Cloud Bite

App of the Week – Temple Run

Vicky — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:23:15 +0000

Fancy running around a temple ruin getting chased by strange squawking chimpanzees? Well, there’s an App for that!

Temple Run is a highly addictive endless-running game that will have you oohing and awing as you run, jump and slide a character around a temple ruin in a desperate attempt to escape from evil chimpanzees! Using a swipe sideways to change direction, a swipe upwards to jump and swipe downwards to slide, you navigate a character around the temple ruin collecting coins as you go. As always, coins make points and points make prizes.

At the end of each turn regardless of falling or not, the coins you gather are collected into one big pot and you can spend them at the store. You may be interested in the wallpapers or additional characters you can buy (may I add that one character is a definite look-a-like for the exceedingly courageous Lara Croft) but if you want to get anywhere with this game, then the power-ups are a definite must buy. You can even up-grade these power-ups so they last longer and increase your score.

Of course as you continue around the temple, your speed gets quicker, more trees, fires and spiky bridges appear in your path and soon the floor even starts to disappear so you have to tilt your device left and right to make sure your Lara Croft doesn’t fall in! The temple isn’t that mean to you though and it is certainly possible to get that whopper of 1,000,000 points AND achieve all of the objectives. There are sometimes opportunities where you get a second chance. If the small tree branch is on the ground or you jump slightly too early, rather than the game being over the evil and the (for the most part) useless chimps catch-up with you and you are given another chance to run away from them and get those all important coins and continue the game until you run into another tree or simply just fall off.

So for the verdict. This game is extremely addictive and it is definitely enjoyable watching all of those points and prizes adding up. The objectives are also another great way to make the game exciting. Plus, at the moment it’s also free so you can’t go wrong when giving this try! There are some down sides though. If you are using an iPad, for best control it is better to use your thumbs but unless you have the slightly lighter iPad 2 then it can get very heavy when you get to that significant 5000m mark but you cannot put this game down!

That’s why it deserves 4/5 and it’s worthy of App of the week.

Netflix Finally Lands In The UK

Mark Haynes — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:16:42 +0000

It was several months ago Netflix announced it would “soon” arrive in the UK, well today is the day. UK users have longed for a great online streaming service with a low cost such as Netflix but have been serveraly limited with only Love Film (Netflix’s largest rival in the UK) getting anywhere near offering a full online streaming experience however it comes with a cost.

Netflix is £5.99 per month in the UK meaning unlimited streaming of Movies and TV shows for a great price. The quality seems far superior to the the quality of Lovefilm’s streaming and there seems to be several features missing from Lovefilms selection. Also as with Lovefilm you can stream on your console too making it a great edition to the media hubs of our homes!

You can currently sign up for a 30 day free trial at Netflix.com

Unboxing of Dell XPS 15 Second Gen L502x

Mark Haynes — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:58:17 +0000

It’s been a while but here is the unboxing of the Dell XPS 15 2nd Gen. Shortly we will follow up with a gaming video showing you how great this Laptop truly is.

Specs of this Laptop:

Processor: Intel Core i5-2540M processor 2.60 GHz
4 GB 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel Memory
Graphics : 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M Graphics card
Hard Drive : 500GB Serial ATA II (7200 RPM) Hard Drive

Display : 15.6″ Full HD B+RGLED True-Life (1920×1080)
Optical Drive : Blu-ray Disc BD-Combo
Wireless: Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030
Battery : Primary 9-cell

iPhone 4S Out Today – Did you get one?

Mark Haynes — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 22:45:15 +0000

So did you get one? We are sure you heard that the earth’s greatest gadget (some may question that), got released today. Apple’s announcement of the iPhone 4S raised mix emotions, some loved it some were disappointed from the lack of iPhone 5. That’s why we don’t write up every rumour on Cloud Bite, we would hate to disappoint. Siri is likely to be the biggest attraction to the iPhone 4S as that’s pretty much the only “cool” feature that has been added, unless you love taking photos and 1080p video that is! Many were up early this morning queueing for the iPhone at Apple stores, O2 stores, infact any store that had them! Co-pilot wrote on twitter “These guys had been queueing for the iPhone 4S on Regent Street for 160 hours. ” Many sites have also popped up lately with screenshots of Siri in action and it has some pretty humorous replies to some, “interesting” questions. Head on over to Siri Says to have a laugh!

So I ask again, did you get one if so which, why, and how! Were you queueing since 5am and what did you upgrade from, would be great to know!

Steve Jobs Passes Away 1955-2011

Mark Haynes — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:55:18 +0000

Today news broke across the world as a fantastic visionary passed away. Steve Jobs will be know to many as the man who brought so much to the world in terms of technology and vision. Just a day Apple unveiled it’s latest and greatest gadget the man who has been the core of Apple for so long has passed away after fighting poor health for several years. All may not agree with his methods, but all must agree that he was a fantastic man that has helped humanity push forward and create breakthroughs many would have thought impossible. Cloud Bite would like to wish Steve’s family and close friends all the best and thank him for being such a great man in a small world.

Apple Acknowledged the death of Steve Jobs.

Apple Announces iPhone 4S

Mark Haynes — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 23:58:36 +0000

So Apple has announced the Successor the best selling iPhone of all time, the iPhone 4. Called the iPhone 4S similar to the iPhone 3GS, Apple has done little to the design of the phone but increased it’s speed by including the A5 Dual Core CPU. They have also included a fantastic 8mp, f2.4, 1080p video recording camera with video stabilisation. Also included is Siri. This is from a company that Apple brought out a couple of years ago. Siri lets you talk to the iPhone and ask anything like, “Will I need a raincoat” and the phone will check if the forecast says it likely to rain. Also you can dictate text messages, set up your calendar and control music. You can now download up to 14mbps with the new chip and antenna design. Finally of course the iPhone 4S will include iOS 5. iOS 5 will be released on 12th October for iPhone 3GS, 4 4S, iPod Touch 3rd/4th and iPad 1/2.

Kindle Fire Makes Tablet Market Hotter!

Mark Haynes — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 23:39:55 +0000

The tablet market is due to get hotter with the announcement of Amazon’s first tablet, Kindle Fire. Designed to compete with other tablets including Apple’s hugely successful iPad, the Galaxy Tablet, the Motorola Zoom and the ~~HP Touchpad~~, oh no scrap that last one, Amazon have gone for a great price with their Android running device just $199 (£130). We aren’t 100% sure when the UK will get the tablet and at what price but its likely to be around £150-£175. Don’t let the price put you off though this little 7″ device packs a punch…

Specs include:

7″ IPS LCD for wide angle viewing
1Ghz TI OMAP Dual Core CPU
512mb Ram
Wifi (no 3G)
8GB (fixed)
8 hours of reading and 7.5 hours video playback
Around 400g weight
30 days of prime
Only available on Amazon

Amazon says they will also include “Silk” a proxy type feature that will uses Amazon’s Cloud Technology to repackage web pages in a more efficient way saving time and bandwidth when surfing the web. Also of course it has a great eBook reader, it is a kindle and a great library of books to choose from. The tablet also uses the Amazon Appstore but has no access to Goolgle Market Place (we await rooters).

So welcome Amazon to the tablet market. For someone who is just after a device that can go on the web, use some apps, a nice reader and isn’t bothered about recording video or chatting with friends, Amazon have a great little tablet you might like!

App Review: Sprinkle, Water Splashing, Firefighting Fun!

Mark Haynes — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 12:04:12 +0000

It has been a while since our last App review but this one caught the eye of myself any many others for its fantastic looking graphics, excellent physics and addictive gameplay! Sprinkle is one of those Apps we rarely see, with its uniqueness and fantastic design it should be right up there with such greats including Angry Birds and Doodle Jump. My only warning with this game is it is very addictive and you will want to spend hours saving the little monsters homes from being burnt to a crisp!

Lets call him "Boris" for now

That brings me on to what Sprinkle is all about. Basically you’re in control of a water cannon that goes up and down and will tilt in nearly 180 degree direction. You need to use the water cannon to put out all the fire as quickly as possible before you run out of water or a home of the “little monsters” gets destroyed. It’s not a simple case of pointing the cannon at the fire and clicking “squirt” either. The maps aren’t all simple and contain blocks you have to move and more physics elements too.

You can get the app from the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPad or from the Android Market Place. Still undecided?

Why not check out our video review below:

Overall

Overall Sprinkle is a fantastic must buy app. Get it now before your friends and show them what they are missing out on! With lots of levels and addictive gameplay you will be putting out fires with Ouie (the firefighter) for hours! Therefore this app gets a very very rare 5 out of 5 clouds rating as it deserves every single one!

Thanks to Mediocre for allowing us to use visuals in this review, and thanks for the great app!

Download the Windows 8 Developer Preview today!

Mark Haynes — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 17:44:54 +0000

Yesturday Microsoft unveiled some really exciting changes coming to Windows 8. The new OS from the Redmond company is expected to be released next year but now Microsoft has released a developer preview of the operating system for you to try out. It is aimed mainly at developers and is still buggy so we really recommend you don’t use this as your main OS but its great to have a play around with and see what is coming up. You can get the download from http://dev.windows.com for both 64 bit and 32 bit computers. There are also versions with developer tools and without.

Why has Microsoft decided to release a preview so early on? Well probably because it was going to be/has been leaked anyway and it helps create some buzz around the new OS. If you need a guide to installing this in a virtual machine we will have a post soon!

Review: Logitech Harmony 300i Remote Control

Mark Haynes — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:27:28 +0000

We are in an era right now where we can use wireless technologies to control our devices. This is great as there is no more getting up to switch a track on the Hi-Fi. No more getting up to change TV Channel. For many of you, your probably thinking, what there didn’t used to be a remote control? Well no there didn’t and before it was wireless there were controls on a wire! But luckily that time is over most controls are wireless now. However there is one problem. There is no real standard in remote controls other than “most” use Infra-red technology to transmit the signals. The problem with no real standard is we have so many of these things it can be a real hassle to have to use them all. Just have a look around now. Maybe you have a remote control for your TV? DVD Player? Bluray Player? PVR? Satellite? Cable? So say you have just 4 of these that’s 4 separate remote controls that just 1 could do, if it was designed to work with them all…. bring on the Logitech Harmony 300 Remote Control.

How does it work?

Logitech Harmony 300i

Good question! Well firstly its really clever! But for those who want a more detailed response basically Logitech have developed a remote control that can learn what remote controls of all your devices do and then allow you to use just their remote control to control up to 4 devices (with the 300 model). All you do is click one of the four buttons on the remote control and it switches to another device its really simple to use and even simpler to setup up! Best of all unlike those other one remote for all devices remote controls that you have to manually teach this one teaches itself!

Ok so how do I teach it? I don’t have to teach it every button do I?

It’s far easier than that! The harmony remote comes with some really great software and a mini USB port built on to the remote. All you need to do is plug it into your computer install the software (which is actually just drivers) and log onto http://myharmony.com You then set the remote up from the website. This is great because it means if you go to another PC for whatever reason all your settings are saved in the cloud meaning no need to re-setup the device! Great! The software is simple too. You just find your device from a list, click add and then sync and that’s it your ready to go.

What if it can’t find my device?

Sometimes manufacturers use the same remote control with a couple of variations and the Logitech software will need to determine which remote it is. To do this all you need to do is put the remote for the device and the harmony remote in front of each other and click a couple of buttons then, bam! It’s learn’t which remote it is and your away.

Can I adjust any buttons to do something else?

Yes you can tweak any of the buttons on the remote control. So if something isn’t quite right or you use an option more frequently you can move it’s location simply using the powerful software provided.

Does this only work for infra-red devices? I have a PS3.

Logitech Harmony 300i

No, Logitech have thought of that so you can get a little adapter for the PS3 and it will work perfectly.

I do like the sound of it, can I see it in action?

Of course you can check out our video review below:

Overall

Overall I was really impressed with the harmony remote control. I must say I thought it was going to be a chore to setup but it really isn’t the software works perfectly and made setting up 3 devices less than 10 minutes work. The harmony is fully configurable too and Logitech supports thousands of devices so it’s very likely to find yours. Now I can put away 3 remote controls that control my entertainment and just keep the one reducing clutter, hassle and cost of batteries! Overall we award the product with 4/5 clouds. It falls down only on browser compatibility (at time of using the device only Firefox would work) and it’s a shame you can’t change the name of the devices on the remote.

Thanks to Logitech for sending this to Cloud Bite to review (sorry it’s taken so long for the review)