GeekwithEnvy

Android

Featured App: Berzerk Ball 2

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Warning, this is a highly addictive game that will make you keep playing until you can score as many points as possible. The GEEK is back in Berzerk Ball 2 and it has never been more fun to smash something over and over again while racking up points and experience.

This game is pretty straightforward, go as far as you possibly can by beating the internet Geek over and over. You can customize your Geek then customize your character to beat him with. Along the way you will gain points and experience that you can then use to increase the power of your weapons and learn new moves. As you continue you level up you will also become much stronger allowing you to blast the Geek even farther.

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Berzerk Ball 2 is really well made and offers a ton of reasons to keep playing, including unlocking new attacks and forging items to make better weapons. The artwork is fantastic, the music is epic and you will likely find yourself playing a lot longer than you thought you would. Once I began to play, I seriously spent about an hour playing and trying to level up my other characters The game just gets more and more interesting as you continue to play.

The best part about this game is you don’t have to play it alone. You can invite your Facebook friends to join you on your quest to blast the Geek all the way into oblivion!

You can play the game directly in your web browser by visiting BubbleBox or by downloading it for a Free for a limited time from the App Store and Google Play.

Thanks to Mooky for reminding me that this games exists !

Featured App: GifBoom

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Animated GIF’s were one of the best things about the internet in 90’s and now it seems that they’re making a strong comeback. Websites like Tumblr frequently use animated GIF files for content and simply put, they look awesome. So how can you join in on the fun and create your own animated GIF files? There’s a simple solution and it’s GifBoom.

GifBoom ScreenShot

GifBoom is an app that helps you easily create your own unique animated GIF files by using your built-in camera or saved photos from your library. After you have chosen the photos you want to use you can then create your animated GIF, it’s really that simple. Once you make your new GIF you can then easily share it with your friends via Email, MMS or Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr. This app is really fun to use and your only limit is your own creativity. GifBoom is available for Free on the App Store and Google Play.

GifBoom Features:

  •  Create animated GIFs that you can share to anywhere from your camera or photos.
  •  Auto and Manual mode: Change speed of your auto timer in camera shooting or use “Manual” mode. You can control whatever speed you want to take photos.
  •  Import from Videos and Photos in Gallery
  •  One Tap Instant sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Email and MMS
  •  Save GIFs to camera gallery
  •  Change the speed of your GIF with live preview
  •  Rotate the GIFs with live preview
  •  Add Text to Your Gifs!

 

The Tablet Takeover

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We have been taken over! Not by an alien race but a massive movement towards tablet based computing. Tablets are undoubtably becoming the king of the hill and it’s easy to see why. Need proof that tablets are game changers? Windows 8 is a shining example how big these little devices are. What makes them so popular and what will their role become in our lives as technology continues to evolve? WiiU Controller

I have talked to a lot of people, many come from varying backgrounds and from all different age groups and almost all of them own a tablet. The typical scene in today’s modern household consists of a tower style desktop PC collecting dust in the corner of a quiet room, perhaps with a pile of books on it or maybe even some old bills. Next, there’s the tried and true laptop, which is seeing a fair amount of usage despite it starting to show it’s age. Finally, we have the tablet. The tablet PC comes in many different sizes and shapes, some with a logo of fruit on it and others that run software with little green robots firmly in control. These are the devices that are most up-to date and used the most in today’s household.

By analyzing the scenario I just described one could infer that the tablet is on track to replace these other devices, but I would argue (at least for now) that tablets may be taking on a different role. The tablet PC may be better suited as a supplementary device to others, but it will do so while having the added benefit of being able to stand on it’s own. Nintendo’s Wii U is a great example of how tablet technology can merge with others to create a more immersive and rich experience. The Wii U GamePad follows along with the action on the big screen and it feels seamless and engaging. Although you could argue that the Wii U is more of a hybrid, it’s still a tablet at heart.

Nintendo is getting ready to launch it’s new streaming service TVii, which is offering up features that actually resemble a step forward in technology. You will be able to get additional information about what you’re watching on screen, like sports scores and statistics. You will be able to share what you’re watching with friends and family and choose programming right on your tablet device. What about having your interactive programming guide right on your tablet instead of covering up your T.V screen. The possibilities are numerous and we will soon be reaping the benefits.

This idea will translate easily to other devices and you can start to imagine companies like Apple releasing a television product that works perfectly with your iPad. A new version of Apple TV would be pretty slick, but why stop there? The tablet is the swiss army knife of the tech world and it’s only going to get better.

Featured App: Angry Birds Star Wars

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Everyone knows the original Angry Birds was a huge hit back in 2009. Since then, they have released many different versions and add-ons for this game, and has become a great franchise.

Ever since the original though, I have not been interested. It’s all been pretty much the same game to me, but this year they announced and released Angry Birds Star Wars, and being the Star Wars geek that I am, I had to try it out. To my surprise, I was hooked pretty much instantly. Yes, it is still the classic Angry Birds game-play, but the additions made are amazing. The birds are dressed up as all the characters from Luke Skywalker to R2-D2. As you go through the levels you can unlock new characters. Each one has a unique ability (e.g. Han Solo will shoot his gun, Luke has a lightsaber, and Chewbacca just plows right into everything).

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The game also has nice cut scenes, which are very short, but still a great addition. The artwork and music are fantastic, and I love the way each level is designed. Everything about it has the look and feel of Star Wars. You will fight your way through stormtrooper pigs and go up against Darth Vader pig. It’s like playing through scenes of the movie.

If you are a Star Wars fan this is a must try. Check it out!

Available for download here: Angry Birds

 

 

 

Product Review: Samsung Galaxy Rush

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There a are thousands of different smart phones available out there but if you’re looking to avoid a longterm contract but don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a phone, that list starts to shrink. What makes the situation even worse is that the quality of phones that you end up with can be absolutely terrible. There is one phone however that seems to stand out from the rest and that’s the Samsung Galaxy Rush.

Samsung GalaxyRush Front View
Samsung GalaxyRush Front View (Credit:Samsung)

 

Design:

When this phone first arrived I was overall very impressed, it doesn’t feel like a toy. The Samsung Galaxy Rush is, as you would expect from the name, built a lot like the Samsung Galaxy S. There are the familiar navigation buttons on the bottom for Menu, Home, and Back. The only button not included in the phone’s navigation area is the search button. There is a power/lock button on the top right with a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top left. On the left side of the device there is a volume control button and a slot for a MicroSD card. I was happy to see that the MicroSD card slot wasn’t hidden inside the phone somewhere next to the battery. On the bottom left of the device is a microphone and in the center is charger/accessory jack. The right side of the phone has a camera button.

The back of the Rush has a 3MP camera with flash that also records video. The camera lens is positioned right next to the external speaker. The back cover is made of plastic but it seems pretty durable and it doesn’t pick up fingerprints, which is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. The front of the device has a front facing 1.3 MP camera, LED indicator, the earlier mentioned navigation keys and a 3.5″ touchscreen.

 

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Samsung GalaxyRush Side View
Samsung GalaxyRush Side View (Credit:Samsung)

Power/Memory:

This phone isn’t blazingly fast like many of the other high-end smartphones out there but it gets the job done with it’s 1GHz processor ( MSM8655, Qualcomm). This phone also features 2GB ROM/768MB RAM and supports a maximum MicroSD capacity of 32GB.

Display/Touch Interface:

The display is low resolution at just 320×240 pixels but it’s actually not that bad especially for the price point. The Samsung Galaxy Rush uses HVGA TFT as it’s main display technology. The touch screen does offer multi-touch capability and it works really well, typing on this phone wasn’t bad and you can use the on-screen keyboard in both vertical and horizontal mode.

 

OS Performance:

The Samsung Galaxy Rush comes with Android 4.0 and with it’s single core processor it actually move along quite well. The UI operates smoothly and web browsing isn’t half bad either. You can game on this phone without too many major issues, Angry birds will play just fine. If you’re used to higher-end phones you will notice the speed difference especially when upgrading, installing  and loading applications but for a budget phone this kills off most of the competition.

Battery Life / Other Features:

This phone operates off a 3.7 Volt, Lithium Ion, 1750mAh battery that promises to keep you up and running for 9 hours while in use, and up to 14 hours on standby. This phone also has many features that are considered standard for any smartphone including, Stereo Bluetooth capability, GPS, Wi-Fi, and an Accelerometer.

The Price and Verdict:

This phone ranges anywhere from $99 to $150 and operates on the Sprint network via Boost Mobile. Keep in mind that this phone can be bought and used without a contract and monthly bill should be very low. Upon closer inspection you can easily see where they went cheap in the design process but it’s nothing that’s detrimental to the phone overall. For the cost of the phone, I was quite surprised by it’s performance and responsiveness. Audio quality is good on the ear speaker but the outside loudspeaker isn’t very good, although it does get extremely loud (good for an alarm clock). The real winning feature of this phone is the fact that it runs Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and it does so with minimal lag. The bottom line is, if you’re in the market for a budget phone, don’t want a contract, and just want something that resembles a halfway decent smart phone, then this phone is a good buy.