Hill Climb Racing | App Review

     Hill Climb Racing game is a simple but fun app that does have some physical properties behind it. The game let's you customize and upgrade vehicles and maps. When I showed this game to a friend, he plays  again and again, and says, "this is addicting" which absolutely true. This app get's a 5/5 for it's simplicity and fun.

modTuner Windows 8 App Review

     I was looking for an app to tune a guitar and this one was probably the most precise and accurate I could come up with. I mean, it was accurate, I strummed the guitar to a different note and it changed immediately. So If you are at the Windows Store looking for a tuner, you should check out modTuner and it's freeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Design:
     The design is quite minimal. The GUI (graphical user interface) is quite easy and you really don't have to do any clicking. You can also read everything just fine.
Usage:
     This is really simple. It is basically automatic and even my parents could do it. All you have to do is start playing. Now I am very sure that you can use about any instrument. There is an option if you want to upgrade to Pro.
Overall:
     Great app overall and said by many people to be the most precise you can get. I give it a 5/5 stars because it does the job and it does it well! By the way, this app is freeeeeee!
     Happy coding :)

Street Eats: App review

Overview

      Food trucks have become a phenomenon in many major cities like NYC, Austin, and Los Angeles. The average Food truck owner has a well-equipped social media “weapon” that lets everyone know where they are, how long they’ll be there, and other things. The food truck has been a foodies dream a restaurant on wheels featuring cheap food and drinks. The Street Eats app has decided to tackle the issue of finding a food truck by making a searchable index of the major cities with a featured truck section and an ability to add trucks.

Functionality

    The app has a straightforward layout with everything in hands reach. The app does have a cookie cutter template look, design, but it has all of the major features for an app of this caliber. The one thing I didn’t like was that it only showed food trucks of major cities. The closest city populated by food trucks is Greenville boasting two: Asada and Neue Southern. I did click the add food trucks button but so far no response. The app has some other cool features like a start up horn blast (truck horn) which gives it some flair. Overall functionality is nice if you live in a big city.

Design

       The app does have a Metro design that appears clutters but provides a lot of content first. The app design isn’t bad and isn’t a standout making it so so.

Rating

3/5 The limited amount of cities and lackluster design doesn’t cater to the entire potential market that the Street Eats team could have but the feature set it does have make it a good app nothing worthy of an Editor Choice award but nothing that deserves a stay away sign. Considering it is about the only Modern app that relates to food trucks if you do live in one of the cities by all means get it. 

comiXology app review

    Overview

              I know there are plenty of comic book reader friends out there looking for a review of the conglomerate known as comiXology a cross platform app that acts like a digital locker for your precious graphic goodies. Personally I'm a fan of a novel or a movie but a graphic novel acts like a good middle in the road to visualize what is happening without sound (unlike DeviantARTs newest motion books which are amazing, btw). So I decided to spring for comiXology despite a few bad reviews. Overall I thought app was good, had a large category of titles, and the design was good in theory but the app was sluggish some and there wasn't a home button.

Functionality

      It's kind of hard to define "functionality" for a comic book reader app, but if your talking guided panes view, large title category, some free titles, and good prices (noted I'm not the guy for comic book prices I'm going on rates for books then translating them into comic book prices) then you have to use the comiXology app. Buying comics require a credit card and an account even if you are just looking for free ones (like me). After a simple in app registration you can buy books to your hearts content without leaving the app (unlike Kindle) and reading them straight from the glorious cloud. Of course you can choose to download for offline reading for summer road trips where some graphic entertainment is essential. One thing I wasn't happy about (as usual) was the lack of sharing. Every app should use the sharing charm even if it just posts a message to social media saying your using/enjoying etc in comiXology and since it is a website where you can get graphic novels they should at least include a link which guarantees free marketing even if only about 5% of their users use it. So the core functionality is good only thing is the app isn't completely fluid and it can be a bit hard to maneuver around the app on a laptop.

Design

      This is a two fold part. First part is the main page/store. The use of rectangles/boxes has a template look but somehow it looks good. The store isn't hard to maneuver around and purchasing is easy. The reading experience is great feeling very gratifying. The guided view is my favorite and I really enjoy using it with the cool use of zooming and focusing on one pane instead of having to zoom in constantly. Design is good enough for this kind of app and can't see how you could improve it.

Conclusion

      4/5 Good app has some great bones with a great ecosystem. As a first time user I was using the app fluently after about 10 minutes of fiddling around. I am not a collector (don't have any big graphic novel collection just a few like a classic fav of mine Bone the first free one of course) or a big fan but the app as a novice was a great experience. I recommend it if you have an existing comiXology account with a big collection of media.

Great British Chef's app review!

Overview

     Never have I seen such an impressive Windows 8 app since My History Digest. The Great British Chef's app was featured by about every Windows 8 related Microsoft blog's plus the Windows Store labeled as the best app ever for Windows 8. Being Jamaican/Italian I was a bit leery on the British part but I decided to take the plunge regardless. I thoroughly used the app (thinking about making the oxtail recipe actually) and was pleased with the beautiful animations and how they put content first.

Functionality

      At first the app takes about 20 seconds to open which feels like eternity. I was pretty ticked off at the app for making me wait but then the app finally started working and I was like WOW! The app felt like butter with all the animations etc. It had every thing under the hood and more! The live tile worked, the animations made it look better, the way the app flowed with text was nice, and the snap view is amazing. Never have I seen an app that I couldn't fully capture with screenshots. Another nicety was the addition of videos showcasing recipes. The video function worked well and fast. The last benefit was the addition of sharing functions that made it feel fully functional.

Design

     Need I say more? The design as JJ might say is DYNAMITE!

Conclusion

5/5 This app is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Everything about the app was good not ONE bug.

Network Speed Test



Overview
    
 I've been told a picture is worth a thousand words. Well out of the two screen shots I took (both look about the same) of Microsoft Research's Windows 8 Network Speed test it really is a tell all. App looks good, has some good information, and does what it implies.

Functionality

Wow this is probably my shortest app review ever! App loads up fast because its a light app. It launches into a screen little chrome all content perfect MDL usage. Simple as shown you click start and it tests your internet connection which it advises not to do over a metered connection. Results were accurate I felt the ping was off but that's me and speedtest.net little bout. Anyway It showcases previous tests some were done while I was doing a lot thus the low scores. No sharing which made me sad but then it didn't advertise it.

Design

Not much too say. Clean simple UI design much to my liking. Considering it was a home grown app I expected something that had something like this. Not a fan of the scrolling bar at the bottom, but that is a minor niggle.

5/5 Very few apps get this rating and this deserves it because it delivers what it says it does no more no less. Good app I recommend. No slideshow because wasn't much of a point it would be redundant.

(official) Twitter for Windows 8 app review

Overview

A lot of times official apps for WP8 or Windows 8 really really stink. The original Twitter app for Windows Phone was terrible. They updated it with a similar look (suited for portrait mode of course) and a more cleaner minimalistic style. The Windows 8 version is much better than I originally would have expected so much so I decided against installing MetroTwit or Rowi.

Functionality

Well I do use Twitter a lot and the fact it updates its live tile with my latest interactions is really great. All I have to do is glance at the tile which saves time in my busy schedule. Another boon of the app is the 1/3 snap functions. It basically works like the WP8 app when you do a 1/3 snap (don't have Windows 8.1 so I can't do a 50/50 snap) it can do everything it does in regular mode a bit smaller though. That like Messenger makes it easier to multitask then having multiple windows open. It loads everything quickly with nice animations. Unlike other Twitter clients it shows all Twitter functions in a nice minimalistic view. The search is really useful and everything loads quick. You can share tweets from the app which I wasn't expecting a complete plus. I have literally NO complaints so far.

Design

As an ardent follower of MDL which says put content first the app design is clean and minimalistic. The design is a bit spare with some empty space not too much. The app design I really have no qualms over which is vastly superior to the website or clients like Tweetdeck.

4/5 An excellent app with an excellent design. I do deduct some points for not displaying Twitter page art which I have always liked. A background or even a gallery of tattoos for the home feed would be nice. If you do use Twitter a lot I recommend this app.

Guns Windows 8 app review

Overview

Just about every platform has some kind of app that mimicks the sound of a gun like an M-16, Deagle, or .50 cal as a prank or just for fun. I installed the highly acclaimed Guns HD which closes as soon as I open it. This app had a surprisingly nice design with 8 guns and various achievements. It could use some work with bugs etc but overall nice experience.

Functionality

The app isn't hard to figure out. It has eight guns of various classes that you can tap to fire. I've had a couple of gun apps (albeit for Android) that I was surprised not as good as this app. Start up speed was average, the tile was nicely designed, and the app was very nice overall. No speed issues and the sounds were pretty authentic. The app doesn't have any sharing features or any settings which wasn't too surprising. The app never crashed on me and the animations are so - so. The sounds are pretty loud and the information was very well informational. The achievements could be good if they worked. Sometimes they do sometimes they don't. Obviously there are bugs to be fixed but the app was free so I can't really complain too much.

Design

This is where I give the app major kudos. The design for an app of this caliber (no pun intended) was phenomenal. It had a perfect MDL content first look and feel. Never have I seen an app with a (obviously) low budget have such a grand design. It does have its pitfalls like it doesn't have the best background (quality a bit low) but overall it is a winner for me. Information is well laid out and the typography is neat.

Rating

4/5 The design really resonated with me above the average functions for this "category" of apps. I was satisfied that the dev put enough effort into this app and its Windows Phone counterpart that we will see updates later on to make it a five star winner.

Music Maker Jam app review

    Music Maker Jam mobile app for Windows 8 or higher is nothing professional or sophisticated. But it is a very fun, simple, and amateur way to mess around with music! The design is good, no shiny or chromic shenanigans. You can buy different music styles but my favorite is Dubstep. I would give this app 4 out of 5 stars because you cannot upload your own music to edit but the app is fun.

Tom and Jerry App review

The world's favorite cat and mouse TV show has an app for Windows 8! The app hampered by a lackluster design and limited feature set does do a good job of showcasing content first.

Overview
       
      The app performs fairly well. It took 8 seconds on my low end machine with a couple other apps opened to load up. When you open the app you are greeted by a grid of 40 Tom and Jerry episodes. Design is a bit simple and really unimaginative. Just click on the arrow to go to the next grid of 40. In all there are 161 episodes that really aren't long about 6 minutes on average. Right clicking on an app gives you the option to pin to start. The video experience is less than stellar with buttons that make absolutely no sense at all.

Functionality
                
     The app loaded videos in a few seconds and playback wasn't anything to write home about. Videos never stuttered and the quality wasn't bad (of course these videos were made before HD) plus the ability to pin individual videos was nice. What was a major knock in my opinion was the lack of sharing. I mean they could have added to ability to tweet, share, or blog what episode I was watching and attach their website. Just common marketing. The video experience was clouded by completely random buttons. Top right was a weight with a random number, bottom left was a clock with the wrong time, and then there was a Wi-Fi indicator and all of these do nothing when clicked. Weird? Not only that but the buttons were like bigger then needed. I know it is a touch enabled app but they were beyond the point of touch friendly unless you were a dinosaur or Sasquatch.

Design

      This was the worst part of the app the design. I realize MDL (which this blog follows) a.k.a Microsoft Design Language does say put #contentfirst which +lloyd slichenmyer my fellow editor posted recently. The design does show you content immediately it is poorly designed. They could have a spotlight, highly rated, have information about the show, etc. There is great potential for a great blockbuster Tom and Jerry app but the design really hold it back.

3/5 The app has potential to be an end all app for Tom and Jerry fans like me if it had a wealth of information, sharing options, a background, and a nice Metro design like All Recipes but it failed. Hopefully the app makers might improve in a later version.

Windows 8 App reviews are coming.... BACK!

One thing I must say to my readers is a big: I'm Sorry

I apologize for the lack of content in the past few months due to spending time on other projects. But thank the Lord that as the title says Windows 8 app reviews are coming back. Yes, people out there desperate for editorial like app reviews that are longer than the ones you might find in the Store. We will be reviewing them  as much as possible, frequently, with a lot of content!

Windows 8 App review: Allrecipes

     Overview

         Windows 8 originally started out with 2 cookbooks: Cookbook by Bewise, and icookbook. Now we have 9 food and dining apps available in the store including the Allrecipes and videorecipes apps. I used to use the Cookbook by Bewise app, but it didn't have printing features. This app has a great printing feature, can share to virtually any app, and features the largest library of recipes that I have seen. The live tile is very beautiful and the layout is very intuitive. It could be faster, but that is yet to be seen for the Windows 8 release.

     Functionality

          I have used the website before and was very surprised to see a Windows 8 app. The app opens up in around 3 - 6 seconds or more depending on how many more programs running. After it loads it takes you to a beautiful and slightly cluttered home page. You can log into your Allrecipes.com account or join allrecipes.com to save recipes to your lunchbox. First comes up are ideas and then there is the ingredient section which shows you an ingredient and you can click on it to see recipes to get rid of your bacon from your fridge. There is a lot of creative ideas and recipes and you can always search for a recipe. The search is slow too and can take up to 12 seconds to load. Sharing is one of the Allrecipes app strong suits where I can share to any app that can share. There is a nutrition fact sheet that tells you all the calories and such. Not every recipe has them, but the majority do. There is a review section, but you can't add reviews. Allrecipes.com is user based, but you can't add recipes. Still this is a stellar app worth your time.

     Conclusion

     The app is very well designed and has a lot to love and little to hate. It is the only app that I know of that I visit more than the parent website.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Windows 8 App review: Star Chart

     Overview

      I have not reviewed any Education apps yet and I am very excited to see one that rivals Google Skymap and Google Earth bringing them both into one good app. I could not try out the Augmented Reality function because I do not have a tablet yet. I will accept any people who would like to donate a Samsung Series 7 or if a Microsoft employee is reading has a Surface Pro lying around with palm block and the type cover I will gladly take one. :) Anyway this is some very cool stuff that the developer Escapist Games has made. One my third time of downloading the app it finally worked to my surprise. It is a very large app at 66MB, but that is expected for a lot of 3D models and a fully featured settings and sharing features. I was very happy to see a good feature packed app that has some decent sharing features. It is the slowest app that I own, and I am not giving it a free pass because it looks nice. There has to be ways to make the app faster on any machine or else it ruins the experience on all machines. If it can run on the Ipad smoothly than by golly they can make it run on Atom tablets!

     Functionality

     I was very disappointed to find an app that takes from 7 - 10 seconds to load. This is totally unacceptable. When it does load the app gets a big quicker, and loads up fast enough. Snapped view is nice and when you click on a star a cool sidebar pops up talking about where it is located, what it is, and has a handy zoom feature to see it up close. Looking at the planets is a lot like Google Earth, but some of the roving features and flight simulators is not here. When you exit the app and come back to it that is where the in app lag begins. Or if you are running other tasks it will take even longer to open the app, and going through settings and charms takes forever. Still if you have a good computer or if they update the app to run on slower hardware better than we may see some better performance. 

     Design

     I rarely go into design details on apps because they usually are the same and boring. This has some metro design aesthetics, but it feels like you are actually in the sky. It is not very hard for me to visualize what it would look like for the Augmented Reality mode. Simply you would hold the app to the sky and the e-compass and GPS sensors inside would determine which part of the sky you are looking at and display all of the stars on the map. It works like Google Sky and adding Google Earth modeled stars. The app is very pure and feels distraction free. It also shows you all of the constellations based on how they were modeled in the 15th century which is really cool. The entire catalog of stars is over 120,000 and even has a Search function baked in which is great for finding stars, galaxies, and planets if you have the name or Messier number. It updates in real time and features a night mode which essentially turns everything red. This is an excellently designed app and I would highly recommend schools utilizing this app. Sharing to Wordpress, journal by lifescribe, evernote, e-mail, and Quick Note. It also features a time lapse function that lets you go forward and backward seeing what the sky would look like. This app maintains a good score only because of the high quality design effort that was put into it. 

     Conclusion

     HD star models and a beautifully designed app is very hard to give a bad grade. But the lagginess of the app can't be missed which is why it scores 4 out of 5. Check out the slideshow below!!

Rating// 4 out of 5

Windows 8 App review: Engadget

     Overview

     Engadget is a widely known source for all things things tech which is why I am reviewing this app. The other tech blogs that have approved Windows 8 apps are Ubergizmo, Appy Geek, and Tom's Hardware. I was surprised more than impressed with the appearance of the Engadget app. For a news blog that has some pretty critical reviews on Operating Systems and most Windows laptops they are not good at making a Windows 8 app. First off the article navigation is pretty solid, but the overall is pretty clunky like a few other apps. The app is a bit like the Ubergizmo setup or the Appy geek which looked like they were based heavily on a more default look.

     Functionality

     I frequent Engadget a lot for tech news and reviews and I thought this app might replace my need to visit the website. I was utterly wrong. First off it shows there is pictures on the home screen, but when you click on an article no pictures in any article. There is a gallery section with pictures oddly enough, but only from recent times. There is a video section with recent videos that do work. The app will never replace the website soon and according to the developer himself it is a "work in progress." Also no Distro app was very disappointing. The app loads up in 2 seconds and in app usage is very laggy. So far there really is no incentive to getting the app except for quick sharing to Facebook or twitter which works surprisingly well. If you do not care about pictures then this app would be great for you since you technically can go to the gallery section. What is surprising is when I go to certain articles from a category list it will not let me share at all stating that the app can't share! I was pretty baffled about this and was very angry. Navigation is very clunky in app at all times. If they took some cues from the Bible+ app I would be satisfied.

     Conclusion

     Well I was pretty surprised at a very critical company making an extremely poor app. Tom's Hardware or the regular News App are better. Engadget please make a good Distro app that looks along the lines of a Fine Cooking app. I really love the Android app and hope it looks the same, but metrofied. 

Rating// 3 out of 5

Windows 8 App Review: Journal

      Overview

     Normally a lot of the apps that are in the lifestyle are very horrible and boring to use. At least 4 of the 9 apps in the section do not belong, and those are the best ones! This app is the best designed app that I have ever seen yet on Windows 8. It is almost finished, but has a long way to go. It takes a considerable way to go and only 5 fonts work. I think it is a bit hard to use on a laptop, but on a tablet it would be a dream. It feels like a real journal with the ability to change the environment and you can move the journal around on your desk. It feels very refreshing and with a tablet it feels surreal. I have never heard of life scribe the developers of this app but kudos to them for making a good app. So far I have only seen the Windows Journal app that provides half of the experience you see here. I am a bit angry for not saving my rantings and ravings as I write because I overloaded the app and it crashed deleting my data, and I did not feel like typing it up again. Also you cannot buy things from the market yet which does not make much sense. The page limit is essentially a money trap to make you buy more journals and the font problem is extremely annoying.

      Functionality

     It takes from 3-7 seconds for the app to load which is understandable for the high demanding graphics, but is much to long for my needs. It does work well enough for day to day use and does not have much noticeable lag. It has crashed on me once when I was trying to turn the page too quick. It does not save where you are at unless you do it manually which is a bit mean and annoying if it crashes. For a really old laptop and a really nice HD app my computer handled it well and the app was so beautiful and hard to resist.  One of the quirks that I hope to resolved soon is the app has 25 fonts listed and only 5 are usable. I have listed all of the problems that I have experienced to the developers of this app and they have said that they will fix it. In regular use the app works well enough to warrant the good reviews it deserves. I really love the Journal because not only because of the UI, but it is an original idea. There are plenty of note apps and games, but there are no other journals in the store.

     Conclusion

     This is a great app and the design UI and UX is very unique and beautiful. The faults are very minor and the scrapbook type theme is a bit like the old Memories app from Developer Preview days. The ability to add photos, videos, music, and pictures is really cool. 

Rating// 4.2 of 5

Windows 8 App review: Office 2013 CP

   Microsoft Office 2010 PC Home And Student Edition - MSCD04771WI

  Overview

     Well you might be asking, "This is a desktop app not a Windows 8 app?" Well actually the Office 2013 suite is so metrofied that it feels like a Windows 8 app. The new Office 2013 or Office 15 has some great improvements like, edit PDFs, embedding videos into Word documents, adding social sites, blogging in Word, and many other goodies that some where already in Office, but are now revealed and make it much easier and fun to use. At the bottom of the page you can see some screenshots in the usual slideshow. I have installed: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Onenote, Access, Publisher, and Outlook.

Word 2013

     I was happy to see a host of new features available in Word 2013. To some power users dismay the ribbon is back, but this time it is in a new metro encasement. I really like the addition of embedding videos into word files and the editing of PDFs was a great choice too. Slowly but surely Microsoft is turning the Office suite into a one stop shop powerhouse. Of course small time developers will not like this because their applications that may have converted files are being neglected, but it all works out for the consumer in timely fashion. Touch optimization was not that bad considering the whole rectangle and square approach instead of the old circle approach. It felt a bit under professional with the entire Metro theme compared to 2010 and looked a bit retro and consumer like, but it did the job much better with no lag. I was surprised at how fast text entered and how quick pages loaded. I was pretty happy to see a very clean design and quick performance. Everything is very clean and loads up faster then some metro apps. You can easily customize the background with a couple of different ones from the Start screen. It is a very clean typical metro interface that is very easy to use and I enjoyed using it. Is it touch friendly? Depending on how big your screen is and how many pixels you have. If you have a 1920x1200 AIO than this would be great. On smaller devices it is a big upgrade from Office 14/ 2010, but still has a ways to go. 

     Excel 2013

     I do not use Excel much except when I am at school until I saw the new version. It almost compels me to make up charts that I will not even use (much). It connects to my Sky Drive to keep my spreadsheets anywhere and everywhere. I really like that so I can edit that no matter what I am on with either Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8 or Android using the Office Web Apps. I really love the simplified approach of metro and the Excel app really excelled my spreadsheets.

     PowerPoint 2013

     

      I used PowerPoint a lot in school during Computer class and I think I might have done it easier with the new PowerPoint. The app is not only lighter it runs so much faster and text input is just as buttery smooth as Word. There has been some improvements like adding glow effects and it is so easy to move pictures around. Borrowing from Google's term "Project Butter" everything has been smooth from text to moving from page to page. There has not been that much change for PowerPoint. It is more of a cosmetic change and the integration of social media. The template "store" is very beautiful and looks really cool and touch friendly. I really like the look and feel of the entire suit and PowerPoint was no exception. It does have a uniformity of the entire suite, but I like the look.

     One Note 2013

     The best and probably most used college tool is OneNote. I know a lot of people that do use Word to take notes, but the new and improved OneNote is more than able to take graphs and all other types of statistics and notes of course. It can accept either drawing or typing whatever you choose. This is the only app that the Microsoft team decided to make a Windows 8 full metro app. The metro app is more touch friendly and is built sideways not top down. It is called OneNote MX (as seen above) and looks really cool and is very quick and easy to use. The good thing about it is whenever there is a crash or a bug found it will automatically send a bug report to the Microsoft dev team. It is a bit hard to use, but when you get used to it actually it is very quick and fun to use. I could see someone using it paired with a Asus tab 810 or Surface Pro with a stylus writing down notes super quickly. The desktop app has a lot of more features and looks beautiful and has a little snipping tool. 

     Publisher 2013

     I have only used Publisher twice in my life, but both of those times I fell in love with it. It reminds me of the PowerPoint app with the glow effects and the easy picture swapping. It comes with a little tutorial with some high quality photos probably from a Nikon or Canon dSLR. The tutorial is simply a publisher file with some information about the new features. It is the tool of the advertiser and the student who needs to make pamphlets or any other publication that your little heart may need. In reality there is no other Publisher equal. Google Docs or Open Office do not have anything that has the same level of sophistication or large size of templates. The entire metro feel flowed right through to this app and is excellently shown.

     Outlook 2013

     This is the most used app that I have used in all of my testing Office 15. it can effortlessly open my e-mail accounts faster than gmail or even the mail app for metro. By far the Outlook 2013 is the most changed from Office 2010. Not only does it have metro up top it has it everywhere. It was a bit hard to use at first, but when you get used to it it is fast and easy to use. I really love the entire look and design of the app and it supports pen input and can support multiple inboxes no matter if Imap or POP. It is the most used I have with Word behind it. It is the best e-mail app I have ever used because the mail app does not support e-mail accounts from carriers. It feels like Word and advanced e-mail functions are mixed together. Once again the text is fast and fluid like Word. It works like a dream and I never have had a bug in it yet. 

 Conclusion

      I have to say that I was a bit leery of Office 15, but now that I see it is a one stop shop for much of what I do. It provides all of the services you already use in Office 2010 with added functionality, speed, and a beautiful new design. When I type in Word and compare it to blogger.com Word wins every time. Also the Office 15 suites are not processor hungry unlike Google Chrome or Open Office. I am very happy to use Office 15 and can not wait to test this on a touch enabled laptop.

Rating 5/5

     

     

Windows 8 App review: Free Books

     Overview

     Doesn't everyone love free stuff? What if you had 23,469 ebooks for free with no catch or ads? Well your wish has come true. Many great authors like Jack London, Jules Verne, Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe, Charles Dickens, Author Conan Doyle, and many others who are renowned authors, scientists, and inaugural addresses. I originally rated the app a one star since it would not load when I first tried to use it, but it finally came around and now I use it more than some other apps. The e-reading experience is bare bones with no settings at all. When I try to go to something else in a different app the app shuts off and displays the splash screen when I do go back. The formatting is a bit bad on some books and others it is a lot better. I rather a nice consistent experience all across the board. What really surprised me was how well it handled the search and share charm features. The search was pretty nice for a pretty bare bones app. There was a simple download function just tap twice and overall it was simple to use since there was nothing to use. It has a large library of information including many Inaugural addresses from many presidents.

pi      Functionality

     This app gives Windows 8 multitasking a bad name. Unless you like looking at the splash screen a lot then don't leave the app or you will get it. It does load up in an average 2.5 seconds and the splash screen looks okay. It loads up to the "My Library" section and since you do not have any books it will show the featured articles, collections, and big authors. The app works very well in snapped mode letting you shop for books, but you have to be in fill or full screen mode to read books. The books are in a kindle like two pane and are not very formatted too much. The share function works with apps like mail, quicknote, and wordpress. The app is built on the classicly.com website where you can upload free classics and other documents that the public should see.

     Conclusion

     This app is really a mixed bag. In some parts like the large library of books and not a bad overall e-reader and has a great search and share charm functions. In other respects there is no option to zoom or reading in snapped mode like the kindle app. I prefer the kindle app because you can leave the app and come back to your page instantly and it has a lot of more bells and whistles to give you a better reading experience. 

Rating 3/5

Windows 8 App review: Basketball Clipboard

     Overview

     Well we do know that one basketball team uses the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and this can be a game changer with the right hardware. I may have played basketball, but I am no coach. I have used the app and found it very cool, but it lacking some pretty core features like exporting a play as a video or sharing the play to your team via e-mail or Facebook.

     Functionality

     The app takes a bit long to start up which I thought was long for a light to medium application. I did experience when running a video off of the internet, open word document, and two opened Google chrome tabs that I experienced some crashes when I was in the app which makes it seem very unstable. The app is a bit complex for me because in the app screenshots it has the players with names underneath the little circles. Nowhere in the app command bar or the charm setting bar does it have an option for names underneath the players. It works by you (the coach) creates a play step by step and then saves it to the coaches clipboard in a proprietary file format and has a little tile in your clipboard. It says that there is an option to export your file which is nothing, but it only exports it as an XML file not a video file like an AVI or H.264. Truthfully the app is still a bit lacking in terms of speed with nothing open.

     Conclusion

     The app builds on a nice concept and helps prove the point that Windows 8 can cater to all needs in any profession. I will not let the pre-build argument fly here since basic needs are not met with exporting files and sharing. Also a bigger tile would be nice that displayed your plays and a pin to start menu option would be nice too.

Rating// 3.5/5