Get ready for the season premieres of Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, Veep and more, because Verizon and HBO are teaming up to provide an exclusive three-month offer of HBO NOW. When customers switch to Verizon, upgrade or activate a new line, they receive the offer included with their purchase.
With HBO NOW, you get instant access to ALL of HBO – every episode of every season of HBO’s best original series, the biggest and latest Hollywood hit movies before any other streaming service. In addition, with HBO NOW you can stream big premieres the same time as they air on TV right to your Verizon smartphone or tablet.
To be eligible you’ll need to upgrade or activate a new line on a smartphone on a device payment plan or a tablet with a 2-year activation or device payment plan. Plus, if you upgrade or activate a new phone on a Verizon Plan XL or larger and choose the device payment option, you’ll also receive 2 GB of monthly bonus data for each new or upgraded line. The data is shareable, can be combined with other offers and applies as long as the line remains active on a Verizon Plan XL or larger. And if you’re switching to Verizon, you can also receive up to $650 to pay off your old phone or contract when you trade in your phone.
When it comes to health related technology, I’ve found nothing is cooler than the digital ear thermometer by Swaive. If you have ever had to take a child’s temperature with an old school, under the arm thermometer, you will simply love the ease of this digital ear thermometer.
The biggest issue I have with digital thermometers is whether or not they are accurate. In my testing, this is definitely not an issue with the Swaive Thermometer. Not only is the Swaive solution convenient, but it’s also very acurrate. I checked my temperature with a regular thermometer and then with the Swaive and they were pretty close to being exactly the same.
Design
Right out of the box you can see the people at Swaive put quite a bit of thought into the design of its product. The thermometer has a nice, simple design, making it very comfortable to hold.
In addition to the unit itself, it comes with a sleeve full of plastic hygienic covers and a small, hard plastic carrying case. When you press the smooth button to turn it on, a nice blue LED display appears on the handle. This display will show the temperature reading, as well as, a three second countdown before it takes your temperature.
Along with the everything above, there is also a companion app for your smartphone to keep track of not only your own temperature history, but everyone in your family. Indeed, you can breaking everyone’s temperature history down into smart graphs. Moreover, it provides a place to record what type of symptoms you are experiencing at the time the temperature was taken.
Setup and Usage
The setup for the Swaive thermometer itself was pretty painless: I simply put in the two AA batteries in and turned it on for the first test. There is a three-second countdown and a beep, then a second beep and then the temperature is taken.
The first couple readings were off because it took me a few tries to get the countdown. Also, I didn’t get it in my ear fast enough; but, once you get the hang of it, the readings were accurate.
Setting up the companion app is easy as well in that you just download the app and input the member of the family you wish to record. From there, take the temperature and it records it directly to the application. Over a period of time you can get a nice chart of the fluctuations in each person’s temperature for reference or even to show your physician.
Conclusion
The Swaive Thermometer is an excellent product for anybody looking to get an accurate temperature reading. The design and ease of use of this product is simply amazing, especially if you have young kids who can’t sit still when you have a thermometer under their arm.
The companion application is an ingenious way to keep track of those readings. And, because it’s recorded on your phone, you can show your doctor with a simple click of your smartphone. I would highly recommend this product for anybody looking for a great thermometer.
Where to Buy
If you are in the market for a product like this you can purchase this from the manufacturer’s website at swaive.com for around $59.99. In checking, we found that Amazon has them for a few dollars less. The companion application costs nothing to download and use, and is a great addition to an already excellent product.
For the past six weeks, the legal battle between Apple and the FBI has been in a near-stalemate, with neither side willing to give ground. The stakes: the privacy of millions of people compared to revealing the data of one iPhone. Recently, the FBI backed off after receiving help to enable them to break into the San Bernadino shooter’s iPhone 5c.
Most of the tech industry flocked to Apple’s side, with companies filing amicus briefs to assist Apple in their legal debate. Thousands, if not millions of people used social media to voice their support for Apple. While it’s certainly admirable for Apple to stand up against the government for our rights, does this victory come at a cost?
Privacy vs. Justice
As more of our data is being transferred over to and managed by our smartphones, it becomes more than just an electronic device: our smartphones are essentially an extension of our minds. Some say the future of humanity is to merge with our machines and become cyborgs; I say that the future is now. We’re already cyborgs, the only difference is that our smartphones haven’t become small enough to be implanted into our bodies..yet.
Does Apple have a duty to help law enforcement? The point of opening up phones for law enforcement is not necessarily to make police work easier. In a free society like America, some criminals will always slip away because of restraints on investigations that are necessary for balancing liberty and security.
It has been said that thanks to our smartphones being carried with us everywhere, we’re in a “golden age of surveillance.” With Edward Snowden’s help, we saw what happens when a government hoards more and more power. But the battle for encryption is just getting started. A couple of days ago WhatsApp announced that all of its users’ communications are now fully encrypted, end-to-end.
End-to-end encryption means that the data is encrypted in such a way that not even WhatsApp can decrypt and look at your messages. When people use the latest version of WhatsApp, all communication including messages, photos, videos and phone calls are now safe from prying eyes. As of February 2016, it was announced that there are approximately 1 billion monthly active users on WhatsApp (and most of them are outside of the U.S.).
“The government doesn’t want to stop encryption…but the question is: what do you do when a company creates an encryption system that makes it impossible for court-authorized search warrants to be executed? What is the reasonable level of assistance you should ask from that company?”
Does privacy have a price?
In the end, there can only be more questions. It’s a possibility that governments around the world will increase physical surveillance if they’re running out of places to enforce software surveillance. The United Kingdom is already moving toward a state of total surveillance. Surveillance cameras are everywhere, and the GCHQ is even more intrusive than the NSA, if that’s even possible.
If a suspect did refuse to decrypt their phone, then they could be held in contempt of court and thrown in jail. But is jail enough of a punishment? I’m certainly not advocating for harsh punishments for people who don’t want to decrypt, but another person with more power than I might.
What I can say is that this problem will not be solved with implementing backdoors into smartphones and operating systems. I don’t think the goals of private companies and governments have to be at odds with each other, but we need to have more open debates. The future of encryption, as well as the future of technology, cannot happen behind closed doors. As Spock once said, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.“
Game developers are always in search of different ways of doing things to stand out in the Play Store. Be it an innovative game feature, very easy-to-use controls, punishing difficulty, or new mechanics, companies are always trying to add new stuff to their offerings. Land Sliders successfully mixes several of these elements in a cute, challenging game with dead-easy controls and several characters to choose from.
Variety thanks to quests, leaderboards, and enemies.
Setup
That’s why it’s called Land Sliders!
After the usual Google Play Games integration, the game asks to choose a character. You will have three choices: a little guy called Turny, a panda, and a fridge (seriously). Unfortunately, just as choosing your starter Pokemon, you will not be able to choose the remaining two later. Well, at least you won’t have a rival choosing a creature that has a type advantage against yours. Anyways, there are more than 100 characters available, unlockable via in-game currency or in-app purchases. Each character can develop one ability by leveling up, but more on that later.
Features
The game drops you right into a small tutorial after finishing its initial setup. Instead of opting for a text-based tutorial, the developer chose to teach you the controls in a smaller-scaled world created only for this purpose. To move your character, you need to “slide the world” by swiping on any part of the screen. This will make your character move throughout the world. If you prefer, you can also reverse the controls and slide the character instead. Tap anywhere on the screen and your character will screech to a halt. Controls feel responsive and are easy enough to understand, but they can feel a tiny bit imprecise in situations where you need bullseye accuracy.
The main screen isn’t actually composed of buttons that you have to press, but a small piece of land with platforms scattered over it. Sliding the world so your character presses any of them trigger the desired function. It’s a really neat way of implementing a main menu and, though it is slower to access each function this way, I think it’s a good trade-off.
Gameplay
The menu is very innovative and fun to navigate.
Hovering your character over the red Play button will start the actual game. The main objective in each level is to find a platform that takes you to the next level. When you do, there’s a cool animation in which the ground beneath you rockets into the air to the next level. On several occasions, this animation has skipped frames, but it’s good otherwise. A thing to note is that, even though you always traverse the world starting from level one, there are many variations of each stage, so the game never feels monotonous.
The game would be easy if there was nothing more to it than cruising through levels. However, it’s not. There are multiple hazards and enemies trying to block your way to victory. There are dinosaurs jumping across the land trying to murder your character. Bulls storm towards you in a straight line in an attempt to pulverize your dreams. There are big bears that throw snowballs at you, freezing you for a while. Not only you won’t be able to control your character, but also, it will continue to move in whatever direction you were going, so good luck with that.
Fortunately, not all creatures are bad. There are gold-coated rabbits and monkeys, which you can touch and they will explode into coins or bamboos/meats/whatever your character likes (more on that in a bit). Or they can turn into bombs. You’ll have to smash into the character and pray for the best.
A normal level includes a lot of variants to keep you entertained.
Also, some levels provide additional obstacles, such as having to get a key to open the gates blocking the platform to the next level, or some landmark-like structures that sometimes attack you.
There are also lakes and unprotected edges where you can fall, halting your progress. However, an exclamation mark will appear on top of your character when you’re at risk and you’ll have some very brief moments to return to safety.
Each world has elements scattered throughout it. Some of these items are dependent on the character you choose. For example, when choosing a panda, bamboos are dispersed all over the land. The game will sprinkle oxygen tanks when you choose an astronaut, Likewise, you’ll have to collect meat if you choose the lion as your main character.
Even though these items are different in appearance, their function is the same: leveling up your character. Since every character has a special ability, such as making opponents slower or decreasing the time you’re frozen by bears, this special trait gets more powerful the more you level up, making the game a bit easier.
Speaking of which, this game can get really hard. The first two or three levels are relatively easy (especially the first), but later on, there are so many threats and hazards that you won’t be able to avoid. You’ll have multiple things trying to kill you at once, and with environmental hazards, cliffs and water, you’re gonna have a difficult time. Even worse, you only have one life, and you get only one chance of reviving in case you die, triggered by a 30-second video ad. There’s no way of reviving otherwise, even with real money.
I’ll show you the world!
There are special platforms dedicated to quests. These are events that you can complete to receive more loot. Examples of these include hitting silver rabbits, getting a dinosaur to jump into a lake, get a certain amount of elements, and similar. Also, you can get an invincibility sauce, which works exactly as the star in Mario Kart. Smash through your enemies until the time runs out to annihilate them immediately.
Options
Going through the rest of the menu options, you’ll see a place where you can buy new characters. Each one costs $0.77, but, since there are more than 100, things can get very expensive quickly. There’s also an option to change your hard-earned coins for new characters (at random). Also, there’s a free gift option that lets you open a gift box after a certain amount of time to receive coins and other perks.
Thanks to its Google Play Games integration, the game can show you leaderboards to compare your scores with people around the world. Also, you can get achievements if you’re into that. If you want to share your deaths and frustrations with the rest of the world, there’s also a Share function. The game supposedly shares a captioned screenshot of your last frame and then sends it to registered apps. However, I could never get it to work.
Graphics and Sound
That dinosaur is totally going to kill me.
Graphics-wise, the game has vibrant, colorful elements. Characters and environments look blocky (slightly similar, but not equal, to Minecraft) and very simple, but because they’re meant to. This design choice makes every element more charming and gives the game an identity of its own.
Music follows the upbeat and happy theme that the graphics set, with different tones for the home menu, character unlock, and land sliding. Sound effects are appropriate, with bears growling very loudly and dinosaurs making a funny sound while they jump (because watching a dinosaur jump is really funny). Also, there’s an alert sound when some enemies notice you, so make sure you don’t miss those.
Conclusion
Land Sliders is a game with such an easy mechanic that you could master its controls within minutes. However, difficulty spikes really quickly, but what’s life without a challenge? There are many characters to choose from and Google Play Games integration to squeeze more fun out of it. Aside from minor issues, such as the inability of reviving through methods other than video ads, and some minor concerns about replay value, it’s a fun, polished that incorporates a lot of variety to its gameplay and can (and will) keep you entertained for days.
It’s not hard to find an argument against Samsung’s latest when we compare it to Google’s pure Android offering. But that goes both ways. While the Nexus 6P is a great phone, it’s certainly not perfect. Samsung actually did a better job in numerous ways. “How so?” you ask? Let’s run through it.
1. Display
When I heard that the Nexus 6P packs a current Samsung AMOLED panel, I was content. I had the previous Nexus 6 and was dissatisfied with Motorola’s AMOLED implementation (the outdoor visibility was terrible). Unfortunately, the 6P’s display pales in comparison to how it looks on a Samsung device (I also owned last year’s S6 and Note5). It goes to show ya that it’s not just about the hardware, but how you use it. Huawei was not equipped to make that panel shine.
S7 Edge on the left and Nexus 6P on the right, max brightness.
Therefore, when I put the S7 Edge and Nexus 6P side by side, to my eyes, there’s just no comparison. The 6P’s display looks duller and has a color tint to it. It also can’t get as bright and doesn’t perform nearly as well as the S7 Edge’s display outdoors. I can barely see what’s on the 6P’s screen when the sun is shining.
2. Camera
The camera on the 6P is a vast improvement from its predecessor (which actually doesn’t say a lot in itself). The move to large 1.55µm pixels really gives it a low-light advantage in the flagship arena. The Galaxy S7’s camera pixel size technically falls short, at 1.4µm.
However, the performance of the S7’s camera clearly outshines Google’s sensor is a couple ways. First, Samsung’s Dual Pixel system allow for extremely fast auto-focusing. It’s way faster then the 6P’s auto-focus. This is because each and every pixel in Samsung’s sensor helps the process. In my experience, the 6P’s focusing can be hit or miss, while the S7 is consistent.
The lens’s aperture (size of the opening) is larger on the S7 – f/1.7 vs f/2.0 on the 6P. This also helps capture more light in those tricky low-light situations. Check out my Nexus 6P vs S7 Edge camera comparison; several of the images are brighter and more vibrant.
3. Form Factor
I could not believe how much top and bottom bezel is on the Nexus 6P when I first saw it. The phone is much taller than a 5.7″ device should be. Granted, there are two front-facing speakers, but the Nexus 6 had them too and kept reasonable bezels.
Note5 on the left and Nexus 6P on the right.
Samsung continually keeps bezel in check and compacts the phone dimensions as much as possible in its designs. For instance, the Note5 is 153.2mm tall while the 6P is 159.3mm. This also means a screen-to-body ratio of 75.9% on the Note5 vs 71.4% on the 6P. The screen-to-body ratio of the S7 Edge is 76.1%.
4. Storage Expansion
It’s no secret that Google dislikes microSD expansion. The company dropped it from Nexus phones a long time ago, and despite manufacturers fighting back, Google continues to stand its ground.
But from a consumer’s perspective, it’s hard to deny how nice microSD expansion is. We usually get charged an arm and a leg to increase the internal storage, leaving many of us to just settle with the base option because we can’t afford any more. We also can’t forget that the OS takes up a chunk of that storage.
Expanding via microSD is such a cheaper alternative, and you can potentially get a lot more storage than any internal storage option would offer. The Galaxy S7 lets you add 200GB more on top what you already have.
5. IP68 Rating
Many of us get swept away by the oohs and awws of a premium-built smartphone. It’s easy to forget that phone’s live on our hands and are always in a state of danger. I personally hate cases and always baby my phones, but sometimes there’s no stopping life from messing with it.
While the Galaxy S7 is far from a rugged phone, it at least can survive water and dust attacks. An IP68 rating says that it can be submerged in up to 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes and supposedly be fine. The Nexus 6P just has its looks, so users need to be more careful with it.
Final Thoughts
The point of this discussion comes down to this: Samsung easily bests the Nexus 6P in terms of hardware. You’ll see many Android enthusiasts say that the 6P wins hands-down because software is most important, but what actually matters most depends on you. Samsung’s TouchWiz interface isn’t deficient, it works. And if you put hardware at the top of your list (like I do), then the better phone is clear.
If you’re like us, you tend to get your news and information from Reddit. No longer are we bookmarking sites and opening up tabs of links to stay informed. Not anymore. Instead, we subscribe to subreddits on Reddit to get our goods.
With myriad categories and millions of users contributing content every day, Reddit has become our favorite way of keeping up with news and goings on. And, since we’re mobile-minded folks, we tend to use different apps for Reddit.
Until this week there was no official mobile application for Reddit. But, that doesn’t mean the unofficial stuff is no good. Rather, some of them are pretty incredible.
Below you will find a collection of some of our favorites and some of the features you’ll find in them. There’s a lot of carry-over between them, but each is unique enough to consider for your needs particularly if you’re juggling multiple Reddit accounts for different communities or moderation responsibilities.
These apps are presented in no particular order. And, although you might see price tags associated with some of them, chances are good you can get a free, lighter version. Do yourself and the developers a favor and cough up a couple bucks.
Wurrly is a unique take on the karaoke app. With access to hundreds of songs and an integrated in-app social network, Wurrly aims to showcase who you are and the natural talent you possess, to the world. Wurrly is a karaoke that’s not about the music; it’s about you.
What sets it apart?
I have a unique perspective on this application because I have personally had two conversations with Wurrly LLC’s CEO, Nadine Levitt. These conversations have provided me with a deeper understanding of what Wurrly is and what it’s meant to accomplish. You can learn more about Nadine’s vision for Wurrly in my Opinion Editorial here.
First and foremost, Wurrly is about you. Yes; you. Wurrly is meant to highlight who you are and what you are capable of. This app was designed to allow you to be yourself, showcase whatever singing ability you may have, and share it with the world. Most have a natural apprehension towards singing in front others, much less thousands or even millions of people. That’s the beauty of Wurrly. It is designed to provide you with a safe environment to be yourself; to be silly, have fun, laugh, and cry along with others who just want to have a good time and sing together.
How is this accomplished?
Wurrly, despite being a karaoke app, is also aiming to eventually become a portable studio tool. Currently, in its infancy, Wurrly offers very basic editing tools that allow you to adjust the tempo, instrumental focus, and key of a song. After making a recording, you can add an effect to your voice and edit the balance between your singing and the music you’re singing to.
This is where Wurrly really begins to shine. You’ve got your shiny new recording. Now what? Share it. Wurrly has a fully integrated, high quality social network built right into the app. You are given the ability to share your song with thousands of other Wurrly users who are doing the same thing you are: showcasing who they are to the world.
I cannot put enough emphasis on Nadine Levitt’s desire for this app to focus on you. She said to me in one of our conversations, “You are enough. No one does you better than you.”
“You are enough. No one does you better than you.”
And ultimately, that’s what Wurrly is all about, and that is what sets it apart from the competition. Despite it’s plethora of songs, editing tools, or its simplicity and ease of use, Wurrly is you. Wurrly is unique because you are unique.
The future
There’s a lot planned for Wurrly in the future. Eventually, there will be three versions:
Consumer – what most users will use and what is currently available for download, now
Commercial – this will be aimed at professional and independent musicians, with the goal of providing a portable studio tool rich with in-depth, professional-grade editing tools. The commercial version of Wurrly will also aim to help independent artists gain the exposure they need to succeed and break out into the music industry. A monthly subscription will be required for access to this version.
Education – Nadine works very closely with a charity known as “Little Kids Rock.” Little Kids Rock aims to bring music education into less privileged schools by training teachers and providing instruments for the students to play. Wurrly LLC plans to have a version of Wurrly aimed directly at school music education programs. I don’t have the specifics on this version, but I do know that explicit content will be blocked.
An in-app store that will allow you to purchase more editing tools, effects, and songs.
Overall impressions
Wurrly is fun, simple, and very easy to use. You literally can pick the app up and just go. Wurrly LLC has found that rare balance between simplicity and depth, and I applaud them for it. The user interface is clean and bright. There are tons of songs to choose from, and the editing tools are incredibly simple and easy to use.
I would rate the app’s production value as high. Recordings sound pretty good and the effects you can use are intentionally minimal. You will notice the absence of an auto-tuner. This actually took me by surprise when I first used the app. After talking to Nadine, however, I learned that the absence of an auto-tuner was very, very intentional. It all goes back to Wurrly being about you. The effects and editing tools in the app are minimal, and the auto-tuner is missing because Wurrly LLC does not want anything available in the app to overshadow you.
Conclusion
Wurrly is delightful. It’s simple to use and a lot of fun. I really appreciate what Nadine Levitt and Wurrly LLC are aiming to accomplish with this app. I can tell you that 3% of all revenue Wurrly LLC makes from this app, will go to charity. I can also tell you that Nadine Levitt is involved with several charities other than “Little Kids Rock.” Here are links to them:
Currently, Wurrly is free and it is absolutely worth your time. Wurrly is a safe environment for you to just let loose and be you. Connect with your friends. Make new friends. Share content with each other. Laugh and cry with each other. Wurrly is going places. It’s rare to see an app designed to apply its focus on you, the user, instead of on the app itself.
Please know that when you support Wurrly LLC, you are not just supporting the company and its app; you are supporting 400,000 kids getting access to music education in school. You are supporting American troops getting access to music therapy and receiving the tools and exposure they need to pursue a career in music. You are also helping kids with Sickle Cell Anemia get the medical treatment they need in local hospitals in their area.
Please also take a moment to read my in depth Opinion Editorial on Nadine Levitt and Wurrly LLC. It provides great insight into Nadine’s vision for Wurrly as well as the wonderful things she is doing to help those in need. As an added incentive, at the end of the article, you will find a link to my own personal Wurrly version of “Fat Bottomed Girls” by Queen.
If you would like to get more directly involved with Wurrly, take a look at its ambassador program here.
A while back I reviewed a CD player mounted magnetic phone mount made by Infernal Innovations. I really liked the mount but realized that there were some pretty severe limitations to it. The main one being that not all vehicles have a CD player mounted high enough to keep your phone at eye level. Now I’m looking at their universal mount for windshields and dashes.
Infernal Innovations Universal Magnetic Phone Mount overview
This particular mount is suction based. As such it can be mounted to the windshield or your dash. Although if you’re going to mount it to your dash, you may need the included adhesive disc if the area is not smooth enough.
The suction system is pretty unique. It uses a sticky gel material that covers the edges of the suction cup. This material ensures that you don’t loose suction.
Above the base is a reversible magnetic mount with a pivoting head that houses four powerful magnets covered by a thin layer of rubber.
Included with the mount are two metal plates backed with adhesive. These can be attached to the outside of your phone or case or inside your phone case. This is what is used to stick your phone to the magnetic head.
Infernal Innovations Universal Magnetic Phone Mount setup
Setting up the mount is fairly easy, but there are lots of options. If you are going to use the mount on the windshield then you are already halfway there.
If you are going to use the mount on the dash, then you’ll need to either find a fairly smooth part of the dash to use or you’ll need to use the adhesive disc. If you use the adhesive disc then you’ll first need to clean the area with a non-oily cleanser. Then remove the protective plastic from the disc and stick it to the dash.
Whether you use the adhesive disc or not, you’ll need to stick the mount to the desired area with the lever in the upward position. When the mount is placed in the desired area, then depress the lever to create a strong suction to the surface.
Now you’ll need to decide on where to adhere the metal plate. If you have a phone with NFC or wireless charging, then you won’t want to place the plate covering the coils. Since most phones with these technologies place the coils in the middle of the phone and your camera is typically at the top of the phone, you’ll want to adhere the plate to the bottom of the phone.
Beyond the vertical placement of the metal plate, you’ll also want to consider on which surface do you want to adhere the metal plate.
Your options are on the phone itself, inside your phone case, or outside your phone case. Because I have a Zerolemon extended battery, I chose to mount it on the outside of my phone case.
Now you’re ready to use your phone with the mount. Just line the metal plate up with the magnetic disc and viola! you’re done.
Infernal Innovations Universal Magnetic Phone Mount usage
I used this mount in my 1989 Ford F-150. I only mention that, because it’s an old truck and it’s not the best at absorbing bumps and road vibrations. If anything, this is the perfect vehicle to test a magnetic mount, because if it holds in my truck, then it’ll hold in your vehicle too.
I mentioned earlier that I have a Zerolemon extended battery on my phone. This adds lots of weight and strains the magnetic hold. To further complicate things I had the plate mounted to the bottom of my phone so that it wouldn’t interfere with the wireless charging and NFC coils. Even in this configuration, the magnetic mount had more than enough grip to hold it in a portrait position on bumpy roads in my truck. Since most of my apps work in a portrait orientation. This wasn’t a problem.
When placed in a landscape position, the bumps proved too much for the magnets to hold it still. With each bump, the phone would point more and more to towards the ground. When I used the mount on my desk it was able to hold that position but it became unstable when I applied my touch to the screen.
I suspect that if the plate was placed in the middle of the phone or if I wasn’t using this monstrous Zerolemon battery, then it would have worked wonderfully in either orientation even on bumpy roads.
The suction cup on this mount is amazing. I’ve left it adhered to my windshield for over a month and it never lost any suction.
The only flaw that I found was that pivot joint didn’t hold the weight of my phone in landscape mode. I was able to fix this by placing a thin piece of cardboard inside the joint. It was then able to stay in place just fine.
4.2 out of 5 stars
Overall, this is a great option for mounting your phone in the car. Because of its magnetic head and metal plate, it’s the easiest phone mount I’ve ever used.
Amazon currently has it on sale for $20 and for that price it’s definitely worth checking out.
For a limited time, T-Mobile customers can make use of the newly announced Spring Break special. Just in time for the season, customers can get two lines with 12 GB of LTE data (6 GB each – no sharing required) for $80 a month.
This added on top of Binge On and Music Freedom is sure to make even the heaviest of data users last through (at least some) of the month.
To sweeten the deal, Spring Break anynew or existing T-Mobile customer—regardless of credit—can walk away with a brand new smartphone for $0 down on Equipment Installed Plans. First available in stores today is the LG K7 and coming soon, the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime.
Families who want fewer lines deserve a better option and we’re giving them one! Don’t let Verizon trick you with their misleading ads. They lure you in with the promise of a ‘Large’ serving of data for $60, only to sneak in another $20 PER LINE in monthly access fees – to use the data you already own! At Verizon, $60 actually means $100 for 2 lines and 6 GB!
Shadow Quest RPG sets itself apart from other mobile RPG’s by making character positioning relevant. It also has a new take on dungeon crawling that I have not seen employed on mobile devices.
Setup is simple; install the game from Google Play and launch the app ( which does not support Google Play Games). The first time you launch the app you are greeted with a few short sentences of storytelling; tap the screen to get through these screens. You are then thrust immediately into battle and given a tutorial of the battle system.
Impression –
Considering the first 30 seconds of gameplay consists of battle mechanics we should start there. Shadow Quest takes your classic mobile RPG’s turn-based button smashing and refines it by making character placement relevant. In the introduction, it shows you how to drag characters to the front, back, left, and right of the battlefield. This mechanic quickly becomes relevant as you realize that the players on the sides can only attack enemies on their side, the character in the front is the most vulnerable, and characters perform a special attack when stationed in the back.
The dungeon-crawling mechanic is also something that I find unique. Your character begins with 50 stamina and each level has a set amount of squares that must be searched. Tapping on a square removes it from play, exposing what is underneath, and costs one stamina. Stamina can be regained by waiting for the timer to give you more or you can refill an empty stamina counter by spending 50 gems.
Gems are your in-game currency; they can be used for things like crafting items, reviving your party, purchasing blessings, and purchasing more powerful characters. They also make up the entirety of the game’s in-app purchases.
The graphics are on par with many of the top quality mobile RPG’s demonstrating clean lines, fabulous artwork, attack animations, and blocky but appropriate enemy movements. Couple that with a soundtrack that sets a perfect mood for dungeon crawling and you have a recipe for hours of unrelenting gameplay.
The single major drawback is the power drain I experienced. My Galaxy S6 was losing 1% of battery ever two minutes, which is not the worst battery drain I have experienced playing a mobile game but is not conducive to playing for extended periods. This is a common theme with most mobile RPG’s, and with flagship phones like the Nexus 6P and Galaxy S7 Edge having much larger batteries this may not be as much of an issue for some of you.
Likes:
Raising the bar on turn-based combat
Unique dungeon-crawling mechanic
Dislikes:
Moderate battery drain
Conclusion –
I have to admit, I have never found a mobile RPG that was able to keep my attention for more than an hour. When I installed Shadow Quest, I played it all day. If you are a mobile RPG fan I highly recommend giving this a download; if you are not yet a fan, give this one a download and see if it is able to change your mind.
The Swaive Thermometer is an excellent product for anybody looking to get an accurate temperature reading. The design and ease of use of this product is simply amazing, especially if you have young kids who can’t sit still when you have a thermometer under their arm.
tempo, instrumental focus, and key of a song. After making a recording, you can add an effect to your voice and edit the balance between your singing and the music you’re singing to.
Setting up the mount is fairly easy, but there are lots of options. If you are going to use the mount on the windshield then you are already halfway there.
Beyond the vertical placement of the metal plate, you’ll also want to consider on which surface do you want to adhere the metal plate.
I mentioned earlier that I have a Zerolemon extended battery on my phone. This adds lots of weight and strains the magnetic hold. To further complicate things I had the plate mounted to the bottom of my phone so that it wouldn’t interfere with the wireless charging and NFC coils. Even in this configuration, the magnetic mount had more than enough grip to hold it in a portrait position on bumpy roads in my truck. Since most of my apps work in a portrait orientation. This wasn’t a problem.
When placed in a landscape position, the bumps proved too much for the magnets to hold it still. With each bump, the phone would point more and more to towards the ground. When I used the mount on my desk it was able to hold that position but it became unstable when I applied my touch to the screen.