Recommended Iphone App – Time to Roast

When I first saw this app I thought ‘how ridiculous, who on earth would need that?’ but apparently I do. It’s brilliant. I’m forever googling cooking times for different cuts of meat then digging out a calculator to work out cooking times based on the weight.

It’s dead simple, simply choose the type of meat (e.g beef, lamb, chicken, pork), enter the weight, how you would like it cooked (rare, medium or well done) and presto it displays the exact instructions, including time to sear. There’s even an alarm but I didn’t try that.

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Available to download  (.69p) from

Disclosure: I have used my own affiliate code for this post. So, on the off-chance that you purchase it I get a measly couple of pence.

Iphone Apps for Kids – Mindshapes Lingo Zoo

The folks at Mindshapes have done it again! They’ve managed to create another great kid’s app that is both educational and fun. Lingo Zoo (available from iTunes for £1.49) is a wonderful way to introduce kids to Spanish!

Kid’s work their way through different areas by completing animal jigsaws. As a reward they then see and hear the animal names in both English and Spanish. There are 7 different areas to explore; Farm, Safari, Jungle, Outback, Garden, Woodland and Underwater. The animations are stunning and my four-year old daughter has been having great fun pronouncing the words in Spanish. It sure beats Dora!

So overall here is what (I) we thought:

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Disclosure: In return for this review I received the app for free.

Iphone Apps for Kids – Mindshapes Hickory Dickory Dock

My daughter and I went to an event in Kensington last night for the launch of Mindshapes new kids app, Hickory Dickory Dock (available from iTunes for £1.99). It introduces children to the concept of telling time, accompanied by the familiar nursery rhyme and a mischievous mouse. There are 12 mini games within the app, one for each hour on the clock.

At first, as an ex-teacher, I was a bit concerned that the mini-games distracted my daughter from the skill of telling time, as I didn’t think they were directly linked to the time on the clock and felt a bit random. But, after reading a bit more about the philosophy of the company ‘that learning should be fun’ I came to the conclusion that this was probably intentional.

My daughter is only four and is not really ready for telling time but this gentle, almost subliminal introduction to the clock is just right. Without her even noticing she’s being introduced to both literacy and numeracy.

My daughter’s favourite game is 12 o’clock where you squirt the mouse with soap, shower him of and then blast him with the hairdryer and he turns into a big fluff ball. She howled with laughter.

The animations are amazing. However, I think they were a bit lost on my little iPhone. I can’t help thinking that this app would really come into it’s own on an Ipad.

We also had an opportunity to explore a few of their other apps. I was truly impressed with their interactive version of the Classic Tale – Jack and the Beanstalk. If I don’t manage to blag a copy I’ll definitely be buying that one.

So overall here is what (I) we thought:

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Iphone Apps for Kids – Postman Pat SDS

When reviewing kid’s apps, I normally let my daughter really have a good play with them first. However, I have 3 promo codes to give away that expire shortly. So, just for you, I’ve had a right good play with Postman Pat Special Delivery Service (£1.99) this morning.

It was recently released to celebrate Pat’s 30th birthday, it’s aimed at 3-5 year olds and has 8 games to choose from with 3 different levels of differentiation. You can fly a helicopter, redirect trains, sort parcels and help rescue the animals on Thompson’s Farm.

Overall, I thought it was just okay. Well that’s once I turned the music off! My daughter is just about four and even though it’s aimed at 3-5 year olds I think she may struggle with a few of the games. For the life of me, I couldn’t work out Ted Glen’s Garage, where you have to repair Pat’s van, the image of the truck was too small on my iPhone and redirecting Pencaster trains would be difficult for tiny fingers.

The instructions were so small that I could barely read them, developers of kids apps should really include spoken instructions as most kids at this age are unable to read fluently.

If you would like one of the 3 promo codes, just leave a comment below and a way for me to contact you via twitter or email.

So overall here is what (I) we thought:

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Iphone Apps for Kids – Pocket Playhome

Pocket Playhome (available from iTunes for £1.49)

I know this app was designed for kids but my mate and I, both circa 40, had a scream playing with it. It’s a virtual doll house where you can move around the house, turn the lights on and off, fry an egg, open the fridge, flick the TV on, flush the toilet, open the blinds etc. Being juvenile we spent most of the time trying to kill the fish and getting the entire family to jump up and down in the cot!

Not sure what my daughter thinks yet because…erm….she hasn’t had much time to play with it because we’ve been hogging it.

I have 3 promo codes to give away to the first 3 people who leave a comment on this blog post. Please leave me some way of contacting you (twitter or email)

So overall here is what we thought:

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