PLANET OF THE APPS: 26TH APRIL 2011

Jon Teamlaverne|13:20 UK time, Tuesday, 26 April 2011

Every Tuesday technology guru Stuart Dredge brings us news and reviews of some of the latest downloads for your Smart phone as we tap in to App culture.

Today’s selections cover art, poetry and charity. First off we look at a couple of apps which have been established to help raise money for charity.

Momotaro is a boy found asleep in a giant peach who goes on a quest to hunt the demon who stole his village’s food. Interactive and educational it’s been developed in association with UNICEF and proceeds go towards victims of the Japanese earthquake. The app is available for £1.19.

Amnesty International celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and Mobigame have teamed up with the Human Rights charity to develop Bulletproof which retails at 79p. Available on iPhone or iPad you stop bullets coming at you from a firing squad. (NB: It has a rather scarey trailer) £1.19.

Slewpi; a fun “painterly musical synthesiser” for iPad. You choose colours and brushes and paint on screen. This creates music. Similar to the ‘Brushes’ app as used extensively by David Hockney but with music in a synaesthesia style. Retails at 59p. Can be used by the DJ or musician for creating interesting high quality synth lines, effects and transitions that sync precisely to music with sample accurate timing. Slewpi can also be used by the VJ or ‘Visualist’ and features real-time external video output. Simply plug your device into a projector and open Slewpi to fill the wall and room with lush painterly visuals and delicious synth sounds.