App Review: Battery Performance by Dev-Software

Screenshot_4Have you ever wondered how your phone is handling  it’s battery life? The folks over at Dev-Software may just have the answer you are looking for.  Battery Performance has a wonderful app that you should check out!

Battery Performance has a really slick UI that is both eye pleasing and functional. This app is all about the visual performance of your phone’s battery, showcasing a number of ways to see what your battery is up to such as live tiles, logs, statistics, life cycle and much more. Once the app is downloaded to your Windows Phone it will take a few seconds to gather your data. I was pretty impressed with this app’s straightforward delivery of information and fluid UI.

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Microsoft developers receive Google’s official API

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This is great news for Window’s Phone 8 users and developers who miss Google’s official apps.  Back in January I wrote an article on Google VS. Microsoft.

Google has released over  50 API’s  for developers.  Here are a few that are on that list:

  • Google Plus
  • YouTube
  • Drive
  • Ad Exchange
  • Blogger
  • Orkut

Although we may never see any “official” apps from Google heading to the Microsoft Store, this does open up the door for developers to create an awesome Google app using the official Google API.

Personally I would love to see Rudy Huyn develop a really killer G+ app! If you are unfamiliar with Rudy then check out his apps. Rudy is responsible for one of the most awesome Instagram apps called 6tag!

Continue reading “Microsoft developers receive Google’s official API”

App Review: Robotek by Hexage

RobotechOne day I was browsing the Microsoft Store to see if there were any Mech Assault like games just out of curiosity. I used to have that really crazy controller for the Mech Assault game for my first gen Xbox. After about 10 minutes or so I came across Robotek! It’s not quite a Mech Assault game however it is a very fun and addicting  turn by turn game with great sound and super smooth graphics!

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Here’s the scenario: Humanity has fallen and the rise of robots is starting to take place. Your job is to take back the world from the robots one node at a time! When you fire up Robotek you will notice the super smooth graphics of this game and the sound quality which is really amazing! When starting Robotek you will play your first level as a tutorial so you can get the hang of the game play. Once you complete the tutorial then you can start taking back the world one node at a time. The game play is a mix of RPG, action, strategy and slot machine.  You hit the green arrow and try to match all three of your weapons to inflict serious damage on your opponent.  This is a turn by turn game so plan your strategy carefully! Just a friendly warning: Robotek is very addicting with its game play and graphics!

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Here’ the feature run down on Robotek: Continue reading “App Review: Robotek by Hexage”

1st Impressions: Nokia lumia Icon (Shot from my hotel room for Social Media Week 2014 NYC)

Nokia has updated Verizon’s Windows Phone, moving from the 928 to a name, the Lumia Icon. I had to shoot this from my hotel room at SMW 2014, so pardon the drab surface, but let’s take a quick look at Nokia’s latest offering for Big Red!

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Long Term Review: Samsung ATIV S Neo on AT&T – 2 Months with a Non-Nokia Windows Phone…

I’m a fan of Windows Phone, but I’ve primarily used Nokia devices.

My one other experience with a Samsung WP was decent enough, so I felt it was time to revisit them with the ATIV S Neo on AT&T. I really wanted to give the phone a fair shake, and see if I liked Windows Phone, or if I just liked Nokia hardware.

The grand experiment. It didn’t go so well…

Continue reading “Long Term Review: Samsung ATIV S Neo on AT&T – 2 Months with a Non-Nokia Windows Phone…”

Tips and Tricks: Windows Phone 8 Keyboard

WP8keyboard copyThe keyboard on the Windows Phone 8 is pretty awesome and really easy to use especially if you know some of the tips and tricks that can make your keyboard much faster. Whether you are a seasoned pro or a newbie these tips and tricks are quite helpful. Let’s dig in!

 

1.       Word Flow

What is Word flow you might be asking yourself? Word Flow helps predict text as you are typing. If you have a word that you frequently use but it is not in your Windows Phone 8 Word Flow then here is a simple tip in order to add it. Type your word then click to select it. A plus sign will appear so go ahead and tap it to add it to Word Flow.

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2.       Emoticons Continue reading “Tips and Tricks: Windows Phone 8 Keyboard”

App Review: Nokia Refocus for Windows Phone – Shoot first THEN make sure your subject is in focus!

nokia refocus logoLike something out of a bad CSI re-run:

“Zoom into that flower. Enhance. See if you can clean up that focus.”

It’s a trip that we can now do things kinda like that. Refocus turns your Lumia into a Lytro style camera. Hold your camera steady for a couple seconds as the camera scans a scene, and then you can choose what to focus on later. We’re now officially living in the future.

Let’s take a look!

Refocus on the Windows App Store.

Here’s an example of how Refocus works. The flower pic I showed in the video can be embedded, allowing you to play with the focus points in a web browser.

Instagram BETA for Windows Phone vs 6Tag vs Instagram on Android! FIGHT!

instagram vs 6tag app comparison somegadgetguyIt’s finally here!

Always the ultimate tech irony, the best smartphone cameras in the world had no official native app to upload pics to the world’s most popular social photo service.

No longer. Instagram is finally officially on Windows Phone as an open BETA. Let’s see how it compares to the popular third party solution 6Tag, and what features the Android version might have that IG will have to catch up on!

Follow me on Instagram!