With app sales boosted by the widespread take-up of tablet PCs, Hippo Seasons has been a word-of-mouth hit in the first two weeks since its launch.

According to research by Innovation Centres Scotland (ICS), a not-for-profit development consultancy, up to one in 10 adults in Scotland aged 35-54 have bought a tablet PC in the past year.

Hippotrix is the brainchild of husband-and-wife team Simone Bloomfield and Jonathan Charles, specialists in developing original apps which "stimulate learning and self-expression through exploratory play". They said: "We want to give children something that is fun but at the same time will enhance their learning about the cycle of the seasons."

The app was developed with input from family and friends, as well as professional coding company, Conjure.

Liza Sutherland at ICS said: "Scotland has a thriving app development scene, both from companies developing their own apps in-house, like Skyscanner, which has had 10 million downloads and £30m in annual revenues, to others like Kotikan, which makes apps for cultural bodies like the National Galleries of Scotland."