iLounge

ABC Aquarium ($3) by Peapod Labs is yet another release in the company’s ABC family of universal iOS education apps. Each app has brought a new theme, complete with an alphabet’s worth of new photographs, videos, and simple rub-on-the-picture activities, plus small user interface improvements. Aquarium leverages all of the prior titles’ UI tricks to provide a relatively seamless look at dozens of different fish and animals you’d find at aquariums, ranging from sea lions to koi, lobsters to zebrafish. The photos in this edition are particularly compelling, thanks to high-res details and great colors, though as with prior editions, some issues slip through — two images of Emperor Angelfish are nearly identical, for instance, and some of the swiping activities feel a bit underdeveloped and stale. Once again, each letter of the alphabet includes multiple photos for one or more creatures, plus in-frame YouTube videos that teach kids more than just the letters and words for each animal. Parents looking for bilingual instruction can also switch on an optional translation feature that flips each word between English and Spanish.

Disney’s Disney Junior Appisodes app (free) is a new hub to hold interactive versions of full-length TV episodes. Recommended for ages 4 and up, Disney Junior Appisodes let children touch, tap, swipe, tilt, shake, and talk through Disney Junior episodes while completing activities. The app comes with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Road Rally Appisode—a standalone download we previously found incredibly impressive—and additional Appisodes are available for purchase within the app.

Pinterest (free) recently updated its eponymous app to version 2.4. The update adds push notifications for comments, likes, and repins, and now allows iPhone and iPod touch users to send a pin to other users. Additionally, search now offers suggestions, it’s easier to pin from the web, and it’s also easier to get friends involved — users can invite friends to pin on group boards, and friends can be mentioned in comments. A brand new update today, 2.4.2, gives pins even more info, such as pricing, availability, ingredients, and movie ratings.

Pocket Informant Pro ($15) by Web Information Solutions has been upgraded to version 3.0 with plenty of new features. The productivity app has a new interface, syncs with Evernote, offers a rich text editor for notes, and creates tasks from natural speech commands. Projects and checklists are also new, and an in-app purchase can show users the weather. It’s also noted that all of the previously offered Pocket Informant Pro features have been improved.