android – Smart Kids' Apps

My Town: Home by My Town Games

My Town: Home by My Town Games allows children to explore the inside of a house. The virtual house is filled with intractable items. Almost everything that you can see can be played with.

From blocks, to a ball, to a slinky. You can open and close doors to not only cupboards and closets but also to the oven, microwave and the fridge. As you can see the in picture you can play with the fish tank and even a remote control helicopter.

There is also a mini game where you collect hearts as you find them. I believe you receive a gift after you find all the hearts.

Overall a great game and at the price of free parents with children in the appropriate age range should download and give it a try.

Available in the Google Play and Apple App Store. It is now free. I reviewed the Android version at the request of the publisher.

Sago Mini Monsters by Sago Sago

We loved the last app from Sago Sago that we reviewed. Today we are reviewing Sago Mini Monsters.

This time your kids get the change to create their own monsters. You start by coloring in a shape that comes up from the swamp. Plenty of eyes, horns and colors to choose from. Once your monster is created you can feed him, brush his teeth and snap pictures.

The app also includes an informational parent section to help parents play with their children and a catalog of other Sago Sago and Toca Boca apps. No internet required, no in-app store and no ads.

The illustration, music and special effects are all great.

I reviewed the iPhone version. It is now free on the App Store. It is also available for .99 on the Amazon App Store.

Viva Diamonds by Ronen Tsamir

Viva Diamonds by Ronen Tsamir is a hang man word game and a sort of Angry Bird clone (in a very loose sense). Partially completed words are displayed at the bottom of the screen. Launching a rock will break colored diamonds and expose letters in bubbles. You can then pop the bubbles with the correct letters to complete the words.

I have to admit that it is an interesting concept. I don’t particularly like the in-app store, but sadly that is the only way most small developers can make any money. The graphics and sound effects are average, although I wish the design and color scheme were less busy and more polished. It doesn’t help that it also has ads.

Sadly I don’t know exactly where this app fits as an educational app. The ads and the in-app gold make it too complicated for younger children. The single word hang-man puzzle make it too simple as an educational app for older children. Which leaves me with the idea that maybe it would be good for adults trying to learn english as a second language.

Even with all its flaws, I like the concept enough to give it 4 Stars. Maybe this will encourage the developer to create other puzzle/action word games.

Available free in both Apple and Google store, I reviewed the Google Play version at the request of the publisher.

nester by Mindquake

nester by Mindquake is an Android kids’ launcher. I remember a few year ago, when I was looking for a kids’ launcher, it seemed that I had very few choices. I downloaded a few and most didn’t work. Oh how things have changed in a few year. The Play store is littered with kids’ launchers. I am actually surprised that this is the first kid’s launcher that has been reviewed on this site.

Although we have not reviewed any other kids’ launcher, I really liked this one. I am not sure what others have and do not have, but nester seems to do the basics very well. It also includes very useful extras. For example not only can you set a timer (for how long the child can use the device), but you can also have a period of cool down. Great for children that have a problem with transitions.

As far as what you would expect of a kids’ launcher, it is all here. You are able to select the apps that are available through the launcher and as mentioned above set a time limit on device play. The parent lock is also sufficiently enough to keep most children from accidentally disabaling the launcher.

My only gripe is that for whatever reason a few options and features are not available unless you are logged into google or Facebook. Other than that it is a beautiful launcher with all the features you would expect and some that are unique and very useful.

The app doesn’t have any in app store or ads. Available on Google Play for free.

Pet Doctor by Toca Boca

As the name implies Pet Doctor by Toca Boca is an app where you take care of animals. As usual a beautiful app by the people at Toca Boca. The illustrations, music, sound effects and animations are beautiful and extremely well executed.

As usual the game play is opened ended. Children can pick any of the many animals in the main screen that need help. Each animal needs Once the animals are helped they get ready for sleep.

Overall a great app. available in the Apple App Store, Google Play and Amazon Store for anywhere from .99 to $2.99. I tested the IOS version on my iPhone.

No in app store. No ads.

Jelly 8 by Yellephant

Jelly 8 by Yellephant is a game targeted to toddlers and young children. It consists of 8 activities of which 3 involve drawing something on the screen (I’ll come back to those 3 activities shortly).

The illustrations and animations are colorful and quirky (a plus around here). The activities I believe are unique and engaging enough to keep young children entertained for hours. I also found the mechanism to open up the parent section unique. The spoken words are human and perfectly enunciated. The app is one of the few toddlers apps that I have found that not only support multi-touch, but that activity depends on the child touching the screen with multiple fingers. The app is useful in helping younger children learn basic words, one to one relationship and counting.

Now for the dislikes. On two of the devices I used to test it (an android table and an android phone), the drawing activities were very slow. So slow to the point that I thought the device was frozen on a couple of occasions. Also on occasion I could still hear the music when the app was no longer being played.

Overall a great value for the price of $.99. I tested it on an android tablet and phone, but an iPad/iPhone version also exists in the Apple store. The app has no advertisements, works offline, no questionable permissions, and no in app store.

MFF: Dorothy the Rainbow Fairy by Integrated

Dorothy the Rainbow Fairy by Integrated is a great science storybook.

Like most good digital storybooks, you can read the story yourself or let the book read it for you. It also has the typical interactive touch elements on all pages.

But it also has items I have not seen in other story books. Some of those interactive elements are modeled after pop-up or slider books. In most pages you can slide a virtual tab, or spin a virtual wheel.

The book is about fairies and rainbows. And if the book is correct, I might have learned a few things I didn’t know about the origins of rainbows. Overall a high quality and beautiful digital book.

Available in the Android App for Kindle, Google Play and the Apple App store. I received a free iOS version from the publisher. It works offline, and I didn’t see any in-app store.

Gombby Channel by Magnistage

I played this app with my 5-year-old daughter. Here at Smart Kids’ App we are always behind with reviews: too many ask for reviews, and not a lot of time to do them in.

My plan was to do a few today, and schedule them to be published through the week. Unfortunately that will probably not occur. You see my 5-year-old saw me launch this app, and after asking me a few times how to play it, she has now seen all three fee episode. I am probably on the hook for some of the paid ones.

Gombby Channel is not a game, but rather an app where you can watch the Gombby an animated cartoon series. As stated before the first three episodes are free, after that you are forced to buy more episode if your child wants to continue to watch.

The episodes are beautifully animated and illustrated. The music is beautiful. The colors vibrant. Overall they are of very high quality. The stories (the 2 I have seen at this point) are gentile and appropriate to the age that they are targeted for. The stories usually have educational arcs that are explained through the episode.

Overall I really like the app and Gombby. And by the looks of it, so does my 5-year-old daughter. Available in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. I reviewed the Apple version on my iPad.

I received a press release from the publisher suggesting I review this app.

Math Vs Zombies by TapToLearn Software

Who doesn’t like Zombies? In Math vs Zombies by TapToLearn Software you use your math skills to convert the citizens of the town back into humans.

The game is played in first person. The zombies come after you from the horizon. As the zombies walk towards the front of the screen a math equation is shown over their heads. Typing in the correct answer and touching the zap button will convert the zombies back into human. There are multiple locations, and a boss at the end of each group of levels. It also has Amazon Game Circle integration to collect achievements.

The illustrations are great, the music is catchy and the app is all dressed up for the holidays. At the current price of free, it is hard not to give this app a try. I tested it on my Kindle Fire downloaded from the Amazon App store. It is also available in the iTunes App store. It has no ads, no in-app store and doesn’t seem to need internet (except for game circle).

Cutie Monsters Jigsaw Puzzles Preschool by Little Phoenix Interactive

Created just for toddlers, Cutie Monsters Jigsaw Puzzles by Phoenix Interactive is a learn to count interactive app.

Cutie Monsters has beautiful and creative illustrations, and good sound effects. As far as educational content the app consists of two main activities. One is an interactive story book. You have the option of either reading with the app by touching each word or letting the book read itself. In between the pages that have the story text, there are pages where you can click at animal parts to count. The second part of the app is the puzzle scene where you put together the monsters you just played with. The pieces are of a decent size, and snap into place when they find their place.

I questions some of the permissions required to run the app (on Android), especially since it doesn’t seem that it uses them. But overall it is a beautifully executed app. No in app purchase. No ads. And no internet required.

The app was reviewed on a Kindle Fire HD and is available on the Amazon App Store for $1.99. It also available in the Google Play and Apple App store (for other amounts). I limited free version exists.