Posted by Daniel Feeney on April 23, 2012
It’s been about four months now since I visited CES. Yes, that banner is still on the site. I also noticed the number of posts since the event, no need for anyone else to point it out.
One could compare the past few months with the title of a Jay-Z album. Nevertheless, I am getting back into it.
CES was a wake-up call to the number of Apple product-related cases there are in today’s market. Perhaps its just another reason for Apple to release new product designs. Hint, hint, Apple. Still, there are some new cases which actually still have appeal –yes, there are non-sliders out there too. One case in particular has been on my phone for the past four weeks, the Boostcase Hybrid.
The Boostcase Hybrid is a snap-on iPhone 4/S case with a battery for extending the life of the phone. New concept? Does Louis CK fly coach? New implementation? Yes, and its a sexy one too. (more…)
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Posted by Daniel Feeney on February 20, 2012
With today’s extremely wide offering of iPhone cases, it is a difficult, expensive task to find a great one. While I was at CES talking to the group at the BodyGuardz booth I was introduced to the Mykase, an iPhone 4/4S case with an interchangeable back plate. With its quality build and new design, the Mykase is a breath of fresh air.
The Mykase is made up of three parts: the bottom, the top, and the back-plate. This trio fit together to makeup the case. The top and bottom piece slide together very similar to the way Incase’s (among other cases) slider case does. The shell (everything but the backplate) comes in two finishes; the black case is a matte soft-touch while the white case is glossy. In regards to ports and buttons, the case has cutouts for everything (no rubber button covers unfortunately) with ample space for finger pushing and wire connections.
As is with other hard-shell cases, the Mykase offers ample protection from drops and dings. The screen is partially protected by a rim along the sides while the rear and sides are completely protected by the case. I still wouldn’t reccomend tossing it down a flight of stairs, though. (more…)
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Posted by Daniel Feeney on January 7, 2012
Incase is one of, if not the most well known makers of portable electronic cases and packs. In fact, the name has been fortunate enough to be associated with legends like Andy Warhol through the creation of products decorated with artist’s work and designs. One of Incase’s most popular cases which has existed since the original iPhone is its slider case, a two-piece slim protective cover the iPhone and iPod touch.
I purchased my first Slider for my iPhone 3GS in a matte black and loved it. For my iPhone 4S, however, I purchased a glossy white Slider to match the device’s front and rear. It, unfortunately, is another story. (more…)
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Posted by Daniel Feeney on January 2, 2012
modulR first appeared on my radar in 2010 when it introduced its immensely versatile –and original– iPad case. It was a bit rough, however the idea was clear: a single case with a library of compatible accessories and, ultimately, limitless possibilities.
Today, modulR’s iPad 2 case is vastly different than its case for the original iPad. Rather than being a rubbery plastic, the new case is a shiny hardshell. Unfortunately, the move in form might not have been in the right direction. (more…)
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Posted by Emilio Solorzano on December 22, 2011
Gone are the days of brick-sized phones, tiny TFT displays and external antennas. Now we live in an age were our phones are replacing our computers for the most menial tasks such as checking and replying to email. And at present, it’s even possible to take, edit and share professional looking photos all on a device that fits easily in your pocket.
Voted iPad App of the Year by Apple, the amazing team at Nik Software is proud to bring us their highly acclaimed photo editing app, Snapseed. With the ability to “make any photograph extraordinary with a fun, high-quality photo experience right at your fingertips,” it’s the only photo editing app you’ll want to use. Snapseed allows you to effortlessly adjust your photos with Auto Correct, use Selective Adjust to tweak specific objects or areas and share your masterpieces via email, Facebook, Flickr and Twitter to say the least.
With Auto Correct, Snapseed will analyze your photo and adjust color and exposure to perfection. As mentioned earlier, with Selective Adjust you have the ability to make precise enhancements to specific areas of your photos using Nik Software’s innovative U Point technology. And with Tune Image, you can adjust While Balance, Saturation, Contrast and much more. (more…)
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Posted by Daniel Feeney on December 18, 2011
Bluelounge is amoung the most well known names in Apple-related accessories and, with its extremely well thought out products, one of my favourites. This year, the comapny has been busier than usual having released countless new products, including the MiniDock, a power-outlet iOS device mount.
The MiniDock takes the place of the Dock Connector to USB Cable in the event that one uses a power-outlet to charge their iPod or iPhone and acts like a floating shelf to keep the device off the floor/counter. (more…)
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Posted by Emilio Solorzano on December 17, 2011
There are very few items in the known universe that come without an instruction manual. Socks, puppies and toilets can be lumped into that category, and now we can add another, Flipboard for iPhone. When the geniuses behind Flipboard began laying the foundation, they envisioned an app that you could pick up and begin using right away, without having to refer to a manual or help file. Well, I’m happy to report that the team at Flipboard, Inc. have managed to bring media consumption to a whole new level. And by new level, I mean I can now catch up on the latest news with the grace of a simple flip, I have tiles that update automatically as new content is pushed from the servers and a specialized tile that curates the most shared content from all my feeds into one simple, intuitive tile.
If you’ve been a long-time Flipboard for iPad user, then you’ll have no problem setting up services such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, etc. on the iPhone version. Flipboard offers many recommended sources (although TheMacFeed is still absent, *hint hint*), and numerous topics (Travel, Entertainment, etc.). You can still search for RSS feeds manually if they aren’t in Flipboard’s repertoire however. (more…)
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Posted by Daniel Feeney on December 17, 2011
Heckler Design is a firm known largely for its OneLessDesk and Office, however after a successful KickStarter campaign earlier this year, it introduced the OneLessDrop, a weighted tool to keep the power cord off the floor and on the desk. Roughly three months ago, Bluelounge, a company known for its Apple-related accessessories, released the Sumo a tool which dirrectly competes with the OnelessDrop in terms of its function. Determining the better soluction comes down to form and price.
Heckler Design’s OneLessDrop –which now serves as Heckler Design’s logo– was officially funded on KickStarter on March 2, 2011 as a very simple solution to a problem almost everyone has with cords; the second a cord is unplugged it falls behind the desk. With the OneLessDrop, the cord stays put. In addition to power cords, one can use the OneLessDrop with iOS adapters, and various other wires so long as they are not “orca fat.” It’s design is basically an “H” with slots for wires above and below the center bar as well as rubber feet for grip. (more…)
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Posted by Matt Bonney on December 14, 2011
As my fall semester comes to a close, and I look forward to having a few weeks to focus on something that doesn’t involve classwork and lectures, I felt it was an appropriate time to pay a tribute to a set of fantastic iOS and Mac applications that have been an indispensable part of my collegiate success thus far.
The app that I give so much credit to? iStudiez Pro. This wonderfully designed an executed application by the aptly-named iStudiez Group offers a powerful set of class-scheduling and assignment-tracking tools that help people like me – who are generally bad at remembering due dates or remembering exam dates – get a grasp on their scholastic career.
iStudiez Pro aims to be a digital student planner, letting you track which classes you’re taking, your Professor’s and T.A.’s contact information and office hours, your homework assignments and due dates, and even your grades. (more…)
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Posted by Matt Bonney on December 11, 2011
As a celebration of the second “birthday” of Angry Birds – the ultra-popular and wildly successful game that so many people know and love, Rovio has released Angry Birds version 2.0. While the update is mainly evolutionary, rather than a full-fledged “Angry Birds 2″, it continues Rovio’s commitment to delivering new content to players.
Angry Birds 2.0 brings 15 new levels to the game, along with modifying how the player progresses through the game. Now, all the “episodes” (sets of levels) are unlocked from the start, allowing new players to jump right into any of set of levels rather than playing them in strictly sequential order.
Angry Birds is available on a multitude of platforms, including all iOS devices (with an appropriately-scaled “HD” version for the iPad), along with Android devices and even a web app available for the Chrome web browser. Angry Birds for iPhone and iPod touch is available for $0.99, and Angry Birds HD is $4.99.
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Posted by Emilio Solorzano on December 11, 2011
In my previous review of Instapaper, I covered what the service can do for you, such as saving web pages and long emails for viewing at a later time. However, what I failed to expound on was just how extensively the service has been implemented in other popular applications. Twitter clients, news apps, feed readers and others have succumbed to Instapaper allure and embedded a way to save articles to your account in their code base.
Twitter client TweetBot has Instapaper’s service executed in a way that harks back to Steve Jobs’ vision of a multi-touch UI. A simple tap and hold brings up a menu, in which the option to “Send to Instapaper” is at the very top. Osfoora for iPhone also executes Instapapers service in a similar manner, except all it requires is a single tap on a link you’d like to save for later. Chances are your favorite Twitter client supports Instapaper.
Feed Reader Pulse has earned its spot in Apple’s Hall of Fame by offering a beautiful and engaging way to catch up on recent events. Instapaper enriches the experience by allowing you to quickly skim over lengthy news articles, save them and then go over said articles with a fine-toothed comb later. (more…)
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Posted by Emilio Solorzano on December 10, 2011
How often do you find yourself checking your “Maps” application to see where the nearest Starbucks or bank is? If you answered “daily”, then our friends over at Cynapse have an app for you, and its called LocalScope. What Localscope does is pull data from social networks and geo-search engines such as Twitter, Foursquare, Wikimapia, Bing and the ubiquitous Google and puts it into one, easy-to-use, gorgeous app.
Instead of querying in one app to no avail, and opening a different one hoping for better results, you can query once in Localscope and with the swipe of a finger, swiftly switch between search engines and social networks all without having to re-type “Starbucks”. Could it get any more convenient that that? I think not.
Localscope offers an Augmented Reality view, which is welcome when you are walking around. When selected, the camera activates, and the app superimposes your target destination on the live feed from the camera. It goes without saying of course, that for the safety of yourself and others, this view should not be used while driving. In addition to the augmented reality view, you can also choose from a list and map view, which each offer their own unique benefits. The List view for example gives you a quick rundown of all the results your search engine provided and features real-time direction pointers and distance meters. And the Maps view is tightly integrated with Google Maps, therefore adding a three dimensional compass to point you in the right direction. (more…)
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Posted by Matt Bonney on December 9, 2011
Today, Twitter announced a major redesign of its mobile and web apps. According to the overview of the new Twitter at fly.twitter.com, the new apps are supposed to promote “A faster, simpler way to stay close to everything you care about.” This new web redesign brings with it drastically overhauled and simplified iOS and Android apps, which are available right now.
Upon launching the app, you will immediately notice the much simpler (and much bluer!) user interface. Twitter has radically simplified the app from it’s previous incarnation (including the demise of my favorite iOS app shortcut ever, the old Tweetie swipe-to-access-shortcuts gesture), and indeed the app feels fresh and light.
With this new design, it is really focusing on 4 core areas of the Twitter experience, and those 4 areas live behind the tab bar buttons on the bottom: “Home”, which is your traditional timeline view; “Connect”, “Discover”, and “Me.” (more…)
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Posted by Emilio Solorzano on December 8, 2011
Flipboard, a social magazine app loved by millions of iPad owners the world over has finally arrived on the small screen, the iPhone and iPod Touch to be exact. Released in 2010, it quickly gained traction with the iPad user base due to its beautifully designed interface that behaved like a magazine, requiring users to “flip” through their feeds. The iPhone version thankfully retains all of the features that made the iPad version such a success, while also adding something new to the mix with Cover Stories. The Cover Stories interface collects and displays your most recent photo uploads, status updates from Facebook and Twitter and shared articles all in one place, and is conveniently placed at the top, so its the first thing you see when you open the app. The service did launch with a few hiccups, but they’ve all been sorted out by the hard working devs. Download it today and see what all the fuss is about.
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Posted by Matt Bonney on December 7, 2011
In my review of Minecraft: Pocket Edition, I mentioned how the game focused more on the free-building a creative aspects of the full Minecraft experience in order to create a game that was perfect for 10-15 minute stretches. While I still think that launching a creative-mode-only game at first was a smart move, I was left with a sense of wanting more out of the Pocket Edition of my favorite PC/Mac game.
I was understandably very excited when, yesterday, Daniel Kaplan, head of the mobile version of Minecraft, made a post on the official Mojang blog giving an overview of what his team will be working on for future versions of Minecraft: Pocket Edition. Kaplan is quoted below… (more…)
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Posted by Matt Bonney on December 7, 2011
iPhone game development studio Chair has recently released the sequel to one of the most impressive and visually stunning iOS games, Infinity Blade II. Picking up where the first game left off, Infinity Blade II is a beautiful and action-packed hack-and-slash game that runs on the very powerful Unreal Engine.
The first Infinity Blade was praised for having truly amazing graphics for a mobile game, but also criticized for it’s overly simple and repetitive gameplay. With Infinity Blade II, Chair set out to change up the battle mechanics while also delivering even better and more detailed graphics for devices packing an A5 processor. Some of these gameplay changes include being able to swap the standard sword-and-shield equipment setup for setups that consist of dual-wielding swords, or using two-handed heavy weapons. You can also augment your weapons with special elemental crystals, which add new effects to your blades.
The new graphics engine on the iPhone 4S absolutely blew me away. The graphic fidelity seemed to me to be on-par with some console games. The lighting engine in particular is spectacular; streaks of light will spill through tree branches or from behind a castle wall, and the effect is gorgeous. (more…)
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