iPhone App-solutely Entertaining! a-

I wanted an iPhone as soon as they came out - especially the iPhone 4. And with the ability to download Facetime for the Mac, the phone became a great way to talk to and see family all over the world. But, what I never anticipated was the was the way Maxioo has effortlessly taken to the phone and learned to navigate around it to find the camera, his movies/tv shows, and his ability to figure out and excel at a variety of different games. What makes the apps really great is how inexpensive they are - I never spend more than about $2.99 - which makes them easy on-the-go impulse buys if you need quick entertainment and totally worth the price even if you only get a couple of weeks of entertainment/learning out of them.

Here are three of our favorites here at home:

A to Z with Moose and Zee
These Nick Jr. characters are always a favorite at home when they pop up on TV. Maximoo is entranced with all the puzzles and activities and loves to play the match game with them. Nick Jr. put out an app, at a reasonable $1.99 USD, that features the beloved characters inviting kids to pick out their favorite letter (both upper- and lowercase) hidden amongst a variety of animated environments. Maximoo was all over the app and it wasn't long before he found every letter he could and then revisited the levels again and again. The only downside to the app is that each letter has only one level and once you have finished that, the game is pretty much over. Once Maximoo realized that the levels were the same..he got bored of it. But it did give us a good couple of months of fun play time and discussions about letters in their different forms. Definitely great entertainment if there is a long car or plane ride coming up!

Angry Birds
I'm sure this all of you have heard about this game. It is nothing new and has been in the news for ages.  It is a very simple game that requires sling-shotting birds and the castles and forts of some very very bad pigs who have stolen the birds' eggs. It is really a game of physics - angles being one of the most important variables when it comes to success - and Maximoo took to it immediately. Within seconds he was navigating the menu's and choose the levels he liked best. To be fair, he sticks to the easier levels and sometimes has trouble with the sensitivity of the touch screen (i.e. shoots the bird the wrong way just because he touches the screen too early) so he generally plays with a little overseeing from us because he does get frustrated sometimes but overall...he is pretty good at it and definitely knows how to get around the game. He even knows it by name (and is yelling it at the screen right now). Totally worth the $0.99!

Talking Carl
Talking Carl is an app I was introduced to long before I was an iphoner. Other people had it and I thought it was hilarious! So when I finally got the iPhone, I thought it would be a funny little app to entertain me. Talking Carl is a little creature who repeats back what you say in funny voices. Recently they have added new features to the app which includes the ability to record what you say and post it up on Facebook or email it out. What I never anticipated was how funny Max found it. When we first downloaded the app, he spent ages in the car having conversations with Carl and making funny noises and silly laughs just to see how Carl would respond. For $0.99, Carl became our best friend. The program is incredibly simple to use and Maximoo immediately recognizes the icon on the phone and can zip over there whenever he wants. Once you are in...there isn't anything else you need to do - but enjoy!