As a parent of a three-year-old, distractions can be a powerful tool. Whether you’re at a restaurant waiting for food to arrive, visiting friends without your child’s favorite toy, or stuck in traffic in a car, being able to distract your child with something entertaining can be quite a relief. And while not suitable every time they may need a diversion, Talking Carl for the iPhone represents the best 99¢ I’ve spent on an app in a long time.
The genius of this app is twofold. First, it’s incredibly cute. As you can see from the above images, Carl is a red monsterish thing with a huge mouth. But he’s a cute monsterish thing like you find on Sesame Street. If you tickle him, he laughs. If you poke him in the eye, he yells at you. If you ignore him, he grumbles. Second, he repeats anything you say. Using the iPhone’s mic (or an external mic for the iPod Touch), Carl listens to what you say, then repeats it back in a higher-pitched modulated voice. His mouth animates to the amplitude of your voice so it appears that he’s talking. The animations are smooth and there are no confusing buttons or options; just you and Carl.
And that’s it. Ridiculously simple and fundamentally entertaining. Not only has my son been enthralled for hours with this thing, watching him interact with his “red friend” gets us laughing too. If only there was a dedicated toy for this thing because I’m increasingly finding I’m not getting my iPhone back…
Talking Carl (iTunes Link), $0.99
