It was an amazing year. With over 1.5 million votes cast (over three times the number cast last year) and a record number of nominations, we now have the winners of the 2011 Best App Ever Awards. Thanks to all that voted, nominated, and made these fantastic apps!

Educational and parenting apps played a large part in the awards this year. Hit the read more link for a full list of winners, iOS and Android, for those categories.

Thanks again for voting, we’ll be back again next year for our 5th Annual Best App Ever Awards!

Check out the Best App Ever Awards site for full details on all categories including apps, educational, and games.

January 27th, 2012 by Jeff Scott Share

The nominated applications for the 2011 Best App Ever Awards have just been announced. This year saw a huge increase in the number of nominations placed and the number of applications nominated. The big change this year was the introduction of Android applications to the awards, with each category (other than the Best App Ever category) having a winner from each platform.

The Best App Ever Awards are the most prestigious (if we do say so ourselves) and longest running mobile app awards. Last year saw nearly 500,000 votes cast in the awards, and this year the goal is over a million. Here are a few more stats on this year’s awards:

2011 Best App Ever Awards, By The Numbers:
  287,643 nominations placed by users at the site
  7,243 different applications submitted for nomination
  1,692 different application are final nominees
  1,336 different developers have apps nominated in the awards
  109 app / game categories in the 2011 awards
  76% of the nominations submitted were for iOS applications, 24% for Android applications
  42 Gameloft app nominations, Gameloft leads the pack with the most of any publisher
  20 nominations per category (10 for iOS, 10 for Android)
  14 Educational/Kids categories
  1 Best App Ever category winner (it’s iOS vs. Android)

Voting is open now through January 25th with the final winners to be announced at the 2011 Macworld / iWorld Expo in San Francisco, CA. Shortly after, they will be posted to the Best App Ever site, and we’ll point you to them there as well. Make sure you get your votes in early, and take advantage of the social sharing option on the site to rally support for your favorite apps.

See the Best App Ever site for the full list of apps and games nominated in the 2011 Best App Ever awards in all 109 categories.

January 3rd, 2012 by Jeff Scott Share

Now that holiday season is upon us, one may want to consider gifting apps to family and friends. I personally like this idea as few presents of value are available for just a few dollars, but there are many great apps at this price point. Combined with the ability to digitally “gift” these apps via iTunes, sending these applications without worrying about gift cards or shipping makes apps the perfect gifts for families – something we will be doing for the children in our family.

I would like to let readers know that the library of Ruckus Media Group apps are not only on sale for $1.99 through Monday, November 28th, but the net profit from the sale of these apps will be donated to the St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital during this time period. If interested, do check out the reviews of many of these apps reviewed here, at GiggleApps.

For those who may not know, Ruckus Media Group has a great selection of apps for the entire family. Many are universal or designed for the iPad.

A Present for Milo is a great first app for kids, toddlers and up, an app my son enjoys being a bit older (almost four) as well. This iPad add is an interactive storybook with some really fun interactions, great narration, and illustrations.

Also for the preschool set and up, My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle Teacher for a Day and Chuck and Friends: Friends for the Long Haul are interactive universal storybook apps based on hit Hasbro toys and television shows, and include fun mini-games as well.

Spot the Dot is my son’s favorite Ruckus app, a game of sorts for iPad based on the David A. Carter pop-up book – hard to explain in few words but dynamic and beautiful eye spy game of sorts, well worth checking out.

Elementary school children will appreciate the universal app Andrew Answers, an interactive storybook app about a unique child who is misunderstood by adults in his world.

Rainforest Survival Challenge is a great game for iPad that teaches a lot about rainforest animals in terms of who is predator and who may be prey. Great for older grade-schoolers and up, this game is challenging, thought-provoking and very educational.

These is also a wonderful series – Read-Play-and-Record Along Rabbit Ears interactive storybooks – that are my favorite selections. The quality of each of these apps is top-notch in every way and include celebrity narration such as Meryl Streep, John Cleese or Denzel Washington.

These apps contain both a video as well as storybook sections that can be read out loud, and personalizing a recording is also possible. The illustrations used are also found in the video sections and are uniformly outstanding, as is the music that accompanies these stories.

Do look into this library, as one can find titles appropriate for all age groups. From classic stories such as The Three Little Pigs and Thumbelina, to tales about great American folklore such as Johnny Appleseed and or John Henry, there is truly something for everyone including adults who appreciate a wonderful story, beautiful artwork and effective storytelling. For adults, my personal favorite is Johnny Appleseed narrated by Garrison Keillor.

It is also worth noting for the Christmas season the apps based on The Velveteen Rabbit and The Night Before Christmas are also available. As a side note, this version of the Night Before Christmas is simply perfect in every way with a scope that transcends the traditional story of the same name. This a perfect app for anyone who has ever shown interest in the Clement Clarke Moore tale, or honestly, anyone who celebrates Christmas in general. Yes, this app is that good!

I hope this blog has encouraged readers to purchase apps from Ruckus Media Group during this time period for themselves, their families and friends. I think this is a wonderful way to contribute to St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital as well as obtaining some wonderful applications at a great discount.

[ View all Ruckus Media Group Apps via iTunes ]

November 27th, 2011 by Amy Solomon Share

The AppNation conference will be held April 27 & 28 at the Moscone Convention center in San Francisco and the 148Apps Network is a proud media sponsor. The agenda is shaping up to be a great one and this year, I’ll be moderating a panel called the App Rock Stars. For this panel, we’ll be talking with some of the people with the most app downloads out there. In total, the participants have over 100 million app downloads, and we’re going to find out how they did it. The panel line-up is scheduled to include:

Dave Castelnuovo, Co-Founder, Bolt Creative (PocketGod)
Thomas Chung, CEO, The Playforge (Zombie Farm)
Andrej Nogeskoj, CEO, Outfit7 (Talking Tom)
Berkeley Malagon, Founder, Distinct Dev (Moron Test)

It should be a very informative panel. Want to attend AppNation? 148Apps Network readers can get a 30% discount on the registration fee by using code APP148 on the registration page.

More About APPNATION

APPNATION is an ambitious and bold thought leadership conference and exposition focusing exclusively on the burgeoning consumer applications revolution and global app economy.  The second annual APPNATION event will be held April 27 – 28 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco and will feature speakers and exhibitors from leading companies from across the app economy including Digital Chocolate, Marvel Entertainment, Jumptap, Nielsen Mobile, Sequoia Capital, WIP, Fox Broadcasting, Greystripe, Norwest Venture Partners, Wall Street Journal and dozens of others. DEVELOPERS: Submit your app and have a chance to pitch at the AppCircus@Appnation on April 27th! AppCircus is powered by dotopen, and is a unique global traveling showcase of the most creative and innovative apps presented by their creators during some of the most influential international events in mobile/web. AppCircus is open to developers, startups and any other organization and offers each participant a chance to get a nomination to the annual Mobile Premier Awards at Mobile World Congress. Visit AppCircus for full details, rules and submission information. Deadline for entry is April 17th. 

148Apps Network readers receive 30% off full conference registration by using code APP148!

April 5th, 2011 by Jeff Scott Share

148Apps is proud to announce the 2011 New User Guides, written for new users of the iOS devices that we use and love every day. The iPhone 4, the iPad, and the iPod touch each have their own slick new guide for those who may be considering getting one, who may have gotten one for the winter holidays, or who have a device and wonder just what apps to get.

These guides are chock full of information, from model and device specifications to tips, tricks, and links to manuals, videos and web-based guides. They include just tons of recommendations for apps, games, educational apps, you name it – we’ve written about it. Quick descriptions and pictures of each app and game are followed by links to make it easy to go grab the app you’re reading about. In addition, the guides include two special sections from network sites ThePortableGamer and GiggleApps, to help you figure out which games or educational apps to get for your device.

If you have a new iPhone 4, iPod touch, or iPad this holiday season, be sure to download the guide that matches your holiday treasure. Or, better yet, tell all your friends about it and be entered to win a $50 iTunes Gift Card to help you fill up that pretty little device with apps and games. How’s THAT for holiday cheer, eh? For more information about the contest, head on over to the user guide page for details.

We’re proud of our guides, and we’re glad to be able to get them to you. Feel free to pass along the links to the guides to all your iOS loving Facebook friends and Twitter buddies and new owners as well, since sharing is caring.

[ Check out the 148Apps 2011 iOS New User Guides ]

Also, what’s be come a holiday tradition, many iOS developer put their apps on sale to drive huge sales during the holidays. Take a look at our hand picked selection of over 350 top apps on sale, some at over 90% off their normal price.

[ Holiday App Sales List ]

December 26th, 2010 by Jeff Scott Share

“To iPad or Not” was the question tossed about for a while in our household until my husband gave me one for my birthday. Since the arrival of our new baby in July, I haven’t had much time to tinker with it, but I have a few initial impressions I’d like to share.

First, one of the reasons I hesitated to buy an iPad (besides the prohibitive price) was that it seemed like a redundant device. Considering I already have a laptop, and a iPhone, I just didn’t see where the iPad fit into my life.

Sure, the iPad can hold and organize a ton of applications, and it’s great for reading and publications/ebooks. I’ve really enjoyed using it to surf the net to shop for new sconces for our house, yelp for last second food delivery/menu hunting, and my husband uses it weekly for his fantasy football team management and score watching.

It has a phenomenal battery life and can keep kids and adults occupied for hours. If I traveled a lot, or had the time to sip a latte and read at the coffee shop, I could see the iPad holding a solid position in my life; unfortunately that’s not my reality right now.

As a busy mother of two very young kids (ages 24 months, and 3 months) my life has become complex, complicated, and I can be a scattered mess at times. My iPhone offers a sense of solace and simplicity by bundling my telephone, camera, GPS, internet/email, and applications into a portable device that can easily fit into my pocket or purse.

I don’t regret owning both an iPhone and iPad. I know I’m fortunate to experience both; and perhaps, as my needs – and those of my family – change, the role of each will be more distinctly defined. Today I know this….my life would go on if I didn’t have an iPad, but I can’t say the same about my iPhone. I just don’t know if I could live without it.

October 15th, 2010 by Kristen Young Share

App discoverability continues to be a real issue. With the fast churn of apps in the App Store, an app has only a few weeks of promotional life in it before it’s largely forgotten. There are a few things developers can do to fix that, but those things may not work for most apps. That’s why we think it’s important to archive these great, best apps from even just a few months ago. They may have been forgotten by most, but we want a way to remember them forever.

We’re proud to announce the launch of a new site, dedicated to archiving the very best in mobile apps, the App Hall of Fame! We hope it will become the source for finding the very best of the best apps, long after their initial promotional buzz has died down.

With a voting process loosely modeled after the Baseball Hall of Fame, the App Hall of Fame will induct 12 new apps every month. The eligible apps are those that have been in the App Store for at least 6 months. Initially we’ll be focusing on iPhone/iPod Touch apps, but we’ll open it up to iPad apps soon. Next year? We expand further to cover other platforms.

The hall of fame-worthy apps will be chosen by the people that look at, write about, and live apps every day. Our fantastic selection committee includes members from Slide to Play, TUAW, TIPB, The Loop, Pirillo.com, AppAdvice, and more. The selection committee have already chosen the nominees for our first month and they are now voting on those nominations. We will proudly announce our first 12 inductees on Monday, October 11th.

The mobile application analytics company,Flurry, has graciously sponsored the site and will be giving $1,000 in promotional credit to each inducted app while they remain a sponsor. A very generous prize for the inductees, indeed.

But wait, there’s more! We’re having a monthly contest, too! We’re also going to be celebrating the new inductees every month by giving away copies of the winning apps to App Hall of Fame mailing list subscribers.

Take a look at the site, sign-up for the contest and mailing list and check back on October 12th for the first inductees into the new App Hall of Fame!

October 1st, 2010 by Jeff Scott Share

The iPhone apps world is getting huge. And the educational apps segment is growing even faster. The iPhone and now the iPad make fantastic platforms for kids to use to learn everything from colors to advanced mathematics. And that’s why we started GiggleApps — to tell the world about these great apps and this great platform for them.

If you’d like to help us review these apps, we’d love to have you. We’ve got a long list of apps ready to review and you’ll have free access to them. We’re looking for 1-2 app reviewers for the site and if you are able to keep a regular schedule of 3 reviews per week, we have a paid contract position open. Writing for GiggleApps won’t pay all of your bills, but it may help pay for that new iPhone.

If you are interested in writing for us, please send us the following:

Your Name
Where you are located (State, Country)
What types of apps you like best
Your 5 favorite apps
How many apps you can review per week
Three writing samples — app reviews written in the style like we do on GiggleApps

We look forward to hearing from you — email all of the above to writers {at} giggleapps.com

June 21st, 2010 by Jeff Scott Share

Our parent site, 148Apps is wrapping up their promo code contest to celebrate all of the nominees for the second annual Best App Ever Awards.

There are plenty of promo codes still to be given away including lots of educational and parent apps like Peekaboo Barn, Peekaboo Wild, Madera & Figaro in The Rescue of Ginger, Little Red, Mathemagics and many many more.

Head on over to the Best App Ever promo code contest to see the rules, prizes, and info on how to enter for each of the apps. But hurry, the contest wraps up this weekend.

February 25th, 2010 by Jeff Scott Share

Welcome to GiggleApps, a site for iPhone and iPod Touch app reviews for kids and parents.

Kristen and I have known each other for a while, and we started GiggleApps from what we saw as a need for educational reviews for apps. To any parent who has an iPhone or iPod Touch, you know how quickly and easily the little ones pick up the device and figure out how to use it. It just seems natural for them. And because of this we’ve seen some really interesting new applications developed as this potential was realized.

We hope to bring you great app reviews, how-to articles, lists of our favorite apps and more. But, we want to know what you think and what you want to see. Each post has a comment section at the bottom – never hesitate to speak your thoughts on an app. And if you want to contact us, you can do so via our contact page. We love hearing from you.

So… stay in touch – we’re still getting things moving, but expect more exciting things from us soon. You can keep track of our new posts via Facebook, Twitter, our RSS feed, or even Email.

Thanks for visiting,
Jeff

November 30th, 2009 by Jeff Scott Share

GiggleApps is a member of the 148Apps Network of mobile apps sites.

148Apps - iPhone app reviews and news. The best gosh darn iPhone app site this side of Mars.
http://148apps.com :: @148Apps
Android Rundown - Android news and reviews. Where you get the rundown on Android apps and hardware.
http://AndroidRundown.com :: @AndroidRundown
The Portable Gamer - Mobile gaming magazine for the casual gamer.
http://ThePortableGamer.com :: @PortableGamer
The App Hall of Fame - An archive of the very best in apps and games.
http://AppHallofFame.com :: @AppHallofFame
148Apps.biz - iPhone development news and information for the community, by the community.
http://148apps.biz :: @148AppsBiz
Best App Ever - Yearly Mobile App Achievement Awards.
http://bestappever.com :: @BestAppEver
GiggleApps - iPhone applications reviews for kids and parents.
http://GiggleApps.com :: @GiggleApps