Bottom Line: Yuggler has a lot of potential as an app to locate activities for kids in a variety of categories. The interface is smooth, it's visually appealing, and it's completely FREE, even currently without ads! More people need to add content to make it the most useful, but even in the beginning stages this app is definitely worth a download for anyone looking for child-friendly activities.
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External links to social media and websites. Yuggler also requires a user account or signing in with Facebook or Twitter.
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Yuggler is an app with promise. The name is a mash-up of juggler and youngster, to convey the idea that juggling kids’ activities gets easier with this app. The premise is simple: sign up for an account (or sign in with Facebook or Twitter) then use the Yuggler tools to figure out what to do with the kids, and to share ideas with other parents.
I love the concept, and the interface is very easy to use. This is the kind of app that makes good use of the technology available in an iDevice — allowing parents to entertain kids without screentime. Visit a park or a museum, find out where to rent bicycles on a vacation, or find time-sensitive festivals or events — never again wake up the day after a fun event only to read about it for the first time in the paper.
It’s easy to find activities that have been added to the app. They show up with orange icons on the map view, or in a list view if preferred. The proximity to location can be easily changed, searching between one and 100 miles from the chosen location. It’s also easy to pick a different spot — I like this option, since often it’s when traveling that I really want to find something to do with the kids.
Adding activities to share with others is also quite easy. I added one (our local children’s museum) in about two minutes, and that includes looking up the website on Safari to add it in. I didn’t add a description of the site, simply choosing to indicate age range, cost, and duration of activity. By the time I got back to the app, one of the developers had already filled that in, along with pictures from the website!
Since there was no content for my location until I added something, I searched a large city a few hours away, and learned that gondola rides are available. I had no idea, and it would have been a fun family activity to do the last time we visited that city.
There are other apps out there for locating kids’ activities, but Yuggler has a few unique features that make it worth downloading. First, it’s totally free, and there are currently no ads at all. This is a refreshing change for a free app.
It’s also possible on Yuggler to search by age range, activity type, price . . . even by the best season to visit. It’s easy to rate activities, post on Facebook, add photos to an already-posted event and write reviews. I like being able to easily add any content to a post, helping the next person to know even more about it.
The app seems to rely on users to add all content, so its usefulness depends on the number of users entering information in a given area. Businesses can also add family-friendly information, but some geographic areas (like mine) have very limited or no current information. It would be great if the app also included listings culled automatically from other sources, such as Google searches for kids activities, or even just by adding as many museums as possible.
One other aspect I felt was missing was the ability to zoom out on the map and see activities outside of the search range. Unfortunately, they are only visible when specifically searched — there are many activities in the New York area on the app, but when I zoomed out from my hometown, none were visible (since New York is more than 100 miles from me). It wasn’t until I searched specifically for New York with the search function that I could view the activities.
Overall, it’s hard to recommend against Yuggler. It’s so easy to use, with the potential to be very helpful for families of young children. With enough active users, parents could even specify locales and events good for kids with special needs, or any other categorization that could be helpful.
It does need more content in order to be a Top Pick app. But as a free app with no ads, parents should definitely download this app. If everyone reading this added just one or two locations, Yuggler would be ready for prime time.
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Heather H. thinks the lack of local activities in the app is a good reason to travel. SmartAppsForKids.com was paid a priority review fee to complete this review in an expedited manner.
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