Windows 8 App review: TouchMol

     Overview

       I am a tech writer and blogger not a chemistry wizard so if anyone tells me I did something wrong that is a chemist please tell me. First off it starts up pretty quickly like most other apps. It shows three base chemistry formulas which have some information on them. You can import your own and when the IOS and Android variations launch share them with your friends. This is one of the first apps that I have seen that will go ahead and launch with Windows 8 before IOS or Android. It is a pretty solid app and does all of the functions that it advertises except searching for others creations. I showed it to my mom who loves chemistry and she thought is was very intuitive and cool. She wants to open up a little laboratory and this app paired on my (about to be) Asus tablet 810 with an active digitizer and a 10 point multi touch screen. I could see professional chemists using this to aid them in their investigations. I really do not know much about chemistry save a few basic things so please bear with me.

     Functionality

     Not only does it open up fast it loads up everything fast. Text is very clear and sharp. I was pretty surprised at how the recognition was on my laptop which in my performance test scored 1 FPS and 10 FPS respectively in high and medium graphic tests. I really liked how the app was fully featured and came out before a more popular Android and IOS release. I was very pleased at the overall quickness of it even for a metro app. My only niggle with it was there was only 3 pre-loaded drawings and there was no ability to see what others made as it advertised. 

     Conclusion

      I do not use this app much on a day to day basis, but I really like the look and feel and would give it a better rating if it had either a community where others have their drawings or a larger amount of pre-loaded content. 

Rating//: 4.0/5

The Surface as I see it

     The Microsoft Surface is a very unique being that was launched a few weeks back and it took the entire tech world by storm. There were many questions left answered and unanswered and everyone had mixed views when leaving MILK studios. The Surface has two variants: 1 Surface RT which is launched at the same time as Windows 8. Most likely we will see the Surface and Windows 8 at some kind of event with Windows Phone 8 and probably have some other ground breaking news like Windows 8 will launch with 100,000 apps (for WP8 and Windows 8/RT). 2 Is the Surface Pro which will be launched three months after the Windows 8 launch with (speculating) the new Xbox 720/8 machine. The Surface machines have their own dedicated website surface.com with some specs and a gallery of photos. So far we have only seen two "accessories" that look like they will come with the devices depending on which one you buy. The Surface RT looks like it will get the touch cover that comes in five different colors that works like a big tablet with a slightly raised surface that the keys you touch with no tactile feedback. Then the Surface Pro looks to come with their innovative type cover that is a little thicker and comes with keys that provide a tactile feedback and only in black. Also the Surface Pro will come with a Wacom active digitizer that looks buttery smooth in action. So if you really want the full Windows 8/7 side with an intel core i5 processor and unknown amount of RAM the Windows 8 Pro running Surface Pro is really the best out there. There is no flex from the magnesium made casing and they are both super slim considering they both sport USB ports. Also the MagSafe connector can (as per a patent) not only charge the device but transfer files. The Surface is a halo device. 

     The Surface is made to force other OEMs to make better devices than what is currently out there to beat Apple at their own game. The Surface is the epitome of quality and beauty in a slim and functional shell. The surface is very impressive and the specs are very good. The one thing is price. Everyone has their own quote and since it is a premium product it will be at a premium price. I think the RT version will go for $499 for the 32GB version to try and undercut the Ipad. The RT 64GB will roll at $599. The Pro 64GB will be $699 also beating the Ipad competition and the 128GB model will go for $799. The touch covers will come with the RT versions and the type cover will come with the Pro models. Of course this is all speculation, but isn't that what everyone else is doing?

Windows 8 App Review: Tom's Hardware

Overview    

      In all of my searching for a good solid tech news app that was simple to use and covers all the latest news Tom's Hardware fits the bill. It is a good, easy to use, and works great in Windows 8. Some qualms are when I want to scroll inside of the article and not the sidebar it will not work. Also it does follow the same design rules as other Windows 8 news since the articles flow from top to bottom not left to right. It feels very industrial, but it works very well and it still looks metro enough with a great live tile that works. Also the app is not designed to work in snapped mode which is not good when you are looking something up on the internet and want to read it from your favorite app but can't even though how the app with the already top to bottom approach should fit right into snapped mode. 

Functionality

     The app loads in 2 seconds and brings you to the home screen which has reviews and news right there. If you want to see all of the reviews you simply click on the reviews ribbon and it will display all of the reviews in a metro tile like formation. I was pretty happy with the snappiness of the app itself and it overall had a lot of good content in both their news and reviews and it did not feel like a "white box" app. They did not conform to what the other big names are reviewing like Engadget or The Verge. I did try Ubergizmo but it felt really ugly and did not provide what I was looking for in an app and if I did a review on it it would get a 2 at least. It really shined in every way except for a couple of things. 1 Scrolling in the app with a keyboard is useless. You have to use the scroll bar to go down in the app which really shows that going side to side is a lot better and more easier to use.

Conclusion

     I saw the Tom's Hardware app and was very satisfied with its performance and surprisingly it provides a lot of content that is enough for me to use without a website which is rare for Windows 8 apps. I am very happy with the overall performance of the app except for a few quirks which I expected in a pre release app. I highly suggest this app which provides unparalleled performance from other apps like Appy Geek or Ubergizmo.

Rating// 4/5 

   

Windows 8 App review: My History Digest

     Overview

     The My History Digest is a magazine style app that currently showcases some premium looking articles that are pretty in depth into history. I really like the layout of the application and think other magazines or news websites like, The Verge, Engadget, and Better Homes and Garden should really follow the History Digest route. There are two other apps that follow a real magazine layout like this are the Fine Home building and the Telegraph which I both do not use (yet). The layout has a consistency with the horizontal scrolling of Windows 8 that shows itself in the start screen and the Windows Store. The My History Digest is an excellent looking app that is designed nicely but the content situation is very bad with only 3 articles. Still there is so much information there it might be enough to satisfy your history buff self. 

    Functionality

     The one good thing about the My History Digest is the premium app feel. It loads first time in around 3 seconds which is faster than Slap Dash Podcast and opens up to the screenshot seen above. Surprisingly for a free app that is a magazine it has very little lag when going between articles. Sadly there has been a lot of reading apps in the Windows Store (You version Bible, Bible Pronto, Free Books) that have some lag between turning pages and the Free Books app has horrible formatting. The lag is only when you turn pages in an article which is very annoying. Instead of the Wikipedia approach they took the Free books approach that is these little side buttons you press that we saw in the original Kindle app. Still they are a lot more responsive than the ones found in the You version Bible app. You can see the design and effort that was put into this app that really makes it shine far above many apps. There maybe only 3 articles but remember this is not a big company behind this project like the History channel that can fund it and how many writers work for no pay. Remember that this project looks like a group of developers, graphic designers, and History guru's converged and decided to make a Windows 8 app.

     Conclusion 

      This app is very eye catching and even with only 3 articles they are jam packed with a lot of information and is very well displayed. My only two quirks are the annoying side bars which may be more responsive than others that I have seen. Also it is short on content which I think since the articles are probably 3,000 + words are being hammered out and lay in preparation for Windows 8 as we speak.
 Rating//4.8/5

Windows 8 App Review: Amazon

     Overview

     My only trusted online source for computer and accessory purchases came out with a Windows 8 Release Preview app that is geared for metro and is great and easy to use since it thankfully has a little search button on the top right corner. What it does not have due to Windows 8 limitations is the ability to buy in house. The worst part about some of these apps which inevitably lead to their pull out of the Store is the ability to do everything in the app no external browser required. The Amazon app is not very polished and is very basic and is not as good as the Android or IOS equivalent. 

     Functionality

     Well it starts up quick and shows a simple featured list. One of the things that make this app simple to use is the search button which almost all metro apps lack. Some apps like the Bing Map app had the little hint but took it down and just used the search charm and took away the hint. Say you search for a backpack and of course a bunch of results come up. You click on the first one and boom it takes you to the product page little to no lag. It shows you the product page and it has a little information about it and there are a few review that you can click on and see the full review in the app and some similar products others like. Some things that make this app useless. 1 In order to see everything about that certain backpack you have to see it in the browser externally of course. 2. In order to buy the product is in the browser and not in house because of current limitations. 3 You only see one picture and have to go to the external browser again. So I have to make a point that you are forced to go in the browser which I feel has some Windows 8 faults that will be fixed in the RTM version due to limitations but I want it now!! 

     Conclusion

     This app is okay to preview a bunch of stuff and shop in snapped mode. In total it is not self reliant which I brutalize it for and give it a 3.7 out of 5. 

Rating 3.7/5