HTC Droid Incredible: Display

The display on the Droid Incredible is great. It is a large 3.7 800x480 pixel AMOLED screen. It is very very bright.

The display is produced by Samsung, and that is the reason for the Droid Incredible delays. Samsung is taking those great displays and integrating them into their phones, in example, the Galaxy S.

It has three brightness settings,

• Screen Brightness Off
• Medium
• High

In the sunlight, the best screen setting for the phone is probably the Highest setting.

HTC Droid Incredible: Design

Apparently, when the HTC Droid Incredible was designed, their designers found inspiration from a Black Italian Sports Car. I will admit, it has a unique design for a mobile phone, but I do not see an resemblance of an Italian Sports Car.

Notice the ridges on the back cover, and the red internals.

The back cover has nice ridges or levels, and at first glance you might think that the phone would wobble around when sitting on a table, or desk. When sitting on a table, it has a little wobble, but not anything unbearable.   Most of the wobble probably comes from the camera lens which sticks out. Behind the back cover reveals red internals, and I must admit, it's quite nice.

It is physical QWERTY board-less, so it is very thin, and has round edges. The phone is very similar to the Nexus One, but one major difference is the Nexus One has a trackball, and the Droid Incredible has an optical track-pad, which works just as good, if not better then the trackball.

[Review] Palm Pre Plus from Verizon Wireless

I recently purchased a Palm Pre Plus from Verizon Wireless, and I have used it for a few weeks.

Hardware

The hardware is very sleek. The phone has a 3.1" 320x480 AMOLED screen. It has a slide out QWERTY keyboard. The slide is much improved over the Sprint Palm Pre, when you slide the phone up you don't have the "pop off the hinges" problem. The keys are tiny, and raised. I was worried about typing on the phone, but had no problems. The battery is very poor. You don't get a lot out of that battery. It has a 600 MHz ARM Cortex A8 Processor. Overall, the hardware is a little "last generation," and doesn't compare to the "Super-phones" we are used too.

Software

webOS was said to be some revolutionary software, and I couldn't agree more. It is probably the easiest software I have ever used, but it isn't free of lags. It comes with a YouTube Player, Google Maps, a photo viewer, capable webkit web browser, memos, music and video players. Tethering is available on the phone, and it is pretty quick for a mobile phone that provides internet access. Tethering is available for free from Verizon, and you are capped to 5GB of data. It has Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR, a 3MP camera which is a little last generation too. Even though it has a 3MP camera, it takes very very good pictures. It also does video recording.

Overall, I used the phone for less then a month, and was very happy with it. I would recommend it to someone who doesn't care if they have a "last-generation" phone. For those out there who like to have the best phone, you will be disappointed with this. I returned the phone before the 30 return guarantee was up, and I only did it because I wanted my upgrade date back.

HTC Droid Incredible: Browser Speed

The HTC Droid Incredible features a Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g wireless card built-in, along with a blazing fast Dual-band (800 and 1900MHz) CDMA2000 1xRTT/1xEVDO/1xEVDO rev. A cellular card that can get up to 1.8 Mpbs uplink and 3.1 Mpbs downlink speeds. We have decided to our own tests on the HTC Droid Incredible Internet speeds and here is what we came up with:

HTC Droid Incredible Browser Speed with 3G data connection:

Using Verizon Wireless' 3G data connection, the HTC Droid Incredible loaded the mobile version homepage of It's All Tech in 3.4 seconds. Using the same setup, the phone loaded the desktop version homepage of YouTube in 9.6 seconds (with full flash advertisements and content). Again using the same setup, the Droid Incredible loaded the mobile version homepage of CNN in 7.2 seconds. Finally, using the same setup, the phone loaded the mobile version homepage of The New York Times in 10.7 seconds. Please note that these times may vary depending on your location and signal strength.

HTC Droid Incredible Browser Speed with Wi-Fi connection:

Using a 802.11n wireless network, the HTC Droid Incredible loaded the mobile version homepage of It's All Tech in 2.9 seconds. Using the same setup, the phone loaded the desktop version homepage of YouTube in 5.6 seconds (with full flash advertisements and content). Again using the same setup, the Droid Incredible loaded the mobile version homepage of CNN in 3.3 seconds. Finally, using the same setup, the phone loaded the mobile version homepage of The New York Times in 2.3 seconds. Please note that these times may vary depending on your signal strength.

HTC Droid Incredible Browser Speed with 3G data connection versus iPod touch (2nd Generation) with Wi-Fi connection:

In the next series of tests, we decided to put the power of the HTC Droid Incredible's 3G connection against the 2nd Generation iPod touch Wi-Fi connection. The HTC Droid Incredible is on the right and the iPod touch is on the left. Take a look at the video below:

HTC Droid Incredible Browser Speed with Wi-Fi connection versus iPod touch (2nd Generation) with Wi-Fi connection:

[Review] iPod Nano 5th Generation

Well, I was looking for an iPod to replace my old iPod Nano 2nd Generation. I thought about it for a few weeks trying to decide on an iPod Touch or another Nano. I chose the Orange iPod Nano 16 GB. You can pick this up at your local Apple Store, Apple's Online store, or an Apple reseller such as Best Buy for $179.99 (16GB) $149.99 (8GB)

The iPod has some excellent features for it's very tiny exterior body

• Video Camera
• FM Radio
• 24 Hours battery for music, 5 Hours for video
• VoiceOver Kit
• Coverflow
• Built in Speaker
• 2.2" Screen
• 3.6 inches (90.7 mm) (Height)
• 1.5 inches (38.7 mm) (Width)
• 1.28 ounces (36.4 grams) (Weight)
• 0.24 inch (6.2 mm) (Depth)

The User Interface is very very simple to use. Just the standard menu options. Apple seems to make the software very easy for the user to figure out, and this is absolutely no exception.

• Music
• Videos
• Photos
• Podcasts
• Radio
• Video Camera
• Extras (Games)
• Settings
• Shuffle Songs

The device has a glossy aluminum finish. It is a finger print magnet! I am constantly cleaning the exterior of the iPod to reduce the finger prints. It comes in several colors, and they are Silver, Gray, Blue, Purple, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red (Product Red), and Pink. I got the orange one.

The camera is surprising very good, and I wasn't expecting the best camera. Although it really isn't the best, but it isn't the worst. VGA video, 640 x 480 pixels, up to 30 frames per second with AAC audio are the features of the camera. It has 15 special features on the camera including Sepia, Black and White, X-Ray, Film Grain, Thermal, Security Cam, Cyborg, Bulge, Kaleido, Motion Blur, Mirror, Light Tunnel, Dent, Stretch, and Twirl.

Overall, this is one great iPod. It offers tons of features for a low price. I have found no problems yet, but rarely do I find problems in an Apple product. I would highly recommend this version of iPod to anyone. I give it a full 9/10. The reason I didn't give it a full 10 is because of the finger prints, but I can expect that from just about anything, but I really don't like it.

[Review] Twitter for Android app

Twitter recently told us that they were working on an app for the Android platform, and today it was released. Unfortunately it was only launched for Android 2.1+ devices.

The User Interface is very similar to the one seen on Facebook for Android. The first screen you will come to is the "Home" Screen, and you have several options within this page.

• Tweets
• Mentions
• Direct Messages
• Lists
• Retweets
• My Profile

At the bottom of the screen, it shows all of the trending tweets during that certain time. The "Home Screen" options are pretty self explanatory. At the top of every section of the app you have a logo bar with a few buttons at the top, I am going to use the first Home Screen option which is "Tweets" as an example. The buttons you have available are just the usual stuff. You have a Refresh, Post a Tweet, and Search button. When you are in the home screen you can click "My Profile" and change your profile picture. Some of the backgrounds are animated as well. Overall the UI is very simple, and very easy to use.

Notifications are sent to the user when a direct message, or mention is sent. When you are on the "Home Screen" you can press the menu button on your phone to access the settings of the app where you can add more notifications, or you can disable them, and you can control how it notifies you. Also, you can manage contact syncing, and you can choose the URL shortening service, and photo upload service.

Overall, I enjoy using the app more then any other Twitter Client because of the animated backgrounds. I don't know why I like that, I just think it offers a little more. I think the application offers a lot of useful features, but I also think that they really ripped off Facebook's User Interface.

Would I recommend you dumping your other Twitter app for this?
It's really up to your personal preference. If you like the simple UI, and the animated backgrounds, then this is the Twitter app for you. If you really don't mind all of that, then it's up too you.

App Review: We Rule

App Name: We Rule

Developer: ngmoco, inc

Price: FREE!

Link

Were can I start with we rule, other than that it in a way, is like MW2, its a love-hate relationship.  We Rule is pretty much farmville, but more, basically, you create a kingdom and build stores and farms and try to make a living.  You can add friends an

d buy and sell stuff to them to make money and mojo, mojo is a special kind of money that can speed up the productions of goods and crops to earn money faster.  This game is great, it keeps you coming back and i find my self checking it a hundred times a day!  You start off at level one were you can make and sell a limited amount of goods, but as you buy and sell, you get experience and level up, at certa

in levels you are able to expand your kingdom to make room for more buildings, farms and decorations.  Now if you remember I said at the beginni

ng of the article that it is a love hate relationship, this is because We Rule may have the worst connection, or server issues I have EVER scene, almost 50% of the time I go on We Rule, it has connection issues or it just wont work. I don't know if this is Rogers fault or the game but it sure gets on my nerves when I have a patch of pumpkins that I need to harvest and they get spoiled.  Im believe that they are trying to fix

this by having having updates but hopefully we see much better improvement soon!  The game also has pretty good graphics and a lo

t of cool features like the "+" witch is a account that you can use with any game that is made by ngmoco witch is great if you like to play their other games (reviews on them will come!)  My suggestion to you is that you go and download this game because one, its free, and two, its a kick ass game that will keep you occupied through those boring classes!

Splinter Cell Conviction Review

When I first heard of Splinter Cell: Conviction I didn't know much about the story of the other Splinter Cells. I have never played any of them because I really was not a huge fan of stealth games at the time of their releases. Now, after playing many stealth games I started to get more and more interested in learning more about the latest Splinter Cell game. After researching it out, I decided to order the Limited Edition because of the stuff that it came with.

In Splinter Cell: Conviction you play as Sam Fischer, who is seeking out revenge from the death of his daughter. With many twists and turns throughout the game, it always makes the story interesting to see what was going to happen next. The story was short but apparently there will be some new DLC for the game which will make it a longer and more interesting game. I look forward to seeing how Ubisoft will expand the storyline and will make the game more interesting.

The graphics in the game look amazing. The game is created with the Unreal Engine, which when I heard this, I wasn't wild about it. After playing the game for a while though the graphics were downright beautiful. Everything lined up great and all the effects that were thrown in with the gameplay mechanisms fit in perfectly. There were two lighting scenarios for the game. If your character was in the dark where you couldn't be seen, then the entire screen turned to black and white. If you were in light, then all the colors of the games would show up and you could see what everything really looked like. This mechanism in the game was well done and really enjoyable.

Controls were a little different then most games. It did take a little bit of getting used to, but was not a major inconvenience. I can not complain about the slight learning curve considering it doesn't take to long to learn. My favorite part of the game was the mark and execute feature. This was a feature that allowed you to mark a certain amount of enemies and after getting a melee kill would allow you to press a button and your character would kill any enemy marked with a red arrow. This really made you want to get up and personal with the enemies and gave you a reason to do melee kills.

The sound in the game was amazing. The voice acting was spot on and all the effect sounds were in place. I never once heard a noise that shouldn't have been there or seen the lip movements messed up with the voices. The sound department did an amazing job with this section of the game, and really added to experience when playing the game.

Overall, Splinter Cell: Conviction is a welcomed game to my collection. I am glad that I purchased it, and I enjoy seeing what will become of the game in the future. Everything in the game worked perfectly and I never once got frustrated with different aspects. I have to give this game a solid 9.75 out of 10 and will continue to play this and any future games due to the fun factor of Splinter Cell: Conviction

[Review] TweetDeck for Windows

Hey guys, I wanted to do a review on TweetDeck for Windows. I have used the program for about a month. So, here it is.

The UI is very nice, and very simple to use. You have columns that have your Social Network information within them. If you are on several Social Networking site, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace, you can have a column for each of the sites.

With Twitter you get several column options: All Friends, Mentions, Direct Messages, New Followers, and Favorites.
With Facebook you also get several column options: Full News Feeds, Status Updates, Wall Posts, Photos, Videos, and Other
Myspace offers a variety of column choices as well: Friends Activity Stream, My Comments, and Friends Status and Moods

It also offers LinkedIn support, but I am not on that site, so I have no idea what the column choices are.

To update your status, you have a text box directly above the columns, and you easily type your status there. Above the text box it has a "From" section where you can choose which site you want to receive the status. Say you want to only update Twitter, not Facebook or Myspace, then you would un-highlight your Myspace and Facebook buttons, and highlight you Twitter.

A popup in the right hand corner of your screen will come up when someone from any of your registered accounts updates their status.

It, of course, requires an internet connection.

This picture shows where you choose your Status Update's location, and where you would post it

Overall, the Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and LinkedIn client works very well. The popup is a little disturbing when you are listening to music or watching a video, but it can be disabled in the settings menu. The popup is a little laggy, it takes a few minutes to popup after the status has been updated. Other then that, I haven't noticed any problems with the software, no bugs or glitches. It works very well with Windows Vista, and I would recommend it to anyone who uses several Social Networking sites, like myself.

I give it a 9/10

iPhone App Review: N.O.V.A

App Name: N.O.V.A (Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance)

Developer: Gameloft S.A.

Price:  $4.99 (Free version available!)

Link: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/n-o-v-a-near-orbit-vanguard/id343596730?mt=8

N.O.V.A is one of those apps where you just want to play all the time! Its refreshing to see a GOOD game in the app store that's not a pick up for five minutes and then regret paying the $5 like most of them out there.  It seems as though many developers have had trouble mastering first person shooters for the iPhone and iPod touch, they just don't really work..... until now!

This app has defiantly raised the bar in my mind for all first person shooters, this is what they all should be like! You do not have to worry about getting your monies worth, this game has so much to do, from its great story mode to online play, you will get more than your monies worth!  Lets talk about the story mode, I haven't really gotten too much into it but it seems as though you are a commander of an outer space army that has to go and defeat a evil army, not too original but it still is enjoyable and addicting! The beginning of the single player adventure is very informative on how to control your master chief look a like and use all the features inducing your gun, grenades and how navigate through the levels.

No lets talk about what I think is this apps major pro, the multiplayer, not only can you play with your friends through bluetooth or wifi, you can create or use a existing gameloft gammer I.D and play with other iPhone user across the world! Now I was about to say that the online play was reliable but the game I was playing just froze on me....... However even though the online has a few kinks in it, its still a great game that will supply you with countless hours of fun! (how many times have you had a host migration on COD...... ya) Graphics for this game are pretty descent, I don't really like to judge a game on graphics normally because as long as I can see whats going on with some detail, i'm fine, so thats why I am not going into too much detail about the graphics. But for people who do care and wont buy a game unless the graphics are good, I would say this has maybe a 6 or 7 out of 10.

Overall this game is the best first person shooters I have played on the iPhone, the controls are smooth and easy to use, the game is fun with awesome story and online play, and it doesn't burn too big of a hole in your pocket!  Also, it reminds me a lot of halo so all you x-box fan boys, grab this game!

If you do get this game for the iPhone or iPod touch be sure to send me a email or a tweet with your gammer name and we will play!

Opera Mini for the iPhone review

Opera Mini for the iPhone was released less than 24 hours ago and we were able to install it on one of our iPod touch's. From a quick look, the browser is extremely fast, but needs a lot of work on the user interface and gesture controls. Keep reading for a full review.

Speed

Opera based Opera Mini off of speed, saying that the browser loads web pages 6 times faster than Apple's Safari web browser. Server-side compression and loading allows the speeding times to improve dramatically, according to Opera.

In our own tests, Opera Mini loaded the It's All Tech standard homepage (non-mobile) web page in 6 seconds. Safari took 14 seconds to load the It's All Tech homepage in standard mode.

Loading mobile Google took 2.3 seconds on Opera Mini, but took 3 seconds on Safari.

The final speed test we ran was loading the desktop version of YouTube. Opera Mini took 5.65 seconds to load YouTube and Safari took 10.69 seconds to load the desktop version of YouTube.

However, we did notice that Opera Mini took longer to start up and to be usable, compared to Safari. This is most likely due to the fact that Opera Mini needs to connect to the server before loading any web pages.

Clearly Opera Mini for the iPhone beats out Safari in speed, but what about user interface?

Speed: 10/10 stars (10 being the best)

Stability

We loaded 10 websites at the same time (10 different tabs) in Opera Mini and the browser did not crash once. In fact, there was not even any slow down with 10 pages open. Opera certainly got the stability down with Opera Mini, and it appears nothing will crash this web browser, but we'll keep trying.

Stability:  10/10 stars (10 being the best)

User Interface

The user interface of Opera Mini is where the web browser begins to fall apart. The interface looks very rough, like it was not completed and things were just thrown into places where they don't even fit. Switching tabs is a pain, especially with multiple ones open, since you have to scroll through each one to find the one you are looking for. Accessing bookmarks is difficult because it is hidden under the Settings pane. The Google search box is very small and does not really need the Google logo in there.

It almost seems like the address box at the top was not finished because it justs cuts off at the top.

User Interface: 5/10 stars (10 being the best) - the user interface certainly needs a lot of work, but hopefully will improve with future releases.

Multi-touch gestures

Opera Mini for the iPhone includes all of the multi-touch gestures that Safari includes, except for pinch to zoom. However, the question is, does Opera do a good job implementing these features? A short answer would be "no."

Opera Mini has, to say the least, horrible momentum scrolling, a feature everyone is accustom to in Safari. Momentum scrolling, the ability to choose how fast the page scrolls up or down using the power of your finger flick, was implemented horribly in Opera Mini. It works, but it works very basically. In our tests, it seems like it only recognizes up to a certain power of flick and after that, just goes as fast as it can.

There is a the ability to hold down anywhere on the web page and a small dialogue box opens up that allows the user to copy the text, open the link in a new tab or save an image.

Opera also needs to implement pinch to zoom into Opera Mini for the iPhone, however, most web pages seem to be zoomed in enough so that text can be read, something that Safari is not that good at.

Multi-touch gestures: 7/10 stars (10 being the best) - Opera needs to fix momentum scrolling and add pinch to zoom if they want this rating to increase.

Overall Thoughts

Opera built a solid and very speedy web browse with Opera Mini for the iPhone, but it is lacking in features such as multi-touch gestures and user interface elements. If Opera fixes these, Opera Mini will certainly become my main web browser on my iPod touch.

Overall Score: 33/40 (40 being the best)

Power Support Black Air Jacket Review

Today I went to the apple store to pick up a case for my new iPhone, out of all of the ones to choose one, I believe that i have found the one!

The Black Air Jacket is a incredibly sleek and light weight case for the iPhone 3GS that goes for around $40.00 (with 2 screen protectors included!).  The jacket is composed of a rubber coated plastic that is virtually weightless, and measuring at a max thickness of 1mm!  The case will cover the back side of the phone excluding the silver bezel and the very top and bottom, like a sleeve of

sorts.  It of course has holes for the volume rockers, vibrate switch and camera.

Now on to my opinion, I love this case and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a nice lightweight case that will not add too much to the thickness of the phone, however with this lightweight pro comes a con.  For those people who want complete coverage of almost everything, this might not be for you, it does not cover the bezel and parts of the top and bottom, there will be photos of the areas were the case does not cover.  The jacket definitely does the job well though, it covers just enough for a good overall protection and will help prevent scratches and drops very well and will with out a doubt protect your precious phone.  The case has no logo or words that are actually on the jacket, which really makes it look sleek and clean.  Very easy to remove and to attach, however I have not yet tested dropping my iPhone with the case on it and seeing how it holds up after a drop (because even though I trust it, my phone is barely 48 hours old so I do not want to take ANY chances).  This case is also a package deal, for 40 dollars you get the jacket, and two screen protectors, one anti glare and one crystal (I am going to do a review on those as well!) currently I have the crystal one on but I have not yet tried the anti glare so I don't have a strong opinion in the two.

Overall this case is great, sure it wont cover the WHOLE phone, but for me, thats all I need, a little insurance for if I happen to drop my phone.  As for price, i'm not really too savvy on the whole case market but I would say that it is a quality buy and was well worth the money.  If you are in the market for a new case or just like many cases I highly suggest you take a look at the Power Support!

Black Air Jacket: http://www.powersupportusa.com/product/show/black-air-jacket-for-iphone-3g

[Review] Google Earth for Android

Okay, so I know that you are probably thinking "Well this was released along time ago" but I have an excuse! I have a Droid which recently received Android 2.1.

Immediately after receiving the update to Android 2.1 I downloaded Google Earth from the Marketplace.

User Interface

The UI for the application is very simple. All you see is the Earth, a compass in the upper right hand corner, and some copyright information at the bottom.

Features

The app has several features

• You can explore in 3D
• It knows your location
• Multi-touch
• Local search
• Voice Search
• Maps Layers

The features found on the mobile version of the software are very similar to the desktop version.

Navigation

Navigation is very simple. You can simply use your finger to pan around and double tap or pinch and zoom to zoom in or out. To get to the search option you press the menu capacitive button (Droid, some users may have hard buttons).

When you are in menu's you have several options which include

• Search
• My Location
• Settings
• Layers
• Help
• More (Clear Search Results, and Terms of Service)

Speed

When you are using the application, the speed is snappy and quick, but if you leave it open and go to say another application, it slows your phone down to a crawl.

Miscellaneous

The app does not offer Street View. It is only available on Android 2.1 devices

Overall

This app still has a few bugs, like speed, but it offers a lot to counter act that problem  It is only available on Android 2.1 devices, which leaves several Android users out in the rain. I would not recommend this application to anyone, and I give it a 4/10

Pokemon Soul Silver Review

For all you dire hard pokemon fans this ones for you!

Im not going to go in great detail about this game but I will cover a couple of features and whether or not I like it and suggest it to you!

So im not sure if you guys know this but Nitnendo has made yet another pokemon game! This time its Soul Silver and Heart Gold.

These new games are remakes of the Gold and Silver versions for GamBoy colour that came out 10 years ago.

With these new games came quite a lot of new features.... some useless but none the less new.  First off, you can now have any poekmon follow you around the game,  this is kind of cool but I have yet to find a way to turn off which is sometimes anoying.... I dont always want my Scizor following me around wherever I go, however Scizor looks sick but I need a break! Another novelty perk is the pokewalker, this little pocket size pokeball is able to download your pokemon's information, and as you walk around with it, it trains your pokemon.  Sounds cool..... but it hasn't even made it out of my box.

What I like about this game is how it brings back the silver and gold story line, I loved silver and gold back in the day and I think that Nintendo has done an incredible job with these two new games.  I highly recomend it to any pokemon player, veteran or newbie and it will make a great addition into the pokemon series

iBooks Review

One of the most interesting things to me with the iPad was the iBook application. I was really looking forward to seeing how it worked and just how many books they had. As far as I can tell there are a lot of books to choose from. When you download the app from the app store you do get a copy of Winnie the Pooh, but honestly I have no intentions of reading this book soI bought a book to see how the download process went. It downloaded very fast and I have not ran into any problem with anything.

The interface is extremely user friendly. It is probably one of the most simple apps that I have seen on the iPad so far. All you have to do is just click on the book you want to read, and it opens right up. What is really cool is that the iPad remembers what page you were on for every book. So if you are like me and want to read more than one books at a time, you never have to remember what page you are on. The iPad remembers it for you. This really makes the app much better.

The store on the iBooks app is just as easy. They show some of the new releases, the best selling, and recommendations. It is very easy and fun to use and it looks great. It is a very great way to use technology to read books. I have used a Kindle before but I really do have to prefer the iPad more. The amount of detail put into the app is just amazing. I highly recommend you download the iBook app if you have an iPad and try a few books and see if you like the app. I can't imagine someone would hate it, but if you aren't a reader, you might now enjoy it that much. I would give it a try and see if you like it. I loved it, and I give the app a 10/10.

iPad TweetDeck Review

The first thing I did when I opened up my iPad today is downloaded a Twitter app. Usually I go through 4 or 5 apps before I decide on one. I decided to give TweetDeck a try and I have to say that it is amazing. It uses all the features of the iPad and really makes Twitter easy. There was very little learning that needed to be done when using TweetDeck.

What I liked about TweetDeck was that you can see all your mentions, updates, and messages all on one screen. I never needed to go to a different section to see any of them. Another thing that I love about TweetDeck is when you open up a link for a picture or website, it does not close the app. It simply opens the website in a space above the tweets. It is a very simplistic app.
All the features that come with TweetDeck are just amazing. Here is a list of the features:

-multiple columns
-multiple Twitter accounts
-reply, retweet, direct message and favorite from a tweet
-view user profiles
-see recent updates and who a person is following and being followed by
-follow or unfollow and block or unblock a user
-add All Friends, Mentions and DM columns
-add Search columns
-add Trending Topic columns
-add Twitter list columns
-geotag your tweets
-shorten URLs
-access Twitter contact list
-upload photos
-rearrange columns however you like
-view geocoded tweets on a full-screen map

A few of the features that I know I will be using is the shorten URL and photo uploads. As you can see there are a ton of features. The best part of this app is that it is FREE. I would have had no problem paying something for this app, but when it's free it makes it all even better.

Overall I have to give this app a 10/10. If you are looking for a Twitter app on your new iPad, I highly recommend you try out TweetDeck.

Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package DLC Review

For 15 dollars, you can actually get a decent game or movie. But for me, I decided to get the Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package. The Stimulus Package is the first pack of DLC for the best selling game, Modern Warfare 2. As of right now the only console that has the pack available is the X-box 360. Luckily that is just what I have. The pack comes with 5, that's right, 5 multiplayer maps. There are 3 new maps and 2 maps from Call of Duty 4. The 3 new maps are Storm, Bailout, and Salvage; and the 2 returning maps are Overgrown and Crash. So is the map pack something you should download or is it something can wait?
I have looked forward to playing the maps from Call of Duty 4 again, and the three new maps looked like a lot of fun.
Storm is a large map with a lot of different hiding spots and places to go. It is a very rainy map, hence the name "Storm", which really does not help the fact of having a headset. But it is actually a lot of fun. The fact that you can actually run all over the map and find different spots all the time to snipe, camp, or do just about anything is really fun. I am not a camper myself but I had to find people that were camping and it was pretty cool seeing all the different sections. This is a perfect map for objective games as well. I played headquarters on the map a lot and that has to be one of my favorite maps to play Headquarters on. My favorite thing about the map is how wide open it really is. If you are in the open there is a good chance that someone has seen you, and you better be ready to protect yourself. I love the map Storm and I give this map a solid 10/10
When I heard about the map Salvage, I really did think it would be a cool map. No camping, always fighting, and close range; which means I get to use the Shotgun!!! Well after playing the map, I have to take back everything that I thought about it. There are very few maps that are worse than Salvage. I did like that there is absolutely no where to go. When I take two steps, I get killed. I can not find any place to even reload on Salvage. I can not see myself looking forward to this map with any of the game variants that are playable on it. I give this map a 5/10 because I think with the right playlists it could have some potential, but every game I played it was not fun.
Bailout is a lot of fun. There are a ton of buildings that the battle could be going on at, and this is a map that I think the perk Scrambler could actually be useful. I did notice that a lot of the fighting takes place in one part of the map, but if the teams split up, then it really could happen anywhere. I did enjoy the look of the map, and it was a lot of fun finding all the different places to find people. This map deserves a 9/10 due to some of the playlists that are played on it.
I never liked the map Overgrown on Call of Duty 4. I did not enjoy the fact that all there were was snippers. They really did good with redoing this map though. There are still the famous snipping places, but with the all the new Kill Streaks in the game, it really made it a lot more fun. The only time I had a problem with this map was when we were playing Demolition because the turrets in the buildings look right over the zones to plant the bombs. This could make the game a little frustrating. Other than that though, Overgrown has got to be my favorite map from the Stimulus Package. I have to give this map a 10/10
The last map was Crash. I don't really know what people liked about this map that much. I didn't hate it, but there were a few maps that I liked more. Crash is a lot more balanced now though as well. I do not like the Capture the Flag mode on the map, but the rest of the playlists are a lot of fun. I still find myself going to the spots that I went to in Call of Duty 4. I really enjoy this map. This has to be one of the best maps in the pack. There is a spot on the map though where you can get out of the map. This did make it a little more frustrating, but I still have to give this map a 9/10
Overall 15 dollars for a map pack is a little pricey. I didn't think I would pay it right away, but I am glad that I did. The maps are a great addition to the game, and it's a lot of fun to play something new. I look forward to seeing what else the game has in store. With the average of the different map ranks, it gives the map pack a solid 8.6. If you want to play some new maps then I highly recommend you try this pack out. It does add a lot of different aspects to the games, and it's fun to play something new. I like this pack and am looking forward to seeing what the next map pack is going to be.

[Review] Skype Mobile for Verizon Wireless

Hello, as many of you know I am using a Motorola Droid, one of the devices that supports Verizon's exclusive Skype Mobile app.

Skype Mobile was released to Verizon Smartphone users to download for no charge from their application store. It was released on March 25, 2010.

I downloaded the application immediately after it was released to the public, and have used it several times since then. It is very easy to use, and is very similar to the desktop version.

It comes with Instant Messanger, and VoIP calling. It is not functional with WiFi, which is kind of disappointing. When someone tries to call you from their Skype Mobile phone or desktop it simply comes through to your phone and you answer it.

Phone call quality Skype-Skype users was excellent, no background noise was heard from me or the person I was talking to. Call quality Skype-Landline was also very good. No background noise was heard either. Most people thought I was talking from a landline.

Instant messaging works very well also, one problem I have found when using it is, the app alerts you when you send someone an IM. Now this may not be a problem, it might be something Skype planned on doing, but it does get very annoying. When you receive an IM is will alert you with a crazy sound.

Overall, this app is very functional and works very well. If it supported WiFi calling, the app would be even better. If it stopped alerting you when you send an IM, it would also have received a better rating. I give it a 7/10

[Review] CrossLoop

This is an example of the access you would give to someone accessing your computer

I had a friend from twitter help me with a laptop problem, and he ran into a few problems. He asked me to download a program called "CrossLoop" which is a remote sharing program. It allows others to get access to your computer remotely, or it allows you to get access to someone else's computer remotely.

CrossLoop offers three models of their software

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CrossLoop Pro $99.50/ year

CrossLoop Home $29.50/year

• Connect to up to 5 remote computers using unattended access.
• Experience screen sharing without advertising.
• Transfer files between your computers.
• Reboot any unattended computer and log back in.
• Secured with 128 bit encryption

CrossLoop Free

• Connect to 1 computer
• Remote reboot and reconnect
• One click screen sharing
• Secured with 128 bit encryption

The program is very easy to use. All you do is either give the access code to the person wanting to remotely connect your desktop or laptop, or you get the access code from the person you want to remotely connect to. You or the other person will be asked to accept the invitation, and Boom your connected.

This program also supports Windows and Mac together connections.

I used the program for about two hours and had absolutely no problems with it at all. It was very quick, and easy-to-use program. It moves as fast as you do.

They also let geniuses use their skills to help people repair something for a fee, which they collect from the users and split the revenue. If the user who received the help is not happy, their money is refunded.

Overall,

I, of course downloaded the free version of the software, because I wasn't planning on using it very often, but after I got it, I really liked it, and now use it to remotely repair my other computers. I saw no advertising throughout the two hours that I used the program.

I would have absolutely No problem recommending this program to anyone.

I give it a full 10/10

Blur Beta Review

I was lucky enough to get into the Blur beta for the Xbox 360. At first when I heard of this game, I wasn’t to thrilled about it. I am a person who really does not like racing games other than Mario Kart for the Wii. But after looking more into the game, I decided to try to get into the Beta. It was a success and I have now been playing this game for the last few days.
What I actually noticed about Blur is that the game is a much more advanced and more complex version of Mario Kart. So when I started playing I really liked it. I thought that it is going to be just another racing game, but I have to say that this is definitely one that I will be picking up. Mario Kart was the other racing game I ever enjoyed but with a full multiplayer experience and great adrenaline filled races, Blur really kept me on the tip of my seat. I have found that I am really accident prone in Blur though. I guess being unexperienced in racing games would make me worse and less of a threat on this one.
What I love in Blur is the amount of detail that was put into the graphics and sound. It has a wide variety of cars and each car that I drove sounded and looked different from every other car in the game. I also love the graphics of the power-ups in the game. I really have no idea what each one is called but I know what each one does. The crashes are another thing that look amazing in the game. As much as I hate crashing into people or into power-up traps, I still like it because of the amount of detail put in the graphics. The cars do have health and you have to repair yourself with power-ups in the game. If your car explodes or you drive off the side of the track, you do get put back into the race but people do usually pass you for the time that it takes to turn back into the game.
The controls are really simple and easy to get used to. I have never once ran into a part where I didn’t know what control to use. It is very straight foward and easy and fast to learn for all the races that you will be in.
There is a ranking system in the game which is really nice. It works off of how many fans you earn from the race. You earn fans from doing some tricks and hitting people with the power-up or winning the race in the top places. You get levels of ranking for the online play and each level will unlock more game modes or cars or kits that you can put on the cars. It helps change up the way that the game is played after playing it for a while. I enjoy changing cars every once in a while or changing the kit on my car to see how they effect my cars.
Overall I really enjoy the game Blur. I am looking forward to getting the real game and seeing what exactly they change from now until the time that it comes out. There is still a few months between the official release of the game, so hopefully they will change something in the game. I really am looking forward to playing the beta for Blur even more and unlocking more and more cars and kits to see how exactly those all effect races that I am in. The ranking system is amazing and I really enjoy the way it works. I have to give the Blur beta a solid 9.5/10 and I look forward to seeing how it is changed throughout the time of the official release.