Tag: iPad

Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display

2 Months In: The iPad Mini With Retina Display Is Close to the Perfect Tablet

Brad Moon2

I have the opportunity to play with a lot of different tablets. I own a small collection too —iPads and Android (no Windows versions here, although I have had a handful in the house for testing). I’m a fan of these things. The one that I use almost exclusively these days is my iPad Mini with Retina Display. As far as I’m concerned, Apple has pretty much perfected the tablet with this device.

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Clash of Clans as an Extension of Cabin Fever-Fuelled Sibling Rivalry

Brad Moon2

There are three children in our family and among that trio are a pair of 11 year-olds — identical twin boys. They may be indistinguishable in appearance (at least to those who don’t know them), but their personalities couldn’t be more different. And they’ve reached that stage of sibling rivalry that I had forgotten about from my days at home with my brothers. It’s extreme, it’s loud, it’s very active and it’s driving me a little crazy. Especially in the deep of winter when the Polar Vortex refuses to go somewhere else and as a result, they’re largely trapped indoors. The boys quickly imported that boisterous, energetic, head-scratching mania into Clash of Clans. I can’t keep it straight. In the course of just four hours, Jon had joined our clan twice, been promoted by his brother, demoted once and kicked out of the clan twice. That’s a lot of politics. And it’s gone on like that for days.

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Caseables customized iPad Air case

GeekDad Review: Caseable Customized Case for iPad Air

Brad Moon

Want to really personalize a new iPad Air as a gift? Apple offers engraving, but let’s face it — permanently inscribing something on the back of the iPad limits the ability to sell it or pass it down to someone else later on. A customized case is a perfect alternative. Not only can you present the iPad in a protective case that’s even more personal than an inscription, if the recipient outgrows the iPad a few years down the road they can slip it out and it’s as good as new. While it lacks the heavy duty protection that a ballistic grade case provides and it doesn’t support the iPad’s magnetic on/off capability, the Caseable customized case is an attractive alternative. Handcrafted in Brooklyn, each is unique and reflects the owner’s personality. It’s slim, lightweight, easy to take off if needed and provides sufficient protection for an iPad Air to stay good as new in typical daily use and casually carrying around.

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Nomad Mini 2 Portable Paintbrush Stylus in action.

GeekDad Review: Nomad Mini 2 Portable Paintbrush Stylus

Brad Moon

Around this time last year, I was trying out a Nomad Brush FLeX stylus for my iPad. I’m not much of a digital artist (if the sample photo doesn’t make that clear), but I do enjoy noodling around with a tablet and a digital painting app like ArtRage. The Brush FLeX really ups the experience thanks to its synthetic capacitive brush, and the machined aluminum body felt extremely solid. I’d still recommend looking at it if you’re into this kind of thing. My one complaint about the Brush FLeX was the reliance on a plastic case to keep the bristles from being damaged in transit. A new year and I’ve switched to an iPad Mini. And in keeping with the miniaturization theme Nomad sent me a new Nomad Mini 2 paintbrush stylus. I think I like this one even better…

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Tis the Season — For Cheap Apps

Brad Moon1

Did your kids score a new iOS device for Christmas, or maybe you treated yourself to a new iPod, iPad or iPhone over the holidays? I’m pretty psyched myself after receiving an iPad Mini with Retina display to replace my much-loved (but showing its age) original iPad. Loading an iPad up with games is a heck of a lot cheaper than investing in the cartridges needed to fill up a 3DS library, but the holiday season is the best time to stock up on iOS games. Many developers have some of their top titles on sale for up to 90% off. No line-ups, no parking hassles and you don’t even have to change out of your PJs — just log on to iTunes. For even bigger savings, check for stores that have iTunes cards on sale.

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Surface 2 with kickstand

An iPad Guy Takes the Surface 2 For a Spin — And No One Gets Hurt

Brad Moon6

Microsoft didn’t exactly enjoy the warmest reception for its Surface RT tablet. Released just in time for the 2012 holiday season, the consumer-level Windows 8 tablet that ran the ARM-based Windows RT 8 confused buyers (what do you mean it runs only apps and not my Windows software?) and ended up costing Microsoft a $900 million write down. I though the original was innovative — especially its touch type covers — but really had no interest in picking one up, even when they were steeply discounted. I’m an iPad guy (I do have a few Android tablets but I still find that OS a little “meh”) so I’m kind of a tough sell that way. When Microsoft sent me a Surface 2 — the followup to the ill fated Surface RT — frankly, I wasn’t expecting to get a whole lot out of the experience. However, I came to appreciate the Surface 2 as a tablet I can actually get real work done on and that’s something I can’t say about the iPad.

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GeekDad Review: Sonos Play:1 Compact Wireless Speaker

Brad Moon8

I’ve had the opportunity to play with many Sonos products over the years and have watched with interest as the company has expanded from a specialized player found mostly in independent, audiophile stereo stores to a nationally recognized brand with a growing product line. And while it still continues to offer premium equipment, Sonos has also branched out into less expensive gear. Up until a month ago, the price of entry to the Sonos streaming music ecosystem was $329 for a Play:3 speaker plus $59 for a Bridge (needed to connect the wireless speaker to your Wi-Fi network). The latest addition to the Sonos line-up makes the high quality wireless audio even more affordable. The Play:1 which hit shelves in October, goes for $219 but still offers high quality sound and the ability to be integrated (now or later) as part of a larger Sonos music network.

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Reading used to be so simple.

E-Reader, Tablet or Paper: How Are Your Kids Reading These Days?

Brad Moon

The primary questions around kids and reading used to be: What do they read? And how much? These days – stuck in some sort of netherworld between competing technologies and traditional paper books — I find another question is being asked just as frequently: How are they reading? I fully transitioned to digital reading years ago, doubling up my book collection to regain some shelf space and buying only e-books going forward. But with the kids, the situation has been far more complicated.

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I Really Hate UltraViolet: Is It Just Me?

Brad Moon184

I’m beginning to lose patience with the whole digital movies thing. Don’t get me wrong, I think the idea of having a digital copy of a movie and being able to watch it on all our devices is great. In fact, I’m fully onboard with that. We have Apple TVs throughout the house and an iTunes library large enough that the computer hosting it has a 6 TB external hard drive exclusively for that purpose. And I actually buy those movies. But the studios seem determined to mess up a good thing through competing standards for digital downloads. In particular, the insistence on pushing UltraViolet exclusively seems thickheaded.

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GeekDad Review: Nomadic WD-37 Wise-Walker Waist Pouch

Brad Moon2

I always look forward to receiving a package from JetPens. The website is the ultimate for pen and stationery geeks (this wood-barrel Spalding pen is one of my all-time favorites), and they also stock cool gear like backpacks and bags for organizing everything and carrying the stuff around. There are a lot of really unique things available on JetPens.com that you simply won’t find anywhere else. Which brings me to the Nomadic WD-37 Wise-Walker Waist Pouch — or as I think of it, the iPad fanny pack. Actually, that’s not fair. This is nowhere near as awkward as it sounds, although it does take a certain type of person to be able to pull this off (and I’m not certain I’m that person).

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The Simpsons: Tapped Out Halloween Update is Out

Brad Moon106

Mobile, casual game-playing, freemium-loving zombies already know that EA’s The Simpsons: Tapped Out is one of the most addictive games out there. I may not be heavily into the genre, but I do love The Simpsons and this game has been on my iPad since it first came out. Besides getting rid of most of the bugs and technical issues that plagued the game last year (— cough— busy servers, lengthy load times and occasional terrifying moments where your Springfield was lost and it appeared you had to start from scratch — cough —), EA has also removed the platform divide and offers The Simpsons: Tapped Out for Android users now too. Just like last year, a new release brings Halloween spirit to the virtual Springfield, including ghosts, gremlins, GOO, trick or treating and content tied in to the TV show’s “Treehouse of Horror XXIV” episode.

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