The Dinosaur Roar! App Review

Leo is just getting to an age where he is enjoying to sit and have a quiet 20 minutes with my iPad. It is only in recent weeks that this has begun to happen, and now he has a few apps of his own to play with. I have been really impressed watching him use the apps and controlling my iPad to make it conform to what he wants to do. He recognizes which are his apps and can load them up and start his games. 

We were recently asked to try out the new Dinosaur Roar! App, an app based on the popular children's picture book. Having a toddler who is loving everything dinosaur related at present, I was keen to get involved and see how he would get on with it. 

The classic picture book Dinosaur Roar! is written by Paul and Henrietta Stickland. It was first published in the UK back in 1994, and since it's release is has become a big hit with kids and adults alike! The title are marking their 20th anniversary and have appointed Penguin Random House as the new publishers. The book is the inspiration for a major new project for pre-schoolers being developed by Nurture Rights in association with the Natural History Museum. The new 20th edition version of Dionsaur Roar! is now in the shops and a percentage of royalties from the book will be going straight to the museum to support their work!

The new Dinosaur Roar! App.

Story – fully immersive and interactive experience. Key features include:

- Innovative scrolling function to move through the story, which is displayed as a continuous journey through the dinosaurs’ world.
- Option to listen to the story (narrated by children) or read the story by yourself
- Special record function! Read and save your own voice.
- Images and animation created using Paul Stickland’s original paintings.
- Children will love to watch, listen to and touch the dinosaurs as they stomp, shuffle, snuffle, snort, chomp, grunt, blink, squeak and roar. 

You can download the new Dinosaur Roar! App from the iTunes store and it costs £1.99. We have downloaded the app on both the iPad and my iPhone. Upon loading the app up we were met with some themed music and presented with the simple menu. 

The menu offers three options 'Read' 'Colour' and 'Name'.

The 'Read' option presents you with an additional three options, you can either have the book read to you by children ( I thought this was lovely, and Leo loved hearing their voices telling the story.) You can read the book a loud yourself or you can even record yourself reading the book. I especially liked the final option as it means that I could still read Leo a bedtime story if I was away for the evening.

The colouring option takes you through to 14 different pictures that your little one can colour themselves. Leo has been really enjoying this part of the app, he has been experimenting with all of the different colours available and creating his own race of dinosaur! This part of the app is going to be a godsend when we go on long car journeys and offers a different activity for him. 

 - 14 dinosaurs to colour!

- Fun menu screen gives children quick way to select favourite dinosaur- Children use their fingers to add colours and patterns to all of their favourite dinosaurs - A choice of colours for each dinosaur make it possible for children to be as creative as they like - Magic colouring option means little fingers can create a dinosaur that looks exactly like the original - Save function means children can preserve their mini-masterpieces - Each dinosaur can be coloured again and again (and again!) 

The last menu 'Name' lets you find out your dinosaur name by entering the name and then shaking the phone. Leo's came out as Leo-a-tops and Leo-Rex. What is your dinosaur name?

Leo is really enjoying the Dinosaur Roar! App and with all of the different features that have been included, it is a new firm favourite.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a code to download the new Dinosaur Roar! App for free, and sent a few goodies in exchange for my personal opinion. All views expressed are completely honest and my own.

The UltraViolet Review

These days everything is going digital. The world we live in is becoming more refined and the need for material objects such as books and DVDs are making their departures. These objects that we used to rely on for reading and viewing are slowly but surely becoming obsolete.

There are so many instances in these changes that are occurring, CD's to MP3 and books to iPads.  I don't think Leo will ever really get to know these parts of what was once the technology of our age. No. Leo is most defiantly growing up in a digital age, and the next step in the digital evolution is UltraViolet.

UltraViolet is a digital copy that comes along with your film, in most cases you receive the Blu-Ray disk, the DVD and then your UltraViolet copy. Many new Blu-Rays and DVDs are now bearing an UltraViolet label, for those of you who have not yet experienced this new digital experience, you may find yourselves wondering why.

If you buy any Blu-Ray's or DVDs that have a UltraViolet logo, you'll be able to watch it instantly on any UV-capable device, such as your computer, smart t.v, games console, or even your iPad or iPhone. 

It really is that simple. You can watch it anywhere as long as you have a 3G or wifi connection. You can even download the movie to the device in order to watch it when you don't have the luxury of a internet connection.

I have been lucky enough to have grown a little UltraViolet collection already and the whole process is so simple and convenient. From setting up your own Flixster account in order to enter your redemption codes, to watching the film stream directly to you from that big cloud in the sky.

With a growing nation who love their smart phones and tablets, their is a high demand on having your media with you and ready to access at the swipe of a finger. You may be trying to keep the kid's entertained on a long journey and want a selection of their favourite movies at hand. Flixster stores your entire UltraViolet collection, and is ready to be accessed as and when you want. This is a huge step forward from the options in my childhood. Way back when, we had to cart all of our favourite VHS video tapes in a big bag to watch on our portable video player. Yes...Video player!

What a difference 13 years makes!

A great feature about UltraViolet is that the disk can stay safely tucked away in it's box, away from little hands who love to throw disks around the room, while admiring their pretty little faces in the shiny mirror. I have lost so many DVDs in this instance, but now I have the added piece of mind that the disk is not going to get snapped and lost forever, and we are still able to watch the film over again and again.

I guess my biggest concern now is...Letting Leo loose with my iPhone or iPad!

Warner Bros. have already taken those very first UltraViolet steps and now have a whole selection of DVDs and Blu-Rays with this fab new feature. 

My personal experience thus far with UltraViolet has seen Leo loving Happy Feet 2 over and over again. Leo absolutely loves the singing penguins and we just seem to watch those energetic scenes over and over again. We also have a wide variety of Warner Bros. classic kid cartoons that I can see being a life saver for me when out and about with my little man. 

So how do you get set up on UltraViolet?

The very first thing you need to do is set up your very own Flixster account. To save time you can always set it up using your Facebook account.

Once you are all set up on Flixster the next step is to open a UltraViolet account. 

Now the good bit! 

By now you should have Two accounts. Your Flixster account and your UltraViolet account. Head over to Flixster and click on the 'Redeem Now' link. This will bring up a page of all the current UltraViolet releases, simply find your film title and select it. You will be taken through to the next page where you will be shown your selected title and given the option to 'Get Started'.

Clicking on 'Get Started' will take you through to the final page where you can enter your redemption code. Then it is time to grab a bag of popcorn and settle down on the sofa for a movie marathon of your favourite titles!

I have found the whole set up process very simple and easy to navigate. Each DVD box contains there own set of instructions on how to get your new UltraViolet copy set up. This is one digital phenomenon that you really should get involved in, it really does give you the complete freedom to watch your favourite movies and TV programmes, and is defiantly leading the way into our digital future.