App developers from around the world have come together to help “Apps for Children with Special Needs” a4cwsn.com raise money to Change 50 Lives in a day.

Our client, 1K Studios, is supporting the cause by donating $1.00 every time someone downloads their app VivaKids’ ABC  during the campaign.

For a limited time, download VivaKids’ ABC for $1.99 and the developer will donate a $1.00 to the App Party Campaign by Apps For Children With Special Needs (A4CWSN). So join us between September 30th and October 2nd and show your support to an organization that is committed to helping kids and the wider community of educators and therapists who support them.

San Francisco, Calif., September 28, 2011 – TheFind (www.thefind.com), a leading mobile, tablet, and social commerce innovator and search engine, today released version 1.5 of its popular TheFind: Shopping mobile app for Android smart phones.  Already used by millions of shoppers, TheFind: Shopping for Android version 1.5, adds the ability to browse popular catalogs and weekly circulars from retailers such as Crate & Barrel, Best Buy, Nordstrom, Zappos, Saks, J. Crew and more than 70 others.  This new functionality complements the app’s existing search, barcode scan, and local shopping capabilities.

“Mobile shopping is most useful when it can be your in-store companion, reassuring you about the price, providing additional information like product reviews, and helping you locate nearby stores which may also offer the same products,” said Ramneek Bhasin, TheFind’s VP & GM of mobile.  “Today we are taking this concept a giant step further by making it easier to discover new and showcased products from popular retailer’s catalogs while you’re out and about.  More practically, we are making it easy for you to bookmark the products you saw in print, tablet or smartphone based catalogs while you were shopping at home.”

Available for immediate download in the various Android app marketplaces, the catalogue browsing functionality is limited to larger screen Android phones.  These models include the Google Nexus-S, Samsung Galaxy, and HTC EVO phones.  More information can be found at http://www.thefind.com/apps.

Click on a thumbnail to see the full image:

About TheFind

TheFind is a leading mobile, tablet and social commerce innovator and search engine. With patented search and discovery technology, TheFind makes it easy to shop for anything you like, in every store, all at once. TheFind leverages Facebook’s Open Graph to rank stores and brands by consumer “Likes” in shopping search results and to personalize the company’s multi-channel shopping experience.  A pioneer in the tablet commerce space, TheFind redefined catalog shopping with the launch earlier this year of Catalogue by TheFind, a shopping app with more than 160 catalog titles. Ranked number 12 on the 2010 Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies, TheFind was founded in 2005 and is venture funded by Bain Capital Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Redpoint Ventures.  TheFind is a San Francisco and Silicon Valley-based company.

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Press Inquiries:

Aaron Watkins
Appency for TheFind Inc.
858-945-1465
aaron@appency.com

In addition to the Best Buy weekly inserts, TheFind also announced new usability features as part of the update, including the ability to search for specific catalogs and the ability to search TheFind’s entire index of 500,000 stores and 450 million products. The Catalogue by TheFind App includes more than 160 popular catalogs from retailers like Crate & Barrel, Williams-Sonoma, Nordstrom, Ballard Designs and others.

TheFind, developers of the CATALOGUE by TheFind App, the popular and critically acclaimed shopping app for iPad and Android, announced it is adding weekly inserts to its vast collection of shopping catalogs. Starting today, Best Buy’s weekly inserts will be delivered via the app directly to shoppers. These inserts will continue to be included in Sunday newspapers, digitally on the web and mobile at BestBuy.com, and available in Best Buy stores nationwide, in addition to the app. CATALOGUE by TheFind is the first and only app to deliver weekly inserts directly to iPad and Android users.

Inclusion of Best Buy digital inserts is a significant first as millions of consumers will now be able to flip through Sunday newspaper circulars from national retailers right on their iPads. For additional convenience, iPad users can buy directly by clicking out from the weekly insert to BestBuy.com for product delivery or convenient in-store pick up at the nearest Best Buy store. Catalogue by TheFind is one of the top downloaded lifestyle apps on iTunes and now boasts more than 160 popular catalogs from retailers like Crate & Barrel, Williams-Sonoma, Nordstrom, Ballard Designs and others. The Android app has been highly featured in the Amazon AppStore.

“We are thrilled to partner with TheFind to bring our weekly deals to a new audience through this tablet app,” said Alix Hart, senior director of Digital Marketing at Best Buy. “We will continue to look for new ways to connect with our customers wherever and however they’re looking to shop, learn and find the right technology to fit their lifestyle.”

“As consumers increasingly opt to receive their weekend paper digitally, retailers have been presented with a significant challenge in delivering targeted local advertising,” said Siva Kumar, CEO of TheFind. “CATALOGUE by TheFind offers an opportunity to provide both shoppers and retailers with what they want and need–timely offers from trusted retailers that are delivered automatically to their devices.”

In addition to the Best Buy weekly inserts, TheFind also announced new usability features as part of the update, including the ability to search for specific catalogs and the ability to search TheFind’s entire index of 500,000 stores and 450 million products.

The Catalogue by TheFind App includes more than 160 popular catalogs from retailers like Crate & Barrel, Williams-Sonoma, Nordstrom, Ballard Designs and others.

The CATALOGUE by TheFind App is available for free from the App Store on iPad , Amazon AppStore and Google’s Android Market.

About TheFind
TheFind makes it easy to shop, for anything you like, in every store, all at once. Made possible by patented search and discovery technology, TheFind is the fastest growing top-tier shopping engine and the one people return to more than any other according to comScore’s measure of comparison shopping engines. Ranked number 12 on the 2010 Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies, TheFind was founded in 2005, has been profitable since late 2008, and was venture funded by Bain Capital Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Redpoint Ventures. TheFind is a San Francisco and Silicon Valleybased company.

Tuaw recently wrote about us here at Appency spotlighting our newest addition to the office, the to scale model of an iPad right on our wall. Mike Schramm wrote,”It’s indeed a big iPad, though instead of a functioning touchscreen, the whole thing is actually a working whiteboard painted onto the wall. Founder Aaron Watkins tells TUAW that the studio moved into its new offices a couple of months ago, and decided to use a substance called IdeaPaint to literally paint a whiteboard on the wall.”

This really shows we can’t get away from apps, we even have an iPad on our wall!

Check out the original article here!

New app gives kids an artful, expressive, organic way to learn the alphabet on iPad

(September 13, 2011) BURBANK, CA — VivaKids’ ABC is an imaginative and playful app that brings an innovative style of alphabet learning to the iPad. Created by renowned designer and director Ulrike Kerber of Viva Design Inc. and Award winning app developer 1K Studios, VivaKids’ ABC is a step above the typical apps designed for children. With its inventive design, VivaKids’ ABC introduces a new element of interactivity by incorporating captivating videos to showcase letters and art that allows for creative expression.

This artistically dynamic app brings each letter to life with its stop motion animation. Not only do the videos present the alphabet in an aesthetically pleasing and engaging way, they focus on phonics, which provides children with the tools to learn the proper pronunciation of each letter. VivaKids’ ABC’s painting functionality is also a great building block for children to develop their letter-writing skills. Amidst artfully explosive backgrounds, colors and textures, children can practice the alphabet while enhancing their fine motor skills.

At the heart of VivaKids’ ABC is its creator, Ulrike Kerber.  A native of Germany and a mother of two, Kerber is a design professional who founded Viva Design Inc., and whose work has been recognized for a multitude of awards and nominations. Lucky for parents, Kerber recently combined her creative background with her passion for child development and education. VivaKids, her newest branch, creates media to engage children with exciting design, art, music and filmmaking for a more enriching and fun learning experience, while also appealing to parents’ sense of fun and style.  VivaKids’ ABC is her latest venture, and within one tap in the app, it is evident that Kerber’s background in graphic design, interest in education and artistic prowess sets VivaKids’ ABC a part from other children’s learning tools.

“Like most parents, I constantly look for new ways to creatively engage the imagination of my children,” said Kerber. “I eventually combined this personal interest with my professional work in animation at Vivkids.tv. Since I enjoy producing experimental animations and short films, I decided to create an inventive, meaningful, and beautiful DVD series for children as well as iPad apps. The DVDs and iPad apps, along with craft kits and other interactive products, expose children to exciting design, art, music, and filmmaking.”

VivaKids’ ABC inspires letter recognition, reading and vocabulary. The letters of the alphabet are artfully composed of household objects and invite children to create them on their own.  After experiencing the alphabet videos, children are encouraged to color in each letter and create patterns. This process offers a unique learning experience and provokes engagement in toddlers and pre-kindergarten children with its colorful motion and imagination.

1K Studios is composed of creative minds that collaborate skills to enhance client success in all realms of digital media. 1K Studios is now putting its talents to use in the mobile industry, and making a name for itself in the app world. The company recently completed an acclaimed amplified version of Jack Kerouac’s iconic “On the Road”, which takes readers on an interactive journey into the mind of Kerouac. 1K Studios has partnered with VivaKids.tv to enhance education with the visionary spark, VivaKids’ ABC.

“Our objective at 1K Studios is to enhance creative works, whether in film, music or interactive media. With all our projects we begin with the overall creative vision that leads to a great user experience, and with VivaKids’ ABC I believe we have achieved that”, said Matt Kennedy, President and Executive Creative Director at 1K Studios.

VivaKids’ ABC is available for $2.99 on the iPad in the iTunes App Store.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vivakids-abc/id444653246?mt=8

Note to editors: A limited number of codes are available for review purposes. For more information, please contact: Kim Lianthamani at kim@appency.com.

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Featuring unique stop-motion videos produced by Emmyä nominated Kerber, Viva Kids’ ABC app sparks creative learning and combines a novel video interaction called watch and touch. Kerber’s innovative kids/ teens creativity lab attract students and interns from all over the world to her Viva Design Inc. studio in Santa Barbara, California. The emphasis of her classes is on divergent thinking, creative exercises and stop motion animations using recyclable materials.

About 1K Studios:
Based in Los Angeles, California, 1K Studios has created unique consumer experiences for the world’s top brands and media properties for over 12 years.  Their goal is to build dynamic digital products that excite, entertain and engage, regardless of platform. With an award winning team of designers, programmers, and content producers, 1K studios is committed to the highest standards of creative and technical accomplishment in mobile app, web, and social media innovation.