Based on the award-winning, 2012 animated short film of the same name, A Cautionary Tail is a magical story about being different, centered around a little girl born with a tail. This new interactive book form for the iPad combines cinematic 3D animation, narration by David Wenham, interactive features to bring this fable to life on your iPad and share its important message about self-acceptance.

The animated film has been carefully translated into book form and is fully narrated by David Wenham himself. Kids also have the ability to read-along with the app by following the highlighted words or just read the story’s rhyming verse to themselves.
Playful, rhyming verse that encourages reading, writing and listening skills — rich, lively text that will spark the imagination of kids

A Cautionary Tail is a modern fable about “resisting pressure to conform and celebrating the things that make us unique” and tries to deliver “a delightful, positive story, dealing with the themes of loss, bullying and being different – an important contemporary fable .

Whether it is spinning the Gameshow wheel or playing with shadow puppets, finger painting or tilting the iPad to drive the family car, the app features a number of interactive elements to entertain kids and allow them to interact with both the characters and scenes.

Along with the stunning visuals, A Cautionary Tail also showcases many of the short film’s original voice talent including Cate Blanchett, David Wenham and Barry Otto, for a rich multimedia experience. There are also some special behind the scenes bonus features for a sneak peek at the making of the animated short.

You can purchase A Cautionary Tail from the App Store now for $4.99.

For more information about the app, short film and RAWR media, you can visit the official website.

Purchase your copy of A Cautionary Tail from the App Store:

iPad A Cautionary Tail for iPad Rawr Media Pty Ltd $4.99

With industry heavyweights like Logitech and MOGA (who is responsible for arguably the best mobile Android controller currently available) rumored to already be hard at work on their own MFi-certified iOS game controller accessories, it seems Apple may finally be acknowledging that if they are going to completely dominate the mobile gaming market, that they need to give gamers the option for physical, tactical controls.

Could an official Apple standard mean less fragmentation and more supported games?

Listen and enjoy.

Listen to the podcast on iTunes.
Listen to the episode streaming via the web.

However, if you have older children, then it may be tough to constantly police what they are playing on their iOS devices and to monitor if all of their apps are really appropriate. That’s where AppCertain comes in. It is a service that notifies parents within 24 hours about any new apps that have been downloaded to the monitored device. Parents receive a detailed email that lets them know the app’s price, whether or not it has in-app purchases and whether it contains inappropriate or adult content, photos/camera access, educational content, social sharing options, healthy living and more.

The best part is that because you can safely delete the app after installation, AppCertain is virtually untraceable. The way AppCertain works is that when you install and run the app on the device which you want to monitor, it installs a Security Profile on that device. Unless you have a very inquisitive child, I’d bet none of them will ever even realize the Security Policy is on their device. This profile uses “mobile device management” resources to monitor which apps are installed on the device. When a new app is installed, it detects it. Once the profile has been installed, there is no need to keep the app on the device and it can be deleted, leaving no indication to the child that the service is running. Your first monitored device is free, with additional devices on the same account costing $4.99 each.

I’ve been checking out AppCertain for the last week or so and it is really neat. It not only analyses the existing apps on the device, and emails you about any newly installed content as well. The per-app analysis is fairly comprehensive and the “heat zone” style coloring allows for quick triaging at a glance and regular reports mean that you can get any inappropriate apps off your child’s device in a timely manner. It is super easy to install in a just a minute or two. I used the same iTunes account as the rest of the apps on my test device, but if you and your child have separate iTunes accounts, I don’t see why you couldn’t use your own iTunes account to install it. That way there is no possibility of your child accidentally seeing ‘AppCertain’ in their purchase history.

A major concern that I had (and I’m sure others have) is privacy. Obviously the privacy of the person’s device on which the policy is installed is being violated, that’s really the whole point. Though I was curious as to exactly what information AppCertain has access to on the device on which the security profile is installed. For instance could it see any kind of password, contacts, iMessages, sms, web traffic, email, or other info on the device…in other words, what is the exact scope of the profile?

I was also concerned that the App purchasing habits of my child were being sold to some third-party data collector, but I was told that this was not the case. AppCertain’s CEO and Co-Founder Spencer Whitman quickly responded to my concerns and assured me that their customer’s privacy is a big deal to them and that many of my questions were already addressed in detail in their Privacy Policy and FAQs.

He went on to say that the only things they see are “the email address to send the reports to, what apps are installed on the device, and some system information that they use for debugging purposes in case anything doesn’t work appropriately”. He emphasized the fact that they “don’t see any other data on the device; we don’t see the pictures, text messages, or any data within an app”.

Privacy is a big deal to us, especially to me and my co-founder Jim, as we both come from the security world. While there is some privacy in the apps that are installed, we think that keeping track of what apps is a huge step back from full out spy ware (which requires a jail broken device) and is a great middle ground for parents. Our objective is to help educate parents on the apps that their children are using so that parents can make educated decisions as to whether they are appropriate or not.
 
Right now we don’t do anything with the information we collect. We are working on more premium features (for example a way for parents to turn off all apps at specific times of the day) that will require a fee. Once we have a large number of users (on the order of 50,000+) we think aggregate analysis of the install and deletion patterns of apps becomes interesting, but we don’t intend to sell or give individual device information out.

Should you decide to stop using the service, it is easy to remove the AppCertain security profile from the device at any time and it doesn’t even require you to reinstall the app. In case you miss an email or would just like to get an overall picture of what’s installed on a monitored device, you can log into your AppCertain account at any time and view a complete list of the analyzed apps.

In Conclusion

I am always surprised to discover just how many parents don’t have a clue as to what apps their kids are downloading and playing on their iOS devices. While Apple does do a fairly nice job of keeping out really bad apps, there are still plenty of iOS apps that may be inappropriate given your child’s age. With AppCertain, there is now no excuse not to be informed. Whether or not you’ve already locked down your child’s iOS device, in the constant fight to keep our kids safe in this always connected, instant access, digital world, AppCertain is a great way to get just a little more peace of mind.

Whether your dad / grandfather likes to gaze at stars, workout, or play games, there are plenty of iOS sale prices to had. iOS devices can also be a great way of facilitating some father / child bonding. No matter if your dad is into adventure games, board games, word games or puzzle games there are loads of sale apps to choose from. or just pick some up for yourself (we won’t tell).

A few days back we reported that all of Radiangames’ apps are just 99¢ each.

The next episode of the dark point-and-click adventure game Cognition is slated to arrive on iOS sometime next month, so why pick up Episode 1 for 99¢ ($3 off).

These pirate-themed sale apps will make you feel like a plunderer, grabbing them for a steal. The excellent RPG / puzzle / Match-3 game Scurvy Scallywags is currently free (reg $1.99). If you have little ones, then grab Toontastic Jr Pirates for free on either the iPhone or iPad, or why not play Max’s Pirate Planet, a cute pirate board game to play with your young kids or grand kids which is also on sale for 99¢ ($2 off).

All of the paid versions of Zynga’s “With Friends” apps are on sale for a dollar off, so why not gift a few to Grandpa and tell him that he deserves to have an ad-free experience.

If your Dad always has his head in the clouds and eyes in the night sky, then why not pick him up a copy of the Star Walk™ – 5 Stars Astronomy Guide which is currently on sale for 99¢ on either the iPhone or iPad.

You can check out all these great deals and more below.

iPad Mysteryville 2 HD: hidden object crime investigation Nevosoft $5.99 -> Free

iPad Mysteryville HD: hidden object investigation Nevosoft $4.99 -> Free

iPad Million Dollar Quest: hidden object adventure HD Nevosoft $5.99 -> Free

Universal Scurvy Scallywags Beep Games, Inc. $1.99 -> Free

iPhone Toontastic Jr. Pirates – for iPhone Launchpad Toys $1.99 -> Free

iPad Toontastic Jr. Pirates – for iPad Launchpad Toys $1.99 -> Free

Universal Bladeslinger Ep.1 Kerosene $2.99 -> Free

iPhone Situps 0 to 200: Abs Workout Exercise Trainer, pro Clear Sky Apps LTD $1.99 -> Free

iPad Cognition Episode 1 Phoenix Online Studios $3.99 -> 99¢

Universal Max’s Pirate Planet – A Board Game Adventure Slant Six Games Inc. $2.99 -> 99¢

Universal Tennis in the Face 10tons Ltd $2.99 -> 99¢

iPad Toy Defense 2 HD Melesta $1.99 -> 99¢

iPhone Star Walk™ – 5 Stars Astronomy Guide Vito Technology Inc. $2.99 -> 99¢

iPad Star Walk™ HD – 5 Stars Astronomy Guide Vito Technology Inc. $2.99 -> 99¢

Universal STREET FIGHTER X TEKKEN MOBILE　 CAPCOM $2.99 -> 99¢

Universal MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 2 CAPCOM $4.99 -> 99¢

Universal Invader Hunter Pindilab $2.99 -> 99¢

Universal Dream of Pixels Dawn of Play $2.99 -> 99¢

Universal Over Potluck $1.99 -> 99¢

Universal Paper Titans Blitz Games Studios Ltd $2.99 -> 99¢

Universal World War Z Paramount Digital Entertainment $3.99 -> 99¢

iPhone Bloons TD 5 Ninja Kiwi $2.99 -> 99¢

Universal Pinball HD OOO Gameprom $1.99 -> 99¢

iPad Expedition Mars HD: space adventure Nevosoft $4.99 -> $2.99

Universal Eufloria HD Omni Systems Limited $4.99 -> $2.99

iPad Bloons TD 5 HD Ninja Kiwi $4.99 -> $2.99

Universal Reiner Knizia’s Ra Codito Development Inc. $4.99 -> $3.99

Universal Le Havre (The Harbor) Codito Development Inc. $6.99 -> $4.99

Universal Reiner Knizia’s Tigris & Euphrates Codito Development Inc. $6.99 -> $4.99

Note that App Store prices fluctuate frequently and there can be some propagation delay, so the prices above may not be correct. Always make sure that the price is correct before clicking ‘BUY’.

Through today, you’ll receive $10 in extrabuck rewards if you spend $50 or more on iTunes Gift Cards.
(The deal also works with Bass Pro Shops, Golfsmith and Kohls gift cards as well.)

If you are a regular CVS shopper, this is a great deal as you’ll get a $10 rebate back to spend on a future CVS trip.

Once again, the discount does not scale with the value of cards purchased, so you’ll maximize your savings by purchasing only $50 worth of iTunes cards. I’m not certain, but you may be able to mix and match iTunes cards with gift cards from the other stores participating in the promotion.

Father’s Day is tomorrow, so why not pick up a couple of $25 cards for your your Dad and/or Grandfather, they make a great gift.

The deal is good through TODAY (June 15th) and the offer is limited to one per household.

We dive into the good the bad and the just plain ugly of the new iOS 7 and Trevor provides some detailed insight as he’s has the beta installed and has been playing with it since the announcement.

Here are the trailers and/or links to more info for some of the games we discuss:

• Plants vs Zombies 2 (PopCap)
• Deus Ex: The Fall (Square Enix)
• Bloodmasque (Square Enix)
• The Walking Dead: 400 Days (Telltale)
• Modern Combat 5 [hands-on] (Gameloft)
• Asphalt 8 (Gameloft)
• Brothers in Arms 3 (Gameloft)
• FIFA 14 (EA)
• Icycle (Chillingo)
• Fightback (Chillingo)
• Dead Trigger 2 (Madfinger Games)
• The Cave (Sega / Double Fine – this is the PC/Console trailer)

And finally a couple of the titles that we discuss came out last week, and you can grab these free-to-play-games here:

Universal Despicable Me: Minion Rush Gameloft Free

Universal Pet Rescue Saga King.com Limited Free

We hope you enjoy this information packed episode and please take a moment to rate and review the podcast in iTunes.

In Slant Six Games’ imaginative Max’s Pirate Planet your child gets to take on the role of a pirate, sailing (literally) around the globe in search of buried treasure. Your goal is to be the first to find and collect four treasure chests, each of which contains a piece of the map to find the Sunken City, where the dreaded Barnacle Bill awaits with countless riches for you to pilfer.

Players first start out the game by each selecting one of the five pirate characters, which range from a boy and girl to a skeleton pirate appropriately named Skully. This can sometimes be a point of contention in our household as there is sadly only one girl character in the game, and of course my girls usually fight over who gets to be her, even though there is also a cute shark, fox and the aforementioned skeleton characters to choose from as well. The girl pirate’s name is Emma, which just so happens to be the name of my older daughter’s best friend, so you can imagine…my daughters definitely wish there were more (girl) characters.

Once characters have been selected, the game beings. Max’s Pirate Planet is made for four players, but the nice thing is that it will automatically fill in AI players for you if you don’t have enough real players. In our experience, the AI players seemed to be fairly well-balanced, though I would probably say that they do tend to trend toward the easier side, blowing a few more than their fair share of duels and treasure challenges. However it seemed perfectly suited for the ages of my girls, just difficult enough to keep it fun.

The game board is globe-shaped and covered with hexagonal spaces over both land and water. On some of these spaces are treasure chests, others have either nothing or other special objects like cards and whirlpools. Players take turns spinning a (pretty realistic) wheel and moving the corresponding number of spaces around the game board. If you land on space with a card, then you will be presented with a choice of three cards and must select one. The actions on the cards vary and may allow to move a couple extra spaces or maybe even jump right to the nearest treasure. A whirlpool space will teleport you to another location on the board. Or maybe you’ll get luck and spin a number high enough to land on a space with a treasure chest.

However, your quest for gold wont be easy, for if you land on a treasure chest you must successfully complete a mini game to win the treasure. The challenges could consist of successfully dodging both a killer whale and ship debris for 15 seconds, or swiping away the tentacles of a giant octopus to be successful. There are about 4 or 5 different types of challenges and they are all pretty entertaining, but they can start to get a bit repetitive after a while. In fact, we had a few games where one player kept randomly getting the same exact challenge every single turn.

If you land on the same space as another player you will challenge him (or her) to a duel. The winner takes a treasure from the loser (assuming he/she has one). Duels consist of one of two different mini games. The first is a sword fight, which requires the player to be the first of the two combatants to swipe in the direction of the ever-changing arrow on screen. In the other, players are trying to fire cannons at their opponent and be the first to destroy all the hearts of the other player. The loser of the duel is also sent back to their starting space.

Once you’ve successfully found four treasure chests you are sent to Sunken Island to face Barnacle Bill, where you you must try to defeat him in a cannon shootout. One really nice thing about the game is that the winner is never a foregone conclusion. The tides can shift at any time. The developers have done a really nice job in designing the game such that even when a player moves onto the final Buccaneer Bill stage of the game, the others playing (AI included) can still catch up, so it is not a given that the player who is currently ahead will win.

The game does skew more toward younger children, I’d say between 3 and 6 is probably the perfect age. More experienced kids can use some strategy to try to attack other players for their treasure, while younger kids will just have fun moving around and playing the mini games. My 3.5 year-old Claire (a big Jake and The Neverland Pirates fan) fell in love with the game right away and will often specifically requests that she and I play “The Pirate Game” together.

Emily, my six year-old doesn’t seem to like it as much as Claire, but she always has a smile when playing. Claire can’t quite do the mini games on her own and requires a good deal more parental assistance. The treasure challenges are a bit too easy for Emily (especially the tapping ones), whereas Claire enjoys having me help her complete them, even though they are “too tough for her”. Du to the 3D-is view if the game board, both kids do occasionally struggle with tapping the correct space when moving.

In Conclusion

Max’s Pirate Planet’s cute cast of characters, mini games, graphics, animation and audio create a fun experience that will capture your child’s imagination and transport them into the world of pirates. Likely a bit too easy for older children this is an appealing and challenging digital board gaming adventure for younger gamers. Alone, with friends/siblings or as a fun parent/ hild bonding experience as you assist your little one, what kid doesn’t like to pretend to be a pirate? This game quickly became one of my younger daughter’s go to iPad games and it gets a good deal of playtime in our household.

If you act quickly the game is currently on sale through the weekend for 99¢ or if you are still unsure, there is a lite version as well.

Purchase your own copy of Max’s Pirate Planet

Universal Max’s Pirate Planet LITE Slant Six Games Inc. Free

Universal Max’s Pirate Planet – A Board Game Adventure Slant Six Games Inc. 99¢

Right now you can save a dollar on each of these games, making most of them only $1.99.

Don’t forget to share this deal…with friends.

iPhone Hanging With Friends Zynga Inc. $2.99 -> $1.99

iPad Hanging With Friends HD Zynga Inc. $2.99 -> $1.99

iPhone Matching With Friends Zynga Inc. $2.99 -> $1.99

iPhone Gems With Friends Zynga Inc. $2.99 -> $1.99

Universal What’s the Phrase Zynga Inc. $2.99 -> $1.99

iPhone Scramble With Friends Zynga Inc. $2.99 -> $1.99

iPhone Words With Friends Zynga Inc. $2.99 -> $1.99

iPad Words With Friends HD Zynga Inc. $2.99 -> $1.99

iPhone Running with Friends Paid Zynga Inc. $4.99 -> $3.99

iPad Running with Friends HD Paid Zynga Inc. $4.99 -> $3.99

Note that App Store prices fluctuate frequently and there can be some propagation delay, so the prices above may not be correct. Always make sure that the price is correct before clicking ‘BUY’.

When I checked the link, the CruxSNAP cases were coming up as $0.01 each + a $9.99 US shipping charge for a single case, making it $10…not free.

However, if I added two cases to my cart, then the shipping dropped down to nothing and it totaled to only $0.02 (shipped) for the two cases.

It is unclear if this model is being discontinued or why these are being given away.

There is a separate listing on their website for the CruxSNAP™ at a price of $10 each. So you are really only getting the deal if you can get it to not charge you $10 for shipping.

If interested I’d hop on this deal ASAP if you want to get in on it before all of the ‘free’ cases are gone.

You can grab Skylanders Cloud Patrol for nothing (normally $1.99) and save $5 on Skylanders Battlegrounds, now just $1.99 (normally $6.99).

Activision is also running a ‘June Special’ where you get the Spyro and Spyro’s #1 Fan IAP for FREE when you download the free-to-play app, Skylanders Lost Islands™.

If you are in need of an iOS Bluetooth Portal, you can pick one up for less than $14 on eBay. I don’t have any affiliation or experience with this eBay seller, but they do have a 100% Positive feedback rating.

Universal Skylanders Cloud Patrol Activision Publishing, Inc. $1.99 -> Free

Universal Skylanders Battlegrounds Activision Publishing, Inc. $6.99 -> $1.99

Universal Skylanders Lost Islands™ Activision Publishing, Inc. Free

[source: slickdeals]