App Reviews | The Dancing Hotdogs Present...

DEC. 29th IT’S GOING TO BE AN ALL OUT APP FRENZY!

December 28, 2012 by Divina Rodriguez 6 Comments

We’ve joined KinderTown, a fantastic resource for finding the best educational apps for kids, to host a new annual event we’re calling the After Christmas App Frenzy. The days after Christmas are the biggest days of the year for app downloads as the millions of people who unwrapped new iPads and iPhones rush to the App Store to load their devices with useful and entertaining apps. Hopefully you are one of those lucky people who unwrapped a shiny new tablet and want to get your hands on hot little apps. Every parent now has to make the decision of how much technology and screen time your beloved little ones can have. Eddy and I are big proponents of using technology as an educational resource, (within reason and of course using moderation.) But with so many apps in the App Store, it’s hard to figure out which are truly educational and worth the money. Yes, I know most apps range from $.99 to $6.99 but it starts to add and if the app has no replay value it gets … [Read more...]

Filed Under: App Reviews, The Blog, The New Tagged With: December 19 2012, educational apps, IT’S GOING TO BE AN ALL OUT APP FRENZY, Kindertown, preschooler apps

(Video) PBS KIDS SUPER WHY! ABC Adventures App Review

October 2, 2012 by Divina Rodriguez Leave a Comment

This past summer PBS KIDS had SUPER WHY! Around the World Adventure special that took your little loved ones on an adventure around the world and got them excited about travel and learning. The PBS KIDS SUPER WHY! ABC Adventures: Alphabet app takes that one step further by giving you fantastic educational content that helps your children learn and improve their alphabet skills with interactive games and videos. WE LOVE SUPER WHY! At our house. Rock and X love the adventures of Whytt and his friends and how they “look in a book to solve their problem” so this app is perfect for my little men. Check out the video of Rock and I having some educational fun on the iPad. As your kids play the five mini-games: Alpha Pig’s Lickety Letter Safari!, Super Why’s Z Marks the Spot!, Wonder Red’s Let’s Letter Fly!, Princess Presto’s Under the Sea Sounds! And Woofster’s Golden Letter Bones! They will be practicing their upper and lowercase letters, sounds and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: App Reviews, PBS Kids, The New Tagged With: App review, PBS Kids, SUPER WHY!

(Video) Sesame Street’s Potty Time with Elmo App Review

September 5, 2012 by Divina Rodriguez Leave a Comment

As I have mentioned before Sesame Workshop truly gets the digital world and instead of fighting virtual entertainment they get on board and make some incredible educational apps that bring some of their favorite Sesame Street books to life like The Potty Time with Elmo App. When Rock was getting potty trained we got the book Potty Time with Elmo to help him understand the concept of the potty with his buddies Elmo and Baby David. I think it really helped him just because Elmo was his everything. The Sesame Street App uses the same great educational story to help parents with potty training but also keeps toddler and preschooler loved ones entertained with games and songs. Check out the video. Isn’t it the cutest! We love how: There are three story modes so your little loved one can read with or without you Interactive game where throughout story you are looking for fun objects Five original songs Interactive puzzles Parent tips from the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: App Reviews, Sesame Street & Sesame Place, The New Tagged With: App review, educational entertainment, learning apps

(Video) Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr. Draw and Play App Live Review

August 21, 2012 by Divina Rodriguez 1 Comment

I just cannot say enough how I love how our favorite shows and characters are getting on board the educational app band wagon! Another app that saved me on the 14 hour trip to Paraguay was Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr. Draw and Play App Live. Check out the video of Rock and I having some educational fun on the iPad. What makes the Nick Jr. Draw and Play app special? Your preschool loved one can draw, paint and color with their favorite Nick Jr. characters but goes beyond just printables Lots of coloring pages with Dora and Diego, Bubble Guppies, Team Umizoomi and the Backyardigans The word is customization! They have 8 different paint brushes to make your art totally your own without the mess Animated stickers that let you add fireworks, splash paint marks and or unique features to make your art come alive Animated Tutorials for lots of “self play” fun E-cards Parent Controls But what I especially love it that it allows Rock and X to get in touch with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: App Reviews, The New Tagged With: App review, educational entertainment

(Video) Disney’s The Jungle Book App Review

July 31, 2012 by Divina Rodriguez Leave a Comment

Fourteen hours of travel to South America is rough for anyone let alone a four year old and a one year old. I was so happy to have Disney Publishing's newest Disney Classics app – “The Jungle Book”! I love the 1967 Disney animated film. I sing “Bare Necessities” song all the time and I love how Disney publishing brought to life this film with a great new app. Check out Rock having fun with the app and me singing ; ) The Jungle Book” app, available for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, tells the story of a boy named Mowgli and his jungle friends as they face the dangerous tiger Shere Khan and the unknown world of the humans. I love how the app lets you sing and even record your own rendition of this classic song. The animation is beautiful, the story telling is perfect for Rock and I love all the little engaging abd interactive games they have like puzzles and coloring pages. Geared towards kids ages 3-7, “The Jungle Book” is available for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: App Reviews, Disney, The New Tagged With: Disney's, The Jungle Book App Review, video

Appgear Foam Fighters App review

May 16, 2012 by Eddy Leave a Comment

Augmented Reality is the new hit among portable games. With the technology available on Iphone/Ipads and Android phones/tablets it is great to see games take advantage of the unique experience these devices provide. Yet with any new tech for games, it is only as good as the game itself. I had the opportunity to try one of these new generation of AR games: Appgear’s Foam Fighter. Basically bringing the Air Combat simulation to the next level, Foam Fighter combines Augmented Reality with the physical world. Players can download the game and start playing immediately (demo only unfortunately), or they can pick up the foam fighters, aptly named as they are miniature airplanes made of foam. When attached to your phone or tablet by a small arm with a suction cup, the game will scan the plane opening up new campaigns specific to the plane. I had the chance to try out the Battle of Britain. Missions were pretty varied from destroying select buildings as targets or full … [Read more...]

Filed Under: App Reviews, The New Tagged With: appgear, apple, augmented, foam fighter, game, ipad, IPhone, reality, review

(Video) Marvel Reads: Spiderman: An Origin Story App Review

May 11, 2012 by Eddy Leave a Comment

A new Spiderman movie is set to come out this summer with a different spin on the entire story. What better way to prepare for the debut than to brush up on the original story from Marvel. Of course, if you are an adult it isn’t that difficult to pick up or download a version of the original comic. For children it is a bit harder relating to a story created back in the early 60s. Thankfully, Marvel has brought the story to a generation through Spiderman: An Origin Story App. Formatted in the same way as the Avenger Assemble! and Hulk app, iPhone/iPad users are treated to an interactive story told by Stan Lee on one of his most famous characters. Designed for all ages (not just kids) the story is brought to life with interactive games and puzzles. Check out Rock and I having some webslinging fun: Available in French, Italian, German, Spanish and Danish, the app can be found here on iTunes for $3.99 which to me is definitely worth it considering the repeated use that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: App Reviews, The New Tagged With: app, apple, avengers, comic, Eddy, Hulk, lee, Marvel, review, Rock, Spiderman, stan

(Video) Marvel Reads: Avengers Origins:Assemble! And Avengers Origins: Hulk App Review

May 5, 2012 by Eddy Leave a Comment

Update: This weekend is Free Comic day, to celebrate Disney is having a number of things going one. 1) You can pick up the Disney Comics App for free and download a couple free books or 2) Until 5/11 if you buy $20 worth of disney products at a Disney Store location, you will be able to get a coupon to download the App for free! but you better hurry, there is only 100,000 coupon available. Personally, I feel it is never too early to get into Comic books. The only trouble is, that for younger kids trying to follow along the story can be a bit difficult. I have tried reading them to Rock, but it is harder than it looks. So what does a parent do? Well thankfully, Disney/Marvel has decided to release a number of Apps in a similar vein as the Peter Pan and Beauty and The Beast Apps we have previously reviewed. This time, we are taken into the action packed world of Marvel Superheroes. In anticipation to the huge Release of The Avengers this coming weekend, Disney … [Read more...]

Filed Under: App Reviews, Disney, The New Tagged With: apple, apps, avengers, Disney, Eddy, Hulk, lee, Marvel, review, Rock, stan, superheroes, Thor

Disney’s Peter Pan App Review

April 25, 2012 by Eddy Leave a Comment

Lately the exploits of high flying superheroes such as Thor and Iron, spiderman and the Hulk seems to be everywhere we look. It is no surprise that many kids want to be just like these heroes when they grow up. Yet, lost amongst the high testosterone and flashy action is the exploits of one hero that was no longer grabbing children’s imaginations. Thankfully to the popularity of shows like Jake and The Never Land Pirates and this App, Peter Pan is returning to the public spotlight. Not many children would argue joining the lost boys and fighting against the evil Captain Hook alongside Peter Pan. Now Children can realize the magic of Peter’s and Tinkerbell’s story through the iPad. Illustrated to resemble a book from an older era, after watching the story unfold I realized that Peter Pan, like he always wanted remains timeless. Sprinkled throughout out the story are various animations and mini games that serve to add to the magic rather than take away from it. Check out the … [Read more...]