Candy and Balloons - Bus Game by little apple - Android App Featured

Candy and Balloons - Bus Game by little apple - Android App Featured   

We keep saying on Android Review Center that Android Smartphones are there to make our lives better, from work to play to safety to home and family. In fact, everything you need is right there on Google Play, an app for every need. But lately we gave little attention to the kiddy side of Google Play.

Actually, apps for kids are very important and not always from the reasons we might think. Apps for kids (at least, good apps for kids) help kids develop, from cognitive skills to hand to eye coordination, straight forward schooling and so on. Of course, giving tired parents a few moments to rest is also vital.

This is why Candy and Balloons, a new bus game by little apple is important, for parents and kids alike. It's a game for kids aged two to five, with kids even older than six also showing a keen interested for this completely free game (there is a small ad section, but that is unavoidable).

What is Candy and Balloons all about? This app has been made too appear in the form of interactive video, lovingly drawn in cartoon style. The theme of the game is the red bus that travels through the colorful scenes. In the background you can hear the beloved children's song, "The wheels of the bus ..."

The game hides a number of interesting and fun surprises. The player touched certain elements falling behind the bus and is awarded with funny and surprising interactions. The player touch or cuts like a ninja to destroy the candy, creatures and score points.
Avoid balloons and play as long as you have game life remaining. Collect crystals to unlock additional scenery..

This colorful game draws kids attention and its cartoonish style makes them glued to the mobile device, while developing their coordination, color and depth perception along with a sound track that is both entertaining and is a learning experience in itself. 

The game also teaches the kids about exploring, touching things and learning about consequences. The kids can touch everything and interact with almost everything in the game, starting from birds to candy to almost everything else.  

A game that draws children in, teaching them about exploring while drawing for them a safe, cartoonish environment with great children's soundtrack really approaches the ideal of a perfect kids game, for children and parents alike. 

Google Play Link

2 Remember docs and Note taking - Android App Featured

2 Remember docs and Note taking by MOKOBI OOD - Android App Featured   

Modern life is a great thing. Really. We have taps with hot water, refrigerators, TV sets, a world wide web with all the information in the world and unlimited connectivity options called the Internet and of course, we have those marvelous devices called Android Smartphones that put all that power right in the palm of our hands.

Of course, not everything is perfect in our world, and we're not talking politics here. If you try to think of it, you will understand that modern people have a LOT of things to remember. In fact, so much things that need to be remembered it is impossible to list them all, let alone really remember them. Pay the bills. Take the kid to the Judo class AND take him back. Get back to Andy about that movie night proposal. See that place for a possible replacement apartment. Bring back two milk cartons back home. And this goes on and on and on ...

Now, the nice thing about Android Smartphones (and the other kind, too, for a lesser extent) is that Google Play is filled with apps, some of them being organizers and calendars and note taking apps, all designed to help the poor modern people cope with the things they have to remember in life.

But, we want to introduce you to 2 Remember, an organizer that takes quite a drastic approach to things, an approach that is probably the best solution possible to the problem of sorting out and organizing the HUGE amount of things we need to remember in our life.

So, what is 2 Remember? This app takes the approach that we may need to remember anything, thus it has featured to remember everything we need to. The app will take notes about media files, physical locations, audio notes, movies, songs, links, emails, written notes and many more things. In other words, the app can and will remember anything that we put in or through our smartphone. 

Then, the app helps us sort the things it remembers for us, dividing them into broad and narrow categories, adding locations, time limits and alerts, audio notes and anything else that needs to be added for the note and the thing we wanted to remember. To make sure we don't run out of place, the app will store (if we set it up to) everything we need to on cloud storage, keeping our mobile light and unencumbered. 

The benefits are truly remarkable. With 2 Remember, everything and anything we need to do, remember, plan and perform is right there for us, sorted and categorized, with a time alert. The app will inform us if we need to act on an email now, take the kid from class, do the laundry on Monday night and pick up the clothes from dry cleaning.

Used properly, 2 Remember really has the potential to make our lives much more organized, less prone to accidents and mistakes, and much more pleasant.

Which is exactly what a good app should do. 

Google Play Link

Baby Phonic video baby monitor - Android App Review

Baby Phonic video baby monitor by Nikolay Shishenkov - Android App Review

Most people, like it or not, already are parents or will become parents, sooner or later. And, as the ones who already were parents know, there's nothing more important in the life of a parent than his or her baby. This is a powerful and almost unbreakable bond that dominates at least the first years of a parent's life, the first years as parents.

That is the thing that is so awesome in being a parent, having a baby that is all dependent on you. However, as the ones who already are parents know, that's also the problem because as a parent, everything you do (and there's much more to be done when you have a baby) you have to do with a baby.

The thing about babies is that they need constant guarding, even when asleep because, god forbid, there are quite a number of problems that can develop and endanger our baby in a manner of minutes. This is why a parent must keep an open eye a all times on a baby. And this is what is so difficult in being a parent, leading a life while keeping an eye on the baby at all times.

Enter Baby Phonic, a video baby monitor that tries to do just that, let the parents have some freedom, let them do other things while STILL keeping an eye our on their baby. The app connects two devices together through a WiFi router and allows one device to see video and sound output from the other device, the device inside the baby's room.

Well, we had a little problem in giving this app to our reviewers since not ALL of our reviewers are or were parents but surprising as it is to hear, even those who weren't parents found uses for the app. More on this later. 

So, let's start seeing what our reviewers thought. We'll start with the hardware, actually, the devices that need to run the app. Well, as it turns out our reviewers unintentionally manged to really test Baby Phonic, using it to connect Android to iOS to Amazon's version of Android. We also heard from reviewers who hooked old Tablets, older smartphones and Kindle Fire's and everything worked smoothly together.

The user interface also got a loud applause as everyone managed to make the app to work in a few tries at the most, even the least tech oriented among our reviewers. Adjusting picture settings was also something everyone managed to do easily and the app in general gets high marks for user friendly menus and setups.  

And now for some tips and tricks for the apps. First of all, it may prove difficult to find devices to run the app but almost everyone has old smartphones at home without sim cards, but all you need is WiFi connection and you've found a great use for that old device lying at home. The same applies for tablets.

Reviewers suggest trying to switch the monitoring device with the one viewing, to see which gets the best results. It may surprise you. One thing to keep in mind is that sometimes it takes up to one and a half minutes to form the connection between devices, so remain patient. One last thing to remember is that if u want the app and devices to work at night, keep the device monitoring the baby charging, though make sure the device and the wires are WELL out of reach for the baby.

We must point out that the device should be kept away from the baby, at least five or six feet and to make sure it cannot reach to device, especially if you keep the device charging. In addition, keep in mind Baby Phonic is not a movement monitoring appliance. 

Baby Phonic is a great baby monitoring app, with simple user interface and great versatility. The overwhelming majority of our reviewers liked the app a lot.

Link to Google Play

• 
  

Baby Phonic video baby monitor - Android App Featured

Baby Phonic video baby monitor by Nikolay Shishenkov - Android App Featured   

Android Smartphones should serve us in four capacities. They should be great to use as mobile offices, mobile communications centers (from phone calls to Whatsapp to social network etc), mobile entertainment centers (for playing games and consuming media files) and last but certainly not least, they should serve as mobile security and safety devices.

That fourth role, security and safety centers, is becoming more and more important and pronounced these last years as apps keep appearing that can serve to locate a loved one, hear and understand his or her condition, keep track of important locates such as police stations and fire stations and being able to (almost) automatically call help on distress.

One of the most important functions in that fourth role of security and safety center has to do with baby monitoring. EVERYBODY should know and learn of these function, because even if you don't have kids now or your kids are all grown up, spearing the word may bring good to other people.

So, for those without kids or those whose kids are all grown up, what is a baby monitoring? Baby monitoring is a function usually served by dedicated devices that allows parents to see and hear what the baby is doing even when they are in another room. That is important during the first year of a baby's life (some say two years) because it may help prevent disasters while letting the parents relax or do chores, which is also important.

A very interesting app that serves as a baby monitor facilitator is Baby Phonic, which we will present now. 

Baby Phonic is a comprehensive yet simple to use app that transforms ANY device into a baby monitor, even if it is a lowly tablet, a high spec smartphone, an old desktop or a laptop that lies around. Even Amazon Fire devices can be used, as Apple devices. Baby Phonic ties any paid of these devices together and creates a sensor and a viewing screen.

The sensor keeps track of the baby in question, sending back video AND sound to the viewing screen on the other side of the connection. The viewing screen allows the parents to keep track of the baby wherever they are in the house, as long as they have WiFi connection to the same router as the 'sensor' device.

Baby Phonic is a great solution to the baby monitor problem, allowing the user to connect almost any devices and view their output almost everywhere. With a simple setup and easy to operate UI, Baby Phonic is a great baby monitor app that can be used by anyone. 

Google Play Link

Circle Pong - Android App Featured

Circle Pong by Super Droid Studio - Android App Featured   

Simplicity has its virtues and among the hundreds of thousands of games on google plus there exist a huge selection of complicated games, with complex rules, dozens of units and untold rules, all creating games that are better played on tablets and require quite a lot of time, both to understand how to play and to play each session.  

On the other side of the scale exist the simpler games, games that do not require such a lot of time to understand the rules or to manage to play a session, which is both more suitable to Android Smartphones and to our own busy life and cramped schedules, where we can barely find a few minutes to relax between appointments or work..

Of course, even among the games that are shorter and simpler by nature there exist a great variety. Some are puzzles which require puzzle and riddle solving, obviously. Others are arcades, designed to let the player struggle with difficulties while he or she fights to move the game's character from start to finish.

Finally, there exists the arcade or action genre which is simple and requires great hand to eye coordination, lightning fast reflex and unwavering concentration. These games are very popular because they are really great to pass a few idle minutes, are very relaxing as the player's fingers flash across the screen and the concentration needed helps the player focus easier on his tasks later on.

Circle Pong is a very interesting example of the action genre. 

The aim of Circle Pong is quite simple. Use your finger to control the bat and keep the ball inside the circle. Of course, the ball moves faster and faster and the player must move his fingers faster in order to bring the bat to the correct place in order to keep the ball inside the circle. Along with fast and rhythmic music, Circle Pong is very fun variation of the ping pong game. 

Circle Pong is quite difficult as the concentration needed to keep the ball inside the circle is intense. One wrong finger pass or one distraction is all that suffices to let the ball escape and finish the game. The challenge is on, not only to succeed in keeping the ball inside the circle, but also to keep succeeding for a longer period of time.

To sum things up, Circle Pong is both simple, eminently playable and a lot of instant fun, great for any idle moment and great for both reflexes and concentration. 

Google Play Link

Wizz The Shizz by 4314Games - Android App Featured

Wizz The Shizz by 4314Games - Android App Featured   

One of the great things about Android Smartphones (and probably about the other kind, too) is the usefulness of these devices. They are full blown computers, complete with high resolution screens and input devices and with computation power that sometimes exceeds that of standard desktop and the things you can do with them are virtually limitless.  

This makes our current time become a gamer's paradise. The sheer amount of games of different types available for download is staggering. There are millions of apps out there on google play with hundreds of thousands if not more games of every type, genre, story, graphics, retro and the list just goes on and on.

Of course, looking at it from the other side makes this a virtual (excuse the pun ...) hell because there are so many games and apps but there is really a limit to human ingenuity which manifests itself as endless and boring repetition of the same thing. For instance, there are hundreds of Clash of Clans clones, each virtually the same game with different graphics.

This is why it has become so important to be able to find ORIGINALITY on google play, games that are really different both in story, concept, gameplay and graphics. Even though a game must have a good gameplay, story and graphics to be playable, sometimes the thing that matters most is its originality. 

This is where Wizz The Shizz by 4314Games really shines. 

Wizz the Shizz is quite a simple game and is meant to make men feel good about themselves (and their contribution to society) and for women to finally understand how men do things ... The object of the game is quite simple. Just wee all the poo stains off the toilet bowl while as fast as possible and keep improving the make your score better and better.

Like we promised, with a VERY original gameplay, a unique concept and witty sense of humor, this game brings a totally new experience to the Android Smartphone player, an experience which no other game or app on Google Play can offer and today, that is a huge achievement. 

Google Play Link

Chocolate Raiders - Candy Puzzle - Android App Review

Chocolate Raiders - Candy Puzzle by Pixel Racoons GmbH - Android App Review

Chocolate Raiders came into our attention because of several of its features, things we thought put it a step above and beyond mos of the puzzle games on Google Plus. Since there are now SO many games over there, with thousands of variation on almost every kind of game, the challenge has become finding the game that really has something different or better.

A game can be better compared to its many siblings on Google Play by, for example, offering different gameplay. Of course, this is really only one of the things that can elevate a game, the others being great design, beautiful interface and graphics (including menus, characters, levels and basically everything in the game) and the mood or feeling the game inspires.

The question now is, will our reviewers think Chocolate Raiders really is better than most other games?

First, let's see what Chocolate Raiders is all about. The game itself is quite simple, being a series of puzzles where the chocolate monster has to solve the puzzle level in order to get to the chocolate (or cake, or jelly or muffin ...) and get it away from the selfish Chocolate kind who refuses to share his chocolate with others. 

The challenge in Chocolate Raiders becomes harder on each level and there are 75 levels in the first section and 75 levels on the second section. Each level has a timer and the levels must be won with the least amount of moves possible in order to receive the biggest amount of points.

Our reviewers are quite diverse, from kids to teens to parents to quite older people in order to bring the opinions of everybody about each app, Chocolate Raiders in this case.

The first thing everybody, young and old, male or female pointed out was the game's graphics. Chocolate Raiders really have a professional looking design, from the characters to the levels to the chocolate goodness to the menus and everything conspires together to bring a warm, fuzzy chocolate feeling to the player. Like we said, the vast majority of our reviewers pointed this out. 

Another thing quite a lot of reviewers pointed out was the amount of variation in the levels themselves. Chocolate Raiders' makers have not only invested in graphics but have also invested in the puzzles, making each level unique and challenging. Sometimes a challenging game can become too difficult and repetitive, but this game managed to have levels and puzzles so different as to make it interesting to come and solve the next puzzle.

Our reviewers also liked something that we'll call, from lack of other words, atmosphere. The graphics and soundtracks and the calls of the characters and way everything is drawn all create a very friendly, kid safe environment that lacks violence and has appealed to almost everyone, young and old alike (of course, except for the few pyromaniacs who didn't have enough explosions and fires in the game, but they were really a small minority).  

The first tip our reviewers gave is not actually directly gameplay oriented. More than several of our reviewers are parents and they found the kids loved the game, the quirky characters, the fast soundtrack and even the puzzles, sometimes turning it into a family or group challenge to solve the more difficult puzzles together.

The advise our reviewers give to those who want to play the game is watch the level carefully and don't expect to solve the next level the way you solved the previous one. Each level has a different solution and watching the level and seeing what portals, timers and other items are scattered across it is the first and arguably most important phase of solving the puzzle.

Chocolate Raiders is a great example of what professional work can achieve, from beautiful graphics to matching soundtrack to challenging but not killer levels, creating a game that can appeal to almost everyone.

• Score: 4.75. Beautiful designed and executed puzzle game.
• Description: A puzzle solving game where the player must guide the chocolate raider monster towards the chocolate treasure on puzzle levels.
• Good Points: A huge number of levels prevents the game running out before the player gets to enjoy it. No violence. Beautiful graphics, music and character design.
• Bad Points: We would have liked a save function that will let us save a game in the middle and get back to it a week from today. Most games lack such a feature, sadly ...
• Experience: The game plays almost by itself from day one. Almost no one had any trouble figuring out what to do, though figuring the items like timers and portals took a little longer.
• Longevity: The sheer amount of levels and the variance between the levels will keep this game installed for a long time on most mobile devices.
• Link to Google Play