Tag Archives: iPad

App review: Grimm’s Rapunzel – 3D Interactive Pop-up Book

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Grimm’s Rapunzel – 3D Interactive Pop-up Book is a superb interactive version of the classic story that features all of the bells and whistles you would expect. Users can have the story read aloud to them (with them choosing the pace of the page turns), read it themselves, or watch the story in autoplay fashion. The pop-up elements not only let children explore the pages at their own pace, but also offer tasks to complete, such as planting and watering seeds to grow flowers or picking flowers. Young children will love the story, which is less frightening that many other Grimm fairy tales.

Read more at Common Sense Media


New Tablets Set to Battle Apple’s iPad

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It’s hard to take 20 steps at CES without someone thrusting a tablet computer at you this year.

With Apple having paved the way for tablets last year, 2011 is when the competition is hoping to chip away at the company’s dominance in the category. It’s going to be a tough fight, though.

Read more at CNBC.com

New fronts in tablet war

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In just eight months, Apple has managed to create one of the computer world’s fastest-growing and most lucrative sub markets. And the competitors are getting tired of Steve Jobs and Co. hogging the spotlight.

Launched in April 2010, the iPad has quickly come to define tablet computing. Consumers have snatched it up, with 2010 sales expected to total between 15 million and 19.5 million units. With prices ranging from $499 to $829, the iPad is a huge breadwinner for the company; Apple can’t keep up with demand.

Read more at Daily Variety

Handy guide to tablet warriors

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Apple might have a tight grip on the tablet market today, but at CES, the competition will come at it with both guns blazing. Here’s a look at what you can expect:

The Android tablets – Google’s mobile operating system is the de facto choice for companies going up against Apple. The problem is it’s optimized for phones, not tablets. At CES, there will be a lot of talk about devices using Honeycomb, a new version of the OS designed for tablets. Asus, Acer, Samsung, Toshiba and others are expected to have new tablet offerings revolving around Honeycomb, which should hit the street sometime in the second quarter.

Read more at Daily Variety

High price helps iPad

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While there are plenty of companies gunning for Apple as the tablet market heats up, most have one thing in common: They’re planning to use price as a battlefield.

The iPad might be affordable by Apple standards, but it’s hardly a cheap piece of hardware, with prices ranging from $499-$829. And many competitors see that as an opening.

Read more at Daily Variety

 

Has the iPhone Become Big Brother Plus Terminator?

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In “The Terminator” film series, mankind brought a nuclear Armageddon upon itself when it created Skynet, an artificial intelligence service that became self-aware and rebelled against its creators. In essence, the population became too dependent on technology—and paid the price.

While the Apple iPhone hasn’t shown any Schwarzenegger-like tendencies quite yet, it’s pretty astonishing just how quickly its users have grown to rely on the phones—and how much control they have given it (along with the iPod Touch and iPad) over their day to day lives.

Read more at CNBC.com

App review: Jenga

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Jenga doesn’t seem a natural fit for an app, but NaturalMotion does a terrific job of building an electronic version of this classic — thanks in large part to its terrific physics engine, which causes the blocks to react as they would in the real world. Is it more fun than the game you play with friends around a table? No. But it’s as close as you can come. The pass and play mode is the best mode — since playing Jenga alone isn’t a fulfilling experience. And the new arcade mode, with colors and a timer, is a great spin on the single player game that makes it fun to play when you’re alone. Game Center functionality or some other way to play with friends who aren’t in the immedate room would have been welcome, but at its core, this is a terrific game.

Read more at Common Sense Media


App review: Homerun Battle 3D

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Homerun Battle 3D doesn’t have a license from Major League Baseball and doesn’t need one. The focus on hitting balls deep into the stands and the number of perks you can get with special balls — such as gold ones, which let you alter your appearance when you’ve hit enough homeruns with them — make this a great combination of arcade and role playing. The multiplayer mode is safe and a showcase of how matchmaking should be. The only downside is there’s no way to transfer your player’s progress between the iPad HD version and the separate iPhone and iPod Touch version — meaning you not only have to pay twice, all the work you put into the game on one platform won’t help you on another.

Read more at Common Sense Media


App review: Braveheart HD

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Braveheart HD might have high aspirations to mimic some of the great “point and click” role-playing games on the market, but it’s ultimately a one-note game. Enemies charge blindly at you and you mow them down, moving around the screen from time to time to pick up experience, health, or cash. While the game boasts 10 different weapons, there’s very little discernible difference in how they’re used on screen. The interstitial cartoon panels between levels end up being the best part of the game — and that’s not something worth paying for.

Read more at Common Sense Media

App review: Infinity Blade

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There’s nothing particularly deep about the gameplay of Infinity Blade, but the game is a lot of fun to play — and it’s nearly as fun to just look at. The graphics engine powering the app is an offshoot of the one used in Gears of War, making it one of the most advanced on Apple’s systems. Unfortunately, after you’ve played for a while the repetitive nature of the game becomes apparent. While you can choose different weapons and magic powers to battle opponents, you’re still using the same actions. That could prevent some people from finishing the game. That said, there’s something mesmerizing about the simplistic structure of the game that hooks you and fans of action games will likely find themselves playing regularly — even though they recognize the game’s faults. Infinity Blade, in some ways, is an action equivalent of classic quarter-gobbling arcade games. You’re repeating the same motions and actions a lot, but the game is still somehow entertaining enough that you may not mind.

Read more at Common Sense Media