android

Give Your Child an Epic Android Tablet Experience with the Kid-Safe #LeapFrogEpic

October 23, 2015 by Kathryn 13 Comments

I’ve shared many times before how much I love LeapFrog and its innovative, educational toys and games for children. We have a house full of LeapFrog toys including the brand new LeapPad Platinum tablet and my boys play with them all. But when I received the LeapFrog Epic to review, I wasn’t sure what benefits it would have that our current LeapPads didn’t already provide.

Of course, I should have known that LeapFrog had innovations planned that I hadn’t even realized I wanted. And that’s exactly what the LeapFrog Epic is…an innovation! Rather than a tablet-style gaming system running software specifically designed for the device, the LeapFrog Epic is a genuine tablet for children, complete with the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system! [Read more…]

Introduce Kids to a World of Fun and Learning with the Safari Tales App

September 18, 2015 by Kathryn 25 Comments

When it comes to relaxing and unwinding after school, both of my boys love spending an hour or so playing video games. And while I don’t mind that, I do prefer that they do something to enrich their minds if possible…as long as they’re still having fun, that is! So when I learned about Safari Tales, an iOS, Android and Amazon app from Kuato Studios that combines engaging gameplay with literacy skills, I couldn’t wait to see what it was like.

The fact that this game, created by the same developers as the award-winning Dino Tales app, featured baby animals was something I especially loved. My youngest son adores animals, so a game that let him play and interact with a baby lion, elephant or giraffe was something that I knew he would enjoy. I downloaded the app on my iPad, entered Benjamin’s name and reading age and let my son sit down to play.

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Quality Doesn’t Cost a Fortune with the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 Smartphone

September 16, 2015 by Kathryn 1 Comment

When it comes to my smartphone, I’m a bit of a snob. I tend to favour the pricey, top-of-the-line devices and while I know iPhones are popular I personally really dislike the iOS smartphone platform. Previously, I had a Samsung Galaxy S3 when it was the top Samsung phone available. I then moved to the S4 and later to a Nokia Lumia 1020 Windows Phone, easily one of my favourite devices of all time.

But through mishaps and glitches, I recently found myself using a phone with a cracked screen that wouldn’t hold a charge. I knew it was time for an update and Alcatel, a somewhat new-to-Canada company offering smartphones and tablets, came to my rescue by offering me the chance to review its brand new Idol 3 smartphone.

Now as much as I appreciate the benefits of an entry-level Android phone, I’ve tried a few in the past and they just weren’t right for me. For a teenager or a family on a budget, a more affordable smartphone is ideal. But since I depend on my phone for so much, I just wasn’t satisfied with the features that most cheaper smartphones offered. [Read more…]

Sending Valentine’s Day Greetings is Easy, Free and Fun with the OneDay App

February 11, 2015 by Kathryn 42 Comments

I absolutely love sharing stories through video, but I also find it very time consuming. Editing the footage to show only the highlights, tying the clips together, adding music and then finally uploading the video to YouTube is a process that feels endless. In fact, I’ve often spent well over six hours shooting and editing a video that’s just a few minutes long when finished.

But even those tiresome editing sessions haven’t diminished my love of video storytelling, though they have made me crave an easier way to create great videos. That’s why I was thrilled to learn about the OneDay video creation app now available for iOS and Android systems. By simply choosing a theme and following a few prompts, anyone can now create fun stories to share with friends and family!

With Valentine’s Day just a week away, I decided I wanted to test out the app by creating a love-themed video using one of the Valentine’s Day stories available. I decided to make a video featuring my boys’ ideas about love to share. After choosing the theme, I was ready to give my boys the provided prompts and create our story. [Read more…]

Experience Affordable Connectivity with Smartphones and Tablets from Alcatel OneTouch-Giveaway

January 29, 2015 by Kathryn 307 Comments

With my oldest soon turning nine, I’ve realized that it will likely soon be time to find him a cell phone of his own. For the moment he gets by without one just fine since we live in a small town. He can walk or bike anywhere he needs to go, he knows the house number if he needs to call me while he’s out and his circle of friends is small enough that the parents all have each other’s phone numbers anyways.

But soon Zackary will be reaching the point at which a smartphone becomes a device for social interaction as much as for phone calls. Texting is a huge communication form for his generation and not being able to join in means that he will potentially be left out of activities planned through text. And as if that wasn’t enough of a motivation, my boys and I are moving later in the year as well. Zackary doesn’t really need a phone in a town as small as ours, but our new home is going to be in a significantly bigger area.

The problem, of course, is that even though I know my kids having phones one day is inevitable, I’m not willing to spend hundreds of dollars on one. As careful as my oldest son is with his electronics, I know how easy it is for accidents to happen and the idea of having to replace an expensive smartphone for my child just doesn’t sit well with me. That’s why I was so excited to learn that Alcatel OneTouch, one of the top ten phone manufacturers in the world, had recently come to Canada. [Read more…]