Common Sense Media Review
By Patricia Monticello Kievlan
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Limited features, required purchases sink animation app.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Tellagami Edu
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What's It About?
TELLAGAMI is a mobile app for creating a custom animated video called a "gami." Users enter text or record audio and then choose from a range of skin tones, outfits, and hairstyles (most require in-app purchases) to create a custom character to deliver the recording. Users then place a character against a background selected from the free built-in options or the device’s photo library or from among several background "packs" available for purchase within the app.
Is It Any Good?
Tellagami is supposed to enable users to share their "gamis," but frequent error messages and crashes with the in-app sharing features make the user experience uneven. After making a few gamis, it becomes clear that there's not much variety in the animation: The character's hand gestures don't seem to vary depending on the audio. It also would be nice if there were more options for characters, more free background options, and the possibility to have more than one character on-screen.
The most frustrating part is the way the in-app purchases are set up -- it feels sneaky, and users are severely limited in options unless they make several purchases.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how changing the character's expression can affect the meaning of the text.
Ask kids to draw or import images of faraway places to serve as background images for videos.
Talk to kids about how Tellagami might help them explain a concept or tell a story in a new way.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android
- Skills : Communication : conveying messages effectively , multiple forms of expression , presenting
- Pricing structure : Paid ($4.99)
- Release date : February 20, 2014
- Genre : Entertainment
- Publisher : Tellagami Labs Inc.
- Version : 1.0.2
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 6.0 or later; Android 4.1 and up.
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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