News & Features



Club Nintendo Closing Up Shop; New Program Coming

Club Nintendo gave gamers extra real-life items (with free shipping) for their purchases when entering/registering codes as members in this Nintendo customer loyalty program for about six years. Now, Nintendo has informed U.S.A. and Canadian members that they can earn more “coin” amounts before Tuesday, March 31, 2015 and spend their remaining amounts before Tuesday, June 30, 2015.


Retro Arcade Indie Platformer Spirefall Launches on iOS!

I remember when MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) launched in the late 1990s, allowing us to jump back to the joy of the games we loved in the early 1980s arcades. MAME has provided nostalgic fun for millions of gamers over the last two decades, but even better is games like Spirefall that recapture those feelings in a new experience!


IK Multimedia’s GrooveMaker 2 Now Available for Android Devices

As I wrote about during CES week, IK Multimedia is making major advancements on the Android platform for making music. They have been working on their ‘zero latency’ initiative, and the latest output of that is the availability of Groovemaker 2 for Android. Groove maker 2 brings the beat-making and remix app to nearly all capable Android devices.







Proof That All Country Songs Are the Same

Has it REALLY been more than 4 years since I posted this video showing how Ke$sha’s Tik Tok, Katy Perry’s California Gurls, and Miley Cyrus’ Permanent December were all basically the same song? Well, now Sir Mashalot has taken on country music, with a mashup of 6 popular songs including artists such as Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan.


The LG G Flex 2 Has Curvalicious Android Appeal

Remember when phone handsets were all curved so that they would comfortably fit at your mouth and ear? LG does, and their new LG G Flex 2 not only offers this same comfortable ear and mouth curve, it’s also a fully loaded Android smartphone that feels great in hand. You can check out my video with LG’s Ethan Walsh here.


NFL Homegating App Is Ready for Your Super Bowl 49 Party!

This weekend in football, we have conference championships that will decide who goes to the Super Bowl. These are all popular teams – New England, Indianapolis, Seattle and Green Bay – so you can be sure there’ll be plenty of gatherings either at bars or in people’s homes. If you’re planning a party – the Homegating app has you covered!


Adobe Releases Lightroom Mobile for Android: First Impressions

Since smartphones are the most popular cameras (because they go with us pretty much everywhere), it makes sense that as their image capture technology improves, so would the tools available for editing and sharing. Today Adobe announced that they were bringing their critically acclaimed photo editing platform to Android phones, and they are releasing Adobe Lightroom Mobile for Android!



Nexus 6 Shortage Appears to Be Over

  Last week I sold my Moto X 2014 on Swappa in anticipation of receiving a Nexus 6 I  from the Google Play store. The Nexus 6 has been in short supply and often is available only for a few hours at a time on Google’s site. Devices are often available each Wednesday but only recently have they stayed in stock more than a day.


Get Ready for SamBerry: Is Samsung About to Buy Blackberry?

Rumors are swirling from CNBC that Samsung is looking to snatch up Blackberry for their patent portfolio (and presumably whatever positive goodwill still exists in the Blackberry name). Several suitors have been rumored for Blackberry, but Samsung certainly has the cash, and the incentive in the form of their ongoing arms race with Apple.



Mike’s Oscar Nom Picks Before Thursday Jan. 15 Announcement

Get your Academy Award nomination (and win) picks ready for all those Oscar contests and office pools. Here are my picks for this year’s Oscars (a.k.a. Academy Awards) for films released in 2014. Look for prominent first-time nominees, possible double nominations, and a long-time cinematography nod. Nominations will officially announce all 24 categories live on Thursday, January, 15.


The Waterfield Bolt Briefcase Is All Business and All Waterfield

We love Waterfield products and look to them to protect our gear when we go on the road. We also love seeing the company come up with new ways to bring their great aesthetic and device protection together. That’s certainly the case with the new Waterfield Bolt Briefcase. It’s the Waterfield bag for the man, or woman, who means business. The Bolt Briefcase comes in two sizes. The large version holds up to a 17″ laptop, comes in black ballistic nylon for $279 and weighs 2.95 pounds. The small version can handle up to a 13″ laptop, comes in tan…


appFigures Releases 2014 App Store Report

2014 was another strange year of simultaneously explosive growth and entrenched maturation; where most of the biggest apps solidified control in their areas, yet tons of new apps appeared and a few were hugely successful. It is a reminder that fast moving trends dominate all of the app stores, and how maturity is now more about equal choices amongst stores.