Shawinigan-Sud, Canada – Studio Goojaji today released version 2.0 of its quirky word-building app Planet Lettra for iPad(R) and iPhone(R). In Planet Lettra, users build words by dragging letter-filled bubbles found in the sky above Lettra and bumping them together. Creatures on the planet surface slurp up bubbles dragged near them and react to these snacks by dressing up, playing a tune, spitting out letters or occasionally burping. Unlike other spelling apps, Planet Lettra is an environment for experimenting with letters and word building that gently guides children in the spelling of real words rather than simply rewarding them for success in set spelling-related tasks.
The bubbles are “smart” letter blocks; when a single bubble is bumped into another, they only combine if the result is found at the start of a word Lettra “knows”, the number of which the user controls. Bubbles can also be combined two at a time, which lets users build and then hear anything they want, including funny, nonsense words. “The idea for Planet Lettra came from watching my kids play with text-to-speech on our computer,” explained Studio Goojaji founder Greg McDonald. “They loved hearing the computer read words, real and nonsense, but struggled using a keyboard. Planet Lettra lets kids enjoy the fun of the computer voice and gain exposure to the spelling of real words without the frustration of hunt-and-peck typing.”
The app was first released in May 2015. The upgrades in this new version were suggested by early “travellers” to Planet Lettra and they include adding an all-slurping Glutton creature, allowing players to put the creatures to sleep and to change language in the app (rather than in device Settings). We’ve also added new costumes for the creatures and added Spanish language support to the app in this major update.
Planet Lettra Features:
* Players can switch between play in English, Spanish and French
* 100,000 words are in the full list in each playable language
* Creature costumes and tunes change from word to word, so continued play brings new surprises
* An early-reader-friendly narrated video “guided tour” is included with the app rather than text-based help
* No looping music, scoring, levels, timers, buzzers, in-app purchases, advertising or external links
Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
* Requires iOS 8.1 or later
* 114 MB
Pricing and Availability:
Planet Lettra 2.0 is available on the App Store for just USD $1.99 / CAD $2.29 / GBP 1.49 / Euro 1,99. Planet Lettra is designed for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Planet Lettra requires iOS 8.0 or newer. A limited number of Promotional Codes are available to members of the media. Journalists interested in receiving one should contact Greg McDonald, Founder and Top Jaji. Two screenshots and the app icon are available for download.
Planet Lettra 2.0
Purchase and Download
Screenshot
App Icon
Press Kit (zip)
Located in Shawinigan (Quebec, Canada), Studio Goojaji is a one-person independent app development company with a focus on educational and cooperative apps for smartphones and tablets. Planet Lettra is their first title. Founder Greg McDonald brings his background in languages and science (B.Sc. Physics and Japanese Language and Literature, U. Toronto, M.Sc. Physics at Laval University) and education (B.Ed. in teaching ESL at Laval) and years of teaching experience in English-immersion and homeschooling settings to Goojaji’s unique products. The name “Goojaji” (“good daddy”) is Greg’s playful response to a nickname one of his sons occasionally gives him, “Badjaji,” i.e. “bad daddy.” All Material and Software (C) Copyright 2015 Studio Goojaji . All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and registered trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.