Most of you have heard by now about the upcoming Playstation 3 Slim announced at GamesCon. We all knew this was coming, PS1 slim, PS2 slim, and of course now PS3 slim. The Slim will be released the first week of September for only $300 or 300 Euro. So let’s dive farther into the specs.
32 percent lighter
36 percent smaller
Will use 34 percent less power
120 GB HDD
As expected the PS3 Slim will take up less room on your shelf and it will be more energy efficient. This is all great news, but the best part is the Price drop. The PS3 is now the same price as the Xbox 360 and just $50 more than the Wii. Unfortunately the Slim is not backwards compatible with PS2 games but it is compatible with PS1 games. The same ports can be found on the Slim as on the regular PS3, which is great. There are 2 USB ports on the front to plug in any accessories.
Probably the most notable change on the Slim (other than the fact that it’s smaller) is the new matte finish, this could be a let down to many because everyone liked the nice piano finish. However think on the bright side, you don’t have to deal with dust as much. Also the touch sensitive buttons are now physical buttons that you press. I don’t really know why Sony removed them but it’s definitely a disappointment.
So that’s about it, what do you guys think about the Slim? Like it, dislike it? Will you buy it? I know I might.
I haven’t written a blog post in so long, I’ve just been really busy lately. But anyway I am going do a review of an application of the iPod Touch and iPhone called “Ambiance”. It’s a simple app that helps you focus/relax/fall asleep by listening to relaxing looping sounds such as Rain, Campfire, Rain Forest, and much, much more. This app has become one of my favorites, I have been using it so much and you will see why in a little bit. The application has received many updates since it was released; I’ve owned the app from when it was first launched however I haven’t used it much at all before. The app was very simple and basic when it came out but now the GUI has been updated and it looks wonderful, not only that but there are many new sounds that are added constantly, and you are notified when they are added with push notifications. To add sounds to your Ambiance library just browse or search for sounds. Then preview them and if you like to download the sound. Then you can listen to it whenever.
There is a timer feature which is really nice so you don’t waste energy. So when you are going to bed you play the sound, turn the timer on, set the time you want the sound to stop playing and finally sleep and let Ambiance do the rest.
I like to plug my iPod Touch in my iHome speaker dock and relax to all of the wonderful sounds in this app. Sometimes I have trouble falling asleep, so at night I use this app to fall asleep easier and faster, and my iPod charges at the same time (because I use the iHome). Overall I think this is a wonderful application that easily earns a 5/5. I find myself using it all the time and at the $0.99 price point, you just can’t beat it. If you are unsure if this is the right app for you there is a lite version that’s free, so try it out and decide for yourself.
So, as usual, they go into Best Buy. They are looking for a laptop with Speed, Portability, and Battery life for under $1700. Then there’s the normal “You find it, you keep it”. Lauren says she is going into law-school and needs a laptop that is portable. The look at some PC’s, starting with a Dell. Then they go and look at the MacBook Pros. She says “This one only has a 250 GB hard drive” “It seems like your paying a lot for the brand”. She loves speed and loves running programs. They end up going BACK to the first Dell they looked at and bought that one. The employee says “There’s only one left”. The total price was 971.99. “A lot less than my goal of $1700″ “Yaaaa.”
MY Opinion:
Okay, my stuff here might be a little bit scrambled, but I’ll try to keep it as organized as possible. First off, when they gave the specs she wanted, I thought the MacBook Pros where just fine for her. Then they go look at stuff. When she said “This one ONLY has a 250 GB hard drive” I was like WHAT???? Are you serious? You said you where going into law-school. Why would you need something bigger than that?! “It seems like your paying a lot for the brand”. I will have to agree with this a little bit. But then again, I don’t agree with her that much. When you are a law student, especially, you want a computer that IS fast and will work when you want it to and the way you want it to. A Mac would give you awesome speed, portability, and functionality. Plus you wouldn’t have to worry about viruses or installing tons of stuff in order to run something.
For Lauren, I would suggest either the higher-end MacBook Pro 13″ or the low end 15″. They both have a 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4GB RAM, a pretty good graphics card, 250GB hard drive, and a 7 hour battery. If she wanted portability, I would go with the 13″. If not, I would choose the 15″.
I first tried out the Lite version of GloBall and really liked it, the game only came with a few levels which are very easy. I was hooked and so I purchased the full version of GloBall, which has 43 levels in total. However that’s still not enough because the game play is quite easy.
When you launch the app you are greeted with a nice and simple menu with 3 options to choose from. Play, Levels, and Options. Play is self explanatory, you start playing from where you left off, in the Levels menu you can look through your score on each level and how you rank with players around you. And finally options allows you to view saved scores, reset game, help, turn sound on/off, and choose if you would like to post your scores to the world.
Your goal is to break all the bricks in the level and avoid the enemies, simple! You will also find different power ups through out the game to help you break the bricks faster or get more points. The game play is good but sometimes I find it not too precise when trying to break a single brick.
Overall the game is really addictive and, however it’s too short and a bit too easy. Those are the only two things I don’t like about this app. I think it deserves a 4/5 for only $0.99 in the App Store!
Apple released an iTunes update (8.2.1) which it’s main goal was to prevent/not allow Sprints Palm Pre to sync with iTunes. This was expected from the beginning when Palm announced that the Pre can sync with iTunes. Of course Apple wouldn’t allow that to happen, the Pre is a “rival” of the iPhone so it wouldn’t make sense for Apple to allow the Pre to sync with their Media Player/Organizer.
Apple states in the Software update information that:
“iTunes 8.2.1 provides a number of important bug fixes and addresses an issue with verification of Apple devices.”
This is bad news to all the Pre owners out there who don’t want to get away from iTunes, however I’ve heard people using “Media Monkey” to sync their Pre with their computer, I don’t know how good it is, but like I said I’ve heard good things about it. Or you can just stay with your current version of iTunes, which in my opinion is your best option.
Also here is Palms response:
“Palm’s media sync works with iTunes 8.2. If Apple chooses to disable media sync in iTunes, it will be a direct blow to their users who will be deprived of a seamless synchronization experience. However, people will have options. They can stay with the iTunes version that works to sync their music on their Pre, they can transfer the music via USB, and there are other third-party applications we can consider.”
The Samsung Behold is a T-Mobile exclusive feature phone with a 3 in. touch screen display and a 5.0 megapixel camera with flash. The phone also features a GPS with voice navigation, a full HTML browser, Instant Messaging (AIM, ICQ, Live, Yahoo), IMAP and POP3 e-mail, music and video playback, voice control, and more. The phone has a build in accelerometer meaning you can view photos, videos, and web pages, in landscape or portrait by simply rotating the phone. Now the keypad, you have two choices, using the portrait alphanumeric keypad or the landscape full QWERTY keypad. I have no problem typing on the Behold, it takes a little bit getting used to though.
Browser and e-mail
The browser on the the Behold is not the best, it’s very slow when opening pages on T-Mobile’s poor 3G network, e-mail is also slow when opening your inbox or a single message. However 10 e-mail providers are supported which a plus. (AIM, AOL, Yahoo, Comcast, CompuServe, Earthlink, Gmail, HotPOP, Juno, Mac)
Camera The 5.0 megapixel camera is located on the back of the phone, it also has a flash and a vanity mirror. The camera does a great job outside but inside the photos might turn out unfocused. The Behold also records video, although it does poorly in low light conditions.
Texting and IM Instant Messaging works great but it might be a disappointment to some because you can only have one IM app open at a time. Texting works great, you can also send photos(MMS), videos, and sound files. Like I said the keypad works great but you might need to get used to it.
Call Quality and Service Unfortunately the call quality on the Behold is bad, it sounds very close to someone talking in a tube. This is very disappointing. I’ve been getting around 3 bars in my house with the Behold, however with my old phone I usually had full bars.
On the front of the phone you see the 3 in. display, the speaker, and the 3 physical buttons. The send and end keys and a back button between them. On the right side of the phone we have the dedicated camera button right next to it you see the unlock button. On the left side of the phone there’s a volume rocker and underneath it we have the proprietary Samsung charge/headphones/data port. Nothing on the top and bottom of the device.
Conclusion I think the Behold is a great cell phone, there are some let downs here and there but overall I think it’s worth it. One thing I am disappointed about is the lack of a 3.5 mm. headphonejack, you’re stuck with the included Samsung set which in my opinion are horrible. So if you are on T-Mobile and are in the market for a new phone check out the Samsung Behold, it comes in two colors, brown and pink!
I haven’t written a blog post in so long, I’ve just been really busy lately. But anyway I am going do a review of an application of the iPod Touch and iPhone called “Ambiance”. It’s a simple app that helps you focus/relax/fall asleep by listening to relaxing looping sounds such as Rain, Campfire, Rain Forest, and much, much more. This app has become one of my favorites, I have been using it so much and you will see why in a little bit. The application has received many updates since it was released; I’ve owned the app from when it was first launched however I haven’t used it much at all before. The app was very simple and basic when it came out but now the GUI has been updated and it looks wonderful, not only that but there are many new sounds that are added constantly, and you are notified when they are added with push notifications. To add sounds to your Ambiance library just browse or search for sounds. Then preview them and if you like to download the 
sound. Then you can listen to it whenever.
. 
navigation, a full HTML browser, Instant Messaging (AIM, ICQ, Live, Yahoo), IMAP and POP3 e-mail, music and video playback, voice control, and more. The phone has a build in 
