Can’t be there to put your child or grandchild to bed? StorySticker lets you do create audio recordings of yourself reading their favorite book so that they can listen to your voice at bedtime.

The StorySticker audio book works through the combination of an app and a unique coded sticker that attaches to the inside of any children’s book. You can buy the stickers at a book retailer and paste it into your child’s book. Then you can download the free app and follow the prompts to record your reading. The recording is linked with the sticker and your child can hear your recording by scanning the StorySticker code or by selecting the book within the app.

stkr.it will introduce the StorySticker product line at BookExpo America in New York this week. “The joy of reading a physical book with a child is universal,” stated Mike Newman, president of stkr.it.  “StorySticker creates that joy for out of town grandparents and traveling parents – anytime, anywhere. With StorySticker, any children’s book can become a personal audio book.”

Conch shells are nature’s amplifiers that also happen to hold an ocean inside its dry spirals. If you put an iPhone into its crevices, will it sound like your dream beach vacation or a $75 rip-off? If you have some tool skills and a lot of DIY energy, you can probably make this analog amplifier. If not, head over to WAAM Industries to turn your digital tunes into some summery sounds.

Via Geekology

For your weekend reading pleasure, here are the most popular AppNewser headlines of the week. They include apps to clean your Android device, recommended apps for kids, and a Google Glass photographer. (video embedded above).

Click here to sign up for AppNewser’s daily email newsletter, getting all our publishing stories, book deal news, videos, podcasts, interviews, and writing advice in one place.

1. Recommended Apps for Kids

2. Open Source Google Reader Replacement Released

3. Hilarious VIdeo Imagines Google Glass Photography Styles

4. Best iPad Stylus for Writers

5. How to convert ePub Books for use on Kindle

6.  Send Free International Texts with These Apps

7. Best Writing Apps for Android Users

8. Elle is First Magazine To Launch Google Glass App

9. Free eBooks of the Week

10. OverDrive & SourceBooks Test Lending Same eBook to Millions of People

App developer Beer Hunt, has created an app called, “Most Popular Craft Beer by State,” which explores what craft beer lovers are drinking from state to state.

The infographic is based on data from “beer check-ins” on the Beer Hunt iPhone app. Not surprisingly, Brooklyn Lager is popular in New York, and Sierra Nevada is popular in California. We’ve embedded the entire infographic after the jump.

Check it out: “Beer Hunt is the brand new social iPhone app that caters for the rapidly growing craft beer market. The app centers around beer check-ins and enables the tracking and discovery of new beers.”  Read more

Reporting pot holes can be easy  if your mayor is Cory Booker, but for the rest of us tweeting a pot hole often does little to help. That’s why I am really excited about  Civic Hero – it’s an app that lets you report on local issues to your city government. But it doesnt’ stop there. Unlike most files at city hall that disappears into filing cabinets in the basement behind mystery doors, your reports actually get follow ups. The app actually tracks each report:

Civic Hero is the easiest way to report community issues such as graffiti, potholes, or damaged public property to your local government. Simply select the type of issue you’re reporting, snap a quick photo or add a comment and you’re done. The app will send your report to the appropriate government agency and track the status of the issue on your behalf. You can also review and comment on issues reported by others in your community. Civic Hero is about ordinary people building extraordinary communities together.

Read more

The FDA is investigating an app that lets users do self-administered urine tests to check for conditions such as diabetes.

In a letter written to Biosense Technologies Private Limited, the creator of uChek Urine analyzer, the FDA asks for proof of FDA clearances for the app. Here is an excerpt from the letter:

Since your app allows a mobile phone to analyze the dipsticks, the phone and device as a whole functions as an automated strip reader.  When these dipsticks are read by an automated strip reader, the dipsticks require new clearance as part of the test system.  Therefore, any company intending to promote their device for use in analyzing, reading, and/or interpreting these dipsticks need to obtain clearance for the entire urinalysis test system (i.e., the strip reader and the test strips, as used together).

Uchek, which launched this past winter, boasts that it gives users the ability to analyze their own urine samples and check for medical conditions without having to go to the doctor. Like at the doctor’s office,  a user pees into a cup and then dips a test strip into the cup. The strip will change color and users can match the strip with the app to analyze the results based on a color system. (Via The Los Angeles Times).

What will the world look like when more people have Google Glass?

This parody video imagines what a Google Glass viewer will look like shooting footage at a flower garden, rock concert or even a wedding. One reader disagreed with the hilarious video:

Glass’ Camera is not meant to be used for recording/capturing videos/photos that we MEAN & EXPECT to record, it is created for the moments when we are NOT READY with a camera in our hands. That’s why all of the things he showed us will continue being recorded by normal cameras, maybe except the pianist because he would really wear a Glass.

Mobile developer Bipper has released a free app called bSafe that lets you turn your smartphone into the ultimate safety device. Using the app you can push one button, to alert predefined contacts that you are in danger and share your location with them.

bSafe automatically sends a text message to your list of preselected contacts with a link to a map of your location, and will automatically call 911 or a personal contact of your choice. For non-emergency situations, the app also has a “Follow Me” feature that lets selected friends and family members follow along with you by GPS when you are alone.

It’s a great idea for people going on a blind date. It even gives users the ability to simulate an incoming call, a great excuse to leave if things aren’t going well.

AboveAverageNetwork has created a parody video making fun of Kickstarter projects. The video is for a fake new social media app called iNotRacist.

The app lets users prove how “not-racist” they are by awarding them points every time they do something nice for someone of another race and then compare their points to their friends and family. Opening doors, dating and even voting for people of another race earns users points.

The video is the first in a series of Thingstarter videos produced by Broadway Video’s Above Average Network.