Comparing HD vs. SD Cameras

It's been a while since I've had something to say about the iPhone. But, that's not the only thing I talk about here. I love tech gadgets. And I received an offer to buy a nearly-unused HD camera so I took it.

I bought the JVC HD Everio GZ-HM200. It was almost as cheap as what I bought my old camcorder for.

This is only the second video camera I have owned in my lifetime and I always do the same test for each. Here's a comparison of my new camera and old camera:

The Next Generation In Augmented Reality Gaming

Here's a new device by Parrot called the AR.Drone that is making its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada this week. You haven't seen augmented reality gaming until you have seen these videos. No price or release date set yet. I think the video speaks for itself.

My iPhone History & Qik!

As I started the New Year, I looked back at my iPhone usage since I bought it back in July 2008 and there's some interesting statistics I have compiled from my AT&T statements.

The average amount of minutes I spend a month talking on the iPhone is 137. I don't make a lot of calls.

The average amount of kilobytes that go through my iPhone each month is 553,640. That's about 540MB per month.

My monthly minutes ranged from 62 to 270.

My monthly kilobyte usage ranged from 136,224 (133MB) to 1,405,007 (1.34GB)! That month I used the internet a lot and I had ZERO Wi-Fi was when I was on my trip to Oregon.

Okay, enough of that. Since I've been busy during the holidays some MAJOR apps have come out like...

Qik Live [iTunes link] and Qik VideoCamera [iTunes link]!

Qik Live is basically the non-jailbroken version of the app that has been available for the jailbroken iPhone. It allows you to stream video and sound over 3G or Wi-Fi. If you are jailbroken, you will have to uninstall the jailbroken Qik to install this new one. I would highly suggest making the upgrade because, in my opinion, the sound is much better with Qik Live. The frame rate is still abysmal. But, having it is better than not.

Here's a video I made using Qik Live:

Compare that with the competing FREE Ustream app:

Qik VideoCamera is a game-changing app since it now gives the original iPhone and the 3G version the capability to record videos - a function that Apple has been, until now, unwilling to hand over.
This is a $.99 app but I am willing to pay minimal price for a great and useful function. So, you record your video and you can export it to your camera roll. Once there, you can copy and paste your video into e-mail. The big difference with Qik Live is that Qik Live records in a 4x3 ratio which uses about half of the screen. Qik VideoCamera records the entire screen. Both can only be used (for now) in portrait mode.

Here's a sample of the video quality:

Apps Of Note As We Head Into Christmas

Tap Tap Revenge 3 [iTunes link] is now FREE if you ever wanted it and $.99 was just too much for you. Being a Tap Tap Revenge veteran I was a little disappointed. On my iPhone 3G, there was a HUGE performance hit. Also, the game has changed so much I sometimes couldn't tell if I was getting it right. Rock Band surely has spoiled me.


If you like search apps, especially VOICE search apps, look no further than Dragon Search [iTunes link]. It is FREE and it is as good, if not better, than its competitiors Google [iTunes link] and Bing [iTunes link] . The voice recognition is top-notch. You can search over Google, Bing or Yahoo!, YouTube, Twitter, iTunes and Wikipedia.

I'm a little wary of buying Need For Speed: Shift [iTunes link]. I feel like I got burned with Need For Speed: Undercover as it was less of a racing game and more of a Grand Theft Auto wannabe. Shift looks like the pure racing game. But, I'm happy right now with Asphalt 5 and Gameloft racing games are more to my liking. Also, a lot of people say there's a huge performance hit if you're not using a 3GS. Asphalt 5 is borderline. I tried to play with the free version of NBA Live and that was unplayable. Ah... to wait for the new iPhone. Shift is selling for $6.99.

Space Ace on the iPhone was tons of fun and a great port of a game that still looks impressive to this day. Now, there is the granddaddy laserdisc game of them all in the App Store - Dragon's Lair [iTunes link]. It has a decent price of $4.99. But, I have SO many games that I still need to play, so I can wait patiently for a price drop. Great nostalgic walk down memory lane, though.

But, the game that's been on my mind is Paperboy [iTunes link]. Loved the original arcade game. I would be happy if it was an exact port. The screenshots, however, look less than enticing. If this was a Gameloft game, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I'll wait for a price drop and review it later.

Two Awesome New Gameloft Games!

Gameloft is doing it again. Being one of the best iPhone game developers on the planet. Two new games are out this week that are getting rave reviews on iTunes.

James Cameron's Avatar [iTunes link] - $9.99

Based on the movie of the same name, Avatar is essentially the next step in gameplay that Hero Of Sparta nearly perfected. Gameloft makes the only games with virtual controls that I love using. I'll wait for a price drop on this one, and by that time this movie could be the next epic blockbuster.

N.O.V.A. - Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance [iTunes link] - $6.99

People are calling this HALO for the iPhone. Many say it is better than Eliminate. Now, I'm not a first-person shooter fanatic. But, I did buy another Gameloft FPS Brothers In Arms and that was okay. This one look TONS better.

Mophie Juice Pack Air - RED!

Because there is no removable battery, iPhone users can always use more battery life when they're on the go. I had been using the iGo system with rechargeable batteries to recharge my iPhone for the last year and a half. However, when I'm in the middle of recharging there is a large and very heavy dongle attached to my iPhone. Also, I have to recharge the batteries separately.

On my trip to Oregon, I used my sister's Mophie Juice Pack Air and it worked GREAT! So, when I found out there was the new RED color for the Mophie Juice Pack Air I jumped at the chance to get it.

The Mophie Juice Pack Air is $79.95 with free shipping from the Mophie website.

It comes with a mini-USB cable to recharge the battery in the case. You also use it to sync your iPhone so you don't have to take it out of the case.

On the back of the case there are four blue LED lights to let you know how charged up your case is. When you're charging the case, the lights tell you how much more you have to charge it up.

When your iPhone battery is going low all you have to do is flick a switch and it is recharging. So, you can recharge while using your iPhone. The Mophie Juice Pack Air nearly doubles the life of your battery. So, while the price is steep it certainly can be a lifesaver when you don't have access to a USB port or outlet.

The red case is special because it has a soft, matted feel to it. It feels VERY luxurious! All of the other colors have glossy, plastic cases. The look of it is also very close to my red Incase Slider.

The Mophie Juice Pack Air is a great gift for the avid iPhone user. I highly recommend it if you have problems keeping the juice in your iPhone.

Live Streaming Video App Finally In App Store!

The Ustream Live Broadcaster [iTunes link] is now in the Apple App Store and it gives 3G & 3G S users the ability to stream live video from your iPhone! You can also use it to upload your video to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

It's a free app but I do have one big qualm about it.

I've recorded two videos so far and each one of them has video and audio breakup at the beginning. My first test was outside and on the 3G network:



And here's my second test using Wi-Fi:



Compare that to the quality of the jailbroken Qik app:



I did notice that the overall sound on the Ustream app was better, though.

You can connect your Ustream app with Twitter on your iPhone but to connect it with Facebook and YouTube, you have to go to the actual site which is a little inconvenient. But, once you have it set it should be okay.

Another great feature of the Ustream app is the ability to record video straight to your iPhone - a feature that the iPhone 3G has NEVER had until now (without jailbreaking). However, the videos appear to be only playable through the Ustream app. Still, that's better than nothing.

It looks like Apple is finally caving in to giving ALL iPhone the ability to record video without jailbreaking. It seems that Qik has also resubmitted its app for live streaming so I'm sure we'll be seeing that very soon.

Are YOU T-Pain? You CAN BE!

Just got I Am T-Pain [iTunes link] for the low price of $.99 over the Thanksgiving weekend. I am not even a T-Pain fan but I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. I have to say it's a pretty interesting program.

Here's a link to a Christmas song I sung using the Auto-Tune feature in the app. Unfortunately, I'm not well-versed in many T-Pain songs. But, E_Diddy_84 on Twitter is a PRO at using the app!

Check out the video he made to enter in the Smule I Am T-Pain contest!



The popular iPhone app even made the Jimmy Kimmel Show:

And other artists got a chance to use I Am T-Pain. I love Akon's response. :)

Thanksgiving Deals

You might want to check the App Store for some of your favorite apps that you couldn't afford because a lot of apps are getting discounted.

Gameloft, in particular, are having a $.99 sale on some of its most popular games: Hero Of Sparta, Brothers In Arms, Terminator Salvation, Blades Of Fury (my favorite), Shrek Kart (which I just bought), Real Tennis 2009 and Castle Of Magic.

I also bought iGOG: Massive Drums [iTunes link] which has amazing touch-sensitive touch pads that makes live drumming on the iPhone a real possibility. It also has a recording feature. iGOG is on sale for $2.99 down from $4.99.




AppShopper.com has a full list of all the apps that have price discounts.

Cisco SIO To Go

Cisco has a new app out called Cisco SIO To Go [iTunes link] which gives you updates on threats to your network on your iPhone. Cisco has also made an interesting video showing how it can save security professionals from a lot of annoying alerts. Obviously, this is for people who are in the information technology field. But, you can also use it to check the reputation of a particular site you're visiting.

I Am Jailbroken!

I was kind of bored tonight. Sure, I could have gone out and made an impulsive tech purchase. Or, I could jailbreak my iPhone! Jailbreaking the iPhone is FREE.

It was easy. I just followed a BlackRa1n tutorial available from my friends at the iPhone Download Blog. My carrier is AT&T so I didn't have to unlock.

I downloaded Cydia and Rock listings for jailbroken iPhones. Since Cydia is the more popular one, I stuck with that for my initial customization.

I downloaded Categories, Winterboard, Cycorder and Qik.

Here's how the first page of my homescreen looks:

The theme is called Blue Thunder and it put in all those wonderful icon replacements. The Wi-Fi icon is replaced by the Apple logo and the Acura logo replaced the AT&T logo.

This is my lock screen. It's an Acura TSX, which I am leasing (and will eventually purchase). The brighter the headlight, the stronger the battery life. The target on the bottom is where I swipe to unlock the iPhone. When you swipe, a fingerprint appears which is a nice touch.

I added everything I want to for now. I'll take this jailbreaking thing slow. I'll share good stuff I find in Cydia or the Rock on this blog.

Asphalt 5 Out For iPhone/iPod Touch

One of my favorite games when the iPhone 3G came out last year was Asphalt 4: Elite Racing. That really got me hooked on iPhone gaming. Up until then, one of the more graphic intensive games had been Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D. I spent a lot of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays playing it.

The next racing game from Gameloft was Ferrari GT: Evolution. I wasn't a particular Ferrari fan but I liked it better than the other racing games on the iPhone at the time.

After I maxed out both games, I got Need For Speed: Undercover. Although that was pretty fun, it had a little too much storyline for me and I hit a wall I couldn't get past. Someday I want to finish it though.

And now, Gameloft has come out with Asphalt 5 [iTunes link] for $6.99. I already ran a couple of races with two different cars. It's a lot more of the same great gameplay along with better graphics (although the graphics are not as good as some other racing games) and the shortcuts are more interesting. I have only played one course so far though. I love hitting things on the side of the road and eliminating other opponents. If you have an iPhone 3G I would suggest a reboot before starting up the game. It is very graphic-intensive.

I give it a hearty 5 stars because it is the next-generation of my first love on the iphone.

iPhone Case With A Light!

The good folks at quirky.com have made an interesting new iPhone case that features a bright LED light! It's called Beamer.

Okay, I have to admit when I saw this I rolled my eyes. I thought to myself, "Isn't there an app for this?" Well, reading more about it I found out that the LED light can be used as a flash for the iPhone camera. Fantastic!

It's also great that the LED is powered by a user-replaceable Lithium coin cell battery, so it's not using up the iPhone's battery.

At quirky.com, users of the website get together idea for different products. The Beamer is just one of them. Since the product was just developed, the website is taking pre-orders right now for $32.00 per case. I already put in my pre-order. When there are 500 pre-orders, the product will ship. The shipping is FREE in the U.S. if you pre-order.

If you want to wait until I get the product, I will do my own review right here. But, if you want to help with your own pre-order, click here.

FREE iPhone FPS: Eliminate Pro

If you like first-person shooters and iPhone games, then this is the game for you: Eliminate Pro [iTunes link]. And it is FREE! There are in-game costs for energy cells but that's only if you're a real insistent player. I don't have that much time to play every day so I wouldn't buy the energy cells. Try it! It's FREE!

How To Make A "Where The Wild Things Are" Costume

The materials list goes on, and on, and on...

NBA Games LIVE On Your iPhone!

Would you like to watch ANY NBA gave live on your iPhone over 3G or Wi-Fi? Yes!

But would you pay $40 for the app? Hmm...

The paid version of NBA Game Time 2009-2010 is really great for the casual fan. It features live audio of every game and video clips of highlights after the fact - all for $9.99.

But NBA League Pass Mobile [iTunes link] is definitely for the hardcore NBA fan since you can actually watch the television broadcast of every game. It also comes with a hardcore price of $39.99. But, if you compared that with other sports could this be a good deal?

Out of the three top American sports, the only one I can compare it to is MLB.tv. Major League Baseball has an app much like the NBA that features live game audio and video clips for $9.99. But, if you wanted to watch the live television broadcast, you'd have to shell out $.99 per game or subscribe to MLB.tv. The cheapest MLB.tv subscription is $14.95 a month or $79.95 a year. But the caveat here is that you can watch the game on your computer as well as your iPhone. It appears that NBA League Pass Mobile only allows you to watch games on your iPhone/iPod Touch.

The NFL has an exclusive arrangement with Sprint for its mobile app. But, looking through its features it doesn't seem to support live television broadcasts of every game. I really hope that the NFL would dump their Sprint contract and just do an app for the Apple App Store, Android App Store, BlackBerry App Store, etc.

Like the MLB version, some live television broadcasts on NBA League Pass could be blacked out in your area. For example, if you live in Los Angeles you wouldn't be able to see the live broadcasts of the Lakers and Clippers on your iPhone. I'm lucky since I'm in Hawaii and we have no NBA team so ALL of the games are at my disposal.

I'm not enough of a hardcore fan to buy this app. But, some may find it useful and entertaining. Especially if you never get the game you want on cable.

REAL iPhone Halloween Costumes

These guys are so awesome! To make their iPhone costumes, they used 42" LCD TVs, powered them up with a car battery, hooked up their iPhone to the TV, and made it up to look like a giant iPhone! It's heavy though. They mounted their iPhone to the side, and whatever they do on the iPhone, it comes out on the TV screen. They can even receive calls!

Zombie Love: A Romance In Three Parts

MEDL MOBILE has come out with a series of videos called "Zombie Love: A Romance In Three Parts" to celebrate the lite version of its game Boxhead - The Zombie Wars [iTunes link]. You have to watch all three to really appreciate it.

NBA Finally Has An iPhone App Worthy Of The Sport

On the heels of the wildly successful MLB.com At Bat 2009, the NBA has made its own paid iPhone app worthy of the $9.99 you pay for it.

NBA Game Time 2009-10 [iTunes link] has everything the free lite version has, which includes scores, lineups, and standings.

The paid version also includes live radio broadcasts for each team and video highlights for every game! You can set push notifications for your favorite team or specific games. And, you get Twitter updates from the NBA's official feed.

Now, I'm not so much of an NBA fanatic that I would get this app. But, who knows? I'll probably get this if there is a price reduction. I am more of an MLB fanatic because I have one favorite team.

Now that the MLB and the NBA have awesome iPhone apps, it is time for the NFL to get with the program! Screw that Sprint contract you have! Having an iPhone/iPod Touch app would reach WAY more people. And I know an NFL app that includes the features NBA Gametime and MLB.com At Bat would easily sell for $9.99.

ROCK BAND Out For The iPhone/iPod Touch

The popular ROCK BAND [iTunes link] console game has been ported over to the iPhone/iPod Touch. So far, from the reviews on the App Store people are overwhelmingly happy with it. People are always going to whine about the price of a game if it's $9.99. It also seems to have performance issues if you haven't rebooted your iPhone. This is a game that would probably play much better on the 3G S.

The one interesting feature is that you can have multiplayer games through Bluetooth. Yay! No Wi-Fi needed!

I already have DanceDanceRevolution S, Saturday Night Fever and Tap Tap Revenge 2 so I'm not crazy about getting this type of game. Electronic Arts ALWAYS has a price reduction so I'll probably wait for that.

Meanwhile, don't hold your breath for Guitar Hero on the iPhone. Activision has not yet made apps for the App Store while Electronic Arts is already an App Store veteran.