Lego apps, games and downloads

My boys have just about worn out the Lego Movie since I bought the DVD last week, and it has given their love of Lego a boost too.  Which lead to the Lego apps on the iPad being discovered again. 

There are lots of great Lego apps for both iOS and Android, especially some new ones based on the Lego Movie, so it's worth taking a look at the app stores, especially if your feet need a break from the real stuff!  For the older kids download the Lego Digital Designer to their computer and they can create without the need for actual bricks. 

To get you started I've put together a list for you of the latest Lego apps and software downloads

Lego tech

View more lists from Techie Mum

Techie Mum on Radio 2GB

I was on the radio this morning – Sydney radio station 2GB.  If you’ve just found Techie Mum from my interview with Andrew Moore – welcome.  Techie Mum is where you’ll find tips, information and product reviews on the types of tech gadgets that families use, new apps and software for Mums, Dads and kids, and recommendations and advice on how to get the most out of all your family’s devices. 

If you’d like more information about what I spoke about in the interview, I’ve added the links below to my articles on these topics:

  

My three favourite apps

Wunderlist - read about it here and here

Pocket

Stocard

More about my favourite apps can be found here

When it comes to cyber safety I defer to the absolute expert in the field – Leonie Smith, also known as The Cyber Safety Lady.  

Instagram

Is instagram safe for children?   

Read Leonie's article here 

Cyberbullying

What to do

How parents can prevent it

Minecraft

Leonie has also written a very popular article about Minecraft

Public Wi-Fi

What are Wi-Fi Hot Spots

Protect yourself when using Public Wi-Fi

You can also find Techie Mum on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest.  Take a look on my Home page for the links to take you straight to these sites.

I hope you enjoy reading my posts, and I hope you will feel free to comment and ask questions if there’s something techie you need help with.

If you'd like to listen to the interview it's available on the 2GB website here

App review: Shadow Puppet

This week’s app review is for the kids.  Shadow Puppet is a simple iPhone and iPad app that allows children as young as five to create videos by combining their own photos as well as pics from the web, animated gifs, video clips, music, text and stickers, and their own voice. 

If you’re using photos it’s not exactly a movie – it’s more like a slide show, but you can add animations over the top, like flying streams of stars, blinking lights and hearts, and text, which can be animated as well by spinning, zooming, fading in and out.  You can add text to each slide as you go (the filming pauses while you add your text), or add the text to each slide before your start recording.

There’s no limit to what your child could use this for – a holiday diary, showing off their latest drawings or school art works (just photograph it first with your iPhone/iPad and it can be added to Shadow Puppet from your camera roll), or an impressive school presentation.

You can download Shadow Puppet here 

My Favourite Apps

In my review of the Samsung Galaxy S5 (here, if you missed it) I mention some of the apps I use to manage me, my family and my business.  I've received a few questions about these apps and so I thought it was a good time to tell you about my favourites.  I have all these apps on all my devices – my iPad, and two Android phones – and almost all of them either downloaded to my laptop, or accessible online from my laptop.

Pocket

This has been the biggest time saver I have ever used. I use Pocket to store everything that I want to read later - email newsletters, web articles - anything.  Pocket gets rid of all the extraneous stuff and keeps only the text and pictures from the web article, making it really easy to read.  I can read them offline and add tags so I can search for the articles I need. Those that I want to keep I can send to Evernote.  Pocket is on all my devices so that no matter where I am when I find something I want to keep I can add it to pocket, and I’ve always got something to read.

http://getpocket.com

Evernote

Evernote is an amazing organising tool.  Similarly to Pocket, it can store articles and web clips and you can tag them to categorise them, but Evernote can do a lot more.  You can add notes via audio (record your voice), webcam, screenshots, and handwritten notes, and even email directly to Evernote; and each note can be formatted – with checklists, tables etc.  Create a filing system and folders within Evernote to organise your notes, and tags allow for cross-referencing across different categories.  Evernote also has a family of products to help you do even more with Evernote.  I use Skitch to add notes and marks to photos and screen shots (also great for PDFs).  I also have Penultimate on my iPad which I use with a stylus when I want to take notes by hand.  The pages of writing are automatically saved to Evernote.  Lots of other apps also work with Evernote – I’ve got the Chrome extension to easily add any web clipping to Evernote; the Outlook add-in to quickly send an email to Evernote; JotNot on my iPad which turns it into a scanner with the scanned document sent straight to Evernote. 

www.evernote.com

Wunderlist

This is my list manager - all my to do lists; what needs to be done in my business; in my home, in my life - everything. Items in each list can be given a deadline, and each item can have its own sub-lists. I can quickly refer to what needs to be done on a particular day and even print off the list for the day if I need it. 

www.wunderlist.com

Bitly

Bitly is one of many sites where you can shorten URLs.  But, by creating an account on Bitly, I’m able to use it for much more.  The URL of each of my blog posts is copied to Bitly where, not only is the URL shortened, I can view statistics for each URL, including how many clicks it has received. I also add notes to each entry with the date each time I share or tweet a particular post (great for reusing older posts).  On my laptop and the iPhone app on my iPad (there's no dedicated iPad app)

http://bitly.com

Trello

Trello is where I manage my projects. Each project has a board and within that board I can break down the project into different stages. Within each stage I add the tasks to be completed. Each task can be dragged into a different spot - so important when you suddenly realise you've missed a step. Trello is on my laptop, iPad and Samsung phone so I can work on a project at any time.

http://trello.com

Chimpadeedoo

I use Mail Chimp to create and manage Techie Mum newsletters.  You can sign up to receive the newsletter from the blog or from my Facebook Page.  But there’s often situations where someone would like to sign up for my newsletter but there’s not computer available, or not the time. Chimpadeedoo is a simple app on my iPad and phones that presents a single screen where anyone can signup for my newsletter, regardless of whether there’s internet access.  It’s linked to my Mail Chimp account so that once my iPad or phones are able to connect to the internet the registrations are automatically added to my mailing list.  Chimpadeedoo is perfect for an exhibition where you could have an iPad on the table for anyone to signup to a newsletter or mailing list (as long as you had a lock on the iPad to prevent someone running off with it) – the app can be set to not go to sleep so it’s always visible.

Dropbox

Dropbox is my favourite for cloud storage.  Any files that I regularly need when I’m away from my computer are stored in Dropbox, and with Dropbox on my iPad and both phones I can access those files anywhere.  On my computer Dropbox appears as just another folder so it’s easy to drag a file to it when needed.  I have it set up so any photos I take on my phones or my iPad are automatically saved to Dropbox.  That means all my photos are accessible on every device and it sure makes it easy to transfer them into my photo filing system on my computer.  As I took screenshots on my iPad and phone for this post they were instantly available on my laptop to add as I was writing.

www.dropbox.com

Infinote

I use the Infinite app on my iPad when I’m planning a new training session.  It’s like a board with lots of different post-it notes.  I create a note for each topic I want to include in the training and then I can move them around on the board/screen to get the order right.

What apps are your favourites?  I would love to know what apps you use, so please leave me a comment below and let me know what you use and how

App review: Eggy Subtract to 20

Special Offer - only until 16 April!

If you've been hanging around Techie Mum for a while you'll know that I love the Reading Eggs apps.  I've used quite a few of these brilliant educational apps over the years for my boys.  Adding to the collection is a new maths app – Eggy Subtract to 20. 

Designed for children aged 4-7 this app teaches subtraction skills using six interactive games – feeding monsters, throwing subtraction pies, snowboarding, helping Teddy climb the rope, finishing Dr Shocks subtraction grid, and a memory game.  Within each game there are two or three levels to complete, and as each activity is completed there are rewards to unlock.  Reading Eggs apps make learning fun with bright animations and catchy music.  Whilst the apps are created in Australia you have a choice of accents – Australian, English and American.

Eggy Subtract to 20 is compatible with iPads and iPhones and is $3.79 from the AppStore.  Although you’ll get it a bit cheaper for the next two days.  There’s a special offer on just for the next two days (until Wednesday 16 April) – all Reading Eggs apps (except the fabulous Targeting Maths range – damn!) are reduced to $2.49.  

I've reviewed some other Reading Eggs apps:

Targeting Maths 3

Eggy Numbers to 100

Eggy Alphabet

Tap the Cat

Make your own robot

This is one fun app!  Tiny Robot Maker from Sydney based, Tiny Twiga Studios is a new app (released on 5 Feb), where you can create your own fun robots. 

How does it work?  You create your robot by combining different parts – head, body, antennae (hair), arms, legs, face, body decorations etc.  Each part is selected in turn by swiping it onto the screen and you can swap parts around as you are creating.  With all the different options you could easily come up with 1000s of different robot combinations.

Once your robot is finished it is saved in the Robot Gallery, which holds your 50 most recent robots.  From the Robot Gallery you have the option of printing it as an A4 full colour picture; a black and white colour-in picture; turning it into a birthday party invitation, a birthday card or a blank card.

Tiny Robot Maker is aimed at 3 to 6 year olds.  Although I think I’d stretch that a bit – on the day I downloaded it my 12 year old was home sick.  When I got home from work that afternoon his first words were “Mum, I found the robot app – it’s really fun!”.  He then gave me a tour of the app, which was interrupted by his 10 year old brother snatching the iPad so he could also have a go.  Of course, they then wanted me to try it - and it really is fun!  So don’t be surprised if you find older family members creating funny robots too.

Tiny Robot Maker is available for iPad and iPhone from the App Store for $2.99.  Also, good news – there’s no advertising and no in-app purchases.  

App Review: Stocard

It’s not often that I can say that an app has changed my life!  Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I love this app!  A few weeks ago I discovered Stocard – an app that lets you get rid of all your reward and membership cards out of your wallet or handbag and onto your phone. 

I had a lot of cards, which I used to keep either in my wallet or in a business card flip wallet in my handbag.  Every time I wanted to find a card I used to have to try to find it amongst all the others, and half the time I’d give up and not bother, which meant I was missing out of loyalty points. 

Now my wallet and handbag have lost a lot of weight and I can find the card I want instantly!

It took about 10 minutes to load all my loyalty and membership cards onto my phone – it’s a very easy process

• Select the retailer from the list shown.  If you have a card that isn’t shown, select Other Card, and type in the name.
• Scan the barcode on the back of your card using Stocard’s built-in scanner.  If it doesn’t scan (I only had one that wouldn’t) just press your back button and type in the number.
• You’re done!

When you’re in a store you just open the Stocard app on your phone, tap the card you want and hand your phone to the assistant to scan.  If it won’t scan they can type in the number.  Usually the only reason they won’t scan is due to the age of the shop’s scanner.  I’ve been using Stocard for a few weeks now and I’ve only had one shop that had to type it in – that was my FlyBuys card at a smaller Coles supermarket.  I had no trouble using my Woolworths Everyday Rewards card at Caltex; FlyBuys at Kmart; Ikea Family Card; Fusion Card buying my sons’ school shoes at Mathers, and a few more. 

Stocard is available for free for both iOS and Android.  If you’re downloading for iOS you need to select the Stocard app to suit your region.  Stocard on Android is optimised for Australia, UK and Canada, and once loaded you select your region.   Both have over 200 preset cards for Australia with more being added all the time.

iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/stocard-loyalty-card-aus/id444578884?mt=8

Google Play:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.stocard.stocard

Download your copy of the Review sheet here

App Review: Tale of Tales

Do your children like fairy tales?  Tale of Tales is a new iPad app that generates wonderfully funny stories aimed at 3-5 year olds, although I think it would still be fun for those a little older.  You and your child can experiment and play with different combinations of well known and new characters and enjoy a different story each time.  Read a story with a clumsy witch, a donut monster, and little red riding hood all in the one story!  Or how about a pixie, the big bad wolf, and Rapunzel? 

How does it work?  The first page is where you select the language - English or Italian.  On each page are five coloured buttons; your child selects a button to start the story, and a new coloured button for each page and the story is created as you go along.  There are 25 colourful animated pages, making up to 2000 different stories. 

It’s a lot of fun and nice and easy for a young child to navigate.  Perfect for reading with your child as they can choose how the story builds.  

Tale of Tales Tale of Tales is free at the App Store until 10 January.  You can read more about it here.

Apple's App of the Year 2013 - Wunderlist

My favourite to do list organiser - Wunderlist - has just been awarded Apple's App of the Year for 2013!

If one of your resolutions for 2014 is to get organised you need to get Wunderlist.  I have it syncing across my PC, iPad and two Android phones.  I have lists for what needs doing around the home, a list for Techie Mum, lists for Family, School and more.  Each list can have sublists within it too - for example, my Shopping list has sublists for the shops that I don't visit every week (Bunnings, Ikea etc), so when I do get there I know exactly what I have to get.  I can add notes and checklists to the individual items on a list; and deadlines and reminders, which means I can then sort them with one click on Today or Week. 

I've written about Wunderlist before and all it's cool features - you can read that here 

If you haven't tried Wunderlist you really are missing something great https://www.wunderlist.com/en/

Techie Mum's Best Of's of 2013

A lot of ‘Best Of’ lists are appearing on the web at the moment, and they can be a great source of information on what has been happening in the world of tech over the last year; from apps you may have missed; which phone is the best to buy, to what was the best techie invention of the year.

I've put together a list on List.ly of my favourite Best Of’s of 2013.  You can even add to this list if you find a Best Of article that you think should be on my list. 

Techie Best Of's for 2013

View more lists from Margaret Perusich

Track Santa on Christmas Eve

Since 1955 NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence) has tracked Santa’s route around the world – but it all started by mistake.  North American department store Sears advertised for kids to phone their Santa hotline on Christmas Eve to see where Santa was.  However, the phone number was printed with one incorrect number – and the kids phoned NORAD instead.  Luckily the Colonel on duty was a quick thinker and as the calls started coming in directed his staff to answer the calls with an update on Santa’s current position. 

Every year since NORAD has provided this service, although they have updated the technology from just answering phone calls, and in 1997 NORAD took advantage of the internet for the first time.  Now there are two main websites that can help you find out where Santa is – one based on Google Earth (which used to host NORAD), and NORAD’s own site.  These sites won’t become fully active until later on Christmas Eve, but they are each counting down now, so take a look, choose your favourite and have it book marked, ready for tonight.  Each site also has lots of activities and games, so click around all the images, and explore Santa's village.  

http://www.google.com/santatracker/#/village
Click on the arrows to the right and left to move through the village, and click on the tear drop images to go to different games.

http://www.noradsanta.org/
Click on the large arrows at the bottom right of the screen to visit Santa's village where you can play music and games and read all about Santa and Christmas traditions.

There is also the free NORAD Tracks Santa app for iOS and Android

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

New app: Eggy Numbers to 100

Yesterday ABC Reading Eggs released another wonderful app for your iPad and iPhone.  Aimed at children aged 6 to 8, Eggy Numbers to 100 teaches number skills - counting, addition, estimation, and multiples – in a fun way, through six interactive games, with fun sounds and animations.

The games use tap and ‘touch and drag’ functions – drag numbers to the right spot to arrange them in order; burst balloons to identify the correct addition answers; match number dot to dots then ‘paint’ the resulting picture; identify number multiples by zapping space bugs, and more.  Each game progresses through 2-3 levels of difficulty, with each level using higher numbers, earning cute ‘Mashies’ rewards along the way. 

As well as having the instructions for each game displayed on the screen before the game starts, those instructions are also spoken to your child – so they can easily understand what to do.  You can also choose the voice you prefer – Australian, US or British.

Eggy Numbers to 100 is available from the App Store for $2.99

If you have a younger child, ABC Reading Eggs also has Eggy Numbers 1-10 for $1.99. 

If you've been following this blog for a while you’ll know that ABC Reading Eggs creates my favourite educational apps.  You can read what I've written about some of their other wonderful apps below

Tap the Cat

What apps did I put on my iPad?

Eggy Alphabet

Christmas Cards - Techie Alternatives

Every November I plan to write out all my Christmas cards and post them off to all my relatives and friends so they receive them early in December.  That’s the plan!  However, the reality is I usually get around to it in the second week of December and then usually in batches a few days apart.  I hate it when I haven’t sent my cards and I start receiving them.  Every year it gets later and later – or should I say, harder and harder to write out all those cards!

One of my cousins has emailed all her usual Christmas card recipients to tell them they will not be receiving cards this year – instead they are donating to the Philippines Typhoon appeal in the names of all those who they normally send cards to, and they have requested that we don’t send them cards too.  I like the sound of that. 

I have noticed that more Christmas cards are arriving in my inbox instead of my letterbox, so I thought I might investigate some alternatives this year too.  So, here’s what my research has produced – my favourite techie alternatives to the traditional Christmas card…..

Farm Africa 

Farm Africa is a charity working directly with farmers to pioneer techniques to boost harvests and reduce poverty. Send an e-card and each one you send will help African farmers provide for their families.  Just create an account, select your card, buy credits, personalise you card with a message and send it to one person or your entire email address book.  You can send from one card (GBP1), up to 50 cards (GBP20).

Red Stamp

Red Stamp allows you to create modern cards, notes, announcements and invitations for any occasion from your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.  There are 600+ designs to choose from, each with multiple colour schemes, and you’ll never be stuck for what to say with prompts written by etiquette experts.  Many of the designs will allow you to upload a photo from your camera roll or take a picture and add it from within the app.  Once you’ve created your card you can email it, save it to your Camera Roll, text it, share it on Facebook or Tweet it.  The basic version is free, with in-app purchases for premium features.

Appygraph eCards

Another free iOS app, with over 100 designs and regular new additions, you can add photos directly from your camera roll, personalise with your message, then email, save to your camera roll, or share via AirDrop, Facebook or Twitter. 

Greeting Card Maker

This great app is for iOS and Android phones and tablets.  You can create a custom card - Select your background, choose from over 500 images and clips, or draw your own, choose your font and font colour for your message, and you’re done. Or you can choose a readymade card.  Your card can be emailed, saved, or shared via Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.  It’s free, but with in-app purchase of add-on card packs.

Available at the Play Store or App Store 

Touchnote – Christmas Edition 

If you’d like to send real Christmas cards this is the app for you.  Use your own photos to create beautiful Christmas postcards or greeting cards.  Christmas postcards can be sent almost anywhere in the world (Christmas deadline for most is 17 December) for $1.49 or less.  The post cards are printed and sent from the USA, Australia, UK and Germany.  You can send Christmas cards too, but they are printed and sent from the UK, so they take a lot longer to arrive (deadline 3 December) for $2.28 or less.

You can also use Touchnote on your computer – www.touchnote.com

Free for Android from the Play Store and iOS from the App Store

Jacquie Lawson e-cards 

www.jacquielawson.com/

This is what I've decided to go with.  For an annual fee of AUD12 I can send unlimited animated e-cards throughout the year, and they really are beautiful.  There are cards for every occasion and the hardest part will be choosing which one.  You can even create an address book so all your email addresses are stored for birthdays, anniversaries etc. 

Especially for Christmas they have a gorgeous animated Edwardian advent calendar.  This isn't an e-card, but a software download and every day from 1^st to 25^th December a new animated story or interactive game becomes available to view.  The advent calendar is free for you with the normal subscription – but you can also give it as a gift for $2 each for 10 or more copies.  I think that would make a beautiful gift that I think would more than makeup for not getting an actual Christmas card.  Take a look at the advent calendar here.

Do you still send real Christmas cards?  If you don't what do you use?

An Android 'iPod'

I first posted this in December 2012, but it is still such a great idea that it deserves a second run..... with a little updating.  





My youngest son has asked for an iPod Touch for Christmas.  I know quite a few of his friends have them and I don’t really have a problem with him having one, except for the price.  Close to $300 is a bit much when he won't be happy if that’s the only present he gets, and I don’t want Santa getting the credit for giving him his favourite present!

So, I came up with a solution which will make us both happy.  I bought a new Android smart phone with a prepaid account on the same network that I use.  I didn't activate the phone and I didn't need to use the SIM card that came with it.  I just inserted the SIM from my phone, which worked immediately, to set up the phone and link to my Google Play account.  Once that was set up I removed the SIM.  With the phone connected to our home Wi-Fi I downloaded the games my son wants (Angry Birds Star Wars, Bad Piggies etc) from Google Play.  New games can be added whenever we like, but I still have control over what is downloaded because I have to enter my Google password as authorisation.

I had already downloaded the music my son wanted to my computer (I use Bandit.fm for music), so I connected the phone via USB to my computer and transferred the music to his new phone. 

Now my son will get what he wants for Christmas at a fraction of the cost of an iPod.  I paid $79 ($50 off the normal price) for a new Android 4.0 smart phone with a 3.5 inch screen, FM radio, MP3 player and as many games as he wants.  Without the SIM card it cannot be used as a phone and the only internet connection is at home when it can connect to our Wi-Fi (although I'm not going to let him know that).  Of course, when my son needs a phone in the next year or two I just need a new prepaid SIM card – he already has the phone.

If you’re upgrading your phone, your old phone can be a great boredom buster for your child – just download their favourite games and music - no SIM card required.  However, depending on the phone brand, if you don’t have access to Wi-Fi you’ll need to leave the SIM in the phone while you download the games so you can use Bluetooth to connect to Google Play.  Once the games are downloaded you can remove the SIM card. 

Unlike iPhones, you can buy Android phones with older versions of the Android operating system.  Make sure you buy one with Android 4.0 and higher, otherwise you'll find that a lot of games won't be able to run on the phone.  

Also, buy the highest capacity micro-SD card you can get, that way you can move the games over to the SD card and off the phone - Android phones are notorious for their lack of internal storage.

A techie way to send a traditional postcard

Here’s a clever way to combine the modern with the traditional.  Not that long ago, if you were travelling you would buy a postcard and send it to your family and friends back home to make them feel jealous/keep in touch while you are away!

Now there’s a techie way to do the same thing.  The Postcards app from Australia Post lets you use a photo taken with your iPhone, iPad or iPod and convert it into an actual postcard, which will then be delivered within Australia or overseas.  The message on the back of your postcard will even be converted into a handwritten-style font.  This would be perfect for keeping in touch with the non-techie or elderly relations back home.

It costs $1.99 to deliver anywhere in Australia (even if you’re sending it from overseas), and $2.99 to any international address.  You can pay with MasterCard, Visa or PayPal.

The Postcards app can be downloaded for free from the App Store.  If you are downloading to an iPad look for it under the iPhone apps.

Free Halloween Apps

It’s Halloween!  If you’ve got the costumes ready, the decorations up and the treats ready to give out, keep your little monsters occupied with some Halloween apps while they’re counting down to trick or treat time. 

There’s apps for creating fun sound effects and lots of games.  But I've only included ‘fun’ games – not the gross zombie killing ones.   This list also only features FREE apps.

SHOOT THE PUMPKIN

You play this game as Dracula.  You have a bow and unlimited arrows, with which you have to aim and shoot the pumpkins on top of Frankenstein’s head. 

Available for:  iPhone, iPad

THE VERY HUNGRY PUMPKIN

In this game you have to guide the pumpkin to as much candy as you can while trying to avoid bumping into the trick-or-treaters.  It starts out easy, but gets more challenging.  Brilliant 3D animation and funny sound effects – great for all ages.

Available for:  iPhone, iPad, iPod touch

 

CARVE-A-PUMPKIN

The mess free way to carve a pumpkin!  Choose from five different pumpkin styles, then ‘carve’ your own design or choose from the library of crazy eyes, noses and mouths.

Available for:  iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch

 

PUMPKIN CARVER

Similar to above, but for Android

HALLOWEEN PARTY SOUND LITE

Pick a sound, set the timer, hide your phone and spook your family and friends!

Available for:  Android

PUMPKINS VS. MONSTERS

It’s an all-out battle between pumpkins and monsters! Simple controls where you flick your pumpkins to attack the monsters. Story mode with up to 90 levels and six different worlds to play in – endless fun!

Available for:  Android

WHERE’S OZIL? HALLOWEEN

A search and find adventure for Halloween - Find the pumpkin and try to keep going as far as you can!

Available for:  iPhone, iPad

Get your iPhone and iPad apps from iTunes/Apple App Store

Get your Android apps from Google Play