Kids Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Five apps to help you identify birds and their beautiful songs

by Kelly Hodgkins (May 20th, 2013)

Spring means migration and the return of birds to many parts of North America. It also means warmer weather and sunny days that are perfect for birding. Here is a list of apps to help you get outside and start learning about our feathered friends (all prices are USD). Field Guide for birds [iOS ...

McDonald's releases McPlay app: 'Hey kids, this is advertising'

by Mike Schramm (May 1st, 2013)

McDonald's has awkwardly tried to enter the App Store marketplace with an app it calls "McPlay," available for free on the App Store right now. I wouldn't recommend a download (personally, I've boycotted the golden arches for almost a decade now), but it is fascinating to see the fast-food giant ...

Friday Favorite: Sock Puppets

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Apr 19th, 2013)

Sock Puppets allows just about anyone to quickly and easily create short animated movies using not only sock puppet characters, but (via in-app purchases) aliens, politicians and Halloween characters. The adorable app is from a software company Smith Micro -- not exactly known for its consumer ...

Daily iPhone App: 7 Little Words for Kids is a well-made word game for youngsters

by Mike Schramm (Mar 11th, 2013)

I'm a big fan of 7 Little Words, a word game that's different from the rest, in that you need to simply figure out vocabulary clues and match up syllables rather than playing Scrabble yet again or lining up letters. Now, the app's creator has returned with a version for children called ...

Toy Fair 2013: Ubooly is soft, squishy and smart thanks to the iPhone

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (Feb 11th, 2013)

Like Macworld/iWorld, Toy Fair 2013 is filled with products that began life as Kickstarter crowdfunding efforts; Ubooly is one of them. This combo of a plush bear and an iOS app received more than US$28,000 in funding on Kickstarter in April 2012. It later received $1.5 million in seed ...

Daily iPhone app: Dr. Smith's Music Factory

by Mel Martin (Feb 1st, 2013)

Here's an iPhone app that's great for kids just learning about music. Dr. Smith's Music Factory, (free) listens as you hum or whistle a tune and then composes music around it. You can also touch icons if you don't want to rely on your ability to carry a tune. Here's how it works. You select a ...

This iPad foosball table almost nails it

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Jan 24th, 2013)

I really wanted this foosball table to be awesome. It's not bad, but you'll soon discover there's a bit of a flaw, especially if you play foosball regularly. The table itself is basically an accessory for the app Classic Match Foosball (the app is free, of course). From New Potato Tech, the ...

Parent iPhones can track kids' non-iPhones with MobileKids

by Michael Rose (Jan 24th, 2013)

The delicate dance of independence, safety and personal boundaries between anxious parents and digital-generation kids is always tricky. Some apps and device usages are A-OK, some are a highly concentrated essence of bad choices (looking at you, Snapchat) -- but most fall into a gray area, ...

ATOMS are iPhone-controlled, DIY toy kits

by Mike Wehner (Jan 8th, 2013)

If you're into do-it-yourself toys -- and really, who isn't? -- you're probably very happy that the recent Kickstarter for ATOMS was a resounding success. The tiny building tools can turn practically anything into a working gadget or toy, complete with iOS compatibility via Bluetooth. There ...

CES 2013: Crayola Light Marker for iPad

by Mike Wehner (Jan 8th, 2013)

You may already own a stylus or two for your iPad, but when it comes to the small hands of younger users, Griffin's new Crayola Light Marker might be the ideal choice. Rather than requiring you to draw on the tablet's screen, the larger, marker-sized accessory allows you to draw in the air and ...

FTC looking into privacy issues relating to childrens apps

by Mike Wehner (Dec 11th, 2012)

With more and more kids using smartphones these days, the issue of digital privacy for the younger generation is reaching a fever pitch. As The Associated Press reports, the Federal Trade Commission recently investigated approximately 400 smartphone apps aimed at children to see just what kinds of ...

Nielsen reports that iPad is most wanted this holiday season

by Mike Schramm (Nov 20th, 2012)

Nielsen has released its annual report on which electronic goodies consumers in various age groups are looking for this Thanksgiving. Once again, Apple products are claiming most of the top of the list. Kids in the US aged 6-12 are looking for an iPad as the number one item under their ...

Brøderbund's Living Books return for iPad via Wanderful

by Michael Rose (Oct 8th, 2012)

Some of you may not remember the early 1990s. Heck, some of you probably weren't born yet in the early 1990s. But for Mac users of a certain vintage, it was an exciting time. The growing popularity of CD-ROM drives paired with Mac II-series machines (did the IIci really cost over $6,200 at ...

TUAW Origin Stories: FlipBook HD

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Jul 13th, 2012)

I'm a bit of an animation fan, both finished works and the tools that make them. iOS devices can come close to the old methods of drawing, moving and capturing animation because they can simulate "touching" the objects and moving them around as your would on a light table. FlipBook HD is as ...

ThisLife rolls out iOS app, Mac uploader for family photo service (Updated)

by Michael Rose (Jun 28th, 2012)

Update: Here's the link that'll let you skip the queue. The cloud-based family photo manager ThisLife has been percolating in development for a couple of years, but with a new $2.75m round of investment and a fresh look, the service is almost ready for prime time. As part of the beta phase, ...