Whether your thing is launching air-based assaults over a cubicle wall on your hapless coworkers, tormenting your pets with low flying buzz missions, or the simple enjoyment flying around performing cool tricks and maneuvers, there’s now a huge range of great and affordable RC helicopters available to let you do just that without breaking the bank.

Once a horrendously expensive and esoteric hobby, RC helicopters are now available right up the price range, and there’s a great deal of toy-style copters that can either be a stepping stone to the more pro models, or as in mine and my friends cases, can offer enough fun and versatility to let you enjoy the hobby cheaply and accessibly.

The Air Hogs Helix 360 represents the cream of the crop of these toy-grade RC helicopters. Just like most of the cheap RC helis available, it’s small, light, made of plastic (but still very durable for indoor flight) and has a small battery that charges right off the controller.  What sets the Air Hogs Helix 360 apart from the rest is the introduction of 4 channels of control. With most RC Helicopters only using 2 channels, which allow them to go up and down and turn, adding in an extra two channels of control means increasing tenfold the maneuvering and fun that can be had with this cool little ‘copter.

Check this video for an example of what the Air Hogs Helix 360 can do.

What this means is, with this little powerhouse you can perform just about any maneuver or flight pattern a normal helicopter can. Or in more practical terms, with other RC helicopters you can buzz over your coworkers head, annoying them ever so slightly. With the Helix 360 you can hover down to eye level, strafe around their head, clip their mustache with your rotor blade, land on their coffee cup (just to taunt them even further) then retreat to a safe distance out of their reach, increasing their annoyance and your satisfaction by fathoms. It’s just that cool. Your cat will regret pooping on the rug, your dog will rue the day he chewed up those Julius Marlowe’s.

It takes a bit of time to get used to the controls, and you might find yourself crashing into walls a bit, as the draft from the rotor tends to ‘suck’ the helicopter towards the wall. Luckily with the four channels of control you’ve got the manoverability to get out of the wall-suck-vortex, but it takes some skill. However, you’ll find after just a few flights you’ll start getting the hang of it. After a day of buzzing around your bedroom you’ll be ready for a full scale assault on the cubicle farm.

One thing I didn’t like was the charge times, you’ll get about 5 minutes of flight time from about 30 minutes of charging. This is pretty typical for this style of RC Helicopter, but it just felt soooo long due to how fun and exciting flying the Air Hogs Helix 360 can be.

Overall, I fell in love with this little ‘copter, it really brings back a child-like sense of fun and excitement flying it around, and it didn’t break the bank. It has survived many crashes already with no damage, although being made of plastic means it won’t last forever. I haven’t seen replacement parts online, but at the price I paid I would have no qualms buying another if it broke. Additionally, there’s lots of cool mods you can do to this copter to make it fly and control better, and guides for repairing common damages.

You can pick up the Air Hogs Helix 360 on amazon for around 80 bucks.

Source: Engadget

There have been rumblings now for some time about a version of Minecraft coming to portable devices, and Markus ‘Notch’ Persson, Minecraft’s creator and founder of Mojang, confirmed an iOS port was in the works to Gamasutra back in February.

So it was with some surprise that I learned today that the very cool looking Sony Ericsson Xperia (previously known as the Playstation Phone) will be the first portable device to sport the time-eating, life-consuming, block-building, skellington slaying sandbox indie wonder child known as Minecraft.

Check the video below to see an early version in action on the Xperia.

From a gameplay perspective, it does seem the right sort of device to launch the mini version of Minecraft on, as the analogue controls and actual physical buttons should lend itself to a much more satisfying spelunking experience than with the touch controls of apple’s devices.

Additionally, by tapping into Minecraft’s dedicated and often fanatical fanbase, this could be a good move by Sony to help lift its portable division out of the funk it’s been in over the past couple of years, having been thoroughly decimated by the success of Nintendo’s DS line and the rise of iOS gaming on the iPhone and iPad.

Android and iOS versions are still in the works, and Mojang is planning on making an announcement regarding the future of portable minecraft at this year’s E3.

My advice is this: Enjoy what little spare time you have left now, because in a couple of months time Minecraft is going to jump off your PC and into your pocket, and its quest for the domination of all free time, the destruction of social lives and annexing of any semblance of productivity will be complete!

For those of you that are still with me, today I’m gonna look at some of the options you’ve got when it comes to warranty and insurance options for the new iPad. Once you’ve got your spanky new iPad 2, got a slick and sturdy case, and a good whack of games and apps, the final hurdle to cross is something to cover your bases in case the unthinkable happens: Your iPad 2 breaks, gets stolen or lost, or just plain stops working.

There’s three main factors to consider here: Applecare, Warranties, and Insurance.

Applecare
When purchasing the Apple iPad 2, just like all apple products, you’ll have the option of purchasing Apple’s extended warranty, which they call Applecare. You’ll get one year of Applecare free with your purchase, and you’ll be offered the option of extending it to three years as an upsell upon purchase, which will cost you $79. People are generally divided about whether it’s worth it or not to buy the additional Applecare cover, as this warranty covers manufacturing defects and not much else, meaning accidental drops, breakage and water damage are not covered.

I’ve personally had great experience with Applecare, and this may depend on the people at your particular Apple store, but Apple obviously gives their sales reps a lot of leeway in deciding what the warrantee can cover. There’s stories around about Apple stores replacing dropped or cracked screens for free or a small fee, despite not technically being supposed to under Applecare, and there’s also stories of people being outright refused warrantee cover for tiny amounts of damage, such as the iPad’s internal moisture sensor being tripped despite never being exposed to moisture.

So in sum, your mileage may vary. A good tip would be to look up consumer reviews of your local Apple store, if people are raving about how happy they are with the customer service, then it could be worth it. Otherwise, you might be just as happy with the single year of cover, and an additional inexpensive insurance or warranty plan.

Third Party Warranties
In my opinion, this is a great alternative to buying Apple’s extended warranty. For around the same price as Applecare, you can get a third party warranty that will cover your device for all the elements missing from Applecare, such as water or moisture damage (ie, the very real threat of spilling your coffee on your iPad), accidental damage such as drop, breakage and cracked screens. You can choose the period of cover (generally 2 to 5 years) and other options such as new for old replacement, cash payments for unrepairable damage, and a range of premiums, effectively allowing you to customize your warranty plan. Coverage for mobile devices is a burgeoning market, with all the companies trying to outdo each other with how well they cover your device, meaning that the consumer really benefits as everyone is competing for your business and making the users better and better deals.

The clear leader in third party warranties right now is SquareTrade Warranties, who will cover all Apple mobile devices and many other brands as well, and get very good reviews across the board from customers. They also come recommended by tons of posters on the Apple support forums, which could be good for a read while you are doing your research. They only cover the US unfortunately, but other countries will likely have similar companies offering this sort of service, use your Google-fu and seek them out.

Insurance
There are quite a few companies offering to insure the iPad 2, and a quick google search will net you quite a few of them. I’ve never used these (I explain my insurance solution below) but the service is definitely there for those who want it. As always, read the reviews and make sure you’re not being taken for a ride, and don’t sign up for something without due research. Read the reviews, call them up and talk to a rep, all that good stuff. Follow the same protocol you would for getting insurance for your car or house. A good insurance plan will offer new for old replacement, competitive premiums and should cover accidental breakage, fire, and theft.

In my opinion, the best way to insure your iPad 2 is to add it on to your homeowners or renters insurance. More and more plans are offering extensions to cover mobile devices, and this is how I cover all my Apple products, which include an iPad, iPad2, Macbook Pro and an iPod Classic. For a small extra fee, your devices are covered under the same plan, with a special clause that will state the devices are covered outside the home as well as in it. This is a much cheaper option, and keeps your insurance under the same umbrella meaning it’s easier to deal with if you do have to make a claim, and it’s easier to keep track of too. Call up your insurer and see what your options are for covering mobile devices, and if yours doesn’t offer this service, consider switching to one that does. In this day and age it’s the company’s responsibility to keep up with the requirements of their customers, and as time goes on this is becoming a more important requirement.

Hope that was of some help to those looking for warranty and insurance options for their iPad 2.

The ZAGGmate iPad 2 Keyboard Case combines a thin, lightweight and solid case with an integrated keyboard.
This all in one design means you’re still only really carrying around your iPad 2 in a case, so it doesn’t add too much to bulk or add an extra thing to carry around and worry about. The other great point with the
ZAGGmate is that it’s protecting your iPad at the same time!

When you open the case, embedded in the top cover is a low profile keyboard, very similar to that of a netbook. When open, the keyboard section of the case also doubles as a stand that can hold the iPad 2 vertically or horizontally.

This set up is really great for when you are out and about and you do find yourself in a situation where you need to type up a long email or write a document in a pinch, and you won’t be hating life because of the clunky on-screen keyboard.

Now, there are some drawbacks of course. The Bluetooth connection that many of these cases use will likely drain your battery faster, but I haven’t found this to be a deal breaker, as my ipad goes on the charger every other evening regardless, so I’ve yet to run out of battery due to the Bluetooth connection.

The ZAGGmate has it’s own battery that is recharged via a usb cord, and I’ve had it for almost a week now and it’s seen some pretty decent usage time, and still haven’t had to recharge it. The website claims around 2 weeks of use from a single charge, that’s pretty damn good in my opinion.

The other thing is of course this isn’t a full size keyboard (some things do have to be sacrificed for portability) so if you’ve got large hands, or just hate the kind of keyboard that comes on a netbook, you likely won’t like these sort of iPad 2 keyboards much. To be quite honest, I find the smallness of the keyboard frustrating sometimes, but not nearly as much as trying to type a 500 word document on a touch screen keyboard.

So if you’re thinking about an adding a keyboard to your iPad or iPad 2 and don’t want to sacrifice portability or have to juggle yet another peripheral, check out the new range of keyboard integrated cases. I love my ZAGGmate case, it’s really opened up a new world of use for my iPad 2.

Edit: The Otterbox iPad 2 Defender has just been released! otterbox.com are currently sold out, but you can still get it over at amazon.com

Otterbox are bundling the new case with a free screen protector and including free shipping for the first few orders, so get over there and get yours today.

Good news for those of us sporting Apple’s latest and greatest tablet device: The renowned case maker Otterbox is set to release the new version of the Defender series case designed especially for the iPad 2 sometime this week.

The new design is not only stronger than the predecessor, but also 20 percent lighter. It has a nifty built in stand that can be used in two modes, one for typing, which puts the iPad 2 at a slightly elevated angle, and one for viewing media, which puts the device at a more watching-friendly angle.

The Otterbox Defender for iPad 2 is going to cost around 90 bones, which is hardly a bargain basement price, but in my opinion well worth it for the level of protection you get. The Defender series is perfect for anyone taking their iPad 2 out into the field, and it absolutely rules if, like me, you’ve got kids who like to play games on your iPad 2.

Check the videos below to see how the iPad 2 Defender works and see the installation process, you’ll see just how good the level of protection is. Jump over to Otterbox.com to see more detailed pics, and sign up for their waiting list so you can be notified as soon as the new case is released. There’s no hard dates as yet, but seeing as the website just got updated with new pics and videos, we’re hoping it could be any day now.

Click Here to check out the Otterbox Defender for Ipad 2 @ Otterbox.com

The guts of the thing is of course going to be those of a modern PC, and it’ll have a special linux based operating system called Commodore OS, which will come equipped to play old Commodore titles through an emulator. You can actually pre-order the beast now, and it’ll set you back about 600 clams.

All I wanna know is, can it be hooked up to an old cathode ray TV, and would it be weird for a man rapidly approaching 30 to sneak downstairs in the middle of the night for a covert game of Leisure Suit Larry?

However, the area where the touch screen severely lacks is in games that require tactile feedback, especially for movement control. There are a million dual stick shooters and driving games, as well as many others (such as fighting games like the excellent Street Fighter 4 port, or First Person Shooters like N.O.V.A 2 and Archtype) that really suffer, despite developers best efforts to make the touch screen joystick idea work.

Ten One Design have set out to create a solution to this problem with the release of the Fling Game Controller for the iPad. The Fling consists of an electrically conductive disk suspended inside a spiral ring of tough but springy plastic. The device mounts on the surface of the touch screen with a couple of suction pads, and you press on the disk with your thumb, creating a control device very similar to an analog stick on a traditional gaming pad.

All reports thus far indicate the fling is absolutely outstanding for games with a virtual controller. Most dual stick shooters are vastly improved (there are some problems with getting the fling into a good position on games that don’t allow the user to customize the placement of the virtual controls) and games with a single control stick are reportedly a whole new experience with this nifty device. TouchArcade reports that playing N.O.V.A 2 with the Fling “..feels like an XBOX game with a real controller.”

If you’re one of those people, like us, who’ve put down many ipad games forever just because the control scheme is so frustrating, this might be a perfect solution for you. You can order the Fling Game Controller for iPad at Amazon. We’re very interested to see if this ingenious device becomes a success, and if in turn they develop a counterpart for the iPhone. Time will tell!

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Ever Wish There Was a Solution to Annoying Touch Screen Controls for iPad Gaming?
The Fling Game Controller for the iPad can Turn Touchpad Gaming into a Real, Immersive, Console Style Gaming Experience. Order it now over at Amazon.com.

This is one Star Wars product that won’t have your friends cringing and your significant other rolling their eyes and wondering what they’ve got themselves into. Combining the delicious nerdiness of Star Wars with the calm cool of Texas Hold ‘Em, this is one poker set that will have even the staunchest Fonzies keen to chip up and do the Kessel run in 12 parsecs (with pocket Kings).

The set features 200 chips that glow like lightsabers and are emblazoned with art from the original star wars trilogy. Also included are two decks of beautifully printed and appropriately themed cards, and a metal representation of Darth Vader’s pillbox as a dealer button.

Perfect for games night, or as an unusual addition to your secret collection of Wookie memorabilia, or even as a great valentine’s gift for the geeky gambler in your life. The Star Wars Poker Set can be ordered online from ThinkGeek.com.

This is great news to iPhone gamers, who had to previously had to resort to Jailbreaking and buggy homebrew emulators in order to get their retro gaming fix. It remains to be seen which games are released and what the release schedule will be, and how users will react to the predicted $3 to $6 price range for games. At this stage it looks like the app will be free to download and will come bundled with Space Harrier 2, so that should at least placate some of the “Nothing over $0.99″ crowd.

Also of interest will be how the controls are handled, as many of the homebrew emulators suffered due to  the non-tactile nature of the touch screen controls. Whatever the case, I’ll be checking it out on launch (rumoured to be mid February) and hoping in vain they’ll release Shadowrun so I can finally commit to never getting any work done ever.

]]> http://www.welcomedistractions.com/official-iphone-mega-drive-genesis-emulator/feed/ 0 http://www.welcomedistractions.com/ultimate-ears-700-noise-isolating-earphones-50-rebate-on-premium-iems/ http://www.welcomedistractions.com/ultimate-ears-700-noise-isolating-earphones-50-rebate-on-premium-iems/#comments Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:21:54 +0000 admin http://www.welcomedistractions.com/?p=64

If you want perfect sound reproduction and throbbing, deep bass from your portable music player or iPhone without the bulk and inconvenience of large can-style headphones, you are probably considering a set of premium quality In Ear Monitors (IEM), and the Ultimate Ears 700 Noise Isolating Earphones are among the cream of the crop. While they may look about the same as cheapo earbud style headphones, these IEMs are the result of years of design, testing and refining to cram sonically accurate sound reproduction into the tiny package of in-ear headphones.

Unfortunately, with premium quality comes a premium price, and it can be hard to part with a couple of hundred dollars for something that looks about the same as headphones that can be picked up for 5 bucks at any electronics store. However, to make it a bit easier on your (probably well abused so soon after Christmas) hip pocket, Logitech are offering a $50 mail in rebate on the Ultimate Ears 700, meaning they can be picked up for around 150 bills on Amazon.

For the price you are getting beautifully comfortable headphones with real noise isolation, amazing sonic reproduction and quality components, meaning no cable memory, no wire noise and no falling apart after a month’s use like those crappy Apple earbuds. If you are serious about your tunes and want maximum sound quality in a small package, check out the Ultimate Ears 700, and get in now while the price point isn’t quite as bank balance destructive.

Click here to check out the Ultimate Ears 700 Noise Isolating Earphones