post

Picture Me Cuddly as a Bunny App

April 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Just in time for spring, Cuddly as a Bunny - Picture Me® is available for the special introductory price of 99 cents on the App Store.   You may remember back in December when I showed you the Picture Me Christmas Cutie – now you can add your “babies”  into  adorable baby animal costumes such as a cuddly bunny, woolly lamb, frisky kitty, dalmation puppy and more.  I decided to use pictures of my “baby” from several years ago:
You can upload the pictures from your Library or take new ones to let your children be the “stars” of the show!  Adjust the size and angle of the picture to fit perfectly.  Children will enjoy the playful sounds and interactive objects on every page as they flip through the story and see themselves (and other costumed characters) in each illustration. Special features include the ability to store your photos in the app and use multiple photos within a single story. Share your favorite pages via email or save them to your photo library. Plus, easily print any page using a wireless printer.
The Picture Me® omBooks are based on the Picture Me book series developed by Educational Specialist Deborah D’Andrea, Ed.S. that have sold more than 30 million copies in their 23 year history. Additional omBooks include Cute As Can Bee - Picture Me® and Christmas Cutie - Picture Me®.
.
See all of the details and listen to a free preview of Picture Me – Cuddly as a Bunny  – then download for only 99 Cents from The App Store to your iPad, iPhone, or iTouch – just in time for Easter!
Disclaimer: I received this app for free for the purpose of this review.  All pictures and opinions are 100% my own.

post

Nissan Habitat for Humanity Facebook App

March 25, 2012 By 1 Comment

Nissan just launched a hilarious Facebook app to celebrate their partnership with Habitat for Humanity and to get people involved with their efforts to build sustainable homes for those in need.  The partnership between Nissan and Habitat for Humanity began in 2006, following the devastating Katrina and Rita hurricanes.  Together, their goal is to build affordable, sustainable homes for families in need of decent housing.

So far, Nissan has donated $7.5 million in grant money and donations to the organization, built 50 homes, donated 104 Nissan vehicles to help building efforts, and over 5,000 Nissan employees have volunteered over 56,000 hours for Habitat for Humanity.  This program is fueled by Nissan owners and employees, and you can check it out and see how you can get involved by visiting http://www.nissanusa.com/habitat-for-humanity/ to make a donation or find volunteer opportunities across the country.

The Nissan HFH Charity Game is an interactive video experience that lets you input commands which Nissan “builders” will perform.   The game invites you to have a little fun with the volunteers in a virtual Habitat build: type in a command, and the volunteers will do as you say. The fun starts when you command an otherwise mild-mannered volunteer to smash windows, or, in one case, throw things (items are returned, mysteriously, by a giant penguin). This is all a lot of fun, but the purpose is significant: to support the building of green homes for deserving families.

My favorite is the guy volunteer – I just love the faces he makes.  He reminds me of that guy from “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”   Watch him “throw” the pipe:

Check out the app here: http://www.facebook.com/Nissan?sk=app_361541373889965

The players with the top 100 scores will get recognition in the form of a personalized video from Nissan volunteers, where they will hammer a nail for them as a thank you, as well as a Nissan t-shirt.

The girls and I had a ball playing with the app.  It was a great way to tell them more about Habitat for Humanity and give them some perspective on how fortunate we are to have what we have in a light but effective way.   I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity to help one of my cousins a few years ago and had a really fantastic time.  The Tween asked if we could volunteer again, and I will for sure make that happen this year. I’ll add it to my Life List.

Check it out and play the app, and spread the word to your friends.  Oh – and ask the man volunteer to “scratch” the pipe… it’s hysterical.

 


post

ZillyDilly Child Safe Browser for iPad

March 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

When I began working in Texas, my very first purchase was an iPad.   I am still amazed at how much of my business I was able to do on the go with my awesome little tablet.  With apps like DocsToGo, TeamViewer, and DropBox, I was literally able to work from anywhere – any time.

On my down time though, my iPad is mostly used by my girls – ages 5 and 12.   I created a specific page for them full of all kinds of fun games and storybooks that are age appropriate.  But even after many warnings, my daughters still venture online, perusing the internet at will.  Our computers at home have child-friendly browsers, but I had no idea there was the same type of software for the iPad until I was asked to review ZillyDilly – an app for the iPad that allows parents to control the sites their child can visit, limiting them to only the best and most educational sites the Web has to offer.

From the author of “Kids, Parents & Technology: A Guide for Young Families” and MyDigitalFamily.org,  Doctor Eitan Schwarz – “Dr S” – has more than 40 years of continuous practice in Chicago as a board certified child and adolescent psychiatrist.   Dr S has done extensive research regarding the uses of technology and digital media in therapy with children.  With that research, Dr. S has developed ZillyDilly, an app for the iPad that allows parents to control the sites their child can visit, limiting them to only the best and most educational sites the Web has to offer. Parents may set time limits, block unsafe or inappropriate sites and adjust restrictions as their child grows, all ensuring that their child has a healthy online and offline life.

I absolutely love this, and love that I can have the peace of mind to not be constantly checking what the girls are surfing on my iPad thanks to ZillyDilly.   I also love that I can set the age bracket so depending on which child is surfing, she will only see sites that are appropriate for her age group.  And I love that I can limit their time with it as well – something I should probably also consider setting for myself!  Ha!

For a limited time, ZillyDilly is free and can be downloaded directly here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zillydilly-for-ipad/id492673037?mt=8

Disclaimer:  I was not compensated in any way, shape or form for this post.  All opinions are my own.

post

World’s Most Curious Bottle App

February 7, 2012 By 4 Comments

Brancott Estate has released a new mobile app which turns every bottle of Brancott Estate wine into an interactive experience!  The Brancott Estate World’s Most Curious Bottle App gives you  the ability to scan a QR code from a bottle of Brancott Estate wine to learn what food is an ideal match, take a tour of the winery, and more.

The World’s Most Curious Bottle app basically lets you learn everything you ever wanted to know about Brancott wine, the vineyards, and their history. There are 14 unique experiences you can explore and learn.

Named the ‘World’s Most Curious Bottle’, the smartphone application (app) is the next step in the Brancott Estate ‘Stay Curious’ campaign, letting wine lovers see where their curiosity will lead them by transforming a bottle of Brancott Estate into a portal for both entertainment and wine-focused education.

 

Check out their video:

I am excited to check this out.  I am certainly no “wine connoisseur” nor do I ever see myself being, but I do think it is neat to learn more about wine and the process it takes to get from the vineyard to my glass.

I also love when a company and a brand stays up with technology and trends – which the QR Codes certainly are!  I hope more companies and brands do this as I can think of all kinds of cool ideas to add to the app… hmmm… maybe I should write Brancott…

The app is free and available now in the Android Market and iTunes App Store.