APP DEALS

I felt as though I was a kid in a candy store yesterday while app shopping. Many of the apps that I have wanting all went to $0.99. I blogged about Need for Speed Hot Pursuit a few days ago. I paid $9.99 for it (which really wasn't worth that much) but it is now $0.99. If you are a sports fan...here are some that I found last night:

Madden 11 - $0.99 in HD on ipad

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit - $0.99

Need for Speed Shift - $0.99

NBA Elite (for iphone) -$0.99

Fifa 11 (for iphone) - $0.99...watch out because it is $9.99 in HD for the ipad

NHL2K11 (for iphone) - $0.99

Tiger Woods PGA Tour (for iphone) - $0.99

Reckless Racing - $0.99 in HD on ipad

Drift Mania - $0.99 in HD (one of the only games I have tried and the graphics aren't good)

Deer Hunter 3D - $0.99 for ipad or iphone

Deer Hunter African Safari for ipad - $0.99

2XL Trophylite rally - $0.99 for ipad or iphone (off road truck racing)

Boggle for ipad - $0.99

Sim City Delux for ipadin HD or iphone - $0.99

Game of Life $0.99 for iphone...here is another one to watch out for because it is $6.99 for ipad

Just a quick list of apps I will probably do a little blog about in the near future. Enjoy the list.

Grinchmas!

I have not tried this one yet but it came highly recommended. After reading about the app, it was supposedly the #1 kids game in 2009.

★ 2009 Best App Ever Awards nominee - Best Just for Kids App
★ Top-8 Paid App and #1 Kids Game - Dec 2009
★ "Grinchmas is highly recommended for kids of all ages." - AppModo
★ "A fun and graphically beautiful game" (5 out of 5 stars) - TouchReviews
★ "You probably can’t go far wrong with this!" - IntoMobile.com
★ "Highly recommended" - FamilyGamerOnline

Grinchmas is a fun, casual game of skill and accuracy. Assume the role of The Grinch perched on Mt. Crumpit. Swipe the screen to throw either snowballs or presents down to Who-ville, depending on whether you feel “mean” or “merry.” Accuracy and speed determine your score.

Features two gameplay modes:
"Mean Grinch" - The Whos down in "Who-ville" are making too much Christmas NOISE, NOISE, NOISE! Splat each noisy Who house with snowballs to silence them. How long can you last before the noise overwhelms you?

"Merry Grinch" - The Grinch has had a change of heart and must deliver matching colored presents to the Who houses. How many presents can you deliver, to grow the Grinch's heart bigger, before time runs out?

Link to App info above

Link to Picture 1

Link to Picture 2

Dictionary.com

This app was highly recommended by a teacher in my school.

"Features:
• Dictionary and Thesaurus
• English and Spanish Word of the Day
• Nearly 1,000,000 words and definitions in our Dictionary
• More than 90,000 synonyms and antonyms in our Thesaurus
• Alphabetical indexing
• Similarly spelled words
• Phonetic and audio pronunciation
• Example sentences
• Non-standard uses
• Word origin and history
• Editable recent word look-up
• Shake device to see a randomly-selected word
• No Internet connection required for Dictionary and Thesaurus
• Internet connection required for Word of the Day, audio pronunciations and similarly spelled words"

Link to app info

Link to picture 2

Link to picture 1

BOOK APPS (Nook, Kobo, Google Book)

With so many online book apps, which is the right one to choose. I did some research and found these three tonight. The Barnes and Noble Nook and the Kobo both state that they have over one million free books online. Google Books tops them by claiming they have over two millions books online. By reading reviews, none of them really stand out as the app you want. Many complaints about each of them. Kobo and Google Books both have 2 1/2 stars out of 5 where the Nook have 3 stars.

Out of the 604 who have reviewed Google Books (which came out on Dec 6th), 227 gave only 1 star. People complain that there is no bookmarking, no highlighting, no dictionary, no note taking, etc.

With Kobo, a new version came out so it only had 7 giving it 5 stars and 4 giving it 1. With the old version, 24, 043 reviewed it and averaged with 2 1/2 stars. People complain that they can't find the free books, difficult to search and buy books, requires internet connection,etc.

Lastly, the Nook. with 1,787 people rating this app, it received 599 at 5 stars BUT 629 at 1 star. People complain that they cannot get their elibrary with the app, no large fonts, step backwards from the B&N eReader, and would assist with etextbook, but they found that you need Nookstudy instead.

Well, out of all of these, I don't know what to recommend. I have tried Kobo and I was not a fan. I also could not find any free books and I wasn't willing to spend money. From everything I was reading, I would pick the Nook as the top of the three. The REALLY good thing is that they are all FREE so you can try them yourself and keep the best.

Link to Nook app info

Link to Kobo app info

Link to Google Book app info

Link to Nook picture

Link to Kobo picture

Link to Google Book picture

Hot Pursuit (Need For Speed)

All right, the reason I haven't added an app was because I have been addicted to this new game, Hot Pursuit. If you are a fan of racing, then you will enjoy this game. The only downfall is the price. It costs $9.99. This is the most expensive app I have purchased but it is much better than Shrek Karting which I haven't played much after purchasing. In this game, you are the police officer and need to catch the bad guys. In some games, you race other police cars, in other games you need to crash 3 to 5 cars in 3 minutes. As you complete different missions, you earn Bounty money that accumulates. When you earn the required bounty amounts, you open different police cars. Some of the cars you can earn are a Nissan 370Z, Lancer, Impreza, Shelby, many different Porsches, BMW, Corvette, Viper, Ford GT, Lamborghini, Koenigsegg and a Bugatti Veyron. I have only had the game for a few days but my family is really enjoying it. My son gave this game a 10 out of 10. He said, "I love it dad. It is the best game ever"! If you decide to spend the money, hopefully you enjoy it as much as we do.

Link to app info

App review on YouTube

Link to picture

Talking Santa

Since my kids LOVE Talking Tom, I thought I would try Talking Santa. Looking at prices, the iphone app is $1.99 where the ipad app is $4.99. I will admit that I cheated and purchased the iphone app for my ipad and just increased the size. Sure, it is not HD quality but I was not willing to risk the money. Talking Santa is cute but Tom is better. You can click on the milk in the bottom corner which will make him eat the cooking and Talking Tom pops on to steal the milk. You can click on the snowball on the bottom and a huge snowball will run Santa over. Click on his bag and he will pull out a wrapped present. Click on the present and it will show you a surprise. Just like Talking Tom, you can beat up Santa but if you punch him, he will take out a gift, jump on it and kick it off the screen. The only real down fall is the voice. My wife thinks he sounds scary.

Link to app info

Link to picture

Angry Birds Seasons

I purchased this app, thinking it was a Halloween app, only to have it change for Christmas. Well worth the money. This is the same app I reviewed a month ago but since it is changing per season...I thought it was ok to post again. This app is $0.99!

Link to app info

Link to picture

Mental Case Classroom

Looking for more education apps, a colleague of mine recommended this one. This app is free!

"This edition of Mental Case is designed specifically for use in a classroom setting. A paid edition is available for iPhone and iPad.

Mental Case is the premium flashcard application for Mac, iPhone, and iPod touch. Use it to learn a language, memorize trivia, or study for an exam.

With the classroom edition, a teacher or other educator can prepare flash cards and distribute them to students via a web server or other online storage solution.

Those looking for an application to use for individual study should download the full edition of Mental Case, which has more features than the classroom edition."

Link to app info

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Link to 2nd picture

iBomber Defense

If you are a fan of strategy games, then you might be interested in iBomber Defense. You need to create a defense using the weapons supplied and the money you have to protect your building. When I started to play, I was a little bored but it soon became more challenging, especially when aircraft come and blow up my weapons. This app costs $2.99.

Link to app info

Link to picture

Caring Bridge App

This is so helpful. As the number of people we know with cancer keeps increasing, following along with there daily encounters is valuable. This app is your mobile connection!

Link to app info

Link to picture

Let's Golf 2 HD

This app costs $4.99. It costs a lot but has really nice graphics!

"We've listened to the fans of Let’s Golf! and given them what they want: a faster, more colorful and fun golf experience!
That's why this newest edition to the popular series is just the thing to satisfy your need for an exciting golf adventure!"

According to the review...it says that there are 108 different holes.

Link to above info

Link to first picture

Link to second picture

ENDI Tank

FREE APP!!

"Take the opportunity to play a funny arcade-oriented fighting game in a full toyish 3D environment:

- Drive various types of tanks in many surprising environments that will remind you of your childhood;
- Fight enemies with various personalities, specific strengths and weaknesses;
- Complete 30 missions with specific goals;"

Link to above app info

Link to picture