Twelve South BookBook for iPhone 4/4S

  There are a few companies that just dish out products that look seamlessly beautiful,Twelve South is one of those companies. Twelve South is known for making some of the most stylish and unique products for Apple devices. One of them is the BookBook for iPhone 4/4S,Also available for  iPad 2, MacBook Air, & MacBook Pro. Generally retailing for $60 but defiantly cheaper on other sites. (E.g. Amazon,eBay, and perhaps craigslist.) Hand made out of genuine leather,This case has a strong aroma of leather,In a good way of course. 

While you may be like many others like myself who find it very easy to be turned off by these flip style cases,You'll have a tricky time not being enticed by the BookBook. As insatiable of a need you may have to purchase this case by now,Trust me we are just getting started. As obvious as it may be,The BookBook is meant to resemble old vintage books that you would see in your local library or perhaps grandmothers house. While it pulls the vintage-distressed look off impressively you may be surprised to learn it also doubles as a wallet case with 1 ID card slot and 2 other card slots and one larger slot for cash,This should take some ease out of your life and kill two birds with one stone,Not literally of course - That would be inhumane, especially for review purposes.

Twelve South did a grea...Scratch that..Magnificent job designing this extremely beautiful case,Although like any other case this too has flaws or areas to improve. One of those being a camera cut out.Using the camera on your phone shouldn't be a huge deal,Simply lift your case up about an inch or so and snap a photo and voilá your done,That is if the leather band that usually retains the headset of your iPhone doesn't bother you. But if you never really use your camera on you iPhone in the first place then it shouldn't really be an issue for you,However if you are constantly taking photos on your iPhone, Don't fret! There are many tutorials on creating a camera cut out online. 

The BookBook is overall an amazing case,With unique features from other wallet style cases with the genuine leather and hand crafted build as well as the book like looks. During testing I couldn't let the BookBook out of my hands,It felt so nice and comfortable. I enjoyed this case so much that it will be taking over as my permanent case unless I'm testing another case.One draw back I found is that you can be mistaken for having or reading a small bible.Other then that I highly recommend this case to anyone,Even if you don't like or never tried a wallet style case! 

Incipio Microtexture Anti-Slip Case for iPhone 4/4S

Another Incipio case? You betcha,This time I'm talking about the Incipio Microtexture Anti-Slip case for the iPhone 4/4S. Silicone cases are usually my not preferred iPhone defender and I think ill be keeping that a personal preference for awhile. I've never been able to be appeased by a silicone case,The Anti-Slip has something different to offer then most Silicone cases.The Anti-Slip case from Incipio is meant to be slide resistant while protecting your phone. Underneath the case are tiny little silicone plastic  bumps that keep the phone from being moved if it is bumped or pushed. I found that dirt can get trapped inside the little bumps very easily and it is trickier to get the dirt out from the case.

Its foolproof how simple it is to put this case onto your phone,Just slip your phone in, As simple as that! Included with the case is a cellophane screen protector, Grey Microfiber cloth, and a "Smoothie Card" for apply your screen protecter. The camera cut out has no flashback issues at all,Just like the Feather the Anti-Slip has a black ring around the camera cut out to address any flashback issues you would've had without the black ring. Unlike the feather the black ring around the cut out is flimsy and actually comes out if you toss it around enough,It came out while taking photos this review and it is a little tricky to get back in sometimes.

 Overall Incipio did a fairly decent job with the Anti-Slip,I would've been more please if it were a harder plastic and not such cheap flimsy silicone as it is. The only difference between this case and most silicone cases is it has a different back for the anti-slip function and has a coating around the case to detract lint unlike most silicone cases will do and are known for. You have full accessibility to all your ports and controls so you'll have no problem with headphones or adjusting the volume of your iPhone.I would not recommend this case unless your a fan of silicone iPhone cases, Even then you would be able to find a cheaper and same quality case on Amazon or even eBay.

Incipio Feather Snap-On iPhone 4/4S case

I'm a minimalist when it comes to cases and the Incipio Feather defiantly fits the bill,Only measuring 1 mm thin all around, This lean beauty makes your iPhone 4/4S feel as if nothing is on it but protects it all at once! The Incipio Feather will set you back about $25 dollars,But it's well worth it if you want to protect your investment without using a brick for case.

Incipio did a great job designing the Feather, I never noticed any weight difference while i had this on my iPhone for the week or so that i did use it. The matte turquoise color of the feather was very appealing to me and drew a lot of contrast to the phone, Don't fret if your not a fan of Turquoise or sea foam green type of colors,Incipio has more color options for this case then you'll ever find inside a box of crayons!

The Feather only measures 1mm all around,Thats as slim as a penny! The case itself is coated with a soft touch matte exterior,It feels nice and comfortable in the hands and holds up great against scratches.Unfortunately for anyone who likes their cases to have Lay-On-The-Table design,Im sorry but this isn't one of those. The Feather sits flush with the screen of your iPhone 4/4S. There were no issues with taking photos,Never saw any flashback in any photos using flash.

Incipio graciously included 2 front screen shields to protect your device,a micro-fiber cloth and a "Smootie Card",Essentially a squeegee for applying your screen shield. Overall I loved the case and would defiantly recommend it to anyone who considering purchasing or even looking for a slim case for their mobile investment. I had no cons with this case at all.

Chivel Clear/White bumper

So today I got in a case I'm sure none of you have ever heard of or even seen! This beautiful case is one of those cool looking jewels you can find on Amazon.com , While being made out of only two types of plastic this case is pretty unique and cool at the least and affordable ($1.29 + $4.99 shipping @ time of review) as well!

The packaging is fairly simple just a case in a pull a part plastic container,Nothing flashy like some other cases ( i.e. Element Case Vapor Pro! ) . The Chivel Clear/White Bumper is formed with two types of plastic material, a hard plastic and a soft silicone plastic. Now most educated cell phone case users will know that silicone cases usually attract lint like a magnet, I never really had any problems with lint even while having the case in my pants pocket and a thicker wool jacket, Not a single spec of lint to be found! w

While it may be a cheap case,I like this case very much and would recommend it to anyone who likes bumper style cases and unique looking cases as well. My overall opinion on the Chivel is good with two issues, The plastic seems a bit weak and could probably be thickened up a bit to make it more sturdy. The other issue I had was that the headphone jack was a bit on the small side,You'll have no problem fitting most headphone jacks into your phone while using this case but the cutout is fairly close to how to the original iPhone headphone port was recessed. Besides that all you ports are accessible and this will fit your AT&T iPhone 4's if your still using one of those.

Chivel did a good job making this,Very slim and sleek and great feeling in the hands and while on the phone itself,All the buttons work just fine and had no issues with this case other then what have been stated. I would give it a shot if i were you,Especially if you like using bumper style cases! [Direct Link]

Mountain Lion,The future of Mac OS X!

   Ever since Apple announced the 2012 summer release of Mac OS Mountain Lion, Apple fanatics have been anywhere from happy about the news or on the fence about whether its really an upgrade or not. Mountain Lion pricing or exact release date have not been announced officially yet but there is a lot to look forward to, Many new things I personally see myself using in the future.

If you own an iPhone or iPad with iOS 5 then you’ll more then likely be familiar with most of these new features.

 -   iMessages

This has been on any iDevice that is running iOS5 for months now, iMessage allows two or more iOS devices to chat/text for free with wifi or a 3g network. Similar to Blackberry messenger, You’ll be able to know when the person your talking is writing back or not, As well as know if they received and read your messages (Read Receipts are able to be turned off via settings). You can also launch Facetime right within iMessage. You can download a beta version of iMessage for your Mac right now! 

       -  Reminders

Another iDevice familiar app, Reminders allows you to set reminders to let you know when you need to do something or even make a grocery list, With iCloud support your reminders will be kept up to date on your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and even iPod Touch.

  




           - Notes

Notes has been on every iDevice since the beginning of their time,Simply used to jot down ideas or anything on your mind that you need to remember or even a recipe for your grandmothers cookies to personal information that you want to have written down somewhere just in case your mind decides to forget. If you’ve ever used a post it note then im sure your gonna understand how to use notes, You can even add Images and attachments to your notes, as well as share them to your friends and family or colleagues.


  - Notification Center
This is one my most used and favorite features of iOS 5, Just swipe down to see all of your notifications and even the weather or stocks. In Mountain Lion notification center will be able keep track and make easy access to apps trying to get your attention as well as calendar events and Game Center updates and FaceTime calls to even iMessage notifications! When you get a notification you'll be able to open Notification Center and see the alert,Clicking on the alert will bring you straight into the app. So perhaps you get a new email and         want to see that email, You just open up Notification center and click on the alert and your there inside the mail app looking at the email.


  - Share Sheets
Another iPhone & iPad feature being brought over is the function to share web pages,links, and documents with friends and family via twitter,Email, Text Message, or even Flickr all with the click of a button! Its that simple!







- Game Center
One of if not the biggest gaming network in the world comes to Os X, You'll be able to challenge your friends to games or even check your score on the leader board and even send anyone around the world a friend request or message. Game Center will also recommend new games that might interest you,Kind of working like genius.





- Airplay Mirroring
While some iPhone and iPad users who have an Apple Tv will have used this function a few times,You'll be able to do it with your mac now also,Wirelessly stream your content straight to your television.









 - Twitter
iOS 5 brought the ability to tweet just about anything from your iPhone,iPad, or iPod Touch without even having to open your twitter client, Mountain Lion will have the ability to do the same thing! Tweet anything from almost anywhere!







- Gatekeeper 
Gatekeeper makes your mac safer then ever,It'll help prevent you from downloading or installing any harmful software!

         Os X Mountain will defiantly change the experience you have when using a mac.

Element Case Vapor Pro (White)

The choice of which case to use on your iPhone can be a very difficult task for most people, Especially for those of us who can never decide even after we’ve been sufficed. I myself have my fair share of iPhone 4/4S cases, One of them being the Element Case Vapor Pro. This Case will set you back about $149, That is of course if you can coax yourself into justifying a reason to dish out the cash for such a hefty price.

Aside from the astounding price, The Element Vapor Pro is made from aircraft grade aluminum, Bumper style, Fits on both the iPhone 4 & 4S, Is lightweight, and allows most 3^rd party charge/sync cables as well as headphone cables so you should have no problem using this case with your iPhone or accessories. This case also comes with a ton of accessories so your not dishing out $149 on nothing here. Included in the package is a Vapor Transit case for your iPhone case (Strange but yet convenient), Also inside is a Speedwrench to take the case on and off, The case also comes with a Suede front & back piece to cover your phone.

Now when you look at this case you’ll defiantly feel some sort of attraction to this case and want to own one, Thankfully for all of us picky people out there this case also comes in a plethora of colors other then just white and if you know a friend who owns one or you own more then one of these aluminum beauties you can mix and match since the parts are interchange. The Vapor Pro is a bumper style case so it’ll only cover the antenna band of your iPhone but in return will give you some nice lay on the table design for either side while at the same time giving some very durable protection on every edge.

I used this case for a little bit over a week or two, I absolutely loved it, Was very sturdy and felt great in my hands. I had no reception loss whatsoever, Even in bad coverage areas my signal was consistent to what it normally is. The sleep/wake button felt very nice almost more natural then it should be.

Overall I  have no cons for this case except its not as easy to just slip it off the phone if you need to, Luckily the Speedwrench that comes with the case has a key loop so you can take it with you as well as extra screws incase you lose some, and i guess you could say the price would be a little bit too much but it is defiantly well worth it. For my pros my list is endless. I have no doubt this case will take a beating if you decided to use it. I would defiantly recommend it!

Grand Theft Auto 3 (iOS) $4.99

     Now this game/app brings back memories for me being that I use to play the old PS2 console version of this great game,This game usually sells for about $4.99 (USD),Luckily I just happened to find it when it was on sale for a measly $0.99.

When I first launched the game it was obviously more touch based and slightly different but yet still the same with the old Rockstar games intro and music that accompanied the console version.The touch based version stayed true to the old version with all the same missions and cars as well as the comedic radio stations and funny things the pedestrians said throughout the game.I played this game off & on for about a week an a half and i have to say its pretty spot on to the original in every detail aside from controls and no cheat code functionality.

The only con i had about the game is that sometimes it can be troublesome to touch a certain button especially while steering a car,But thats more of a personal issue anyways,The only other issue i had was that the game sometimes would slow down from time to time,Now I used a iPhone 4 to test this but I'm sure if you play the game on a iPhone 4S or iPad 2 with a stronger and faster processor you'd have no problems at all.

Aside from that i defiantly would recommend this game for anyone who is looking for a good fun app,Keep in mind this game is not appropriate for children depending on your parenting views,Filled with adult themes for sure from explicit words to sexual themes here and there as well as a handful's of gore.

Note:Shortly after publishing this,Rockstar released a update to fix stability on older devices.