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Reviews - page 115

Airport Commuter: A Compact Camera Bag With Space For Your Macbook And Your iPad [Review]

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Think Tank’s new Airport Commuter camera bag ($199) is something of a paradox: Though it’s the size of a normal backpack, it manages to fit an abnormal amount of glass, gear, a full-size a Macbook Pro, and an iPad.

But could such a compact bag hold so many precious items in harmony? I packed it up, strapped it on, and set out to find out.

Get Close To Nature With Olympus’s “Nature Macro” Lens & PEN E-PM2 Camera [Review]

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OlympusPEN

We checked out Olympus‘s gorgeous new M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 60mm f/2.8 “Nature Macro” lens, along with this fall’s additional release to the Japanese company’s excellent PEN series cameras, the PEN E-PM2 ($599). This new PEN compact system digital camera will please both experienced and neophyte photographers alike.

One truly great feature of these PEN series cameras is the highly responsive touch shutter release, which instantly autofocuses on the tapped area of the camera’s high-resolution 3″ LCD screen and captures. It’s amazing, allowing intricate images of even the smallest close-up subjects at lightning-fast speeds.

Parrot Asteroid Classic Car Sound System: The Deck I Wish I’d Had in High School [Review]

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This is the original Parrot Asteroid Classic car stereo head-unit ($349), and it made quite a splash when it launched last year. The single-DIN, 4×55 watt receiver boasts a formidable array of features: Bluetooth connectivity, powerfully accurate voice recognition for both calls and music, a GPS receiver, a bright, 3.2-inch LED screen and a quiver of apps that run off its customized, upgradeable, early-vintage Android 1.5 OS (all of which require a data connection via a dongle).

Though this model was originally called the the Asteroid (no Classic), the Classic nomen was added to lessen confusion as three new models were announced a few months ago. However, the Asteroid Classic still very much in play; in fact, as this review goes live, the Classic is the only member of the Asteroid family currently available, as its new siblings haven’t shipped yet.

With its Android-based OS, you’d be forgiven if you thought the Asteroid Classic was more friendly to Android phones than the iPhone. In fact, the opposite is true, as I’ll explain later. And while it suffers from something that can probably be described as teething trouble, it’s still a lust-worthy system.

Macally’s New iPad Mini Case Will Keep Your New Tablet Tidy, But Could Be Cheaper [Review]

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Macally was one of the first manufacturers to get its iPad mini cases onto the market when the device was launched back in early November, and this one from the guys at MobileFun caught my eye for a number of reasons.

It provides protection for both the front and back of the device, with a hard plastic shell that houses the iPad mini, and a plastic cover that’s lined in soft, suede-like material. The cover also doubles as a stand for typing and watching movies.

The case provides access to your all of your device’s ports and buttons, and includes a cutout for its rear-facing camera. It’s priced at $47 and comes in a range of colors, but is it worth that price tag?

Twitterrific 5 Is A Fresh Take On Twitter For The iPhone And iPad [Review]

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Back to the drawing board.

Many don’t know that Twitter didn’t actually invent the word “tweet.” It was a small group of developers at The Iconfactory who thought up the clever moniker when they made Twitterrific, the first real Twitter client. Twitterrific started way back in 2007 as the first Twitter app on the Mac, and the first iPhone version went live when Apple launched the App Store in 2008. Since then, the app has continued to evolve on both iOS and OS X. Twitterrific was the first app to use a bird icon, show a character counter as you tweet, and show replies and conversation threads in-app.

Twitterrific was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the likes of Tweetie and Tweetbot, and the The Iconfactory’s work is a shining example of how third-party devs can enhance a service like Twitter and make the experience better for the user. Without Twitterrific, the Twitter app landscape would probably look very different.

Last week, The Iconfactory announced the upcoming release of Twitterrific 5, a totally new redesign on the iPhone and iPad. I’ve been playing with the new app for the past week, and it has now gone live for everyone in the App Store. After taking it for a test run and speaking with The Iconfactory, I can easily call Twitterrific 5 the best version of the first Twitter app.

The HEX Drake Origin Is A Beautiful Backpack, MacBook & iPad Case, All At The Same Time [Review]

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Although a bag fancier, there have not been many backpacks in my life that I have cared for. There was a plastic Optimus Prime knapsack when I was six that was pretty boss, and I traveled through over three dozen countries in my early 20s lugging around an 80 pound rucksack, but otherwise, backpacks are the accomplice of unpleasant memories: of inexplicable and unpublished high school rules of coolness dictating the correct number of straps to use in order to silently advertise your relative merit on the cosmic scale of “phat”-ness; of bags torn from my shoulders by laughing cromagnons and tossed into open sewers.

Worse? I think backpacks look dumb on adult men. I know there’s a vocal brotherhood who thinks that any bag on a man looks dumb, but at least I know that a messenger bag or satchel is as much a conscious fashion decision as it is a utilitarian method of hauling around your stuff. A backpack, though, makes even the most slender-of-hip, effortlessly dressed and stubbled metrosexual look as if he were a be-moobed 13 year old gasping and wheezing his way home after school with a backpack overstuffed with text books and X-Men comics. And I should know, because I was that 13 year old.

But backpacks have their purpose, and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become a little more enamored with their practicality. They are easier on the back, and easier to lug around while biking. If only they didn’t look so ridiculous.

Enter the HEX Drake Origin, a fashionable backpack with a slim form factor that is none the less big enough to fit a 15-inch MacBook, and even has a dedicated pocket for a 10-inch iPad. This is a backpack I not only like; I’m not embarassed to wear it.

Manfrotto Makes Good Carbon Fiber Affordable With Their New 290-Series Tripod [Review]

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Carbon fiber tripods are great, aren’t they? They’re slim on weight, and if they’re built well, are steady as an oak. Problem is, good ones can cost $600-$800 dollars, and unless you’re regularly shooting for cash, it’s hard to justify spending that kind of cheese.

So when Manfrotto asked me to check out their 290-series MT294C3 carbon fiber tripod ($250 legs only, $319 with 3-Way Pan/Tilt Head as I reviewed it) I pointed at them, stroked my mustache, and said, absolutely. Manfrotto’s a known name in the photo world, but would their new series of affordable carbon-hewn tripods be worthy of their pedigree? I set out to see.

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Gifted Makes You A Gifted Gift Giver [Review]

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Your gifts, all wrapped up
Your gifts, all wrapped up

Gifted is a one dollar gift-management app for iOS, that helps you track all the gifts for all the people at all the events you might have to deal with. It works, no doubt about that; but using it, I found myself shrinking away from the whole idea. This is not what gift-giving is all about, in my opinion.

Apple Veteran Exec Bob Mansfield Cashes $20 Million In Stock

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Bob Mansfield

Longtime Apple executive Bob Mansfield just had a big pay day, according to a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Mansfield just cashed in 35,000 shares of Apple stock valued at $582.21 per share, earning him $20.37 million.

After announcing his retirement but then staying on at Apple to lead the company’s mysterious new “Technologies” group, Mansfield now reports directly to CEO Tim Cook. He’s just as instrumental to the company’s success as ever.

Fantastical For iPhone Is Here, And Apple’s Calendar App Has Been Dethroned [Review]

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Something as simple as a good calendar app can make all the difference.
Something as simple as a good calendar app can make all the difference.

When Flexibits launched Fantastical on the Mac back in May of 2011, I started actually using iCal to make sense of the hectic mess that is my daily schedule. Fast forward to today, and Fantastical is an app I still can’t live without. I was ecstatic when Flexibits sent me an early copy of Fantastical for iPhone to try out, and I’m pleased to report that it is everything you would expect and more. Apple’s Calendar app just got dethroned again.

This Handmade iPhone 5 Sleeve Is Stronger Than It Looks, And Super Cheap [Review]

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From the guys at MyBanana, this iPhone 5 sleeve is handmade in Israel from soft wool felt that’s designed to protect your handset while “keeping it fashionable and stylish.” Not only does it house your iPhone, but there’s also a handy pocket that’ll hold onto your credit cards and cash.

It’s priced at just £15 (about $24) and comes in grey and black, grey and magenta, and grey and turquoise. It’s cheap, then, but is it any good?

Charge Your iPhone Quickly With Mophie’s Portable Juice Pack Powerstation [Review]

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Power! It’s the stuff I’m always hunting for in the halls of conventions, like the upcoming 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). For you see, when you’re multi-touching your iPhone 5 morning, noon, and night, a once-a-day charge isn’t going to cut it.

So this year, when I’m gadget-hunting on the floors of CES, in my bag I’ll definitely be carrying the Mophie Juice Pack Powerstation ($79). It’s tiny, looks great (more on that in a sec), and will charge a dying iPhone 5 up to two times. Yes sir, in my short time with it thus far, I reckon it’s already become one of my favorite new iPhone accessories.

Play, Don’t Stay, In Bad Hotel [Review]

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Dare you book at room at the Bad Hotel?
Dare you book at room at the Bad Hotel?

I’ve stayed in some pretty nasty hotels in my time, but none of them ever quite got as bad as Bad Hotel.

Bad Hotel is bad in the sense that I wouldn’t want to stay there. Too many bad guys trying to smash it down all the time. Unusual, for hotels, but there you go.

As a game, though, Bad Hotel is fantastic. It’s brilliantly different. It doesn’t care what you think of its weirdness. It’s there to entertain, and does so with charm and wit.