If you're like me, you're counting down the days until the royal wedding either with anticipation to see Kate's dress or because you're tired of hearing about all of it.
Way back in the good old days you could use a calendar, crossing off the days until the big event. Or if you have a prodigious memory, you could mentally calculate how many days were left until the wedding. Unlike previous royal events, now you no longer have to cross it off or make a mental note, you can track it electronically via various countdown timers on websites. But even that can be inconvienient, having to search for the site and waiting for it to load. Which is why there are royal wedding apps you can download.
Not counting the apps for the movie Royal Wedding, on iTunes there are 13 apps dedicated to counting down William and Kate's nuptials. Some of them are very useful, some are cute and some really do nothing other than countdown. My personal preference is for apps that do more than just show numbers, otherwise it's boring. I want to learn something new to patriotic music. You may be different, in which case the simpler apps might do the trick. Note that most of the apps I'm reviewing are the free ones that are available on iTunes. I've already purchased the one I think is the most useful. Decide for yourself with the following apps
Wee Mee Royal Wedding App
Open the app and you will see a cute cartoon image of William - with a realistic hairline- and Kate - holding a clock (why does she do all of the heavy lifting?), this app counts down the days, hours, minutes, seconds and sleeps to the big day. If you really want to get detailed, it will show you the time left just in seconds! While the app runs it plays a jazzy, lounge lizard sounding wedding march, occasionally bursting into wild applause. Unfortunately you can't shut this music off so choose where you open the app otherwise you may annoy the people around you. This app has a feature that lets you tell your friends via Tweet, Email and Facebook status, just how long it is until the royal wedding. And that's about it. It's cute. If you want the basics then this is the one to go with.
Neon Play Royal Wedding app
Start up the app and you see a picture of the happy couple at their engagement photo-call. This app has majestic music which you can, thankfully, turn off. Unlike the Wee Mee app it doesn't have a countdown timer. But if you want to read a biography of William or have Kate's family tree at your fingertips, then this is the app for you. There are sections on the wedding dress - with photos of Bruce Oldfield, information on where William proposed, the wedding venue, their potential titles, and miscellaneous facts - did you know that William and Kate will share a wedding anniversary with Adolf Hitler?
Royal Wedding Countdown Lite
Out of all of the apps listed here, I would say that this is the worst one in terms of aesthetics. While it does countdown and offer quotes, the font is so difficult to read on the white background that it isn't very useful. I have the free version, but you can upgrade for $0.99. Can't imagine it getting any better.
Royal Wedding Pa?rs - Press Association
Tired of looking at bad fonts and facts you've read over and over? Want to have some fun? Why not download this game instead. Royal Wedding Pa?rs is just like the game Concentration, with royal wedding photos. Match up the photos before the timer runs out and you can put your name on the high score list. You can select the level of difficulty, from very easy to hard. With each matched photo a camera shutter sound effect plays, which can get very annoying. Luckily you can turn this off. Doesn't offer a countdown timer but a fun diversion.
Hello! Magazine Royal Wedding
Jumping on the bandwagon in style, is Hello! with their own royal wedding app. Like the game and the Neon Play app, it does not have a countdown timer either. Instead you can scroll through the sections on the ring, personal photos of the couple growing up, a section for gifts, information on past royal weddings, it's like having a portable issue of Hello! At first it looks as though the app is comprised solely of photos until you double click on the images and a fact related to the photo shows up. This isn't particularly intuitive, which is the only criticism I have about the app. It is only available as a free app for a limited time go grab it while you can.
Alarm Royale
I must say that I'm rather biased when it comes to this app. It's the first one I found out about and the only one I paid for. And it is well worth the $0.99. Not only does this app offer facts, it also works as an alarm clock, though you need to keep the app running in order for it to work. You can wake up to a variety of sounds - God Save The Queen, Land of Hope and Glory, Jerusalem, Rule Britannia, Church Bells and the Wedding March. Unless you have your itouch on a docking station with speakers the music isn't very loud. When the alarm goes off, a fanfare plays as the red curtain background parts, revealing a Union Jack and the days left until the wedding. For wallpaper you have your choice of backgrounds - Royal Crest, Couple at Home and Couple at Palace. The app offers a variety of facts, which you can change by shaking your itouch. Out of all of these apps, Alarm Royale is the best one. My only complaint is that after the wedding I won't be able to use it.
All of these apps are available through iTunes. If you download any of them, let me know which one is your favorite!
© Marilyn Braun 2011
something kept striking me as vaguely familiar.
is a new book written by actress Masiela Lusha, the US ambassador to the charity Sentebale. 
