The Diablo series is probably responsible for nearly as many RSI problems as word processing and Excel spreadsheets. The furious point and click action game debuted back in 1997, with Diablo II following in 2000. The series went radio silent for over a decade, while Blizzard addicted most of the gaming population to WoW. Now the series returns with Diablo III, which came out on May 15th. Thankfully, Blizzard continues to support Mac gamers, giving us a native version on day one.

Here’s a little aside on gaming gear for a minute. If you have gone all in on Apple’s trackpad, or on the Magic Mouse, you’re going to want to dig out a standard two button mouse. It’s going to make your life easier with this game. You can get wired mice fairly cheap. You’re also going to need a Mac with a discrete graphics card, so be sure to check the system requirements before plunking down your sixty bucks. Also no Steam or Mac App Store purchases; you can buy this boxed or right from Blizzard’s online site. You’ll also need to be online all the time, a controversial fact for some people. And don’t be surprised if you run into some high profile outages during the games’ launch.

Many people have wondered if the long wait for the latest Diablo game was worth it, and the game’s opening cut scenes are so beautifully rendered that the answer is an enthusiastic “yes.” After choosing a class you begin the adventure in Tristam, where the original game took place. This is a nice touch, giving you a twinge of nostalgia right at the outset. Deckard Cain is still trying to fight the good fight, despite his age. When a falling star strands him in the old Cathedral, your first mission is to save him. You’ll find yourself clicking furiously on hordes of undead zombies, and you’ll know that Diablo has returned in fine form.

There is a good mixture of story and action here. Just following the main quest will only get you so far, be sure to explore all of the maps as you go. There are plenty of detours and side stories you will find that flesh out the world. You can go through the achievement list to find that there are tons of locations in each of the game’s acts. Not to mention a bevy of audio clips to find that expand the world even further. You need to replay the game, as some of the events do not appear in every game. The random generation only gives you certain events when you’re playing.
Then there’s the loot. It can’t be Diablo without the loot — well, that and the furious clicking, which begets more loot. There are a lot of diverse items that you find. They have added some depth for crafting addicts, as you can salvage items you find to craft into unique items. It’s a skill tree of its own. You have to invest gold to unlock new items to craft. That leads to the auction house. You can trade your items with other players for in game currency, or in a more controversial move, for real money. It’s a nod to replay ability, one likely to lure fans of MMOs to stay with Diablo III longer than they normally would. It has brought with it a similar seedy element, as there have been some reports of accounts being hacked and looted.

What’s an RPG without classes? Diablo III has five: Witch Doctor, Barbarian, Wizard, Monk, and Demon Hunter. If you’ve ever played a fantasy game, the Wizard and Barbarian classes should be self-explanatory. The Witch Doctor is a summoner, attacking with hordes of monsters. The Demon Hunter is a ranged attacker, using crossbows and bombs. The Monk is essentially a cross between a paladin and a martial artist. Each of the characters has their own unique take on the game’s story, as well as unique interactions with the game’s NPCs. Among those NPCs are three followers that allow you to have a party even if you aren’t playing co-op.

You can set your game to public to allow anyone to join your game, or you can keep it invite only. However, the invite is only by actually adding someone as your friend. Once they’re on your list, they can join your games at any time. The co-op is a nice feature because you can really stretch out and explore concurrently. You can go back to town and sell off some loot, while your partner can continue with the quest. At some point a competitive multiplayer patch is supposed to be released, and once released it will be free for all players.

This game is going to be on almost every critic’s top ten list at the end of the year. For Mac gamers this might be the biggest game all year. The game deserves every one of these accolades. It delivers on almost every level. There’s a deep story, extended and meaningful replay value, and it’s terribly addictive. If you like video games, you should own this game.

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While I love iOS games, something about playing a game on my Mac brings back a nostalgic feeling that I cannot fully explain. While there’re a ton of games available on the Mac App Store, some of them are less than stellar. In this article, I will be going over my top three iOS games gone Mac. To me, these games have been transfered from the touchscreen to keyboard and mouse (or trackpad) perfectly.

Reckless Racing

If racing beater cars around a rundown farm town is your idea of a good time, Reckless Racing has you covered. Reckless Racing features a slew of beat up trucks and cars to race around a ton of different tracks. Don’t feel like racing? You can also play different mission levels as well as a free drive mode. With so many different options, you’re sure to find your match and have hours of fun playing.

One of my favorite features of Reckless Racing is its “birds eye view” gameplay. This reminds me of playing Grand Theft Auto 2 for PS1 or even Super Sprint for NES. Because of this, I’m almost certain retro video game geeks (like myself) will fall in love with Reckless Racing. The only downside to this type of game play? It’s hard to adapt to if you’re used to playing first-person racers on your Mac, iOS device or game system.

Reckless Racing’s graphics are definitely awesome for the price. Shading is good and colors are close to perfect.

All in all, I think this game is perfect for anyone who wants a racing game that features classic gameplay, awesome graphics and a “hillbilly” feel. If you want to buy this game, you can find it in the Mac App Store for a mere $3.99. A download link is available below.

Chopper 2

Before I start my mini-review of Chopper 2, I want to give you all a bit of history on the Chopper series of games. The original Chopper was introduced in 2003 as a shareware title for OS X. Eventually, Chopper made its way to iOS when Chopper 2 was released.

Chopper 2 is a pretty awesome game for OS X. The game’s scenery changes over time, but the objectives remain somewhat similar. You have to shoot at terrorists from your helicopter while saving hostages and dropping them off at a checkpoint. Chopper includes a ton of unique levels, ensuring that you’ll be hooked on Chopper for hours on end.

Like Reckless Racing, Chopper 2 also features a retro style of playing. Only this time, you’re viewing your helicopter from the side. This is comparable to Super Mario Bros. and other side-scrolling games.

Chopper also features very unique controls. You can either control your helicopter with your mouse and keyboard or you can use your iPhone or iPad to control Chopper. To do this, just download the Chopper 2 app for iOS ($2.99) and connect your devices via Wi-Fi.

Overall, I think that Chopper 2 is a perfect choice for anyone who owns an iOS device and a Mac. When combined, they make a perfect “mini console” for a fun game with a ton of replay value. Chopper 2 currently costs $4.99 in the iTunes App Store. You can find a download link below.

Touchgrind

Touchgrind has been one of my favorite iOS games since it was released in 2008. Recently, however, the developers have decided to make an OS X port of Touchgrind for all of us OS X fans to enjoy. Before I start my mini-review of TouchGrind, I just want to clarify that you must be using a MacBook with a multitouch trackpad or a Mac with a Magic Trackpad.

Growing up, I used to love playing with “Tech Decks”. Tech Decks were little finger skateboards that allowed you to do simple tricks and jumps. Touchgrind aims to be a “digital Tech Deck” and features the same overall idea and controls. The only difference is is that you’re playing on a trackpad instead of a little skateboard.

Touchgrind’s controls are extremely intuitive. When you first launch the app, you’ll be prompted to calibrate the controls by placing your fingers on the trackpad. Once your fingers are calibrated, you can start a new game and control your skateboard by moving your fingers from left to right, etc. To perform tricks, experiment with different combinations of finger movements and trackpad clicks. You will also be given hints on how to perform different tricks throughout the game. When you do tricks, you will earn points that you can then use to unlock new skateboards.

To me, Touchgrind is one of my favorite games of all time for iOS and OS X. This is because of how interactive the game is and how much fun it is to play. The controls are absolutely stellar and just take a bit of getting used too. This game is a must have for any Mac user who either loves extreme sports or grew up playing with Tech Decks. Touchgrind is currently free in the Mac App Store. You can find a download link below.

Conclusion

We hope that we’ve helped you find the best Mac games in the App Store. We do this often, so make sure to come back for more lists.

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I don’t think that Gameloft was looking into copying the fullness of Halo’s storylines. What they wanted to do was approximate the campaign while mimicking the multiplayer as closely as possible. It has Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Point Capture, and Freeze Tag modes. I think that you can easily make the case that this is the full online gaming experience of ten years ago. This really does a lot to save the game overall. Not only does this supplant the mediocre single player game, it actually is worth the purchase price on its own.

That isn’t to say that it’s perfect. There are a lot of rookie mistakes in the multiplayer that you would think Gameloft would have smoothed out by the third game. Spawn points still end up in the middle of the battle far too often. The weapons and vehicles aren’t even close to balanced. There’s also a pretty limited map selection. I think that the biggest irritation with the online portion is that you’re forced to create a sign on for Gameloft’s proprietary online service. I’m not sure why this game isn’t hooked into Game Center. This may be for cross platform play, but I think the backend could have been invisible to the user.

All in all though, this is a pretty good game for $6.99. Though you’ve seen a lot of games start to include multiplayer, there doesn’t seem to be anything as well thought out as N.O.V.A. 3. It may owe quite a bit to other franchises, but Gameloft has done enough to make this their own property.

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After Apple cleaned up and redesigned the MacBook Air in October of 2010, Apple fans everywhere were dying to get their hands on the thin mobile powerhouse. Because of this, mobile accessory manufacturers decided to embrace the MacBook Air by releasing a ton of new and cool docks, cases and other accessories for the Air. Below, I have crafted a list of my top four MacBook Air accessories. While this article is geared towards the 11-inch MacBook Air, most of these accessories are available for the 13-inch model as well.

Henge Docks AirDock

A lot of Mac users have started to use the MacBook Air as their main machine by using an external display such as the Apple Thunderbolt Display. While this is a great idea in theory, you’re often left with a mess of wires coming from all ends of your desk. Henge Docks has decided to fix this issue by making an upright dock for the MacBook Air with built in cable management. This allows for a clutter-free desk and a cool looking MacBook. While the AirDock will run you $55-60 depending on the screen size of your Mac, I think this dock is a must-have for any external display-wielding MacBook Air user.

Speck SeeThru Satin

While the MacBook Air is an extremely durable computer, the aluminium is prone to scratching when coming in contact with sharp or pointy objects. The only real way to avoid this would be to throw a form-fitting case over your MacBook. While I’m personally against putting cases over MacBooks, I think I’ve found one that doesn’t suck: the Speck SeeThru Satin.

I’ve been a SeeThru Satin user for a couple years. It all started when I (reluctantly) purchased one for my 13-inch MacBook Pro in early 2009. I immediately fell in love with the soft-touch finish, which hides scratches and feels nice when held. When purchasing my MacBook Air, I couldn’t resist buying a Satin to protect it from everyday scratches and minor drops onto the coffee table.

Keep in mind that the standard SeeThru case is a lot different from the SeeThru Satin. This is because there is no soft-touch finish, so scratches tend to show on the case. As of now, I can only recommend the Satin as it feels nice, hides scratches and protects your Mac. Want to buy one for yourself? They retail for $49.95 and can be found on Speck’s website and can be bought in seven different colors.

SPIGEN Leather Case Gariz Modern Series

SPIGEN is known for their high quality cases and screen shields for mobile devices. Their latest case, the Gariz Modern Series for the MacBook Air, doesn’t disappoint. This specially fitted sleeve for the 11-inch MacBook Air is handmade from a high quality Italian leather, making it not only look good, but making it durable as well.

Personally, I think the Gariz case looks classy and definitely adds a luxurious edge to the MacBook Air. The actual case is designed and manufactured by Gariz, a popular camera accessory company, while the case is distributed by SPIGEN. This combination ensures that the case will feature the luxury of Gariz while keeping the excellent customer support offered by SPIGEN.

All in all, I think the SPIGEN/Gariz combo is a great sleeve for anyone who wants a classy looking way to carry their MacBook and has a few extra dollars in their wallet to spend. I say this because the Gariz case retails for $109.99, which may be steep for the average user.

ZAGG InvisibleShield

Photo Credit: Cristiano Betta

ZAGG, a mobile accessory company, was originally made famous for their InvisibleShield product, which is sold for many types of consumer electronics. The InvisibleShield is a pretty basic product: it’s an extremely thin, liquid-applied clear film for your device. The plastic material which is used in the InvisibleShield was originally developed for helicopter blades, so you can be completely sure that your Mac will be safe from everyday scratches and scuffs when applied.

The MacBook Air variant of the InvisibleShield features full exterior scratch protection as well as trackpad protection. This is great as it protects your trackpad from grease, smudges and spills while the exterior is protected from scratches and dings. If for some reason your InvisibleShield ever gets scratched or damaged, ZAGG will replace it free of charge.

While the InvisibleShield does a stellar job of protecting your MacBook Air, it does come with one major downside: the installation process. To start, the installation process is pretty horrible as it forces you to put a wet piece of plastic over your MacBook and to squeegee the solution away from all ports and fans. After performing the process a couple times, I can assure you that it isn’t fun.

Even with the installation process in mind, I can still highly recommend this shield as it offers full scratch protection while adding virtually no bulk to your Mac. If you want to pick up an InvisibleShield for your MacBook Air ($54.99), head on over to ZAGG’s official website for more information.

Conclusion

Now that you’ve taken a look at my favorite MacBook Air accessories, what do you use to protect your Mac? Let us know in the comment section below this post!

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Before G.I. Joe and Transformers were big Hollywood franchises, they were poorly animated cartoons. I have a lot of nostalgia for that period, as bad as the animation was at the time. Saturday Morning RPG seeks to channel that nostalgia into an iOS RPG with a heavy dose of self-awareness and snark.

Fans of Earthbound and Contact will find something familiar about the game. The game has two available episodes both centered on Marty, who gets possession of a magic notebook after falling asleep watching some cartoons. The notebook bears a striking resemblance to a Trapper Keeper, and is covered in stickers that adjust and enhance his stats. Marty uses the powers of the notebook to fight Commander Hood and rescue Samantha. Though he was dreaming, he wakes up with the notebook.

If you want to find out about what Marty does while he’s awake, you’ll need to purchase the second episode for $1.99 (US). The first episode is a bit light, but it is free. It combines the game’s tutorial with a couple of quick quests and a boss fight. It should give you a taste for the game’s sense of humor and radical 80s dialog. It’s well worth free, and should be enough to make you shell out for the second episode.

The second episode is more fleshed out with several sub-quests as well as a much larger map. This time the Hood Troopers are in your school with the thinnest possible disguises and manage to let their giant laser spider loose. I completed every quest I came across and managed to wrap up both episodes in about five hours. I was ready for the next episode but it’s yet to be released. An endless battle mode is also promised, but also has yet to get a solid release date.

They do have a system that encourages replay in the meantime. The notebook can be equipped with five stickers that adjusts your stats. While you can find these in-game, there is also another in-game purchase where you can buy cereal box tops and trade them in for stickers. This is a big problem with the game, as you don’t get box tops any other way but by buying them.

The game controls very well. It’s designed around touch rather than a virtual controller. There is a virtual joystick to move the character around the levels, but you can move it anywhere on the screen. The rest of the controls are all hands on. The clearest example is the attack charging system which has you tap repeatedly. Depending on the weapons you equip, there may be mini-games or simple timing exercises. This was one of the best parts of the game; combat never got boring as you were always getting new equipment that felt completely different than what was already in your inventory. You can also defend against attacks by tapping the screen with the correct timing, but it’s a bit tricky.

The mixture of nostalgia and iOS centric design make this a no-brainer. This game has a few flaws, most notably it’s length, but it is cheap. The free first episode amounts to a demo of the game. Trust me, you aren’t going find another game on the App Store where you use Optimus Prime as a weapon. This is the sort of design focused game we need to see more of on iOS.

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I love listening to music across a wide variety of devices such as my iPad, iPhone and Macs. The only problem with listening to so much music is the price. Since iTunes charges up to $1.29 per song, buying music can end up being a pretty pricey habit. This is where subscription music services come in. These services give you the benefit of listening to unlimited music for a monthly fee. While you don’t actually own the music, most services allow you to save your collection to your mobile device for offline listening.

While there are a ton of music subscription services on the net, I’ve chosen three to compare in the article below: Rdio, MOG and, the most popular, Spotify. These services are all unique in their own way by providing different plans, music selection and mobile apps.

Rdio

I’ve been an Rdio Unlimited member since December 2010. This is mainly because I’ve had no problems with their service and they continue to expand their music library by constantly adding new record labels.

Rdio’s iPad app is absolutely stunning. I’ll even go far enough to say that it looks better than Apple’s standard Music app. This is because of its stellar interface, which uses a combination of dark blues and grays. The application also performs well on my new iPad and I recall it working fine on my iPad 2.

The iPhone app, on the other hand, is definitely less than desirable. It reminds me of the old Facebook app because of its “grid-like” interface, which is just plain clunky and annoying. The app is extremely unstable as well. We can only hope that Rdio updates this app in the near future.

Rdio, like most streaming services, offers three pricing tiers. Their free service gives you ad-free listening, but only allows you to listen to a few songs a day. Their $5 per month plan offers unlimited desktop streaming while Rdio’s $10 per month unlimited plan offers unlimited mobile and desktop streaming. Unlike MOG and Spotify, Rdio also offers a $17.99 per month Family Unlimited plan. This plan includes two separate unlimited streaming plans and saves you two bucks a month. Need three accounts? Rdio will hook you up for $22.99 per month.

Families and heavy iPad users definitely want to choose Rdio over MOG and Spotify as it features the best family pricing and iPad app. Rdio also supports a plethora of other mobile operating systems such as Windows Phone 7, Blackberry OS and Android.

Spotify

While Spotify has been available in Europe for years, it just recently launched in the United States (and not in Canada). While I don’t have experience with their premium service, I have tried their free service, which is decent. They do seem to have a smaller selection of electronic music, which is why I’m not switching from Rdio.

Spotify has just recently launched their iPad app, which includes Retina graphics and an OK user interface. While it looks nice from the get-go, I think it’s cluttered compared to Rdio’s app.

Spotify’s Mac app looks nice and features a ton of Facebook integration. For instance, you can see your Facebook friends’ Spotify activity in the sidebar of the Mac app at all times. While this is a nice feature to have, it may get a bit distracting.

Spotify’s iPhone app looks absolutely stunning and features a ton of added functionality over Rdio and MOG’s iPhone app. For instance, you can double-tap on a song to bring up a row of functions, just like in Tweetbot.

Spotify features similar plans to Rdio. Their free service is ad-supported and has limited listening while $5 per month will buy you unlimited desktop streaming. Their “Premium” plan is $10 per month and allows you to stream unlimited music to your computer or mobile device. Spotify currently offers apps for iOS, Blackberry OS, Windows Phone 7, WebOS, Symbian and Android.

MOG

MOG is the audiophile’s dream streaming service. This is because it offers streaming at up to 320kbps, which beats the 128kbps streaming quality on Spotify and Rdio.

MOG’s iPad app, to me, is pretty bland and ugly. It features a very dark interface, which can definitely get old after a while. The controls aren’t very intuitive when compared to Spotify or Rdio’s application.

I’m also not a fan of MOG’s iPhone app as it seems unfinished. This is because the user interface seems boring and the application feels very unorganized, as there is no clear homescreen.

MOG features virtually the same plans as Spotify. Free for an ad-supported experience, $5 per month for unlimited desktop streaming, and $10 per month for unlimited desktop and mobile streaming. If you do choose to use MOG for mobile streaming, keep in mind that it currently only supports iOS and Android. All in all, MOG seems to only be a good fit for anyone looking for high quality streaming music, not on-the-go mobile streaming.

What Do You Think?

If you can’t tell already, I prefer using Rdio to stream my music. But now that you’ve heard my opinion, what service do you use to stream your digital content? Or are you sticking to good ol’ iTunes for your music? Let us know in the comments section below!

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There’s no arguing that the new iPad features the best screen in the tablet market. This is because of its insane high screen resolution of 2048 x 1536 with a pixel density of 264 pixels per inch. So now that you have all 3.1 million pixels in your hands, how are you going to use them? With apps of course! Below, I have created a list of my top four Retina enabled iPad apps.

1. TweetBot

If you’re looking for the the best Twitter client, look no further. Tapbot’s latest application: Tweetbot for iPad. Tweetbot features the most features of all of today’s iOS Twitter clients including Favstar integration, YouTube previews (no more Rick Rolls!) and other helpful features, which make the Twitter experience more enjoyable.

Tweetbot also takes advantage of the new iPad’s Retina display by offering top of the line graphics and stunning animations. Coming in at only $2.99, Tweetbot is a must have for any Twitter power user who owns a new iPad.

2. Real Racing 2 

Real Racing 2 is by far my favorite iOS game. Once I heard it was updated for the new iPad’s Retina display and A5X chip, I couldn’t have been happier. With Real Racing 2, you can race through tons of different racetracks in the world’s most exotic super cars. Not only is Real Racing 2 fun, it also brings some of the best graphics I’ve ever seen in an iOS powered game. While the game is moderately expensive at $9.99, I think it’s worth it for anyone who loves racing.

3. EverNote

While this app may not be the most exciting on the list, it’s definitely the most useful. I use EverNote every day in class to take efficient notes and have them synced between iOS, Mac and Windows Phone devices. The iPad app, however, is definitely the best out of the bunch. This is because EverNote takes advantage of the iPad’s Retina display by providing stellar graphics and extremely clear text, making it the best note taking app for iPad.

4. iMovie/iPhoto/Garageband

While these apps may seem like a no-brainer, I still had to mention them in this roundup. This is because the iLife apps make the iPad quite useful by adding video, audio and photo editing to the iPad. While these apps are definitely limited, casual users may use these apps to make their iPads Mac replacements. Power users, on the other hand, may wind up using these apps on-the-go when Macs aren’t readily available.

My favorite app out of the iLife for iPad trio would have to be GarageBand. This is because anyone can make music without any prior experience by using Apple’s built-in autoplay features. Want to use your own instruments? You can by using Apple’s camera connection kit to connect mics and other accessories to plug in guitars, basses, etc.

Thanks for taking a look at my top four Retina enabled apps for iPad. If you use or have used any of these apps in the past, let us know how you like them in the comments section below this post!

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Rockstar has been putting their considerable weight behind iOS as a gaming platform. At one time, Max Payne was nearly as well regarded as their blockbuster Grand Theft Auto franchise. Ahead of its newest installment, they’ve released the original game onto iOS. I think it’s odd to see nostalgia titles from the PS2 era, but then I guess you have to remember that these games are ten years old.

Like GTA III, I don’t think the graphics even come close to measuring up to what either the iPhone or iPad are capable of. Max Payne actually has done a bit worse in the graphics department, as the game had some pretty weird looking graphics even for its day. The game has a tendency to move the camera for a tight slo-mo sequence when you get a head shot, and you can see the terrible face mapping in all the hi-res detail the new iPad has to offer. It’s not pretty.

The game’s graphic novel storytelling stands up. Equal parts Garth Ennis, John Woo, and Raymond Chandler: Max Payne’s story is a pretty visceral take on the underbelly of New York City. The game is pretty much as linear as possible, but nuggets of the story are tied to items you find in the levels. This gives you some incentive to search around rooms and do more than run down hallways with your finger wailing on the fire button. This game evokes a ton of nostalgia;, something that may not translate well to people who weren’t fans of the original game. For someone who spent too much time at comic book and video stores, this is catnip.

The action translates pretty well. Though the game often gets compared to The Matrix, its slow-mo gunplay draws a similar influence from John Woo’s Hong Kong movies. You can dual wield pistols and Uzis, which is another nod to Woo’s style of action. The game controls with two virtual sticks and a selection of buttons. That’s pretty standard for iOS action games; however you manage your arsenal with a bar across the top of the screen that comes down. This bears a striking resemblance to the way you check your notifications in iOS. You know who else notices this similarity? Your iPhone and iPad notice, pulling down the little tab for notifications. The two controls duke it out every time you switch weapons; it gets annoying pretty fast.

If this wasn’t a couple of bucks I wouldn’t even say it’s worth the nostalgia, because the PS2 is likely still gathering dust in most people’s houses. On the other hand, it’s only three bucks, and I think that’s worth it for the trip down memory lane. If you weren’t a fan of the original, that’s a harder sell. The great story is dragged down by some design choices and the graphics haven’t aged well. I still think it’s weird that we’re getting nostalgic for PS2 games, even if they are the earliest hits.

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To be honest, I hate screen shields and can’t think of anyone who doesn’t. Unfortunately, I still use them so I don’t have to be in constant fear of scratching my iPhone when throwing it into my pocket with my keys. So while I was aimlessly browsing the web for an alternative way to protect my iPhone’s screen, I just so happened to come across the Spigen SGP GLAS.t screen shield which has made me completely change my negative view towards screen shields.

iPhone with the GLAS.t Installed

If you couldn’t tell from the title, the GLAS.t is made from real glass. This glass feels and looks almost identical to the iPhone’s original glass screen, and everyone I’ve shown it to agrees. The glass is tempered, however, to avoid slicing your finger if cracked. In my testing, I’ve yet to have the GLAS.t crack or chip even after a (unintentional) three foot drop onto concrete. While the GLAS.t won’t prevent a minor heart attack after dropping your iPhone, I can assure you it will protect your iPhone’s screen.

GLAS.t Installation Kit

The GLAS.t makes your iPhone slightly thicker, but it’s not enough to make the iPhone incompatible with cases. The only problem I’ve come across when using the GLAS.t is that the home button becomes recessed and hard to press. Fortunately for us, Spigen has their bases covered by supplying six raised home button stickers, making the home button easier to press. These stickers also add a bit of style, as Spigen includes four different colored home buttons: green, pink, black and white.

The GLAS.t is extremely easy to install. Instead of messing around with a flimsy piece of plastic, you’re given a solid sheet of glass. This makes aligning and installing the GLAS.t simple. The GLAS.t also includes an alcohol swab, microfiber cleaning cloth and a squeegee to make sure your iPhone is completely clean before installation and bubble free after installation.

Now that we’ve covered the many “pros” of the GLAS.t, let’s go over the very few cons. To start, the GLAS.t costs an arm and a leg at $27.99 for the iPhone 4/4S and $69.99 for the upcoming iPad model. This is definitely a tough price to swallow, considering all you’re buying is a screen shield and installation kit.

All in all, the Spigen SGP GLAS.t screen shield for the iPhone 4/4S is a must have for any iPhone user who wants to fully protect his or her investment. While the GLAS.t is pretty expensive, it all pays off in the end by allowing you to fully enjoy the glass beauty of your iPhone with no compromises. If you want to pick the GLAS.t up for yourself, head over to Spigen’s website.

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About computers and music
There was a time when learning an instrument was a pretty straightforward venture: Pick it up, practice, sound horrible for a while and, if you keep at it, eventually improve. This reliable maxim took a side-trip as computers started playing a significant role in the creation and shaping of music over the last 40 years. Now, if one is willing to surrender some nuances of individual expression to let computers automate certain musical formulas (like timing and tuning), computers can turn the average joe into a Hipster Stravinski.

Interestingly, we seem to be okay with taking short-cuts to musical genius. Even Apple’s GarageBand (especially the iOS version) is loaded with “Here, let me make this easier for you” options that encourage novices to enjoy the thrill of making music. And not only is there nothing wrong with that, but it could potentially whet a talented person’s appetite for going further. In short: It’s a good thing.

Propellerhead’s Figure is designed with a sublime grasp on how to make music creation intuitive and simple while still producing euphonic and emotive results. It’s sole focus on techno sounds makes it better than GarageBand as a resource for beginners to get a taste of musicianship (so long as they like techno music). Alas, Figure does lack a few key features that GarageBand doesn’t and is therefore relegated to the C-list of iOS music doo-dads.

And that’s a shame.

What is Figure?
Figure is a $0.99 app that lets users employ simple and intuitive tools to create great-sounding music using Propellerhead’s Reason technology. With it, one can program a simple monophonic bassline, monophonic melody and four-part rhythm track, adjust filters and effects, mix them to get the sound “just so” and even edit sounds and patterns on the fly. There’s a cost for all that ease of use, however: One can only record two bars’ worth of music and it can’t be exported or saved in any way. What Propellerhead has unashamedly declared is that this is an app intended for banging out a bit of music when you have a few minutes to kill — and absolutely nothing else. We’ll get to that a little later.

Figure is all about making great (albeit short) techno songs through a simple GUI. Don’t worry if you have no musical training; Propellerhead’s main plan for Figure is obviously about ease of use as opposed to creating a workplace for demanding musicians. Instead of poking out melodies on a virtual keyboard, one merely slides one’s fingertip around on the touchscreen, shaping the pitch and tonality of a melody and bassline. Drums are programmed similarly: You can poke out a pattern with your fingertips or pre-set the number of beats per bar, hold your finger down, and let Figure work it out for you. Even with the drum sounds, one slides their fingertip around to get variation, i.e. open and closed hi-hat, different percussion, etc. Figure will worry about key signature and timing issues while you just listen and enjoy.

Once you’ve got a basic melody and rhythm, Figure lets you use that same finger-sliding UI to adjust filters, pitches, effects and levels to breathe more life into your creation. Time-based filter modulation (translation: the part that makes the synth bass go “eeeeeoooooowwwwwrrrrwwwwooooeeeee”) is a key element of the techno music style, and Figure makes it fun to mess with it. In fact, this is the most fun you’ll have messing around with music creation while, at the same time, not having to actually know anything about music.

It would be a crime not to give a nod to Figure’s distinctive and pleasing UI, which is, in fact, very much a Propellerhead UI. All of their products employ the muted colors and distinctively flat graphical style, reminiscent of something you might seen in a late-60s sci-fi movie. It’s not just about looks, however; Figure’s UI gives you easy-to-understand visual feedback for a surprisingly wide range of factors that are simultaneously at play. The simplicity of Figure’s UI may not scale well to a more complex music-creation app, but it sure scores a bullseye for this one.

How does it sound?
In a word: Amazing. There’s absolutely no doubt that Figure’s sounds are absolutely top-notch. For a techno affectionado, Figure delivers what they love to hear: Grimy, gritty, complex bass sounds woven into crisp, danceable drum grooves and peppered with melodies that range from stratospheric to downright belligerent. Given the slim selection of instrument choices (only three), Propellerhead has opened up an impressively wide array of options to vary and flavor the sonic signature of your music. Our favorite feature is the simple “pump” dial, which adjusts overall compression to create the sort of pounding beats that blast from the windows of Camaros all over the civilized world.

A pro musician might take issue with Figure’s musical limitations, but this context is one of those rare methods of musical composition in which thinking like a musician could work against you more than for you. Instead of saying “Why can’t I add an E#9 chord at the end of this riff?” or “Why can’t I play this in 5/4 time?”, one has to understand that Figure does what it does extremely well and does not attempt to be all things to all people (unlike GarageBand). It’s intended to give you a quick way to create good techno music, and it succeeds. This is not to say that trained musicians won’t enjoy using Figure; only that they may need to pull the stick out of their you-know-whats first.

Looks great, sounds great, easy-to-use. What else could you ask for from a music creation app? Alas, one very big thing…

“Save” is the difference between “toy” and “tool”
We really, really want to recommend Figure without reservation or qualifiers, but it’s not to be: There’s no way to over-state how odd it is that there’s absolutely no method through which to save what you create with Figure. No export feature, no “convert to MP3″, and every edit is destructive (meaning: once you change something, it stays changed). Granted, nobody’s going to write the next Giant Steps on this app, but we weep for the lost opportunities to bring a simple musical motif you create while waiting for the bus into more complex editors to flesh it out (especially considering how the synth sounds are just so damn good), or to even save it as an MP3 you can drop into your iPod. Hell, never mind exporting; is it too much to ask just to re-load something you created in Figure so you can hear it again? The omission of this one simple feature downgrades Figure from potentially being one of the coolest music-creation tools ever made for iOS to being just a toy. As a result, we know that serious musicians and suspect most non-musicians won’t find Figure’s long list of other cool features enough to keep their attention.

We’ll be dumbfounded if some sort of “save” feature doesn’t appear in a future update.

So close and yet so far
As already stated, Propellerhead offers Figure as no more than a pastime for when you’re taking the train home from work or waiting for a plane to board, but it’s almost a crying shame that an app which bursts at the seams with so much polish and quality is hamstrung by the lack of a save or export feature. The sounds are par excellence, the UI does what other apps like it fail to do (while looking good in the process) and the ease of use is exemplary. Alas, when you put your iPhone back in your pocket after your train arrives or your plane takes off, all your work vanishes as if it never existed. If not for that single shortcoming, Figure would be the must-have iOS music app of 2012. Instead, it’s just a well-made toy you’ll probably put aside after a few uses. But for $0.99, maybe that’s enough.

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A few weeks ago I wrote a review of Remarks, a PDF-based note taking and markup application for the iPad. In the review I wrote that the software becomes really useful when using a stylus, because it allows for natural handwriting and that it’s also very useful when editing and marking up PDFs.

The stylus I’m using is the Cosmonaut by Studio Neat. This pen for capacitive touchscreens started as a Kickstarter project and received tremendous support, mostly — and rightfully — because of the great success the two inventors had with their first Kickstarter project, the Glif. In December 2011, the first styluses were shipped out to customers. I bought mine about two months ago and these are my impressions.

The stylus is wide, very wide. The creators describe it as being akin to a dry erase marker, and they don’t lie. The stylus has a solid aluminium core, wrapped in a grippy rubber. The tip is made from a different kind of rubber which is very smooth and glides nicely across the glass of an iPad or an iPhone. On the back of my Cosmonaut, as you can see in the picture below, there’s a cherry wood insert, but there’s also an option to have a piece of aluminium on the back.

The Good

The stylus has a very nice heft to it, which works to the stylus’ advantage; it’s more comfortable to hold than most styluses I’ve previously owned. I have found the Cosmonaut to be comfortable to hold when using it like a marker — you know, for marking stuff, like text — or when using it like a regular pen to write and sketch. The weight and the width make it a pleasure to use.

Another great thing about it is the precision; despite having a seemingly wide tip, it’s very easy to write precisely, mark small portions of text and sketch fine lines. The rubber tip dents to the point where it touches the aluminium core of the pen. After a few minutes of using the Cosmonaut, this gives you a great feel for when the iPad will react to the input from the stylus. It’s certainly much better than any kind of capacitive stylus with a foam tip (like in the Ten One Pogo Sketch). I found that I could write just as precisely as with other styluses that have far smaller rubber tips.

The Not So Good

I love and hate the rubber shell of the Cosmonaut. On the one hand this gives it an incredibly great grip, meaning I don’t have to fear it slipping through my hands. On the other hand, it’s a dust collector, as the photo below shows.

I keep my stuff clean, and I regularly clean the stylus, but after putting it on a piece of fabric, you will see specks of dust on the thing. Another downside for me is that the rubber leaves some kind of residue on your fingers when using it. This is due to the kind of rubber Studio Neat used for the shell, and it’s definitely something that could be improved. The case makers Speck and Switcheasy both have silicone shells for various Apple devices in stock that collect almost no dust at all and don’t give you the feeling that you’ve waged a Rubberband War for the past hour.

The cherry wood or aluminium accents at the upper end of the stylus are a nice touch and definitely give it that little extra design, but they also add an element of frailty to it. My Cosmonaut arrived with the piece of cherry wood sticking out a little from under the rubber shell (not enough glue had been applied to the piece of wood during assembly). While that wasn’t something I deemed worth asking for a replacement — I fixed it in mere minutes using strong glue that doesn’t dissolve rubber — it’s a weak point in the pen and I refrain from applying any kind of lateral pressure to the area where the wood is glued to the aluminium core. I’d have preferred one piece of aluminium wrapped in rubber, not a two-piece construction.

I’ve also heard from people who’ve been using the Cosmonaut intensively for almost half a year that the rubber tip can wear off/through. That is to be expected at some point and Studio Neat seems to be handling this admirably.

Conclusion

I’ve owned and used many a stylus, including the Pogo Sketch, two styluses by Elago and one by both Belkin and Griffin; the Cosmonaut trumps them all during extensive use for university research.

While the two negative points I mentioned aren’t deal breakers, I’d love to see them addressed in some manner in the next version of this product. A different, less lint-loving rubber or silicone material would do a lot for the haptic feel and the long term looks of the pen. A one-piece construction of the core would eliminate a potential point of failure at the back of the stylus, making it even more sturdy. Alternatively the aluminium/wood accent could be attached to the core mechanically.

With this in mind, the Cosmonaut is still the best stylus for the iPad I’ve used so far; it’s solid, grippy, comfortable, very precise and I can recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone looking for a great stylus.

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Postagram is a neat Instagram app that allows you to instantly mail postcards to your friends and relatives for a minimal price. Below, I will be giving you an in-depth look at this application as well as the process of ordering a postcard.

Why Send a Postagram?

Like I said above, Postagram is a quick and easy way to send postcards using your Instagram photos. While postcards may seem lo-tech, I still find them a thoughtful way to send a loved-one a memory from a vacation so they can have a memento of your trip.

Postagram is also cheaper than sending a normal postcard since shipping and the card itself only cost $0.99 in total if shipped within the US. This sure beats spending a few dollars on a non-personalized postcard and spending $0.44 to ship it.

Just like any other postcard, you can still send the recipient a small amount of text to go with the card. You can either send the description of the image or type in your own short message. Unfortunately, you’re only allowed up to only 180 characters, which can be limiting when trying to send longer messages.

Finally, when you send a Postagram, you send much more than a postcard. You also send the recipient a picture that they can easily detach from the card. If the photo or card is somehow damaged in the mail, contact Postagram and they’ll send a new card for free!

Sending a Postagram

Before we go over how to send a Postagram, you’ll first need to create a Postagram account. To do this, launch the Postagram account on your iOS device. Now click on the Account button, which is located towards the upper right hand corner of the screen. You’ll then see a Login button. Tap on this and type in your email address, and if you don’t already have an account, you will be prompted to create one.

Sending a Postagram is an extremely simple task thatncan be completed in seconds by buying the cards individually for $.99 or by purchasing credits in advance. To purchase credits, just tap on the credit icon, which is located towards the upper right hand corner of the screen. You can now purchase credits in different denominations starting at 50 credits for $9.90.

Personally, I like buying credits instead of buying individual cards because not only do you save money, but it’s also very convenient. Another cool thing about credits is the fact that you can earn them by referring friends. Referring friends is as easy as sending them an iMessage or email with your referral link, which you can do directly from the app.

Now that we have all of that out of the way, lets get to actually sending a Postagram! If you’re at the home screen, press the giant “Create a Postagram!” button which is located towards the lower portion of the screen. You will now be brought to a screen where you can choose a picture from either your iPhone, Instagram or Facebook account to use on the card. Simply tap on the network you would like to use and select an image.

I like how you can choose from multiple photo sources on Postagram. This is very convenient because no longer do you have to save a Facebook photo to your Camera Roll in order to send it. All you have to do is log in to your Facebook account and select it.

Now that you’ve chosen a photo, you’ll be prompted to choose a “profile picture,” which will be displayed on the card. You can use either your Facebook or Instagram account photos or you can choose one from your photo library (or take a new one). If you’d like, you can choose “none,” for no profile picture.

Profile pictures are nice as they add a bit of personality to the card. This is especially nice when sending a card to a parent or grandparent who hasn’t seen you in a while.

Finally, you can choose the card’s text. If you’re using a photo from Instagram or Facebook, the text will default to the photo’s description. You can remove this if you’d like and add a personal message. Remember, the maximum number of allowed characters is 180, which can be too little for some users.

Now it’s time to select your recipients. You can either manually add addresses or import them from your Address Book. You also have the option of sending yourself a copy of the postcard, which is nice because you get a printed copy of the photo you’ve sent.

Now it’s time to actually pay for the card. If you’ve previously purchased credits, you can skip this step. Otherwise you will now be prompted to type in credit card information so you can pay for the Postagram. To me, this feels unsafe and I would like to see an option to use in app purchases to pay for the card. It is understandable why they don’t however, as Apple would take thirty percent of their profit as tax.

Before you pay, you have one last chance to take a look at your card before you send it. Once you’re ready to send, press the giant “Looks great, I’ll buy!” button at the bottom of the screen. Your card will now be sent via USPS first-class mail and it will usually take 3-7 days for the card to arrive. Currently, there is no way to upgrade your shipping time which is definitely a disappointment.

What Do I Think?

I love Postagram; there I said it! While the app could be slightly improved, the service is just so cheap and convenient it keeps me coming back to send more cards on every trip I take. While it is somewhat of a novelty, my family members are happy when a card arrives as they pop out the picture and hang it on the wall. Overall, I would have to give this app a solid 9/10.

We Want Your Thoughts!

Now that you know how to use Postagram and know my thoughts, we want to know what you think! Tell us in the comments section below this article.

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The new iPad has been out for a couple of days now, and while most early adopters have had their minds made up since the announcement a couple of weeks ago, there are still a lot of people on the fence about whether or not the new iPad is worth the upgrade. Instead of giving you just one opinion throughout the review, Grant Brunner and myself teamed up to provide you with a collborative review of the new iPad. Who says what isn’t that important, but we’re hoping that it provides a more even keel to our review. We also provide three very distinct conclusions in our footer so you can see what a few of our writers think about the new iPad.

We hope you enjoy what we have to say. Let’s get started.

The Display: Retinafied

Easily the most hyped element of the new iPad, the Retina display was bound to turn some heads. It’s funny, up until opening up the new iPad, I would have sworn that the iPad 2 was crisp, and that we didn’t really need a Retina display in the iPad. As it turns out, I was painfully wrong. The new iPad’s display is so clear that it feels like I’m looking at print quality graphics. It’s really difficult to put into words just how magnificent the Retina display is in the new iPad. I mean, after spending five minutes with the new iPad, I’m starting to wonder how I’ve been able to stand looking at my Cinema Display for the last couple of years. It’s that good.

The new iPad’s display, by the numbers, has a whopping 2048-by-1536 resolution, 3.1 million pixels, and 44 percent greater color saturation over the last edition of the iPad. When putting that much information onto a 9.7-inch display (the same as the last two iPads), the color depth and clarity of the device is astounding.

The display: icons and pixels

We lined up two apps that were updated for the Retina display, and compared them to two apps that haven’t gotten any Retina love yet. As you can see, Calendar and Safari are way clearer in the screenshot. For clarity’s sakes, the above image is a direct screen shot taken from the new iPad, and then cropped to fit out post box. We have not resized the image in any way, shape or form. The screenshot, pictured above, exaggerates the clarity a little bit because the icons above appear bigger in size than they would on the iPad. That being said, this example illustrates the extra pixel available to developers on the iPad.

In-app differences

The first thing you’re going to notice is that text is ridiculously sharp on the new iPad once an app supports the Retina display. Again, it’s difficult to get an idea of just how clear the text is on the new iPad through images alone, but above is a side-by-side comparison from Readability. The article I’ve used for illustrative purposes is Jim Dalrymple’s excellent iPad 3 review. The text on the left (above) is all from a non-Retina iPad, while the text on the right is from the new iPad. As you can see in the larger example, text is a lot clearer at the same size. Again, you should probably look at the displays side-by-side and draw your own conclusions; these images just aren’t doing the display justice. For clarity’s sake, in the above image we shrunk the third generation’s text to match the older generation’s display in the top half of the image, and then we expanded the second generation’s text to match the size of the new iPad in the last part of the image. We figured it would be best to show you both ways, so you can get a better idea of how clear the text can be at similar sizes on both iPads.

New iPad, Same iPad Size

We’re pretty sure that the biggest thing you’re worrying about is having to update all of your cases and docks for the new iPad. The height of the iPad is 9.5 inches (241.2mm), the width is 7.31 inches (185.7mm), and finally the depth of the device comes in at 0.37 inches (9.4mm). How does that compare to the original iPad and the iPad 2?

Sizing info

Moving from an iPad 2 to the new iPad (iPad 3) won’t be that big of a deal for you. The majority of the cases you currently own for your iPad 2 will work for your new iPad. We’ve tested the new iPad in a number of cases we had kicking around the office, and in every single test, the new iPad fit snuggly in the iPad 2 case. Results may vary depending on the case, but like we said, you should be fine with your iPad 2 case.

The dimensions

To compare, here are the dimensions of the three iPads:

New iPad (3): height: 9.5 inches, width: 7.2 inches, depth: 0.37 inches.
iPad 2: height: 9.50 inches, width: 7.31 inches, depth: 0.34 inches.
iPad 1: height: 9.6 inches, width: 7.47 inches, depth: 0.5 inches.

Weight info

One thing you’ll notice is that the new iPad is heavier than the iPad 2, but lighter than the original iPad. Right out of the box we noticed the weight difference. It’s only 0.115 lb (49 g), but we would be lying if we said we didn’t notice. That being said, having spent an entire year with the original iPad, we didn’t find the weight to be an issue, so we doubt that the new iPad will put much strain on your arms.

While we’re not 100 percent sure where the extra weight comes from, we’re pretty confident that the added bulk is due to the new battery, which is denser than the old one (needed to power the Retina display). If the cost of a Retina display is only 0.115 lb, we’re not going to complain. The trade off is worth it.

The skinny

Here are the weights of the three iPads:

New iPad: 1.44 lb (650 g)
iPad 2: 1.325 lb (601 g)
iPad 1: 1.5 lb (680 g)

Comparison to the previous iPads

If you want to see a higher resolution version, just click here.

Yes, the new iPad is slightly thicker than the iPad 2, but you can barely notice it. Laying out the third and second generations of iPads next to each other, it is almost impossible to tell them apart with their screens off. The difference is so minor, it is pretty difficult to get it to show up in pictures in any meaningful way.

That said, the new iPad is significantly thinner than the first iPad. In fact, looking at them side by side, it seems almost cute that we thought that the first iPad was thin. Compared to the new iPad, the first generation is a hulking beast. Compared to the iPad 2, the new iPad is almost imperceptibly thicker.

Under the Hood: We Need Moah Powah

Like the iPad 2 before it, the new iPad has received a pretty substantial upgrade under the hood. This time, the new iPad has a full 1 GB of RAM and an A5x processor that features a quad-core GPU that Apple claims is four times more powerful than Nvidia’s Tegra 3 setup. Early reports have the A5X, ARMv7 dual-core processor clocked at 1GHz, which weighs in at the same speed as the iPad 2. Those reports, based on Geekbench benchmark results, failed to take into account the GPU power, so the new iPad could be quite a bit quicker than its predecessor; it certainly feels like it is at this point.

Actually, how does it feel?

It feels faster than both my iPad 2 and my iPhone 4S, which isn’t all that surprising given the spec differences. This thing not only boots up a lot quicker than the previous version, but it also simply outshines the iPad 2 when it comes to what matters the most — gaming. Apple wasn’t joking around when they said during the keynote that this iPad has more power under the hood than the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Wii. Take Air Supremacy and Infinity Blade II as cases in point. Both games work just fine on the iPad 2, but on the new iPad they load quicker, have smoother transitions, and way less pixelation. All of those things are a direct result of the power under the hood that drives the Retina display.

The Front and Rear-Facing Cameras

A lot of time was spent on the cameras in the new iPad during the big keynote earlier this month. Apple, and more specifically Phil Schiller, pointed out that, “when that camera gets of such quality and capability that you’re proud to use it as an everyday camera for photographs we call it … an iSight camera.”

The rear iSight camera has a 5-megapixel backside illuminated sensor, the optics system from the iPhone 4S, a five element lens, and an IR filter. I was pumped when I heard all that goodness was coming to the iPad.

How does the camera do?

I have to say, I’m pretty disappointed. I know a lot of people get high quality photos out of their iPhones and iPads, but I’m not one of those people. Under ideal studio lighting, the cameras look great for me, but anytime I’m trying to take a video or photo in real life, they’re often grainy and leave a lot ot be desired. The new iPad is more of the same. Since most of us use these cameras in the heat of the moment, hoping to capture stolen moments, I thought I’d try to replicate such scenarios to test out the new iPad’s cameras. So I just whipped out the camera, focused in on a note card I had lying around on my desk, and  snapped some picks. Once I was done there, I set off outside to quickly take a photo of the neighbouring backyard, with the sun at my back (it was pretty cloudy out). In my opinion, these are fairly normal situations that occur every day in an iPad user’s life, making it an ideal experiment to test the iPad’s cameras. Here’s how it all played out:

Indoor – Front-facing cameraIndoor – Rear-facing cameraOutdoor – Front-facing cameraOutdoor – Rear-facing camera

Now, it could just be my abysmal photography skills that made these pretty bad, but when I snapped a shot, things got pretty grainy in a hurry. The best images by far, both in the sample above and others taken after my little experiment, were those taken outside.

It is important to note that most people probably use an iPhone to snap pictures over their iPads, so the camera in the new iPad isn’t nearly as important as the camera in the iPhone 4S. That being said, I had a very difficult time getting quality shots from the iPad.

Voice Dictation, No Siri

Thoughts on dictation

Typing on the iPad, while not at all bad, is less than productive. Schlepping around a bluetooth keyboard is missing the point of a tablet, no? Well, we think the addition of voice dictation to the new iPad is just perfect. Traveling with an iPad is super easy — especially in the United States. Laptops usually have to come out of your travel bag during security scans at airports, but an iPad can just stay in your backpack. It makes a big difference in the weight of your bag and the amount of hassle you have to go through at the airport. And now, with voice dictation, we can dictate an email with minimal editing and send it, all on the iPad. With this added functionality, the need for a full-fledged laptop has gone away for a non-trivial number of people.

Sorry, Charlie, no Siri

What is somewhat strange is the lack of Apple’s now famous personal assistant Siri. Clearly, the voice recognition in the iPad is good enough for dictation, but the rest of the Siri functions are unavailable. Well, many people are subscribing to the theory that since Siri’s servers are already struggling under the iPhone 4S’s load, a huge wave of new iPads trying to use Siri would take out the poor girl. When Apple takes Siri out of beta, we hope to see the third generation iPad get full Siri support, but we won’t hold our breath.

Charging Times

The new iPad comes with an amazingly high capacity battery. That means you’ll get great battery life even though you’re looking at four times the pixels and surfing on LTE. The small downside to that great capacity is that it takes longer to charge the device than your previous iPad. While this new iPad hasn’t been out long enough for us to do any serious charging time tests, reports are coming in everywhere that, while it does take longer, it probably won’t affect you very much. That makes sense since the iPad’s charge lasts so damn long. Big deal if it takes a little longer to charge when you only have to charge it every three or four days. This is just simply a non-issue.

Video to Apple TV

1080p playback to Apple TV 3

The third generation of Apple TV that was just released will output 1920 by 1080 (1080p) content to an HDTV. That means that if you have shiny new 1080p content from iTunes (or your own *cough* alternate content) on your iPad, when you play the video on the Apple TV over AirPlay, it will now show full 1080p content. That’s right — your iPad wirelessly streams video of roughly the same quality as a Blu-Ray to the new $99 Apple TV. Damn, that is pretty impressive. We’d love to see any other tablet that can do that as quickly or as seamlessly.

Screen mirroring

Now that everything has such high resolution, your iPad has never looked so good. Its Retina display has over a million more pixels than an HDTV, but that doesn’t make the screen mirroring function any less cool. Your brand spanking new iPad will take advantage of the (Black) Apple TV’s HDMI connection to show off whatever is on your screen. Keep in mind, the Apple TV 2 is less powerful, so your milage may vary.

LTE

While the industry talks up how great LTE is, people outside of major metro areas aren’t even likely to have LTE yet. Luckily, Dover, DE, is covered by Verizon 4G LTE, so I was able to test it out.

Verizon LTE speed test in Dover, DE

Eh, it’s not slow, but it’s no 70 MBps.

About 10 minutes north of Dover is a town called Smyrna. This town only has Verizon’s 3G EVDO service.

Verizon 3G speed test in Smyrna, DE

That is slow and pretty terrible.

Even if you have LTE coverage, it might not be exactly what is hyped. While we can say that some locations like the Denver Airport have great 4G speeds, not everywhere does. That said, it is only going to get better from here on out, so this gripe is time sensitive and really fairly minor.

Final Thoughts

Joshua Schnell

Buying this iPad over the iPad 2 is going to be a hot debate for a lot of people. The cash savings on the iPad 2 (now $399.00) versus the Retina display and extra horsepower in the new iPad is what the internal mental dialog should be weighing at this point. Everything else is secondary. The new iPad is quicker, and the screen is substantially better than the iPad 2. If you’re not keen on saving your cash, the upgrade for the Retina display alone is worth it. But, if you don’t think you’re going to need that ultra-sharp display, I lean towards recommending you wait for the next edition of the iPad. If you decide to save some cash and go for the iPad 2, I very strongly encourage you to never, and I do mean never ever, look at someone’s third generation iPad. Once you do, you’ll never look at that iPad 2 screen again in the same way. The love affair with the iPad 2 will be over faster than it started because the new iPad’s display is just that amazing.

Grant Brünner

Using the new iPad for more than a couple of minutes makes using an old, non-Retina iPad seem a lot harder. If the only user-facing feature was the updated display, the price of entry would be worth it. As it stands, the Retina display, updated camera, LTE capability, and slight increase in speed make the new iPad worth every penny. If you’re interested, and you have the money to spare without starving or missing your bills, pull the trigger. You won’t be disappointed if this is your first iPad or third. You’ll love it, hands down.

I have owned the first generation Wi-Fi-only iPad, the Wi-Fi-only iPad 2, and now an LTE-enabled iPad. I was somewhat surprised that I could notice the weight difference right off the bat, but that faded to the background immediately. It feels much the same as the iPad 2, but so much clearer and more vibrant. I’m thrilled with the purchase, and I can’t wait for each and every app I use to be updated to take advantage of the Retina display. Playing games at Retina resolution is absolutely wonderful and helps the immersion factor immensely. Go get your own, and come back and tell us why you love it.

Nic Lake

The first time I saw the home screen of the new iPad, I was hooked. Everything just looks so stunning and crisp. Retina-ready apps like Tweetbot and Reeder dazzle, while some apps that have yet to update seem fuzzy and low-tech. Many of the apps will obviously be upgraded, so have no fear. The system still blazes, with apps ready to go almost as soon as you launch them. The “fingerprint-resistent glass” still sucks, and I’m constantly wiping it down with the case or the microfiber cloth I have, but this is to be expected with a screen that I’m practically salivating over. And while the battery will run for 10 hours, the increased capacity means that charging is much, much slower than the Apple devices that I’m used to. Not a deal breaker, but something to be aware of.

Should you buy it? If you’re looking to get your first iPad, this would be a great one to pick up. iPad 1 owners (who, in my eyes, were the primary target of this update) should also feel no hesitation about pulling the trigger. iPad 2 owners might need to mull this over a bit more, but there are many retailers like Gazelle that will still give you a fair chunk of change for your old model. And this screen looks really, REALLY nice.

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A few weeks ago Readdle, the company behind apps like PDF Expert for iPad, released an app called Remarks, a highly flexible note taking app that stores your notes as PDF files.

One feature that didn’t make it into version 1.0 of the application was the ability to synchronise folders from Dropbox or WebDAV servers with the app. Last week Readdle notified us that an update was available, adding this functionality and a few other tweaks. So let’s take a look at this app.

The first thing you’re greeted with is the notes view, which contains a short manual explaining the usage of the app and a document with change notes on version 1.1.

Here you can see all the notes that are saved on the device, add notes and folders, search for notes, sort notes by name and date and switch between your most recently used notes and the network storage.

Folders can not only be named but also color coded, which is very helpful if you have different areas of responsibility for example.

The app has a built-in palm recognition (for left handed and right handed users), which is very useful when writing with a capacitive stylus. The feature works very well, resulting in very few unwanted dots and lines on the page, and these can easily and precisely be removed with the eraser tool.

Apart from free hand writing, the user can also add written text in a large variety of fonts, shapes, arrows and even pictures. All these options are accessible through unobtrusive pop-over menus.

Each note (and thus PDF file) can have multiple pages with different layouts and paper styles.

The app also offers a wide range of PDF annotation options, which should be more than enough for most tasks in school. It doesn’t offer as many ways to annotate PDFs like Readdle’s PDF Expert for iPad or GoodReader but it’s not supposed to.

The user can even rearrange and add pages to existing PDFs (files that weren’t created by the user need to be unprotected).

If a file created in Remarks is sent to another Remarks user, he or she can have complete control over the file, including changes to everything down to the paper style, making this app great for collaboration.

In terms of networking features, it offers synchronisation with Dropbox, Google Docs and generic WebDAV servers. The user simply has to choose a folder, say in the Dropbox main directory, and tap the sync button to set-up a two-way synchronisation with the folder on the device. These synced folders don’t show up among the regular notes that were created inside the application, which might be seen as a disadvantage, but in day to day use it keeps everything nice and orderly, especially because moving notes from the app to the online storage is very easy.

The application also creates a folder called ‘Remarks’ on every cloud storage service it’s connected with, which allows easy sharing and backup of notes.

The network component of the application leaves some things to be desired though. While it’s logical not to overcrowd the notes view with synced folders, it would be nice to be able to tell the app to sync a local folder or note with the ‘Remarks’ folder the app created, if only for backup purposes. Another drawback is the fact that the app will only display PDF files from network locations. This may be less of an oversight, and more of an artificial limitation to differentiate the app from PDF Expert for iPad, which can display many different files types (like .jpg, .png, .txt, etc.). The ability to simply show and sync different files types — even if they’re not editable — would increase the usefulness of Remarks to the level of an app like Evernote.

Another annoyance is the fact that multitouch gestures have to be disabled to make full use of the palm recognition feature when taking hand-written notes. These system-wide gestures make switching between apps a breeze, which is incredibly useful when doing research with the iPad. The bad thing about this is that Readdle can’t do anything about it, as it’s probably not possible to override this OS functionality in the app itself.

The bottom line:

Remarks is great for taking all kinds of notes, organising them and syncing them to the cloud services you use. The PDF annotation features are straightforward and — in most cases — work better than in Readdle’s PDF Expert for iPad, because the annotation UI is more compact and “gets out of the way”. Sharing and export to other applications on the iPad and with friends and colleagues is very easy.

The user interface is beautifully crafted, very compact and understandable, never distracting the user from his or her work.

The fact that the app will not even display other common file types slightly mars the application’s overall usefulness, because this seems like an unnecessary, artificial limitation, to differentiate it from the company’s other offerings.

Apart from the few shortcomings mentioned in this review, there really is little to wish for. The integration of a few more web services for content retrieval and storage (like the relatively new service Dropmark) would elevate this app to a worthwhile contender for apps like Evernote.

All in all Remarks has earned itself a permanent place on my homescreen and the only question that remains for me is: Why in the world would Readdle only release this great piece of productivity software during my last semester of university?

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Two days ago Fishlabs released an update to its award winning game Galaxy on Fire 2 HD. The update added two in app purchases: The long-awaited ‘Valkyrie’ extension and the ‘Kaamo Club’. After already having completely reworked the basic Galaxy on Fire 2 to take advantage of the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S’s improved graphics capabilities, the developers have now performed their magic on the extension.

The Valkyrie extension has been available for the standard definition version of the game for a while, adding a new storyline, new star systems, new equipment and new ships to the already deep game.

The Kaamo Club, which had been introduced with the release of the Valkyrie extension in the SD version, is basically your own space station. There you can store ships, equipment and resources, giving you a handy place to build and finish all the nice blueprints for equipment that you can collect throughout the game.

Check out the trailer below to get a sense of how much better the game looks in the HD version:

All the work that has gone into creating Galaxy on Fire 2 HD: Valkyrie really shows once you play it: The textures are incredibly detailed, the star systems feel very real, with small meteors flying past you randomly — thank Q for deflector shields, phew — and the same holds true for every other visual element of the game; it is really a beauty to behold. The extension, like the original game, features completely voiced cut scenes, making the storyline even more enjoyable.

If you want to get a feel for the work that has gone into improving the game, head over to Fishlabs’s blog and read the developer diaries (part 1, part 2).

Fishlabs, being the nice people that they are, are making Valkyrie HD available for free to all customers who have bought the extension in the SD game before (mind you, the HD game and the HD extension are rebuilt from the ground up). To take advantage of this great offer, you have to have the SD version of the game installed alongside the HD version. After launching the Galaxy on Fire 2 HD, tap the add-ons button and then tap restore purchases, enter your Apple ID password and Valkyrie HD should be available to you immediately.

The Kaamo Club is a slightly different matter. Fishlabs says that because the station is unlockable without paying for it, simply by playing the game and buying it from the notorious smuggler Mkkt Bkkt, you need to pay for the station if you don’t have the patience to collect the credits in game. I’m sure this will enrage certain people, but I really don’t see anything wrong in giving the developers $0.99 more, especially when considering all the work that has gone into improving the original.

The HD version of the game is universal, meaning you buy the game once and play it on both your iPhone 4S and the iPad 2. The game also supports save game sharing via OpenFeint and iCloud, making it easy to hop between two devices and never lose your progress.

Check out the game and the extension and let us know what you think in the comments.

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You may not be old enough to remember the popular ghetto blaster, which could be described as one of the most recognizable icons of the 80s, and if that’s true, iHome would like to introduce you to their version of the boombox, the glorious iP4. This over the top (in every way that is awesome) contraption is a mashup of new school technology and old school styling.

Having actually had the priviledge to carry around a ghetto blaster back in the day, the iHome iP4 is a welcome throwback to a simpler time, clad in zebra print and head spins.  The unit is deceptively lightweight, ringing in at 7.5 pounds, and is clad in a rubber material that has a truly unique “give” feel to it.  The iP4 also comes with a handy shoulder strap for when your arm gets tired of holding it next to your head! Oh and of course, you can keep the jams going when you’re on the move via 6 D-sized batteries.

Complete with an FM tuner, and the obvious iPhone dock sitting center stage, the iP4 provides just about all of the comforts you’ve come to expect from iHome. One unique feature is a bar that swings down from above the iPhone for when you are rocking your blaster on the go. The bar keeps the iPhone in place, so feel free to roller skate up and down broadway with it any chance you get.

iHome could have easily just boxed up a standard iPhone dock with an FM radio and made it look like this, but they actually put some time and thought into the details. The device has a fully adjustable 5 band EQ that can generate a really nice array of sounds. With its dual 4-inch woofers and independent 1-inch tweeters, the iP4 generates really clean and dynamic crystal clear sound, without jeopardizing the lows that a lot of today’s music demands.

One thing you’ll notice when glancing at the iP4 are the giant knobs and buttons that adorne its face. These aren’t just purely aesthetic and are used to adjust volume, tune stations and work the EQ to fit your listening needs, just like that classic boombox from the 80s.

If you want to relive the 80s or just really think it looks cool like I do, you can pick one up directly from iHome for under $200, which is really reasonable given the styling, size and music quality this thing pumps out. Oh, and it comes in hot pink.

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The Main Screen

When you first open Paprika, you’ll see the following screen:

The left column allows you to choose between the four main views in Paprika: Recipes, the Browser, Groceries, and Meals. Each of these views will be discussed below. The second column lists all your recipe categories (and you can create as many as you like). And the third column lists all your recipes in alphabetical order. You can filter your recipes by Most Recent, Favorites, and Uncategorized or by Categories. You can also search your recipes by name, ingredient, or source in the search field. On the lower right, you’ll see the gear button for settings. In settings, you can set your home browser page, a default email recipient address, the font size for your recipes, and whether or not you want your categories to be organized alphabetically. Settings is also where you can set up your cloud sync to synchronize Paprika between your Mac, iPhone, and/or iPad. Cloud syncing is free, but you do need to set up an account through Paprika.

Individual Recipe View

When you click on the name of a recipe, your screen will look like this.

The individual recipe view displays a photograph (if the recipe included one) and information, such as, prep time, cook time, difficulty, source, and servings.You can rate the recipe (one to five stars). One really cool option is the “scale” button. Click on this and Paprika will automatically scale the recipe according to your specifications. So, you can double or halve or three-quarter the recipe and all the ingredient measurements will be scaled accordingly. To make changes to the recipe simply click the edit button. Click on the heart to add the recipe to your favorites. Click on the grocery cart to add the ingredients for the recipe to your grocery list, and you can uncheck any items you already have on hand. If you want to add the recipe to your meal plan, click on the calendar icon. You can select the date and the meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack). You can also email, print, or delete the recipe.

Browser View

Paprika contains its own browser so you can search for recipes from within the app. The default page in the browser is Google, but you can change that in the settings. Click on the bookmark icon and you’ll discover that the developers have already provided you with a list of recipe sources that are compatible with Paprika. You can, of course, add your own bookmarks.

Once you’re on a recipe site and you’ve chosen a recipe, simply click the “Save Recipe” button on the upper right and watch as it is magically downloaded straight into the app – photograph and all. This is what makes Paprika one of the best recipe managers available. Click “done” and the recipe is in your database ready to be used. Plus, its source is recorded so you can always go back to the original page where you found the recipe.

If you find a recipe on a site that isn’t yet supported by Paprika, you can still save the recipe. You’ll know the site is incompatible if, when you hit “Save Recipe,” you get a pop-up window with an error message.

Saving the recipe is still simple. All you have to do is highlight each element (name, ingredients, directions, etc.) and click the appropriate button at the bottom of the window. You can also drag the photo into Paprika. Click done and the recipe is added.

Manually adding a recipe. Just highlight and click.

Grocery View

If you’ve added any recipes using the grocery cart icon in the recipe view, they will appear in the left column in Grocery View. All the items on your list appear in categories, and you can delete any items by clicking on them and hitting the minus button in the upper right-hand corner. You can easily add all your other grocery items by clicking on the plus button and typing them in. I was pleasantly surprised that when I added “cat litter” to my list, Paprika automatically categorized it in Pet Products. Unfortunately, I saw no way to edit grocery store categories, add categories, or edit the categories items were placed in. Once you’ve completed your list, you can email it, print it, or sync it to your iPhone/iPad.

Meal Planner View

In the Meal Planner view, you can plan a week (or more) of meals. Click the plus button and a pop up menu appears. You can type in the name of a custom meal (i.e. one that isn’t in your Paprika database) or click on the “Recipes” button to choose a recipe within Paprika. Using the meal chooser button, determine whether the recipe is for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack, choose a date and you’re done. From the Meal Planner you can add a week’s worth (or more) of recipes to your grocery list.

Other Features

Sync. If you own the iPhone and/or iPad versions of Paprika, you can sign up for the sync service for free. All your recipes, grocery lists, and meal plans will be synced flawlessly between your devices.

Backup. Paprika for Mac allows you to create backup files of your recipe database. Simply click on File>backup and choose where you want your backup to be stored (I put mine in Dropbox). That way, if anything ever happens to your database, you can restore from the backup.

Import. Paprika allows you to import recipes from MacGourmet, YummySoup, MasterCook, or via plain text YAML format. I imported several recipes from my MacGourmet database without any problems.

Bookmarklet. The bookmarklet Paprika provides for Mac and your iOS devices is simply genius. Add it to your web browser and when you’re on a recipe site that Paprika supports, all you have to do is click the bookmarklet to download the recipe. The next time you open Paprika, it’s there. This is a work of magic, if you ask me.

Saving a Recipe Using the Bookmarklet

What’s Macgasmic

The best word I can come up with to describe Paprika for Mac is “Magical.” It really is. Every time I import a recipe with the touch of a button, I stupidly say, “Wow!” Every. Time. The bookmarklet makes me especially happy because I can peruse recipes on almost any website, and click the bookmarklet to save them without even having to open Paprika. When I use Paprika on my iPad, everything is synced and ready to go. Let me put it bluntly: if you cook and you own a Mac, you need to buy Paprika.

What’s Not

There’s not much to dislike about Paprika for Mac. I did discover that it only supports Apple Mail for emailing recipes. That’s disappointing, since I use Sparrow. The other thing that might be off-putting is the fact that the iPhone and iPad apps are not universal, so you have to pay $5 for each one.

Paprika is an effective and well-designed recipe manager. I recommend it without hesitation. My only wish for future updates is that the developers make it so that Paprika buys the groceries on the lists it creates and then cooks the meal for me. I don’t think that’s asking too much, do you?

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Update: Coolermaster has informed me that the Wake Up Folio is also compatible with the new iPad (third generation).

Coolermaster is a name familiar to anyone who has ever dabbled in building their own PC, providing products like cooling fans, power supplies, and PC enclosures for twenty years. More recently, they have expanded to peripherals, and are now producing products for the mobile space, including iPad 2 cases.

Recently I was looking for a new case for my wife’s iPad 2 to replace the Dodocase, which sustained a cracked corner from some unknown mishap (I blame the kids, and not my own butterfingers). I have to share that whenever a tech product needs to be purchased, I launch on an exhaustive research project. I scour the Internet in a quest for the ultimate solution, usually involving a combination of needed features and price point. In this case, we had a few criteria in mind when we chose, ultimately, the Coolermaster Wake Up Folio.

Selection Criteria

1. Not flashy, somewhat stealthy in appearance: My wife travels on the subway to work, and she doesn’t want a case that draws too much attention.

2. Protective of the front and back, while still allowing camera function: with two kids also using the iPad, protection is an imperative. Having had a case that blocked the back camera in the Dodocase, we wanted something that had a hole for the camera.

3. Hand comfort: let’s face it, holding a naked iPad 2 is somewhat akin to holding a very thin piece of paper. It gives my hand a cramp after a while, because it’s so thin. The case has to make it easier to hold.

4. Standing and angled positions: the iPad is used frequently to watch movies and TV shows, and for light email and other typing.

5. Magnet integration: this was my requirement. Since the iPad 2 has such a cool magnet system for wake/sleep functions, any case had to have this built in. One of the biggest disappointments with our Dodocase was that our version didn’t have magnets built in.

About the Wake Up Folio

Made by Coolermaster and marketed under the Choiix brand, the Wake Up Folio is a one piece case incorporating a protective polycarbonate back that the iPad 2 snaps into, and an attached cover with integrated magnets, just like Apple’s Smart Cover. The cover can be folded over into the same familiar triangle shape as the Smart Cover, to either prop up the iPad 2 in Landscape viewing mode, or to raise it off the table for typing.

Two materials are available depending on the colour of the case. Pink, orange, blue, green and grey models have a polyurethane cover, while the Black and White models come in a faux leather Coolermaster calls “Eco-leather”. The texture and colour of the cover wraps around to the hard back of the case, but stops short of the edge. On the black model, the back is black, but on the other colors the back is white polycarbonate.

The back and inner cover is lined with microfiber to prevent scratches, and the back has cutouts for easy access to all buttons and ports.

What’s Macgasmic?

There’s a lot to like about the Wake Up Folio. First off, it provides complete front and back protection from scratches and knocks. The cutaways for the ports and buttons are generous, but not so wide as to compromise protection. In black, it looks professional and businesslike, and the eco-leather gives the case a nice non-slip feel.

The iPad snaps into the back with very little pressure, and at first I was concerned that it would just as easily come out of the back, but that hasn’t been the case. The case feels solid and well put together.

The magnets of the cover wake and sleep the iPad 2, and also hold the cover in its triangle shape. Resting the iPad on a table gives a nice typing angle, and standing it up horizontally allows for a stable stand for watching videos. In addition, it is possible to stand the iPad vertically with the cover unfolded and slightly behind the iPad, although I would only recommend doing so on a hard surface as it’s not the most stable of positions.

Initially the cover would unfold itself when rolled up into the triangle position, but after a few days of use the material seems to have worked in a bit and now sits very nicely in stand mode.

The Wake Up Folio also gives the iPad a great feel to the hand. By making it subtly thicker and with a textured surface material, the iPad feels much more secure to hold and hang on to. However, as it adds only 236.5 grams or 0.83 ounces of weight, the case still retains a very slim feel to the iPad, while making it easier to hold on to.

What’s not?

There is little to fault the Wake Up Folio for. The colour choices perhaps could be broader, and with darker choices in the palette it would be more appealing to business types. The cover itself does slide a bit on the face of the iPad, but only marginally. And as is the case with any Smart Cover, the inner microfiber can get a little dusty and lint covered after a while. That’s an issue that affects all covers of this type, so I’m not faulting the Wake Up Folio for that, since it just comes with the territory.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for a full body case for the iPad 2 but want to enjoy the benefits of a Smart Cover, the Wake Up Folio might just be for you. Providing protection for the front and back, as well as magnet integration for wake and sleep in a one piece case, Coolermaster has a great product on its hands.

Coming from a Dodocase previously, I do miss the whole stealth “iPad in a book” vibe, but the functionality of the Wake Up Folio more than makes up for it.

You can find the Coolermaster Wake Up Folio on Amazon.com, as well as from the CM Store online.

Disclosure: Coolermaster was gracious enough to send me a review unit. I liked it so much I bought it.

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The CoulVue ($79.99) by TouCoul is an iPad mount that attaches to a car headrest so that backseat passengers can view movies, play games, or work on the iPad. Two versions of the CoulVue are available: one for the original iPad and one for iPad 2. The two mounts are essentially the same, except that the iPad 2 mount works with the Smart Cover and allows use of the back-facing camera.

The CoulVue is packaged simply. When you open the box, you find the one-piece CoulVue, a hex wrench, brief instructions, and warranty information.

Installation is easy. Unfasten the two screws to release the back part of the mount. Position the two pieces on either side of the headrest and screw them together.

I had to do a few gymnastics in order to keep the CoulVue in place while I screwed the plates together, but installation took only a few minutes. Having another pair of hands would make it go even more quickly. TouCoul indicates that the CoulVue should fit most headrests, as long as they have two visible steel rods connecting to the seat.

Once you have the unit installed, you can configure it pretty much any way you want.

The CoulVue has four joints allowing you to extend it out to the front (up to 10 inches) and to the sides (up to 4.5 inches) easily. It also retracts completely. The frame holding the iPad can turn 360 degrees, so you can use the iPad in portrait or landscape mode, and you can tilt the screen up or down. If you have more than one munchkin sitting in the back seat, you can position the CoulVue between the two front seats so everyone can view the iPad.

The CoulVue is made of durable, thick plastic and seems very well constructed. The iPad mount attaches securely simply by popping the iPad into the four corners. Each corner has a reinforced edges that lock the iPad into place. The mount has a soft-coated inner lining which protects the iPad from scratches.

What’s Macgasmic

The CoulVue is a wonderful solution for people who want to use the iPad as a hands-free entertainment device for backseat passengers. Its configurability makes it accessible to one or more passengers, and the ability to rotate and tilt the iPad allows users to get the best possible visibility. The fact that it retracts completely also means that it stays out of the way when you’re not using it.

What’s Not

I don’t have any complaints about the CoulVue. It is well constructed and does exactly what it was designed for. It doesn’t work with any third-party cases, although, as stated above, you can use it with the Smart Cover for iPad 2. You will want to make sure you remove your iPad when you’re not in the car, since (a) it will be a target for thieves, and (b) you don’t want to expose it to temperature extremes. As with any attachable/detachable items in a car, I’m a little concerned about what might happen in the event of an accident. Would the iPad swing forward and hit the occupants? Could the CoulVue unit break off and become a projectile? Alas, such worries reflect my obsessive motherly nature. I also worry about Yellowstone’s Super Volcano exploding while we visit. So, there you go.

I’m very impressed with the CoulVue, and we’ll definitely be using it in our truck on our next camping trip (just maybe not to Yellowstone).

We have one CoulVue for iPad 2 that we’ll be giving away soon here on Macgasm, so keep an eye out for it!

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Christmas was on a Sunday this year. We had taken care of breakfast, and moved on to opening Christmas presents in the usual fashion, but by 11:30 AM or so the entire family was complaining of how cold it was in the living room. I don’t like feeling like I’ve somehow failed to take care of my family, so I walked over to the thermostat to check the temperature. This is not a new scene for most people. We’ve all been there, Christmas or not. But what happened next was indeed something new. Even spectacular.

I stepped in from of the thermostat and waved my hand in front of it. Instantly it came to life, and presented me with a speech bubble that said, as best as I can remember, that “Away Mode has been activated. Press to continue.” I pressed the face of the thermostat and instantly the heat kicked on, bringing the room back to the desired temperature. Crisis averted.

Why was our thermostat set on “away mode”? Because every Sunday morning my family happens to be out of the house for a couple of hours. And our thermostat had learned that by watching us. See, we have a Nest thermostat. It’s certainly not your dad’s thermostat with mercury vials and metal coils. This is a work of art and a pinnacle of modern tech that rests on my wall like a glossy, metal-rimmed hockey puck. And I love it.

Nest, if you have not heard, is a new product developed by Tony Fadell, former Senior VP of Apple’s iPod division. And the pedigree shows in every aspect of this device, right down to his vision and almost utopia-fueled passion for what it is meant to become. Created to fill a void in the market for thermostats that are not only modern and intelligent, but also environmentally friendly, the Nest is introducing homeowners and contractors to a device that is seemingly right out of science fiction.

How it Works

Nest works on a simple model: rather than spending the time to program and manage a thermostat to fit your daily life, with all its variation, this device simply asks you to use it for a week, and learns by observation. The goal here is to create a wealth of data that your Nest can use to better manage the temperature of your home, and the costs associated with maintaining it, automatically.

The “away mode” I experienced on Christmas day was one of those kinds of features. Using motion sensors, the Nest had determined that we were not in the house each and every Sunday morning, and adjusted our environmental schedule to fit that scenario. The goal is to save money, use less resources and prevent unnecessary wear-and-tear on heating equipment.

Of course, the schedule remains fully editable, either via the device itself or through the web or iOS app interfaces. And you can also activate “away mode” yourself right before a vacation, effectively “pausing” the system until you return.

A Nest for Nerds

What is amazing to me is how much high tech is packed into this small little glass and metal puck that hangs on my wall. Considering the device contains a Wi-Fi antenna, a large 3.7V LiPo battery and more gold connectors and mysterious parts along with the board and wiring one would expect, it feels a lot more like a mobile phone than a thermostat. Of course, this is the brainchild of a man who helped Apple cram so much awesomesause into the original iPhone, so should we really be surprised?

The installation of the Nest device will feel very friendly to most tech nerds. Just like a new mobile phone or laptop, one of the first things you do with the Nest is sign it on to the local Wi-Fi network. If any software updates are available, it will download and install them seamlessly. And when you create an account over at the Nest website, you use the device itself to authorize adding it to your list of Nest devices, much like authorizing an AirDrop file between Macs.

Another interesting fact that popped up in a direction of the device over at SparkFun is that this little guy has a ZigBee antenna along its side. ZigBee is a technology that is used in some modern home equipment like wireless water meters and even light switches. So it seems that the Nest device might very well be pre-equipped for future expansion. Whether this sheds light on unreleased new devices, or simply upcoming software updates is yet to be seen.

But I’m sure you can see how that’s a really big deal.

The Devil is in the Details

If you are a fan of Apple devices, the Nest arrives in a very familiar condition. Wrapped in thoughtfully designed, minimal packaging, the Nest is surrounded by a handful of documents and parts. I had the same urge to take photos of the “unboxing” that I do every time I open a new Apple laptop. Clearly, Nest as a company wants to communicate emotion and connection with their devices, and the packaging sets that stage nicely.

The device is small and round, like a can of tuna, but covered in glass and glossy black plastic, all wrapped in a metal band that has the added benefit of taking on the color of your wall like a chameleon. You interact with it by turning the rim and pressing inward, almost reminiscent of the early iPods.

The screen itself is gorgeous. It sports full-color and well-designed graphics to guide you through the menus. And depending on what you are asking the Nest to do, it turns blue or orange as it cools or heats.

The Apps

One of the best features of the Nest is the fact that you don’t actually have to interact with it. Not only does it learn your schedule and manage it for you, but if you do decide you would like to change the temperature, you can do so from the comfort of your sofa, or the gym.

Nest has apps available for iOS devices as well as for Android. And while these apps aren’t full of fancy bells and whistles, there’s no reason for them to be. You can quickly and immediately change the temperature, and within a few seconds the device will light up and reflect the change. You can also use the apps as an easier way to edit the schedule that your Nest is building. Aside from that, there is little else you can do with them.

But that’s not a bad thing considering you can do all of that from outside your home. We live in New England, and the temperature can drop quite a bit between leaving the house to work out at 4pm and getting home at 5:30. The app makes it easy to bump the temperature up a bit before we even get home. People with vacation homes or frequent travelers will find this feature particularly useful.

The Bottom Line

If I had to do it over again, I would buy this thermostat in a heartbeat. The simplicity, ease of use and clean, modern design all work together to create an experience that is hard to beat. Fadell has taken the lessons learned from his time at Apple and poured them into a product that is revolutionary and magical, in the Steve Jobs sense. That’s a hard mountain to climb for anyone, and a rarity in the tech world.

This Nest is full of promise.

Written by Aaron Mahnke: Aaron is a designer, writer and editor living in the Boston area. Follow him on Twitter here.

Macgasm - Apple Tips, Apple News, Apple Everything.

Macgasm - Apple Tips, Apple News, Apple Everything.

Popa (approximately $77; price varies with the UK pound), by Beep Industries, is an accessory that turns your iPhone 4 or 4S into a Leica M9! Well . . . not really, but the Popa does add a classic-looking leather grip to your iPhone with a nice, big shutter release button.The Popa works with a free app that automatically downloads to your iPhone the first time you attach the accessory.

When you open the box, you will find the Popa, a hand strap, and a soft pouch for storing the accessory.

The Popa

In order to use the Popa, you first must open the compartment to reveal the dock connector.  

Rotate the strap attachment end counter-clockwise, and the compartment door slides open. It’s almost as cool as a James Bond gadget.

Attaching the Popa to your iPhone is a bit tricky. It takes quite a bit of force though it helps a little if you rotate the Popa while pushing it onto your iPhone. Once you get it on correctly, the Popa feels totally secure. This thing isn’t going to slide off accidentally.

The first time you attach the Popa, a box will pop up asking you if you want to download the free Popa app. Tap yes and you’re on your way.

Using the Popa is simple. Simply point, focus, and press. The shutter button is responsive and has a nice feel to it, although if you’re accustomed to a DSLR where pressing the button halfway lets you focus, you’ll be disappointed. The Popa button does not focus the camera; you need to let the iPhone camera do the focusing or use your finger on the screen to direct the focus. The best thing about the Popa is how it feels in your hand. All of the sudden, your iPhone feels balanced and sturdy. You no longer have to hold the thing by your fingertips while trying to take pictures. Taking steady shots is much easier, and if you use a lens accessory like the Olloclip (see our review here), you’ll find it much easier to get clean shots.

The App

The Popa app is pretty basic. The only camera settings offered are flash on/off and a timer. You can focus using your finger on the screen and the little Popa icon will pop up showing you where your focus point is. You can then move the focus around with your finger.

Once a shot has been taken, it lives in the Popa gallery. It is not automatically saved to your Photo Library, so, if you decide to keep a shot, you’ll need to save it to the library from within the app. The gallery has a nice look to it, with a red film theme surrounding your photos.

If you want to move several photos at a time to the photo library (or delete them), simply tap on the pencil in the lower right hand corner, then tap on the photos you wish to select. Choose “save to library” or “delete” and you’re done.

If you want to work with an individual photo, tap on it. The app “develops” the photo and then you can send it to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and even other camera apps using a realistic camera dial. The app itself offers no editing options.

What’s Macgasmic

The look and feel of the Popa is, in a word, magical. This little accessory makes your iPhone feel almost like a real camera. Taking pictures is simple and having a big red button to push really makes a difference. You feel more in control and your shots are definitely steadier.

What’s Not

While I love the Popa, it does have some shortcomings. The Popa won’t work with most iPhone cases, though it is compatible with cases like the Incase Slider and the Kensington Capsule Case. It works fine with my Uncommon Capsule as well.

But, the developers don’t recommend using it with a screen protector. Because the Popa must be pushed on pretty forcefully, screen protectors will just get in the way. My Popa caused some damage to my iPhone’s surface (see photo below). Although the scrapes are small and probably not noticeable to anyone but me, it bothers me that the Popa caused damage at all. Since I don’t keep the Popa on my phone all the time, I know that every time I reattach it, I will be doing more damage to the glass on my phone.

The app has some weaknesses too. The Popa only works with the Popa app. This unfortunate requirement is apparently something Apple dictates for accessories like the Popa that attach via the dock connector. Because the Popa app is so limited, this makes the accessory less appealing. Hopefully the developers will enhance the app with features akin to Camera+ and ProCamera I would prefer having an option to automatically save photos to my iPhone library rather than having to do it manually. The Popa app should also offer basic editing options like cropping and maybe a few filters.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing I’ve encountered with the Popa is that it doesn’t always work. When you attach the accessory and unlock your iPhone, the Beep site says that the Popa app will automatically open. It doesn’t for me. I always have to open it myself, but that’s not a big deal. However, when I begin taking photos, oftentimes the button simply stops working. The only fix for this is to remove the Popa and reattach it, which is something you don’t want to do in the middle of taking pictures. Although Beep recently updated the app to fix this problem, I’m still encountering intermittent functionality. I don’t know if my Popa has hardware issues or not, but if I had paid $75.00 for this accessory (Popa kindly sent me a review unit), I would not be very happy with it working only some of the time.

Conclusion

The Popa is an expensive accessory considering that it is basically a button. But, the craftsmanship really is top notch. You’re not getting a cheap piece of plastic that will fall apart after a couple of uses. Plus, once you take some pictures with the Popa, you won’t want to go back to fumbling with the on-screen camera button or even the volume shutter button. The Popa feels more natural and, when it works, it works like a charm.

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GridLens by Bucketlabs.net is a new photography iPhone app. Currently on sale for $0.99, this is one iPhoneography app you don’t want to miss. What makes yet another photography app so special? GridLens allows you to do things with your iPhone camera that you can’t do with other apps. At first, I thought it was another app for importing pictures into a frame. But that’s not at all the idea behind GridLens. Instead, the app allows you to take multiple shots from within a frame, either manually or automatically.

Camera Mode

The screenshot below shows you what camera mode looks like. On the upper left is a button to control flash. In the middle you can select options (I’ll discuss those below). On the right is the familiar button to switch between the front and rear cameras. Across the bottom are buttons for the gallery, grids, shutter, manual/automatic, multiple angles view, and single view.

The first thing you’ll want to do before you shoot is (a) decide on a grid, (b) select automatic or manual shooting, and (c) choose between the multiple angles or single view. GridLens provides 17 built-in grid options, plus you can create your own (see below). Each window in the grid hosts a separate photograph, so, whether you shoot manually or automatically, you’ll get as many photos as there are grid windows. If you want the camera to shoot the frames for you, simply choose “a” for automatic. Once you press the camera button, all the shots are taken, and GridLens begins processing them. If you prefer to shoot each frame yourself (this option gives you more control and you can change position for each window), choose “m” for manual. You can then shoot each frame either by touching each window with your finger or using the camera button. After all the frames have been shot, the app begins processing them. The multi-angle view allows you to shoot one object/person from multiple perspectives. It’s like shooting with multiple lenses all at once. The single-view option separates the object/person into frames.

Options

When you’re in camera mode, tap on the “options” button to gain access to border colors, border thicknesses, and frame ratios. You can also tap on the gear button from this menu to set up logins for Flickr and Facebook, turn autosave on and off, and find out more about the app.

Gallery, Filters, and Sharing

The gallery displays all your GridLens images. Tap on an image to select it. Beneath the image you’ll see the following options: an arrow (=save to photo library); the export icon (this allows you to share the image to Twitter; Facebook; Flickr; other iPhone apps, like Instagram, Dropbox, or Photogene, or email the photo); a spray can icon (which gives you 8 basic filter options); and a trash can. The filter options are limited, but they do allow you to turn a GridLens photo into black and white or to add color or contrast.

Grid Edit

To edit or add grids, simply tap the grid button (next to the gallery button along the bottom in camera mode). If you choose “edit” you can delete any grids you do not want to use. Tap the plus button to create your own grid. You’ll be presented with one frame. If you tap it, you will be given the option to choose from a 2-frame horizontal or vertical divide or a three frame horizontal or vertical divide. If you prefer to add your own frames, use your finger to slide the border up or across. As long as you see a number in the window, you can use your finger to create new grid lines. If the number disappears (which it does sometimes, and I haven’t figured out why), press the undo button to regain it. Although the process is a little bit finicky, being able to create your own grids makes this an even more versatile app.

What’s Macgasmic

GridLens is a fantastic photography app. I can’t stop playing with it. It allows you to create photos in a whole new way with completely different perspectives. I haven’t even scratched the surface on all the possibilities this app provides. And, the developers didn’t just create a great photography app; they created it with finesse. The app itself is beautiful and features quirky animations. When you process a photo, for example, a little face appears and its jaws chomp up and down until the picture is ready. The app also provides helpful overlays that explain how to use its functions.

What’s Not

Some things about GridLens could be improved. For example, I wish you could retake individual windows within a grid when creating a photograph. As it is, once you click the camera icon or tap a window, that’s it. If one of the windows didn’t come out like you wanted, you have to reshoot the entire grid. Applying filters to photos is a little clunky. After choosing a filter, you have to tap on “done” or the image won’t be processed. And, strangely, even after you apply filters, they don’t show up on the images in the gallery view. I suspect this is a bug. Some of the buttons in GridLens are too tiny, especially the manual/auto button. I have to use my pinky to switch between the two modes. I found creating a new grid to be somewhat finicky and difficult to use, especially if you use the drag function to create new frames.

GridLens has already earned a spot amongst my most-used iPhoneography apps because it offers so many creative possibilities. If you enjoy photography on your iPhone, this is a must-have app.

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