app review: Tilt To Live for iPhone

At first glance, Tilt To Live seems like a Geometry Wars knockoff. This thought is quickly forgotten as it provides its own spin on the genre, and utilizes the iPhone’s accelerometer to challenge the player’s evasive maneuvers. This game is One Man Left Studios’ debut title and showcases the power of the App. Store for unheard of talent.

In Tilt To Live, the player takes control of a cursor that must evade hundreds of enemies ranging from simple red dots, to various other forms attempting to stop your quest for the ultimate high score. Unlike Geometry Wars, the player does not possess unlimited ammo and must rely on power ups generating throughout the map. Thankfully, the choices of power ups are varied: heat seeking cluster missiles, freeze beams, nukes and many more. The game is intelligently designed as it challenges the most hardcore of gamers, while providing the simplicity of pick up and play for the casual gamer. It also helps that within its simplicity the game is visually appealing with bright colors onscreen at all times. Tilt To Live’s melodic music juxtaposes the violence onscreen but is never intrusive on the game play.

The most impressive aspect about this $2.99 game is that One Man Left Studios continues to build upon their hit game. Recently releasing the new Frostbite mode, which brings its total modes to four. In Frostbite mode, the player must eliminate as many falling frozen enemies before hitting the bottom, and reanimating. Previous modes such as Gauntlet carry enemies from right to left. The player must attempt to duck, dive, dodge and collect orbs that supply a few more seconds of precious life. Code Red is a hyper version of Classic mode, which means that enemies immediately go for the kill and think about your feelings second. There is also the inclusion of the aGon system, which keeps record of all unlocked achievements, unlocked weapons and friends’ scores.

All of these modes, and the possibly more to come, turn this frenetic shooter into a must-have. Minor negatives though are the exclusion of any multiplayer modes (hopefully to be remedied in the sequel), and the occasional fickleness of the gyroscope controls that may cause some frustration. With these minor quips said, if you need a healthy dose of adrenaline while waiting in line for your panini, then this game is more than sufficient.

rating: four stars out of five • App Store link

review by Bagner Estrada

iPhone and iPad to gain AirPlay wireless music streaming in iOS 4.2: Apple

Say hello to AirPlay. The long-obscure Apple product once known as technology is now known as AirPlay, which can be used to stream music and other content to various devices. Jobs has yet to fully dish on just what AirPlay is, but he’s already mentioned it twice in passing while introducing the upcoming iOS 4.2 for iPad, which will be released later this year.

Jobs says iOS 4.2 is coming out in November and will be a free update for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users in November.

Apple: activating 230,000 new iPhone+iPad+iPods per day, Android counting upgrades

Apple CEO Steve Jobs started off today’s press event by pointing out the fact that his retired Apple co-founder Steve “Woz” Wozniak was in the audience. Jobs then went on to focus on a first topic that few were expecting – Apple retail stores in Europe| and China – before moving on to iOS 4, Apple’s mobile operating system. Jobs says Apple has shipped 120 million iOS devices, which include iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. He also announced that Apple is activating 230,000 new devices every day, which is not only higher than the number Google is quoting about Android devices, but Jobs also said that he believes Google is cheating by including “activations” of upgrades.

Beatweek Magazine issue #82: Goo Goo Dolls interview, Apple Event, Auburn, Hey Monday, Zoe Scott and more

New in the 82nd issue of Beatweek Magazine:

• Goo Goo Dolls cover story interview: Johnny Rzeznik and Robby Takac discuss their new album Something For The Rest Of Us and reflect on twenty-five years of Goo

• a look at Apple’s September 1st media event

• interviews with Auburn, Hey Monday, and Zoe Scott

• reviews of new iPad cases, iPhone docks and more

Read this issue now

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Calypso Crystal Dock for iPhone: review

I have to admit, it took me awhile to wrap my head around this product. The question I first posed was whether any iPhone dock could be worth two hundred bucks. But as it turns out, it’s up to each individual reader as to whether they want to sink that kind of money into hand crafted crystal. The relevant question here is how the Calypso CrystalDock functions as a dock for iPhone and iPod. And from that standpoint, after having used this dock on my desk, it’s mostly thumbs up.

A dock this beautiful would be ruined visually if it employed Apple’s standard universal docking system of plastic inserts, so it turns out Calypso’s decision to instead go with a simple lean-back docking system was the correct one, both in the sense that it avoids uglying things up with plastic, and in that it allows your iPhone or iPod to be fully on display instead of partially sunk into a docking well.

My only quibble, and it’s merely a visual one and not a functional one, is that it would have been nice if the rear docking port were recessed or somehow bottom-based instead of flush with the rear surface, as it leaves the fat end of the dock connector cable sticking out the back instead of just the cable itself running out. But that’s just being picky, and only because with a price tag like this, it feels like I should be. Don’t ask me to put a star rating on a $199 piece of crystal. But if that’s your thing, rest assured that it works well as an iPhone+iPod dock.

Learn more at CalypsoCrystal.com

Griffin AutoPilot for iPhone and iPod: first look

The search for the perfect car connection product for iPhone and iPod continues, and Griffin’s latest entry comes in the form of a car charger along with a line cable designed for those users with stereos that have an aux-in port. The new wrinkle comes in the form of playback controls built into the front face of the charging unit itself, including play/pause and previous/next track.

There’s already a vaguely similar product on the market from Monster, so the two will have to be placed head to head in order to see which works best and for whom. A few immediately noticeable differentiators are the fact that Griffin’s AutoPilot has a high-low gain switch for the line-out port, aimed at helping to account for the different built-in line settings of various car stereos, along with the fact that the line cable is fully detachable from the charging unit. The latter means that users who don’t have a line-in port on their stereo could instead potentially use their cassette adapter instead, but that’ll have to be tested.

Fifty bucks is no small amount of money for a car charger, so this one will have to shine in hands-on testing.

Learn more at GriffinTechnology.com

app review: Madden NFL 11 for iPhone

It’s become extremely clear this month that the iPhone has come into its own as a gaming platform. At the same time that Sony is releasing ads criticizing the quality of iPhone games, EA has released its second iteration of its flagship Madden franchise for the iPhone. Last year’s Madden game set the bar very high, but as with any Madden game released on a platform after the first, the question remains whether this year’s version is any more than a roster update compared to last year’s version.

If you don’t own any Madden games for your iPhone and you’re wondering if Madden measures up to the console versions, it does, with some limitations. You’re not going to confuse the iPhone version of Madden with the 360 or PS3 versions, but it’s definitely at least as good as you might expect the iPhone version to be, if not better.††Don’t hesitate to pick this up, even at the current price of $8, if you want a football game for your iPhone and don’t yet have one.

If you’re considering upgrading from Madden 10, however, that question is a bit more complicated. Most of the gameplay in Madden 11 is fairly identical to Madden 10 (rosters aside, obviously), which, on the whole, is a good thing. For instance, passing is still done by tapping on the receivers, and the Action Control system that lets the player slow down the action temporarily, a highlight of the original iPhone Madden, returns for Madden 11. However, what device you own and your play style could make the difference between a purchase and a pass when it comes to this year’s incarnation.

The most obvious change in this year’s version is the GameFlow system, which replaces the old Ask Madden system for having the computer suggest plays (which was missing from Madden 10 on the iPhone anyway). With GameFlow turned on, you are never even presented with a play calling screen; the game just advances from play to play automatically, while continuing to provide the option to either change the play entirely or draw hot routes for your players on the screen to adjust the play. Turning GameFlow on and off is as easy as flipping a switch on the screen in between plays.

In theory, GameFlow is fantastic, especially on the iPhone where you likely don’t have a ton of time to play in the first place. I also like it a lot more on defense, where I’m less confident with/interested in strategy than I typically am on offense.††In practice, however, it seems to skew very heavily toward running plays, which makes sense for some teams but not others. For instance, I play as the Patriots, and giving the ball to Laurence Maroney instead of Tom Brady for three out of four plays would have the fans in Foxborough screaming for blood. What’s more, I found scrolling through plays with GameFlow off on the sluggish side, which can be frustrating. That said, if you really just want to play Madden like an arcade game, GameFlow is a great addition to the game.

On the defensive side, Madden 11 adds Total Defensive Control, accessible by a button in the bottom center of the screen once the play starts. Pressing this button pauses the game and allows the player to either direct each player on the defense either where to run or queue up a button action (jump, swat, dive for a tackle, etc.). I do like this feature, because the standard Madden style of defense (switch to the closest player and then try to intervene in the split second before they get the ball) has never really worked for me. It can be kind of overwhelming to try to decide what eleven people should do on every play, but I do like having the additional option, and it does add a bit more realism on the defensive side.

The graphics are improved to take advantage of the iPhone 4’s Retina Display, and the difference is very noticeable. The player models are much clearer (if a bit on the blocky side) and you can even see individual fans in the stands instead of just a multicolored animation. I actually fired up Madden 10 to see how it looks on my iPhone 4 and it hurt my eyes in comparison. So for iPhone 4 owners, upgrading is worth it for the graphics alone.There are still some issues with the animations, though; it often seems like the players don’t quite collide properly on tackles, and some of the reception animations aren’t clear whether the ball was caught or not.

The sound is still a weak point of Madden, unfortunately. Though the game has supplemented Madden and Cris Collinsworth with Gus Johnson, the commentary still is really inadequate. You’ll hear the same few lines over and over again, even within a single game, and it’s even wrong, occasionally. Play by play is understandably difficult to do at all, and even more difficult to do well, especially given the space constraints of the iPhone. That said, however, it’s jarring enough in its current incarnation that it’s almost worth just leaving it out altogether if it can’t be done better than it is currently.

So should you buy this first “roster update” version of Madden for the iPhone? Again, if you don’t own Madden 10, absolutely; this is a full featured football game to rival those on other portable gaming platforms for one third of the price of a comparable version on the DS or PSP, and you don’t even need to carry around a separate device to play it. Similarly, if you own an iPhone 4 or are a casual player, then the new features (Retina graphics and GameFlow, respectively) make this version of Madden a giant leap beyond its predecessor. If you don’t fall into any of these categories, then it’s really a toss up. But even just as a roster update, you’re still getting a current, full version of Madden for less than you would pay for last year’s version on other gaming platforms, so it’s not nearly as bad as, say, a $60 roster update on the 360 or PS3. If you didn’t like last year’s version of Madden for the iPhone, this year’s version won’t change your mind, but otherwise, Madden 11 improves on the formula enough to be worth a purchase for more than just this year’s rosters.

Madden NFL 11 for iPhone is in the iTunes App Store for $7.99

Top bargain iPhone and iPad apps for the dog days of summer

Need some new apps for your iPhone and iPad? Here are some free and bargain apps you need to know about!

James Cameron’s Avatar for iPad – Enter the beautiful, yet dangerous world of Pandora. The game takes place two decades prior to the movie and you get to be the first experimental avatar. Experience your new powers in your new body as you and the Na’vi become one. The graphics are just amazing and is like watching the movie as you play. Definitely worth every penny. Once $9.99, this beautiful game is now only 99 cents, so get it before the sale is over. The iPhone/iPad version is not on sale, but there is a lite version you can try. The game is huge, so be sure you’re on wifi before downloading. iPad Version (99 cents) | iPhone/iPod Touch Version ($4.99) | iPhone/iPod Touch Lite Version (Free)

Vevo – stream and watch full music videos right to your iPhone or iPod Touch! Also view videos of your favorite artists and conviently purchase the songs and videos from iTunes. You can also learn fun trivia about your favorite artists. It’s currently iTune’s pick for App of the Week and is the perfect app for for the music lovers. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free)

GetGlue – checking into things is all the craze now. It’s been applied to geolocation, but here’s a new idea. Why not check into things, such as the show or movie you’re currently watching, or the song you’re listening to, or even what you’re thinking about? That’s GetGlue for you. Check into your favorite things and share them with your friends. You can leave reviews and comment on your friends check-ins as well. Connect your Twitter and Facebook accounts to easily find friends. Best of all, real earn stickers for checking in and leaving reviews. Once you earned a lot, send a request to have your stickers mailed to you. Pretty nifty! iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free)

RedLaser – Quickly scan barcodes to find out what the item is and the best place to purchase it. Search results return a list of stores/websites where you can purchase the items starting from the lowest price to highest. So find the best deal and shop away!
iPhone Version (Free)

FoodSpotting 2.0 – Foodies rejoice! If you love taking pictures of food, you’re not alone. Join the community of Foodies called FoodSpotting! Take photos of food, post your reviews, and share with your friends. This updated app makes it easy to upload and view yours and your friends’ activities. Check it out for yummy goodness! Feel free to add me as a friend on FoodSpotting and share food tips! iPhone Version (Free)

Magic Pictures HD – View amazingly beautiful photos scroll by as you interact with the scene. Images scroll either up and down or sideways depending on the photo. Use your fingers to interact with the particles (could be snowflakes on a winter scene or water droplets on an ocean scene) and move pieces around. Options include interacting with moving particles, listening to relaxing ambient sounds, and a digital clock. The collection currently includes 106 high resolution photos, taken by Tobias Tomsch. It’s a must-have for photography enthusiasts and makes the perfect digital frame. It’s specially priced now for just 99 cents! iPad Version Only (Free)

DailyBooth App – This app is great for you DailyBooth-ers out there. DailyBooth is a community of users who take random photos of themselves everyday. And friends can comment back with a photo (or text). It’s very similar to Twitter, except with photos! The interface still needs work, but it’s really nice for Version 1.0. Before the app, you would need to email your photo and it’ll appear on the website. Now with the app, simply select and upload. You can also see your recent replies and your friends latest activities and photos. It’s a must-have if you’re part of the DailyBooth community. iPhone Version (Free)

Discover — Wikipedia in a Magazine is a great app for browsing Wikipedia. Discover new and fun information everyday in a beautiful interface. Data is pulled from the Wikipedia website but is displayed in a fun interactive magazine. View in portrait-mode for a magazine-like experience, and landscape-mode for a more book-like experience. The app requires a data connection to work and saves your search and viewing history so you can get back to older articles. Definitely a fun app if you want to discover new and interesting things. iPad Version Only (Free)

City Story is a cute new game where you build your own city, adding shops, houses, parks, factories, and more! Make money by producing goods from the factories. Share you city with your friends by creating a free Storm8 account. It’s similar to games like We Rule and Sim City. The game is free and universal. The one thing I find lacking in this app is the social part. There’s a login system called Storm 8, and you can invite your friends on Facebook, but it’s not enough to tap into all the friends I have on other gaming systems. Universal (Free)

iPhone and iPad no-Flash policy vindicated by crappiness of Droid 2 Flash player

The iPhone and iPad don’t have the ability to play Flash content because Flash is a crappy, outdated, buggy, unsafe, battery-chewing, processor-killing piece of crap – so says Apple CEO Steve Jobs, if not in those exact words, then essentially with that sentiment. Web content makers are already abandoning Flash in favor of twenty-first century technologies like HTML 5, and it’s telling that the most common complaint about not being able to display Flash on an iPhone comes when the user is attempting to load the notoriously outdated MySpace. And while Flash maker Adobe begs to differ as it enthusiastically pushes the idea that Flash will soon be thriving on every mobile device except the iPhone and iPad, there’s bad news for Adobe on that front: a leading self-identified “geek” journalist has just declared Flash to be a disaster on his non-iPhone. In the words of Laptop Magazine’s Avram Piltch, “After spending time playing with Flash Player 10.1 on the new Droid 2, the first Android 2.2 phone to come with the player pre-installed, I’m sad to admit that Steve Jobs was right. Adobe’s offering seems like it’s too little, too late.”

Meanwhile, the iPhone and iPad have more than two hundred thousand third-party apps available through the App Store, none of which require Flash. While leading geeks have been confidently predicting the demise of the iPhone due to its lack of Flash support since 2007, and making the same claims about the iPad’s demise since before the product even officially existed, it now appears that geek sentiment toward Flash is finally starting to change now that the Flash-enabled Droid has fallen victim to exactly what Steve Jobs warned would happen to the iPhone if Flash were enabled on it. Not that the geek world has ever been a relevant driving force (positive or negative) when it’s come to the mainstream fate of either the iPhone or the iPad (the last time the geeks predicted success for an Apple product, it was the ultimately weak-selling Mac mini), but one has to wonder if, with even the geeks now turning against Adobe’s continued Flash debacle, what strategy will the company now adopt? Will Adobe finally give up the ghost of Flash, or will its head of PR merely continue referring to tech journalists as twerps and comparing Steve Jobs to Josef Stalin? Time will tell.

Edifier Luna5 iF500 Encore for iPhone and iPod: review

Nearly all single-unit dockable stereo systems for iPhone and iPod follow the same design philosophy: a flat rectangular structure with the speakers placed at opposite ends of the unit. But with the Luna5 Encore, Edifier blows up the blueprint – almost literally – with a tall balloon shaped unit whose design doesn’t quite compare to any dockable stereo I’ve ever tested in five years of doing so. The pictures don’t quite do the unit justice. Rather than being fully spherical, the Luna5’s speaker housing is only about six or seven inches front to back, with the docking unit sticking out another several inches. Still, it’s something of a monster when sitting on your desk, which helps explain why it’s able to crank out such excellent-sounding audio.

In fact, this is one of those stereos you can crank so loud that your neighbors will be ready to call the police, and you still won’t notice any dropoff in the pristine-ness of the audio quality, even in the lower ranges. In fact the bass is set a bit higher by default than most systems, but that’s fine because the bass and treble can be separately and significantly adjusted via the included remote. Even with its large overall size, it turns out the Luna5 is not as wide left to right as most of its similarly priced competitors, so it actually takes up less desk space. The downside to that tradeoff, however, is that the lack of physical separation of the speakers is immediately obvious when you listen; it sounds like all the audio is emanating from the same spot, because it is. Contrast this with most competing (rectangular) $300 systems, which offer noticeably better stereo separation despite also being single-unit systems.

The Luna5 comes with a built in FM radio, which is a good thing. And it allows for eighteen programmable presets, which is also a good thing, because there’s no way to manually tune the radio stations via the on-board controls; anything beyond accessing the presets has to be done from the remote. Actually, the remote is on the powerful side, with the ability to navigate up and down the menus of your iPhone or iPod, meaning you can access nearly any song on your device, without having to reach for it, so long as you’re close enough to be able to see you device’s screen. On the other hand, the remote is about a foot tall, slightly larger than even the oversized one that came with my cable TV box, which doesn’t make a lot of sense because my cable box remote has about three times as many buttons.

At the end of the day, the Luna5 Encore is one of those products that I really like, but can’t bring myself to give more than four stars out of five because everything that it does right also comes with at least a little bit of a caveat. As a minor example, the on-board volume buttons are easily accessible right near the lip of the dock, but the accompanying LCD screen which displays the volume level and the radio station is obscured behind your iPhone or iPod when viewed anything other than the left side. These are the kind of gripes that probably wouldn’t even register when testing a $100 system. But at $300, users are likely to be picky about the details.

After spending some time with this particular product, my general recommendations haven’t really changed: the iHome iP1 is still our highest rated non-portable system at $300, and the Altec Lansing MIX is still our highest rated $300 portable system. But if those products aren’t for you, or if you merely favor the shape or aesthetics of the Luna5 Encore, then it’s recommendable in its own right. It’s got its flaws, but they’re minor, and they’re essentially overshadowed by what the product gets right – so long as stereo separation is not atop your list of priorities.

Rating: four stars out of five · $299 · Edifier.com

Logitech Rechargeable Speaker S715i for iPhone and iPod: review

Logitech owned the $149 price range for portable iPhone+iPod stereo systems for years, until the company cut too many corners last year in attempting to reduce the price to $129, resulting in a compromised S315i just as Altec Lansing finally managed to nearly perfect its own competing product. Here in 2010, Logitech’s new S715i attempts to put the company back into legitimate competition in the price range, and indeed fixes much of what went wrong with the previous model.

Despite the return to a $149 price tag, the S715i represents a better value over the S315i right off the at in that it sees the return of a (small, basic) remote control. The design of the S715i is smarter in that the volume buttons, which had inexplicably and awkwardly been on the back of its predecessor, are now on the front of the unit; no more blindly groping for them around back. And while the dock on top still cuts corners a bit by not using Apple’s system of universal docking inserts, turns out to be significantly more stable than what came before, as far as tilting the unit forward and such. And the kickstand, while simple, is plenty sturdy (just be sure to remove that slippery yellow piece of tape first). These are all improvements that were easily observable before I even turned the unit on.

Good news on the audio front as well, as the S715i sounds just a little better than its predecessor – but then again, audio quality was never a problem with the S315i to begin with. The hokey “turn this switch to cut audio quality in half for the sake of doubling your battery life” option is gone, which won’t likely be missed. Perhaps of more concern is that the previous ten hour rechargeable battery is now reduced to eight hours, but that still outshines the five hours you’ll get from the competing Altec Lansing iM620. Altec still wins this round, as the iM620 offers a built-in radio, LCD screen, carrying handle, better docking mechanism, and sounds a little better for the same price. But the S715i puts Logitech legitimately back on the playing field at the $149 price point – particularly if battery life is a priority for you.

Rating: four stars out of five · $149 · Logitech.com

iMainGo 2 for iPhone and iPod: review

The original iMainGo emerged during the classic iPod era as an oversized carrying case with built-in speakers, easily the best-sounding product of its kind at the time. Now the new iMainGo 2 faces a bigger challenge, not from any competitor but from the mere fact that today’s iPhone and iPod touch are significantly more complex devices than the simple click-wheel iPods of old, and that’s even before you consider that the iPhone doubles as, you know, a phone.

But the iMainGo 2 tackles the challenge ambitiously, placing your device inside a play-through plastic cover which keeps it fully sealed inside the case while allowing full access to all touchscreen controls. An internal audio cable connects to your device’s headphone port, a pair of small speakers on the back of the case sound impossibly good for their tiny size, and the whole thing is powered by batteries. At about an inch and a half thick, the iMainGo 2 is far larger than your typical iPhone or iPod case, but it’s far smaller than any portable dockable stereo system.

In my tests, I amassed a laundry list of minor gripes, each of which may or may not affect you. First and perhaps foremost there’s the fact that scrolling through the plastic cover is not the smoothest of tasks – which is compounded by the fact that the iPhone’s side volume buttons can’t be accessed, meaning that the on-screen volume slider is your only option. And while the AAA batteries power the iMainGo 2, they don’t keep your device charged – this wasn’t a big deal back in the classic iPod era, but with the iPhone you can be in a heap of trouble if you run your battery to zero in the wrong circumstance. And while the AAA batteries do power the iMainGo 2 for about thirty hours, a built-in rechargeable battery would have been nice.

But two things serve to minimize all of those gripes. One is that the iMainGo 2 costs a mere forty bucks, making it a huge value play. The other is that, as I said, the audio quality is way better than you’d have any reason to expect from a product like this.

Rating: four stars out of five · $49 · iMainGo.com

Konnet PowerEZ Plus battery for iPhone and iPod: review

Batteries which merely snap onto the bottom of an iPhone or iPod have generally been considered a poor man’s substitute for a more expensive form-fitting battery case or battery cradle. But three things are potentially working in the favor of Konnet’s new PowerEZ Plus battery. One is that, for now, there are no form-fitting battery cases or cradles on the market for the new iPhone 4, leaving those users (at least for the moment) looking for universally compatible solutions. The second is that its 1000 mAh capacity is in line with competing snap-on batteries priced at $39, while this one is priced at a mere $29. And the third thing going for this product is the fact that it has a kick-out leg which can be used to prop up your iPhone.

So how does all of the above hold up in real world testing? As far as the kickstand, it’s immediately apparent that it has no value when your iPhone is positioned upright, nor was it likely intended to. But when you lay your iPhone (or iPod touch) sideways, for watching video or perhaps when you want to prop it up overnight on your nightstand as a pseudo-alarm clock, it’s actually surprisingly steady, so long as it’s being used on an evenly flat surface. And the battery life claims held up, meaning that you can count on getting roughly an extra fifty to seventy percent battery life out of your iPhone if it’s fully charged to begin with.

All of that, combined with the price, makes the Konnet PowerEZ Plus the most attractive bottom snap-on battery currently on the market. My only complaint is that unlike most batteries, which begin working when you plug them in, you have to remember to manually turn on the PowerEZ Plus after you plug it in, but that’s minor. I’d still recommend considering a battery case or cradle for your iPhone as they tend to be more practical during active use, but those will generally run you $50 to $100, whereas the PowerEZ Plus is $29 – making it a steal at that price.

rating: 4.5 out of five stars • KonnetOnline.com

Moshi Vortex earbuds for iPhone and iPod: review

There are already plenty of strong options on the market when it comes to in-ear earbuds, but each has its own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to audio, design, styling, and added features, so my view has always been the more the merrier. I was excited, then, to test out the first earbuds from Moshi, a company whose products have generally been more the lines of iPhone cases. After testing out the Moshi Vortex, the good news is that there’s more good news than bad news.

Eighty to a hundred bucks has always been a tricky middle ground for earbuds, as there are plenty of fifty dollar options that sound great for their price, while on the other side, the hundred and twenty dollar mark means you won’t have to compromise on anything; eighty dollars means you’re still going to compromise a bit, but the product is going to have to stand out from the best fifty dollar options to warrant paying a relative premium. So the good news is that the Vortex sounds noticeably better than any $50 earbuds I’ve tested. But they do sound a little drier than the competing $89 Ultimate Ears MetroFi 220vi, so based purely on sound quality, that makes the Vortex above-average its price point, but not the best. Then again, it’s a relatively weak crop of options at the price point to begin with.

The triangular shape of the Vortex earbud posts is unique and looks interesting, so that’s a potential plus. Unfortunately the comfort isn’t quite there, owing to the fact that the backing is too thick right next to the earbud, which is not good news for users with smaller ear canals (users with bigger ear canals likely won’t notice the difference). The inclusion of foam tips in addition to rubber is rare at this price point and good news, but the one set of foam tips is very large and not easily squishable, making them among the less comfortable foam tips I’ve used. These details suggest the Vortex may not have been tested on users with small ear canals.

My advice is still to save up any extra $40 and look at one of the $120 options out there. But at the same time, the $80 Moshi Vortex does provide additional value over the best competing $50 earbud products out there. Three button controls instead of one button would be nice, but again, three buttons is rare for under $100.

rating: 3.5 out of five stars • Moshimonde.com

iPhone app launches for Alex Rodriguez 600th home run – and it’s a snow globe

“There’s an app for that” is a fun catch phrase for the seemingly nearly infinite variety of iPhone apps available in the App Store, but some entries leave users to wonder just how far app developers will go to cover every angle. One of them is an app aimed at commemorating the sixth hundredth career home run hit by New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez – and if that doesn’t sound strange enough, the app in question is a snow globe. Actually, it’s not a standalone app, but rather it’s somehow tied in with the existing “ShakyPlanet” app which is free. We won’t pretend to understand how Alex Rodriguez and a snow globe go hand in hand, but for Yankees fans (and perhaps snow globe fans) who want to take a look, it’s right here.

Beatweek.com launches reader forums: discuss music, iPhone+iPad, entertainment, pop culture, and more

Beatweek’s reader forums launched earlier today as the place to discuss, music, technology, entertainment, pop culture, and anything else that comes along. Opportunities for discussion include everything from talking up your favorite artists and products, to buying advice, to tech support. Several hundred post have already been made on a variety of topics, so feel free to join the conversation at Beatweek.com/forums.

app review: Disney’s TRON

When most people think of Tron, what usually comes to mind is the 1982 movie featuring Jeff Bridges inside a computer co-starring a bunch of early computer generated graphics. That movie spawned a few associated arcade games, one of which was called ‘Battle Tanks.’ That game forms the core of the new Tron iPhone app recently released by Disney as part of the promotional campaign for its new movie Tron Legacy, due in theaters in December. Since they are planning on recouping the game’s development costs in movie ticket sales the app is free, although there are trailers for the movie and its associated video game within the app.

Disney has promised more content and updates (including more games) to come in the future, but right now the only available game is the modern adaptation of Battle Tanks. The game has a top-down view of the map, allowing you to see your tank and any nearby enemies. The controls consist of two virtual joysticks, the left of which controls your tank’s movement, and the right of which controls the turret and firing. Each tank has two available weapons: a turret and a grenade-type weapon that can shoot over walls.

Strewn around each level are power-ups which can help out your tank. Weapon upgrades can increase the firing speed or range of each weapon, or allow turret shots to bounce off of walls. Temporary power-ups can increase weapon range or tank speed (among other things), while special-use weapons include laser beams and mines.

The single-player portion of the game has 15 levels, each of which is pretty short. It took me a couple hours to finish the entire thing, so there’s a fair amount of entertainment value here. Once you finish that there is the multiplayer arena, where you can go up against other players online in free-for-all battles. There are options for two, four, or six-player matches, where you get to drive around trying to destroy your opponents. I found this to be quite hard, but your mileage may vary.

Tron is probably the best-looking free app that I have seen so far. Fortunately it’s not just good-looking; it’s also fun to play. The real wildcard here is the additional content that Disney ends up releasing. The best-known Tron game in’t Battle Tanks, but rather the lightcycle racing game that has been parodied everywhere from Family Guy to South Park. If that game is added to this app, that would satisfy the wildest dreams of many Tron fans. In the meantime though, what we have is a solid, fun game that gives you an enjoyable few hours of gameplay, and is well worth a download`.

rating: 4 stars out of 5 • App Store link

Review by Eric Nguyen

Beatweek Magazine #78: The Black Crowes, Secondhand Serenade, iPad bags, Puddle of Mudd, iPhone cases and more

In this seventy-eighth issue of Beatweek Magazine:

• The Black Crowes cover story interview

• iPad bags and iPhone cases reviewed

• interviews with Secondhand Serenade, Puddle of Mudd, and Pierce The Veil

• hands on look at Disney’s new TRON app

• classic interview with Lady GaGa

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review: iHome iP90 stereo alarm for iPhone and iPod

You’ve got to hand it to iHome for taking some major stylistic chances with the sixth generation of its $99 dockable stereo alarm clock. Although competitors have come and gone, the iHome product (which started life as the iH5 years ago and is now the iP90) has generally been the market leader at its price point – and with the iP9 iteration last year, it felt like the product line had essentially reached perfection. So what did iHome do? Well, it went retro.

But before I get into the iP90’s styling, here’s what hasn’t changed since the last version: this product offers better audio than any other sub-$100 single unit dockable stereo system for iPhone or iPod, which is remarkable considering that many of those competing products don’t even offer alarm functionality. As has been the case with each version, the audio is a slight yet noticeable improvement over the previous generation. And the alarm built into the iP90 includes dual alarm settings along with an AM/FM radio and an included remote control with a host of functions built into it. In other words, it’s a winner, and that hasn’t changed.

But the stylistic redesign is a little more troubling. Setting aside whether or not it matches my personal styling preferences, my concern is that the digital numbers, by virtue of trying to look retro, don’t feel quite as easy to read as with previous generations, and the gut feeling is that the design changes aren’t a net positive for most consumers over the previous iP9. None of that changes the fact that the iP90 is the premier sub-$100 dockable stereo system on the market. You’ll have to judge for yourself as to whether the styling changes are agreeable or even matter to you.

rating: 4.5 stars out of five • iHomeAudio.com

Why Verizon? iPhone outselling Droid and all Moto phones combined

The iPhone needs Verizon compatibility in order to keep up with the rapidly ascending Droid and the rest of the Android platform, the claim goes. The iPhone’s AT&T exclusivity is causing Verizon customers, even if they would prefer the iPhone, to settle for an Android-based phone available from Verizon instead, the headlines proclaim. But the sales numbers say different. Not only is the iPhone outselling Motorola’s Droid line of phones according to the latest sales numbers, the iPhone is single-handedly outselling all of Motorola’s phones combined, says Apple Insider. In fact, the big picture numbers say that since the iPhone launched three years ago, Motorola’s total number of phones sold has plummeted, thus painting the current success of the Droid and Droid X as perhaps a mere anomaly for a company whose fortunes in the cellphone industry have been dwindling for years.

And before you go blaming Motorola’s misfortunes on the bad economy, the company is now selling a mere one-fifth as many cellphones as it was selling back when the iPhone first launched. With death-spiral numbers like that, it begs the question of just what Verizon was thinking when it chose a flagging partner like Motorola to build its flagship Droid line of phones. The move suggests Verizon was in a panic to come up with an iPhone competitor of any kind, even if that meant saddling up with a dying company like Motorola. It also strongly suggests that Verizon knew the Droid thing wouldn’t be a permanent one, more aimed at forcing Apple to bring the iPhone to the bargaining table under terms that favored Verizon more than they favored Apple itself.

While the Droid is far from the only Android-based phone on the market, Verizon has spent more than a year positioning the phone as its most visible flagship product. But even with all that effort, the iPhone is outselling the Droid and every other Motorola phone combined. It makes you wonder why Verizon isn’t pushing harder to get its hands on the iPhone than it is – or perhaps that’s exactly what’s going on behind the scenes.

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