Speck Candyshell

The Speck Candyshell, the motherload of iPhone cases. This Speck shell is great! It has a hard outer shell with a soft inner coating. The cases hugs your phone in a really tight fit that makes it almost impossible to take out of the case. The $34.95 package comes with the Speck Candyshell case, a screen protector, a microfiber cloth, and a squeegie for applying the screen protector.
It protects your most prized electronic possession from anything. I have dropped my phone with this case on it from chest heighth and it hit the ground and bounced a couple times. The design of this case really allows any force applied to the case to be spread out. If you look at the sides and corners of the case you will see that the rubber-like material was also added here so that your phone can absorb any impact that it may see.
Although I love this case, there are a few downsides I have noticed while using it for the past 5 months. The case is incredibly difficult to remove from your iphone. You need to push one the top corners or the top back of the case to wedged it out. You may think this would destroy your case, but it will not. The Candyshell is very flexible.
Also, the rubber-like coloring tends to get discolored over time. My Lime and Gray case turned a nasty orange color on the outer rim near where the bezel of the iphone is. And the red on my Red and White case got darker. This is from normal use like putting the phone with the case on in and out of your pocket.
Lastly, the hold button and rocker buttons are not the easiest to press with the rubber-like material covering the buttons. This gets incredibly easy to use after a couple of times with the case on the phone, but it is a little bit of a bother at first. If you would like to check out the case and purchase one for $34.95, please visit. www.speckproducts.com or any Apple Store. Also, I suggest you check out eBay if you would like to find one cheaper. :D

Power Support Anti-Glare vs. Crystal Screen Protectors

Power Support is an awesome company that makes two of the best screen protectors I can find. I have used both the Anti-Glare Protector and the Crystal Protector extensively, and my goal is to give you a comparison of the two.

Anti-Glare:

Pros

• Easy to apply.
• Reduces glare from sun, lamps, other light sources (hence it's title).
• Greatly reduces the amount os smudges and fingerprints on the screen.
• Looks good.
• Smooth to the touch.

Cons

• That same smoothness might make the screen feel a little cheap.
• Lasts about 4 or 5 months before it needs to be replaced.

Crystal Screen

Pros

• Looks gorgeous!
• Mimics real glass really well in both look and feel.
• Also easy to apply.

Cons

• Collects smudges and fingerprints just as bad as the actual glass.
• Really difficult to see the screen in the sunlight or with direct light on it.

So, there you have it. It all really depends on what you're looking for and what you're willing to sacrifice for protection. You can either go with the Anti-Glare set that reduces smudges so much that you rarely have to clean it but then have a screen that feels very similar

to the touch screens on GPS devices, or you can go with the Crystal Screen that looks like you don't even have any protection on there

, but then have to deal with what seems to be a perpetually dirty screen.

My personal favorite is the Anti-Glare because the feeling of the screen really doesn't bother me and not having to wipe down my screen every 10 minutes is a gift from the gods themselves! They cost $14.95 from the

Apple Store and each comes with two shields inside. If you're going to protect your expensive investment (like you always should) why not do it with something you won't even really notice is there!

Invisible Shield Installation Tips and Review

So, I purchased the Invisible Shield (IS) a few weeks ago, and appliedit the moment I received them in the mail. There

are two parts of this story, one being the first time I applied the IS, and two being the second time I applied the IS.

Story #1:
I did the installation on my desk. I washed my hands, cleaned the table, did all the little recommendations, and began. Instead of using the Windex idea to apply the IS, I used the solution it

came with. I put on the screen cover, an

d lightly squeegyed (sp?) the bubbles and extra solution.
Then I moved to the back. I literally spent two hours applying the back. It seemed like the corners were never going to stay down. Every time I would put down one of the sides, the whole skin would move, forcing me to reapply it over and over again. After much work and frustration, I finally got the corners to stay.
I let the skins dry for the 48 hours, and went to go look at my shielded iPhone. But to my dismay, the screen could not

have looked worse. The screen appeared to have a look on it very similar to when you get a television screen wet. I let it dry for two more days, but the look never went away.
After about a week of use, I decided to remove the first IS, sent out for a new one and applied the second set of skins.
Story #2:
This time, I decided to apply the IS in a steamy bathroom, as some have suggested. Again I tried using the solution included to apply the IS.
First, I wiped the screen with the micro fiber cloth. Then I cleaned the screen with Windex, then wiped using the micro fiber cloth. I applied the screen cover, but this time, rather than lightly squeggying the screen, I pushed hard. Not so hard as to break the screen, but I really put some pressure on there. I got every last little micro bubble and bit of solution there was underneath that screen cover.

I let the screen dry for ten minutes before applying the back.
I went onto the back. First, I just applied it on the back without worrying about the sides/corners yet. So once I got the back in place, and made sure everything was centered, I let it sit for 15 minutes.
When I came back, I did the sides, then let it sit for 15 minutes. Then I came back, and did the top and bottom, then let it sit for another 15 minutes. Finally, started working on the corners. Do not be discouraged if the corners are not going down, they take a little longer to dry, and do not try to remove the excess solution with your finger or a cloth, just let it air dry or use a blow dryer.
So I finally got all four corners, and then I just let it sit. I let it dry for the two days without touching it at all. When I came back two days later and turned on my iPhone, low and behold! The screen looked amazing, the corners were perfect, and I couldn't even tell that there was anything on the screen.

So, my tips for everyone trying to apply IS:
-Do the application process in a steamy bathroom.
-When squeegying, do it pretty forcefully to remove every bubble and bit of solution.
-Use the solution included.
-When doing the screen part, there is no such thing as too much solution, as long as you squeegy as much of it out from underneath after you have it in place.
-When it comes to the back, there is such thing as too much solution. I used three squirts of solution, then rubbed it around onto all the corners.
-Make sure your hands are EXTREMELY washed.
-HAVE PATIENCE!!!!!

Putting it on is a little bit of a pain, and just incase it's too intense for some people, there are actually Zagg Invisible Shield kiosks in malls that both sell and apply Invisible Shields for a small charge. I know that currently, Valley Fair Mall in Santa Clara, CA and Oakridge Mall in San Jose, CA both offer this service. Try calling up your local mall and see if they have these kiosks and then ask if they offer this awesome service. It was really helpful when I got an Invisible Shield for my MacBook Pro. There's now way I was about to try and apply one of these to my computer. That would have been a red hot mess!

Now, how do I feel about the actual Invisible Shields, well, it has some really great positives, but also has some big negatives. The good things are that it really is invisible. I can't say it looks incredible because I can't even tell it is there. If it wasn't for the change in the way it makes my phone feel, I would probably never even realize it was there. I really like feeling completely comfortable placing my phone down on a table without worrying about scratching it.

The downslides though are that the screen cover makes it too difficult for me to do any of the gestures required to use the iPhone (but I will say that Vince somehow got used to it). Also there are some cases that cannot accommodate the iPhone if it has an Invisible Shield on it.

With these minute negatives aside, the Invisible Shield is an incredible investment for your iPhone's protection. You can buy just a screen protection for $14.99, a back-only coverage for $18.99, or full body coverage for $25.99. Get them at Zagg's Website. While the price may seem steep, remember that you are also getting a lifetime warrantee that says you can simply send back an invisible shield and receive a brand new one for no charge, all you have to pay for is shipping. That's a great deal by my standards!

Sports Tap

Alright guys! Here is the other sports app I promised you I would review, and this one has push-notifications! It is called (drum roll please....) Sports Tap! For push-notifications all you have to do is go the the little wi-fi looking icon in the app. So far the app only offers push for MLB and the CFL. But this should be expanding with the football season on the horizon.
In addition to push, this app has a really cool feature called localtap. Tap the localtap icon in the app on the bottom right of the screen and you will be shown a screen in which you can break down the search by 50 miles, 100 miles, or 200 miles. This is great if you are new to a city and want to find the nearest sporting event or if you want to head to a college sporting event with the family and you are not which school is the closest.
Like Sportacular, you too can search games by date in this app, going all the way to the beginning of the season. Please check out this app in the App Store. It is FREE. Personally I still use Sportacular as my all the time sports app, but this is a great addition to any sports fan with the much needed and appreciated push-notifications.

Easy Relax

Ahhhhhhh... *Seagulls fly by, the ocean's waves rise and fall at the same pace as your slow and even breath*. Could anything be more relaxing? Well, the actual thing could be, but when you don't live next to the ocean or in the jungles of India, Easy Relax suffices. This is an easy to use app that allows you to listen to the relaxing sounds of the old west, a Hawaiian vacation, a windy autumn afternoon, the jungle, a fishing hole, a rainy day, blossoms from India, or whale songs. You can set a timer ranging from one minute to 24 hours. When I'm not using Alarm Tunes to fall asleep, I use this. Not only can you listen to the stock sounds that come with the app, but you can create your own using all the available sounds. You can mix and match the sounds of the beach with the sounds of a thunderstorm. One of the complaints I have is that once you have made a track of your own, there is no way to go back into the track and adjust something (volume of the birds, or the number of times a cricket makes their noise). Instead, you have to delete your old track and start over again. Its not a huge problem, but it definitely can get annoying. Other than that, this app works really well and provides some realistic noises to fall asleep to. There are two versions: a $.99 version and a $2.99 version which has a few more ambient sounds and icons next to all the noises.

Word Fu

Who doesn't love a word-based iPhone game? I know I sure do. For the longest time, I was addicted to Wurdle (a really awesome app!), but then I cam across WordFu. This is one of my most used apps. It's made by the same people who made Rolando, NGMoco, so you know it has to be good! All you have to do is tap the dice with letters on them to spell words and then shake the phone to enter your word. If that sounds too basic, don't worry because it also has bonuses such as a fire round where all your words you enter are doubled and an ice round where it freezes the clock so you can have more time to make words. It is a fast paced game that doesn't get boring. It's $.99 price tag makes it all the more awesome when compared to Wurdle's $1.99 price.

Vlingo

Who out there just doesn't feel like using the iPhone keyboard sometimes? *Raises hand and waves it like he just doesn't care*. Well, here is your solution, sort of. Its called Vlingo and it costs absolutely nothing in the App Store. I can honestly say that this looks like one of those simple little apps that someone spent a lot of time working on. It just plain works.

"What does it do?", you ask??? Well I'll tell you. Using your voice, you can direct the phone to do some really awesome features. Now this does not have all the same features as the Voice Control in the iPhone 3GS, but it does share a few of them. The first feature is the ability to speak and search for places on Google Maps. "Find frozen yogurt in San Francisco", and voila! There you have all the frozen yogurt shops in the San Francisco area! No problems. The next feature is the ability to search Google.com or Yahoo.com. You can also use the app to call people just by speaking their

name. Finally! It's about time... And last, but most certainly not least, this next feature is my favorite. You can speak and Tweet! This app is great for on-the-go tweeting, and its just so gosh darn easy to use! I highly recommend downloading this app for quick and easy shortcuts through your phone.

Now, if you were looking for an app that allows you to speak and text, well this app does not offer that. But there is an app that will in the near future. It's called Shout Out!. The

company, Promptu, promises that you will be able to speak something and then it will be turned into physical text that you can then use to email or sms someone. No one is sure exactly when it will be available, but it's supposed to be out by the end of this quarter. In the meantime, I love using Vlingo. Go download it today!

Sportacular

Here is a great sports' scores app for the iPhone. It is called Sportacular. It was created by CitizenSports. There are many great features one might be looking for in a sports scores app. This app offers 17 different sports. They include MLB, NFL, NCAA FB, NBA, NCAA Mens BB, NHL, MLS, PGA, LPGA, PGA Champions, PGA Nationwide, PGA European, NCAA Womens BB, English Premier, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, and German Bundesliga.
There are five tabs at the bottom of the app: Scores, Standings, News, My Picks, and More.
A really cool feature on this app is that you can go back in time to the beginning of the season to looks at any score that may have been played. From there you can find out the final score, breakdown of the score, and the stats for the game for each team. You can also go forward in time to see when a specific game will be played and the time and date of the game. This is a great tool if you are trying to plan ahead for those Giants tickets for dad's birthday. Under the standings tab you will find the standings for each league, each divison, and also the wild card races if you are looking at the baseball one, as well as the playoff brackets.
Under the news tab you will find the latest news for the sport you selected. This is a great way to keep up to date on all trades and injury reports for your fantasy leagues.
A really neat feature in Sportacular is that you can have a "profile" where you can make picks for the sports and see how you do against the other iPhone users with this app. You can also link this profile to facebook, which is a great way to spread out the competition to a whole new level.
All in all this is a great app that I downloaded right when I got my iPhone. It is great for checking the scores really quick, talking smack with some friends, or just figuring out how your team ended up winning in the 11th inning. Check out Sportacular in the App Store. Its a FREE app, and totally worth it for any sports fan, casual or dedicated! The only downside that I have noticed is that this app does not support push-notifications. There is a sports app that does though. : D Keep your eye out for it. It will be my next post!

Amateur Surgeon

WARNING: THIS GAME IS PROBABLY NOT FOR THE FEINT OF HEART (it did almost make Vince pass-out...hehe). Ahhh...What a fine specimen we have here. Have you ever woken up and and thought to yourself, "I think I want to see what it would be like to be a surgeon in conditions not at all suitable for even the poorest of countries!"? Well here is your chance! Amateur Surgeon allows you to perform surgeries on various patients with ailments ranging from bullet wounds to porcupine needles in the lungs. It somewhat resembles a bastardized "Operation" game by Hasbro. This game originate from an online version found on NewGrounds.com. While this game is fun and entertaining, many of the gestures required to play are just too difficult. The precision sometimes needed is much better suited for use with a physical mouse, and using one's finger becomes too difficult. Nonetheless, once you get the hang of some of the tools, this game is still good for passing the time. It's currently on sale for $2.99 or their is a lite version.

MyBatteryLife

Here is a great battery app I found on the App Store. As you open the app, this is the graphic that shows up. It has a lot of information available to the iPhone user. It has the title of the app, myBatteryLife at the top. Beneath that is the percentage of how much battery is left. In this case there is 95% left. And then below that percentage, there are times in hours and minutes for Talk Time, Internet on 3G, Internet on Wi-Fi, Video Playback, and Audio Playback. On the right side of the screen is a very neat neon blue battery showing how much "juice" your iPhone has left.
I have really enjoyed using this app. It is great for my long trips in the car when I want to know how many more movies I can watch or how many more games of PaperToss I want to get in. This is also great for you twitter addicts who constantly want to know how much more time they have before they have to find a computer! The only downside is that the myBatteryLife app doesn't appear to be 100% accurate. It is believed that the Apple only allows these apps to show the percentage to within 5% of the truth. For any avid gamer, business man, or tweeter, this is the battery info app for you! Check it out in the App Store for $0.99 : D