Sony SmartWatch Review

An area which interests me greatly is wearable technology. It’s no secret to those that know me that I am an absolute sucker for these sorts of accessories. On a recent visit to Hong Kong I picked up one such item – the Sony SmartWatch. Having used the SmartWatch now for almost two weeks it is now time to review my newest gadget.

The Sony SmartWatch is a device which connects to your Android phone via Bluetooth. It does this via a free app downloadable from the Play Store – Smart Connect. Once you install and pair the watch you can download a series of other apps which enable it to ‘talk’ to your phone applications such as Messages, Email, Music Player, Weather etc. The process is a little tedious as you must do it one at a time. It would have been better if Sony bundled all these applications into a single app then the user could enable/disable the ones they which wish to use (or not use). There are some third party applications on the Play Store also for the watch such as a Calculator. The watch also gets the time and date from the phone so if you go into a different timezone with your phone and it updates it will update on the watch also.

The Smart Connect application on the phone allows the user customise where each app on the watch is located and also set up the applications (e.g. location for the weather app, facebook/twitter sign in). Not all devices are supported so if you’re unsure if your phone is, check the compatibility list on the Sony website. It seems HTCs in particular don’t play nice.

Sony SmartWatch

Navigation on the phone is simple enough. You can double tap the screen to turn it on or press the button on the side. Then tap on the application you want to use. To go back to the previous screen use the pinch gesture usually associated with zooming out. I find there is a little bit of lag going back as you can see refresh icons for a split second upon doing so. Swiping down brings the widget view and down is the watch’s “app drawer”. Occasionally I find the touch panel to be unresponsive so you have to give it a firmer tap compared to one required on say a phone or tablet.

The one particular feature I love this device for is being able to reject or silence a call from the watch. It works like a charm and saves me taking out the phone from my pocket in meetings. There is no speaker on the device however it vibrates so you can always feel when a call or message is received. In a noisy environment this is great as you can always feel when a call comes in when you might otherwise not hear the phone ring. Unfortunately you cannot talk into the watch like it were a phone, so this might crush your dream of becoming more like James Bond by using this gadget.

For a Bluetooth connected device I was surprised to see it did not drain too much battery on my phone (Samsung Galaxy S3). The watch itself runs down in a few days so keeping the special charging cable handy is a must. It does not use a standard micro usb cable. I’d also like to point out that the charging unit is really sensitive. It may just be my particular watch, but I find the connection very temperamental and often have to use an elastic band to keep the contacts in the right position otherwise it will not charge.

Externally the Sony SmartWatch is 36mm x 36mm and 8mm thick and it clips on to the rubber watch band (not unlike what people were doing with those iPod nanos). The SmartWatch comes with a black band but you can buy different colours. I find the band to be cheap looking but it is comfortable enough to wear. In direct sunlight there is no chance of being able to see whats on the screen without shielding it from the light with your other hand.

The Sony SmartWatch is a great idea however the build quality dampens the experience. I will continue using it as my everyday watch but hopefully now with more reports of flexible displays a superior smart watch won’t be too far away.

Retro Gaming on Android

 
Inspired by this video on Android Gaming by Armando Ferreira, I set about turning my Nexus 7 into a totally awesome Nintendo gaming device. Something which would surely make all my iPhone and iPad using friends jealous

As described in the video, you will need to download and install emulator apps for the consoles which you would like to run, and also the games (called roms).

To install these apps you will need to allow your phone or tablet be able to install applications not from the Google Play store. On the Nexus 7 this is located in Settings -> Security, and checking the box next to “Unknown sources”.

Next is emulator installation. During my childhood I was brought up on Nintendo consoles. SNES being my first console, then later Nintendo 64, and for portable gaming it was Gameboy. Wouldn’t it be marvelous to relive the classics on a fancy Android tablet some 17 years later? Hell yes! Of course other console emulators are available such as PS1 and Sega however for this article I’ve decided to stick with Nintendo.

Super Nintendo

For SNES gaming I found SNesoid to be the best emulator. Simply download and open this apk file from your device to install.

Nintendo 64

Likewise N64oid is a great emulator for Nintendo 64 and made by the same developer as SNesoid.

Gameboy Advance

Finally GameBoid is the emulator I have used for GBA. You will also need a GBA BIOS to use this app so download one here, then extract and put on your device and direct GameBoid to the downloaded .bin file.

Now that you have the emulators installed its time to get games for them to run. I usually find the games by searching “game name rom” in Google but also check sites such as www.coolrom.com
I’m not going to get into the legalities of having such roms but apparently if you own the actual game it’s allowed.

I would create a folder called Roms on your Android device and in this folder have sub folders for each console to store the roms. In this case a SNES, N64 and a GBA folder. Once you’ve downloaded the Rom extract it and put in it’s appropriate folder. When you open up an emulator it will ask you which Rom you would like to play and you simply have to direct it to the right one.

Using the on screen virtual keyboard is OK I guess, but for the serious android gamer you’re going to want to use an external controller such as Phonejoy or attaching a PS3 controller etc. I use a Wiimote (which now has a new lease on life since previously collecting dust with the Wii console). Here is the method to connect the Wiimote:

Step one is to download a pairing app called Wiimote Controller (available in the Play Store).

Next turn on Bluetooth on your Android device and put the Wiimote into pairing mode by pressing 1 & 2 together (the leds will flash).

With the Wiimote in pairing mode open Wiimote Controller app and Press “1. Init and connect”. If the controller is found it will connect and say Done. The next thing you have to do is press “2. Select WiiControllerIME” to change to input method to the remote.

Now before you exit the Wiimote Controller app (I’m sure you’re very excited to start gaming with the Wiimote), press the Option button (looks like three vertical dots) and press Preferences. Tick the button that says “Switch after disconnect”. This will then automatically switch to your previous keyboard when you disconnect the Wiimote. It will save you some fiddling after you have finished your gaming session.

If you have trouble pairing the Wiimote check out the video on this site for Wiimote Controller - http://android.ccpcreations.com/wiicontroller

Once successfully paired you will have to enable the bluetooth device in the emulator and map the keys.

Do this by launching one of the emulators and clicking the Options button. Under Settings go into Other Settings. Tick the “Use input method” check box to enable use bluetooth gamepads.

Make sure Use Input Method is checked

Now go back and then into Input Settings. Turn off Virtual keypad and then click Key mappings. From here you can change the mappings by selecting a key then pressing the corresponding button on the Wiimote.

Key Mapping a Wiimote

That’s it! You’re ready to game. Back out into the game and confirm the keys are mapped correctly. They might require a bit more tweaking depending on the game but other than that enjoy retro gaming on Android!

Professor doesn’t know if I’m a boy or a girl :S

An annoyance I found was when playing with the Wiimote, the Android screen would still auto lock after a few minutes. To get around this I added a toggle button to keep the screen always on (and flick it off when I’m finished gaming). This can be accomplished with a widget such as Widgetsoid and setting a toggle to “Always on”.

To complete the ultimate Android retro gaming experience I thought it would be awesome to hook my Nexus 7 up to a television and play the games on a big screen. Unfortunately I haven’t yet found a way to do this. Apparently the HDMI adaptor for connecting will not work as their is no MHL support. If anyone has found a way to connect their Nexus 7 to a TV and screen mirror please share via the comments below or email me using the form on the contact page.

Samsung Galaxy S III Review

Having used a Samsung Galaxy S II for around 10 months it was refreshing to upgrade to Samsung’s latest and greatest, the Galaxy S III. The first difference I noticed was how massive the screen was in comparison to the S2 and also how sharp the resolution is. My main problem with the SII was battery life. Halfway through the day it would be less than 20% so I would need to charge or rotate a second battery. Now with the S3, with the same amount of usage, I can easily get 14 hours of battery life. On this alone it was worth upgrading.

Samsung Galaxy S III – My bat phone

This variant of the Galaxy S III has 16GB internal storage (also comes in 32 and 64GB), but with a slot for an external micro sd card, I added another 16GB. Plenty of space for some music, videos and other files. When the phone was announced I was surprised to see it only came with 1GB of RAM. This is the same amount as the S2. Unlike the S2 however, the S3 has a much better processor – the Exynos 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9 processor. Equipped with this beast it feels very fast and responsive. It will be interesting to see how much faster it can operate with Jelly Bean when it is available.

As noted earlier the screen is absolutely stunning. It’s a 4.8 inch Super AMOLED 720 x 1280 pixel screen and is perfect for watching videos or looking at photos. Although it’s quite large it still fits comfortably in pocket or hand. Any larger and we move into phablet territory.

The Galaxy S 3 has an 8MP rear camera capable of recording in 1080p. I was contemplating buying a digital camera before getting this phone but decided there isn’t a need as the camera on the S III can take superb shots. There is also a 1.9MP front facing camera which is great for Skyping and video calls.

It’s really a lot of little things that make using this phone a joy. The built in alarm tones are so peaceful, the virtual water ripples on the lock screen aesthetically pleasing, the way you can hold the phone to your ear whilst in a Text message and it will automatically call the person, the quick share button for easy sending a photo, true video multitasking, 0 camera shutter lag, these are the 1 percent difference-makers which set it apart from the other smartphones on the market.

There are a few new features on this phone which I do not use though. This includes S-Voice and the Eye detection that puts the phone to sleep when you look away from it. I find them a bit gimmicky and prefer Google’s own voice software, such as the one found in Google Now. Unfortunately Google Now is only available in Jelly Bean so we will have to wait for an upgrade to become available on the S III as it runs Android 4.0.x – Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box.

For anyone with a Galaxy S2, unless you have battery issues like I had, or can get the S3 at a reasonably good price, then it probably isn’t worth upgrading. Those with an original Galaxy or an iPhone won’t be disappointed at all upgrading to a Samsung Galaxy S III. In my opinion, at the time of writing, the Galaxy S III the best smartphone available.

Buy Samsung Galaxy S III on Amazon

Google Nexus 7 Review

2012 was always going to be the year of the tablet. As soon as the Nexus 7 and a slew of other Android tablets were announced earlier this year I knew I was going to buy something in the months that followed. My big dilemma was whether to hold out for the Asus Transformer Prime Infinity or buy the new Nexus 7 which was a fraction of the cost. It was a recent trip to the local JB Hi Fi store where I had my first demo of the Nexus 7 that I decided it was the tablet device for me. In particular, it was the snappiness of the new operating system, Jelly Bean, how comfortable it felt to hold, and the ultra affordable price tag of ~$300.

Hardware, design and features

The Nexus 7 comes in 8GB and 16GB models. I got the 16GB version as my primary use for it would be to watch videos, movies, play a few games and read ebooks (although ebooks wouldn’t take up much space). There is no way to increase the capacity of the device which is a shame since I have a 16GB microsd card which will now have to find another home, such as in my Galaxy phone.

Powered by a Tegra 3 quad core CPU, with an extra dedicated core for battery management, nothing feels laggy or slow on this device. I put this down to a combination of the powerful hardware and the new Android operating system.

Connectivity wise the Nexus 7 can only connect to the internet using Wifi. Although it doesn’t have 3g or 4g I have found I am nearly always in a Wifi area anyway. Also, when I’m out, tethering with my phone works equally well. The device is also equipped with Bluetooth and NFC. There are no other ports besides a micro-usb port used for charging (or connecting a USB device if you have an OTG cable) and a headphone jack. On the right side is the usual power button and volume rocker.

Made primarily of plastic and gorilla glass, the Nexus 7 might look cheap however it is very nice to hold and doesn’t at all feel like a lesser quality product. Weighing in at 340 grams it’s light and ultra portable. It is still too large to carry in a pocket though, so when a smartcase comes out it will be next on the purchase list. This one has caught my eye  - Poetic Slimline Portfolio Case for Google Nexus 7

Display and camera

Sporting a 7″ 1200×800 HD backlit IPS display, the Nexus 7 tablet is crystal (but not retina) clear. The colours are very vibrant and the brightness range has lots of depth. I turned my brightness down to just above the minimum to conserve battery life and even at this level it still looks fine.

There is no back camera on board but it is not missed. On the front is a 1.2mp camera which is great for Skype and google+ hangouts. I would have liked a better quality camera but for me it’s not really a big deal as I don’t use the feature that much. In fact there is no camera app. The functionality is there and can be enabled by installing this app – Camera Launcher for Nexus 7

Software

Firstly I have to say how refreshing it is to have a pure Google operating system installed. Being used to a Galaxy S2 smartphone it is really nice to now use a device that doesn’t come preinstalled with manufacturer crapware apps and widgets. Secondly, Jelly Bean is amazing. Project butter has made app transitions so smooth and the experience feels very fast, fluid and responsive. I think this alone was what made me decide to buy the unit in the first place.

One thing that has come under criticism is that the home screen is fixed in portrait view. I’ve found that besides watching videos I keep the Nexus in portrait most of the time anyway. Don’t fret though if you do want to change the orientation to landscape then there is an app for that – Ultimate Rotation Control

The other new feature present in Jelly Bean is Google Now. This is a card themed assistant which will answer your queries and show upcoming items in card form. So far mine has only popped up with the weather and upcoming calendar events. Here is a list of commands you can use with Google now - Android 4.1: How Many Voice Actions Have You Tried?

Battery

The battery life on the Nexus 7 is very solid. I haven’t kept it on watching a video to see how long exactly it lasts but with my moderate use and turning airplane mode on when I’m not using it for long periods of time (such as overnight) I can get around 2-3 days out of it.

Conclusion

I think I made the right choice in choosing the Nexus 7 over some of the other 10 inch tablets I had my eye on buying. It is extremely comfortable to hold and a pleasure to use while relaxing on a couch, in bed or while travelling. Sure, it has a few shortcomings such as lack of expandable memory, however for the price it is well worth it. You even get $25 credit to use in the Google play store when you buy the device.

Nexus 7 on Amazon

$5,000 BJenkins

A quick post today to show off the largest BJenkins pay we have seen to date – $5,000. As you may recall BJenkins is the term we have given to playing a pokie maximum bet by 1 line.

Congratulations to Jackpot Jimbo who won using this high risk, high reward style.

The Asus Transformer Pad 300 is the littlest sibling in Asus’ Transformer tablet series, along with big brothers the Transformer Prime and Transformer Infinity.  I had long been looking for some sort of portable computing device — my previous netbook had gotten sluggish and unreliable, but I didn’t want to cough up the cash to get a more expensive ultrabook/laptop as I have a PC that more than satisfies my processing needs.  When Asus released the Transformer Prime, I thought “this might be the thing I need” but the $700 plus price tag was just a little too steep for me.  Then the Transformer Pad was announced and when I saw a special offer to pick one up for $476 I knew I had to get one.

Hardware, Design and Features

The Transformer Pad is essentially a Transformer Prime with a lesser quality build and only minor spec differences.  Like the Prime, the Pad houses a Tegra 3 quad core-processor with an additional core in reserve to provide maximum processing power as well as efficiency.  The Pad is only available in a 32GB model and has 1GB of RAM.  For those who require more storage options, the Pad includes numerous expandable memory options including a micro SD, standard SD and USB slot.  If that’s not enough, Asus also provide Transformer owners with 8GB of cloud storage.  This should keep even the most media hoarding users satisfied and is great value for money when you consider the same price will get you an iPad with 16GB only.  I like to store a lot of videos and music on my tablet, so the extra storage options are definitely one of the major plus points of the Transformer Pad for me.

It’s in the build quality of the Transformer Pad where Asus have cut costs.  While the Transformer Prime is well known for it’s sleek metal body, the Pad comes with plastic back panel, still with the lovely concentric circle pattern though, and is available in blue, red or white.  While it may not be as classy as the Prime, it still feels like a solid, well made tablet.  The Pad looks and great and the plastic backing panel doesn’t bother me at, especially when I consider the price of the tablet and the features it comes with.  A Prime owner actually liked the plastic back as it meant he didn’t have to hold a cold metal tablet!  The power and volume buttons as well as input ports are all well placed, though the tablet is obviously designed to be used in landscape mode.  It becomes a little awkward using the tablet in portrait mode as it means your headphone jack becomes either on the top or bottom with the volume keys on the opposite end.

As with all Transformers, the Pad is available with an optional keyboard dock, which allows the tablet to be used like a laptop (hence the name ‘transformer’).  Like smaller keyboards that you find on netbooks or small laptops, the keys on the Pad dock are tightly packed together, but they feel good underneath my fingers and after a little getting used to it’s pretty comfortable to type on with no noticeable input lag.  In fact, I’m typing this review on my dock right now!  The keyboard also contains a row of handy quick function keys, such as toggle Wifi or bluetooth on/off, settings, music navigation and volume buttons.  The trackpad works a treat and is very responsive, with a right-click button that can be programed to perform different functions.  It accepts multi-touch input and two-fingered scrolling works well which allows for easy navigation amongst the home screens and when browsing the internet or working within apps.  The only downside with using the keyboard dock with the tablet is it becomes a little bit top heavy.  Resting on a flat surface, is fine but if you’re trying to balance the docked tablet on your lap, you might notice it wanting to tip backwards because of the weight of the tablet.

The Transformer Pad comes as a Wifi only model with b/g/n compatibility and Bluetooth 3.0.  No 3G or 4G capability might be a deciding factor for some people when deciding on the right tablet to purchase.  I’ve found that I’m mostly in a Wifi hotspot when I’m using my tablet and when I’m not, tethering the 3G connection from my phone to tablet via personal hotspot or USB has worked really well.
Display and Camera

The Transformer Pad comes with a 10.1″ 1280 x 800 resolution IPS screen which is a downgrade from the Prime’s IPS+ screen.  All that means though, is that the Pad has less screen brightness, which only really becomes an issue when using the tablet outdoors in sunlight.  I personally haven’t taken my tablet out to use in the sun, so I can’t honestly say what the impact of not having an IPS+ panel is.  Whether you’re using a tablet, phone or computer in the sun, the visibility is always going to be a bit crap so I wouldn’t consider this downgrade to be a deal breaker.  The screen resolution of the Transformer Pad obviously can’t be compared to the iPad’s retina display, which is pinpoint sharp.  However, colours appear reasonably accurate and the screen provides some great viewing angles.  If for some reason, you enjoying watching movies 90 degrees to your screen, you can!

A front facing 1.2MP camera provides any Skype-ing or Google hangout needs and an 8MP rear camera lets you take photos as well as record video in 1080p.  However, there’s no flash attached to the back of the tablet so any low lighting shots will remain reasonably dark.  The stock camera app is very simple, clean and easy to use.  It even allows you to take panoramic photos which is a nice feature.  Personally, I haven’t played around with the camera features too much or fully tested its performance.  While it’s nice to have the ability to take photos with a tablet, let’s face it; we all have a little giggle at the goof who is going around snapping shots with their 10″ tablet.

Software

The Transformer Pad comes loaded with Android’s delicious Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.  First off, being a Samsung Galaxy user, let me say just how refreshing it is to see that Asus have barely touched the stock Android skin.  Besides a modified notification panel, which offers some quick setting toggle buttons, Asus have barely touched the ICS design, leaving the interface looking beautifully slick and clean.  ICS works wonderfully on the Transformer Pad and navigating between home screens and different apps is smooth and fast with no lag and minimal response times.  However, on occasion I have noticed that the system will sometimes pause when quickly switching between multiple apps and I have had to wait for it to catch up.  I think this is more of an Asus problem than an Android problem, and it happens so rarely that it hasn’t troubled me too much, but it is there.

If you’re a big fan of Google services like Gmail, Reader, Drive, Google Talk, Google Plus and YouTube, you’ll be pleased to know that all the apps for these services have been optimised for tablets and look absolutely wonderful when in use.  In keeping in line with the ICS standard, the designs of these apps are clean and navigating through them is just really easy and user friendly.  I find myself wanting to use them more than I already do just because they look so good.  Unfortunately, the number of tablet-optimised apps available on Android isn’t as large as I would like, but hopefully with the ever growing Android tablet market (Nexus 7 anyone?) this will change soon.  Of the other apps though, you will find that most have also now been optimised with ICS styled menus which add to the consistency in appearance and layout that Google wanted when they released Android 4.0.  It might not seem like much to some, but it’s very pleasing to the eye and makes for a very enjoyable user experience.

Asus have included some of their own apps on the Transformer Pad.  Whilst I don’t actually use most of them, I was impressed with the File Manager that came with it.  The layout is simple and connecting and disconnecting external drives is really straight forward.  Bring along your portable hard drive and you can have hours of entertainment!  Supernote is also an Asus app to take try out, which is pretty handy as it allows you to record quick written notes with the keyboard or drawn notes with your finger on the touch screen.  There are also some nice Asus weather, date and mail widgets that can be used to spruce up your home screens.

Lastly, Asus have announced that Android 4.1, Jellybean, will be made available for the Transformer Pad, Prime and Infinity in the upcoming months.  I’m pretty excited about this and can’t wait to see the difference that Project Butter makes with it’s silky smooth performance and response times.  One of the benefits of getting a tablet made by the makers of the Nexus 7!

Battery

The Transformer Pad comes equipped with a 22Wh battery in the tablet and a 16.5Wh battery in the dock.  According to Asus, that equates to 10 hours of use with just the tablet alone and an additional 5 hours of battery from the dock.  A whopping 15 hours of use on one charge is definitely very impressive and will satisfy any user’s needs, such as keeping yourself entertained on any long plane flights.  While I haven’t stress tested the battery myself, I’ve had the tablet for just over 2 weeks now and I’ve only charged the battery 2-3 times since the initial full charge and this is with some gaming use, reading ebooks and browsing the internet and RSS feeds.  This is one tablet where I never need to worry about ever being too far away from a charger.

Conclusion

The Transformer Pad is a great Android tablet for anyone who is looking to enter the tablet world and a definite consideration for any Android fan.  For the hardware, performance, and battery life that you get, it’s very hard to overlook the Transformer Pad, especially when you consider it’s price.  The keyboard dock also gives it that extra advantage and uniqueness over other tablets.  If you’re interested in investing in a tablet with a higher quality finish or better specs, the Transformer Prime and Infinity are perhaps the way to go.  For the rest of us though, the Transformer Pad is a great choice and will keep us entertained for many long hours.

ASUS TF300T on Amazon

Mass Effect 3 is the final instalment in Bioware’s sci-fi action RPG trilogy.  Following on from the events of Mass Effect 1 and 2, the Reapers have finally begun their assault on the galaxy in order to destroy all civilised life.  The responsibility of saving the galaxy falls on Commander Shepard and his crew, who must unite the galactic community to put an end to the Reaper threat once and for all.  Just a warning to those who haven’t played Mass Effect 3 yet and intend to, this review will contain major storyline spoilers. (My character was a male Shepard so I’ll be referring to him as such but player’s of course can have a female Shepard as well.)

Mass Effect 3 begins on Earth where Commander Shepard has been grounded, when without warning, the Reapers begin their assault.  The situation quickly deteriorates and while Shepard tries to make his way through the carnage to contact help, he meets a young boy who he tries to coax to safety but fails.  Shepard has no other choice but to evacuate Earth in hope of enlisting the rest of the galaxy to help fight the Reapers.  However, as the Normandy flies to safety, Shepard sees two evac shuttle filling with survivors, including the young boy, and can only watch helplessly as the Reapers destroy the shuttles as they attempt to escape.  This moment will haunt Shepard for the rest of the game and from here on in, you know you’re in for a hell of a ride.

London’s burning… Hopefully no Reapers will make an appearance at the Olympics.

From there on, Shepard’s main mission is to gather as many war assets as possible to launch a final attack on the Reapers.  Something easier said than done as Shepard must play the diplomat as well as soldier within a galaxy full of old grudges and resentment.  Players will be happy to see the consequences of the decisions they’ve made in the previous two games come to fruition here.  Bioware has done an excellent job at creating an immersive and interactive story and to take full advantage of it, it’s best to import a save game character from the first two games.  There are some massive decisions to make in this game and the outcomes of these are dependent on how you played through the first two games.  The great thing about the Mass Effect games is, no play through will ever be the same — there are so many different options in how you can shape the fate of the galaxy.

There’s a sense of finality throughout Mass Effect 3.  You can feel story arcs that have been present the length of the series come to a resolution and it creates some great storytelling. One of my favourite storylines to play through was the war between the quarians and the geth.  I managed to broker peace between the quarians and the geth and it was actually quite moving to see two former foes lay down their weapons and agree to help each other in the hopes of ensuring they can build a future together.  It was nice to see the quarians finally back on their homeworld after years in exile as well as get insight into the beginnings of the geth.  This all added up to make the final resolution even more satisfying in my play through and is, in my opinion, one of the nicest moments in the Mass Effect series.

Nothing like the end of the galaxy to bring everyone together!

Throughout the game, it’s obvious the attention the studio has put into their storytelling and character development.  Shepard has never been as fleshed out as a character as he is in Mass Effect 3.  He’s not this invincible-galaxy-saving hero, but he’s human too and this war has taken a toll on him as well.  Shepard is constantly haunted by the people who have died and you feel this sense of failure as inherently as he does.  The continuity between characters from across the whole series is delightful and for those who have invested themselves into this universe, it really adds a nice touch to see Shepard interacting with his squad mates as old pals who have seen and been through so much together.

All the previous characters are back in some way, shape or form, as long as they survived the events of the earlier two games.  There are countless touching moments within the game that are dedicated to the relationships and friendships that Shepard has formed.  My favourite would have to be the bromance scene between Shepard and Garrus.  Garrus has been with Shepard from the very start and it’s an awesome moment that shows the respect and understanding these two have with one another.  The camaraderie present amongst the crew is also wonderful to see — you get a real sense of togetherness within your squad mates as there’s tons of background chatter and banter with references from the previous games.  It is definitely worth your while to make sure you interact with all the characters as much as possible.

Bromance at it’s best.

The ending sequence of Mass Effect 3 has been a major talking point within the gaming community since the game’s release.  I went into the game with an open mind and for the most part ignored the negative reaction since I wanted to avoid spoilers.  Therefore, after 40 or so hours of playing the game, I didn’t quite understand the righteous anger and indignation that a majority of the Mass Effect fans seemed to have towards the game’s ending and creators at Bioware.  Yes, the ending sequence was a little anti-climatic and wrapped things up rather quickly but I didn’t agree with the gamers who argued that the player didn’t get enough choice or their decisions throughout the game weren’t represented in the ending sequence.  To me, the whole of Mass Effect 3 was an ending — a 40 hour finale that wrapped up all the events of the Mass Effect universe and its characters.  I saw how all my decisions played out in the different story arcs that were resolved and I felt closure with the other squad members through Shepard’s interactions with them throughout the game.

However, I do understand that some fans were disgruntled with the plot holes and questions that the ending did raise.  There has been many different theories out there trying to find meaning in the ending, the most popular being the theory that Shepard was actually indoctrinated by the Reapers during the ending of the game.  This theory has some pretty solid evidence backing it up but Bioware have refused to comment on this or the actual ending.  However, they will be releasing an additional DLC to delve more into the results and consequences of the game’s ending to appease the fans who were disappointed.  On the one hand, I like that Bioware obviously listen to their fans and aim to please them, but on the other hand, I was disappointed that they gave into the angry mob of gamers.  I felt it took away a touch of their creative and storytelling integrity to have to reshape the ending just because some angry gamers had a whinge.  If every movie-goer demanded a better ending for every movie they weren’t happy with – what would the creative power of the movie industry be like?

Bioware haven’t changed much with how the game’s interface or mechanics work throughout the series but have noticeably improved these areas with each game resulting in Mass Effect 3 being a slick and polished final product.  Visually, the game is stunning with sharp graphics, beautiful environments and breathtaking cutscenes.  While all the old characters retain the same designs, the amount of extra detail that has been put into their faces and outfits is amazing, making them look as real as they’ll ever be.  From planet to planet, the environments that Shepard is thrown into are all refreshingly different and very very pretty, whether it be the tranquil home of the Salarians, or the devastation of Thessia as the Reapers invade.

Look at the lovely textures and details on our clothes…. Shiny….

The actions of Shepard feel smooth and moving in and out of cover has come a long way since the first Mass Effect.  The third person shooting felt realistic and snappy, with varying amounts of gun recoil depending on the weapon you choose adding a nice effect.  Weapon modifications also made a welcome reappearance, giving the player more control in how they wanted to approach the shooter elements of the game.  Multiplayer was a new addition to the series and added an online component as well as extra replayability.  Completing multiplayer missions grants credits that players can then use to unlock different characters, weapons and equipment.  Players are also encouraged to give multiplayer a try as it does have an effect on the single player campaign.   However, after a few rounds the missions do get repetitive as the objectives remain the same in each mission,  though Bioware have been releasing new map packs to keep things fresh.

Without a doubt, Mass Effect 3 is a magnificent game and a fitting final chapter to such an epic series.  The scale and the scope of the story, the different worlds, the endearing cast of characters, and the relationships formed throughout makes the Mass Effect series one of the greatest sci-fi games of all time.  While some people will undeniably be disappointed with how Mass Effect 3 ended, for me, I couldn’t have asked for a better send off for Shepard and co and for me to say goodbye to the Mass Effect universe.

Mass Effect 3 on Amazon

Android Data Transfer – Without the Wires

One of the many limitations of an i-device is their reliance on iTunes. Unless you’re jailbroken you cannot simply connect it to a computer and drag and drop files across. Ringtone creation either meant buying a ringtone or chopping and converting a file in iTunes. What a breathe of fresh air it was when I exchanged my iPhone for a Samsung Galaxy S2 some 8 months ago. I feel like I have control over my mobile again.

The most common way to connect an Android device to a computer is via USB. Once you activate “USB mode” on the device and then connect the cable you’ll be able to access its files via an Explorer window (or Finder on a Mac). Sometimes it’s not possible to have the right USB cable, so I found two other ways which use Wi-Fi rather than a cable as the transfer method.

ES File Explorer is the best file browser I have used for Android. It allows operations such as multi-select, Copy, Cut and Paste on files and directories on your device or SD Card. Apart from your device, you can use ES File Explorer to explore other computers on the local network, servers via FTP, other devices via Bluetooth, and access your cloud storage (Skydrive, Dropbox, Box and Sugarsync supported).

ES File Explorer Interface

The other app I came across is AirDroid. Once the app is launched it will allow access to the device via a web browser from a computer on the same network. From here you can drag and drop files, retrieve your call logs, and even send SMS messages among other things. It took only a minute to upload an entire album from my computer to the phone using the upload feature. I don’t see myself using anything else to transfer files to and from my computer but this great app.

AirDroid Web Interface

Both AirDroid and ES File Explorer are free in the Google Play store. I highly recommend them to anyone using an Android device.

The Cloud Wars

A couple of years ago I reviewed some online backup solutions. The main contenders were Dropbox, iDisk and DriveHQ. Fast forward two years and Google Drive, Apple iCloud, Microsoft Skydrive, Box and Dropbox are battling to provide your online storage.

I have used all 5 services (free accounts) and have detailed the unique features, pricing and sharing capabilities of each here in helping you decide which product would be best for you. In most cases a combination of two or more services is the best option.

Google Drive

This year Google launched their long awaited cloud storage service, Drive. Their online office suite Google Docs is now part of Google Drive and with desktop clients available for Windows, Mac and Linux (soon) it has become a serious player in the cloud storage game. An Android app is also available with an iOS app coming soon.

Google Drive offers users 5GB of online space for free. Currently it is priced at $2.49/month for 25GB, $4.99/month for 100GB … and all the way up to 16TB for $799.99/month. I wonder how many accounts have 16TB :O

Sharing documents and folders is easy with Drive. Simply select the document and click the share button to allow access to another with an email address. You can even see changes as they happen if two or more people are working on the same document. Collaborators can add comments and there is version tracking so you can go back up to 30 days if you need to see a prior revision.

I rate Google Drive as a solid and flexible solution for cloud storage and online document editing. It is not limited to traditional document file types and provides real time changes to be seen by people working on the same document.

Microsoft Skydrive

Skydrive has been around since 2007 (known then as Windows Live Folders). In 2011 it was overhauled to be HTML5 compatible and now allows users to create word, powerpoint and excel documents from within a browser. It can also be synchronized with the 2010 Office software, allowing users to change a document at the same time.

Skydrive offers users 7GB of online space for free. If you had an account prior to April 20th 2012 you were offered a free upgrade to 25GB. If 5GB is not enough the pricing as it stands now for Skydrive is 20GB for $10/year, 50GB for $25/year and 100GB for $50/year.

There is currently an iOS and a Windows Phone app but no official Android app. Desktop programs are available for Windows and Mac operating systems. Sharing is can be done from the web browser and across social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Apple iCloud

iCloud consists of a few more features than file syncing. In addition, you will have access to Photo Stream, iTunes in the Cloud, Calendar, Contacts and Email and Find My iPhone/Friends.

This article will mainly focus on the file sharing side – Documents in the Cloud. Once you have Pages, Numbers or Keynote on your iOS 5.0 device or Mac you will be able to save your iWork, MS Office, and PDF documents to iCloud. As far as I know these are the only types of documents that can be saved to iCloud and this I feel puts Documents in the Cloud at a massive disadvantage compared to the competition. Sharing is limited to sending via email.

Every account comes with 5GB worth of storage for free. If you need more online storage from Apple it will cost (at time of writing) $20/year for 10GB, $40/year for 20GB and $100/year for 50GB. It is a lot pricier than the rest however the extra storage may be useful for backing up an entire mobile device or for storing photos in Photo Stream.

iCloud desktop programs are available for OS X 10.7 + and Windows Vista +. Personally I don’t like the fact Apple has now forced users to upgrade from Snow Leopard if they want to use iCloud on their Mac desktop.

Box

Box is another solution, which behaves much like DropBox. I signed up for Box a while back when I came across an article saying they were giving away 50GB free storage if you downloaded their app for iOS. Their free account now will provide you with 5GB of online storage.

One thing you cannot do with a free account is download multiple files. This was enough for me to stop using Box. Looking past that, Box can integrate with Microsoft 2010’s Office Suite, Google Apps, and a few other CRM software packages out there. It also has an app for Android and iOS and programs for Windows and Mac (Premium account required).

A lot of Box’s functionality is reserved for premium accounts. Currently a premium account costs $15/user/month and that will get you 1000GB of web storage and access to those documents offline on a computer.

Dropbox

Last but not least I am going to mention Dropbox again. Like two years ago I thought the way Dropbox seamlessly integrates with any computer or mobile device is perfect. Sharing a document or folder could not be easier and now you can even right click a file and get a public link to share it with another person.

I find being able to share files via Dropbox the easiest way to get them from my mobile to a computer and vice versa. The free account will give you 2GB of storage but referring friends and allowing automatic camera uploads can increase this up to 16GB. Paid accounts can get you 50GB for $9.99/month and 100GB for $19.99/month with referrals getting you 1GB per referral (500mb for free account).

I currently use all these services except Box and iCloud. I think for a business Box would be a good solution, however since there is no standalone desktop program and there are limitations on multiple file downloads for free accounts I have steered clear.

Out of all the services mentioned I think Dropbox is still the best despite not having as much free storage as Drive or Skydrive. By inviting a few friends you both can receive boosts to the data storage and I find their file synchronization flawless across all devices and computers I have used it on. I would use this in combination with Google Drive for times when collaboration on a document is needed.

Roboto font on Samsung Galaxy S II Android 2.3

 
One of the best things about using an Android phone is the amount of customisation that can be done on it. As we wait patiently for the Ice Cream Sandwich update to be rolled out  some users may want to use the Ice Cream Sandwich default font, Roboto, on their Gingerbread device.

This quick little tip will allow Galaxy S II users to change the default system font to Roboto without rooting their phone.

First, using your phone’s browser, head over to xda developers and download paul diddy’s flipfonts - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=894397

Extract the fonts to a folder on your phone.

Use a file manager and navigate to where you extracted the files. I recommend an app such as ES File Explorer to use as a file manager.

Click on the package ending with Roboto.apk and then click Install

To activate the font go to Settings -> Display -> Screen display -> Font style and then click Roboto.

Roboto font on Samsung Galaxy S II Android 2.3

Now your system font should be changed to Roboto. I have done this successfully on my Samsung Galaxy S II running 2.3.5. It’s a good idea to back up your phone’s contents before doing this in case things turn pear shaped.