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…
It’s inevitable…you’re sitting on your couch, relaxing with your tivo and your Xbox…when you realize you need to go outside! But what is the weather like? How will you know whether to wear your crocs or your docs? You could get up and go outside, but that takes effort. Luckily for you, Epocware has the excellent utility Handy Weather so you can check the weather from your Symbian phone before you have to leave the couch.
I have been diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea over two years ago. Obstructive Sleep Apnea is where your airway closes off while you sleep causing you to stop breathing. CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure is the best therapy for the moment. It uses a blower and a mask system to blow air into you as you breath in. This helps keep the airway clear so that you don’t stop breathing and you don’t wake up. As a Obstructive Sleep Apnea sufferer there are many frustrations. The first one is the mask and you just kind of have to get…
I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I love coffee. Anyone that knows me well would have you believe I have a thermal stainless steel coffee tumbler surgically grafted to my hand. It’s my American Express — I don’t leave home without it. I don’t fiddle around and mess it up with cream, sugar, or milk. A cup of coffee, if done just right, is best au naturale. The saddest part of all this is that I’ve become accustomed to good coffee. I rarely order any at a restaurant since it’s usually weak, not made…
photos by Kevin As many of you know, two different MacBook Airs in a row have performed as my main computer for over a year. I can get away with using what others have called an “oversized netbook” because I don’t do a lot of processor-intensive computing beyond basic video and photo editing, and much of what I do can be done “in the cloud.” I would be lying if I didn’t say that part of the Mac’s attraction for me has always been hardware based. From the first time I laid eyes on Mitchell’s MacBook Pro, I knew it…
Anyone who has spent five seconds around a band room at some point in their life knows that the frequency of a middle A note is 440Hz – but what is its’ MIDI note number? Don’t know? Well then it is time for you to hit the iTunes App store and pick a very useful musical utility – BandGeek. Note: if you are asking ‘what’s a MIDI’ at this point, you should probably move along.
For whatever reason none of the big names in Twitter clients have released their updated versions that support push notification for Twitter. However, several solutions have emerged over the past few weeks to solve this issue. I recently took at look at Boxcar which is an add on to your existing Twitter client to enable push and then I looked at TwitBit which was the first full fledged Twitter client for the iPhone to support push. Now comes Simply Tweet, from Motion Obj, which has thrown its hat into the ring of new full Twitter clients with push notification for…
Mosaica is an iPhone application that lets you take panoramic-like images on your iPhone and then upload them to the web where they can be shared with your friends and family. The finished images, called Mosaics are created by taking several pictures in a sequence and then overlapping them to create an interactive panoramic style image. How does Mosaica stack up against the other photography apps of its type I’ve tried?
I’ve recently become a convert to the Symbian OS. It has been a lot of fun to learn the ins and outs of a new system, especially one that approaches things as Symbian does. Nokia’s flavor of Symbian feels more phone oriented, with the PDA aspects tacked on as almost an afterthought. While this can be tweaked around a bit, the place it is felt most acutely is on the “Active Standby” screen (essentially the Symbian version of a Today Screen). The only major option if you want something that offers up more power is if you look to Epocware…
After first glance TuneWiki is just an app that subtitles iPod music synced while the song plays. The app proves to be more than that. Some good and some kind of meh. There are actually four parts to the app so I will cover each part. Music: This tab is really the meat of TuneWiki. Basically, the app acts as your iPod with a twist. The music library is available by choosing artists, albums, songs, play lists or shuffle all songs. Once the song plays, the album art is displayed as well as the lyrics. Most mainstream music had lyrics…
To frame for a second just how eco-centric my family is, let me give an example: on our recent vacation to Ohio, we returned with two trash bags full of recyclable materials because we found the recycling in the area we stayed inadequate. Also, a recent report showed that simultaneous to an explosion of ‘green’ advertising, as many as 98% of all ‘green’ product advertisements are misleading. So, when someone claims to make an eco-friendly product, I am immediately skeptical. Therefore the Mobile Edge ECO Messenger gets a double-look here: first and foremost for its utility as a messenger bag,…
Card Ninja has consistently been ranked as one of the most popular games in the iTunes App Store. The game recently received a significant update which most importantly includes the ability to save your game for maximum level-conquering and you can now compare scores with other players worldwide. Card Ninja is integrating with the OpenFeint platform, allowing players to monitor their rank in global leader boards and chat with fellow players. At only .99 cents this is fun twist on matching, memory type games that’ll keep you coming back for more Ninja! The game itself requires players to flick cards…
Last weekend my niece and nephew were here for the weekend. (Oh… their parents too.) 🙂 Within a few minutes of getting here my nephew Joey asked if there was something we could do on my iPhone together. Fortunately I was prepared. I had done a bit of research and found an app that seemed like it would be a home run. That app… MovieMaker. MovieMaker, formally called WatchItChange, is an app that walks you through the process of creating a stop action movie right on your iPhone. I liked the idea since it not only sounded like it would…
The guys at Unlimited Case recently released another custom designed case to their ever growing line up of products for the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch. The Snaztech Phantom, for the iPhone 3G/3G S, is a frosted case that comes in two colors, Artic White and Glacier Blue. Unlimited Case was kind enough to send me a Glacier Blue case for review. Click through to see how the Phantom stacks up.
There are a host of applications that allow you to grab images from your computer’s screen. I’ve tried a number of them and many do a terrific job. For simple screenshots I use Evernote since those images are immediately synced with my online account. For those times when I want to do more with an image such as add text, highlight portions or more there is only one choice… Skitch. Here’s a look…
SplashData has been creating software for mobile devices since 2000, beginning with Palm software and the SplashWallet suite. As new platforms began to gain traction, SplashData expanded and began releasing software for them (BlackBerry, Series 60), and for a year now they’ve been releasing applications for the iPhone. One of their most recent releases is a version of their travel application, SplashTravel, for the iPhone. SplashData provided Gear Diary with a copy for evaluation.
It’s been a month now since I posted my first impressions, and it’s time to fess up my thoughts on the HTC Magic. Truth be told, it has truly surprised me! User Interface The Android user interface is simple yet elegant, and was definitely designed with finger actions in mind. Unlike Windows Mobile, Android never makes you wish for a stylus. Icons are nicely sized, menus are large and the flicking motions to advance lists, web pages and menus become second nature as soon as you start using the phone. For some reason Android feels a lot nicer on the…