Free kids’ video resource
Ramadan has come in the heat of the summer this year. This means that young children must be amused indoors, something difficult to do when parents’ energy levels are low. So consider Kideos (www.kideos.com) to help keep the little darlings laughing.
Kideos is a web portal through which children can safely watch free videos online. The idea for Kideos came about from parents who were desperately trying to entertain their young daughter while she was in the hospital. Before it makes to the site, each video on Kideos has been vetted and approved by the Kideos Video Advisory Council. The goal is to empower parents to feel comfortable allowing their children to spend time on Kideos, while also making sure those children have a thoroughly entertaining experience.
The site focuses on children from infants to age ten. It has a new feature that offers both parents and children the opportunity to customize the site with playlists of their favorite videos. The playlists are saved and can be seen each time a child returns to the site. Children can navigate the videos on Kideos on their own thanks to a very simple interface, and all the content is sorted into age-based groupings, making it easy for kids to find videos they enjoy and for parents to ensure their children are only viewing age-appropriate content.
Hannah Montana extravaganza
Disney Interactive Studios has launched “Hannah Montana: Rock Out The Show” for the Sony PSP system. In the first Hannah game for the PSP system, fans can now take Hannah on the go and have backstage access to customize her wardrobe, dance moves, special effects and so much more to make each show unique and exciting.
“Hannah Montana: Rock Out The Show” invites fans to design and star in the show by visiting seven different countries and performing as Hannah to 11 hit songs, including three tracks from the new “Hannah Montana 3” soundtrack. With Robbie Ray unable to manage Hannah’s tour, her brother Jackson and best friend Lilly jump-in to help and travel with Hannah around the world. In “Story Mode,” players are introduced to new locations through animated vignettes and are entertained by Jackson’s slapstick humor and Lilly’s wittiness.
With vast customization, “Hannah Montana: Rock Out The Show” invites players to add their flair to performances by creating unique routines for each song with the “Rockstar Moment” maker. Fans style the band members and the back-up dancers with hot fashions, hair-styles and accessories. The more a show is customized, the more rewards and achievements are awarded.
Options to share performances and download new content are also included. Fans can listen to their favorite Radio Disney artists on the move with live streaming radio on the PSP system. There will also be four download packs on PlayStation Network to expand wardrobes, stage props and special effects.
And Hannah fanatics should be aware that “Hannah Montana: Rock Out The Show” is also available in a limited-edition Hannah Montana PSP Entertainment Pack that includes a “Lilac” PSP system, three Hannah Montana episodes on Universal Media Disc (UMD), a 2GB memory stick Pro Duo and fashionable vinyl stickers to customize the PSP system.
For the fashionable tween
n Charm Girls Club is a series of games for tween girls, ages 8-12, that are all about fun, friendship and collecting charms. In the games, girls are immersed into the exciting world of the Charm Girls where they will complete challenges that are fresh, fun and relevant to their world, collecting sparkly virtual charms along the way. Electronic Arts will release four Charm Girls Club titles in October including Charm Girls Club Pajama Party for the Wii, and three titles for the Nintendo DS.
The game attracting the most attention is Charm Girls Club My Fashion Mall, which is being promoted by EA in cooperation with international retail chain Claire’s. In My Fashion Mall, players help manage a mall and take it from drab to fab, tackling wacky mall mishaps along the way. In the virtual mall, players will not only find a Claire’s storefront and mentions throughout the game, they will participate in mini-game challenges at the store and add Claire’s-branded charms to their virtual jewelry box. In an effort to bring smiles to everyone, girls will be able to play the Charm Girls Club “Accessorize It” mini-game free on the Claire’s website www.claires.com in the Fun & Games section.
Become an animator
At one time or another, just about everyone has created an animated cartoon using nothing more than a pad of paper and some hand-drawn stick figures. Nintendo has now taken that simple idea and morphed it into Flipnote Studio for the Nintendo DSi hand-held system. It’s available free from the Nintendo DSi Shop.
Flipnote Studio provides users with simple tools that let them draw and save a series of images to create an animation reminiscent of flipping through a notepad. Flipnote Studio makes it easy for anyone to jump in and create animations, regardless of their artistic abilities. The results can be comical, dramatic or experimental.
Here’s how it works: Users draw an image on the touch screen of the Nintendo DSi system. When they are ready to draw the next image in the sequence, Flipnote Studio shows an outline of the previous image as a reference. Once all the images are in place, the software can animate them as a creation called a Flipnote.
Users can add sound to their Flipnotes using the built-in microphone or using sounds they previously recorded in the Nintendo DSi Sound application. Or they can import photos as black and white images from the Nintendo DSi Camera album.
