch for their 3 year old.

I was aghast. 

Really?  That kind of technological powerhouse for a toddler?  Then I thought about it: it's more than just a video/music player.  With the power of the app store, all Apple touch devices (iPod and iPhone) are the perfect distraction to have in your pocket when spending a little too long in the waiting room.

Here are some of the favourite apps my son likes to play with:

I Hear Ewe FREE
ClaireWare
A cartoon board filled with different animal faces.  Press the animal and it zooms in, a voice says "A horse/cat/cow says.." and then an effect of the animal's sound is played. Both the free version, and the upgrade below, have the option to play in English, Spanish or Chinese.

I See Ewe $0.99
ClaireWare
There are a couple of different games in the upgrade.  There's a memory game where your child uncovers animals and has to match them.  There's also
a learning game where 6 faces are shown and the voice asks "Where's the sheep/goat/snake?" and your child has to select the correct one.  You
can customized for shapes, animals or objects and since there is no score and there are no levels, this game could go on forever.

Scribble Lite FREE
Scribble $0.99
Zintin
A popular finger painting application.  This app has been fun for my son for the past 6+ months, I would just hold the phone and he would
scribble.  When my 4 yr old niece visited us recently, she could actually manage the brush and colour selector to draw complete
pictures.  You can save the images your child draws to your iPhone's camera roll, so you can email them to relatives or print them off as
cards. With the paid version you get multi-touch drawing, hiding the toolbar, tips and no ads.

Lightsaber Unleashed FREE
TheMacBox
I've reviewed this iPhone app before, but wanted to mention it again as a fun one for kids.  My son loves to march and the John Williams score that accompanies this game sends him off on a marching parade around the living room every time.

iFight Lite $0.99
Tingalin
This isn't exactly a "children's" application in it's design, but the fun sounds it makes amuse my son.  The game mimics sword, whip, gong and slap sounds as it is moved around.  If you check out a past Dot Com Pho video you can see iPhone Gary and myself having a knuckle dragging iFight in the parking lot.  My son doesnt get into to the app in that way, he just likes to wave it around and hear the noises it makes.  The lite version has no guns, the pro version tosses
all sorts of armed weapons in the mix for $1.99.

Preschool Adventure $0.99
3DAL
6 games are offered in this one application.  Your child can learn animal sounds, colours, numbers, shapes, matching and body parts.  While I See Ewe has gone through some version upgrades since I first purchased it, Preschool Adventure has stayed static with no upgrades in animals or changes in the game play.

YouTube FREE
And then there's always YouTube.  Search trains, planes, tractors, diggers, horses or chickens - whatever your child is currently obsessed with, and the native YouTube app on your device will provide as much entertainment as your battery (and patience) can handle.

catch the buzz ... pass it on.

Message Edited by ElizabethS on 07-25-2009 11:17 PM

Message Edited by ElizabethS on 09-10-2009 07:55 PM

[#2]

Thanks for sharing Buzz!

Daughter is 2 1/2 and loves our iPhones. She can unlock them herself and browses through the pages to find her apps, or starts up YouTube to play some of her favorite clips.  On top of keeping her busy in waiting rooms, it's also saved us when stuck in traffic for long periods of time. Being french canadian, some of the apps have been great tools in starting to teach her some english as well.

Here are 2 to add to the list:

Shape Builder: drag and drop puzzle pieces to form shapes (animals, letters, musical instruments, vehicles, etc) and learn what they're called and what sounds they make. The Lite version is free but contains only a few puzzles -  the regular version has 120 puzzles for $0.99.

DressChica Free: Probably more popular with little girls - dress up Chica the chicken with different outfits and accessories, save to the camera roll,  turn them into postcards to send to relatives.