tech

Unboxing & Haul: Lo-fi Cameras (TLR, Holga & Lomokino)

What’s in My BAG?

DODODCASE Essentials Unboxing

My new DODOCASE Essentials for iPad 3 arrived today and I did a quick unboxing video to share with everyone since I know so many people have been buzzing about this case online. I am really loving it so far, but I have one major issue. I was under the impression from the DODOCASE.com website that the Essentials case came with a magnetic strip that activated the iPad’s sleep/wake function, however, I think I am missing that magnet because mine is not working 🙁 I left a message for DODOCASE on their Facebook page so hopefully they will let me know if this was a feature or not. I should have a full review of the case soon, but in the meantime, here is the unboxing… enjoy!

I Heart Cases

As if it were any secret, I really love new cases for my gadgets. It gives them a new feeling despite their age and wear and I can never resist a good deal on a cute case. For instance, I picked up this rather whimsical floral iPad sleeve from Kohl’s for about $10 after the mailman graciously sent me a $10 off gift card for the store (I love those things)! Of course, Mike tried to talk me out of it, making the obvious argument that I have enough iPad cases, however, I explained to him that it would be a good investment because I could use it for a future iPad 3 as well, so it wouldn’t go to waste once I upgrade my gadget. He reluctantly agreed and now I tote my iPad around in this beauty which I was happy to find came with black and silver hardware, which I strongly prefer to the brass/faux gold look.
Now, since moving to my new apartment, I have rediscovered my love for Marshall’s as well, which is where I spotted my next new case. This sparkly Nine West laptop sleeve was a steal at just $15 so I had to talk Mike into buying it immediately and giving it to me for Christmas. It is so rare for me to find a laptop case that I just have to have and again, I was taken in by the silver and black hardware and the fact that the direction of the sequins create a variation on the cases cover from a sparkling black to a sparkling silver. Its very fun to play with!

Gaming For Under $1 – Collision Effect

Basics: The goal of any level is to bring all the orbs of the same color together, without any hitting each other while on their way! You tap one of the colored orbs and all the orbs of the same color fly towards the one you touched. There are two modes, Action and Puzzle each with their own difficulties. In Action, colored orbs come in from off screen and you must quickly tap an orb before any hit each other. You have to be careful of the paths all orbs take since are all moving and no orb but the ones you touch remain stationary. In Puzzle mode the atmosphere is more calm as all the orbs aren’t moving, but the challenge lies in a more complex arrangement of the colored orbs mixed around.



Gameplay:
Either fast paced or slow and steady depending on your game mode. In Action, the orbs come in from off the screen and you have to survive wave after wave of managing when to have them combine. Gets very hectic very fast and panic will rush many times as you see two orbs come within pixels of hitting. In Puzzle, it is much more calm but much more difficult to solve. Complex weaves of orbs blocking other paths cause you to have to think and experiment for a while before you finally get it right.

Controls: You see an orb. You touch an orb. It literally couldn’t be more basic. Working the menu system is more complex then the controls.

Graphics and Sound: Graphics are beautiful with vivid and bright colors and nice particle effects. The sounds and music are very space-themed and remind me ALOT of any Bejeweled game you might play

Overall: This is a steal for .99 cents. I cannot stop playing this even after reviewing it. Whether you want to play it for five seconds or spend half an hour trying to figure puzzles out, you’ll never be bored. With the choice of a mindless, fast paced Action game or the mindboggling, time consuming challenges of the Puzzle mode, you can play Collision Effect for whatever mood your in. Buy it now before the developers realize the goldmine they are sitting on and raise the price!

Cousy’s Grade: A+

Gaming For Under $1 – Tiny Planet

Hello folks, I wanted to let you all know I am launching a (hopefully!) regular article highlighting new games for the iPad! Best of all, for those on a budget, all of these games will be .99 cents! For this first installment of Gaming For Under $1, I will review ‘Tiny Planet’

Basics:

This is your basic defend the tower game, however instead of a tower – you are faced with alien invaders swarming down, trying to attack your very own planet. You rotate your player around the outside of the planet, shooting the whole way and repealing the baddies and keeping your skies clear.

Gameplay:
Pretty basic – you spin your player around and he shoots the invaders. As time goes by minor upgrades will pop up, and later you can unlock different and more powerful upgrades. Also more and more invaders will come and come, until your planet is too damaged (3 hits, and your dead but you can regain health through power-ups). There are no levels, completions, anything – just survive for however long you can.

Controls:
I have a problem with most iPad games, since the controller will inevitably take up and cover much of the screen where the action is happening, and that problem plagued this game. You are supposed to use two thumbs to rotate your player around, (I found myself abandoning that for one finger) and because you finger(s) are covering parts of the screen and invaders come from all corners, you often miss a few until they are seconds away from crashing into your planet. Also, as the player rotates, he shoots automatically and to be honest randomly, with no real way for me to control. I would just put him in position under an invader and just waited for a shot to go off. It was pretty fast to shoot, but still out of my control.

Graphics and Sound:
The graphics for this game are cartoony style, but it does it well. It is hard to do any graphics on an iPad badly, so I have no complaints for the cartoon style chosen and any “realistic” graphics would not have fit the feel the game was intended to have. The game has a very nice and simple melody going on while you play, and it will be muted if you have your music playing. Invaders make a very satisfying squash sound when you hit them, and as your health decreases, a heartbeat sound gets louder and louder – both for indicating your health and to induce a panic in the player.

Overall:
A simple game with no ground-breaking gameplay elements. I would hope further updates increase the amount of upgrades to make the gameplay a bit more diverse, and hopefully the cost to unlock those upgrades goes down. (After one game I got 12 stars to use to unlock upgrades, however the cost of the upgrades were 15 stars, 100, 150, 200, 300, and finally 400 stars, so it is going to take awhile to get them all) If you want a game to pass 5 minutes, then by all means spend the money on it, but if you are looking for a more long term game to get invested in, then maybe pass this one up.

Cousy’s Grade – C+

BookBook for 13" Macbook (Pro)

It’s been some time since I have seriously blogged here and since I have the day off and nothing to do, I decided that today was as good a day as any to catch you up on my tech acquisitions from the past few months. One of which is the Twelve South BookBook for the 13″ Macbook (Pro). This very unique laptop case has been the primary home of my white 13″ Macbook since I was given it as a present last summer. I had been struggling for some time with the idea of hiding my unused Macbook in plain sight until this nifty case came into my life.

As you can see from these pictures, the BookBook has a beautiful antique suede exterior that truly looks like an antique book, but is strong and sturdy, providing great protection for the laptop inside. In contrast, the interior is a beautiful bright red fleece like material that acts as a soft cradle for your laptop, protecting it from scuffs and scratches. One great feature of this case that I like is how it enables you to use your Macbook while it is still completely encased and protected. Now, one comment I feel I must make is that you may notice that on Twelve South’s website that they suggest this case only for the aluminum Macbooks and Pro’s, because they suggest that the red interior may discolor a white Macbook. I, however, decided to disregard this warning and still used the case to protect my Macbook. It has been over 6 months since I began using this case on my Macbook and still it seems that the interior of the case has not discolored the white casing of my Mac. This does not mean that another case may not discolor your white Macbook, as Twelve South probably has good cause for making this suggestion, but in my experience with the case there has been no problem!

Overall, this is a very nice case for those who either enjoy the look and feel of old books, or perhaps need a case that can hide the Macbook in plain sight. It is a bit pricey, starting at $79.99, but at least for me, the price has been worth the quality of protection.

What’s in my bag 2.21.11

What's in my bag 2.21.11

Since I am home from work today for the President’s Day Holiday in the U.S., I decided that I should refresh my flickr feed with a new “what in your bag” picture. Since I bought the iPad early last summer, it has pretty much completely replaced my Macbook Pro in day to day use. Since I no longer carry around a full out tech bag, I recently purchased a new spring tote for my lighter tech load. It took me a long time to find a bag that was both fashionable and practical for carrying my expensive toys, but ultimately I ended up choosing this Gia Milani large tote from Target. It was a complete bargain for just $36 and it has a nice sized center zippered compartment that fits my iPad perfectly and makes an inconspicuous hiding spot for it.
Contents (Left to Right, Top to Bottom):
3G iPod in it’s silver business card case
Silver Zebra camera case
Bronze oversized wallet
Bowers & Wilkins P5 Headphones with pillowed carrying case
Blackberry Tour
Baggu in Peacock
Large Ruled Moleskine
16gb Wifi Apple iPad in SGP Argos case