His eyes lit up as he explained to me that Santa sent a personalized message last Christmas. Santa knew everything, he said. His message full of information on all the naughty and nice events of the year, he even knew the right names to say! Even though the person recommending Portable North Pole (PNP) was an adult father, not a little boy, nonetheless it was clear the online service and iPhone/Android app had worked it’s magic.

I understood his excitement. Santa is the MVP of Christmas; he is a busy guy, with billions of houses to visit. Getting a personalized message from him is a very big deal. PNP makes it simple to arrange a video message or call from Saint Nick.

PNP allows parents to create free, customized messages and calls online, or through the mobile app (on iOS and Android). You can customize the video with your child’s details including their name, photo, age, location, and what they want for Christmas. Choose from a selection of videos featuring Santa speaking direct from the North Pole. The apps also include cute festive activities.

You can create a free video message, but there are also extra in app purchases unlocking longer videos, and the answer to Christmas’s most important question: Have they been naughty or nice?

With five percent of web sales go to over 40 children’s hospitals around the world, I guess Santa is a man who just keeps on giving!

Images: Courtesy of Portable North Pole

Chinese is a difficult language to master, trust me I’ve tried. It’s constantly learning a new character, its meaning, its use in a sentence, and the mother lode: learning its tone. Technology has been gracious in lending a helping hand with the creation of apps that every expat needs to survive.

Pleco
This is like manna from the tech gods! Pleco is one of the best, if not the best, Chinese-English real-time translator app. The app’s greatest feature is you can take pictures of Chinese characters then hey presto! You get an immediate translation. Reading Chinese texts just got easier.
Platform: iOS and Android

WayGo
If you dread ordering in a Chinese restaurant then this is  the app to install. (Fast! before you order stewed frog). WayGo translates Chinese menus into English, just aim your smartphone’s camera at characters. It works even you’re not connected to the Internet. The only drawback is that the app doesn’t know every dish.
Platform: iOS and Android

WeChat Wallet
How did we survive in China before this app? You can pay utilities, buy local flights and train tickets, donate to charities, order a taxi, transfer money from one bank account to another, and more. Everything is possible on the default Chinese social media behemoth, WeChat.
Platform: iOS and Android

Uber, Didi Dache, Kuaidi Dache
Flagging down a taxi is so 2014, there are three viable options for getting a taxi to come to your doorstep and payment is virtual as well. The only drawback with Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache is both have Chinese interfaces. The simplest solution is add locations that you frequent to your bookmarks so you don’t have to keep adding the location every time. During bad weather this saves you waiting in the cold or rain for a taxi that will often pass you by on the way to pick up someone with an app.
Platform: iOS and Android

Photo: Cellphones.ca

If you take the subway or the bus, you’ll probably find several people playing the 2048 game on their phones either iOS or androids. The simplicity of this game makes it a cross-generational favorite at the moment. The game was first released in March 2014 as a web version and developed over a weekend by 19-year-old Italian web developer Gabriele Cirulli. Cirulli later released the free app version for both iOS and Android in May 2014. This app has made it to the iTunes App Store featured list numerous times.

Features
This is mainly a mathematical puzzle game. This simple thing to do is join the tiles to get to 2048; this is easier said than done. The starting point is titles of twos this can prove to be problematic when playing this game if there is no strategy involved. The tiles move up or down left to right and vice versa. The more you add matching tiles together, the new tiles will increase in value moving from twos to fours to eights till 2048.

There is a progressive challenge section, which sets a number of moves to make in order to compile the stated number before moving on to the next number. The compilation of tiles has to be done within a set number of moves. The option available is to go back to figuring out ways to get to 2048.

The app is in several languages English, French, Japanese, Russian, Simplified Chinese and Spanish. You can remove the ads within the app if it’s too distracting but for a fee and can be restored in the menu section (why someone would want to do that is beyond me). There is the option of sharing the information the scores via sms, mail, twitter or air drop.

Drawbacks
The graphics on this app are ordinary, in short nothing fancy and quite bland. This is done intentionally to make sure that the focus is on the objective to get the tiles to 2048.

Ages: 5+
Category: Games
Platform: universal
Language: English, French, Japanese, Russian, Simplified Chinese and Spanish
Price: Free with In-App purchases- USD 1.99 to unlock the no ads version

Photos: appannie.com

A new year might mean new beginnings but it is also time to take a look back at what made last year so special. The launch of the kids app store made is easier to track what apps made the Editors Choice 2013 in the iTunes store. The only drawback is that this applies to the iOS system but some of the apps can be found in the Andriod stores and Amazon. Despite the top 10 stressing one constant factor of fun activities, there are educational and learning apps on this list that are not game focused. Here is your list:

Duolingo by Duolingo
Apple app store says Learn a new language on the go through engaging mini-games that test your reading, writing, and speaking skills. With Duolingo, you can challenge yourself to achieve new high scores or compete against friends to earn badges that keep you motivated. Easily track your progress across devices and share your accomplishments as you master up to nine languages and 50 games—all available for free.

iTunes, Google Play, Amazon (free)

Endless Alphabet by Originator Inc
Amazon says: Kids will have a blast learning their ABC’s and building vocabulary with the adorable monsters in Endless Alphabet. Each word features an interactive puzzle with talking letters and a short animation illustrating the definition. Before you know it, your child will be using words like gargantuan and cooperate!

iTunes: USD 5.99 and Google Play: Free

Friendstrips Kids Pro by PhotoinPress
The iMums.com says: Friendstrip Kids Pro is a universal app that allows your child to star in their own comic strips. The app includes sixteen different themes, each with a selection of comic strips, they are all included in the app. There is also a free version of the app available with an IAP to unlock all the themes. The app includes an option to share photos or comic strip via Facebook or email, this is child locked with password protection.

iTunes: USD 1.99 (all collections) and Google Play: USD 1.99

Toca Hair Salon-Me by Toca Boda AB
This app has various version available but the one talked about is the Toca Hair Salon Me. iTunes says Become the star of the famous Toca Hair Salon in this endearing outing from the kid-friendly developers at Toca Boca. Just take a picture of yourself, and you can become a character with the ability to add and style new hairdos. As you grow, color, trim, and accessorize your new look, you can let your imagination and creativity take over. It’s a captivating experience for all ages.

iTunes: USD 2.99

The Human Body by TinyBop
Apple app store says: Learning anatomy has never been easier thanks to this fun, kid-friendly alternative to classrooms and textbooks. By tapping on interactive layers of the human body, users young and old can see various parts and systems in action: lungs breathe, muscles bend, ears listen, and nerves respond to a pinprick. Plus, simple one-touch recording lets children leave questions for an adult to answer later, encouraging discussion of the many processes they’ve observed in this amazing, informative app.

iTunes: USD 2.99

Dora Appisode: Perrito’s Big Surprise by Nickelodeon Group
App description: Now your child can play along with Dora and friends in one of their favorite Dora episodes, Perrito’s Big Surprise! This new interactive appisode allows your child to lead Dora, Boots and Dora’s puppy Perrito through their adventure. Find stars along the way for added fun and rewards. Dora and Boots have a big surprise for Perrito on Surprise Hill and it’s up to your child to get them there before Swiper! Your child will help choose which way to go, pet and feed Perrito, and flap Yoyo’s wings.

iTunes: USD 3.99

Sago Mini Doodlecast by Sago Sago
App description: Sago Mini Doodlecast is a unique drawing app that records your voice as you draw. Capture every stroke, word and giggle. Perfect for children ages 2-6. Play back your drawings and share them with friends and family. Sago Mini Doodlecast comes with more than 30 drawing prompts – simple questions designed to inspire your child’s imagination.

iTunes: free

Color Zen Kids by Large Animals Games
Amazon says: Color Zen is a new kind of puzzle game for phones and tablets. One that invites you to put on your headphones, relax, and find your way through an abstract world of colors and shapes. There is no score. No penalties for failure. Just a simple set of rules, intuitive controls, and satisfying puzzles.

iTunes: USD 2.99, Amazon (free) and Google Play (free)

Disney Animated by Disney and Touch (Apple’s iPad App of the Year 2013)
iTunes app store says: We’re absolutely spellbound by this all-star collaboration between Disney and acclaimed app developer Touch Press. From 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to today’s animated hits, this unique retrospective presents the studio’s 90-year history with interactive character models and storyboards, insights into animation techniques, and a mind-blowing spectrogram that visualizes every cel of all 53 feature films.

iTunes: USD 9.99 and iPad only

Little Red Riding Hood by Nosy Crow
iTunes says: Nosy Crow’s spin on the beloved fairy tale is sure to win the hearts of yet another generation with delightfully fresh characters and marvelous, detailed illustrations. Because the storyline itself changes with the decisions and paths you choose, rediscovering this classic tale in a new way with your kids (or on your own) is a great pleasure. It is one of the best apps of 2013.

iTunes app store: USD 5.99

Photos courtesy of appannie.com

We may be enjoying the fourth consecutive day of clear skies and low AQI in Beijing but, along with death and taxes, there is one other certainty in life – the smog will return.

The pollution apps that most of us rely on (mainly as a reminder of how much we are damaging ourselves) provide an invaluable service. If the AQI is 500 outside, it’s great to know so that I can stay inside strapped to an air purifier. But that’s a bit like finding out there’s going to be a thunderstorm via the fact that your barbeque has been extinguished. It’s normally a bit too late to be helpful.

What if I need to know whether tomorrow will be clear for that hypothetical cycle ride I’ve been planning?

Now there’s an app to help – Beijing Smogcast. Created by geochemist Dustin Grzesik, who used Beijing’s weather patterns to create a predictive forecast, the app tells you when to expect the next bout of clean air. It’s about as simple as you can get (it merely tells you when the next clear day and morning will be) and the three-sentence summary is as straightforward as the one you can find Banshirne website (see screenshot above).

Nonetheless, if you’re trying to pick a day for that family outing and would rather not be accosted by an apocalyptic cloud of PM2.5, then this could be incredibly useful information. It’s already popular with the cycling community, but if the science behind the forecast is sound then it could be the beginning of something very, very useful for all Beijingers.

The app, currently only available on Android, is still in its infancy, with the BBC reporting that there have only been a few hundred downloads so far. This means that we’re not sure how useful or accurate it will actually be. If it’s anything like the weather forecast (which it relies on to make its own predictions) then it will probably be correct some of the time and certainly more useful than nothing.

Beijing Smogcast is available in English and Chinese from www.banshirne.com or through Google Play. We’d love to know how useful it proves, and whether it’s accurate enough to rely on. So if you download the app please do get in touch with your thoughts in the comments section below or on oscarholland@beijing-kids.com.

Photo courtesy of Intel Free Press (Flickr)