Meebo – Review February 26, 2010
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Cell Phones, First Look/Reviews, Mp3 players and iPods , add a comment
Meebo – it’s fun to say! Meebo. Meebo.
A while back, I wrote a review of Beejive IM, for the iPhone – an IM app that did nearly everything. It’s a great app, but somewhat pricey for IM, ($10) – although it was the best way to IM everyone on all your networks.
But, recently, after showing the app off at the original iPhone 3.0 announcement, Meebo has finally been released, and joined the IM fray. And for most of you – the presumably cheap especially – Meebo might be the solution you’ve been looking for for using AIM, Facebook Chat, Google Talk, Yahoo Chat, and Windows Live simultaneously. (Although you might want to look at consolidating some of those networks…). And unlike the still-fantastic Beejive, Meebo comes at that lovely, lovely price of free.
Also, Meebo has the usual features of a great iPhone IM app: push support for getting IMs outside of the app, speed, and full chat history. It also has the ability to connect to the Meebo website – which allows a pretty sweet seamless transition from iPod/iPhone to computer. One minor qualm I had was related to my use of an iPod Touch – it takes a few seconds to reconnect/load your accounts when returning to the app from a notification – something that is due to the use of WiFi over 3G or EDGE.
But, for delivering almost all functionality of Beejive for free makes Meebo at least worth checking out. Link’s right here.
Doubletwist – iTunes for Your Phone February 24, 2010
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Apple, Cell Phones, Computers, First Look/Reviews, Mp3 players and iPods, Music , add a comment
Doubletwist – like iTunes, for non-Apple stuff
The age-old issue: you, like nearly everyone else, uses an iPod for music – be it Touch, Nano, Shuffle, or Classic — and you are very happy with using iTunes for syncing and so on. But unfortunately, unless you have an iPhone, the iTunes program is quite unhelpful when it comes to your phone. Unlike your iPod, you can’t just plug in to your computer and sync your music, and while phones have separate applications for syncing media, lets face it – getting everything to work, getting your music from iTunes…its annoying– especially every time you get a new phone.
Enter Doubletwist. iTunes for everything else- literally. Able to recognize and import your iTunes library (even playlists), Doubletwist is compatible with a whole slew of companies and devices – PSP, Zune, Nokia’s, LG’s, Motorola’s, etc. True, it’s not compatible with everything – but it’s certainly more then an iPod and it does a great job syncing. The interface is simple, and familiar to iTunes’, and features the drag/drop method we all know and love. Videos – provided they aren’t purchased (and therefore, DRMed) from iTunes – are converted into a suitable format and synced. Photos – same deal. (Note: iTunes Plus songs, without DRM, are fine)
Best of all – it’s not only a Mac application – Doubletwist is for Windows as well. It also has features for sharing – or “twisting” as they call it – media with friends and family, as well as integration with the Amazon MP3 store.
If you’d like Doubletwist, check it out on the site here to see if they support your phone or device. Also, you might want to check that you have a USB cable to connect your phone to your PC. Finally, if you’re looking to keep a fair amount of songs, look into getting a MicroSD card, so you have memory to store ‘em.
And next time your iPhone toting friend is bragging about having his music on his phone – you’ll have the last laugh.
Zune HD Gets Some New Games and Apps… For FREE November 13, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Mp3 players and iPods , add a comment
Project Gotham Racing on the Zune HD (Pic from Kotaku)
Remember back in our Zune HD review where we mentioned how the Zune HD will be getting some new free games and apps, like the hit Xbox 360 game Project Gotham Racing? Microsoft released a whole bunch of new games for the Zune HD including
- PGR: Ferrari Edition (which is like it’s Xbox sibling, giving you 12 Ferrari cars to race all over New York, London or Tokyo either in a 33 level Career mode or in online races aginst up to 3 other cars)
- Lucky Lanes Bowling, a bowling game where you can play either against the computer or up to 4 friends
- Piano app which simulates a virtual piano
- Vans Sk8: Pool Service, a skateboarding game where you aim to do the best tricks in 10 different events
- Checkers
- Audiosurf Tilt, a game where you pick a song from your music library on your Zune and then try to collect the colored blocks and avoid speed bumps along a custom roller coaster made for each song. Microsoft also said today that they soon will also have apps for Facebook and Twitter.
Yes, this is nowhere near the 100,000+ apps in the iTunes App Store, but Microsoft does deserve some credit– creating what looks to be some quality apps (specifically the PGR and Audiosurf games) that look to take full use of the high powered Nvidia Tegra chip inside the Zune to give some solid games all for the unbeatable price of FREE (though you do have to look at a brief ad while the game loads, something I’m more than happy to deal with if it means quality, free apps).
Now if only they’d open up a real App Store and give developers a chance to fully tap into that high powered Tegra chip (I mean check out this video of PGR and Audiosurf on the Zune from Engadget, who they say looked as sharp as a PSP game!), and we’d be all set.
Anyone out there with a Zune HD, you like your new games?
Full info on the apps can be found on the Zune site here.
Eliminate – iPhone Game Review November 11, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : First Look/Reviews, Mp3 players and iPods, Video Games , add a comment
Not to be confused with Halo.
And, once again, I return to that wonderful gaming platform, the iPhone/iTouch. That’s right readers, another iGame review. This time, I’m talking about Eliminate Pro, the new online 4-player FPS that just came out. Also, its free. Kinda.
First off, what is Eliminate? As previously mentioned, its a iPhone first-person shooter. The quality of the game is way up there – some of the nicest graphics on the iPhone, especially considering that it’s running online with 4 players. There are 5 maps and a total of 6 weapons, 5 of which need to be unlocked, as do a variety of armor types. Weapon and armor attributes, like rate of fire and speed are also upgradable. You play up to four players online, with a matchmaking system based on skill ratings to provide as fair a match as possible. Private games are also available, which is nice for when you want to play some people you actually know. There is also an offline mode, but it’s somewhat limited, allowing you to play against 3 computer opponents, but it doesn’t allow much customization.
Gameplay is awesome – the maps are pretty small, so the action is pretty frantic, and fun. A variety of powerups, including heath regeneration, invisibility, superspeed, damage increase, and the always fun jet pack are scattered around the maps, adding to the chaos. Controls work well, with your left thumb working movement, and right thumb aiming, with tap to fire. Those used to playing console first person shooters should easily adapt.
So, I mentioned before you need to unlock and upgrade things. And you do that through credits, which you earn through playing games online. And thats where the monetary aspect of the game comes it. The game itself, as I said, is free. But unless you have “energy” while playing, you won’t earn any credits, which are used to unlock weapons, armor, and upgrades. You’re given a free energy recharge every four hours for about 3 games or so, but after that, if you want to play AND earn credits to upgrade (you CAN still play for fun), you need to buy energy through the in-app purchasing system. Personally, I can understand why they run the system this way, since its the only way to support the game and keep it free, but I can’t say I’m a fan of the nickel and diming.
However, even without energy, the game is still fun, and that’s what counts in the end. And since it’s well, free, I suppose I can’t really argue against it. Check it out on iTunes here. (Note: iTunes Link)
Review: Microsoft Zune HD October 2, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : First Look/Reviews, Mp3 players and iPods , add a comment
The Zune HD
For the last week or so we were able to spend some good ‘ol time with Microsoft’s sweet new Zune HD. It really is a slick device– OLED multi-touch 3.3 inch touchscreen with amazing display (thanks to NVIDIA Tegra graphics), sleek design, thin aluminum casing, built in WiFi, and of course, the HD features of HD radio and the ability to play your videos in HD with the optional HD playback kit.
So if your looking for a new device and have to choose between say, this and the iPod touch 3rd gen, which should you go with? The answer, my friends, is after the break.
(more…)
Apple Announces Updated iPods, iTunes September 13, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Apple, Mp3 players and iPods , add a comment
So, Apple’s annual iPod event was this week, and they, as usual announced the latest round of iPods for the Holiday season, as well as a new version of iTunes. So, lets go through it, shall we? (more…)
Apple Event September 9th– I Wonder What We Should Expect September 1, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Apple, Mp3 players and iPods, Rumors , add a comment
Apple today announced that they’ll be holding an event on September 9th– and from the pic above, it looks to be music oriented. So don’t buy that new iPod just yet; waiting an extra week or so may turn out to be really smart. As in the past, Apple used the September event to show off new iPods, and with strong rumors floating around the web of new iPods– see our post here– we wouldn’t be surprised if they update the iPods again.
Just to briefly cover some of the other rumors of what Apple is expected to show off (remember– these are just rumors): new iPod Nano, Touch, and Classic with cameras (as we wrote about in that previous post– just now the rumors are that the Classic too will be getting a camera), iTunes 9 with some possible integration with sites like Facebook, Blu-Ray for Macs, among some other rumors. So while we wait to find out on September 9th what Apple really has planned, feel free to guess on what you think Apple will show off in the comments.
Oh, and don’t forget to check back on the 9th, as we’ll have everything covered here.
Pic from Engadget
New Info on the Zune HD August 19, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Mp3 players and iPods , add a comment
The Zune HD
You’re also very interested in the Zune HD? Who could blame you — HD Radio, WiFi, AMAZING (yes, AMAZING) OLED screen, HD playback of videos, an awesome design and a bunch more features.
When we first wrote that post on the Zune HD we were very excited as this could really be Microsoft’s “iPod killer,” but were left wondering on its launch date and price, as well as details including battery, features and storage. Well have no more fear– Microsoft has finally let all the details out of the bag, and wow this thing looks even better to me than it did before.
Beginning with storage, the Zune HD, like its iPod Touch competitor, has either 16 or 32 GB depending on how much you want. Among the previously unmentioned features of this incredible machine, the web browser seems nearly on par with Safari, and I especially advise you check out CNET’s hands-on video and their positive comments here. And not only is there multi-touch, battery life on this bad boy is also insane: 33 hours of music, 8.5 hours of video, and only 3 hours to charge from your PC and 2 (yes, 2) hours to charge from an AC adapter! All that is way better than the iPod Touch in every way. There are also a host of color design options, as you can see from the above pic (right now you can only pre-order in the standard black, 16 GB version, or “platinum”– a 32 GB version, silver)!
On to the biggest news: the price and release. The 16 GB version will be coming in at $219.99 and the 32 GB version will be coming in at $289.99 when they launch on September 15th (a little under 1 month away). That’s $80 cheaper than the iPod Touch 16 GB and $110 (!) cheaper than the 32 GB iPod Touch. Wow is right.
Of course, just to be fair, Apple is said to be holding a big event sometime in the two weeks of September where they are rumored to be launching new iPods (possibly these), so if your looking for a new Mp3 player, you may wanna hold off for a month cause things are about to get really interesting.
You can pre-order the Zune HD here from the Microsoft Store, Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart, and can check out the Zune HD for yourself at any of these Best Buy stores on August 22nd and 23rd.