Monster Beans: Simple game that’s simply fun! (Review)

Overview

There are a plethora of simple tap games in the Play Store; games that are no more than tapping the screen to accomplish a goal. Monster Beans falls slap dab in the heart of that category.

Developer: Switch Mediaworks Co
Cost: Free with in-app purchases

Review

Game Play

Monster Beans is yet another take on the genre made famous by Flappy Bird. The goal is to make the monsters eat the beans and stack themselves as high as they can go. You have two monsters to make this happen. A purple one and a yellow one. Each can only eat the beans that match their color. If they eat the wrong color, then…barf, right on the screen.

Your score is measured by meters and with every bean you eat, your potential score gets higher. You can increase the potential meters your monster can attain a couple of different ways. First off is just by hitting your score milestones. When you hit them, your potential increases. You can also unlock more powerful monsters by watching videos or connecting your Facebook account. Failing that, you can use in-app purchases which run $2.19.

One thing that is impressive about this game is how attractive the graphics are. Some of the games in the same style such as the aforementioned Flappy Birds use pixelated graphics. While that is all good and well, it’s nice to see more modern graphics used.

Conclusion

Monster Beans isn’t an overly complicated game that requires tons of skill, but it is a game that can sneak up on you. I’ve used this saying before, but it’s true for this one as well. It’s the kind of game that you start playing and you keep saying one more time and that time never seems to come.

 Download Monster Beans in the Play Store

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[Review] Charge your robot boyfriend with a Blitzwolf battery

The Blitzwolf charger is a sleek, aluminum portable battery that I was sent to review. Of all of the battery packs I’ve reviewed so far, this one is my favorite. Let’s find out why.

First Impressions

The aluminum curves of this battery pack would make Jony Ive swoon. This is a beautiful piece of tech, and one that I love to use. Like an iPhone, this battery pack is prone to picking up scratches here and there, but I find that this gives gadgets more character.

Features

• Model: BW-P1
• Capacity: 10400mAh/37.44Wh
• Battery Type: LG 2600mAh Li-ion battery x4
• Input: 5V/2.1A 9V/1.8A
• Output: 5V/2A (Universal), 5V/2.1A, 9V/1.8A, 12V/1.35A (for Android QC2.0), 5V/2.4A (for Apple)
• Size: 102 x 76.8 x 21.5mm / 4.02 x 3.02 x 0.85in
• Weight: 270g
• Certification: CE, FCC, CEC, Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0

Usage

The power bank holds roughly four full phone charges, unless of course your Android phone has a ginormous 3000mah+ battery. Like most chargers and power banks, it’s a breeze to use. Just plug it in and go. It only has one USB output port, which is kind of limiting. If it had one more port I’d say the battery would be 100% perfect.

“I had a baby battery! And it was perfect, in every way!”

-Mad Max: Fury Road (or something)

I’m deeply sorry for forgetting that apostrophe but I’m too lazy to go back and edit. Although a small thing, one of my favorite things about this power bank is that when I unplug my phone after a good charge, the battery automatically turns itself off. With some battery packs I’ve used, you have to manually press a button to turn it off and on.

On the front of the device you’ll find the button, LED light indicators, a micro USB port to charge the power bank itself, and a USB 3.0 port to charge your gadget. As you can see, it’s a 10400mAh battery. My love of symmetry wishes it was an even 10000 or 11000, but I’m not complaining.

Conclusion

I love this thing and I recommend it everyone. I’m not just saying that either, I personally tell my friends and family to buy one. You can pick one up for $21.99 at Banggood.

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MSQRD: Take selfies to the next level [Review]

Overview

It’s time to take selfies and videos to the next level with all sorts of fun filters that MSQRD has waiting for you. It has what you need to make your friends and family laugh with at you

Developer: Masquerade Technologies

Cost: Free

How To Use

There are two options, you can shoot a 30-second video or take a selfie with the many different face filters. Once you have taken your snap you are then given the option post to Instagram, Facebook, or just about any app you can think of to share it on. The video or picture is also saved to your photo gallery.  That’s it. That’s all there is to this app.

Review

This is probably one of the simplest apps in the Play Store. MSQRD has 23 different filters that you can use including Pee Wee Herman, Daredevil, and even Jimmy Kimmel. Though I’m not sure why you would want to have Jimmy Kimmel’s face.

What makes this app great is how well it recognizes your face and adapts to it. I have played with a few apps that attempt this same thing and have fallen short. But, the folks at Masquerade Technologies have really nailed it on this one.

Conclusion

This sort of app doesn’t appeal to everyone and I get that, but honestly my family and I must have sat around for 45 minutes tinkering with this app and having fun with it. This app doesn’t do much, but what it does do, it does it well. I’m sure at some point they will add some filters for a premium, but for now, it’s 100% free. It’s worth the download.

Download MSQRD in the Play Store

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Punch Up: How long can you last? (review)

If you’re a fan of Flappy Bird and the innumerable clones that have come into the Play Store market since, you may really like Punch Up, a newer game from the French developer M.Pomme Studio. It can be downloaded for free in the Play Store.

Gameplay

You play as ‘Punchy’, a small square ninja-in-training. That’s not terribly important; what is important is that you can only move Punchy left-to-right given a certain mechanic offered by each level. For example, the 1st level allows you slide along the ground left or right in short bursts. The 2nd level allows a similar burst, but at an angle governed by a constantly-rocking arrow.
Through each level there are coins to collect for several purposes: the main one being buying new lives (more on that in a bit), with others being customizing your Punchy character.

The danger in the game comes from a multitude of sources. In the 1st level, it’s stalactites quickly growing out from and falling from the ceiling. These things are so dangerous because getting struck from just a single falling stalactite equals instant death, requiring a re-start from the beginning of your current level. The added trouble is that these fallen spikes can quickly become additive….meaning that as more and more spikes pile up on the ground, it becomes more difficult to move against these; making staying alive that much more difficult. On each level you’re given a certain amount of time (1st level is 30 seconds) in which to simply survive. Get to 0, and off to the next level you go! After completing the 1st level, you go to a memory-style mini-game. Several different shapes of varying colors flash before you. You’re then asked to pick the color of a certain shape (i.e.; what color was the star?). Guess right and off you go to the next level. Guess wrong and you’re given two choices:either buy a new life to retry for 300 coins, or choose die and start over 1 level back.

Throughout the game there is never a moment to relax; you are always fighting to stay alive. That is probably the biggest compliment I can give to a game that is aiming to provide just that kind of experience.

What We Liked

• Spot-on controls: your character goes exactly where you want when you want. Zero perceptible lag is visible.
• Simple but addicting gameplay: In the traditional vein of Flappy Bird, you will die often, and each time you will tell yourself “I can do this; one more try!”.  But you likely won’t.
• Pleasing arcade-style graphics: Nothing crazy here; just good colors, detail, and animation that fit the game’s overall style.

What Could Use Improvement

• Difficulty: I know, I know: it’s supposed to be hard. But good grief….
• Sound: Maybe a little more punch with sound effects, but I’m nit-picking here.

Download Punch Up here for free in the Play Store.

Lynktec’s Reeljuice 5X external battery chooses function over portability

Eight hours. That is the amount of battery life I typically get out of my Galaxy S6 in a normal work day. Battery longevity is the one thing that has not been able to break out into “the next level.” Due to this fact, portable battery packs have become very common in the lives of those like myself who rely heavily on their mobile devices. With that trend, Lynktec has seen fit to jump into the game with the Reeljuice line of portable batteries.

There are four versions of the Reeljuice charger that can be purchased; the 3X comes with a 5300mAh battery and the 5X comes with an 8000mAh battery (naming coming from the assumption that a phone could be charged up to five times with the 8000mAh full charge). Each of these can be purchased with either a 10 Watt wall charger or a standard USB charger. Lynktec sends the Reeljuice with a built-in microUSB cord but did not forget about those iOS users; they provide a microUSB to lightning adapter with every device. They even added a nice little storage spot for the adapter so it does not get lost.

Specs

• Battery: Li-Polymer
• Capacity: 5300mAh/8000mAh
• Input: 10W wall charger or 5V USB charger
• Output: 2.1A microUSB
• Size: 6.125 x 3.125 x 0.77 inches
• Weight: 10.3 oz
• Warranty: 12 months

Usage

Every charger out there has something that attempts to set them apart from the competition. The Reeljuice is no different, having two unique features that set this charger apart from the other options. First is the modular charging method which allows you three methods of charging your battery pack: the 10 Watt wall charger (which also has a passthrough USB output for convenient charging), the USB input charger (can be used with any wall charger or USB port), or a microUSB cable can be plugged into the module connector on the bottom of the device. The second, and most notable, distinction of the charger is the built-in charging cord that “reels” back into the body of the charger.

I was pleasantly surprised with the performance of the battery pack. The 2.1V charging speed is definitely not QC 2.0, but it is fast enough to get your device charged in a timely manner. It takes about an hour and a half to charge my Galaxy S6, which has a 2550mAh battery. An empty battery pack charges in about an hour with the wall charger, which means that you can charge your 8000mAh pack faster than it charges your phone.

The cord that is built into the charger is a nice quality, braided, microUSB cord. It is a welcome feature to not have to carry a cord around with me. This feature comes with a pretty hefty trade off, size. It is pretty obvious that the reel feature increases the width and girth of this charger making it more difficult to transport than other 8000mAh chargers. I would say it is nearly impossible to carry in your pocket and would only be transportable in a bag of some sort, perfect for students or professionals who often carry a medium to large bag.

The real “gotcha” with the Reeljuice is the price tag. The cheapest version of the device rings in at just under $100. Comparing that to some of the other chargers of comparable size, we can see that there is a major difference in cost. If they were to add a few features like Quick Charge or wireless charging then the price wouldn’t seem so steep.

Summary

The Reeljuice 5X is a great charger, built on a solid foundation of innovative ideas. If Lynktec could find a way to bring the cost into the realm of other comparable chargers, I think this would be a great device for those tech-heavy users. You can pick up the Reeljuice 3X or 5X with USB charging module on Amazon right now for $20 off the MSRP.

Poncho: Let this cute cat be your weatherman [Review]

Overview

In the world of weather apps, there are many to choose from. Many present you with every measurement that you could want and then some. There are also many that give you a minimum information for a quick reference. Poncho leans more towards the minimal side of the spectrum, but it’s how the information is presented that makes this app different.

Developer: Poncho Inc

Cost: Free

Review

Poncho was first developed as text and email-based weather service, but quickly realized they needed to develop an app since people were using it as an alarm of sorts. It first launched on iOS and became available as a beta application for Android during Google I/O. So what makes this one cool app? Let’s find out.

Poncho

First, Poncho is a cat weatherman. Yes, a cute little cat that will deliver your weather updates when you want them. He (not sure of the cat’s gender) allows you to set up what time you want the weather delivered to you in the morning, afternoon and once a day on the weekends. I have encountered one hiccup, though I haven’t received an afternoon one yet, not sure why.

There are a few different settings for your weather report. They include pollen count, barometer, and wind speed. There are some more neat little features like “Hair”, which lets you know if the weather will mess up your hair. Alternate side parking (which is only available in New York City currently) shows you where available parking is, and information on your public transit (if you’re in one of the supported cities).  All these settings can be turned off if you wish.

Poncho then takes all your settings and creates a report for you which is delivered at the times you wish. You may also pull this report at any time by simply going in the app. He always has some silly Gif or picture with something clever. It also has the current temp, hourly forecast, five-day forecast, and anything else that you have turned on in your settings.

It also is packing a couple extra features. It comes with a built-in alarm clock that you can

Yes, that’s my referral code. Feel free to use it, wink wink.

set up for as many days of the week as you wish. They also have a free stuff section. That’s right, free. They offer sunglasses, water bottle, and a backpack. All you have to do is refer people. Five people get you the sunglasses, ten gets you the water bottle and fifteen lands you the backpack.

Conclusion

This app isn’t super loaded with tons of weather information, but it does give you a good overview of the day, in a cute way. One thing I think they are missing out on is a widget. This cat is too cute not to be able to have him on your screen giving you weather, so I think they do add that.

I also need to mention that it’s in open beta for now so you will need to opt in to get the app. I’d be amiss if I didn’t mention you can also use Poncho in Facebook Messenger just by giving him your town name or zip code. It’s fun, it’s free, and you get the chance to get free stuff so you have nothing to lose.

Join the Beta for Ponch

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