Allwinner A13 Android Tablet Review

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

When I told my son I was taking part in the Money Supermarket Inspect-A-Gadget challenge he asked me if it meant I was going to start roller skating on springs. Luckily for me the challenge involved reviewing travel gadgets. When you travel ideally you want to take your gadgets with you so that you can use them; most gadgets are expensive to buy and there is always the risk of losing them, having them stolen or fall in a swimming pool. The idea behind this challenge was to look at cheaper gadgets to see if they have the same functionality as their expensive counterparts. Obviously if I lost a £50 gadget I would be much less upset than if I lost a £500 gadget.

There was a choice of four gadgets and I chose to review the Allwinner A13 Android Tablet. When I travel I like to keep in touch so I needed something that would allow me to read emails, read, watch videos and play games. The tablet cost £36 so I was really interested to see what functionality I got for that price.

Allwinner A13 Android Tablet
The tablet has a 7″ touch screen which makes it a really nice size for packing. It can be easily held in the hands. It weighs 500g so it is nice and light. The tablet also comes in a range of colours which is nice, I picked a lovely blue colour but you can also get it in pink, white and black.

The tablet comes with a mains charger and a USB cable that can also be used for charging. The tablet comes with 4GB internal memory and this can be extended with an SD card. It supports up to 32GB. There is also a socket which allows you to use headphones with the tablet.

Once charged the tablet is easily turned on using the small button on the side. At the top of the tablet there is a switch which allows you to control the volume. The screen resolution is 800 * 480 pixels and it is bright and clear enough to read.

The tablet comes with an instruction manual which details how you use it. If you are familiar with Android you will not need it. The instruction booklet is written in rather strange English, which made me smile. For example it implores you “Please don’t be in high temperature, moisture or very dust place”

The tablet is Android and comes with the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Operating System installed. There are some icons on the bottom of the screen.

You have easy access to an internet browser, a camera, a video and photo player and a music application. Clicking the icon that looks like a load of little boxes in the right hand corner of the screen allows you to access other applications.

There is a calendar, office suites, calculator, access to email and plenty of other apps. If this is not enough you can easily enter the google play store and install more. Email is one of the things I would use a lot whilst travelling and this is really easy to set up. I am not sure why Android has gmail and other emails in different places but this is a minor thing and does not stop you reading email.

The tablet has wi-fi access and this is easily set up under the settings screen.

You can also set the date and time and other options in here.

The tablet comes with a front facing 1.3 Mega Pixel camera which is simple to use and has a lot of camera options. It would be more useful for conference calls than taking actual photos but it is a good feature to have. You can easily view photos and videos using the provided HD player and this is good quality.

I was very pleased with the tablet. The functionality you get for the price is great, it certainly does all I would want to do whilst travelling. I liked the size as well, it is much easier to carry around. My only niggle was the battery life. It is meant to last 3 hours but if you are travelling a longer battery time would be better.

Sadly I now seem to have lost the tablet to my son who is quite happy playing games on it.

I am quite happy with that as it means I get to use my own tablet and he has one he loves.

Disclosure: I was sent a tablet in order to do an honest review. I was not told what to write and all my opinions are my own.

Mini Ninjas: IPad App Review

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

With half term coming up shortly I was pleased to be asked to review a new app for the IPad, Mini Ninjas. In the game you start off as Hiro, the smallest of a gang of Mini Ninjas who have set out to defeat the Evil Samuari Warlord. The other Mini Ninjas have all been captured so it is up to Hiro to save the day and free his friends.

Hiro starts off running along a scrolling screen, he has to jump over obstacles, fight off enemies and on the way collects coins and ingredients for special potions. Hiro is able to use Kuji magic which allows him to form a protective bubble around himself, create electrical storms or possess animals to sneak past enemies.

The action is fast paced, you tap on the screen to make Hiro jump or attack and it is great fun seeing him take on the enemies. On the way you get to pick up animals, which follow you about. You also get to release your trapped friends. If you do this you can play as a different Mini Ninja and get to use their abilities.

All the Mini Ninjas have different skills. As well as Hiro you can be Suzume , who has a magic flute that attracts collectables, Kunoichini, who has a staff to allow you to do massive attacking jumps, and Futo, who has a massive hammer which will smash rocks and everything around.

In the latest version of the game you can also take on the abilities of your animal companions which gives you even more skills to use to defeat your enemies. You get the power ups from the Dojo Shop in the game when you have enough coins. Then you can use the moves of Panda, Fox or Crane. Panda is powerful and wise with strength like no other allowing you to knock aside enemies with ease. Fox is agile and swift allowing you to pounce out of danger with ease and Crane is graceful but deadly with aerial abilities which help to avoid flying enemies.

The coins you collect also allow you to customise your ninja in the shop as well as buying other power ups to help you on your quest. The game is fast paced and enjoyable. My son spent ages playing and is much better than I am. It is really addictive and great fun. Square Enix, who wrote the game, are planning a cartoon of Mini Ninjas in the future and I can see this becoming a big hit with kids.

Mini Ninjas is RRP £0.69 and is available from the App Store for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. You can download it here: https://itunes.apple.com/app/mini-ninjas/id577106023?mt=8

You can also find more information on the Mini Ninjas website: http://eu.square-enix.com/en/games/mini-ninjas-mobile

Disclosure: We were sent a code for the app in order to do an honest review.

Magix Page & Layout Designer Review

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

Recently I have needed a decent design program to create a number of different things like business cards and fliers but I didn’t have a suitable program on my computer. My son was complaining as he had been taught to do some page design at school but was not able to complete his homework. You can do a certain amount using a word processor but it is not so good for designing cards or small business cards. I was really pleased when I was asked to review Magix Page & Layout Designer as it sounded like just what I needed.

Magix Page &Layout Designer allows you to create business cards, letter heads, invitations, birthday and other cards, menus, logos, flyers and anything else you can think of. It provides a large amount of templates to get you started or you can just create your own design from scratch.

When you first start the program you get a document appearing on the screen which takes you though how to use it. It is useful to read this but the program is very intuitive and it is easy to guess what to do. If you are stuck the help system is comprehensive.

To get started just go into the Design Gallery and choose a template. There are plenty to choose from and each can be modified to your preferences. I really liked the range of photo albums which allowed me to create my own professional looking photo book. You can even enhance the photos directly from the application which is very useful. If you just want a blank page you can choose different sizes and orientations.

There is also a wide range of clip art, even dragons which pleased me. You can easily resize, change the colour and add your own text to your design.

Once you have chosen the template you want to use then you can do modifications using the different galleries and tools.

I had great fun adding shapes and changing them so they were 3D in appearance. Text can be easily placed and it will even flow around objects creating a professional look and feel. You can easily add borders as well using the line gallery, there are a range of standard plain lines as well as more interesting effects like little footprints. It is easy to modify the size and colour of these as well. Magix Page & Layout Designer can also be used as a logo maker and I will be trying this feature out next. You can also easily create a pdf of your design and share it on Flickr and Facebook.

I found the software really easy to use and was able to create a number of professional looking documents which I was pleased it. My son was also able to use it without any help and was soon happily creating away. I will be using this software a lot in the future.

You can buy Magix Page & Layout Designer for £69.99. Magix can be found on facebook and it is worth giving them a follow to find out the latest about their produces and they regularly run competitions

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of Magix Page & Layout Designer in order to do an honest review. I was not told what to write and my opinions are my own.

Ideal Cases – Personalised Device Cases Review

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

Recently I was asked by Ideal Cases if I would like to design a personalised case for a device of my choice. The cases are personalised so you can add your own photos and art work which make it unique. I definitely need a cover for my phone as I have this terrible habit of dropping it and if it did not have a case it would be a wreck by now. The case I had was looking a little bit worse for wear so I was pleased to get the chance to replace it.

Ideal Cases has a range of covers for lots of different devices. From phones of all shapes and sizes to e-readers and i-pads, they have it covered. Once you have chosen the device it is really easy to design a cover, the website guides you though the steps.

First you chose the type of case you want, the options vary depending on the device you have. For the iphone 3GS they have clip on cases in plastic. For other devices you can get rubber and leather as well. I was quite happy with the clip on case, which offers medium drop protection and high scratch protection.

Designing your case is great fun. You can choose to upload photos in a grid design or template design. If you know what you want you can start with a blank canvas and design what you want. Finally you can use DIY Fan Art which allows you to customise pictures of your favourite band or film. I went for the photo upload option and decided to chose some personal pictures to make it special.

As well as the photos you can add little bits of clip art to give the case a bit of style. I added a little star above my son. The case colour can be changed to suit and I went for a blue colour. You can also add frames around the photographs if you wish.

The case arrived in a little plastic box which showed it off to perfection.

The case also has all the holes in the right place to allow you to access all the switches and buttons on the phone. It fits snugly round the phone and feels very secure.

I love the look and feel of my new phone cover, it is really personal and makes it stand out. These cases would make a lovely personalised gift as well as being practical.

The whole ordering and designing process was very simple and straight forward. The case arrived reasonably quickly and you can track your order on-line to see what is happening. You also get emails though-out the process to let you know what is going on. My case was RRP £24.99, obviously the price will depend on the case you choose.

For more information visit http://www.idealcases.co.uk

Disclosure: FuelMyBlog organised for me to receive a case to my design in order for me to do an honest review. I was not told what to write and my opinions are my own.

LED Light Bulbs Review

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

In these days of increasing energy prices everyone is aware of energy saving light bulbs. Until recently filament light bulbs were in use in most homes but these have been phased out. I use energy saving light bulbs but I am not very keen on them. I find they take a long time to warm up and become bright and overall their light seems dimmer. I was very interested to learn that you can now buy LED Light Bulbs from LED Hut.

In case you are not aware, LED stands for light emitting diode. When these were first invented you could only get them in red. I remember being fascinated as a child when they were using in clock faces and scientific calculators to show the numbers. Technology has moved on since then and they now come in a range of colours. They now have many uses including backlighting LCD TV’s.

I was really keen to try the LED bulbs and see if they would be an improvement on low energy bulbs. The great thing about using LED bulbs is that they also have a low energy consumption. A normal incandescent light bulb loses a lot of energy as heat. LED’s are an improvement for a number of reasons.

LED’s are more efficient and use 90% less energy.
LED’s last longer. They last 25-30 years providing consistent light without breaking.
They create less carbon dioxide (a factor in global warming) . Switching all your bulbs to LEDs can save 56 tonnes of carbon dioxide being created.
They save money. You can save £9.15 per month by swapping 12 standard 50W halogen light bulbs to LEDs light bulbs which works out as £2,550 over the bulbs’ lifespan.

It all sounded great but I wondered how they would work out in practice.

The bulbs arrived in rather plain white boxes carefully wrapped in bubble wrap to prevent breakages.

Opening the boxes I found the bulbs. They come in a range of different sizes that will fit most standard light fittings. You can even get LED Strip lights. I needed candle type bulbs and normal shaped bulbs to light my living room. You can get them in both screw fitting and bayonet fitting depending what you need.

The LED light bulbs come in different values of Watts, the same way ordinary light bulbs do. You can also choose the type of light you want, from cool white to warm white. The cool is more suitable for bathrooms and kitchens and the warm for living areas.

They look very much like normal bulbs until you look at them head on. When you do this you can see the LED’s inside the bulb, it looks a little bit like a flower.

So what did I think? I installed the LED light bulbs in my living room as it looks really gloomy with energy saving light bulbs. When I switched on I noticed an instant difference. The bulbs seemed bright instantly, I did not have to wait for the light to warm up and reach full brightness. I also thought that the room seemed a lot brighter with less lights on. I was very pleased with the results and will be looking at changing the bulbs in my other rooms as well. The great thing is that I am saving money while I am using these bulbs and they should not need replacing for a long time. The bulbs are slightly more expensive to buy up front but considering how long they last it is a worthwhile investment. The standard bulbs I fitted are £12.83 and the candle bulbs are £8.60.

You can visit the LED Hut website for more information about LED light bulbs and to use their interactive energy saving calculator.

Disclosure: I was sent some LED Light Bulbs to try out and find out more about them in return for an honest review. I was not told what to write and my opinions are my own.