Life is Crime - Game review

Life is Crime is a MMORPG that unfolds in real world location based maps and landmarks.  These kinds of games are fun and usually have an addictive quality to them but when you start playing this game and taking over businesses, banks and landmarks in your own home town....you will really get sucked in!  This video will give you a broad overview of Life is Crime which is free to download from the market and at this time only available for Android.

Have fun and join my mob!
TPoA

Comic Strips App review

Do you get the daily newspaper anymore?  I don't either.  But, I still enjoy reading the comics.  With this app you can enjoy the comics that you want when and where you want them.  It's a very clean and easy app to use and it's free too!  I hope you enjoy this quick review of Comic Strips.

Have fun with the funnies!
TPoA

Everyone Loves Gadgets

Over the weekend I watched a show on the History Channel called 101 Gadgets That Changed the World.  It was a two hour recap of what they thought were the biggest "game changers" in the gadget world.  The number one gadget was the smart phone!  When I first saw this I shrugged my shoulders and thought that they made a mistake.  I mean the smart phone beat out things like the zipper, radio, TV, and even the personal computer!  Smart phones have only been around for a few years and they already topped the list?  Wow...that really says something about their power and potential!


So, I stepped back for a second and thought...

They did mention that the smart phone did pack at least 15 different gadgets into one small package that can fit in your pocket.  And, the Swiss Army knife and Leatherman multi-tool both made the list so I guess an electronic version of these should too.  I have only owned my Android phone for a few months and I use it constantly.  It connects me to my email, news, weather, sports, movies, games, maps/GPS, social media, my fantasy football teams, and a ton more!  It's absolutely amazing what you can do with a smart phone!  Between the internet access and all of the apps that have been developed, your phone can help out with almost anything.  And, they just keep getting faster and more powerful at an incredible pace.

So, I don't know if I can totally agree that the smart phone is the most important gadget to change the world...yet.  But, I think it is well on its way!

What do you think?  In your opinion, what is the gadget that has changed the world most or has the potential to be a "super gadget"?

Have fun with those gadgets!
TPoA

Mixology - Then have a Drink.

Mixology is a great free app (there is also a paid version to get rid of ads) to aid in the exploration of new mixed drinks.  There is a huge variety of drinks and ingredients listed in this app as well as detailed recipes to make your drinks turn out awesome!  Just go ahead and watch this video and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Have fun and bottoms up!
TPoA

What the Heck is the Spec?

With Android phones you have a lot of choice and variety.  Each phone can have wildly differing specifications.  How are you supposed to know what is best for you?  Well, I have read many articles and do you know what they all end up saying?  Choose the one that will meet your needs.  How's that supposed to help?  You may not even know what your needs are yet.  In my opinion it comes down to what features do you find important and what hardware specifications are you willing to pay for.

What do I mean by features?  Well, think of the things on the phone that you can touch or interact with as the features.  For example, the screen size and resolution, hardware keyboard, physical vs. capacitive buttons, and the software over lay that you use every time that you turn on your phone and touch the screen.  Virtual keyboards are becoming more and more the norm.  But, some people really like to interact with a physical keyboard.  Most physical keyboards are nice but they do add some thickness and weight to the phone.  You have to consider how you carry your phone, in a purse versus a front jeans pocket, to see if the thickness of the handset will affect your choice as well.  The screen size will surely make the overall length and width of the phone vary.  A phone with a 3.5" screen is much smaller than the phones that are rocking a 4.3" screen.

Unless you are a little bit of a dork like me or you are just a very informed consumer, hardware specifications can be a little confusing and abstract.  Most people just want a cool phone that will always work for them.  And that's great!  I do too!  But, these carriers are locking me into a two year marriage with this phone and I don't want to have any regrets.  Now, if you watch specs on phones and always want the latest and greatest that Android has to offer...You will NEVER buy a phone!  Because there is always something coming down the road that is better.  So, you may just need to find a phone that looks good, feels good, and performs good and jump right in.  The screen is the part of the phone that you always use.  So, get one that is big enough for you to comfortably use.  The processor and RAM make all of the software run on your phone.  My advice is to not skimp on these two specs.  If you do get a lower end phone with an older processor and less RAM, just be prepared for some jittery response from some apps and event from the regular phone screens that you use to make your phone do all of the neat tricks that is capable of.  If you are going to use this as a primary or secondary camera, make sure to watch some reviews on line and even try it out in the store to see if the camera take good enough pictures.  Remember, more megapixels does NOT always mean better pictures.  Trust your eyes and choose what looks best.  I don't even want to talk about this but...3G vs. 4G has got to be a consideration as well.  4G is much faster than 3G.  But, you need to be in an area that has 4G coverage to see those speeds.  Also, to date the 4G phones tend to have bad battery life compared to 3G phones.  I am sure that will improve in the future.

I always like to have as much choice as possible.  But, that can make choosing the right phone a little stressful if you get overwhelmed.  The iPhone overcomes this by limiting your choice.  They have a 16GB and 32GB model that comes in white or black.  So, you essentially have four choices.  But, the rest of the specs are the same.  This means that if you get an iPhone 4 you can expect that all the apps are going to work the same as any of your friend's iPhones.  That can be comforting and safe.  Their interface is also very polished and intuitive.  A three year old can pick up an iPhone and use it right away.  Which is nice.  Android is much more customizable which can make it more confusing.  I'm OK with that.  Then I can make the phone that is always with me truly mine.  No one else's will be like mine.

So, there is a lot to consider when you are looking for that next phone.  If you get confused just check out some You Tube video reviews of the phones that you are interested in.  Or, join a forum, read articles or leave comments on a blog like this.  People love helping each other out on blogs and forums because we are all excited about the same topic.  This is an important decision.  The phone that you choose is going to cost a lot of money over the two years that you have it.  And, you better like it because it is going to go everywhere with you.  It's going to be like your best friend.

Have fun exploring all of the options available to you!
TPoA

Pocket Casts - Review

I have found myself listening to podcasts more than radio and sometimes even more than TV.  It's nice to be able to enjoy a show that is based on the exact subject that I feel like listening to at any given moment in time.  I don't have to be limited to what the local radio stations are feeding me during their predetermined time slots.  Even the ads are better on most podcasts!  I don't think that many people enjoy listening to commercials but, if they have to, it's nice if they are at least relevant to the topic that you are listening to.  To me it makes the ads more interesting.

Pocket Casts is an excellent app to help discover, listen to, and organize your podcasts.  Here is my review.

Have fun and explore some new podcasts!
TPoA

GoogleRola? Moto-Google? THIS IS A BIG DEAL!

So, it sounds like Google wants to buy Motorola mobility for around $12.5 billion.  WOW!  This could be a HUGE event in the tech world that could potentially affect a whole lot of other companies and millions and millions of people.  Let's take a quick look at some of the possible things that could shake out.

First:  I believe that a big reason this is going on is to secure patents.  With all of the lawsuits going on Google needs to acquire a lot of meaningful patents to survive potential lawsuits coming their way.  I think that all of these patent lawsuits that are going on between these tech companies is a load of crap!  Why do they spend all of this time and money sitting in court when they could invest all of that time and effort in product development and just make a better product than their competitor.  Oh well, I guess that's not reality.

Second:  Google will have control of the manufacture and design of their own handsets.  Where does that leave Samsung, Sony, LG, HTC and others down the road.  It would seem that instead of supplying these other manufacturers with a free OS...Google is now directly competing against them!  What a sudden and weird turn of events.  I bet those other companies are scrambling right now to figure out what is going to happen next.

Third:  Part of the mobility division is the set top boxes that Motorola supplied to cable and satellite companies.  Would Google use this position to build Google TV into all of these STB's that are in millions of homes?  It might not be a bad thing for the end user but would Google be reaching too far?

I don't know if this purchase is going to get approved because there are so many players involved directly and indirectly.  But, it seems to be a trend lately, started by the AT&T and T-Mobile deal that is still pending.  Big companies are trying to get bigger so that they can't be brought down by some stupid lawsuit.  I am sure we will all be hearing more about this for quite some time.

What do you think?  Am I over reacting?  Is this not a big deal?  Are there other things that may be impacted that I didn't discuss here?

Brian