Gadgets & Tech

Diggy: iPhone & iPad app review

January 24, 2012 by Merry Leave a Comment

A long standing Twitter friend asked us to review the Diggy app for iPhone and iPad that her partner has created. It’s a cute tip and tap app for young children and definitely designed by someone with young digger mad sons!

Diggy drives his digger through a beautifully designed landscape, collecting seeds from trees, planting new trees and getting boosts from seed carrying balloons. His digger is also seed powered, so he needs to keep an eye on his load, making sure he doesn’t bounce his precious cargo out or he’ll run out of power. On his way he passes cute characters and as the levels progress, he has to jump water and wade through mud. I confess I can’t do the water 😆

This is a truly delightful app to look at. The design reminds me slightly of everything I like about the artwork in Tiny Wings, though it is very different at the same time. It is easy to use and a simple concept, so suitable for young children just grasping the idea of iPhone apps. It encourages fine and gross motor skills and has quite a different feel on the iPad, where it feels a little more like driving and requires slightly more control, just because of the size of the thing. Getting the hang of tapping enough to jump the water is tricky enough to be a challenge (ahem… no, no, really it is. It’s not just that I’m hopeless!)

I loved this for the how much it would captivate a small child. My lot are a bit old for it now but I (in my slightly woolly pregnant state!) got quite absorbed. Perfect for when you need to hand young and grumpily bored children something quickly while you queue at the post office.

Disclosure: I was offered this app for free but actually I paid for it because I’m too low IQ to work out how to use a redemption code on iTunes. The lovely Anj paid me for my time with some gorgeous yarn from MeadowYarn, about which I will blog more later!

Major indulgence.

December 29, 2011 by Merry 10 Comments

I think I owe my readers a thank you for this pictured indulgence. Thank you for not minding the odd sponsored post and review over the last year; I’ve done my best to make the blend and make them relevant and even improve my writing through doing them. It has changed the blog a bit, I know but it would have changed, or stopped, one way or another.

This is my Christmas present to myself; hopefully it will keep me writing and in touch and entertained through those oh so longed for evenings and days of feeding and huggling a baby come February. I’ve earned it from the blog this year and I’m rather proud of that. The blog paid for most of Xmas for my girls too and without that money, things would have been rather leaner this year.

So thank you and – squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I’m so excited to have it! 🙂

Wonderful Wifi from Three

October 6, 2011 by Merry Leave a Comment

I’m woefully behind on blogging in more ways than I can begin to even think about or describe 😀 This one is long overdue but not through lack of adoration of the particular product 😀

The lovely Three lent me a mifi mobile broadband doodah to try out while we are away in Devon. We rely a little bit on having internet access while away, as the businesses can’t be left entirely to run themselves, and the particular network our phones and dongle run on are worse than useless out on Dartmoor. We’d seen that a family member had a Three driven iPad out there, so thought it had to be worth a go. We didn’t expect it to work at our holiday home itself, which is in a valley with a lot of granite about (and it didn’t) but hoped it would give us a better connection from near by.

I have to say, it was an extremely positive try out. The connection was massively quicker than my other connection, so much so that while stuck in the Bank Holiday jams I was able to look up traffic news easily (although slightly wished I hadn’t….)

and I photo blogged through the week from every peak of Dartmoor, often having a connection when my iPhone couldn’t otherwise get one. The interface is intuitive (except for the message icon, I never worked that out) and it is easy to dial in and see usage at a glance. It charges quickly, connects quickly and I was impressed when I got home to see the tariffs. We are seriously considering dumping our home broadband for this instead. Connecting my iPhone to it improved battery life of my phone by a good bit too, as it wasn’t trying so hard to maintain a signal.

In fact the only negative thing I can think to say about it (except that it isn’t mine!) is that the front screen seemed to scratch a little easily. It was already used, so possibly I didn’t do this, but given I was quite careful about keeping it in a separate bag pocket etc, I was annoyed that I managed to rub a patch on the screen. But to be honest, that isn’t going to change how I would use one. I’m so impressed, I’m resolving to get future phone contracts on Three instead of our current provider.

Thanks Three; we loved being lent this and the free usage you provided and we are now heartsworn followers of your rise to power 😆

Off on a jolly to CyberMummy'11

June 21, 2011 by Merry 7 Comments

I’m of into uncharted territory at the weekend, braving the wilds of unknown bits of London to go to a blogging conference with hundreds of women I haven’t ever met 😯 I’m only going to know 4 people there, I think and right now that doesn’t feel an awful lot! I’m looking forward to it though; although I’m fairly unknown in the bloggy world and unlikely to ever be a highly regarded ‘mummy blogger’, I do quite enjoy the small forays into that world I’ve made and I’ve made several new friends because of it. So that’s all good and it is great to be making new friends.

I don’t write much about our businesses on here any more; PoP used to be as much about the Merrily shops as it did about the girls. I’ve taken more of a back seat in it since Max took over though and especially since died Freddie was born and died, so sometimes it feels a bit wrong to write about it. I’m still very passionate about the businesses I created though, I just don’t want people to feel bombarded with anything that feels too much like blatant begging for sales. One thing is for sure, in order to run a 21st century business, social media needs to be understood, so as much as making friends and doing things with PoP, I’m off to CyberMummy to pick up tips on how to be a better business owner. I’m guessing it will be a bit like the toy shows I’m used to, so hopefully I won’t be too overawed.

If you’re going too, I’m afraid I don’t look like a duck, nor do I trail around with ducklings in my wake. I do look a bit like this though and I always wear an acorn necklace so please come and say hello to me.

My name’s Merry, I won’t be looking glamorous and I may possibly run away after a while from babies in arms, but otherwise, I really am quite nice!

I’m staying both nights in the Travelodge and as I’m being sponsored by our very own toy company I strongly suggest that if you happen to be there on either evening, you come and ask if you can feel in my pockets 🙂 You never know what you might find. (It won’t be sticky!)

Land of Me & Reading Eggs Software & Website Reviews

May 29, 2011 by Merry Leave a Comment

We were recently offer the opportunity to review the Land of Me software, a new online resource which is now under the Ladybird Ltd umbrella. I warmed to this company pretty immediately as they had clearly read the blog, knew April was a bad time for us and were thoughtful in their approach. It makes a real difference when people behave like that, as I know from running my own business so I already liked them from the start. AND they are very friendly on Twitter too 🙂

Land of Me is a learning experience aimed at 2-6 year olds, so with only Josie in that bracket – and very close to the top of it too – I wasn’t sure what we’d make of it. I downloaded the first few chapters, had a quick pootle about and then let her loose.

Land of Me is based around several fairly simple scenarios, which encourage children to use their imagination alongside some online friends. The games are word based, allowing children to alter a picture or scenario by changing simple words. Each game has a word and pictorial instruction set, so different abilities can use it. The games cover the basic early learning areas like size, shape and colour.

Josie was amused by the games, although being at the top of the age range, they didn’t take her long to complete. That isn’t really the point though, they aren’t designed to be moved through with clear goals; this is a sort of environment, a world that can be used according to interest and need. It reminded me very much of Winnie the Pooh, both in look and feel; a gently paced, softly spoken story.

What we liked: This is a beautifully thought out package. The art is divine and truly something to behold, the music gentle and unobtrusive and the characters are sweet and appealing. There is lots to look at and some of the scenarios change with new visits so give you lots to talk about. The way each set of choices translates into a new cartoon animation is funny and there has clearly been a lot of time spent on making it properly charming to watch and interact with.

Things to Consider: This is not software to purchase if you want to plonk your child down in front of something and let the computer babysit. There are no big flashy buttons making it super easy to navigate, part of the charm of it is that it is quite a grown up environment and works as normal software does which may mean the child needs guidence initially. The idea of the Land of Me seems to be? really that you enjoy it together; it was very obvious that although Josie could do this alone, she wanted to be sat with someone to laugh at the different pictures with. It’s something that will work brilliant with family groups of young children or in playgroups and schools. Left alone, a child may play it for a while, but is very likely to want you alongside them to enjoy it together. And you will, because it is beautiful.

Other Thoughts: I think the real value in the Land of Me software comes in two packages. It’s like a really good picture book in many ways, that recognition that things do not have to be CBeebies or NickJr to be adored. It’s The Gruffalo of computer games. What you draw out from it, the conversations that happen and the games that happen afterwards, is in many ways what you pay for. If you purchase it simply to be a educational or occupying tool on its own, it may not do what you want. It’s a great tool for getting children and parents interacting with one another, being imaginative and then working together beyond the computer.

The other wonderful thing is this; encased in the programme are dozens of printable activities. They are beautifully designed and thought out, from dioramas to masks and more. Josie may have loved the game but I suspect I’m going to find all of them, probably even Fran, will enjoy some of the crafts that come along with it and those will, in turn, pull all the children back to the software and make them firm friends with the characters.

I also highly recommend you check out their blog, which is interesting and covers many aspects of the benefits of Land of Me. I was especially moved by the focus this week on a little special needs boy called Freddie.

Disclosure: I was given full access to the Land of Me in exchange for this review.

This week we have also explored Reading Eggs, which is without doubt the best learn to read website I have come across, even beating
StudyDog – and that’s saying something! Josie has been transfixed by it all week and has already worked through a map and a half. The site has a reading ability test which seemed pretty spot on to me and works through fun games with interesting words and great graphics in a logical and sensibly paced way. I’ve paid for her to do 6 months on it now and I’m pretty confident she’ll be reading by the end of that. Well done, Reading Eggs 🙂