We have all done it.  On those cold winter days, driving in the back of the car, you suddenly notice that your window has fogged over with condensation.  So, trying to be helpful, you clear it off…with your finger…in delightful patterns, pictures, or even words.  At least until your Dad caught sight of what you were doing and threatened to remove that appendage if he saw it drawing on the window anymore.   Well, thanks to the folks at Swiss Code Monkeys, you can now draw on that condensation-filled window, without fear of retribution.

No, Swiss Code Monkey is not the name of some counter-terrorism group.  And no, they will not threaten to rain down with pain upon your relatives if they do not stop stifling your creativity and let you draw on those windows.  They are just humble developers, cranking some extremely creative games and apps into the Android Market.  Today, we will be taking a look at Steamy Window, which accurately replicates the experience of drawing on a steamy or condensation covered window…without the yelling.

When you start the app, your screen will cloud over with steam.  Now, let the fun begin.

Just start drawing on the screen with your finger.  just like the window in the back of your Dad’s old car, you have pretty much free creative reign to draw or write whatever your wish, revealing your home screen (or any other picture you choose) underneath.

What really impressed me about this one was the behavior of your doodles.  Those of you who have drawn on a real steamy window know that water vapor does not long remain static, and your doodles will start dripping within seconds.  The folks at Swiss Code Monkey were not blind to this behavior, and managed to include these drips in the app.  Heck, you even have complete control here, with the ability to set how sensitive your doodles will be to drips, and how quickly drips will move across your screen.

Once you have completed your steam doodle masterpiece, you can even save it to your device, or share it with friends via email, Facebook, and a variety of other picture sharing accounts.

The best apps I have used will actually improve upon their reality based counterparts, and that is exactly what Steamy Window does.  In real life, once you have doodled on the window, you are pretty much stuck with it.  Not so here.  Once you are done doodling on your Android’s screen, all you have to do is add more steam and continue on your way.  The real treat comes in with how you resteam the screen.  There is no button to accomplish this task.  Instead, you need to breath into the microphone.  The harder you blow, the faster your screen will steam.   Now that is pretty cool.

I have spent quite a bit of time since I got my HTC Hero this week carousing the Android App Market, and testing out various games and downloads.  As you might expect, I have tested and tinkered with dozens of apps in a variety of categories.  So far, I have not found anything in there as creative or irresistibly fun as Steamy Window.

Steamy Window was developed by Swiss Code Monkey, and is available as a free download from the Android App Market.  There is also a Pro version available for $.50, which adds additional features and environments.

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4. Free For All: Doodle Kids for iPhone/iPod Touch
5. Weekend Diversion Part 2: Why Did The Boy Throw His Computer Out The Window