New active content: yoga, languages, and games
When I first heard that the Kindle store was going to do apps, I was picturing things like utilities: maybe something that did page numbers, shopping lists, calendars, a way to do custom sleep mode pictures (screensavers), book organizers or guides, that sort of thing.
Instead, the “active content” part of the store:
has been dominated by games.
I would have guessed those would be generic word games, but they’ve included Solitaire, chess, Monopoly, backgammon.
This time, though, there aren’t a bunch of traditional games.
I think that’s a positive thing…I don’t mind the games at all, but I like having a mix.
My Yoga Studio $1.99 at time of writing
I’m not sure that I typically associate reading with physical activity, 
but that’s a special segment for Kindle apps. Nickel Buddy releases its second (following Anywhere Abs) title. This is one of those things where purists might roll their eyes: can you actually do Yoga by whipping out your Kindle in the breakroom at work? However, as long as you’re not going to hurt yourself, I figure something is better than nothing. The reviews indicate that there are no sound cues from the game (even though there is a timer for when to change poses). That might make it harder to stay in the zone…
I wrote about Tutor 24/7′s two Spanish titles last time. There use interactive features (Hangman, flash cards) to help you learn languages. They have one for phrases and one for vocabulary. They’ve now added other languages (each title is $3.99 at time of writing):
The Ultimate Sci-Fi Quiz $1.99 at time of writing
Of course, there are games, too. 
From the folks who brought you The Ultimate Movie Quiz. I’m afraid 1,000 questions can hardly be the “ultimate” in science fiction quizzes. There could be 1,000 questions about one episode of Star Trek. The bar on science fiction trivia is high…but this might be a fun casual amusement.
Symdoku Unbound #1 $2.99 at time of writing
I never got into Sudoku, but this looks like an interesting twist. Instead of numbers, there are symbols (stars, crescent moons…the screen shot looks a bit like a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal). There are 100 puzzles, but you can choose one of three levels for each one…resulting in an effective 300 games. You can come back to a game later if you are stumped, make notes in a cell, and get hints.
Puzzazz also offers Wordoku Unbound #1 and Sudoku Unbound #1, each $2.99.
Before the Kindle store offered active content, Puzux was doing games for the Kindle. I had tried that, and it involved connecting via Whispernet (since all of the processing wasn’t available on the Kindle). That’s not necessary with their active content titles (and when a title is active content, that’s indicated on the product page).
They now offer a series of Jumble puzzles…from three puzzles for free up to 200 puzzles for $4.99:
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3 puzzles free
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20 puzzles ninety-nine cents
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50 puzzles $2.49
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200 puzzles $4.99
You may have done Jumbles in the newspaper. There is a cartoon with a caption that suggest a pun as an answer. There are four words that you unscramble with circled letters, and those letters spell the answer.
I’ve also solved those “backwards”…I can usually guess the answer first, and then I use those letters to solve the other four clues…but I’m guessing that is not the way most people do it.
This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.
April 29, 2011 at 10:53 pm |
We’ve just released calendar app for Kindle: http://blogkindle.com/2011/04/kindle-calendar-app/