This new twist involves more brains than brawn to save players from inevitably sore fingers.

Tekken Card Tournament

For those unfamiliar, Tekken is a fighting game where it pits opponent versus opponent in a duel to the finish. Tekken Card Tournament (TCT) is similar in that players use cards to determine their action, whether it be Focus, Strike or Block.

TCT is more of a strategy game than a fighting game. Players must not only decide their next move, but also anticipate their opponents. Countering and receiving acceptable damage during turns is integral to mastering the game.

The rub is this, TCT has issues. Some issues are bigger than others, but let’s take a look at what works in TCT first.

The Good

Graphics

While the graphics aren’t groundbreaking, they are sufficient. Battle scenes are mediocre, but not choppy or fragmented. Could they be better? Yes. Are they detrimental to the game? Not in the least.

Cards

Each deck is quite large. Players can only use 15 at any given time, but the decks themselves are more than triple that. Collecting cards is a bit of a side mission and of course the more cards collected, the larger the character’s skill set.

Each set is character appropriate and though the variety could use some work, they are different enough to make things interesting.

Player versus Player (PVP) multi-player

TCT almost had to have PVP built-in to be worth the download. Thankfully it is.

Card Fusion

The process of combing multiples of the same card to form a new, more potent card. The fusion outcome is predetermined, but the feature still delivers a bit of fun and achievement.

The Bad

TCT from day one has had some recurring problems that the developers are working on. We acknowledge that and expect many of the PVP problems to be resolved completely very soon. Having said that, TCT was released before it was ready and those who jumped in early have had to live with the pain for the gain.

PVP Server downtime

For the first week following the official release, the server was up and down more than a yo-yo. That meant no PVP or if there were server hiccups during a PVP match, loss of points. [notice type=”blue”]Note: TCT developers have consistently been addressing this issue and significant improvements have been made.[/notice]

Credits

TCT is full of in app purchasing to improve characters. Chief among them the use of credits which can be used to buy card packs and stamina refills. Prices range from .99¢ to $99.99 for batches of credits.  If you plan to pursue lengthy gameplay in TCT, then get ready to invest some money.

Credits are showered onto new users in the beginning with bonuses and early level perks.  After that, they are extremely rare.  Players can expect to receive them at each new level and the infrequent random reward bonus.

All those things would be fine, except that the pricing for Stamina refills and Card Packs are overpriced.  Stamina (more on stamina below) for example can cost 18 credits to refill 100%, but players don’t start receiving 18 credits for a new level until after 15.  Card Packs cost between 150 and 400 credits.  Do the math and it’s easily visible that collecting cards and improving characters will be a mind-numbingly long process.

Gold

For many of the same reasons as Credits.  Simply put, the rewards are too small per battle.  Card packs cost 3k gold, while specific card purchases start at 5k gold.  Card Fusion starts at 5k gold.  Per battle gold reward for a Medium level battle?  A mere 144 gold.

To be fair, there are a lot of gold bonuses and rewards. Even so, purchasing a single card at 5k depletes the bank fast, not to mention the 50k for more potent cards.

Stamina

This has to be the most ridiculous feature of TCT.  What its purpose is, we can’t say.  Essentially each character has a Stamina bar which decreases after every battle.  Players can only play 5 battles in succession without refilling or waiting for Stamina to refill on its own.

Battles last roughly 3 minutes.  Each Stamina bar (5 in total) takes anywhere from 20-30 minutes to refill on its own.  So 15 minutes worth of play and 125 minutes on average of waiting.  Players can opt to refill their Stamina with credits, but they are rare and are better used on Card Packs and additional decks (100 credits each after 3 free decks).

The whole idea of Stamina is baffling.  Perhaps it’s a measure put in place to curb server overload by artificially forcing players to stand down and not play.  That should only be a temporary measure though.  Stamina appears as though it’s a fixed part of the game.

Real World Card Purchases

It appears TCT will have the option to scan in real world cards purchased from retailers.  We see this as a non-starter and think Namco Bandai should revisit the cost of shipping, packaging and factory maintenance versus delivering more varied Card Packs in game.

The thinking is that, real world cards will add something to the game or make it more desirable.  It won’t.  Move on.

Download Tekken Card Tournament

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Now there’s an app for that!

Toy Story Live Wallpaper

If you’re unfamiliar with ‘Live Wallpapers’, they are backgrounds for mobile devices and generally have animation whether it be constant or intermittent and some have an element of interaction which is the case with Toy Story.

The scene is Andy’s room, complete with desk, bed, shelves, posters, bulletin board and other typical boy’s room décor. Throughout the room are different elements which add to the atmosphere such as a globe which users can spin, a bounce-able ball and bulletin board where a message can be written with colored block letters. The live wallpaper also tracks the local time of day and adjusts the environment (outside window) accordingly for nighttime and daytime.

Characters

What would a Toy Story app be without characters like Woody, Buzz and the gang? An empty one. Which is the default for the live wallpaper. Characters are unlocked via two methods.

First, users can purchase bundles and unlock them. Second, characters are unlocked through a collection of points which are accumulated through capturing army men and dartboard bulls-eyes. Total points collected are display on a laptop within the wallpaper. The first method is much faster, but way less fun than the second.

Each day users can throw darts in an attempt to hit the bullseye. The dartboard can only be accessed once a day. Army men on the other hand can be captured repeatedly, all day long. The points vary, but the process is always the same. Army men parachute in to the screen and users must tap them to gain points.

Character list:

[list style=”square” color=”cobult”]

• Woody
• Buzz
• Hamm
• Rex
• Aliens

What’s Missing

Toy Story Live Wallpaper is exactly what you’d expect from Disney. A fun little escape for your mobile device and safe for all ages. There could be more from this little app, so these are the things that we’d like to see added in a future update.

More Characters

Even Toy Story purists would insist on Slinky Dog and Mr. Potato Head being included in the app. Both would be great additions to the live wallpaper and it’s easy to imagine their own unique animations on screen. Beyond the original cast, the app could benefit from Jessie, Bullseye, Bo Peep, Wheezy, RC, Etch, Mrs. Potato Head, Lenny and plenty of others to choose from. We’d even be open to seeing Stinky Pete the Prospector and Zurg.

For The Girls

Another thing we’d like to see is a girl’s room option. While not strictly Toy Story storyline material, it would give girls a more appropriate option. Of course any girl’s room could be decorated with the likes of Jessie, Mrs. Potato Head, etc.

More Live Action

Aside from those two major additions, Toy Story Live Wallpaper could do with a bit more Live factor. Perhaps RC cruising across the floor at random or Etch propped up on a shelf with a random sketch after an unlock or device shake. There are a number of possibilities and we hope the app crew over at Disney open up their imaginations in future updates.

Final Notes

As it is, Toy Story Live Wallpaper is an excellent little app that is sure to please even the biggest of kids. It is free and available now.

Download Toy Story Live Wallpaper

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This week Todoist launched Karma, which is a sort of point system for tracking your productivity. Completing tasks boosts your Karma score, while postponing or delaying tasks will impact Karma scores.

The positive Karma is Todoist’s way of making task completion and productivity fun. Regardless of fun factor, no one likes to see their scores go down so this new feature could potentially compel users to accomplish more with increased frequency.

Additional Karma boosting methods include:

[list style=square color=cobult]

• Regular task management
• Completing tasks early
• Use of advanced Todoist features (labels, reminders, etc.)

The less you use Todoist, the more your Karma score will decline. Score can also be impacted by allowing tasks to exceed 4 days overdue. Here’s a video look at what Karma can do for you:

Todoist is one of the most frequently updated and managed productivity apps we’ve reviewed. With developers constantly refining and improving the app, there’s always something impressive happening at Todoist.

What does Karma mean long term? Hard to say, but we’re speculating that integration of Karma could lead to much larger scale productivity integration for business users who want to track their team’s output. Once a standard has been set, there’s no doubt Karma could provide serious insight into team member’s productivity and success rate.

Todoist is already an app that can be utilized for team project management and is definitely worth the short time investment of installing the app. You can read more about Todoist and the Todoist app in the following related articles:

Todoist Android App Review
Get More Done By Using Todoist

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Real Racing 3

Real Racing 3 is, as the title would indicate, a racing game which is available and free for Android and iOS devices. The game focuses on track racing with a wide variety of tracks and various cars available for purchase and use in competition.

Graphics

In a word, stunning, for a mobile device game. Vehicle graphics are superb and realistic right down to the clear-coat paint jobs and dash gauges.

Tracks scroll smoothly and seamlessly. Corners are tight and in close quarters with competitors remain accurate without clipping.

The environment as a whole is fairly impressive considering this is a mobile game. Tracks are detailed with mock advertising, bleachers, pit areas (not accessible) and terrain (grass, dirt, etc.). On certain occasions even a blimp can be seen overhead for added experience.

One major noticeable omission from the environment are fans. Not a single person in any of the stands or even onlookers at the start and finish line. We aren’t exactly surprised given the problems with human likeness in video games, but we’re surprised a blurry bunch of colored pixels weren’t added to give some life to the tracks.

Gameplay

Exceptional. That’s really all that needs to be said, but we’ll expand a bit. Cars have differing control characteristics and operational strengths and it clearly shows while driving. For example, an Audi is much more precise in turns than say a Viper. There are several manufacturers and models to choose from. 46 total vehicles in all with heavy representation by Porsche and BMW (too much actually). Instead of 8 Porsches, we’d prefer more manufacturers? Some clear omissions include Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston Martin and Mazda to name a few.

Drivers race against Time Shifted Multiplayer (TSM) racers. Essentially racing against recorded times of other players. For the most part the TSM data is acceptable though we’ve seen some instances where the times are disproportionate to the current situation.

As the Stig, you’re not only in control of racing your vehicles, but also in charge of their maintenance and performance upgrades. Maintenance is routine after every race and surprisingly, the repairs make a difference during a race. Oil changes, which occur often, are noticeable in the output of the vehicle so repairs aren’t simply a matter of busy work, but a matter of performance management.

Upgrades can consist of varying modules, but typically players will find Engine, Drivetrain, Tires and Brakes modules. More advanced cars have additional options such as Suspension and Exhaust.

Advanced players have a number of options for limiting the AI control over vehicles, but the auto assist is perfectly balanced for new players and beginners. Customization is available in the form of paint colors, but limited to a predefined number of colors. We hope a future update includes a color wheel type option for a truly custom appearance.

Issues & Shortcomings

Every game has its limitations and Real Racing 3 does as well.

Quirks

RR3 is a fantastic display of mobile gaming, but at times extends its reach with graphics utilization. In particular, the Southbank course in Australia which is a tight winding course will become stuttered and choppy. The reason? There are simply too many cars for that race. With limited space and maneuverability the cars are forced to bunch together, which in and of itself is not a problem, but the hardware simply cannot handle all the motion, physics and graphic manipulation on the screen at one time. That track in particular is troublesome for other reasons too. It essentially turns into a smash ’em up derby to pass vehicles because of the tight nature of the course.

Prices

Prices and earnings seem to be out of proportion. For the most part, prices seem accurate and attainable. However, the elite high-end vehicles are well over 1 million dollars. While the costs are realistic in nature, driver earnings are very low and even with the variety of bonuses rewarded some of the highest priced vehicles will take gamers so long to achieve that they will likely have a new device before they attain them. Repairs fall under this issue as well. Repairs are priced out based on the item, but for some reason there is a time delay on repairs. Waiting 30 minutes, an hour, or more for repairs to finish is unnecessary and honestly we fail to see the logic behind this waiting feature.

Backups

Which leads us to a huge shortcoming. There is no backup and save option for RR3 data. FireMonkeys has noted that the option is planned for an update, but as of now it does not exist.

Personalization

Finally, the most ridiculous limitation of the bunch is that of user personalization. New players can personalize their experience with an in game name by logging in with their Facebook credentials. That is the ONLY option. Frankly, that is unacceptable and should be updated immediately to allow players the choice of their own name without any sort of account login or association. For now, players who don’t login via Facebook are forced to play as Guest which limits the experience a bit.

Final Verdict

Real Racing 3 is an awesome mobile game. The graphics are crisp with gorgeous cars and quality atmosphere. The gameplay is some of the best we’ve experienced in terms of win-ability and competition. Though there are some shortcomings they aren’t nearly numerous or prevalent enough to steer players away.

For mobile gamers, Real Racing 3 is a must have. For everyone else, RR3 is a must try. We fully recommend Real Racing 3 from a gaming standpoint and overwhelmingly encourage users to put this on their must have app list.

Pros:

[list style=”square” color=”cobult”]

• 46 Unique cars
• Exceptional graphics
• Accurate and enjoyable gameplay
• Large variety of tracks and race types
• TSM for multi-player racing competition
• Very high replay value

Cons:

[list style=”square” color=”cobult”]

• Excessive wait times for repairs
• No sync or cloud backup option
• Facebook connectivity required for personalization
• Pricing is out of scale for super high end vehicles

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Download Real Racing 3 for Android
Download Real Racing 3 for iOS

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Mobile small businesses are equally as important to a community, but lack the visual notice that storefronts offer. Mobile businesses rely many times on by-the-hour compensation with clients who appreciate exacting records of labor costs. Unfortunately, not everything runs by-the-hour and so time can be relative or spread out across periods of time during the completion of projects.

So how can small businesses, self-employed and entrepreneurs track their billable time easily? Well, they could carry around a stopwatch or guesstimate the time based on their arrival and completion. We’ve found a better way in the form of a mobile app – Timesheet.

Timesheet – Time Tracker

Timesheet – Time Tracker is a free time tracking mobile app that records time spent on Projects and Tasks while neatly organizing them into timeframes with automatically calculated billable totals and workflow statistics.

Skip to the end for an image slideshow of Timesheet screen captures.

Projects

Projects are the top level way of labeling the service performed. They can be named anything you like and are sorted to display open Projects first while maintaining an archive of closed Projects.

Each Project includes a description, hourly rate, location, employer/client and automatic tracking label. None of which are mandatory which makes the Project creation process extremely flexible. Location can be determined by a device’s built-in GPS or entered in by hand.

Tasks

Each Task is part of a Project. Users start a task with a simple touch of the screen and Timesheet begins tracking the time until stopped. Tasks can be interrupted for both a break and completion, giving users with longer projects time to grab lunch or a quick snack.

Every completed task requests information on the work performed during that task in the form of description, tags, hourly rate, location and mood. Mood is a way to describe your feeling post-task. Mood may seem like an unnecessary label at first, but I’ve often found it to be a way of illustrating how the task went, regardless of success rate. There is also a field to mark the task Paid.

Along with the basics are Expenses and Notes. Each can be added to Tasks for further completeness. For fast access to projects and tasks, Timesheet also includes a simple widget.

Tracking

Even after just a week of steady client interaction, Timesheet can begin to rack up the statistical data. The Statistics area of Timesheet displays graphs and charts to illustrate how much work has been performed, break usage, frequency etc. All the data is derived from Projects and Tasks to really give insight into one’s workflow.

Revisiting and retrieving data from previous Tasks and Projects is a cinch as well. Timesheet has several predefined time-frames to choose from such as current week, current month and so on along with custom period and custom date to precisely find the time range in question.

Projects can even be sorted by client or project ID to quickly find and reference Timesheet material. Want to analyze the data in a spreadsheet? No problem, Timesheet offers export functionality to an Excel spreadsheet.

Backup

Having all the best records in the world won’t mean much if they’re lost. That’s why Timesheet has a built-in backup feature for use with SD card or through Dropbox.

I’ve personally used Dropbox because it’s super convenient. Once linked Timesheet backs up to a folder in the Dropbox account in a single .xml file. Timesheet backups can be set on a schedule so that users don’t have to worry about performing them manually. Restoration is equally simple. By just clicking the SD card icon, access to Dropbox files are displayed and with a simple touch of the correct backup file Timesheet is restored.

SD card backup and restoration work much the same way except that the .xml files are stored on the SD card within the device.

Limitations

Timesheet’s backup offering is precise, accurate and fully functional. Having said that, don’t expect syncing between devices. That isn’t yet an option for Timesheet. Currently, best practice from my point of view, for multi-device usage is to use Timesheet from one device (smartphone) and restore the backup file to a secondary device (tablet) weekly to sync, read and analyze documented billable hours.

While not a limitation per say, Timesheet is a bit battery hungry while it’s tracking time. Not too surprising considering it’s an always-on stopwatch while working. Nevertheless, it would be great to see the battery footprint improved if possible.

In the future, we’d love to see some other cloud backup options. Dropbox is great, but it would be fantastic to have options such as Box, SkyDrive or Google Drive as well.
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Final Thoughts

In our travels through the app markets, every once in a while we stumble upon a truly great, refined app that does exactly what is intended and exceeds our expectations entirely. Timesheet is one of those rare apps. The precise record keeping, statistical data storage, perfected backup and exceptional data organization means self-employed, small business owners and entrepreneurs can be confident their time is well spent and documented.

We fully recommend Timesheet.

Download Timesheet for Android

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The post App Roundup: Timesheet Time Tracker first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.

Digital Journaling

Image via Flickr by mac.rj

People have always documented their lives through journals and diaries. This is something that technology has enhanced through blogs and social media sites like Facebook. People can now create online journals about their lives and share stories with anyone they choose. The thing to understand is that people aren’t documenting anything different, they’re still human. People will always write about family, vacations, etc. It’s simply the way in which these details of our lives are communicated and shared. The same is true with photos. People still take photos, but technology enhances the way these photos can be shared. They’ll never worry about the pages withering over time. Their words cannot be destroyed in a fire. In this day, our lives are recorded digitally forever. That’s right, you’re life on Facebook will be there for your children’s children to laugh and gawk at. Better watch what your write!

Digital Reading

Image via Flickr by premasagar

Will printed media live to see another generation? People still read they just do it from a digital device. They are reading the same novels, newspapers and publications that they read before eBooks were around. There is an unlimited supply of material to read on the Internet — you could literally spend the rest of your life reading something new every day. This was not the case in the past. Information was hard to come by with the exception of oral traditions.

Digital Communicating

Image via Flickr by thenestor

According to the 2012 Pew Internet and Life Project, nearly half of all Americans are smartphone users (45%). 66% of all smartphone owners are between the ages of 18 and 29. Because of instant messaging, children are not learning how to be social with one another. Since today’s society is constantly “plugged in” to a media source (smartphone, television, iPad, Internet) people may actually be losing their ability to communicate verbally and interact physically. Studies have shown this may hinder future generation’s ability to develop empathy, or how to understand emotional nuance.

Digital Health

Image via Flickr by Chiot’s Run

Americans are criticized for their growing waist lines, and a lot of the blame is put on technology and how it encourages people to be more sedentary. However, it’s not really fair to put all of the blame there. Fast food and the easy access to processed foods are a bigger problem. Technology actually provides people with more opportunities to track fitness schedules and eat healthier.

So what does the future hold? One doctor believes we are subtly rewiring our brains as new technologies are developed and demand more of our interaction time. He believes it’s actually altering the neuro-circuitry in the brain. Thus, with the new generation born into this increasingly technological age, we have a new generation of what we call digital natives. They love it, they’re great at it. But the downside is they’re not spending as much time face to face.

Then you have the older generation, the digital immigrants, who have interacted with technology more reluctantly. There are definitely still people out there that are afraid to embrace technology. For instance, if you were to tell your grandma that you bought a new ultrabook, her automatic response would be, “What is an ultrabook? Why would I need one of those?” Those are the people that think technology is bad and makes people different in a bad way. Do you think technology makes people different in a good way or a bad way?

Joseph Stark Jr. is a freelance writer and blogger by day, focusing on technology and web design niches. By night he is a tech junkie, gym member, and avid comic book enthusiast. When he’s not out in his garage modifying his computer, he’s writing for established companies like CopyForByLines. Friend him on Facebook and say hey.

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Naturally, an app that focuses specifically on magazines is the next piece in digital reading consumption. Zinio is that app, with a visually impressive and easy to navigate interface.

Zinio

If you wander the busy streets of a major metro, then you’re likely quite familiar with newsstands, a virtual cornucopia of reading material with dozens of magazines all lined up vying for your attention. The same can be said for popular convenience stores where magazines are a huge staple.

Zinio is your own personal newsstand and magazine rack in the cloud in the form of an app.

Key Features:

[list style=”square” color=”cobult”]

• Full color or text only pages to fit your preferences.
• Full subscriptions or single issues available.
• Syncs across multiple devices.

The Ins and Outs

The beautifully simple interface creates an easy to navigate platform for browsing the thousands (5,000+) of magazines in the Zinio library. Magazine categories range from Art to Science, Health to Tech and appeal to both men and women. Discovering new magazines is something Zinio focuses on with categories such as Staff Picks and Trending.

As you’d expect, Zinio has sharing options, integrated search and accounts to keep all your subscriptions organized.

For those looking to try out Zinio before purchasing magazine subscriptions, there are free articles available for reading. The free articles are a great way to experience what it’s like to read through the Zinio app and get a feel for full color magazine articles on your device.

Discounts

Zinio is currently offering a 2 for 1 deal which entitles shoppers to a 2 year subscription on select magazines for the price of 1. The promotion ends March 4, 2013 so hurry over to their 2 for 1 promotion page to get started.

Visit Zinio.com to learn more or head over to your App Store to download the app.

Download Zinio for Android
Download Zinio for iOS

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The post App Roundup: Zinio Is Your Digital Newsstand first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.

Java

In truth, Java should be on your watch list every week. However, over the weekend Oracle released an emergency patch addressing 50 or so vulnerabilities in Java.

Security vulnerabilities are a long standing problem for Java, but have recently been brought to the forefront with some rather public admonishments from the government as well as being blacklisted by Apple. Apple is again blacklisting Java after this most recent patch, so vulnerabilities are still present.

The important thing for users is to make sure Java is updated on your system. As you start your work week, be sure to pay attention to that little Java update notification or download the most recent release. Users can download the latest update from the Java product page.

Apple

A strange bug has cropped up in OS X. The snippet “File:///” will crash any Mac app instantly. The bug is likely to be addressed by Apple in the next OS X update, but for now avoid that little gem unless you like crashing your system.

Android

Malware writers are, if nothing else, diligent in their cause towards creating havoc for users. A new variant has been discovered which disguises itself as a helpful cleanup type app for your Android phone. Of course the app is useless and instead downloads 3 files to your device which lay in wait until you connect your phone to a PC. The files then infect the PC where it activates the system’s microphone and records audio. The audio is sent back to the malware creators.

During this time, the devious app is collecting data from your phone as well which means it could wind up attacking you from two sides, PC and phone.

As always we recommend caution when downloading apps, but more to the point avoid apps which claim to boost, enhance or clean your Android device. If you need advice on apps, contact us or ask the community on our Facebook page – don’t go it alone.

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The post Security Watchlist [February 4, 2013] first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.

Today we’re reviewing News360 (Tablet version). News360 is similar in many ways to other readers you may be using or have used in the past. News and stories are pulled from a wide variety of sources and articles can be segregated by topic and saved for later reading. Unlike others however, News360 doesn’t require a lot of source adding and topic subscribing. News360 learns your reading habits and tailors articles to fit your preferences.

The differences between News360 and others begins with it’s responsiveness. Though the app pulls a great deal of information in from outside sources, including images, it responds very quickly. Stories and images load within seconds of opening and smooth sideswipe scrolling keeps the app moving quickly from page to page. Along with speed comes reliability. In the past we’ve recommended several readers, including Pulse and Google Currents. Unlike those readers, News360 doesn’t suffer from the same performance degradation associated with large apps, such as news readers.

Features

Beyond the breadth of information that News360 delivers, there are a number of excellent features to keep you going back to this app over others.

Topics

Sure, there are lots of topics and yes you can choose your own of which to follow. However with News360, choosing topics is exceptionally painless, guiding you through the initial setup phase to ensure your topics of interest are setup immediately. Topics/categories are aligned across the top of the app where they can be rearranged, added, removed and expanded with ease.

Article Delivery

Over time, News360 learns what you enjoy reading and delivers current stories to you based on your habits. The behavioral customization is mostly accurate though can still seem out of sorts at times. News360 uses accomplishments to alert users of how well they are assisting the app in customizing the delivered content. Accomplishments may sound like a bit of work, but really it’s just about reading. The more you read, the closer you get to achieving ideal content delivery.

Evernote Integration

Have an Evernote account? A lot of people do. Through app integration, News360 can save articles to an Evernote account for later reading, reference or whatever the reason. Evernote is one of the most widely used apps on the market. The integration allows for easy sharing and saving, ensures stories are more readily available for reference and keeps News360 tidy.

Interface

All the top end news reader apps have a visual appealing interface with large bold images and easy to read text with direct links to articles. News360 is no different, but the added benefit of flip boxes means less ‘tap and back’ as users can spin the news box to see a more detailed blip from articles before opening the full story.

News360 also acts as a full fledged browser. Articles can be opened on the originating website directly from within the app which again means less back and forth between apps. Webpages load remarkably quick with a preview box showing what users can expect. While not entirely necessary, the preview box is a feature we find to be highly positive in adding transparency to link destination.

Conclusion

Another news reader may not be at the top of your list or even light a spark of excitement in your eyes, but News360 will definitely bring you a sense of contentment when you realize it’s the only news source you need.

News360 learns reading habits and returns the most relevant stories while still delivering other top articles and niche topics that may broaden your reading horizons.

If you haven’t tried News360 yet, give it a try and share with us your experiences and thoughts.

Download News360 (Tablet version)
Download News360 (Phone version)

Available for iOS? Yes – Check the iPhone version

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The post App Roundup: News360 Review [Tablet version] first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.

Amazon’s MP3 Shot at Apple

Amazon launched a mobile web version of its MP3 store. On the surface that may not seem significant, but as a mobile version based in HTML5 code, Amazon is able to offer another source for cheap tunes to iOS users.

Apple has historically made sure that iTunes is the de-facto way for iOS users to obtain content. To that end, many iOS users don’t bother to take advantage of other means of acquiring digital media as the walls of Apple surround them.

Now, Amazon is delivering the easiest of sources via a simple website address that any user can access. Hit up Amazon’s MP3 Store to check out the music offerings.

MediaFire Delivers 50GB to Android

In case you’ve been living under a rock, cloud storage services are everywhere right now. Between extremely popular services like Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud and SkyDrive, users are covered from every angle. The only downside being that space can be an issue.

MediaFire this week announced that they’ve finally released an Android version of their app. While iOS users have been enjoying MediaFire’s free 50GB accounts for some time now, Android users finally get a taste of that huge chunk of cloud storage.

MediaFire is still a minor player in the cloud storage market, but with 50GB of free cloud storage they’re making a rather large footprint.

Facebook Adds Voice Calling for iOS

Take that Google Voice! Perhaps not. A new Facebook feature is aimed at giving mobile users free voice calls over Wi-Fi or cellular networks. While it is a promising development, there are limitations and it is by no means a serious challenge to Google Voice or other VoIP services.

Currently, the feature is only available to iOS users (by tapping the “i” button), can only call those with the Facebook Messenger app installed and cannot handle landline calls (which Google Voice can).

Still, it is early in the feature’s life cycle so anything is possible down the road.

Other Stories of Note

LinkedIn shuts down LinkedIn Answers

It’s being reported by Mashable that LinkedIn Answers will be expired to make way for other avenues of engagement between its members. End date appears to be 1/31/13. Reasoning behind the move points to limited interaction from users.

The news isn’t exactly earth shattering, but the Answers section was a good place to browse for information. Perhaps all the browsing wasn’t interactive enough to keep Answers alive.

MySpace Re-launch Sort of

MySpace has extended its arm from the grave with a new look. The cleaner more modern look appeals to the music side of users. Connecting through music is very much what MySpace is all about now. The idea is solid and if MySpace was named something other than MySpace, it would probably do well. As it stands, we’ll have to wait and see if MySpace can extend more than an arm from the grave.

Private Dell – A Sign of the Times

Although not set in concrete just yet, it appears Dell is moving towards a buyout on their way to becoming a private company. The computer industry as a whole has struggled amid the onslaught of tablets and smartphones. Dell in particular has taken huge hits with PC sales in a slump and a less than enthusiastic response from the tech world about Windows 8.

Going private may refocus Dell and empower them to think beyond traditional PCs, a gamble that must be taken to revitalize the company moving forward. If everything goes smoothly, expect news of Dell going private sometime in late January.

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The post Tech Stories You Might Have Missed [January 13-19, 2013] first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.