iPod Touch

Photography On The Go

April 7, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 11 Comments

When the theme of Photographic Resolutions was set for The Gallery a few months ago, I had to have a long hard think about what mine would be. Amongst them were; learn how to use the manual settings on my dSLR (still no idea), and be in more photos (my husband is taking more but he needs to do it more surrupticiously). The first resolution was to learn how to use mobile photo editing apps.

I stated at the time that the reason I don't use the camera on the iPod Touch is because it's shockingly awful, and while the camera on my phone (HTC Desire) is ok for outdoor shots, it's a bit rubbish at indoor photos. Also the photo editing app on my phone is complicated to remember all the different filters, but I do like the Instagram app for the Apple market (there's now an Instagram for Android, but it's not as good because there's no tilt-focus option).

I finally twigged that if I emailed over the photos taken on my phone to my iPod then I could edit them on Instagram there; hurrah! And then I discovered the wonderful app Camera+ for iOS, courtesy of HPMcQ who does brilliant things with it. Now there is no stopping me and I'm Instagramming all over the shop.

I think I've managed to cross one of those resolutions off my list, here are some of my snaps taken on my phone or iPod.

If you'd like to join in and show off the photos you've taken on the go, I've added a linky below so we can all admire each other's handiwork. It could be a blog-post, a twitpic, an Instagram url or a flickr picture. Join in and let's have some fun!

Snap Shortlist

I am nominated in the Britmums Brilliance in Blogging Photography Award. If you'd consider voting for me, I'd be eternally grateful, just click on the badge above.

Fireman Sam (A Review)

February 7, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 1 Comment

I'm often on the lookout for new apps for The Boy to play, an app that is centred around a CBeebies character, or other well-known character, is always a success. I've discovered though that you need to be more direct with the iTunes search though, a broad search term either brings back a plethora of hits or nothing.

We were recently given the opportunity to review the Fireman Sam: Junior Cadet app which is designed for iPad and iPhones, which of course means it works on an iPod Touch (our chosen Apple device). Released in mid-December 2011 by P2 games, this is the first official Fireman Sam app and features a good selection of games with a special bonus virtual sticker album once they're completed.

HOSE PRACTICE – Learn how to use the hose with Elvis by filling buckets with water. This activity can also be played against the clock, which provides an extra challenge! And you can accidentally soak Elvis, which is quite amusing.

HIDE ‘N’ SEEK – Norman is up to his old tricks and has hidden lots of objects around the fire station. Help Fireman Sam to find them. Watch out for Norman, bonus points available for catching him.

LOAD JUPITER – Fireman Sam needs your help to load Jupiter. Find the correct items by matching the shadows. This activity can also be played as a memory game, which provides a challenge for older players.

SKY HIGH RESCUE – The cats have escaped and Fireman Sam needs some help catching them. A great chance to practice rescuing skills!

FIRE FIGHTER – Finally: a call out to the first fire! Use hose targeting skills to put out all the fires! Good luck!

The Fireman Sam app on the AppStore is a really nice little find with plenty of different activities to suit children of different ages and abilities. The Boy particularly likes the Hose Practise and Hide 'n' seek activities. At £1.99, this is a good app and I'd recommend you download it for fun and logical development.

I was given a code to download this for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

'App-y Talking Talking, 'App-y Talk

October 25, 2011 by TheBoyAndMe 4 Comments

A contrived title I know, but you'll soon see why.

When The Boy was about 16 months old I gave him the iPod Touch to play with one day. Just a simple bubble-popping app (see? Makes sense now doesn't it?) but he soon understood what he had to do and from then on in I was finding apps ever couple of days for him to play. I always loaded these for him. Invariably I would get frustrated as hell when he would then press the 'home' button, thereby cancelling the game and resulting in him grunting at me and calling 'Mummy, help!'

Less than two months later, I was sitting at the dining table fussing with something (probably twitter) while The Boy played at my feet. I glanced down to check he was ok and found him pressing the 'home' button yet again. I sighed and went to reach down before I stopped sharply. He was switching between screens to find 'his' apps and loading the games that he wanted to play. Completely independently.

Since then he's gone from strength to strength, through the apps on the iPod he's learnt various shapes that I wouldn't have thought to have taught him yet (diamond and hexagon!), colours, recognition of (some) numbers, let alone the matching skills and logical development. It now means that I'm constantly on the look-out for new and engaging apps to further his understanding and development.

We've been asked to review two, and I was only too pleased to accept the offer.

My First JCB

This is a lovely little app, perfect for most boys. There are a number of different games that can be played:

The vast majority of the games are easy enough and The Boy barely needed any input aside from with the 'sorting' and 'memory'. The 'racing' and 'action' games are too hard for him at present. However, The Boy liked playing the jigsaws, matching, dot-dot, painting, etc.

It helps though if your little ones know what a JCB or a digger is because various games within the app focus on things like a bucket, mixer, scoop etc. This app is suitable for 2year olds+, definitely pre-schoolers.

My First JCB is available from iTunes for £1.49 (limited offer)

Postman Pat SDS

This is a little more complicated than the JCB app and would be more suitable for children aged four or over. There are a variety of different games that can be played, with each game having three different levels: easy, medium and hard.

The Boy struggled with most of these games, as they require a little bit more manual dexterity than he has, with quicker reflexes. Out of the eight, he could do two: Thompson Farm and Pencaster Trains.

While the images are bright and attractive, the animation mostly slick and clever, it can't disguise from the fact that it's too hard for it's target market. With an introductory screen for each game that has a paragraph of small writing on it, not many pre-schoolers would be able to play this without assistance. Definitely for the older child.

Postman Pat SDS is available from iTunes for £1.99

I was provided with free download codes for these apps for the purpose of this review. My opinion, and that of The Boy, are honest and unbiased.