Barbie Life

This game and video based app can be amusing, but unfortunately, the constant and blatant advertising for the brand's dolls really detracts from the overall experience. Living a Barbie Life apparently involves a few main activities -- primarily watching videos and playing fairly simply games. There isn't really a comprehensive theme; the content involves matching games, animated video blogger entries, puzzle challenges -- essentially a hodge podge of items. There's one thing tying them all together -- Barbie -- but little explanation about the app's overall intent or offerings. More written content would be great. For instance, some activities begin with pretty clear instructions, while others don't. Other games just highlight or point to key items to get the user started, which is great for younger kids without strong reading skills, although it can be a bit confusing to follow at times. There doesn't seem to be any FAQ, written tips, or other verbal content to help guide you through the experience; even a list of what the app entails would be nice, so you didn't have to click through each item, wondering if you'd missed anything.

That said, there are some positive points to the app: It doesn't contain any objectionable content, for one. Kids don't need to enter personal information or sign in to use it, and they shouldn't come into contact with any strangers on it, so parents don't have to worry that this won't be a safe experience. It's a product-based app, so some indirect promotion is to be expected, such as Barbie being heavily featured in games. The ads that pop up and the fact kids can watch what essentially are commercials promoting Mattel products, though, may not sit well with some adults.