SITE NEWS: More Apps Review Soon!




I'm currently busy reviewing a couple of cool games from Astraware and an RSS Reader from StandAlone Inc. Watch out for those reviews coming out soon! -_^

W

7.12.04 03:40


REVIEW: Bedazzled With Bejeweled




It was not so long ago since I got hold of a Palm and was drawn into the platform's most loved game - Bejeweled. The game defined the standard in mobile handheld gaming - no frills! (Take note that back then we're tapping gems in mono screens with low speed processors.) Its a perfect puzzle-like gameplay designed to kill off time (while waiting for an appointment or waiting for the plane to arrive).

Classic How-To
For those who have no clues on what this is all about, the game instruction is as simple as matching the colored jewels in lines of three horizontally or vertically to clear them from the board. (Then go work on an endless imagination that made this iteration very playable)

Backtracking To The Future
Fast forwarding the time when Palm announced OS 5. I, being a Palm Addict and a mobile game junkie, was blown away with the astounding graphics and sound effects of the Bejeweled hi-res version. For some time, I got bored of playing Bejeweled (as well as mobile gaming in general). Playing 3-D games on a small 3" handheld screen was no longer my cup of tea (if you ask me). That's until Astraware announced Bejeweled 2 (early this month) that made my curiosity hit the ceiling. What's there to improve on a classic game that has already been launched with a hi-res version a couple of years ago?

Upon installing my copy of Bejeweled 2 in my Tungsten C, I was blown away three times! Stunning graphics, superb sound effects, improved and expanded gameplay. What's there not to like?

Aside from incorporating new gems and enormous visual effects, there are also lots of new variations on how our classic gem dropping game can be played. There's the Classic, Action, Puzzle and Endless mode. What I love the most from the new offerings is the Puzzle mode. It's stimulation for your brain as well as feast for the eyes (and ears).

Gorgeous Gemstone
In a nutshell, Bejeweled 2 is like the best game that just got better (actually "better" is still an understatement). Think of it as the Bejeweled meant for the future (only made available today). For the upcoming holidays, Bejeweled 2 will be a great treat (while on vacation) and the best gift for hard core and loyal Palm owners.

W

Download your free trial copy here.

15.12.04 09:35


REVIEW: Truly Mobile with Hand/RSS




Welcome to the world where you could access every single up-to-the-minute information without actually browsing every site (where the content originated). Its called RSS (may stand for Really Simple Syndication, Rich Site Summary, or RDF Site Summary). There are many choices of RSS (online feed) reader to choose from in every platform (may it be Windows, Mac, Linux... even PocketPC a.k.a. Windows Mobile). Meanwhile, there's only one made for the Palm platform (so far) - meet Hand/RSS by StandAlone Inc.

The user interface of Hand/RSS is pretty simple and straight forward. If you're used to any other Doc reader app for Palm, you'll not have any problem configuring your way through it. Hand/RSS doesn't only limit you to update RSS feeds (while being mobile), it also comes with a desktop conduit (available for Mac and Windows users) to receive feeds from program's default RSS sites or sites you've added on your RSS subscription page. By default, Hand/RSS includes news feeds from the ff. site:
- BBC News
- Boing Boing
- CNet News
- Fark.com
- MSNBC
- Salon.com
- SlashDot
- The Register
- Wired
- and many more!

There are a couple of features though that I wish to be included on the next release, like having pictures included on the retrieval of the feed (nice to have when browsing some news from Gizmodo or Engadget). The other one is to have a choice to disable the size retrieval limit when the feed is a bit heavy (had this experience with the Engadget feed). The downside for the Mac conduit (haven't tested the Windows conduit yet) is that it has conflicts with the Docs To Go 6 conduit. It doesn't finish the sync process when both Hand/RSS and Docs To Go conduits are both enabled. So I removed the Hand/RSS conduit, since I need the Office files more than RSS (and since I could update the content without being dependent to a computer).

When a web browser is already an overkill for a low bandwidth device/connection, having an RSS reader like Hand/RSS is a must have!

W

You can download a trial copy here.

21.12.04 06:58


THOUGHT: Kohikan Café




Finally, There's a zen joint in the busy Christmas streets of Greenhills. A new discovery so to speak. The name of this zen place is Kohikan Café (thanks to Howard and Jones for discovering the place). Its located at the Promenade Mall (just across Greenhills Theater Mall). The ambience and service is "A++" with a price similar to that of Starbucks!

So far, its hard to find a proper English site for this coffee shop coz most of its branches can be found on posh oriental cities of Japan, Taiwan and China. Its their first time to open on a Western cultured country like the Philippines. I promise to post some pics next time. -_^

W

23.12.04 09:07


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