Ah, the “rugged” cell phone. What better expression of man’s eternal desire to dominate his surroundings than to take a thoroughly unnatural creation deep into the wilds of nature? Though I don’t discount the sheer necessity of cell phone ownership or use, especially these days (it’s worth it to have at least some kind of cell phone on hand wherever you go), the Casio G’zOne Ravine is a force that’s pretty potent in the wild, if just a bit lacking in the utility department.

The Casio G’zOne Ravine is a folder style cell phone that offers speakerphone, voice recorder, world clock, E911 capability, speech to text capability, a flashlight, a thermomenter, a push to talk mode, mobile web, mobile email, VCAST service, a variety of messaging capabilities (text, multimedia, picture and voice are all available), a variety of downloadable items (including ring tones and games), and a 3.2 megapixel camera with LED light, white balance effects, a self-timer and a variety of special effects. You’ll also get VZ Navigator with GPS, tidal graph application (for the fisherman who wants to know when the best fishing hits), an astronomical calendar that shows the lunar cycle, alarm clock, calendar, stopwatch, MP3 player, 2.5mm headphone jack, and a battery capable of yielding five hours of talk time on a single charge.

There are a lot of great reasons for outdoor enthusiasts to have a Casio G’zOne. Between the military-grade durability against dust, shock and water (some pictures show it fully immersed in water) and the variety of outdoor-specific applications, it’s a tool easily on par with a Swiss army knife. Sure, it’s no match for an upper-rank smartphone in terms of utility, but one thing is clear–this has plenty going for it.

If you’re not planning to take this out for anything harsher than a pizza run, then you can probably do a lot better than the Casio G’zOne Ravine. But if you’ve got plans that take you into the deep woods for extended periods of time, then you’ll probably like this cell phone.

The Good

Incredible durability

Terrific features for outdoors enthusiast

The Bad

Mediocre battery life

Decided lack of non-outdoorsy features

Score 7 / 10

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Everyone likes big monsters, whether it be Godzilla-like beasts or Katamari balls. There’s just some kind of macho fascination with giant, indestructible things that are hell-bent on terrorizing the Earth. Flowers, though – flowers are tough. The idea to have a big killer flower has existed, and has been successful, in the past with the Little Shop of Horrors, but game developers tend to stay away altogether.

Without a degree in psychology or any kind of research, I will attempt to accurately predict people’s thoughts on flowers. Flowers are soft, pretty, smell good, and are loved by girls (and guys, but the stereotype is that they are primarily liked by girls) all over the world for one reason or another. Because of this, many guys don’t want anything to do with flowers in their video games.

BIG BAD Brush sidesteps the gender stereotype by adding BIG and BAD (in caps) to the flower, creating a gender boundary breaking game that is sure to please macho world dominators and little girls alike (not that they can’t be one and the same — Ed.). The game starts with you, a living sunflower that plans on taking over the world. The problem is that every being in the universe wants to stop you.

Each level in the decidedly simple game starts with you, as the big sunflower, at the bottom of the screen with a bunch of things overhead for people or things to appear on. For example, the first levels have the sunflower in a backyard being ravaged by all of nature’s little creatures. Birds and squirrels throw things at you, mushrooms grow and cut off your health, and little critters come parachuting down from the sky to attack.

In your arsenal is a single weapon: bubbles. Again, BIG BAD Brush skirts the gender boundary by adding cutesy bubbles as weapons. To use a bubble, you have to draw a circle around the creature that you want to capture. After the creature is captured, you must swipe your finger on the sunflower and it blows the bubble away.

I know, playing as a sunflower that blows all the planetary domination “haters” away sounds like kids stuff, but the artwork is decidedly testosterone injected. The flower looks mean – real mean. So do the military units and giant creatures that come after you in later levels. Even the icon, complete with crazy eyes, looks mean.

Aside from all the flower talk, BIG BAD Flower is an excellent game that thrives off its sense of style. The game is fun, although slightly repetitive after some time, but the total package is a complete win. I would love to see some other attacks available, like a thorny vine arm or even some fire breath, but there’s really nothing wrong with the bubble system. If you like fast paced games with a sense of humor, be sure to check out BIG BAD Flower. You won’t be disappointed.

[ BIG BAD Flower Review is a post from 148Apps ]

S400 is the codename of the new rugged notebook developed by Getac, which has a price tag of $1,800 and a shipping date set for late November 2010.

One of the best details of the Getac S400 is the KryptoShell body that is able to withstand high as well as low temperatures, vibration, and shocks. Specification-wise there are two options for the processor: an Intel Core i3-350M processor running at 2.26GHz, or an Intel Core i5-520M at 2.4GHz; the memory RAM can have up to 8GB and the graphics card is powered by a GeForce G310M. Other details include a 14-inch screen with 1366

Some of you might remember when we discussed the Arkon Sports Armband, the one that turns a regular arm into a Pip-Boy, and now there is a device by Universal Display that does essentially the same thing.

The military has tried these out, and although they only have eight of these units, their reports have been favorable.

The devices were presented to the military for evaluation and testing, and were showcased at the U.S. Army’s C4ISR On-the-Move testing environment last month at Fort Dix, New Jersey, where they received positive feedback by senior leaders who make critical research, development and acquisition investment decisions.

I suppose this could turn a soldier into some sort of science-fiction soldier, couldn’t it? We will see.

Source

The Battlefield series has always been a huge money maker for EA, but many fans were clamoring for a more gritty experience. People wanted blood and battlefields that blew up during combat. In 2008, what they got was Battlefield: Bad Company.

The original Bad Company followed four military insubordinates that are sent out before Special Forces to basically become military cannon fodder. Instead of the tidy Battlefield missions, Bad Company was a manic shooter with fully destructible objects, plenty of blood, and a good deal of over the top humor. The second Bad Company game took the same formula but made it a much more streamlined, cinematic experience. It was still the gritty game that everyone came to love (or hate, depending on how much frantic action people could endure), but with a bit more polish. The real star of the show was the multiplayer experience, something that has rarely been successful on the iOS.

As part of EA’s huge fall lineup, EA DICE is releasing Battlefield: Bad Company 2 to the iOS, complete with a 14 level single player campaign and what I’m hoping is a console worthy multiplayer experience. There aren’t many details yet, but the game promises to have 5 detailed landscapes and “adrenaline-pumping” room to room and vehicle combat, as well as some graphics that look almost console worthy.

As with most console based FPS, the real meat of the game will come with the multiplayer, so hopefully EA nails down the online experience. Be sure to check back after the game launches in November for a full review.

Be sure to check out the additional screenshots after the break.

[ Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Coming To Your iPhone is a post from 148Apps ]