***Note: this review is sponsored by Bimlin LLC, the owner of BabyDailyLog.com and Baby Michael iPhone app, so it has natural strong preference to its own product - Baby Michael.
Please download the full report here (PDF format).
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The price per feature ratio is my attempt to assign a value to each app based upon the functionality and what you can do with the application, versus how much you have to pay. Baby Michael and Baby Rec clearly have the highest values, however as users of both will see, Baby Rec is not nearly as polished and lacks many features I find imperative aspects of baby care (such as the ability to input length and weight).
Overall, I had two pet peeves with most of these apps: many didn’t offer other units of measure than standard, and when recording weight of the baby (if you could even do that), most apps did not allow a pound and ounce entry and instead required parents to convert ounces to a fraction of a pound. Many apps didn’t even allow a parent to input length and weight (two very easy to measure and important numbers during the early days when you need to make sure baby is being fed enough) was a big surprise to me. Only Baby Michael and iBear Baby even allowed a user to enter their baby’s vital statistics and none allowed a pound, ounce entry.
In the category of baby care tracking, Baby Michael is a clear winner. Not only can you easily track and record your baby’s daily activities, Baby Michael is the only app to feature a timer and alarm that can be set for how long a parent wants a session of breastfeeding or tummy time to last. Baby Michael also allows a parent to add photos, and with an iPhone to record their baby’s “coos” and “ahhs”. There is clearly a lot of thought put into this application, and though there are a few kinks the designer seems responsive and willing to put in the time to iron out any issues.
Below is a summary of each app, as well as their major pros and cons. Really there are nearly as many apps as there are parenting styles, and most parents who have an iPhone or iPod Touch will find an application that suits their needs.
Tags: baby, baby care, baby daily log, baby log, baby michael, iphone, iPhone app
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