Track Santa This Christmas Eve on Your iPhone or iPad

It’s Christmas time again and Santa will be starting his global voyage any moment now. Did you know that you and the kids can track Santa’s progress around the globe with your iPhone or iPad? Here are a couple apps that help you do it.

By far the best way is to use Google Earth. To view the Santa tracker in Google Earth, just hit the menu tab at the bottom of the screen and select the Santa tracker to follow Santa around the earth.

Vito Technologies has also released an update to Star Walk that lets you track Santa in an augmented reality sort of way. Hold your device up to the sky to track where around the earth Santa is.

To all of you and your families a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from GiggleApps!

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dataDecember 24th, 2012 by Jeff Scott Share

Black Friday and Cyber Monday App and Game Sales

Black Friday is the biggest sale day of the year for the big box stores. And the same is true for the App Store. But the good thing about the App Store is there’s virtually 0% chance of getting trampled while trying to get that $39 laptop everyone is racing for.

Now through into Monday we’ll see hundreds of iOS games and apps on sale at some really great prices. We’ll be updating our lists of them frequently with the best of the sale apps and games. Because of the length of our sale lists, we’ve separated the hundreds of sale apps into three lists:

» Black Friday and Cyber Monday iPhone and iPad Educational and Kids Apps on Sale

» Black Friday and Cyber Monday iPhone and iPad Apps on Sale

» Black Friday and Cyber Monday iPhone and iPad Games on Sale

If you want to see the full list, unfiltered, of thousands of apps on sale, you can head over to our Price Drops page. At that page We track the apps that go on sale 365 days a year.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, welcome to Black Friday!

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dataNovember 23rd, 2012 by Jeff Scott Share

5th Annual Best App Ever Awards Launched

In late 2008, in response to then mounting chart pressure, we started the Best App Ever Awards to honor some of the best apps available, not just the best selling. At that time, and it’s ever more true now, high position on the top apps charts was thought of by many to be the only measure of success. We knew there were better ways to honor the best apps, and started the Best App Ever Awards.

Now in it’s 5th year, the goal of the Best App Ever Awards remains unchanged. Honor the best apps, even if they are not chart toppers. It’s with great pride that we open up this years awards for nominations. This year we also include more education and kids related app categories.

The Best App Ever awards is the one of the most prestigious awards for mobile apps and games. Last year over 1,500,000 votes were cast in the quest to find the best. This year it’s back bigger and better than ever. Users can nominate their favorite apps and games in any of over 100 categories by heading to the app nomination page and choosing a category.

Nominations are open through the end of the year. After that the nominations will be tallied and the top ten iOS apps in each category will battle it out for the awards. In addition, the ten iOS apps that get the most nominations overall will fight it out for the title of Best App Ever.

Start nominating your favorite apps and games now, head on over to Best App Ever!!

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dataNovember 13th, 2012 by Jeff Scott Share

Giggle Apps Joins the Steel Media Family of Sites

We are very excited to announce that 148Apps and our network of sites have been acquired by our friends at Steel Media! 148Apps joins the amazing network of app related sites such as Pocket Gamer, Pocket Gamer.biz, AppSpy, Padvance, Quality Index, and more.

For more than four years 148Apps has covered the world of iOS apps and games. It started as a passion of mine and has now expanded to include the best writers this side of Mars. Now along with the Steel Media portfolio of sites, we have mobile apps and games covered from every angle.

Full details are available at the 148Apps post on the subject. We are so excited to get things going. Onward and upward!

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dataOctober 2nd, 2012 by Jeff Scott Share

Announcing the Winners of the Best App Ever Awards!

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.

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dataJanuary 27th, 2012 by Jeff Scott Share

2011 Best App Ever Awards Nominees Announced!

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.

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dataJanuary 3rd, 2012 by Jeff Scott Share

Through Monday, November 28th, buy Ruckus Media Group apps to support St. Jude’s Research Children’s Hospital.

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 ]

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dataNovember 27th, 2011 by Amy Solomon Share

AppNation, Returning to San Francisco April 27 & 28

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!

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dataApril 5th, 2011 by Jeff Scott Share

Announcing the 148Apps iOS New User Guides + Holiday Sale Apps

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 ]

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dataDecember 26th, 2010 by Jeff Scott Share

To iPad, or not to iPad…That was the question

“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.

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dataOctober 15th, 2010 by Kristen Young Share