iphone

Random Photo of the Day – Vacation Edition II

Closeup of a dead stingray on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina.

MGSV(OYEURISM)

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A nice chunk of MGSV related news made the rounds last week. This all ranging from the opening of the new Los Angeles based Kojima Productions studio, a screening of some new gameplay footage (behind closed doors unfortunately), and more details of one of the prominent characters in the game. The latter portion has already caused much controversy.

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DEUS EXCELLENCE

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DEUS EX Has been in my mind lately. So much so that I’ve been focusing on three out of the four of its iterations: DEUS EX Classic, DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION, and DEUS EX: THE FALL (hereafter referred to as DX, DXHR and DXTF).

Starting with DXHR, which is actually the first DX game I purchased during release, I became intrigued with its world and story as it ranks itself within the Cyber Punk genre, as with DX games in general. Judging from its trailers and gameplay demos it looked like something I’d want to immerse myself in. I did the usual thing that I do when I set myself up for a definite want and preordered DXHR. While waiting for this game to make to my doorstep other things occupied my time. Work, friends, family, and other games filled that time.

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Once I did finally get DXHR I put it aside to finish other projects and games. DXHR stayed in the cut. Fast forward to now and it’s still unopened but has been on my mind, among my other games. Lately though, as recent as a few weeks ago, Eidos Montreal and Square Enix decided to release yet another DX outing, though in the mobile landscape, called DEUS EX: THE FALL (DXTF). The lot of DX fans were in an uproar because they would have rather had a full blown sequel on console. To those who did give this game a chance, as I have, will be pleasantly surprised. While I have yet to play DXHR I’ve watch enough gameplay clips to say that DXTF looks, and smells just like DXHR. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying this mobile fanfare since release and its been enticing me to crack open DXHR. I’ve read that much like DXHR, DXTF is also a prequel to the original DX, though it runs parallel with DXHR. The characters are from the novel DEUS EX: THE ICARUS EFFECT (DXIE). (more…)

R.TYPICAL

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Hey boys and girls. I know it’s been a while since I’ve written anything (yet again). Life anyways seems to take precedent but rest assured that content is forthcoming. One way I’ve chosen to remedy this is to add content in short bursts, either thru short ramblings or perhaps some app reviews in the form of short gameplay videos.

Since my last post I’ve been experimenting with ways to capture gameplay on my iOS device. I’ve come upon 3 apps: RecordMyScreen, Record Screen, and xRec. I’ll probably do a review on them in the near future but in order to save time and expedite this piece to you all ill just jump right into the first app I’ll take about for this article. Let’s get to it shall we?

Everyone knows the side scrolling space shooter R.TYPE. Or at least they should. This classic was released in arcade form in 1987, has made it to classic consoles, and has now made its way to mobile platforms, namely iOS. Having played it I feel that the lack of tangible controls really isn’t much of an issue with the inclusion of the option to have an autofire button. I was actually playing this on one hand while feeding my 10 month old so this options is a definite boon.

Gameplay wise R.TYPE still retains its fun factor and you can toggle difficulty settings in the menu. I played on Normal but got my butt whooped a handful of times, not because of control issues, but rather my skill level and trying to evade every friggin enemy and hail of bullets while being on the offensive, as my gameplay clip below demonstrates. (Apologies for the clip as there is no sounds. I have yet to fiddle with the screen recording apps).

No matter how you slice it, R.TYPE is definitely a great addition to any mobile device of your choosing. This lovely gem is available for iOS and Andy (my nickname for android, haha).

COME GET SOME!

iOS 7… Beta 2?

Already been using this iPhone for almost a month… I’ve gotten used to its innate quirks and undeniable flaws.
But that’s not what I’m here To complain about. In fact, I’m not even here to complain. (shocker, right?!?!?!) anyway. I actually want to inform anyone using an iPhone 5 for Verizon* and wants to beta test the iOS 7 beta 2, to actually go ahead and do it, so long as you don’t actually watch people’s Vine videos.
On the first beta, The features that I found most annoying were these 5.
1) Instagram wouldn’t load properly if you wanted to scroll back up.
2) After watching several Vines, the app would freeze and crash. Simply return home and kill the app to unfreeze it. Which was a bit of a bummer and inconvenience.
3) I can’t see the things people replied to on Twitter. Did Jimmy reply to this tweet or that? UGH
4) Google Translate (actual app) wasn’t working.
5) FUCKING BATTERY LIFE MAN oh and to go along with this the phone reboots (2 seconds really) which is also an inconvenience)

Alright, well, here’s how that list has updated in Beta 2.
1) INSTAGRAM WORKS!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!!!
2) Vine is destroyed and refuses to play videos. I cannot wait for Beta 3 to see if they fix this.
3) Twitter is still broken in this aspect.
4) Google Translate is still broken.
5) BATTERY LIFE IS IMPROVED TO NEARLY iOS 6 MAGNITUDE!!!! Still a bit horrendous honestly but it totally trumps Beta 1’s battery draining ass. Also it doesn’t reboot as much.

HOWEVER. I did find new bugs in Beta 2. Killing an app has an adverse effect on the wallpaper… Sometimes, not all, it removes the wallpaper leaving black nothingness. Also, I don’t know whether or not this is a bug, but in all iterations of iOS (including 7 beta 1) it was possible to view the big clock on the lock screen and double click to get to music controls. Now, iOS 7 Beta 2 has music controls permanently in place of the large clock. Inconvenient.
But some other improvements other than battery life are present. You can now swipe left on texting to see what time the messages were sent and received, which is a lot more sensible than 15 minute card time checks, which I do believe are still there for those too lazy to swipe.

Anyway that’s my observations on the topic. Feel free to leave comments about your findings!
*I am not entirely sure if these apply to the AT&T or int’l or any other iPhone build model, or if these apply to the iPads as well. Please leave a comment about these too!

I have joined the Dark Side.

By the Dark Side, I mean the dreaded iPhone nation. I have made the transition from Android to iOS. Now, iSheep, do not revel in this ‘defeat,’ for I’m still Android at heart. Partly why I’m actually documenting this reality is because of my heavy bias.

Let us remember  https://justwroteablog.com/2012/09/15/time-to-catch-up-apple/ , an article I posted much earlier in the days of JWAB.

Read that prior to the rest of this post, that way you get the full experience of my experience.

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Breaking My Phone.

This is my third Droid Incredible 2 by HTC. I have so many gripes with it.

A) Single core processor, so it lags like all hell.

B) 3G, so it’s a bit on the slow side.

C) The charging port is extremely fragile, and if you actually use your Dinc2, you will break it.

D) It’s stuck (as of now, and probably for the rest of its damned existence) with Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread. (refer to my posts from before)

Now, my contract with Verizon isn’t ending for quite a while  (I’m eligible for an upgrade in May), and it really has been a terrible experience with this phone.

My phone died (became utterly useless because of charging port issues) twice in the first 10 months, and it has happened again, but that’s not the actual problem that is rendering this damned phone useless for a third (and hopefully, final) time.

This time, it just does not want to stay turned on, even with battery. I’ll be in the middle of composing a tweet or maybe texting someone, lock the screen and go do something, and then when I go to finish what I’d started, the phone screen would be black entirely, and I’d end up having to do hard resets (battery pulls).

Apparently, this is a problem with many HTC devices (which, of course, furthers my relationship with the Taiwanese company) such as the first Droid Incredible and the HTC Thunderbolt.

Safe to say, I’ll be steering clear of any HTC devices in the future (I personally don’t like the bulky Sense UI nor do I like how light it is compared to the darkness of stock Android).

At this point, I’ve highly considered suspending this phone line without billing (which is a period of 90 days, maximum of twice in a 12 month period, which would give me enough time to cancel this line) and add a new line with new two year contract and get that oh-so-beautiful Samsung Galaxy S III in black for $70 via Amazon Wireless.

My best option, however, is to graciously receive The Big Cheese’s old Droid Bionic (which, as you may know, he hates due to extreme bugs) and wait until my upgrade period begins in May so that I can pick up something like the ever anticipated Samsung Galaxy S 4, or if it is cheap enough, the Galaxy Note 2.

My worst case scenario would be to scour for an iPhone 5 for Verizon with a clean ESN (good luck to me, right?). Worst case because I really REALLY dislike iPhones. REALLY.

HTC and Verizon FINALLY Bring ICS to HTC Thunderbolt

It’s too late now, though.

The Thunderbolt, the first 4GLTE phone on Verizon, has always been a disappointment in the Android community. It’s processor was nothing to write home about, it’s connectivity issues were definitely something to complain about, and it’s bulky (and faulty) design made this phone one of the most hated in America.

It came out of the gates with Android 2.2, and only now in 2013 has it been confirmed to have an Android 4.0 update ready to roll out any time soon. At this point, 4.0 is 2 updates behind the second iteration of Android Jelly Bean, Android 4.2 (and it seems as though Google is prepared to launch Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie [or, and I’m dreading the name, potentially Kandy Kane] in the coming months at Google I/O 2013).

It’s been 5 months already. 5! The Thunderbolt (and it’s younger sister, the Droid Incredible 2) were promised to have gotten the ICS update by September 31st!

I think people have finally come to grips that HTC on Verizon has been a failure and have actually given up hope on both devices, leaving for newer, more premium devices on the carrier (or even on another carrier, or even worse, to an iPhone on another carrier).

–I am very much for Android. I am fascinated with how much better it is overall than other mobile operating systems; however when companies fail to appease the customer, it makes me very angry. HTC and Verizon have failed me in the department of customer satisfaction, and in the future, I shall not be purchasing from HTC. At the moment, I cannot do anything about being on Verizon (in fact I would not want to leave VZW because of how amazing their service is), but when upgrade time comes, goodbye HTC devices. I’m really hoping I can grab a SG Note II or an SIII, maybe even the GNex like The Big Cheese. And if worst comes to worst, if my mom sees that an iPhone 5 is on BOGO come upgrade time, iPhone 5 I shall settle.

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Time to Catch Up, Apple.

iPhone 5. I hope people out there are disappointed by this lackluster device, because I am.

I’m not an Apple guy by any means, but I was actually hoping for a well spec’d phone from them this time. Not to say that the specs of the new iPhone 5 aren’t good, I’m just saying that it’s nothing new or impressive.

The two biggest upgrades to the iPhone are 4G LTE and the 4 inch screen. Apple will probably go as far to say that they are the pioneers of 4G technology, when they aren’t. Of course, now many more people will know about 4G LTE, considering that the technology is now on an Apple iPhone. Then there will be the people (especially those on AT&T) questioning how it is different from HSPA+, called 4G on the AT&T iPhone 4S. On Android devices running HSPA+ it is titled as such, or H+.

The 4 inch screen is lacking as well, and it isn’t even HD. It’s a 4 inch screen! Most phones are of 4.5 inches to 5.2 inches, with 4.8 being the average “sweet spot.” This iteration is a 16:9, a widescreen Retina Display. Of course, the pixel density is stellar, something I actually can complement an iPhone about. But it still isn’t HD. Apple is going to continue with its Retina display.

They added Facebook sync in iOS 6, so now all Facebook contacts will be on the phone if desired. Guess what? Android did that. From the start. Another thing Apple has blatantly stolen from Android is the notification pull down from iOS 5. Catch up, Apple.

They’ve used the same camera as the iPhone 4S, just with a newer, thinner, more durable cover. Improvement, but won’t change the fact that the iPhone will produce blurry images and pretty much work like a brick in low light situations. Even so, this overshadowed the brilliant Nokia PureView Camera on the Nokia Lumia 920, a gorgeously designed phone with a simple and clean user interface on Windows 8.

The processor it’s running is the Apple A6 chip. A dual core CPU with quad core graphics, essentially making the media experience smooth. But internationally, there are Android phones running quad core CPU’s along with quad core GPU’s. Apple is behind a bit on this one.

Apple decided to get rid of Google Maps in favor of their own native Maps. The native Maps app has a fly-over feature, essentially mimicking Google’s Street View and Building View. Oh, and the biggest thing improved for the iPhone’s maps? It now has turn-by-turn navigation! Isn’t that a surprise, the Maps application has features that Google Maps and Google Earth have had nearly from the get-go! Oh, Apple, catching up.

Siri has also had some updating, and now it copies the Google Now, Android 4.1’s native voice actions app. Siri can now tell sports scores and allow you to make reservations on the go.

But perhaps one of the most talked about things is the new dock connector, misleadingly called the Lightning dock connector. For one, the Lightning cable is only a USB 3.0 cable. Most iMacs are at USB 4.0, making for insanely fast data transfers. Also, people with all the speaker accessories will now need to buy special adapters so their new iPhone 5’s will be able to fit on the dock! A question asked moreover about this new dock is why didn’t Apple just go with the industry standard MicroUSB? The world may never know.

With all the similarities to Android phones, why isn’t Apple the company getting sued?

Point is, Apple is merely evolving the iPhone brand, but in the process making it less innovative, and less… Different.

Exciting, isn’t it? Apple is the one having to play catch up in the technology world.

Will you be waiting in line to buy the iPhone 5? Or will you wait for it to cool down to get it? Maybe you’ll wait for the inevitable launch of the iPhone 5S? How about switching to an Android 4.0 device or a Windows 8 device?

Time for a laugh.

What am I, taking crazy pills?!

This is just too funny. If anyone remembers Ben Stillers movie, Zoolander, they showed his calendar with Zoolanders different poses, and they were all the same. (i’m going to see if I can track down a clip)

In any case, Marky Mark sent this to me, and it’s really funny.

I read the released specs and whatever for the new iPhone, and it is a bit lackluster. I was impressed with the iPhone 4, but this…
I’m quite sure it will sell by the squillions, and it will be a great device, but it is an Apple product, and I just cannot buy anything from them.

(on a side note, I do recommend them if necessary)

 

The iPhone 5 ain’t no Magnum