I reviewed The Secret Society for iPad, noting how it balanced ‘play’ versus ‘pay’ elements. It recently arrived for Android and Kindle Fire with massive updates, and while it feels cramped on my Galaxy S3, on Kindle Fire HD it is perfect (at stealing reading time)! If you have a tablet and haven’t played, check it out free on iOS, Kindle or Android. Here is the trailer:
I’ve been using Mailbox for the past few days – not out of some outstanding desire to revisit the app, but to get a free 1GB DropBox boost. Simply by adding my GMail account to Mailbox, heading to settings and linking my DropBox, I was rewarded with 1GB more DropBox storage! It’s definitely worth checking out if you’re on an iOS device!
Mike Philbin just sent in a tip that on Amazon he “can see cases for upcoming iPhone 5C, but also mention of iPhone mini. The page also mentions that the case will not fit the iPhone 5S. We are going to see 3 new iPhones on September 10th?” Good question, Mike! One that I don’t have the answer for, but I suppose that at this point … anything is possible. =P What do you all think? Will there be a 5S (the more expensive and more highly specc’d iPhone 5 successor), a 5C (the “cheap” iPhone 5), and a smaller sized iPhone…
The XCOM universe expanded to include one of 2012’s best PC games and one of 2013’s best iPad games. This week it expands further with a cold war look at a secret agency in The Bureau: XCOM Declassified. The image shows it’s loaded up in Steam waiting for me to get started playing – look for my review next week! For now, check out the launch trailer! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8s6yQylyBWs
It’s nearly impossible to take a picture any more without immediately thinking, “this needs to go on Facebook (or Tumblr, Twitter), so why not just get a camera that can take a great photo and immediately post it for you to the social network of your choice? Say “Cheese”, and preorder the $199 socially acceptable theQ Camera. Every aspect of the pocket-sized camera can be controlled, from the social media settings through to the built-in photo filters. In addition to the one-button upload for social sharing, theQ users receive unlimited storage on their theQ LAB personal photo archive page. TheQ camera…
I’ve always been fascinated by the Arctic and Antarctic, but touring either would take a lot of money, and it’s just so … cold! Enter IceBridge, a six-year NASA mission to survey the ice at both of Earth’s poles; they’ve released almost 4.5 minutes of icy aerial goodness. I’m still shivering at the thought, but now I’m even more intrigued. Find out more at the Operation IceBridge website; via Universe Today.
In their quest to dominate the smartphone world by having a Galaxy device in every imaginable size, Samsung today announced the upcoming US availability of the 6.3″ Galaxy Mega phablet. Shipping soon with Android 4.2.2, a 1.7GHz processor, and 1.5 GB of RAM, the phone and its features will be immediately familiar to anyone using a Galaxy device. Check it out.
Incipio is known for making a wide assortment of devices cases. Braven is known for making a growing array of Bluetooth-enabled speakers. We’ve reviewed many offerings from both companies. And, as of today two has become one. Yes, Incipio just acquired Braven. It will be interesting to see what comes from the combination. Check it out here.
My phone du jour is an AT&T HTC One. I think that it is the perfect size, but there are some who wish it was just a bit more “mini”. Well, here you go — it’s the HTC One Mini, available exclusively from AT&T beginning August 23rd for $99.99 with a two-year contract.
These may look like swords designed for a really small samurai, but they are actually meant for the food ninja in your life. And while they are quirky, they are also quite practical. This stylish set contains four knives — bread, chef’s meat carver, utility, and paring; you’ll also get sheaves for each and this cool display stand. Just $62 here. via Werd
Ladies, how often have you wished that you had a pocket when one wasn’t available, or wished you could go without a bag when carrying one wasn’t practical. If you are wearing a pair of Purse n’ Boots by Elizabeth Anne, you’re set! Pockets inside the boots hold your cellphone, passport, money, and other similarly sized items; these are brilliant! Built in cell phone, credit card and passport pockets (new) Holds everything from your ID, passport, makeup, cell phone, cash and change The first boot in our catalogue with a cushy, comfortable flat heel Ideal for dancing, travel, shopping & riding Fully functional riding heel for horse lovers…
Experiencing more than your share of “brilliant” moments lately? Have you heard the classic trombone “wa – waaaa” in your head at least once? Then why not share the FAIL? Archie McPhee’s big blue FAIL button is perfect for those times when it all goes wrong. Of course, with this kind of luck yours won’t be handy when needed. =P $12.03 FAIL button via Archie McPhee’s Geyser of Awesome
If you are serious about smartphone photography you’ll want to check out the iblazr project on Kickstarter. Made from four CREE LEDs, the iblazr flash has its own power source and app. Backing the project, which is already funded, for as little as $39 will get you an iblazr flash when it ships this December. Check it out here.
It was big news that HTC had snagged Robert Downey Jr as a spokesman, hopefully signaling a strong marketing campaign that will turn things around for the beleaguered maker of excellent quality — but poorly selling — phones. Guess what? First ad is crap, and it pretty much begs to be called the ‘Help This Company’ campaign. So here we have HTC, a company that has divided smartphone efforts between Android and Windows Phone, a company that recently narrowed product naming and offerings because they felt they were too ‘all over the place’ … and we are getting an ad…
This is the $79 Tobago pear – desk organizer & tablet stand by ETSY seller Traktorfahrn. It will hold your tablet and a few other desktop items, and it is made to work in several configurations. Evidently the maker discovered an unexpected benefit to the stand, too — the solid wood base “amplifies musik if [the] speaker is facing [the] bottom.” Handcrafted in Dusseldorf Germany from pear wood, which has a beautiful reddish grain, the Tobago Pear Desk Organizer & Tablet Stand measures 20 x 12 x 3 cm (7.9” x 4.7” x 1.2”), and it will fit the iPad2, iPad3, Samsung Tablet, ASUS Tablet as well…
How much storage is enough? More! More than whatever number you were thinking – which is an order of magnitude more than what was possible a few years ago. I take a look back at the Iomega Zip Drive, the popular cheap and reliable storage device that bridged the time between floppy disks and USB flash storage. The Iomega Zip Drive was originally introduced in 1994, started shipping in 1995, and died out about a decade ago — though I can’t find an exact termination date. I remember the release well, and I was right on board when it arrived….
Breaking Bad has had an amazing run, winning Emmy awards and a slew of devoted fans. The story of a chemistry teacher turned crystal meth kingpin is riveting, and as we head to the final season there’s still a chance to catch up on the show via Netflix, and then enjoy some quality fan-made videos satirizing and summarizing the sheer awesomeness. And baldness. Last fall, Sarah and I were looking for a new show to enjoy together. We sat down and watched the first two episodes of “Breaking Bad” on Netflix, and I was hooked. Sarah, not so much, so…
Food waste is a major problem in the world, as we dump millions of tons of uneaten — but perfectly good — food into trash bins as others starve. A new startup called LeftoverSwap has no idea how to deal with the global problem, so instead they have decided to work with the ‘all issues are local’ Tipper O’Neill mantra, to try to eliminate food waste on a local level. Here is how they lay out the problem: •40% of the food we produce goes to waste. •25% of us don’t know our neighbors’ names. •70% of us are overweight….
I just wrote about the announcement show on the BBC for the 12th Doctor, which was ‘must see TV’ for my younger son. But unlike when my wife and I sit down to watch TV, where we set our phones on the end tables or coffee table; for him the first thing my son does is grab his phone and open up Twitter. Once there, he gets involved with pre-show chatter, right into the announcement itself, and then post-show follow-up. According to a new Nielson study reported at TheNextWeb, this is exactly the sort of situation where ‘Twitter Chatter’ helps…
This past weekend, we took a half hour away from the normal chaos in our house to tune into BBC America at 1700 hours GTM (i.e. 2PM EST). Doctor Who is a show I watched as a kid in the mid-70s, and Tom Baker will always be ‘my Doctor’. My younger son is a much bigger fan than me; he’s grown up loving the David Tennant and Matt Smith incarnations, and more recently working back in time. As you would expect during a 30 minute announcement show, the first 25 were all about retrospective and chatting up Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith….
When my family and I went out to visit family in northern Washington, we were treated to the sight of many boats and ships sailing across Puget Sound and surrounding waterways, something of a novelty for us Midwestern landlubbers. In fact, we were able to take advantage of the ferry system at Mukilteo (and lunch at Ivar’s right next to the ferry landing) to help get us to our destination. During this same visit, I was semi-press-ganged into rowing on the Erica with the Old Anacortes Rowing and Sailing Society, and let me tell you, being in a small wooden…