We all love to doodle on an iPad with our fingers as it brings back memories of the simple times of finger painting and building blocks. However, a stylus can come in super handy when you want a bit more control whilst writing on your fancy tablet. A cumbersome problem upon purchasing said stylus is that you have no way of attaching it to your iPad to keep track of it. This can be a very expensive pencil to lose, as they usually run for about $15 apiece. Ten One’s handy dandy product called the Particle Case solves just such a problem for those of you that want to use a stylus, but fear you might lose it a little too easily.
This rubbery black rectangle keeps the most exposed areas of your iPad safe, and has a little grippy thing for your stylus as well. The open back keeps your iPad nice and cool, and doesn’t add much weight to it. There are four little rubber feet on the bottom to provide some distance from whatever surface you may have it on. It is a bit awkward to store if it’s not in use as it’s not paper-thin and made of rubber, but it’s not as though it takes up much space.
This isn’t a particularly useful case in my opinion, but I am on the go pretty much constantly, and as I have to put my iPad in and out of a bag constantly, the stylus still has a chance of falling off, as it’s not really death gripped inside of the holster on the side. If you like to just prop it up and doodle or write with it on a flat surface, then it’s great for walking around the house and not having to constantly having to keep track of the stylus. If you put it on a stand, or constantly are on the run, however, you’ll want a case with more protection, and a carrying container for your stylus so you know you won’t lose it. Buying it from the site will cost you about $35, but you can find it for less elsewhere.
I was called into the office the other day, and was handed something I’d never laid eyes on before. What was handed to me was the Splitfish FRAGFX SHARK gaming controller for use with the PlayStation 3, PC, and Mac. I looked down in awe of just how cool the thing looked, and I imagine I looked back up with the eyes of the Nintendo kid on Christmas. I immediately rushed down to the gameplay area and set up to start testing the controller. The SHARK is meant to be used with FPS games mainly, and it does its job perfectly. Here’s my review of the Splitfish FRAGFX SHARK gaming controller, for your viewing pleasure.
Versatile, Yet Stable
When I first attempted to use the SHARK, I will admit that I was confused. I had never really used one of these types of controllers before, and it looked a bit odd. I had heard of these types of controllers before, and I was told that they severely enhance gaming fortitude and accuracy, especially in FPS games. Oh, how true this came out to be. The SHARK came packaged as follows:
the gaming mouse
left-hand control pad
USB plug-and-play adapter
hard-bottom Splitfish mouse pad
I was extremely happy with the plug-and-play ability, because I literally had to just plug the USB adapter in, and I was able to play immediately. The PS3 recognized the controller almost instantly, and it worked perfectly. I loaded up Killzone 2 and was ready to give this controller a run for its money.
The key features of this controller are listed on the Splitfish website as follows:
2 AA batteries (not included)
NEW 50h + play time
NEW 500h + power save standby
Mouse 1750 DPI resolution
Play with the mouse on the PS3 as you would do on a PC
Full PS3, PC and MAC support, either as a gamepad or mouse/keyboard control
Fast access to special features (eg macro, rapid-fire, button swap, stick swap, etc.)
Brand new wireless technology to 2.4 GHz
Plug and Play
NEW dead zone adjustment wheel
SixAxis support
The mouse pad that came with the SHARK is great, because of its hard bottom. This makes it easy to set the mouse in your lap, on the couch beside you, or wherever you see fit. I found it easy to set the mouse beside me, because it made for a far easier range of motion with my right arm. The left and right mouse buttons corresponded to the “R1? and “R2? triggers on the PS3 controller, which was perfect for FPS games. With the triangle, square, circle, and x buttons located on the left side of the mouse, it was a perfect place to set your thumb for easy button-pressing in time of need.
The analog controller fit perfectly in my left hand, and it was extremely comfortable. Access to the “L1? and “L2? triggers was made easy, and the small grip made the controller feel easier to have in my control. The analog stick was topped with four ridges so that my left thumb set perfectly in the middle of the stick, allowing for easy movement, and it prevented my thumb from slipping off of it. On the analog controller is a d-pad, that is perfect for accessing menu options, and making changes to the controller on the fly.
Miscellaneous Specs, and Visual Aspects
Located on the left-hand analog controller is a spin dial that sets the controller’s sensitivity. I had to have mine turned all the way down to zero (which is the highest sensitivity) in order to use it easily, but the spin dial makes for easy adjustments on the fly. The d-pad also has the ability to change button mapping, assign macros, and switch the analog sticks to suit your play style. With the start, select, and PlayStation buttons at your quick disposal, this controller has everything you need, literally at your fingertips.
Plus, one of the most awesome aspects of this controller is the way it looks. The graphics on it make the controller a definite collectible to have in anyone’s gaming arsenal. The thing seriously looks beast.
The only issues I had with the SHARK were finding a comfortable position to play in, and adjusting sensitivity. With the first issue, I found myself placing the mouse on a coffee table, armrest, and eventually setting it beside me. Once I found a comfortable position, though, I was set for life. The second issue I found was not mainly a controller issue as much as it was a game issue. The game’s sensitivity needs to be turned up in order to have access to quick aiming, and skill shooting. Once I was comfortable with a setting, I was able to get used to the controls very quick. I tried out multiple games, and found that I needed to adjust the sensitivity differently depending on the game I was playing. All in all, though, the SHARK provided the best gaming experience I’ve had with an FPS controller.
The Verdict
Honestly, the Splitfish FRAGFX SHARK did exactly the job it was supposed to do. Taking only two AA batteries to operate, and with 50+ play hours on a single battery set, it’s a long-lasting controller that I will use constantly. The SHARK’s ability to instantly plug-and-play make it a necessity in every gamer’s arsenal. With the SixAxis control and adjustable controls, button mapping, and sensitivity, the SHARK is perfect for any play style. I definitely recommend that you pick one up for yourselves. It will cost you a hefty $89.99, but it is money very well spent. I will use this controller for many, many gaming sessions to come.
Head on over to the Splitfish website to take a look at the FRAGFX SHARK for yourselves.
After you drop a few hundred dollars on an iPad, one of the most important things you’ll need to take care of it, is a protective case. You can have that special slot in your bag that keeps it stationary, but with everything exposed there’s still a chance of the face cracking or getting scratched from hitting something else that’s tumbling about in your bag.
The lovely people at Booq sent us a Taipan Spacesuit XS case, which can calm your nerves when tossing your iPad into the madness of this and that, that is your backpack, satchel, etc. Though this isn’t any heavy-duty protection, it will take case of screen scratches, and lessen the impact of your precious technology hitting something.
This particular type of case comes in three different colors: silver with a light blue interior, berry, which is a darker raspberry color with a black interior, and black with a bright pink interior. When closed, the interior color doesn’t show at all (for those of you who are moping about the fact that the black one is tainted with pink). All cases carry the same tidal wave looking design, and two zipper pulls. The material used for these cases is neoprene, and have a silky-soft jersey knit fabric covering. It is excruciatingly soft, and would make a terrific pillow…not that I tried that or anything.
The case measures at about 7.5” W X 10” long, and has a zipper length of about 12”. The sides and bottom are sewn with an outward facing overlock seam that matches the color of the material.
At $30 this is not a bad buy for a little extra protection, but didn’t seem overly appealing to me. The interior is meant to prevent scratches, but the top left and right corners of the iPad can be easily scratched by the zipper if you don’t pull the material out a little when zipping it shut. I actually already have some tiny scratches on those specific corners hitting the zipper. There is also an overly obsessive need to advertise, as there is not only two zipper pulls with logo and name imprinted on it, but a useless, and annoying tag that sits on the case aimlessly. There is also no way to remove said tag as it is sewn into where the zipper was sewn in.
It can be difficult to review a phone like Google’s Nexus S in a world already populated by so many outstanding Android devices. Not only does the manufacturer of this phone make a series of handsets that are all essentially the same (the Galaxy S line), but countless other OEMs are cranking away on hardware for the platform. Of course, the Nexus S is a decidedly different phone altogether. Picking up where the company’s Nexus One left off, the S continues Google’s legacy of creating standalone, “pure Android” phone experiences, seemingly aimed less at the mainstream and more towards developers. Unlike the failed experiment of the Nexus One, Google appears to be taking a more realistic approach to the S; the phone will be sold through Best Buy (and Carphone Warehouse across the pond), which suggests that the company has bigger plans for this device.
And what a device it is — the Nexus S boasts a 1GHz Hummingbird CPU, 512MB of RAM, a 4-inch, 800 x 480 curvedSuper AMOLED display (dubbed the Contour Display), 16GB of storage, a 5 megapixel rear and VGA front-facing camera, and near field communication capabilities. But hardware is only half the story here — the big news is that the Nexus S showcases the next major evolution of the Android OS, namely, Gingerbread (or version 2.3). The update comes with a slew of new features alongside some UI improvements that show Google isn’t slowing down when it comes to pushing its mobile operating system forward. So is the Nexus S a real standout in the Android world, or is it more of the “me too” tech we’ve seen lately? Read on after the break for the full Engadget review to find out!
Aww, would you look at that, the iPhone’s trying to play big boy games! Following in the well received footsteps of Rage HD, today marks the debut of Infinity Blade, the second in what’s hopefully a wave of gorgeous-looking iOS games boasting advanced 3D graphics, if not 3D gameplay. Epic Games has put aside the chainsaw-equipped projectile weaponry of its wildly successful Gears of War console series to deliver the first mobile game built around its Unreal Engine 3. You won’t be surprised to hear that it’s utterly delicious to look at, and the visuals certainly helped transport us to this alien realm of swords, axes, shields, and magical rings — where body armor is optional, but helmets apparently are not. Jump past the break to see this visual feast in motion and to soak up some more of our impressions.
Focus between the latest two Android-specific announcements from Google, and Samsung, has been torn between the hardware side of things, and the software. While Google announced that the Android 2.3 SDK was available now for developers to download, they also announced in tandem with Samsung that the first Android 2.3-based device would be launching on December 16th, called the Nexus S. It’s a smartphone that, unlike the Nexus One before it, wasn’t necessarily built from the ground-up for this unveiling, but that’s not a bad thing, as the Galaxy S lineage of devices is a great base to improve off.
TechCrunch has managed to spend a few days with the device, and they approve of the device. In fact, they point out that several features of the device, including the software, are improvements over the iPhone. They do point out, though, that if you’re on the iPhone, the Nexus S won’t make you want to switch. However, if your’e already an Android fan, then the Nexus S will be the one device you want to get your hands on this year.
With the device’s 4-inch Super AMOLED display, TechCrunch admits that it’s bested only by the smaller iPhone 4′s display. However, the 1GHz Hummingbird processor under the hood makes the Nexus S fly. You’ll find features like Google’s noise cancellation on the device, coupled with the excellent audio hardware makes for calls that are extremely high quality. The software is the main takeaway of the review, though, as they believe it’s a major improvement, even with its (not so) subtle software tweaks, and User Interface refinements.
Overall, TechCrunch seems to approve of the device. While it may not be a groundbreaking endeavor from either Samsung or Google, it’s not just a toss-away device, either. Even amidst the other high-end handsets finding their way to the market, and with even more coming, Android’s latest version brings a breath of new life into the platform, and the hardware doesn’t disappoint in the slightest.
Stay tuned in the coming days, as both SlashGear and Android Community will have their own hands-on time with the device.
It’s said to be “The world’s simplest cellphone.” That’s a bold claim from anyone let alone a previously unknown (in gadget circles anyway) Dutch team of creatives over at John Doe Amsterdam who wanted to build a basic phone — the most basic phone ever — that wasn’t as dull and boring as other affordable phones on the market. So is it? Well, it certainly is basic. In the age of smartphones and cheap featurephones, John’s phone is more clearly defined by what it lacks than what it has: no fancy color touchscreen display; no camera; no 3G radio, WiFi, Bluetooth or even GPRS data; no FM radio; no user-accessible storage; and no music player or apps of any kind. It can’t even send a text message. It’s just a quad-band GSM phone with an ink pen and paper notepad tucked neatly into its capacious recesses. That’s right, pen and paper. So, it’s definitely basic, but is it simple to use? Read on to find out.
You may have already gathered that we’re fans of the Jawbone Jambox — seeing as how it appears in our Holiday Gift Guide — but does a miniature portable speaker, even one that pumps out 85 decibels, deserve a $200 price? How about that battery life? We’ve spent weeks now with the little Bluetooth speaker that could, throwing it at every scenario in sight, and after the break you’ll find a full review with all the upsides and downsides.
Ah yes, the future! It’s nice when it arrives on your front doorstep… or on your iPod. It’s even nicer when you ask for something and then you get it: a few months back, we drooled over Dentsu London’s light extrusion tech demo and humbly demanded its App Store release. Now, app in hand, we’re busy running around our houses trying to become some sort of half-baked Jenny Holzer. It’s called Penki, and it takes your text / symbol input and turns it into 3D-flavored imagery via long-exposure photography. Sounds bodacious, right? But, as we all know, the future isn’t perfect — read on for the full account of our shiny journey into the third dimension.
We’ve been eagerly waiting for iPhone cases with built-in keyboards to hit ever since iOS 4 added Bluetooth keyboard support, but they simply haven’t materialized like we’d hoped — in fact, ThinkGeek’s TK-421 case is the first to hit the market, nearly eight months after iOS 4 was first announced. Now that it’s finally here, we’ve got to ask — is this thing the ultimate iPhone accessory? Does the iPhone actually need a keyboard? Does flipping open automatically make something awesome? Read on to find out.
