review - page 6

As you may have noticed already, the embargo on the new Samsung Galaxy S4 was lifted today, and reviewers from all corners of the web are weighing in on the latest Android flagship. Given that the handset succeeds one of the most successful Android phones of all time, many of you are likely to be itching to find out what it’s like.

We’ve put together a review roundup to give you a snapshot of what those early reviews are saying about the Galaxy S4, and to help you decide whether the handset will be worth your hard-earned cash when it goes on sale in the coming weeks.

I called the Pad&Quill Aria the “classiest iPad mini case yet,” and I’ll stand by that after using it for a week or two. It’s also most definitely the sturdiest, best crafted case I’ve ever seen, and the fanciest that Brian Holmes and the P&Q crew has come up with to date.

But can such a fancy case ever be practical? Let’s take a look.

Do you ever worry that your beloved MacBook’s sleek aluminum shell will get damaged when it’s packed inside your bag with the rest of your gadgets and gizmos. This handmade, wool felt sleeve from MyBanana aims to give your notebook a home of its own, away from sharp keys, USB cables, chargers, and all the other things you might need to pack into your bag when you’re on the road.

Its slimline design holds your MacBook Air or Retina MacBook Pro — depending on which size you go for — plus smaller items in a pocket on its front. This is ideal for carrying Lightning cables, an iPhone, or even an iPad mini.

Anything you stick inside the sleeve is secured by two vegatable tanned leather traps with snap fasteners.

Pricing starts at £48 ($56) for the 11-inch MacBook Air sleeve, then rises to £54 ($63) for the 13-inch MacBook Air or Retina MacBook Pro models. If you have a 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro, it’ll cost you £58 ($68).

Let’s find out if it’s worth it.

I’m a big fan of Loop Attachment’s Mummy cases for the iPhone — they’re probably the best silicone cases you can get — so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the Mummy case for iPad mini when it was announced at CES back in January.

Just like its smaller siblings, it’s made almost entirely from a soft, coated silicone that provides impact protection from those inevitable dings and drops. It’s also the first envoloping silicone case that’s designed to be compatible with the iPad mini’s Smart Cover, and the Mummy’s built-in magnets will keep your Smart Cover pinned back while your device is in use.

The Mummy has been carefully designed to show off the Apple logo on the back of your device, as well as provide access to all of your buttons, ports, and speakers while still protecting your iPad mini from head to toe. It’s available now in black, blue, graphite, red, and teal, with a white model available for pre-order.

I’ve been testing the Mummy for around a month to find out whether it’s worth its $30 price tag.

As you already know, I swing more or less caseless when it comes to iPhones and iPads. I cover the iPad’s screen with a Smart Cover, and have a dedicated jeans pocket for the iPhone. But once in a while eI need something more rugged, and that’s when I reach for X-Doria’s Shield, a multi-layer case which adds minimal weight and bulk but quite a good bit of protection:

The cellhelmet for iPhone 5 is the world’s only case that comes with one year of protection against accidental damage. If you drop your iPhone and it breaks while inside the cellhelmet, its makers, cellpig, will have it repaired or replaced for free — all you pay is the $50 handling fee.

That’s how confident cellpig are in the cellhelmet’s ability to keep your iPhone protected. The case itself costs $49.99, which is a little costly when you compare it to other iPhone cases of its kind. But because of the accidental damage cover, it negates the need for a dedicated insurance plan, so you’re still saving yourself a small fortune in the long run.

The cellhelmet is made from a polyurethane plastic that covers the back and sides of your device, while providing access to all of its buttons and ports. It has a matte finish that promises not to attract lint, and it’s available in eight different colors.

It’s pretty much a forgone conclusion that any time we review a bag or case by Waterfield Designs, we’re going to love them. The San Francisco based company is such a maestro at stripping a cow to its bones then stitching the tanned hide up into a premier laptop or tablet case that dishing out an enthusiastic review of yet another one is starting to feel like a matter of course.

So it’s with a profound sense of relief that I can report that Waterfield Design’s CitySlicker MacBook case is the worst thing anyone’s ever made, ever. That includes the Fred series of movies. Scotch-taped together from what appears to be a beef jerky flavored Fruit Roll-Up, the City Slicker….

*snicker*

Sorry, I couldn’t keep a straight face. Just kidding! The CitySlicker is an awesomely stylish protective case for your MacBook Air that can double as a very streamlined laptop bag or attache case. Oh, and it also makes a pretty awesome lap desk. It’s just as good a product as any that Waterfield has ever made. But it’s definitely not for everyone.

Say hi to the little Braven BRV-1. Take a while to get acquainted… You’re going to be spending a lot of time together this summer. Why? Because not only does this little fella sound pretty good, he can follow you almost literally everywhere you might go – beach, biking, even boating – without stopping.

If Apple sold an iPhone 5 dock designed to work alongside the iMac, then the OCDock would probably be it. Born on Kickstarter and provided by the fine folks at BiteMyApple.co, this device fixes to the base of your iMac or Apple Thunderbolt Display and provides you with a beautiful built-in dock that looks like it was always a part of your machine.

The OCDock has a paper-thin wire that runs under the base of your iMac’s stand, so it looks like it’s completely integrated. It also has a spring-loaded base that moves up and down, so it will even accommodate your iPhone in a case — providing the case isn’t too thick.

I thought I’d heard everything there was to hear from wireless speakers. I have tested everything from the smallest, crappiest pocket speaker to the big booming Big Jambox. Then I “hooked” the Libratone Zipp up to my iPhone, and I started to enjoy music again.

The PopLock is a new iPhone 5 case from NutKase that does more than just protect your beloved smartphone from scratches and scrapes. Its built-in, pressure sensitive kickstand pops out with just a push, allowing you to stand your iPhone for FaceTime calls and watching movies.

The stand is also designed to be a clip, which lets you fix your iPhone 5 to almost anything that’s sturdy enough to hold it, such as a computer monitor or an air vent in the car. The PopLock is made from a durable polycarbonate that promises to absorb shock, and it provides you with access to all of your ports, buttons, and cameras.

The case is available in grey and black, and it’s priced at $22.99. Here’s what I think of it after testing it for a few weeks.

One of the longest running complaints with iOS is the lack of a filesystem, particularly for pro users. Some might even say that it’s a problem limiting the adoption of iOS devices as primary computers. To help bridge this gap, developers have released countless file management apps in the App Store, all attempting to solve this issue. The problem is, none of these apps got it quite right. Some had great UIs and a lack of features, while some were visually upsetting while littered with an abundance of options. Files App, a new application from Sonico Mobile, changes all that. Not only does it look great, it provides a myriad of functions as well, making it one of the best file management apps I’ve ever seen for iOS.

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It’s no longer a surprise to walk into a store that sells gloves and mittens and finding a pair with capacitive spots on the thumb and forefinger. These gloves let you tap on the screen of your iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or other touchscreen device without having to take off your gloves, thereby saving you from potential cold hands or frostbite.

Living in a cold city like Anchorage, AK, I’ve come to appreciate the ability to use my iPhone when I’m outside, but really haven’t found a pair of gloves that let me use my iPhone naturally and easily, until now, with these knit gloves from Glove.ly. These soft, warm knit gloves now let me use my forefinger, a pinky, a thumb–indeed, a whole hand or two–to tap, swipe, and multi-touch gesture my way around an iPhone or iPad screen.

I’m fairly in (g)love.

V-Moda likes to say their new Crossfade M-100s ($310) are the first pair of “crowdsourced” headphones on the market today. Put simply, that means they culled product feedback from forums and social media, and solicited input from audiophiles, journalists, and enthusiasts to create them.

I applaud the endeavor—working with so much public input definitely had the potential to backfire on them; have you seen the Homer car? But V-Moda, somehow, someway, was able to weave the wisps and whispers of public and professional feedback into a a set of headphones so good, they just earned the highest review score I’ve ever given.

Moves is that rare thing on the modern App Store — a free app that has an enormous amount to offer. It’s magical in its simplicity, an app that asks no more than you switch it on and forget about it.

All you have to do is carry on with life. Moves tracks your movements, intelligently works out whether you’ve been walking, running, cycling or using transport of some kind, and provides you with a helpful summary at the end of each and every day.

Best of all, though, it does so without any need for input from you. You don’t have to tell it that you’re going out for a run. You don’t have to tell it you’re walking from A to B.

It just knows.

The XFLEX from BiteMyApple is a gadget stand for smartphones and tablets that’s so versatile, it has an almost unlimited number of uses. It’s great around the home, in the office, in the car… and anywhere else you fancy taking it.

The XFLEX has a weighted base that ensures even the heaviest of tablets won’t cause it to topple, while its flexible arm let you move your device around to get the best viewing angle — whatever you might be using it for.

The XFLEX costs $109.99, and it promises to be a “single stand solution” that “works practically anywhere.” But does it live up to its claims?

New interface ideas are few and far between on the App Store these days, but productivity app Sooner is crammed full of them. It’s also elegant and speedy and rather fun to use.

FioWriter is a text editor for iOS, outwardly similar to many that have gone before it, but with a style all of its own. One important difference is that it provides keyboard shortcuts of the sort you’re familiar with on your desktop computer. Their usefulness, however, depends on the device you’re typing on.

Hey! Hi there! Grab a chair, pull it closer to the fire. It’s cold outside isn’t it? And you look like you could do with thawing out.

Yes, it’s a lovely fire, isn’t it? Feel free to add some more fuel – anything you like. Your chair, for example. Or your aunt. Or yourself. This fire burns anything. ANYTHING.

Mr T is now 60. Let me repeat that for you, fellow children of the 1970s and 1980s: Mr T is 60 years old.

He could have left all that “I pity the fool” and “I ain’t getting on no plane” stuff behind him many, many years ago. But why let a good catchphrase go to waste? Especially when there’s a whole App Store’s worth of money to made from it.

Speck’s CandyShell cases are available for Apple’s entire lineup of iOS devices, and the latest edition comes to the iPad mini. Consisting of a soft, rubbery interior and a hard outer shell, the CandyShell promises impact protection from everyday dings and drops — without adding too much weight to your device.

Its simple shell design makes the CandyShell one of the most basic cases in Speck’s lineup. It provides protection from almost every angle, and leaves access to all of your ports, buttons, and cameras. But there’s nothing too fancy here; there’s no front cover or fold-out stand or pockets for your credit cards.

It is available in a number of bright and pretty colors, however, including raspberry & cool grey, flamingo & fuchsia, and harbor & malachite. It’s price at $44.95, but is it worth it?

BlackBerry — previously Research in Motion — launched the new BlackBerry Z10 last week, the first smartphone to run the company’s new BlackBerry 10 operating system. Originally set to launch in late 2012, the Z10 has been a long time coming for BlackBerry fans, and it’s a hugely important milestone for the Canadian company.

Many see this as BlackBerry’s last hope of survival in today’s cutthroat smartphone market. It’s been rapidly losing market share to Android and iOS devices over the past five years, and it hasn’t evolved quick enough to put up any sort of a fight. But it’s better later than never.

BlackBerry 10’s here now, and with the help of the Z10 — and later the Q10 — it’s going to be trying to persuade you to give up your iPhone or Android-powered smartphone in favor of a brand new platform. But is it good enough?

I’m a long-time iOS user who recently made the switch to Android, and I’ve been really curious to see if the Z10 is any good. I’ve been using the device almost exclusively since its release; here’s Cult Of Android’s review.

Another week, another todo list. Given the fundamental simplicity of todo lists as we used to know them (scraps of paper with stuff scribbled on), it’s amazing that there’s so much endless innovation in the field of virtual ones. But so it goes, and Finish is one of the latest apps to try and add a new twist. And mostly, it succeeds.

Hands up if you remember Dial-a-song. You don’t? Man, those were the good days. Even if you don’t remember them, now’s the time to re-live them on your iPhone. Like it’s an old phone. A dial-a-song phone.

Vine is a new, free toy from Twitter. It replaces text with video, but only six seconds of it at a time, shot instant-by-instant. And it’s much cooler than I expected it to be.