“I Hate You” is a mobile game to help you exorcise those phobias (review)

Overview

A lot of us, while being otherwise normal, functioning humans, harbor some deep and rather irrational fears against generally ‘normal’ items in daily life. Be it clowns, spiders, or even a trip to the dentist, sometimes a certain thing or event can create life-stopping fear or paranoia.
Wouldn’t it be great to have a gaming outlet to virtually crush, maim, and destroy these haunting bug-a-boos? Now you can with I Hate You, a mobile game (available in Google Play or the App Store) from the developer Sunrise Games that allows you to get in your car and literally run down your fears.

Gameplay

Pretty simple stuff here.  You start in the main menu, where you have two main sets of options to choose from:

Your phobia you’d like to run over.
Your vehicle in which to do the running over.

Additionally, there is a daily point/cash bonus mini-game and achievements list, but we’re here to avenge our nightmares, so let’s get to it.

As with most games of this type, you start with just a basic car, and you can ‘purchase’ bigger/faster ones with money gained during previous gameplay/mini-games.  Also, you start with just one phobia avatar, the dreaded clown.

Once your game starts, your controls are also pretty basic.  Your vehicle automatically
accelerates up to its max speed; you can control steering by tapping on the left and right sides of the screen. Tapping low-left and low-right brakes your vehicle in that respective direction.

Using these controls, your goal is to run over as many phobia avatars as possible before your health meter (essentially a timer) runs out.  Once this meter is empty, your game is over.  You have a short amount of time to buy back into your current game, or you can go back to the main menu to change vehicle, phobia, or just start over with your current settings.

Vehicle options range across numerous rather generic-looking car types (though there is a police cruiser and tank available!). More importantly, the phobias you can choose to pursue include the aforementioned clown, cockroach, boss, dentist, spider, vampire, snake, dog, rat, and ZOMBIE (of course).

During gameplay, you may also run across several ‘power-up’ items including added time, saws, guns, and magnets.  There are also three maps available: city, castle, and winter themes.

What We Liked

• Original game theme based on everyday issues.
• Simple but repeatable gameplay.

What Could Use Improvement

• Controls can be too simple at times, making fine maneuvering difficult.
• Sound and graphics are OK, but nothing more.

Monodeal’s Noise Canceling Headphones: Lower price would make it more attractive (Review)

Searching for the right pair of headphones can prove to be quite the chore. There are a number of things to factor in when making this purchase. Comfort, design, sound, and price are all things that must be considered. The price is the biggest consideration when making this decision. It would be nice if money was no object, but for many of us, this is simply not an option. Today, I bring you a mid-range headphone at a mid-range price, Monodeal’s Noise Canceling Headphones for $50.

In the box

• Active noise canceling headset
• Headset pouch
• Airplane adapter
• USB Charging cable
• User manual

Design

Monodeal’s Noise Canceling Headphones are a lightweight set of headphones with adjustable headbands, earpads made of a spongy material, and an outer shell made of glossy plastic. It has a long cord with an inline microphone and noise canceling feature.

Let’s start with the outer shell of the earmuffs. The shiny plastic looked cheap in the pictures and I hoped it was just the pictures. But if I’m being honest, it throws off the look for me as it does look cheaply made. The headband is made of plastic as well, but its matte finish looks better and the housing would have been better if it had followed that design.

On the other hand, the headphones themselves are a comfortable fit. The spongy padding feels good on the ears and prolonged use will not cause any pain. The adjustable headband combined with the soft earpads provide a nice tight fit. There is never a sensation that they are going to fall off.

Sound

The sound from Monodeal’s headphones is run of the mill and provides more of a hollow sound. I never really detected any mids when listening to music. Hip hop was heavy on bass while rock was trebly. I will admit watching Star Wars with these headphones wasn’t bad at all. So maybe watching TV and movies is the way to go with these headphones.

The inline microphone, to be honest, is nothing special from any other mid-ranged headphone. You could understand callers, and callers could understand you. I wouldn’t use these as a primary talking device, but they will work in a pinch.

The noise canceling feature is what these headphones are really about. There was a considerable difference when in use. Even when around loud machinery, you could tell a difference in the lower level of background noise.

Summary

Monodeal’s Noise Canceling Headphones has quite a few pros and cons about it. It’s hard to justify $50 even with the noise canceling feature. I would price them in the area of $30. With that being said, I will say they are a decent pair of headphones that will do the job.

Buy Monodeal’s Noise Canceling Headphones

Sasha Morse Flashlight: A handy flashlight app with some new tricks

Overview:

Sasha Morse Flashlight is a flashlight app with a built-in Morse Code generator and guide, to help you learn to read and write, as well as send messages automatically, in Morse Code.

Developer: Sasha Lab

Cost: Free (with ads)

Impressions:

Sasha Morse FLashlight is a pretty standard flashlight app. It has the same switch and sounds, and triggers your camera flash as you’d expect. However, if you press the little purple button above the lightswitch, a new menu appears, and grants you access to the morse code generator.

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The morse code generator allows you to input text, then press the send button and it will transcribe whatever you have written into morse code that flashes from your flashlight. The app also offers a handy guide to the letters and symbols of morse code, in case you wanted to try to write it for yourself. The feature works as expected and is harmless, but I really can’t see a practical application for it outside of a bit of fun. Very few people I know can read morse code, so sending them a message in it seems rather pointless, and I imagine many are in the same boat.

Otherwise, Sasha Morse FLashlight isn’t a terribly unique app. The flashlight app has been around in some form or another since the earliest smartphones, and some have more practical and useful features than Sasha Morse does. The morse code is a nice novelty, and works well but just isn’t something that makes it a must have over other flashlight apps, if you still use them.

Conclusion:

I can see this app as appealing to someone who wants to learn morse code, or uses it regularly for whatever reason, or maybe someone who is interested in morse code for historical reasons. Other apps do flashlights better, and even now they are becoming obsolete as phone manufacturers include flashlight functionality baked into the phone at launch, making this an even harder sell.

Download Sasha Morse Flashlight from the Google Play Store

Dead Zombie Land: Simple game that’s close to fun (Review)

Overview

Sometimes you’re just bored and you don’t really want to think too hard, but you want to play a game. A couple questions you can ask yourself. Do you like tap style game? Do you like zombies? If you answered yes to both then, Dead Zombie Land may be for you.

Developer: Cruel Bytes
Cost: Free with In-App purchases

Review

This game takes place in a post zombie apocalypse world where the zombies have won and rule the world. The main character, you, are a zombie as well and your head is about to explode. So your goal is to take out as many zombies as you can before that happens.

The concept is quite easy to understand. You have ten seconds to take out as many zombies as you can. Once you explode you respawn in a different location and you are given another ten seconds to get yourself in the position to take out more zombies. The catch is each time you have to take out more zombies than your previous attempt. So needless to say it gets harder each attempt. If you don’t explode more zombies than before, then the game is over.

The controls for this game are simple, swipe your character in the direction you want to go and tap if you want him to explode earlier. While these controls are simple, I did have problems with the swipe. It just wasn’t as responsive as it should be. I would swipe and he just didn’t seem to move much, if at all sometimes. This made it hard to maneuver into a large group of zombies This should be a simple adjustment.

The graphics are done well and mimic the block style made popular by Minecraft, It also incorporate Google Play Game’s leaderboards and achievements to compete against your friends. You may also connect ” Dead Zombie Land”  with Facebook as well.  

There are various levels of in-app purchases to purchase coins that allow you to buy different characters. They vary from 1500 coins for $.99 to 12,500 coins for $5.99. You can also collect coins based on how many zombies you kill and you can watch videos as well to get coins,free of charge. If you share a gameplay video that nets you another 20 coins. 

Conclusion

Dead Zombie Land isn’t an overly exciting game, but it is a time killer. I’m not sure how you make it more exciting as the general concept is not very appealing. I do give kudos however to the attempt at changing the way a tap game is done. If you’re interested in a game that will help you kill time when you’re bored, and don’t want to get hooked on a thriller, feel free to check out Dead Zombie Land at the Google Play Store.

Get Dead Zombie Land in the Play Store

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Inateck 2-Port USB Car Charger: 2 Ports and a bonus (Review)

I just recently wrote about an awesome 4-Port car charger from Inateck. It’s a sleek looking charger with a lot to offer. Today, from that same great company I present to you Inateck’s 2-Port USB car charger for $15.99. It not only has USB ports for charging your devices, but it has a little bonus.

In the box

• 2-Port car charger with built-in MFi Lighting cable
• Four-foot microUSB cord

Review

Inateck’s 2-Port car charger isn’t quite as sexy as the previous charger I reviewed, but that doesn’t mean it’s lacking the goods to make it worth your while. As you have seen the bonus is its built in MFi Lighting cable for Apple products. So when your non-Android friend forgets their charging cable, you’ll have their back.

Like many other modern chargers, it comes equipped with the built-in smart chip to deliver the safest current for your device. This lowers the risk of overheating, the potential of causing a fire and damage your device.

This 2-port charger’s outside is built with fire proof materials to ensure the highest standard of safety. It is also certified in many areas such as MFi, RoHS, CE, and FCC so you can rest assured it’s safe.

Summary

Inateck produces a reliable product that is gonna last and this product is no exception to the rule. This 2-Port charger with the lightning cable could be the life saver your friend needs. At $15.99 you can pick one up for yourself or even that friend.

Buy Inateck’s 2-Port Charger with Lightning cable

Gululu Water Bottle: Pricey, but fun (Review)

Keeping our kids healthy is one of the top priorities as parents. It has become increasingly harder to do so with all the fast food chains, numerous snacks, and drinks of all flavors. Getting them to drink water can be a task. Especially a 5-year-old who has just discovered the wonderous joys of sodas. But water is an essential part of life. Bowhead Technology has a Kickstarter that can change all that with its new Gululu Water Bottle.

Design

The Gululu water bottle is made of a durable rubber shell that withstands multiple drops, which is needed for kids. It comes in five different colors so they are sure to have something that will please your little ones.

The bottle can be taken apart into separate pieces. The main body is where all the sensors, screen, and the water is located. There are multiple sensors located throughout the bottle. The sensors and inclinometer on the inside are used to accurately measure how much water the child has consumed, while sensors on the outside allow the child to interact with the pet.

Also removable are the lid and the spout. The spout breaks down into two pieces that are easily replaced and is also BPA-free. The bottle is leakproof and waterproof, but it is not dishwasher safe, so make sure you hand wash it.

Charging is a breeze with is easy to use charging stand. Just plug the charging station in and sit the bottle on top and you’re good to go. It also links to WiFi for data transfer.

Setup

Setup takes no more than ten minutes with simple to follow instructions after downloading the app from the Play Store. Once you have created an account, you enter some information about your child and get a recommended water intake level.

Then comes the fun part for your child. They get to pick from three different cute companions that will accompany them on their healthy adventure.  Once that is done, it will walk you through the steps to of connecting to the WiFi.

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Once you have set the bottle up, you can then adjust your settings in the app for more or less water, school mode and bed time. These two modes simply shut the companion down for a desired amount of time so there are no interruptions.

Review

Gululu is a neat water bottle that combines drinking water, virtual pets, and gamification. Think Tamagotchi pets on a water bottle. It makes drinking water fun as they help their new companion grow.

The sensors on the side allow the child to interact in fun ways. The companion will do a few different tricks depending on how you touch the sides. It also has a built-in feature that allows to kids to shake their bottles together and their pets can visit each other and become friends.

The app is a simple and useful tool for parents. You don’t have to be any kind of techie to understand how to use it. Once the bottle is in WiFi, the data is uploaded and then open it up and monitor your kid’s habits.

What is there negative to say about this device? I mean it’s got it all. There has to be a downside right? Usually, all that would be followed by a no, but in this case, it’s not. This bottle has a future retail price of $129 before shipping and taxes.

I realize there is a lot of technology in this bottle and I understand. But it is hard to pay that kind of money for an item like this. If you go to the Kickstarter you can get one before that price kicks in for $89, which may still be pricey.

Summary

With a colorful array of bottles to choose from, there is no doubt this bottle is cool. Kids love it and it’s a wonderful aid in keeping kids healthy. I’m not sure what the long term future holds in pricing terms. But I feel they will have to come down in price at some point.

The Kickstarter has less than 20 days and is fully funded and expected to deliver anywhere starting in Septemer.

Pre-Order on Kickstarter

Filmora Go: Editing on the go at it’s best (Review)

Overview

It’s summertime, 4th of July is around the corner, and lots of festivities are about to ensue. There’s no doubt there will be many cameras out snapping photos and shooting video. What do you do with all that content? Let it sit in one of your many storage services? Instead you can use Filmora Go – an awesome free app that helps you make your videos look amazing, and you don’t even have to be a techie to use it.

Developer: Wondershare Software Co.
Cost: Free

Highlights

• Import photos and videos
• Preview in real time
• Music library
• One touch themes, templates and effects
• Overlays and filters
• And more

Review

What started as a desktop version has finally been developed into a beautifully designed video editing app from the people at Wondershare Software. The developers took a product and made it possible to create eloquent videos, no matter if you are professional or just someone who does it for fun.

As soon as you open the app you can immediately see the quality design and layout. Click one button and you’re on your way. You have the choice to choose from your library, Facebook, Instagram, or Google for photos or videos that you want to insert. Once you’ve made your decision it’s time to move on to the next phase.

Your next move is adding themes, music, transitions to your selections. Themes are presets that Filmora Go already has made up if you just want something quick. You can also go into the editing tools to find overlays, filters, elements add titles, speed it up and more. There are a ton of options.

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The music library isn’t really that big, but not to worry as you can add your own music that you have downloaded to your phone. Make sure that you turn down the video volume so it doesn’t over power your music.

Transitions are also very important when making a video. You have six to choose from so you should be covered.

Once you have finished your project you are given the choice to share it on a number of different platforms. But if you really don’t want to, just keep it in your phone to show people later.

Conclusion

This is one of the best apps I’ve used in a while. I absolutely love it and enjoyed making videos of my kids dancing with Charlie Chaplin music playing. This app has so many different settings, and the fact that it’s free with no ads is amazing. I highly recommend Filmora Go.

 Download Filmora Go from the Play Store

[Review] Get up and go with Aukey Bluetooth earphones

Now that some smartphone manufacturers are killing off the 3.5mm headphone jack, now is a good time to start considering Bluetooth headphones and earphones. Over the past two weeks I’ve been reviewing a pair of Aukey Bluetooth earphones. Although Aukey mostly produces charging accessories, they’ve also made headway into the audio market.

First Impressions

The earphones are comfortable in the ear, and since they are sport earphones, they have a rubber attachment that keeps them secure in your ears. The earphones are plain black, so they will probably match with most of your other gear, as well as clothing.

Features

• Deliver balanced, clean, ultra-low latency sound in a lightweight, comfortable fit for active or stationary wireless audio consumption.
• Better fit = better noise isolation and sound quality. Find your perfect fit with 3 pairs of included ear-tips (S/M/L) and secure-fit ear-supports.
• Connect quickly and effortlessly manage audio playback and calls with volume controls, multifunction button, and built-in CVC 6.0 noise canceling microphone.
• Compatible with Bluetooth-equipped computers & mobile devices, up to 6 hours playback or up to 106 hours standby.
• Package Contents: AUKEY EP-B24 Bluetooth Headphones, Micro-USB Cable, Ear-tips (S, M, L), Stable-fit Ear-supports, Carrying Pouch, User Manual.

These earphones come with three different ear buds in small, medium and large so you can swap them out until you find the most comfortable pair. Although some earphones come with swappable rubber hooks, this pair doesn’t have them.

A nice feature is that the back of each earphone is magnetic, so when you’re not using them you can wear them around your neck as a necklace.

Sound

The sound from these earphones can be quiet at times, and I often found myself increasing the volume whenever I could. As for the quality, I found that they didn’t represent bass and sub bass very well, but mid- and high-range tones were decent. These earphones are aimed at the lower end of the market, and that is reflected both in the quality and price.

Battery

The battery on these is surprisingly good. I haven’t heard of many Bluetooth earphones whose battery lasts for more than four hours or so, but with heavy use these easily lasted around six hours. On standby they last several days before they needed to be charged again. Charging happens through a standard microUSB port, and only takes a couple of hours.

Conclusion

As I mentioned, these earphones are more affordable than most, at only $25. Unless you’re picky about sound quality, these should be good enough for any occasion, but especially if you need a pair when you go running or hiking.

You can pick these up for $24.99 on Amazon. (Affiliate link)