*I've partnered with the makers of Safari Tales, KUATO, to talk about what goes into the development of outstanding educational apps for children, and why they are worth every penny.
When I got my first iPhone, I couldn't wait to download apps. All of my friends had their favorites, and carried on about how life changing their favorite app was.
Heck yeah, I wanted that too! However, I had no intention of paying for it.
With millions of Apps to choose from, half of which were free or had a 'lite' version, I couldn't even foresee a time when I would need to pay. Within a day, I had 30 free apps downloaded. Needless to say, I was in time-wasting heaven with my new phone.
Then, Angry Birds happened. After I beat the "lite" version, I had no choice but to buy the full version. I was freaking obsessed with the game. Thankfully, it was only $.99., but truth be told, I would have paid $10 for the app!
It's been nearly eight years since I bought my first app, and in that time, I may have purchased one or two more. Still, with so many free fun apps to download, paying for an app just didn't make sense.
Then... I had a baby, who turned into a toddler OBSESSED with my iPhone and iPad. Still, determined not to pay for an app, I downloaded free apps left and right for him.
With a short attention span, I was sure the lite versions would be fine for my toddler...
WRONG!
1. The in app purchases frustrated both of us. He would click on the ad by accident, cry and have me fix it. EVERY OTHER SECOND!
2. The free or lite versions were crap, and only allowed for VERY limited play or features.
In an effort to stop the in-app purchase and crap feature insanity, I bought a $10 iTunes card so I could buy the full version of his favorite apps. Boy oh boy, what a difference that made! No more in app purchases, plenty of things to play. Definitely worth the dollar or two.
Then, I started doing app reviews for this blog. With millions of apps out there, and thousands of emails coming in for review requests, I am VERY selective. I maybe do one or two reviews a month, and that's only when insanely good apps come my way.
I ALWAYS ask, how is this App going to help my son? I still maintain that 100% of my toddler's tech time needs to be on educational apps.
The one thing that rings true across the board on the app reviews is that the very best apps, with the very best features and learning opportunities, cost something. And there's good reason, the graphics are OUTSTANDING.
Pictured above: Safari Tales, the no. 1-selling paid iOS game in Apple’s Kids category, Entertainment category, and the no. 1-selling paid app overall in the UK! Heck yeah, I want to see what this is all about! FYI: Safari Tales allows kids to join five baby animal friends as they explore the vast African Savannah. The graphics are INSANELY good!
The educational features are OUTSTANDING...
Safari Tales uses patented technology to convert children’s adventures, discoveries and achievements into an incredible interactive storybook. Each new tale can be saved and stored to be read over and over again with strengthening literacy, reasoning and enquiry skills. It's pretty freaking awesome.
The functionality and ease of use are OUTSTANDING.
Safari Tales is teeming with wildlife, mini games to master and artifacts and relics to discover and collect. Kids learn countless facts and figures about the various environments, their inhabitants and items they encounter on their way, building knowledge and enhancing reading skills.
The no in-app purchases and full access to the app is OUTSTANDING.
Ollie LOVES LOVES LOVES this part of the game. He gets to change the colors and patterns of all five animals. This is open-ended play at it's finest hour!
The very best apps offer tons of educational features and interactive fun.
I LOVE this! Together, Ollie and I read the words, and get excited about the answers. FYI: THIS is why I pay for apps now. You just can't get so many wonderful features in a free app. And I'm more than OK with that. The thought, time and resources that go into building outstanding app like, Safari Tales, should warrant a few bucks from the end-user.
Of course, I'm still very selective before I even spend a penny, but one thing is for sure, for the best apps, like Safari Tales featured in this post, I pay the money, because it's more than worth it.
If you want to learn more about Safari Tales, here is the trailer.
To download Safari Tales on iOS, Click Here.
To download Safari Tales on Google Play, Click Here.
To download Safari Tales on Amazon, Click Here.
What's the most you've paid for an app?