So we’re proud to celebrate our 4th anniversary in charge of a company creating the best apps for iPhone, iPad and Android for our 30 million users in over 120 countries.

The tens of thousands of positive emails, reviews and feedback from our users has been our best reward, helping our team of 20 talented app Magicians feel proud to be selecting the best apps every day for you in both http://www.freeappmagic.com/ and for our renowned seasonal calendars.

We’re also glad to have worked with a number of fantastic partners, from the best indie developers looking to get their apps discovered through to the top gaming companies and the best digital advertising agencies.

So thanks again to our 30 million users, the 600 talented apps developers we have selected apps from and all the Magicians on our team who have helped to make this all possible.

Anyone for tennis? With Wimbledon swinging to its conclusion this Sunday, you’re probably in the mood to get a racket out and go rally down the local courts. But, if you don’t want to miss all the great matches, then you may want to settle down with these three tennis apps that we’ve featured in Free App Magic over the past year to get into a virtual sweat with.

Stick Tennis

First up, we’re serving you a game from the makers of legendary Flash powered time waster Stick Cricket. Stick Tennis is a cartoony take on tennis, getting you scampering around a cel shaded court and timing shots perfectly to bamboozle your opponents.

Where Stick Tennis excels is in how simple it is. Every shot is powered by a swipe on the screen meaning that you can backhand, forehand and lob the ball in absolute ease. It makes the game really simple to pick up, meaning you’ll be playing with the grace of Roger Federer about ten minutes into the game.

Packed with real players, a variety of courts and tons of replayability, Stick Tennis is perfect for those of you wanting to get a match going with minimum hassle.

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It’s time for the June edition of the App Show and we really got our teeth into a wide variety of app industry issues this month.

We chatted with Craig Grannell, games editor for Tap! Magazine and contributor for Macformat, about the changes to iOS 7 and what that means for the future of Apple. We caught up with Iris Campinski from Apps for Good and Ben Howard from ViewRanger to discuss how their work with apps has helped the community. And we discussed how you turn a board game into an app with Rodeo Games’ CTO Richard Brooks and Creative Director Ben Murch.

With Beth reviewing superhero apps and the Free App Magic Chart rounding things off, you can check out this bumper interview special by listening the podcast via http://bit.ly/msappshow.

George

Hi everyone,

It’s time for another edition of the App Show and, yet again, we’ve got some absolutely cracking features coming up for you.

We’re chatting with Andrew Smith from Appy Nation about how indie developers are coming together to help push their apps up the chart; an essential listen for any of you thinking about extending your marketing reach.

On top of that, we’re also talking tax breaks for British game developers with Dr Jo Twist of the UK Interactive Entertainment Association and Andrew Eades, CEO of Relentless Software, to discuss how the moves may benefit app developers. And, of course, we’ve got the news, reviews and Free App Magic chart to enjoy.

Listen live tonight from 9pm on Star Radio here or catch up with our podcast by downloading it here from tomorrow onwards.

Hope you enjoy the show!

George

It’s the Champions League final this weekend and we’ll be glued to our screens at 7.45 on Saturday evening to watch Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund go toe to toe at Wembley! But if you want to get yourself eager for what will likely be an excellent match, here are three football apps to get you in the mood.

Score! World Goals

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New research by uSwitch has revealed that smartphones users in the UK pay for just 1 in 10 of the apps they download. The survey, which asked 1,700 people, also reported they each owned 29 apps, adding up to a total spend of just £8.94. Although the report clearly hasn’t covered a broad range of users, so may not be indicative of the whole country, it suggest that smartphone users are wary of parting with cash for apps.

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May is National Share-a- Story-Month, a time to get children interested in books and reading by spinning a few of your favourite yarns to a young audience. Anything that gets the wee stripling’s nose in a book or fires their imagination can only be a good thing. Of course, thanks to the advancement of technology in smartphones, tablets and apps, the humble children’s book has had an interactive transformation. Whippersnappers can now enjoy stories through touchscreens, complete with cool animation, educational mini games, sound effects and interactive flourishes. So to celebrate the art of storytelling and to encourage kids to read, we have hand-picked three of the most interactive and exciting Children’s Book apps available on the virtual book shelves.

The Cat In The Hat – Dr. Seuss

Undoubtedly one of the greatest children’s books ever, Dr. Seuss rhyme, rhythm and repetition-tastic tale is a great way for kids to learn to read – and be entertained in the process. The apps features are all geared for improving literacy – words zoom up and are spoken when pictures are touched while individual words can be highlighted and read aloud when tapped. But one of the coolest features is the ability to record your own storytelling voice and share it with other users of this app. But if you’re too self-conscious about dubbing your own narration you can still rely on pro actors to weave this catty tale.

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App audiences in the U.S. peak at 52 million during primetime (8-9pm) according to a new study by app analytic specialists Flurry. This is equivalent to audiences of three of the highest rated primetime TV shows in a good week and the joint circulation of the top 200 U.S. weekend newspapers.

The research centred on user’s monthly activity of the top 250 iOS and top 250 Android apps during February, plotting the hourly usage difference between weekdays and the weekend. Unsurprisingly audiences at the weekend were 25% greater between the 9am-5pm but perhaps what was less predictable was the audience number at primetime: both weekday and weekend users peaked at 52 million.

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The impact of pets on our lives should never be underestimated. Whether you own a mangy mutt, a 14-foot python or a memory-challenged goldfish, pets are like members of the family. To make sure we continue to treasure our furry/scaly/slimy/feathered friends, a National Pet Month has been organised to promote responsible ownership, raise public awareness of professional pet services and celebrate all things pet-related. So to acknowledge the contribution our animal friends make to our lives, we have cherry picked the top three pet-themed apps for your enjoyment.

MapMyDogwalk

This is an app that you can enjoy with your four-legged friend. Walking your hound not only gives the canine a workout but it also keeps you fit as a fiddle. Connecting via your device’s built-in GPS, this app tracks and maps your dog walking jaunts and records the duration, distance elevation, pace and speed in real-time. It also analyses how many calories you burn and whether you need to step up the march. You can your route with an online account, share your progress with friends on social networks and upload geo-tagged pictures of your walk with Rover for posterity.

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