Game Gripper

When I first saw Game Gripper, I knew I'd like it but I didn't think I'd love it! It arrived this morning and at first glance it wasn't what I thought it'd be. You see, it's made out of rubber. I had this expectation that it'd be an attachment that would click on; it'd be made of some kind of hard plastic. But rubber holds in place well so it works.

The design is pretty good too. When you place it over the phone, you'll notice that it's flush on the top and bottom. The sides stick out a bit and don't hug the Droid's body perfectly but it's a necessary evil: how else would you attach it?

The first game I tried out was my absolute favorite game on the Genesis: The original X-Men. In about 10 minutes, I was already in Mojo's level with Nightcrawler, of course. The controls are perfect although the pad did slip from time to time. Either way, it doesn't matter, it's still a great experience.

But as with everything in life, I did find one flaw and that's with the button scheme. I don't understand why he choose to add 4 buttons in the middle. At no point while playing X-Men did I feel the urge to go hunting for them. But what saddens me the most is that Street Fighter will not be playable with these controls. SNK games will be great if Neo-Geo Pocket is ever released but Capcom fans are in for a disappointment. I really wish the designer would have would have looked more into the traditional Sega button scheme. On the bright side, there are tons of other games you can play to relive those childhood memories so don't this oversight keep you from buying one.

Grade: A+

Note to Droid Users: This is a must have!

Review - The Motorola Droid w/ Android 2.0

First, some specs:

- Carrier: Verizon
- Available: October 30th 2009
- Networks: CDMA dual band (800/1900 MHz); CDMA2000 1xRTT/1xEV-DO rev.0/1xEV-DO rev.A
- Display: 3.7-inch screen with 854×480 (16:9 widescreen) capacitive touchscreen
- Camera: 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash and video recording
- Operating system: Google Android 2.0 OS
- Input: QWERTY keyboard, touchscreen
- CPU: 600 MHz ARM Cortex A8 Processor
- Memory: 256 MB RAM / 512 MB ROM
- Memory card: microSD/microSDHC
- Connectivity: GPS, Wi-Fi, 3.5mm HeadPhone Jack
- Misc: AMR-NB/WB, MP3, PCM / WAV, AAC, AAC +, eAAC +, WMA
- Media: MPEG-4, H263, H264, WMV
- Form factor:
- Battery: 1400mAh Li-ion
- Talk Time: 420 minutes
- Standby Time: 450 hours
- Dimensions: 60.00 x 115.80 x 13.70 mm
- Weight: 169g

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A lot of hype and a few questionable commercials later, the Motorola Droid for the Verizon network has been released. To my dismay, I do not receive a strong reception in the rear half of my apartment. Both Sprint and my former carrier, T-Mobile, have great reception here. So right away, that was a downer. But, aside from that, the new features Android 2.0 brings are great. The Droid's headliners are Google Navigation and it's overall speed.

Google Maps had been, for quite a while, not considered a true competitor to standalone GPS units. With Google Navigation, this all changes. Turn-by-turn direction has been dead on so far and it's beautiful. Although, I've yet to test it exhaustively, my first glimpse of it in action showed a lot of promise.

Also, many have touted the Android OS as a multitasking beast but the G1 proved to be slow. That said, it was by no means perfect but it was good enough handset to gain a strong following of users and developers. The second generation Android phone, the Droid, on the other hand, handles anything you through at it with ease. Although, not considered the successor to the G1, it's related to the G1. These loose ties between new phone models and successors makes me if Apple might be regretting being the sole manufacturer and distributor of the iPhone.

With all the Android phones out there, it's up to the consumer to decide which one is best for them. With Apple, the consumer needs to decide if now is good time to buy or, if another newer version is around the corner, wait. This tends to create mixed emotions when people buy Apple's latest and greatest only to find out the following morning that what's they've bought has already been made obsolete.

In closing, the Droid has definitely won my approval, hands down. I'm just waiting to get my hands on some accessories now so I can complete the Droid experience.