Picture Packets vs Funetix
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Picture Packets
This app is part of a comprehensive reading and writing curriculum designed for beginning readers or those who have struggled with literacy. It focuses on developing the ability to blend sounds and remember words to read entire phrases, building upon foundational phonetic skills.
- Part of a 14-app reading curriculum
- Focuses on blending sounds to form phrases
- Develops memory for blended words
- Builds upon phonetic skills
- 38 Picture Packets pages
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Center for Innovation in Education Picture Packets - Phrases Dekodiphukan Description The eighth of the fourteen apps that comprise the Baratta-Lorton Reading Program. The Reading Program is a reading and writing curriculum for beginning readers and any child who has already experienced difficulty in learning to read. 99% unique – 100% effective - 100% free Background for the fourteen apps The Baratta-Lorton Reading Program also known as Dekodiphukan (pronounced decode if you can) was developed by the Center for Innovation in Education whose many other offerings include Mathematics Their Way, the first non-traditional math curriculum adopted in by the State of California. Dekodiphukan has been in use in classrooms across the United States and Canada since 1985. The Program has been used to teach thousands of children to read and to write regardless of background or supposed lack of reading readiness. To date, no child using the program in a classroom setting has ever failed to learn to read or to write. This Dekodiphukan reading and writing curriculum is now a series of fourteen apps plus a parent-guide for the iPad that, within a period of six months to a year (or occasionally a bit longer for some special needs children), will enable every child using it to read and to write. Reading with enjoyment. Writing creatively. Dekodiphukan is a full fledged curriculum. It is a set of specific learning activities, not a set of games. The curriculum’s fourteen apps are all free with no ads - popup or otherwise - included. While the apps may be downloaded all at once and stored in a folder on the iPad, no more than two or three of the apps are used at any one time by the child. Picture Packets - Phrases The eighth of the Fourteen Apps There are 38 Picture Packets pages. The prerequisites for beginning Phrase Picture Packets are knowing all of the sounds and being able to blend two and three sound words without any audio hints. The difficulty for the child who is learning to blend two and three sound words is in hearing the word formed by the sounds. At the phrase level the child already knows how to blend sounds together to form words. The challenge for the child now is remembering each of the words already blended so that by the time he or she has finished blending the last word, the child still remembers the earlier words blended. The phrase level gives practice in this remembering. Picture Packets - Phrases Prerequisites - knowing all of the sounds and being able to read two and three sound words The skill of reading individual words is expanded to include reading whole phrases
Funetix
This app offers a comprehensive reading learning experience for children, simulating 12 hours of one-on-one tutoring. It guides learners from basic phonics to a second-grade reading level using a unique, patented method with pictograms and tiered support tools.
- Simulates 12 hours of private tutoring
- Teaches all 44 English sounds with pictograms
- Progresses from ABCs to 2nd grade reading level
- Patented Diacritic Support for clarity
- Uses unique games and challenges
- Builds reading confidence
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FUNetix® is a completely new, game changing “Reading Learning” app truly designed “from the ground up,” and proven through 17 years of field testing by the American Youth Literacy Foundation, 501 c 3. -With over 2,000 screens of fully narrated linear content, kids enjoy a confidence building, reading learning experience that simulates 12 hours of private, professional 1-on-1, tutoring. -Forty modules take children from the ABC’s to a 2nd grade reading level in just about 12 hours, giving them powerful, newfound confidence in their ability to decode any English word. -Patented in 2012 (US 8,131,538 B2), FUNetix stands apart from virtually every other reading app in the marketplace for its wholly unique approach to teaching all 44 sounds of the English language (phonemic awareness) using pictograms, and for naming every English sound before moving on to English spelling conventions and irregularities. -FUNetix takes the stress and anxiety out of learning how to read. Children aren’t spooked by Kindercode™, otherwise known as 21E®, the children’s phonetic English code that teaches blending and segmentation with fully predictable symbol/sound correspondences. -Children advance with unprecedented speed to reading everyday English words and sentences (say good-bye to “The cat sat on the mat.”), using powerful, tiered learning support tools to include: Audio Support, Phonetic Support, and our 8-years-patented and proven Diacritic Support. -Learners are systematically weaned off of diacritics when they are ready, and as they become accustomed to English Verbal Word Form Patterns and as they begin to read sentences and stories with comprehension. -Short “phonics” break out sessions populate the later modules to reinforce certain common English letter patterns, but FUNetix is primarily a step by step “treasure hunt” (in the form of unique games and challenges) that leads to fully capable and confident readers in record time. -FUNetix’ success comes, in part, by taking away the intimidation factor many children experience when they can’t “sound out” a word. For example, how is a child supposed to know that the “ea” in the word “read” sounds different than the “ea” in the word “bread?” With FUNetix, children don’t have to guess, or feel anxious, because all of the “sound data” is provided to them by our proprietary learning support tools. -Of note, the patented FUNetix system was created by a former Spanish and Arabic linguist for the 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army, in 2003, who, as a father, was driven to find a solution to his 8-year-old son’s reading challenges, and, as a result, stumbled upon the insight of applying the “Diacritic Method” used by the ancient Greeks, Arabs, Hebrews and Persians to clarify their own written codes. Since 2008, the American Youth Literacy Foundation’s mission has been to scale the 100% free, FUNetix reading system to reach every child in America and millions more around the world. -FUNetix is a simple, easy, fun, logical and achievable path to literacy for beginning English readers presented in the form of a smartphone, “treasure hunt” app, that teaches most children how to read in about 12 hours. -Children complete 21 primers and books from K-2nd grade level within the app, and in a “surprise ending / fresh beginning,” kids are treated to a wonderful graduation / trophy ceremony and are invited to become permanent, VIP Members of the “Wonderful Content Library,” where they can browse books, games, puzzles and treasure hunts (all accompanied by the patented, FUNetix learning support tools) each time they return to the app. -If you want your child to become a strong, confident reader, understanding grade level, everyday English, in about 12 hours, with a further understanding of English letters, sounds and phonics patterns, please download and play the FUNetix 12 Hour Reading App. It’s 100% free and presented as a gift to your child from the American Youth Literacy Foundation, 501 c 3.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Picture Packets at 5.0 against Funetix's 4.4. Picture Packets also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 75%) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.6). Funetix's advantage is update cadence (every 7 months vs every 69 months) and ratings volume (18 vs 2). On ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Picture Packets holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Funetix has 18 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Picture Packets's written reviews are positive against 75% of Funetix's.
Picture Packets ships an update every 69 months, Funetix every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Picture Packets | Funetix |
|---|---|---|
| Price | — | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 4.4 (18 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 75.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 18 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 69 months | Every 7 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 99 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bob Baratta-Lorton | American Youth Literacy Foundation, Inc. |
Customer experience
Picture Packets
Funetix
In-app purchases
Picture Packets
No in-app purchases
Funetix
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Picture Packets free?
Is Funetix free?
Which has better reviews, Picture Packets or Funetix?
Do Picture Packets or Funetix have ads?
Which is updated more often, Picture Packets or Funetix?
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