Back To School – Student’s Edition

As mentioned in the last post it is that time of year for all the young ones to go back to school. To help them prepare for this change from the lazy days of summer I have put together a couple apps that students can use as you are going back to school.

So check out these apps, and remember to be safe out on the roads and watch out for walking kids and school buses!

Name: School Assistant

Description:
Everything a student needs to keep organized now fits in your pocket!
School Assistant is your Android school planner, keep your routine organized with it.
You won’t forget any tests or works, School Assistant reminds you and lets you see progress charts and statistics.
School Assistant can mute your phone and notify you when a class starts based on your schedule.

Name: myHomework

Description:
The best way to keep your school life organized
Official myHomework app for Android.
Teachers not letting you use your phone in class? Parents on you for missing assignments? Show them you’re organized with myHomework.
myHomework is focused on apps that make student life easier. Our iPhone version has over one million downloads and now we’re bringing that same experience to Android.

Name: Dictionary.com

Description:
Take Dictionary.com’s trusted reference content wherever you go.
The free Dictionary.com app delivers reference content from Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com. The app also features audio pronunciation, voice-to-text search and Dictionary.com’s popular Word of the Day and Hot Word blog.

* Dictionary and Thesaurus
* 375,000 words and definitions
* 300,000 synonyms and antonyms
* Phonetic and audio pronunciation
* Spelling suggestions
* Example sentences
* Word origin and history
* Daily content, including Word of the Day and our new Hot Word blog
* Voice-to-text search (for the most accurate results, please enunciate clearly and speak slowly)
* Favorite words list
* Custom backgrounds
* Text and email definitions from the app
* Word of the Day home screen widget

Back To School – Parent’s Edition

Well it is that time of year for all the young ones to go back to school.  To help them prepare for this change from the lazy days of summer I have put together a couple apps that parents can use to help your kids cope with back to school.

So check out these apps, and remember to be safe out on the roads and watch out for walking kids and school buses!

Name: School A to Z
Description:
Do you struggle to understand your child’s homework? Does your child need to practice their spelling and times tables? Are you looking for inspiration for projects and assignments?

The School A to Z app is an essential tool for every parent of school-aged children. Produced by the NSW Department of Education and Communities, the School A to Z app brings together a wealth of resources to help parents to understand and support their child’s homework.

Name: My HomeworkNOW & School Alerts
Description:
Get school alerts and classroom homework with My HomeworkNOW & School Alerts.

Stay connected to your school or your child’s school and classes with the My HomeworkNOW & School Alerts mobile application.

With this homeworknow app you can: receive school alerts (such as closings, emergencies, back pack notices, announcements, etc.) with real time notifications, view the latest school wide notifications on-demand, view classroom information and homework on-demand, get notifications when teachers update a class page or homework assignment.

This app requires that you have a My.HomeworkNOW.com account and that your school or teachers use HomeworkNOW.com as its school to home communication solution. If your school doesn’t use HomeworkNOW.com to post classroom happenings, homework, and school alerts, talk to your school administrators and teachers. Let them know you want to receive your school information on your mobile device with HomeworkNOW.com!

Don’t have a My.HomeworkNOW.com account? Create one today with your web browser at http://my.homeworknow.com. Add your school and classes to your account, then choose all your communication preferences (text message, email, mobile apps, Facebook, RSS, etc.). IF YOUR SCHOOL DOES NOT USE HOMEWORKNOW, TELL THEM YOU WANT THEM TO! (http://my.homeworknow.com/tell.php).

About HomeworkNOW.com: Through a web browser, Facebook, email, Text Messages, Mobile Apps for iPhone and Android, RSS feeds, and more, HomeworkNOW.com makes it possible for schools to communicate to parents and students in any manner the parent or student choose. Used by teachers, administrators, and parent-teacher organizations of thousands of k-12 schools, HomeworkNOW is the most efficient means of keeping students & parents connected. Its web based. Ad free. No software or staff needed. Communicate without cost. Tell your school administrators about HomeworkNOW.com today!

Mobile Payments

So you want to do some online shopping, or make payments to an individual right from your phone. There are a couple of apps for that. Below you will find information about the Paypal App, which has been around for a little while, along with the new Serve app, which is a new online payment service by American Express.

Name: Paypal
Description:
Send money to your friends, manage your account, and more, with the PayPal app. It’s free, secure and more convenient than going to the bank, writing checks, or sending gifts the old way.

· Send money as a gift, split the bill, or repay a friend for FREE*
· Snap a photo of your check to add money directly from the app, no fees apply (US only)
· Check your balance, withdraw money, or view past transactions – anytime, anywhere
· SD card support and improved app performance
· Use the PayPal local feature to find businesses nearby that accept PayPal as payment (US only)
· As always, your information is secure with PayPal

*Free to send money within the US when you use a bank account or PayPal balance.

Name: Serve
Description:
Serve.com, provided by American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

Send and receive money from anywhere in the U.S. with Serve℠. Whether you’re paying back a friend, giving your child an allowance, or receiving money, it’s a quick, easy and secure way to perform your everyday transactions. The Serve app gives you the control, convenience and flexibility to manage your money from anywhere in the U.S. at any time.

With the Serve app, you can:
* Register for Serve
* Send and receive money from friends and family
* Request money from an individual or group
* Split-the-Bill for group purchases
* Add funds to your Serve account
* Check your balance and manage your subaccounts

Serve accounts are available to U.S. residents only. To enjoy all the tools the app has to offer, invite your friends to open an account too!

Android… On Blackberry???

This is news for all the people out there that either have a Blackberry and love it, or are stuck with a Blackberry for work email. It looks like RIM has decided to include a “app player” in it’s upcoming versions of their Blackberry OS.

This is great news considering more and more developers are jumping to Android making the Market have hundreds of thousands of apps available, as opposed to the minimal number Blackberry has.

If you have a Blackberry Playbook there is a leaked version of the “App Player” of it floating around that you can load onto your current Playbook. Our friends at n4bb.com have more information on the leak.

From their site:

Wow, here is a serious surprise for PlayBook owners. Apparently, this was easily found through a changelog in a Desktop Manager update. We’ve been sent a beta build of the Android App Player for the PlayBook. It is a huge file, lags a bit, has no visible back button (you have to swipe left on the bottom bezel), but we’re told nonetheless it works. The app itself is controlled through a series of swipe gestures. This beta version is fairly old, so don’t hold it against them. You of course have to side-load the .bar file to install. Google search for DDPB installer to side-load easily.

Download PlayBook Android App Player from:
Mirror download links:

Frogger by Konami – Free Amazon Appstore App 10/26/11

Name: Frogger by Konami
Description:
For those of you of a certain age–remember video arcades? the Atari 2600?–this is an absolutely must-have app. Newbies will love it too, especially kids. It’s not just any classic video game of yesteryear–it’s FROGGER.

Blast from the Past
If you played video games in the early 1980s, you remember Frogger. Along with Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, this was one of the biggest early successes in the industry. Anybody could play Frogger–all you had to do was guide the green amphibian across the street and over the logs and turtles to his slot on the other side of the river. Simple, but totally addicting.

The Original and Best
Don’t be fooled by imitations–this is the real thing, published by the original manufacturer, Konami. You get the same look and feel, and moving your frog is smooth as silk with the slide controls. If you have trouble with sliding, you have the option of moving by tapping the screen. No more stiff joysticks to worry about!

Why? To Get to the Other Side
A frog’s world is full of danger. Speeding cars and trucks clog the four-lane freeway you must cross just to get to the riverbank–be careful you don’t end up with tire tracks on your back. You have to be equally quick and adept on the river, because the logs move fast and if you go off the edge of the screen, it’s curtains. Try to carry the cute female frogs to safety and eat the flies for bonus points, but watch out for crocodiles or you’ll become lunch yourself!

Phantom Phroggie
An interesting twist in this version is Phantom Mode, which guides you during the game by showing the route you took in your best game. In regular mode, you can post your high scores online and see who the top guns are with OpenFeint. Happy hopping!

AllSport GPS PRO – Free Amazon Appstore App of the Day 8/25/11

Name: AllSport GPS PRO
Description:
Make Your Workouts Count
Reach your fitness goals faster with AllSport GPS PRO. Track your workouts, including runs, walks, bike rides and other sports on a map. View 25 heart-pounding stats as you sweat: time, speed, calories, distance. Privately store and analyze training sessions on AllSport GPS’s website. Find places to train and share your weight loss workouts with our fitness community and on Facebook.

Your Android Coach
AllSport GPS PRO uses the GPS in your Android phone. No cell or data signals are required to see where, how far, how fast, or how many calories you burned. Use it as a personal coach to train for 5K, 10K, half marathon, and marathon races. Keep track of your charity workouts such as Susan G. Komen walking and running events and MS 150 rides.

You can track bicycle rides, runs, walks, skiing, and other workouts. AllSport GPS PRO works for single sport or multi-sport athletes training for a triathlon. Use AllSport GPS as a personal coach and weight loss trainer to build muscles, burn fat, and watch your calorie counter graphs grow. Record lap times and create interval programs.

Get the Lay of the Land
AllSport GPS allows you to plan future workout routes using free web-based map tools, including turn-by-turn cycling directions that avoid highways. Preload free offline topographical maps, aerial photos, and road maps on your SD card so you can view maps in remote areas on mountain bike rides, trail runs, road bike routes, etc. Check five-day weather reports, including today’s temperature, heat index, humidity, and wind speed. View elevation and speed profiles.

View your progress and exact location on street, aerial, and topographical maps. Collect 25 on-the-go stats (time, speed, distance, pace) and boost your heart rate. Shoot video and photos, and collect memories as you go. You can also save videos to your YouTube account.

Workout with the World
Share workouts and cardio training sessions on AllSport GPS’s website, Facebook, and Twitter. Access editor-approved rides by Bicycling magazine and shared community trips. Race against your previous workouts, friends, or other community members to improve your personal records. With AllSport GPS PRO, all you need is a desire to achieve your physical best.

Gem Spinner – Free Amazon App of the Day 8/24/11

Name: Gem Spinner Description: Spin Those Gems, Round and Round In Gem Spinner, you swap, spin, and slide the gems until you match three in a row. Finagle these beautiful gems to earn points against the clock with each three-way match. Fun to play and aesthetically pleasant, Gem Spinner is a challenging game with an animated, colorful, and well-crafted interface. Please note that Gem Spinner is not optimized for tablets. Drop and Drag Matching Gem Spinner isn’t your ordinary match-three game. In this unique variation, the gems are arranged inside shapes of different sizes. As you clear away gems, the shapes drop into the cleared area, much like Tetris blocks. gem spinner Swap adjacent gems to match three in a row. Double tap a gem to spin its shape 180 degrees. Match all the gems in a piece to clear the piece from the board. Drag shapes to empty board spaces to create more match opportunities. Match enough gems to complete the level goal and then continue to swap, spin, and drag to try to clear the entire board. Practice Makes Perfect Gem Spinner has two game modes. In Practice Mode, hone your gem spinning skills with no time limits. You can practice on six different boards under no pressure. When you’re ready to start spinning for real, try to beat Level One (“The Boxer”) with a time limit. As you ascend through the levels, you get less time to finish the boards, and the goals get tougher. Master the Gems Gem Spinner features a narrated and animated tutorial, so you’ll quickly understand how the game works. Conquer 35 levels that get increasingly difficult. You can also play the boards at various levels of difficulty. Track your score, and compare your skills with others all over the world. Just don’t make yourself too dizzy spinning those gems!

ZDefense – Free Amazon Appstore App of the Day 8/22/11

Name: ZDefense
Description:
Pure Tower Defense
ZDefense distills the best elements of tower defense games. This game features sharply drawn, geometric shapes on a hexagon grid, recalling the timeless old-school designs of such arcade classics as Tempest and Breakout. This fast-paced game will challenge even the most experienced tower defense fans.

Tower Defense 101
For those unfamiliar with the addictive tower defense genre, the game mechanics are fairly simple. You’re provided with cash to build towers of varying designs, strengths, and costs. Eventually your enemies (called “creeps” in this game) will come pouring out and make a beeline toward the exit you’re defending.

Every time you blast a creep, you gain a little money to build more towers. You can also spend your money upgrading the towers you have. Every time a creep reaches the exit, you take damage. Tower defense games are essentially a juggling act of resource allocation and fast reflexes.

Stay Calm. Don’t Panic. Keep Firing!
As creeps keep coming and coming, ZDefense evolves into a frantic maelstrom of destruction. You’ll face 50 waves of enemies in less than five minutes. Defend an exit in the middle of the map from creeps coming in from all directions. You simply can’t use the same strategy for every level; you must change up your tactics for each map.

ZDefense’s maps generally have 10 to 30 waves of enemies. The full version features five tutorial, ten normal, and eight hard maps. There are five tower types with seven levels each. To make your life more complicated, a special tile called the Space Gate allows creeps to teleport from one gate to another.

Command the Creeps
ZDefense comes with a map editor so you can create your own nightmare scenarios to terrify your fellow tower defense fans. The editor comes with full instructions and customizable maps, creeps, towers, and waves. Customize the game mechanics, such as wave wait times, base life, money, and more. You can also take screen captures of your game to record your victories and show off to your friends.

Some “Best of the Best” accessories for your Android phone:

FRG Deluxe – Free Amazon Appstore App of the Day 8/20/11

Name: FRG Deluxe
Description: Fight off hordes of enemies with an armored robot in this arcade shooter for Android. Unlock different weapons and robot types as you fight your way through 18 challenging levels. Mow down lone enemies with the rapid-fire chaingun, then switch to the shotgun to clear out waves of foes.

Use your skills to stay alive as you complete achievements and challenge yourself across three difficulty levels. Climb your way to the top of the leaderboards with online high score listings!

In FRG Deluxe, players take control of a heavily armed robot on the battlefield fighting off hordes of different enemies. Move and dodge attacks using the touchpad or optical joystick, or touch and drag your robot across the screen to activate boost. Use the Menu button switches between your different unlocked weapons–lock on and fire one of six deadly weapon types to destroy your foes. Gain points by completing different achievements and improving your score, then use them to upgrade your robot with different weapons, armor, and power ratings.

Up to eight players can battle it out in a free-for-all deathmatch. Find online matches with other players in the online games list. Grab your favorite robot and start playing online. With three difficulty settings to choose from, anyone can find a suitable challenge for their skill level. Rack up the points, complete achievements, then compare scores with the rest of the world through OpenFeint’s online leaderboards.

Additional Features:
-Play through both normal mode and survival mode.
-Change three different settings for each robot: armor, speed, and power.
-Learn the basics of gameplay through in-game help documentation.

Some “Best of the Best” accessories for your Android phone:

Overkill – Free Amazon App of the Day 8/17/11

Name: Overkill

Description:

Fly your ship through asteroid fields and waves of enemies to collect, upgrade, and destroy in Overkill. A side-scrolling shooter full of pure adrenaline-pumping action, Overkill puts an AI-guided spacecraft with responsive tilt controls at your disposal to help you defeat thousands of foes, earn high scores, and share those scores via online leaderboards.

Objective
Fight through enemy forces and challenging bosses, destroying anything that gets in your way to earn points and money. Occasional secondary objectives help keep gameplay varied, while you use the money earned to return to your hangar and upgrade your three weapon categories (cannons, rockets, and heavy weapons) in order to eradicate enemies and debris more efficiently. You also collect power-ups like rapid fire and double damage for increased destructive power.

Gameplay Modes
Start a new game and get into the main campaign, which is narrated by your ship’s AI. Or jump into one of several quick missions and bonus missions reflecting the campaign’s objectives in stand-alone form. You can even play survival mode if you’re up for a high score challenge. In the campaign you can select from four different difficulty levels for a variety of experiences: easy, normal, hard, and extreme.

Score Submission
At the end of each level, submit your score to the Scoreloop leaderboards with a Scoreloop login or a unique player ID. This widely used system lets you find out your rank for the last 24 hours, among players worldwide, or among your friends.

Additional Features
-Autosave when backing out of the game or exiting to your home screen
-Set controls to use the accelerometer or the touchscreen and keypad, trackball, or directional pad
-Tweak control sensitivity, sound effects, and music
-Increase the graphical filtering and detail if your phone has more powerful hardware
-Expect new levels, weapons, and power-ups to be added in future updates

Some “Best of the Best” accessories for your Android phone: