Pros
- Amazing power
- Fairly easy to use
- Extremely in-depth
- Well cross-linked
Cons
- Too pricey for the casual user
- Loud startup tone
- Interface can be confusing at first
The Bottom Line
If you’re looking for some serious Bible software and you have a generous budget or you are a full time pastor, Logos Bible software should be closely looked at before you purchase anything else. It may just amaze you into forgetting just how much it costs.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
Logos Bible Software was built from the ground up for the Mac instead of just ported from the Windows verson. The look and feel do not shout Windows but works very much like most Mac software. Soft edges, so to speak, greet you immediately. Oh, speaking of greeting, upon startup, a very loud jingle is played that cannot be disabled. I’m not sure what Libronix was thinking with it, but hey, like the software, it gets the your attention quick. Once started, the main window shows Latest News, Bible Study Starter, News, and Libronix News. Bible Study Starter is where you’ll find yourself mostly but the other sections have use from time to time as well. Thankfully, you can collapse the topics into the section names saving screen real estate. The study section have three text boxes with a Go! button to the right. Enter your query in either the Study Passage, Study Word, or Study Topic and great things happen.
Pros
- Amazing sound for the price
- Easy hook-up
- Comes with everything you need
- Nice looks
Cons
- A bit large
- No mute/off switch
The Bottom Line
No matter your microphone needs on your PC or Mac, the Snowball will make your voice sound as if you had recorded it in a professional studio with sound engineers at the board.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes (Strong)
Full Review
Have you heard the Snowball? Really, it’s the best way to find out just how good it is, right? Well, after you’re done reading the review, we’ll furnish the link to our first podcast in which we used the Snowball and THEN you’ll really get the full review. Until then, let me tell you a bit out about this white grilled-faced mic from a company called Blue Microphone.
I first came across Blue Microphone at Macworld Expo 2009 and sat down on a tall bar stool and spoke to Tyler Barth, Director of Marketing, at Blue Mic. The animated and excited Barth went on to lay out Blue Mics history and importance in the recording industry. He told me of the Eagle’s love for the mics so much to the point that one of the members bought a mic for every one of his grandchildren last Christmas. I chuckled at the thought of my childhood rock heros having grandchildren but the point was well made.
Pros
- The virtual cellar - one glance shows you the wine you have and the wine you want!
- Large collection of wines in database
- Very easy to understand on first use.
- Reasonable price
Cons
- Access to wine database much slower using the 3G network.
- A little glitchy and slow to save data.
The Bottom Line
If you want fingertip access to search for wines you love, track the wines you have and plan for wines you will buy, this application is well priced to meet your needs.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
I was recently given the Drync wine application for my iPhone with the promise that I would use and review this application. Let me begin by saying that I am not a wine expert, but I really like good wine. In the early 90s, I worked as a waiter in a high-end wine and cheese shop. I learned several valuable lessons early on, but at the top of the list I learned to ignore the hype and simply drink what you like. Over the years, the brand, winery, vintage, grape, and cost of the wine has meant little to me, I have consistently focused on the wine I liked and then tried to remember it the next time I was buying wine.
Pros
- Very addictive game
- Easy to learn
- Difficult levels adds for long-term fun
- Easy on the eyes
Cons
- Inability to play saved games
- Price point could be lower
The Bottom Line
Apple progressively pushes the iPhone and iPod touch as gaming platform and developers have welcomed this push. With a slew of games to choose from, it’s becoming difficult to find that perfect game. Cronk fills the need for good addictive game play and while it’s a little pricey, it will not become old anytime soon.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
I’ll be upfront right from the get-go. I don’t have time for games. I come from the Atari 2600 generation and loved all my gaming systems up to my Sega Genesis. But after college and Sims 2000, I pretty much gave up on games. But from time to time, I need a stop-gap and a game here and there can fill that need. The slimmies at Cronk Games had to send me Cronk, didn’t they? I quickly found my stop-gap trickle over into “things I should be doing” time in little time flat.
Pros
- Clear and unnoticeable when installed
- Excellent scratch resistance
- iPod easily fits in dock when installed
- Accessory holes and switch openings align perfectly
- Corners stay affixed to device long-term
Cons
- Very challenging installation
- Difficult to set
- Adhesive dries quickly making removal and reset tough
The Bottom Line
If you’re looking for good protection against the elements around your iPod that will keep your music player looking new, then InvisibleShield is a good investment. If you have patience and a skilled hand, then you can overlook the complicated installation and enjoy long-term protection of your musical device.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
While pricing continues to fall for most music players, at over $200 a pop, these things are still not what one would consider “cheap”. If you’re one that cares about your hard earned money and wishes to keep your devices looking as new as possible, then you’ll want to protect it with something. Cases and pouches are popular choices but many just want something non-instrusive. As of late, clear “vinyl” skins are becoming another popular selection in the choice department and InvisibleShield is one such choice for your iPod or other device supported by Zagg.
Pros
- Opens quickly
- Easy to use interface
- Stable
- Easy OS installs
- Driverless printing
- Snapshot (back-up of OS)
- 64-bit and multi-processor support
Cons
- Window repaint/move issues in Unity View
- Hardware acceleration not supported for Windows 7 (beta)
- Docked Guest icons sometimes open two copies of app upon click on restore
The Bottom Line
If you’re in need of running a Windows application or just want to play with another Intel-based OS like something from the Linux soup, let a Parallel’s Desktop guy tell you this much: buy VMWare Fusion now and don’t even mess with the trial version.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
Most long-time Windows users that switch to the Macintosh find themselves needing to run one or two must-have Windows applications on their Macs. This requirement held me off from fully switching to the Mac until a virtual machine (VM) offering from Parallels was released. I immediately purchased it and installed my must-need app and bore the pain of the VM for a couple of years. Since I didn’t use the application too much, it wasn’t a huge deal. I lived with it. Now that VMWare Fusion has been released and upgraded, live with it no more do I have to. I have a choice. A better choice.
I’ve known about Fusion for sometime and its venture into the Mac world one was welcomed by the industry. It’s 1.0 effort was a good one but lacked many features found in then Parallel’s 3.x. Once 2.0 was released, it had caught up to Parallels but Parallels was just about to release its update to Desktop. That update brought a few more features to the table pushing it ahead of Fusion once again.
I asked VMWare at Macworld why should a Mac user even look at Fusion when Desktop by Parallels was clearly winning the feature war. I was told by David Polzine, Director of Utility & Productivity Solutions, that it wasn’t about the feature-race for VMWare but rather about stability and a solid product. “Use it for a week and I can bet you’ll use it over Parallels,” Polzine challenged me right there in Smith Micro booth at Macworld Expo 2009. I giggled, “Oh boy, I have you on paper for that now!” was my response. Well, I have to admit, it didn’t take a week to know if I’d ditch Desktop for Fusion. No, the answer was actually clear enough in just a mere few hours of use.
Pros
- Small and lightweight
- Unique USB charging method
- Many included accessories
- Sleek look
- Good sound
- Fashionable
Cons
- Callers sometimes have difficulty hearing conversation
- Doesn’t sit flush to cheek
- Buttons are right-handed centric
- Long-term discomfort
The Bottom Line
Contour brings an amazingly sleek design to a simple Bluetooth headset but has some hurdles to overcome before calling this a slam dunk. The Metal has extreme potential and hopefully the follow-up improves on the deficits.
Ratings
Recommended
Maybe
Full Review
I’ve been using Bluetooth headsets since back to 2002 and have been looking for that perfect headset ever since. The number one lacking feature of nearly all headsets is good audio, either the lack of loudness, too deep in bass, static, or just all the above. With seven years of history, it really shouldn’t be that difficult to make an improvement, right?
When I saw the Metal at Macworld Expo 2009, I was immediately impressed with the look. A metal piece of gum with an ear-piece. Cool! Since the product had just been announced, very little detail was available for it but with a review unit, all my questions would soon be answered. My most urgent question of them all was the volume. Would it be loud enough? The quick answer, ya, it’s not bad. It could be a notch louder, but for the size of the unit, I’ve got to say, I’m not dissatisfied with the results.
Pros
- Great sound for the price
- Comfortable
- Customized options seem endless
- Quick delivery
Cons
- Lack of channel marking
- Ear pieces slide off easily
The Bottom Line
If you are looking for a pair of headphones that are beyond descent without a high price tag, then you must check out iFrogz Fallouts. I don’t know how they do it, but for $35, these sound better than some headphones at twice the cost…and you can customize them!
Ratings
Recommended
Yes (Strong)
Full Review
Okay, let me put it out there right in front so there will be no misunderstanding. I am an audio snob. My music must have strong bass, good highs, and no muddy mids. Done, let’s move on.
When iFrogz approached SvenOnTech to review the Custom Fallout headset, I was expecting, well, junky headphones. I mean look at the price, $34.99. You can’t produced a descent product AND customize it at that price. Obviously iFrogz was going after the bling-bling market and focusing on the customization and throwing some cheapy drivers in from China. Right? Wrong, when I put on my customized Fallouts, I was completely surprised by the sound quality. Flabbergasted may be a better adjective. All the way back to the SvenOnTech HQ I jammed to various tunes on BART off of my iPhone and even attracted the attention of many other travelers. I guess that happens when you start singing out loud. Hey, it was a train from San Francisco; this type of behavior is expected.
Pros
- Clear and unnoticeable when installed
- Excellent scratch resistance
- iPhone easily fits in dock when installed
- Comes with 2 guards
Cons
- Challenging installation
- Corners difficult to bond
The Bottom Line
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
Remember car bras? Remember how cool they looked on Camaro IROCs? Tight fit, black tones, and protection. Good combo. Well, I’ve dated myself because there are no more IROCs and most bras are now clear. Ya, clear. It’s this very technology that NLU Products has been using to protect laptops and phones for some time now and the iPhone, both 1st gen and 3G, can be protected by this incredible skin.
President Kirk Feller told me at Macworld 2009 that his company has sold about 200,000 skins and is excited to move forward in protection. Adding “tattoos” to the line to spice things up, Feller explained NLU’s priority is protection and one can still see this even in the tats with its thick skin. Every NLU product comes with a lifetime warranty that only requires a small shipping fee. When Feller says lifetime, he means it. If you have to send your protector back for a second, a third, or even a fourth time, NLU will keep sending you back new ones. Nice. Very nice. And with 2 protectors per box, you really can’t go wrong.
Pros
- Slim form factor
- Lengthens iPhone life by nearly 2 times
- LED indicator
Cons
- Doesn’t work with Apple Dock Connector
- A bit tricky to remove phone from battery
The Bottom Line
The number one complaint for many on the iPhone 3G is battery life or the lack of it. Mophie allows you to easily add nearly twice the longevity of your iPhone without adding too much bulk to the phone.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes (Strongly)
Full Review
I held off on purchasing the 3G iPhone for sometime due to the poor battery life. My area was sparse of 3G signal, so an upgrade didn’t make sense. When I finally did purchase the Second Coming, the battery life did in fact disappoint. Apple’s stubbornness to include a removable battery kind of puts you in a difficult situation and lends to creative ways to over come this dilemma.
Mophie’s thoughts are to simply make a slide-in case. Accented with green on the inside (is that X-Files green?) and black every where else with four hypnotic LED indicators on the back, the Juice Pack is a mighty fine case indeed.
Pros
- Quickly and easily upload photos to Picasa, Flickr or Facebook
- Easy to categorize and organize photos
- Well laid out
- Not a memory hog
Cons
- Complicated to use with storage card in some instances
- Occasionally locked up during use
- Could me more customizable
The Bottom Line
SplashPhoto provides a good way to manage and upload your photos with your mobile device, but still has some kinks to be worked out.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes/No
Full Review
Uncertainty abounds when it comes to managing photos on a mobile device. My HTC S621 running Windows Mobile 6.1 came with a killer 1.2 megapixel camera that has just completely changed my life to the point that I’m considering quitting my current job to become a professional photographer! All sarcasm aside though, with the increased use of mobile phone cameras for day to day pictures many are faced with the question of what to do with all of those photos that get snapped at birthdays, bar mitzvas, and executions of famous dictators.
I personally was faced with a frustrating situation shortly after buying my HTC S621. I was trying out the new high-quality camera on my phone at a AAA baseball game with my family one night. My kid, of course, was doing something extraordinarily adorable and I had the phone out snapping away. All went well until I tried to use the phone’s web browser to log into my favorite online social networking site and upload my masterpieces so the grandparents many miles away could melt. After trying for 5 innings to simply upload 3 pictures I struck out (no pun intended).
So along comes SplashPhoto, a little program that can finally help you take all of those random shots of your cousin Patsy eating a footlong chili dog or the kid throwing up on grandpa and organize them into nice categories, even share them with the world.
Pros
- Cheap alternative to expensive Apple cradle
- Comes with AC plug for direct charging
- LED indicator
Cons
- A bit large
The Bottom Line
Apple won’t even included a dock with it’s new super phone and at $80 for purchase price, this cradle is a no-brainer to purchase!
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
Apple has created a pattern. Release a great product, get the public buying it, then release an update and yank the accessories. Oh ya, then charge an arm and leg for it on the shelf. Why oh why does Apple think anyone want to pay $80 for a stinking piece of plastic to hold your iPhone is beyond me. Really, $80? For plastic? Come on, Apple!
Thankfully, there is third-party offerings and SvenOnTech was asked to review a cradle for the 3G iPhone. Since there’s not much to a cradle, the review was pretty simple. Unpack, plug USB cable into Mac, plug other side into cradle, place clear plastic backing into place, and slide iPhone into the slot. It’s that easy. (We even tested a 2G iPod touch…though the cradle is not recommended for that use.)
Pros
- Places laptop in ergonomic position
- Light, compact, and easy to travel with
- Easy to position and place variety of laptops on
- Helps keep laptop cool
Cons
- A bit pricey
The Bottom Line
If you’re looking for a way to prop your laptop up while out on the road or even daily at your office, then Innovative has your perfect laptop bag companion, the Cricket. Small like its namesake, the little guy expands easily to let you plop your laptop on and get it in that perfect viewing angle. And, as a plus, it helps keep your laptop cool!
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
SvenOnTech reviewed the Attaché Laptop Desk a few months ago and wasn’t impressed with its cooling abilities. Then we get the Cricket and while its purpose has nothing to do with cooling, guess what? It actually helped keep our MacBook Pro cool! In fact, it felt cooler on touch after use than with the Attaché. How fun is that?
Now lets get into the true purpose of the Cricket and thats to position your laptop while not robbing your computer bag of room. I got to admit, I was immediately impressed with the Cricket when I unboxed it. Heck, it even comes with a nice little bag to hold it in. When compacted, the Cricket is one small tike ready for work. Simply press in the large round button to place the unit into an arch, like an A frame. Spread out and pull on the legs to get room for laptop placement. Set your puppy on and you are good to go. Now make the adjustment with the round button in the middle of the arch to raise or lower the laptop. That’s it. Simple, huh?
Pros
- Small and lightweight
- Announces callers phone number
- Good sound
- Fashionable
Cons
- Proprietary connector
- Doesn’t sit flush to cheek
- Can become uncomfortable after long periods of use
The Bottom Line
Even if it’s not the law in your state, you should be using a Bluetooth headset to encourage safe driving. SouthWing encourages your pocket book to save a lot of money with a headset that does better than others more than twice its cost. The SH241 is a great starter headset and may keep you from “upgrading” to the upper crest.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
Cell phones are every where. From business to personal use to adults to children, it seems that everyone has a cellular phone. Add to the mix that nearly every driver uses their phone while navigating and in comes the need for something to bring safety back into ones driving habits. Enter Bluetooth headsets. Since its introduction in early 2001, Bluetooth headsets have become smaller, longer lasting in battery life, and easier to use. Even with all this improvement, two features still seem to lack with many manufactures, being sound and comfort. Will SouthWings roots in Bluetooth with experience from Ericsson help it one-up the competition? Let’s charge it up and see.
Pros
- Fast, efficient, and well laid out
- Extremely versatile
- Highly customizable
- Synchronization with desktop client
- Cleaver use of iPhone features
Cons
- Number pad not automatically enabled for numeric entry
- No remote sync
- Need letter tab index for long lists
- Done soft-button does not save entries
The Bottom Line
If you’re a person of order and need an easy to manage and read list application for your iPhone that also talks nicely with your Mac or PC, then take a splash with this refreshing application that will immediately put a check in your “Buy list program” todo today.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes (Conditional)
Full Review
I’ve come to need list programs on my smartphone. It’s an absolute must for my device, be it PDA years ago or smartphone today. So, when the iPhone released in 2007 without application support, I was heavily bummed. Sure, there were a swarm of web apps that helped elevate this problem, but when you didn’t have a strong signal, or one at all, you basically had no list. When Apple announced its SDK in January of 2008, I was excited because I knew I would have a list program. Something. Anything. I wasn’t picky at that point. Thankfully, SplashData was keen to make its popular list program, SplashShopper, for the iPhone and that pleased me beyond all expectations. As a long time user of SplashShopper dating back four years now, I was a bit giddy over the news. But, let me put on my unbiased reporter hat and give you the deets on the iPhone version. You might be surprised to read what I wrote.
When SplashData informed SvenOnTech of the release of SplashShopper, it gave us a running start with it the day of the release. We’ve used it and abused it since. Like most of our reviews, we go the distance so we can sniff out the problems as well as highlight the greatness. Our time with SplashShopper allowed us to find many things that we feel will be helpful to our readers in making their decision in a list program.
Pros
- Can help in the time it takes to remove dust and scratches on a photo particularly in organic backgrounds
- Greatly improves the quality of portraits in less time than usual PhotoShop tools
- Improves productivity
Cons
- Learning curve to understanding the best way to use these filters (’how to’ examples come in handy here)
- Takes time to work into existing processes if you use PhotoShop everyday
The Bottom Line
Alien Skin has a good set of filters here. If you use Photoshop on a regular basis, and are able to take the time (as with any tools) to understand their functions these filters can really improve your work process and speed up results.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
Using Photoshop every day, there are always ways to improve the process of image manipulation and touch up work. Alien Skin has developed these filters to help in that arena. Everything from major image repair to the skin tone improvements — these filters can find their way into your process in provide results.
Pros
- Easy to use (Very intuitive software)
- Quick project creation (fast photo upload; no account to set up or other front end hassle)
- Built in guidance (set page margins “goof proof” your design)
- Great creative flexibility- able to do full page spreads (see photo) and more
- Quality product delivered to your door
Cons
- Not compatible with Mac
- Only supports Internet Exlorer (ActiveX required)
- Lack of spell check
The Bottom Line
If you’ve been looking for a product that delivers quality while being easy to use, try RocketLife. A focus group ranked RocketLife far superior to other mainstream competitors (CVS, Kodak Easy Share Gallery, Shutterfly, and Snapfish) in every category and overall. Save yourself the hassle and make RocketLife your first choice.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
RocketLife may be relatively new to the market, but their products are top of the line in the internet photo processing arena.
Beginning with an amazingly well thought out software package for book creation, you can literally create a book product in a matter of two minutes with their standard templates. That’s right, there’s no account to set up, no password to create, none of that front end hassle. You just choose your product, upload your photos and play. Which means you get more done in less time.
Pros
- Yahoo! Local integration
- Send2Car
- Traffic updates to route
- Clear and loud speaker
- User added modules
- User customizable
Cons
- Large and bulky unit
- Huge mount
- Sometimes quirky routing
- No zoom on turns
- No multi-stop routes
- Weak battery
- Expensive monthly service fee
The Bottom Line
Dash Express positions itself as the first smart GPS that can help you avoid congestion and get you to Point B faster than any other navigation system available today. Its use of Yahoo! Local, Send2Car, and DashApps make this the most feature rich and advanced GPS ever; however, when you lose your Internet connection, it’s one of the most basic and lackluster GPS’ that could sit on your dash.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes (Conditional)
Full Review
When I first heard about the Dash Express and it’s ability to communicate to the Internet and other Dash Express GPS devices for a more accurate look at traffic, I was fascinated with it. GPS devices for the most part have lacked any leaps in features and this was the jump I had been wanting to see for some time. You can imagine how excited I was when the unit arrived a week later at SvenOnTech headquarters. After registering the Dash online, would it rise to the heights I had been waiting for or would it be just another well crafted marketing campaign?
Pros
- Simple to use
- Excellent address voice input
- Premium display
- Customizable
- Clear and loud speakerphone
- Extensive POI
- IQ Routes works well
Cons
- Short battery life
- Gas prices not accurate
- Sometimes quirky routing
- RDS-TMC not useful outside of large metro areas
- No dedicated address voice input button on remote
The Bottom Line
In a crowded GPS field, the TomTom sticks out of the traffic like a big yellow school bus. It will not only get you to Point B but it’ll get you to Point B in a way the competition only wished it could do.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes (Strong)
Full Review
SvenOnTech has tested many TomTom’s all the way back to its Palm offering nearly six years ago. We’ve always loved its easy to read interface and have been impressed with the features offered by the Holland-based navigation company. Always trying to do something different than the other guys, TomTom has continued to improve its devices from integration to Eclipse radios to including hands-free Bluetooth speakerphone. So what did the Dutch come up with for the GO 930? Address voice input. Oh ya, now we’re talking…literally.
Pros
- Simple to use
- No PC or Mac needed
- Versatile media selection
- Great video quality
Cons
- No auto-stop recording
- No support for Mac OS HFS+ formated drives
The Bottom Line
If you have a ton of video tape that needs to be archived to a digital format to preserve those years of memories and you want to do it easily and quickly, there is no better option than the Pinnacle Video Transfer.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
A few months ago, SvenOnTech was offered to give Pinnacle’s new gadget a try. When we received it, I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical to how well this would work. I grabbed a Sony SLV-MH1F video cassette recorder out of the garage and a Western Digital Passport external hard drive from the drawer and hooked up all the cables to the Pinnacle device. I shoved in The Ten Commandments (please respect all copyright laws…this was just a test) VHS and pressed the record button on the Pinnacle Video Transfer (PVT). I used the Best video setting which Pinnacle states is a resolution of 720×576 (PAL, SECAM) / 480 (NTSC) 1.5 Mbps video and 192 kbps stereo audio 48 KHz for hard drive and flash media. The iPod’s best is 640×480 1.5 Mbps video with 128 kbps stereo audio 48 KHz and the PSP clocking in at 320×240 1 Mbps video and 128 kbps stereo audio 48 KHz.
After a couple of hours, tape one was done and I pressed the record button again to end the recording. A few lights flashed as it completed the recording process and I then had blue lights shortly after. I unplugged the Passport drive from the Pinnacle Video Transfer and plugged it into my Mac. In a newly created folder, VIDEO, lay my new recording. Affectionally titled VID00001.MP4. I double clicked it and up came QuickTime with The Ten Commandments in all its VHS to computer glory. Even though the video tape was from the 80s, the quality was very impressive. The audio was excellent as well. In fact, it was difficult to sense any loss of quality from the transfer at all. I was highly impressed. At a little less than a gig an hour, you will be able to pack a lot of videos onto your drive.
What surprised me must about the PVT was just how easy it was and how good the results were. Taking the supplied composite cables and hooking them up to the OUT on the VCR and into the PVT and then hooking up the USB cable to your hard drive was all it took. Well, that and the power cord. You select your quality and then hit record. It’s that easy. I’ve used many analog-to-digital conversion kits and they always were a pain to use. In fact, I didn’t use them after recording a few tapes to the computer because of the frustration of difficulty related to them. From Dazzle (I had the very first version and then an upgraded one) to gung-hoo video cards from ATI. In the end, it was the software that made them all suck and that doesn’t even account for the system resources it steals from your computer. No computer time for you while recording or start all over when it crashes. The PVT removes all of this burden.