IntoMobile » Reviews

Video Preview: Need For Speed Shift shows what OpenGL ES graphics can do on a BlackBerry Storm2

Will Park — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:07:39 +0000

RIM today announced at their BlackBerry Developers Conference in San Francisco that the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) OS will soon support OpenGL ES for 3D graphics acceleration. The arrival of 3D graphics support should finally bring the BlackBerry platform out of the dark ages, where BrickBreaker and other 2D games reigned supreme. RIM and EA Mobile took to the BBDC keynote stage to show off the still-in-development “Need For Speed: Shift” 3D game, giving the world a glimpse of what’s to come. The game looked impressive, to say the least, so we figured a hands-on video was in order.

We sat down with EA Mobile and gave the game a solid once-over. Before we continue, we should mention again that Need For Speed: Shift is still in early stage development, and what you see below is actually the first ever playable version of the game. As such, there weren’t too many cars to pick from, and the game had only a single playable track. Still, the accelerometer-based controls were easy to use – they were responsive but not twitchy (like a lot of racing games on the iPhone). In-game audio was impressive and really gave the game a more polished feel than the two weeks worth of development time would have suggested.

EA Mobile promises to have Need for Speed: Shift polished off by the time it hits the BlackBerry App World. By that time the game should support more computer rivals (AI enemies), a drift-turn feature to slide around corners and player-points to upgrade your ride. Check out the video below!

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The Unboxing: Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris

Will Park — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:32:15 +0000

We’ve already had a chance to play with the HTC Droid Eris from Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless, but there’s nothing like a retail package unboxing ceremony to really get up close and personal with a new handset. As the “ying” to the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid’s “yang,” the HTC Droid Eris offers Verizon customers a fully capable Android smartphone at half the price of Moto’s headlining Droid, and it deserves some of our undivided attention.

The HTC Droid Eris is a lot like the HTC Hero from Sprint. Just like the Hero, the Droid Eris packs a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen, 5-megapixel auto-focusing camera, 3G data, WiFi, GPS and a microSD card slot. It also runs the Sense UI, HTC’s custom Android homescreen skin, which gives the Droid Eris a bunch of extra HTC widgets to play with – and it doesn’t hurt that Sense UI looks way prettier than the vanilla Android homescreen.

Surprisingly, the HTC Droid Eris isn’t much thinner than the Motorola Droid, which sports a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. That’s not to say that the Droid Eris is a brick, it actually sits really comfortably in the hand. Still, the Eris could stand to lose a couple millimeters around its waist.

The Droid Eris’s 5-megapixel camera is faster and less laggy than the Motorola Droid. It also supports touch-focusing, which gives it a another small but significant leg-up on the Droid. The 3.2-inch display is smaller than would be ideal, but it’s plenty big for day-to-day use. Above all, there’s no sliding mechanism on the Droid Eris, so build quality is top-notch – no jiggling or creaking here.

The Droid Eris is available from Verizon Wireless for $99.99 with new 2-year contract. Or, you might be able to find a better deal here.

Unfortunately, the Eris runs Android 1.5 OS. The Motorola Droid features Android 2.0 OS, which has the Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps Navigation app pre-installed. Android 1.5 isn’t bad, especially with HTC’s Sense UI riding on top, but it’s no Android 2.0.

Anyway, acquaint yourself with the Droid Eris below!

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Video: Hands-on with Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris

Will Park — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:52:55 +0000

If you’ve had your eye on the Android-powered HTC Hero and its customized Sense UI, but just couldn’t bear to leave Verizon (NYSE: VZ)’s warm embrace for Sprint (NYSE: S)’s network, you’re in luck! Verizon went official this morning with the Hero-esque HTC Droid Eris. The Eris is a lot like the Hero, just for the Verizon Wireless network. And, at just $99, the Droid Eris is the more affordable alternative to both the upcoming Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid and the Sprint HTC Hero. The Eris even sports the same Sense UI that we’ve come to love on the HTC Hero.

The Motorola Droid might be hogging all the hype this week, but the Eris deserves some time in the limelight. So, without further ado, here’s a hands-on look at HTC Droid Eris for Verizon Wireless.

Here’s a quick spec-sheet rundown on the HTC Droid Eris:

3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen (320×480)
5-megapixel camera (with autofocus)
Android 1.5 OS
3G data
WiFi
GPS
3.5mm headphone jack

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Video: We take T-Mobile’s BlackBerry Bold 9700 for a spin

Will Park — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:25:16 +0000

The T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) (NYSE: DT) BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) (NSDQ: RIMM) Bold 9700 isn’t quite launched just yet, but we’ve already gotten friendly with RIM’s newest hardware. The Bold 9700 looks and feels a lot like the original BlackBerry Bold 9000, with some significant under-the-hood upgrades. Cosmetically, the biggest difference is the missing trackball; in it’s place is a new optical trackpad. It’s a subtle design update that makes a lot of sense – the Bold 9000 was a big hit for RIM, of course they’re going to stick with a recipe that everyone loves.

The Bold 9700 is fitted with the same class-leading QWERTY keyboard that debuted on the Bold 9000. It’s slimmer than the original Bold, but packs an upgraded 3.2-megapixel camera and double the application memory (256MB) – all the while shipping on a fully-charged battery for days on end. The entire backside of the Bold 9700 is covered in a rubberized “soft touch” finish that highlights the faux-leather backing.

What about the new trackpad? Is it just as easy to use as the iconic BlackBerry trackball? Is it responsive and accurate enough to satisfy die-hard BlackBerry fans? In a word, “yes.” The optical trackpad samples your finger input hundreds of times a second, translating the direction and speed of your finger into smooth cursor movements. It works well. In fact, it might just be better than the trackball.

To beat the issue to death (again), the Bold 9700’s browser isn’t the best. The browser is said to be improved, but it still lags. It’ll get the job done, but you need to be patient with it. Check out the hands-on video below to see for yourself. It might help to distract yourself away from the browser and just focus on the Bold 9700’s improved camera and rock solid push email features.

Basically, if you liked the Bold 9000, you can’t really ask for any better than the Bold 9700. The official launch window is “sometime before November 27,” but all signs are pointing to a Nov. 18 launch for $199.99 with new 2-year contract.

Enjoy our hands-on video and photo gallery!

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Business Card Reader for iPhone is way better than the alternative

Will Park — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:30:30 +0000

Collecting business cards can be a good thing – expanding your professional network usually is. It can also suck. If you ever have the chance to wade through a stack of business cards and add those contacts by hand, give it a try, you’ll see what we mean. For those of you that share our pain, check out SHAPE Services’ Business Card Reader for iPhone. With a simple snap of your iPhone 3GS’s auto-focus camera, Business Card Reader injects contact information directly into your iPhone’s address book. It’s not free, but at $5.99, it’ll easily pay for itself after your next new business card.

The new app basically scans your business cards and analyzes the text using character recognition technology. But, the really nifty thing is the way Business Card Reader integrates with LinkedIn and your iPhone. It’ll automatically distinguish between home and mobile phone numbers, office address, website URL, job title, company and, of course, the first and last name. Once scanned, you’ll have the option of automatically adding a new contact, merging the data with an existing contact, or look up the information on LinkedIn.

Of course, the app is bound to make some mistakes. After testing five business cards, we had to specify one company name and break up a couple long first names into their respective first and last names. You’re also going to want to use this app on an iPhone 3GS. The auto-focus camera makes all the difference. The app isn’t perfect, but it’s way (way) better than the alternative.

Wanna see the app in action? Check out our demo video!

BC Reader [iTunes link]

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Tunemaker – hands-on review

Ben Robinson — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:15:20 +0000

It seems a plethora of music-creation Apps have crashed on to the iPhone of late – and I’ve had the opportunity to play with quite a few of them! My stand-out favourite to-date has been Groovemaker, which I think is a genius bit of coding.

So it was with great interest that I received an emailing suggesting I try out Tunemaker, from Makayama. I’ve already posted up some info on its release, so it is nice to get a hands-on and see how the App performs!

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Sygic Mobile Maps – hands-on review

Ben Robinson — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:24:38 +0000

Whilst TomTom is often considered to be the leading brand for standalone Sat Nav systems, the situation on Mobile devices is quite radically different.

TomTom actually missed a beat when it came to mobile devices (specifically the iPhone), because their software wasn’t first-to-market, and in fact the other contenders have produced some pretty good solutions! Case in point: the Mobile Maps application, from Sygic.

More after the jump!

Cost

The software from Sygic weighs in at 29.99 GBP, which is actually a few pounds dearer than their main competitor, CoPilot Live (for a review of that, see here). So I was wondering would we get the same level of performance as the CoPilot?

The UI of the software is perfectly acceptable – and to be honest, is pretty much standard – likewise the menu screens are built from large icons, to make it easier to hit the right keys whilst navigating (or rather, just before you navigate, since you shouldn’t be using the application whilst driving). Once you have plumbed in a postcode or address, you then get the obligatory “calculating route” that all Sat Navs perform, and you are ready to go!

Maps render nicely, and are vector-based – I’d say they are pretty accurate, apart from one instance where the spoken directions didn’t match the map (come to that in a minute). A very mild criticism is that sometimes the maps can look a bit sparse.

Usage

I tested Mobile Maps out whilst navigating on a real journey – so the use-case was real, and any issues would become apparent. As mentioned before, at one point I was directed for a certain turn, yet the map directions showed ‘straight on’ as the right way to go. But apart from that, both the spoken directions, mapping, and screen updates performed admirably.

I should note that I was running the app on an iPhone 3GS, in a powered dashboard mount – so I can’t speak about the battery usage of the app – in my mind, all Sat Nav apps kill batteries on mobiles, so you might want to think about a cigarette lighter charger to your accessories if you are going to start using Sat Nav apps

One other nice feature I should mention is a nice map zoom feature, that works not unlike many of the most popular web-based services – you have a slider which you can use to push in / pull out from the maps:

Summary

The apps that I have used thus far as very much ‘does what it says on the tin’ – you plug in an address, and what you should get back are directions to get there – which is exactly what you get!

I wonder about the extra 4.00 GBP over the CoPilot Live software, because I can’t see anything that justifies it – but then again, both come in well below the price of TomTom, which is up in the 55 GBP range!

In summary, then I’d recommend Sygic Mobile Maps as one of the pieces of Sat Nav software you can get for your iPhone – or in fact Android, Symbian, or Windows Mobile devices too!

You can get Sygic Mobile Maps from iTunes / App store by searching for Sygic.

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Usage review: Groovemaker Drum ‘n’ Bass for iPhone/iPod Touch

Ben Robinson — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:43:44 +0000

Groovemaker isn’t the smallest of apps, but then again it’s got an fair amount of file-weight since it includes lots of really high-quality apps. I used iTunes on the Mac and then synced the iPhone as the fastest route to getting Apps installed. The App loads quickly once installed, and then the first time you open any of the included tracks, the App needs to unpack them. This takes a couple of minutes, but only happens once – then you are good to go!

UI and toggle buttons

The Groovemaker UI uses it’s own UI – that is, it doesn’t rely on any Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) standard buttons, shunning them instead for a set of very specific and functional buttons on screen. Many of the buttons are toggle buttons, which flip parts of the screen to allow you to see a greater screen estate than what you have. I’d imagine if this was a PC/Mac app, it would fill a screen, but with the iPhone 320×480 screen estate, you have to optimise space! No matter, it all works very well, once you know what is where. Sensibly, the buttons that you need whilst you are ‘in the mix’ are a decent size!

Mode of Operation

Within the UI you can kick off an auto-assembled track just using the ‘Groove’ button, and then start changing elements from there – this is my preferred method of using the app, because you can jump in to using it just with one button – brilliant for the moments when you might have 10 mins spare.

On screen as you begin are also the eight ‘pads’, which are buttons that you can assign sounds to – the aforementioned ‘groove’ button might generate a tune using sample on say six of these pads, and then you can either choose to re-assign the sample that’s playing out, or mute/solo out either single or multiple pads – sounds complex? Nope, not at all, five minutes will see you sussing most of this app out.

Synergy of music

For me this is probably the winning part of the app – there must be 60 or so sample loops within the application, sub-divided in to categories. Most people understand that for the average piece of music, you need beats, bass, rhythm, FX, and maybe a touch of vocals – and groovemaker makes it incredibly easy to cut these soundbanks in and out.

Moreover, the app is designed so you can pick any sound, without needing to pre-listen, and cut it in –knowing you won’t get clashes – because each sample is checked to sit nicely with others – as I said, synergy.

I should make a specific note here about the DnB soundbanks – they really are superbly composed, and definitely sit well at the right bpm, instrument sets, and variety of things you might expect to hear in a Trance choon – a great version of the Groovemaker app!

Other stuff

There’s much more to do than just going ‘in the mix’ and changing sample loops though – you can adjust the volume, pan, and speed of the track, jump between a series of auto-grooves (all auto-mixed for you!), and adjust all the usual options you might expect. You can even save your efforts!

Conclusion

Groovemaker DnB continues the ‘awesomeness’ of the Groovemaker series of applications – if you want to do something more productive than spending some time spare time playing a game, and you like music, this is the place to come. Download the app, find a track you like, and then make your own mix – fantastic fun, and highly recommended!

You can get Groovemaker Trance from Apple iTunes / App Store – search for ‘groovemak

Anyone that regularly reads IntoMobile will know that I think the Groovemaker range of Apps are awesome – sitting in a perfect niche between recreational music, and professional music production – they are kinda like the guitar hero of mobile music production, but there’s real productivity in here too – it’s no game!

So just the other day, IK Multimedia, the creators of Groovemaker, released two new versions of the application – Electro and Drum n Bass (here). In this post, I’m writing down my thoughts on the Drum ‘n’ Bass (DnB) App, having used it quite extensively! More after the jump….

Download, loading, and opening tracks

Groovemaker has a great UI

UI and toggle buttons

The Groovemaker UI uses it’s own UI – that is, it doesn’t rely on any Apple standard buttons, shunning them instead for a set of very specific and functional buttons on screen. Many of the buttons are toggle buttons, which flip parts of the screen to allow you to see a greater screen estate than what you have. I’d imagine if this was a PC/Mac app, it would fill a screen, but with the iPhone 320×480 screen estate, you have to optimise space! No matter, it all works very well, once you know what is where. Sensibly, the buttons that you need whilst you are ‘in the mix’ are a decent size!

Mode of Operation

Synergy of music

Soundbanks are available to scroll through

Other stuff

Adjust features of your track, like volume, pan, and tempo

Conclusion

You can get Groovemaker Trance from Apple iTunes / App Store – search for ‘groovemaker’

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Usage review: Groovemaker Electro for iPhone/iPod Touch

Ben Robinson — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:17:00 +0000

So just the other day, IK Multimedia, the creators of Groovemaker, released two new versions of the application – Electro and Drum n Bass (here). In this post, I’m writing down my thoughts on the Electro App, having used it quite extensively! More after the jump….

Download, loading, and opening tracks

UI and toggle buttons

Mode of Operation

Synergy of music

I should make a specific note here about the Electro soundbanks – they really are superbly composed, and definitely sit well at the right bpm, instrument sets, and variety of things you might expect to hear in a Trance choon – a great version of the Groovemaker app!

Other stuff

Conclusion

Groovemaker Electro continues the ‘awesomeness’ of the Groovemaker series of applications – if you want to do something more productive than spending some time spare time playing a game, and you like music, this is the place to come. Download the app, find a track you like, and then make your own mix – fantastic fun, and highly recommended!

You can get Groovemaker Trance from Apple iTunes / App Store – search for ‘groovemaker’

So just the other day, IK Multimedia, the creators of Groovemaker, released two new versions of the application – Electro and Drum n Bass (here). In this post, I’m writing down my thoughts on the Electro App, having used it quite extensively! More after the jump….

Download, loading, and opening tracks

Groovemaker has a great UI

UI and toggle buttons

Mode of Operation

Synergy of music

Soundbanks are available to scroll through

Other stuff

Adjust features of your track, like volume, pan, and tempo

Conclusion

You can get Groovemaker Trance from Apple iTunes / App Store – search for ‘groovemaker’

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Quick hands-on: Jamie Oliver 20-minute meals App (iPhone/iPod Touch)

Ben Robinson — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:25:08 +0000

For those of you that don’t know him (and there might be a lot, since he’s a UK chef) Jamie Oliver is a celebrity chef, in the same sort of mould as the likes of Gordon Ramsay – and by that, I mean he’s an export that has filmed his TV shows in the US, and a number of other countries I’m sure!

Anyhoo, the point of this quick hands-on is to find out if his new cooking App is any good (hint/spoiler: yes)!

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Hands-on with the HTC Tattoo hardware…

Ben Robinson — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:12:29 +0000

HTC were kind enough to loan me their newest model, the Tattoo, the other day – and very nice it was too!

Like has been the case recently a few times, I am talking a look at the final “release candidate” – for those of your unfamiliar with the handset development process, there are typically a small series of ‘release candidate’ handsets, which are taken out for field testing, used as demo handsets etc – in other words, they are very close to the retail-quality device. My unit felt so polished, I’m pretty sure it was good to go in to shops!

Read on to see what I made of the device….

Form factor

Nothing to do with the American series ‘Fear Factor’, or the UK series ‘X Factor’ – by this I am referring to the shape and design of the hardware! One thing that is noticeably different from the Hero (the Tattoo’s bigger brother) is the lack of ‘chin’ (the Hero had a pronounced bend in it, not unlike a chin). Also new is the use of the ‘joypad’ rather than the ‘trackball’ that the Hero offered. Whilst the joypad can only offer digital (0 or 1), it doesn’t impinge on the use of it at all – and the nice big action button in the centre definitely went down well!

Display

Two things to say here: first of all, the display is very nice and clear – the Sense-designed UI needs a decent screen to show it off properly, and the Tattoo doesn’t disappoint. We are talking about a QVGA display here, coming in at 2.8 inches – so relatively compact – but then so is the rest of the handset. The other thing to say is it’s a resistive screen – now, I don’t like resistive screens, but, I know a lot of people that do – so I think it’s one of things where you need to be aware of it, but it doesn’t necessarily add or detract from the handset itself.

Other hardware features

So what else is there to say about the Tattoo hardware? Well, plenty. First of all, there’s the headphone jack – and praise be, it’s 3.5mm, located squarely on top of the device:

At the other end, things aren’t so standard – the proprietary HTC connector (their version of USB) still is appearing on devices – the sooner this does fold in to standardised Mini- or Micro-USB, the better:

On the back of the device, there’s a cover (surprisingly enough), which hides both the SIM slot, and a really rather long battery! There’s also a MicroSD slot for those of you that are expandable memory fans! A further note about the cover itself – whilst the default cover has the Android robot poking out, you can actually get new covers via a customisation service that HTC are running – check that out here.

Overall, this does feel a very well put-together device – showing HTCs maturity now in bringing devices to market that challenge the quality that the likes of Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) brings to the table. The Tattoo fits neatly in the mid-range of Smartphone devices, and I think will do good trade quietly. It’s not a showstopper, but then it was never designed to be – however, it’s got enough in the way of design kudos, and a good O/S inside, to ensure it’s longevity.

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Video – Toshiba TG01 unboxing

Ben Robinson — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:24:56 +0000

Ben gets his hands on the Toshiba (OTCPK: TOSBF) TG01, in it’s Orange UK livery, and unboxes it:

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Video: Hands-on the Plantronics Discovery 975 Bluetooth Headset

Ben Robinson — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:07:28 +0000

A little while back, I got my hands on the Plantronics Discovery 975 Bluetooth Headset – packing some innovative features like dual-mics, 20-band equaliser, and also a case that doubles as a charger! Schweet! Check out my video here:

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Video – HTC Tattoo hardware test drive

Ben Robinson — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:02:16 +0000

Yep, I’ve had my hands on the HTC Tattoo! It’s a very cool little device, and this video will give you plenty of further info about it:

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Video – HTC Hero Test Drive

Ben Robinson — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:00:43 +0000

Just in case you missed this on the way through previously, here’s the HTC Hero test drive – the first device to be rocking a full ‘Sense design philosophy’ as part of its UI:

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Usage review: Groovemaker Trance for iPhone/iPod Touch

Ben Robinson — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:36:07 +0000

Anyone that regularly reads IntoMobile will know that I think the Groovemaker range of Apps are awesome (here and here) – sitting in a perfect niche between recreational music, and professional music production – they are kinda like the guitar hero of mobile music production, but there’s real productivity in here too – it’s no game!

So recently, IK Multimedia, the creators of Groovemaker, released two new versions of the application – Techno and Trance (here). In this post, I’m writing down my thoughts on the Trance App, having used it quite extensively! More after the jump….

Download, loading, and opening tracks

Groovemaker has a great UI

UI and toggle buttons

Mode of Operation

Synergy of music

For me this is probably the winning part of the app – there must be 60 or so sample loops for within the application, sub-divided in to categories. Most people understand that for the average piece of music, you need beats, bass, rhythm, FX, and maybe a touch of vocals – and groovemaker makes it incredibly easy to cut these soundbanks in and out.

Soundbanks are available to scroll through

I should make a specific note here about the Trance soundbanks – they really are superbly composed, and definitely sit well at the right bpm, instrument sets, and variety of things you might expect to hear in a Trance choon – a great version of the Groovemaker app!

Other stuff

Adjust features of your track, like volume, pan, and tempo

Conclusion

Groovemaker Trance continues the ‘awesomeness’ of the Groovemaker series of applications – if you want to do something more productive than spending some time spare time playing a game, and you like music, this is the place to come. Download the app, find a track you like, and then make your own mix – fantastic fun, and highly recommended!

You can get Groovemaker Trance from Apple iTunes / App Store – search for ‘groovemaker’

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Usage review: Groovemaker Techno for iPhone/iPod Touch

Ben Robinson — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:22:32 +0000

So recently, IK Multimedia, the creators of Groovemaker, released two new versions of the application – Techno and Trance (here). In this post, I’m writing down my thoughts on the Techno App, having used it quite extensively! More after the jump….

Download, loading, and opening tracks

Groovemaker has a great UI

UI and toggle buttons

Mode of Operation

Within the UI you can kick off a auto-assembled track just using the ‘Groove’ button, and then start changing elements from there – this is my preferred method of using the app, because you can jump in to using it just with one button – brilliant for the moments when you might have 10 mins spare.

Synergy of music

Soundbanks are available to scroll through

I should make a specific note here about the Techno soundbanks – they really are superbly composed, and definitely sit well at the right bpm, instrument sets, and variety of things you might expect to hear in a Techno choon – a great version of the Groovemaker app!

Other stuff

Adjust features of your track, like volume, pan, and tempo

Conclusion

Groovemaker Techno continues the ‘awesomeness’ of the Groovemaker series of applications – if you want to do something more productive than spending some time spare time playing a game, and you like music, this is the place to come. Download the app, find a track you like, and then make your own mix – fantastic fun, and highly recommended!

You can get Groovemaker Techno from Apple iTunes / App Store – search for ‘groovemaker’

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BlackBerry Storm2 Review

Simon Sage — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:25:16 +0000

The original BlackBerry Storm, though a massive departure from RIM’s usual buttoned-up candybar smartphones, left many unhappy with the clicking touchscreen called SurePress. Well, after a lengthy batch of leaks, the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) (NSDQ: RIMM) Storm2 9550 (known as Odin, once upon a time) is on its way to Verizon (NYSE: VZ) (NYSE: VZ), and presumably 02 and Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) (NYSE: VOD) across the pond. From what we’ve seen, the new and improved SurePress is based on a series of four sensors beneath the screen, as opposed to the single central pivot point on the original 9500. Being able to hit multiple keys on the virtual keyboard promises to improve typing speeds, and the inclusion of Wi-Fi is something that has been missing for a long time. Throw in a few stylistic changes, like rubberized buttons, and a new chrome trim, and you’ve got yourself an exciting sequel to a device that had previously failed to impress. So, does the Storm2 deliver? Hit the jump to find out for yourself…

[Update]
Parts 1 and 2 of the video now available!

[Update 2]
Sorry for the delay. Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the video are now available!

BlackBerry Storm2 9550

By Research in Motion

Size (L x W x D): 112.5 mm x 62 mm x 13.9 mm
Weight: 160 g (battery included)
Memory: 256 MB Flash memory, 2 GB eMMC; microSD located under battery door cover (up to 16 GB)
Battery: 1400 mAhr removable/rechargeable cryptographic Lithium cell; 11.2 days standby, 5.5 hours of talk time on CDMA; 12.7 days standby, 5 hours of talk time on GSM; 11.7 days standby, 6 hours of talk time on UMTS
Display: 3.25″ 480 X 360 pixel transmissive TFT LCD capacitive touchscreen, with SurePress; over 65,000 colors, dynamic hardware brightness control
Camera: 3.2 MP camera, flash, auto focus, image stabilization, 2X digital zoom
Keyboard: On screen keyboard – portrait SureType, QWERTY, and multi-tap, landscape QWERTY, portrait QWERTY
Voice Input/Output: Integrated speaker and microphone, hands-free headset capable, Bluetooth headset capable, integrated hands-free speakerphone rated for hearing aids: M3
Ringtones: 32 polyphonic – MIDI, MP3
GPS: Integrated GPS with A-GPS
Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g enabled
Video format support: MPEG4 H.263, MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H.264, WMV
Audio format support: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, WMA ProPlus
Bluetooth: Bluetooth v2.1+EDR (Mono/stereo headset, Hands-free (HSF), Phone book access profile (PBAP), Serial port profile, Bluetooth stereo audio (A2DP/AVCRP), Dial UP networking (DUN) )
Headset: 3.5 mm stereo headset capable
Ports: Micro USB port allows charging and data synchronization of the device with a USB “A” to Micro-USB “B” cable
Power Adapter: +5V DC/500 mA AC power adapter, with interchangeable location-specific plugs
Network:
- Quad-Band: 850/900/1800/1900MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks
- Single-Band: 2100 MHz UMTS/HSPA networks
- Dual-Band: 800/1900 MHz CDMA/EVDO Rev A networks

Pros

Improved user interface (transitions, kinetic scrolling, overall smoothness)

More accurate SurePress (by way of multitouch typing)

Great connectivity (world roaming on both GSM and CDMA, Wi-Fi)

Cons

SurePress still takes getting used to

Some videos still having trouble decoding

Before getting started, let me say I have had the BlackBerry 9550 for a grand total of twelve hours – far too short of a time for most of my device reviews, but will amend my conclusions after another week or so of playing around with the phone.

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First Words series of Apps for iPhone are excellent!

Ben Robinson — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:11:28 +0000

I’ve been busy teaching our eldest little to talk, and daily she’s picking up new words

Fortunately, I’m not just sticking to the tried and tested method of data-input to said little ‘un via the medium of books; I’ve also implemented tech solutions too! One of these is the download of some Apps to the iPhone – namely the First Words series!

There are three Apps you can get, each costing £1.19:

First Words: Animals
First Words: Vehicles
First Words: At Home

The concept is very simple as you can see from the screenshot below:

The idea is to slide the letters in to place to form the word – each letter is pronounced as you touch it, and then the whole word is spelled AND pronounced once you have completed the block-moving. There’s tons of skills this is teaching the little one, including phonetics, spelling, and co-ordiation.

Personally I think these Apps are EXCELLENT – tried them out, and they really work! Highly recomended!

You can grab them all from iTunes by searching for “First Words”

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Review: Dungeon Hunter for iPhone

Daniel Perez — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:00:32 +0000

Don’t let the name fool you. Dungeon Hunter has you hunting more than just dungeons. In fact, you’re not hunting dungeons at all, instead you’ll be hunting various enemies that just happened to be in a dungeon. I know, I know, that idea just probably blew your mind, but trust me when I say it’s for the best.

Dungeon Hunter is Gameloft’s attempt at the hack-n-slash RPG genre that has gone nearly untouched in the iPhone gaming market. The question is: Does the hack-n-slash RPG genre work on the iPhone platform and how well did Gameloft’s Dungeon Hunter?

In Dungeon Hunter, you play a prince who single-handedly brings evil to his land when he attempts to resurrect his dead wife, who in the process of resurrection, kills him. Since he’s responsible for all the evil running rampant in the kingdom, he has been resurrected to clean up his mess. As the prince, you’ll play as one of three classes: Knight, Rogue, or Mage. Each character class has its own strengths and weaknesses such as the Knight can take and dish a lot of damage due to his strength and ability to wear heavy armor, while the Mage may lack defensive skill, but he makes up for it with the ability to cast a protective energy shield around him and his great offensive magic power.

As you progress through the game, you’ll meet various people who will give you quests and side-quests to perform. Some of these quests will actually progress the main story of Dungeon Hunter, while the side-quests will just be a mission or two from some guy who needs you to clear out his basement that’s full of monsters or something along those lines. For the most part, quests should be taken whether they’re important or not as the higher your character’s level, the better he’ll perform in later levels, especially during boss battles.

The controls on-screen are simple and nicely placed so your thumbs won’t have to run around to access the appropriate command. For you point-n-clickers, you’ll be happy to know there’s an option in the game to control your character’s movements through poking on the screen, although I found the virtual joystick to be more than adequate. Most PC and console hack-n-slash RPG games tend to have a high number of inputs for your character to perform various moves, but Dungeon Hunter keeps it simple: Attack, Special Attack, and Fairy Magic. You can have three special attacks at the ready while you’re playing which can be swapped with other special attacks through the game’s character menu system. You can also equip different fairies through the same system. Fairy magic and their effects vary depending on the fairy you have equipped (fire magic, earth magic, air magic, etc.). The fairies also give you a boost in defense in the element they use.

The character menu system shows your character’s stats, inventory, abilities, fairies, and quest log. The stats tab gives you information concerning your characters defense, damage, energy, and other various items of interest. The inventory shows any weapons and armor your character has picked up along the way. Abilities tab shows all of the abilities you can update your character with, both passive and non-passive. And finally the quest log which displays what quests you’re currently working on and a brief description as to what you should be doing.

One of the driving points of Dungeon Hunter is leveling up your character through killing enemies as well as upgrading weapons and armor. When your character levels up, you can visit the character menu to upgrade your stats and abilities. Weapons and armor can be found littered throughout the game world through various places such as enemies dropping loot after they are defeated or from the various chests and barrels that are placed in every map. Merchants are also available in various towns in the kingdom, but their merchandise usually aren’t so great. Each weapon and armor has a color attached to it, which indicates how rare the item is. The higher the items rarity, the better its boosts will be for your character. There are quite a lot of weapons and armor to be discovered, so a handy “transmute” button is available in the weapons tab to transmute your weapon or armor into cold hard gold! This feature can be quite useful when you find the ultimate weapon, only to be told you don’t have room for it in your inventory.

Graphically, Dungeon Hunter is one of the best looking iPhone games out right now. Character and enemy models look great and have a high amount of detail for it being on the iPhone platform. There have been times through playing I noticed the speed of the game drop, but that was due to a large amount of enemies being on screen at once (I also played on an iPhone 3G, which might have been the culprit as well). Sound effects are also top notch as each spell, attack, and enemy make their own unique sounds. If you decide to play your own music while playing Dungeon Hunters, the song information shows up in the top-right corner of the screen to which you can also change tracks on the fly.

During your adventure, you’ll be visiting a number of different locales. Each location has it’s own unique look and enemies. The game’s map menu acts as a central hub to which you can simply point on a location and be teleported there after a short loading screen. Speaking of loading screens, load times on an iPhone 3G were well under 30 seconds, which really surprised me. I should also mention through your adventure, you will unlock achievements through Gameloft LIVE! (yes, I know, very original). Gameloft LIVE! allows you to create a (free) account which keeps track of your achievements in Dungeon Hunter as well as other select titles from Gameloft. The achievements aren’t on the difficult side to achieve, but instead they’ll take some time to actually unlock (ex. completing the game as a Knight, Rogue and Mage)

My only concern with Dungeon Hunter was how easy the game is. With no way to change the game’s difficulty, the default difficulty wasn’t quite challenging enough. Regular enemies can easily be taken out with a couple of attacks. Boss battles posed more of a challenge, but still didn’t make me break a sweat as I could take them down in 1 or 2 minutes. As I mentioned earlier, there was a noticable bit of lag, but since I played the game on an iPhone 3G, I wasn’t able to distinguish if it was a game issue or a hardware issue.

FINAL THOUGHT: Dungeon Hunter is an iPhone title that should not be missed. It will keep a lot of players entertained for hours with its addictive gameplay and amazing graphics. This is $6.99 that is absolutely worth every penny.

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