CASECROWN is a southern California based company founded by self described gadget lovers. They were kind enough to send me one of their polycarbonate cases for the iPhone 3G/3gS to review. An extremely simplistic case, the polycarbonate slim case is one of the most affordable snap on back covers I’ve seen.
It has been a while since I have heard from SDG Systems. Brian Fuller from SDG Systems contacted me about the Bluebird line and offered to send me one to give the once over. I chose the BM-150R which is the closest to what Gear Diary readers may want to carry. Let me say this up front: the Bluebird line from SDG is all targeted at enterprise users. They are not your typical consumer device.
When Apple first released its current generation iPod shuffle, I complained about the impact of its design on the ability to use third-party earbuds. Sure, the shuffle has a sleek design and the voiceover feature is really neat, but the fact that it lacks physical controls ties the user to the stock earbuds. After using high quality buds such as those from Etymotic it was a bitter pill… too bitter in fact and I initially returned my shuffle to Apple. Well it’s a few months later and Belkin has released an adapter that lets you use any headphones with the…
Being the most practical adult on your block will most likely earn you points at the PTA meeting and the weekend youth soccer tournament, but for the rest of us, well, that’s why they invented pony cars. Back in the 1960s and ’70s, two-door muscle cars were rolling out of Detroit in grand fashion, carrying names like Mustang, Camaro and of course, Challenger.
If there’s one thing the iTunes App Store is not short on it’s Twitter applications. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge Twitter user. I’ve tried at least ten different Twitter apps on my iPhone and usually end up returning to three or so of the apps I call the “big guys.” Software developer Andrew Weeks has just recently released his newest Twitter client for the iPhone Twiterena+ Pro. Is there a new contender for top iPhone Twitter app? Read on to find out.
As summer has come to a close and football has begun, I find myself without a day off until December. For those of you who might have some time off and a spare evening, live music might be your choice of spending an evening. Local Concerts provides a one stop resource to find who will be playing in your area. The app is developed by a huge social music engine called iLike.It does not matter your taste or style, you can definitely find something worth going to see! Live Concerts uses your GPS to determine location, then downloads many weeks…
As a firefighter I guess I was the obvious choice to review the ioSafe hard drive which sells itself as the first and only external hard drive that is both water and fire proof. The company includes a one time, no questions asked recovery process. If you are unable to recover the data off the drive after a disaster you send it back to them. If their experts are not able to recover the data they send it out to a third party recover service. Finally, if that service is unable to recover your data ioSafe will spend up to $1000…
A few weeks ago, I took a first look at this title from Sygic. They have since released a small update and fixed a few bugs, so lets take a closer look at Sygic Mobil Maps 2009 – one of the crop of full navigation apps now appearing on the iPhone…
I recently reviewed a fun new application for the Mac OS called Fun Booth 2. The application allows you to snap pictures of yourself and then add fun props to the picture. You can also use the props while video chatting or e-mail/upload finished images to your friends and family. Spoonjuice, the developer of Fun Booth 2 for the Mac, recently submitted a version of the application to the iTunes App Store for approval and allowed me to test it out before it gets released.
Puzzle games are perfect for handhelds – I have already gushed enough about Peggle on the iPhone! My Squares! Here & Now! is – as the iTunes App Store listing says – a strategy board game with puzzles. The premise is simple – you want to change as many squares on the board to your color while preventing other players from doing the same.
The folks at Astraware have done it again and released another premier game for the iPhone OS. Astraware Casino features 11 casino style games all under one title. Included are: Texas Hold ‘Em No Limit Poker, Roulette, Baccarat, Video Derby, Texas Hold ‘Em Limit Poker, Blackjack, Video Keno, Craps, 3 Card Poker, Slots and Video Poker. Read on for my full review of this fun filled game from what I consider to be one of the best iPhone OS application developers.
Everything goes better with Bluetooth… or so you would think with the proliferation of Bluetooth enabled devices. One of the more innovative uses of the technology isn’t a headset but it does extend your cell phone. . Here’s the scenario- you don’t have your phone in your pocket and can’t be seen holding it in your important meeting. Unfortunately you also are expecting an important phone call. What are you to do? Well, with the Bluetooth Bracelet from LM Technologies you can slip on the bracelet and, so long as you are no more than 30 feet from your phone, you will…
The iPhone has grown to become a great gaming platform. While many of the new games are ports from console games, puzzle games have always been great for the phone. One reason I have found puzzle games to be great is the casual nature of the games. Sitting in a waiting room, riding a bus, bored with five minutes to kill… Many reasons casual games are well suited for iPhone users. Match 3D Flick Puzzle takes this very full genre and adds a refreshing twist.
Kindle-gate exploded when Amazon remotely removed a number of books by George Orwell. At the time I wondered what would happen to any notes taken on those various books if such a thing were to happen again. And although Jeff Bezos apologized for the action and promised to do better in the future, the question remained. Well now we have an answer. A student was taking notes for an AP class and found that his notes remained. No problem right? Nope, big problem. It seems the pages referenced were left useless once the book was gone hence the notes themselves…
Fun Booth 2, from Spoonjuice software is an application for the Mac which lets you snap pictures or take video of yourself wearing all sorts of silly props. You can then e-mail the photos to friends or family, upload them to iPhoto, Twitter, Flickr, or burn them if they really embarrass you. 🙂 The application uses advanced face detection software to move the props into the right position no matter where you position yourself on the screen. If you’re really crazy you can even chat with your friends in iChat while wearing the props too.
A while back I took a look at two electronic wallet programs that are available for the iPhone. Both are applications I used on Windows mobile. Both come from reputable, long time, mobile application manufacturers. Both offer the flexibility to organize and protect a wide-range of information. Both protect your data with a high level of encryption. Both cost the same. And both have been revised a number of times since their initial release. The two applications are SplashData’s SplashID and ilium Software’s eWallet. As I wrote in my initial post — With so much in common “Sounds like a toss-up…
JAVOedge recently released a new line of cases for the Amazon Kindle 2. These cases, called Hardwood Sleeves, are eco-friendly sleeve style cases made to protect your Kindle when you’re not reading. The cases, which are made to look like hardwood, come in two styles, Oak or Ash. JAVOedge was kind enough to send along both styles for me to review.
My wife thinks I am insane when I buy something more than once – she considers it extraneous. Generally she is right, and I seldom do it – but there are also times I go overboard. For example, there are several games I own for both Mac & PC so I can play whatever platform is available. Also, I recently bought ‘Puzzle Quest’ for the iPhone, which is now my 8th copy – I bought it for the PSP, two copies for the DS to play multiplayer with my kids, the PC, Mac, Wii, and normal cell phone version. All…
I’ve been a big fan of the products distributed by RichardSolo since I reviewed their first iPhone battery for JustAnotheriPhoneBlog. That battery provided an extra 1200mAh of juice. I liked it! Then Richard gave me the opportunity to review the RichardSolo 1800 for iPhone. It was a bit bigger, bumped the extra runtime significantly and added a flashlight. I liked it even more. Now RichardSolo has introduced the BluePack S3. It ups the storage to a mind-blowing 2600mAh. That should be enough juice for even the heaviest iPhone user to never need to carry a wall charger again. That, however, isn’t…
The idea of racing a tiny car around the kitchen table or other environments sounds like a really fun concept. I have been a huge fan of racing games my entire gaming life, but have not found the iPhone to be a great platform for these games. Nano Rally was released just over a week ago and adds a cheap and interesting twist on the driving genre. Nano Rally is a cute and attractive game. The idea is fun and the tracks have a ton of obstacles. This game has lots of potential, but there are issues (some of which…
The hallmark of a great ‘casual’ game is that it takes elements from existing game types, wraps them around a new or innovative gameplay twist, and turns it all into something that feels fresh. It is how games like Plants vs. Zombies or Puzzle Quest take the existing gameplay from the Tower Defense and Match 3 genres respectively and turn them into engaging and addictive games that feel completely original. Today I look at another game that looks to join ranks with those by taking a fresh approach to another well-worn genre: platform games as re-imagined by developer Jonathon Blow…