Fluid Mask 3.two is an accomplished plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements that adds a entire suite of effective image masking tools to the well-known image editor.

Image masking lets you isolate and cut out parts of a photo, and Fluid Mask three.2 contains capabilities that make the process less complicated and a lot more dependable.

Because this is each a plug-in and a standalone item, time and technologies has been spent on perfecting the tools, with quite impressive results. The tools included with Fluid Mask three.2 are a lot much more potent than those supplied with common photo editing software program.

Users of Photoshop Elements will see the greatest improvement, even though we feel even professionals utilizing the full version of Photoshop will be impressed.

Fluid Mask three.2 identifies and segments images according to colours and tones, and for the most portion it does a excellent job. Similar tones can at times get mixed up, although – in 1 test photo, a person’s arm and the desk behind it had been identified as the exact same colour and combined as one.

This was quickly rectified by drawing a line with the Forced Edge tool by way of the choice, dividing it along the edges of the objects. With care and attention, even fine hairs can be identified and busy backgrounds removed.

1 of the excellent issues about Fluid Mask 3.two is that you don’t need to be a professional artist to use its effective tools. Image segmentation, edge blending and other complex masking strategies can be implemented easily.

A handy Tip pane gives you in-depth details about each and every tool you click on, without being patronising or obstructing your work with annoying pop-up windows. If you are much more confident in high-level photo editing, you can tweak and edit the tools, and with a little effort the outcomes can be incredible.

As mentioned, if you do not have access to Adobe’s software, Fluid Mask three.2 also comes with a standalone editor for using its tools, although it works best as a plug-in for the more advanced package.

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As part of the review kit for the AMD A8-3850 Fusion APU we were supplied with this MSI A75MA-G55. The Fusion chips ought to be at property in these sorts of little scale motherboards.

And lately it is all been about the modest form factor motherboard.

The microATX form factor has been making one hell of a comeback because so a lot of your PC’s tech has disappeared beneath the unassuming heatspreader of the central chunk of silicon in your machine.

Because graphics began to come back on-die it has freed up a hell of a lot of genuine-estate on the motherboard.

You can go one of two methods then, either cram in a load of, possibly, useless extras or trim down the footprint of the board to shave off the unnecessary space.

We’ve noticed some tiny H67 and Z68 boards recently, even going as far as the mini-ITX form factor, and this MSI A75MA-G55 is the first AMD Llano Fusion board we’ve noticed on a smaller scale.

The desktop version of Llano, the Lynx platform, lends itself perfectly to this smaller form factor.

With impressive integrated graphics efficiency and low-energy requirements the A-series APUs make the best HTPC that may possibly occasionally want to turn its hand to a li’l light gaming.

The Asus and MSI boards are incredibly close in performance terms when it comes to stock speeds, below although it’s obvious the level of extra performance the Asus’ overclocking capabilities delivers.

Still, the MSI copes happily with the Dual Graphics choice, offering decent performance in the hybrid CrossFire mode and with improved RAM speeds.

As a complete we’ve been impressed by what the desktop version of AMD’s Llano can generate, each in terms of graphics and far more surprisingly in its raw computational chops.

We paired up AMD’s leading APU, the A8-3850, with this board from MSI to see what we could get out of this smaller mobo compared with the full-fat Asus F1A75-V Pro.

At stock speeds it is all excellent.

The MSI board happily keeps pace with the larger Asus providing, with performance only a shade off. The A75MA-G55 is also rather nicely-heeled in the functions department too, showing off full SATA 6Gb/s coverage and USB 3. sockets out back and by means of a break-out box too.

With a small light coaxing we also managed to squeeze out 1,600MHz from our DDR3 RAM, making a surprising distinction in games performance – specially with a discrete card installed in Dual Graphics mode too.

But this is a brand new chipset and brand new software too, so it is only to be expected that there be teething troubles with the BIOS.

It took a little extra effort to get the extra memory speed, but sadly the very same though couldn’t be mentioned for any overclocking shenanigans.

The amount of overclocking headroom in the Llano desktop APU is one of the items that impressed us most. The notebook version had a really weak CPU portion, but the Lynx platform has a lot of prospective in it.

We managed to hit 3.7GHz with our two.9GHz APU sample on the Asus motherboard.

According to MSI’s old school, non-EFI BIOS we were able to hit over 5GHz on air. Unfortunately our astonishment at this feat evaporated when it transpired the motherboard was performing nothing of the sort.

In fact we couldn’t force any additional efficiency out of the A8-3850 APU at all. Not a single silicon sausage.

Now as an HTPC it is not a huge difficulty, and I’m positive subsequent BIOS updates may possibly well impact a alter in this lack of performance, but for now it is tough to advise understanding what you could get out of that APU.

We liked

As an HTPC motherboard, with no pretentions towards enthusiast efficiency, it is a excellent price and fit for the mATX scale and AMD Llano Fusion APUs.

It’s also impressive that you can get almost the very same stock efficiency out of this motherboard as the much more costly Asus board.

We disliked

As much as it’s not so important for the HTPC arena this board’s aimed at, the reality there is zero overclocking capability is a bit of a downer. Although that does appear like a BIOS issue rather than a hardware failure.

Final word

As a form factor the mATX size is a excellent match for the Llano platform, this vaguely broken MSI board however is presently something but a ideal match.

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The Rainy Day Android App by ideabox is a exclusive side scroller game for the Android platform. The object of the game is to stay away from the rain and get as far as you can whilst collecting a selection of items along the way. The game has a very intuitive tutorial that I extremely recommend you check out prior to you play for the very first time. The tutorial will show you all of the points that you can collect and all of the items that you should stay away from.

The controls consist of a forward an backward button in the bottom left hand corner and a push button in the bottom appropriate hand corner which is fundamentally your action button. The graphics are genuinely nice and exclusive artwork. The graphics have an overall comic really feel to them but they are really detailed and really properly carried out.

Overll, this is a extremely well produced side scroller game with lots of content, obstacles and points to collect. At the time of this evaluation the Rainy Day Android App is free. Thumbs Up.

The Birdland Game Android App by Birdland is a virtual pet bird game for the Android platform. The object of the game is to decorate your cages, take care of your birds, breed your birds and sell them. The game is a social game so you can check out your friend’s cages too.

The game is pretty easy to play, all of the controls are located on the bottom of the screen. Also located on the bottom of the screen is the shop where you can purchase new birds, food and items for your bird cages. Each item purchased gives you more experience points. In order to earn more money you will need to breed and sell your birds. You can also get more money by purchasing some with real money if you really need some.

Overall, this is a very well made virtual pet bird game with good quality graphics for the Android with social features which enables you to play with your friends. At the time of this review the Birdland Game Android App is free. Thumbs Up.

The Jenga Android App by NaturalMotionGames Ltd was designed with the consultation of the original creator of Jenga, Leslie Scott. The game features realistic physics, awesome 3D graphics, touch controls, 3 different modes of gameplay and available upgrades. The first mode of game play is Arcade mode which features colored blocks, bonus points, coins and upgrades. The object of this mode is to create rows as quickly as possible and if you create a row with blocks of the same color you get a bonus. Coins can be earned during this mode and can be redeemed for extra time and wild card blocks. The second game mode is the Classic Jenga mode where the object is to build the tower as high as you can without it falling over and lading on the table. The third game mode is Pass and Play mode where you can play against other players, up to 4 players, in Classic Jenga mode.

The controls for this game were very well done. This makes playing the game as realistic as possible without being able to physically hold the Jenga piece in your hand. The physics of this game are very accurate as well which adds to the realistic factor of the game. The graphics are high quality and 3D from the actual Jenga blocks to the background of the game.

Overall, this is an excellent mobile version of Jenga. At the time of this review the Jenga Android App is $ 2.99. Thumbs Up.

Whatever you do, don’t mistake the Genius Wireless Pen Mouse for a replacement for a Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch graphics tablet, or even Genius’ own G-Pen M609. This isn’t a device for graphical artists to replicate their brushstrokes on the computer, and if you bought one thinking it was, you’d be disappointed.

What the Genius Wireless Pen Mouse actually is, is a pen-shaped mouse. Dragging the tip of the pen across a desk, we were able to control Windows pretty well. Pressing down on the nib replicates a left mouse button click, and there is another button on the shaft for right mouse button clicks.

It works rather well, with the familiar shape of a pen allowing you to get used to the new input device pretty quickly.

We found that the Genius Wireless Pen Mouse is best suited for working on large and multiple monitors, as you can move the cursor from one side of the screen to the other quickly, in a small space. You might find the Genius Wireless Pen Mouse a bit over-sensitive when you first use it, with its 1200 DPI sensor, but changing the mouse cursor speed in Windows can make a big difference.

It’s a device that works well, and we can certainly see the appeal of it. It’s not quite good enough to completely replace the traditional mouse for most tasks, however.

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The BUG VILLAGE Android App by Glu Mobile is an Android game in which you build a village with several different types of bugs who have home that you built in the village. The village depends on resources which you must set up to be garnered. The gameplay requires a tutorial which is extremely helpful in understanding the game and does simplify the controls and game play. The graphics engine on the game is on par with some of the better games for Android. The game is regularly updated and maintained as well.

When you open the app you will see the main menu in front of you and you will be able begin the game immediately. Once you have completed the tutorial it’s time to begin growing your village. Remember you are responsible for maintaining and growing the entire village. You are also responsible for making sure that the gold coins are spent properly to ensure you get the most “bang for your buck.” As you earn more money you will be able to purchase more bug items and upgrade the items in the village.

Overall, this is a very fun an entertaining game. At the time of this review the BUG VILLAGE Android App is free. Thumbs Up.

Download BUG VILLAGE Android App

Medion’s Erazer X6813 – branded as a “gaming notebook” – might seem like an oxymoron to some.

Gaming is a traditionally immersive endeavour, and while casual gaming marches forward with the momentum of a sinister (but casual) army of men in silly hats, there are still serious games with serious budgets that offer serious escapism, if you’ve got the gear to render such visual finery.

Here’s where the 15.6-inch Medion Erazer X6813 comes in. Like the MSI GT680 and the diminutive 11.6-inch Alienware M11x, it’s designed to offer gamers the kind of frame rates they’re used to on desktop machines, but on the go – at the expense of £1,000 or more.

Here’s where the incongruity kicks in – how and why would you want to play such visually impressive, immersive titles in public places? Isn’t that the point of notebooks, after all?

Well, maybe you’re taken with the idea of using the Medion Erazer X6813 like a traditional notebook while you’re on the move, working with office apps and browsing the web, then plugging its charger in when you get home and unleashing that powerful GPU on the latest DirectX 11 games. Some ‘notebooks’ such as Alienware’s M18X throw that notion out of the window entirely, and compromise practicality for sheer performance.

Like MSI’s GT680, the GPU that Medion has opted for with the Erazer X6813 is Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 460M.

The GPU is an absolutely pivotal component for a gaming notebook, and while the GTX 460M’s impressive architecture and performance are undeniable, Nvidia’s release of the GTX 570M and GTX 580M Optimus mobile discrete GPUs shoves it down the pecking order somewhat.

Not only are the GTX 570M and GTX 580M the fastest notebook GPUs ever, but they at least promise to improve battery life, the mortal enemy of gaming laptops and notebooks.

With AMD’s excellent Llano APUs already hitting shelves and offering comparative performances to notebook GPUs from an integrated graphics solution with much better battery life, Medion’s Erazer X6813 comes at an interesting time in mobile gaming.

The biggest asset that Medion has given its Erazer X6813 is pure gaming performance. As the 3DMark 11 scores indicate, that GTX 460M under the hood does a sterling job with bleeding edge rendering techniques such as tessellation, bokeh filtering and advanced dynamic shadows and lighting.

The GTX 460M itself is based on the GTX 450 desktop GPU, which might be overshadowed by the GTX 460 (note the lack of an ‘M’) in the desktop market. It’s a capable Fermi card with solid architecture.

It’s not perfect, though. The chief drawback comes from the noisy fan and the hot air it chucks out. For a notebook, these are real drawbacks. MSI’s GT680 is equipped with the same GPU and suffers the same problem, but as Medion’s Erazer X6813 will set you back £400 less, the cash you save might drown out the fan noise somewhat.

The bottom line for the GTX 460M inside this Medion Erazer X6813 is that playing new games at max settings shouldn’t be a problem, even at the screen’s native resolution of 1920 x 1080.

Of course, it has help from the Intel Core i7 2630QM CPU, too. With four cores of eight threads at its disposal, and a Turbo Boosted running speed of 2.9 GHz, it’s one mighty fine piece of Sandy Bridge silicon.

The downside is that although the integrated graphics processor (iGPU) in the 2630QM is capable in present day integrated graphics terms, early testing of AMD Llano chips blows this Intel HD Graphics 3000 engine out of the water.

And when the AC adapter’s unplugged from the Medion Erazer X6813, you’re relying on integrated graphics for rendering tasks. As is the status quo with gaming notebooks, you’re only really able to make use of the notebook’s full gaming performance when you’re hooked up to mains power.

It’s another element of the whole ‘gaming notebook’ concept that doesn’t quite work, along with having to cart around peripherals such as controllers and mice.

Nowhere is this problem more prevalent than with Alienware’s M18X. It’ll set you back a cool £2,318, for which you’ll get two AMD Radeon HD 6970Ms in a CrossFireX configuration, but as soon as it’s separated from its AC adapter you’re pretty much relying on that HD Graphics 3000 engine again.

Plumping for 8GB of DDR3 RAM instead of the oft-preferred 4GB among system builders, Medion has ensured the Erazer X6813 offers nippy file operations and CPU-intensive tasks. You won’t see a whole lot of difference in gaming performance between 4GB and 8GB, but at this price point that extra memory comes as a welcome addition, rather than an unnecessary extra outlay, as is the case with the MSI GT680.

The choice of components inside the Medion Erazer X6813 can’t be faulted, and represent real value for money. Gaming performance on Alienware’s M11XR3 at the same price isn’t as quick, even on an 11.6-inch screen with a smaller native resolution of 1366 x 768, and while MSI’s GT680 can compete in performance terms, it’s much more expensive and doesn’t justify that extra cash.

But there’s no such thing as a free lunch. In order to ensure the Erazer X6813 lands near the £1,000 price point, there are some less than premium elements to this gaming notebook’s package.

The most obvious shortcoming is the screen. Clarity isn’t the problem; it’s the black-and-white saturation. Lighter colours appear washed out, and forget about trying to get a true black out of this screen – you can fiddle around with brightness and contrast until the cows come home.

For anyone prepared to pay £1,099 for a notebook, this is a major sticking point. You’re paying for bleeding edge graphics, but for all the hard work that the Nvidia GTX 460M puts in rendering them, if the screen can’t deliver a good picture it becomes a slightly moot point. The same goes for watching 1080p HD movies. If you want a good quality display, your best bet is to make use of the HDMI output.

There are further grumbles to be had about build quality. Alienware really has this area sewn up – both the M11XR3 and M18X offer unrivalled sturdiness and a reassuring feel to their keyboards and trackpads. You do pay through the teeth for it, though. MSI’s GT680, on the other hand, suffers a poor screen, flimsy keyboard and dated visuals.

The problem for the Medion Erazer X6813 is likewise, with a slightly unresponsive trackpad and flimsy keys. The visuals won’t set many gamers’ hearts a-thumping either, but they’re at least kept restrained and offer a welcome break from tacky neons.

Battery life isn’t great, either. The GTX 460M is a power-hungry card and that results in gaming times of around one-and-a-half to two hours. Again that hobbles any notion of genuine mobile gaming, but it’s a malady that spreads across the market – it isn’t localised to the Medion Erazer X6813.

Benchmarks

CineBench R11.5: 4.99 pts
3D Mark 11: P1812 3D Marks
Battery Eater 05: 1h20min

The Medion Erazer X6813 stands up very well against competition from Alienware and its M11XR3 and M18X notebooks, and also MSI’s similarly specc’d GT680.

At the same price point, Alienware’s M11XR3 falls behind in gaming performance but does offer superlative build quality and the Haile Gebrselassie of batteries. The M18X is a frankly ridiculous beast, priced at £2,318, but it’s about as mobile as an OAP.

We liked

Medion has done a lot right with the Erazer X6813 gaming notebook. The crucial components are all top-notch. A Sandy Bridge CPU isn’t to be sniffed at and will excel in multithreaded applications, thanks to its eight available threads.

The component that gamers really care about is the GPU, and again Medion is on the money by sticking an Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M inside the Erazer X6813.

In mobile discrete GPU terms it’s just been pushed out of the limelight by Nvidia’s new Optimus cards, the GTX 570M and GTX 580M, but it still has more than enough clout to generate playable frame rates from demanding DX11 games, thanks to some solid Fermi architecture.

What the GPU gives the Medion Erazer X6813 in performance, the CPU and RAM add to with aplomb, and for just over a grand the gaming performance it offers looks almost bargainous.

We disliked

The problem is, the whole notion of mobile gaming doesn’t stand up too well to scrutiny. For all the fancy mobile components, as soon as you factor in battery life, peripherals and integrated graphics, it seems a tiny bit pointless – the better a notebook performs in games, the heavier and more battery-draining it becomes, making it distinctly less ‘mobile’.

The MSI GT680 is really close in performance terms to the Medion Erazer X6813, but costs around an extra £400, which makes the Medion’s price tag look more and more appealing. Sadly there are compromises to keep that cost down but still include such quality CPU and GPUs. The Erazer X6813′s screen is the worst of the MSI and the two Alienwares, suffering from some seriously washed-out blacks and whites.

Elsewhere, the track pad doesn’t always recognise your taps, and the keyboard feels light and low budget. The aesthetic in general doesn’t match the gaming notebook vibe and the high-end components inside.

Verdict

So can a gaming notebook with a mediocre screen and build quality be recommended on the grounds of gaming performance alone? It all depends on how you intend to use the Medion Erazer X6813. Its uses are limited by short battery life, but it does compare favourably to other manufacturer’s offerings at this price.

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The Tap Ranch Android App by Gameview Studios is an Android game that is a simple time based farming game. The game is extremely well designed and has a very sporty graphics engine. The graphics are displayed very clearly and the game play is very simple to learn and master. The in game controls and the in game objects are also simple to learn and generally are not too confusing. The game does build with time as the more you earn the more items that can be unlocked. It also means the more items that will need to be tended to while playing.

When you open the app you will see the main menu in front of you and you will be able to select the gameplay and the game will start. Right out of the box you will be responsible for everything on the farm. The cow, the grass and even all of the plants; it will be up to you to earn enough credits to upgrade the farm and your equipment. You have to keep a careful eye on everything on the farm as one slight oversight could result in the loss of crops or another farm related item.

Overall, this is a very fun and entertaining game. At the time of this review the Tap Ranch Android App is free. Thumbs Up.

Download Tap Ranch Android App

Overland Equipment’s Cambridge is a great option for people who need to carry more than just their laptop.

Macworld

Lenovo is well known for its ThinkPad range, a collection of rather serious-looking business laptops that often do their job in an efficient, if unexciting, manner.

When we first laid hands on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1, we were definitely impressed. The conventional plain black design remains, but the firm body measures just 27mm at its thickest point and weighs a mere 1.8kg, making it effortlessly portable.

This is also one of the most rugged ultra-portables we’ve seen. Sure, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 lacks the immediate beauty of the Samsung 9 Series or Apple MacBook Air, but it’s solidly built in all areas, from the impressively tough lid to the rubberised frame. We’re a sucker for rubber, which helps with grip and means no pesky fingerprints.

Unlike the fragile-feeling Sony SB Series, we’re confident that this 13.3-inch PC laptop can survive a drop from a desk.

Not only can the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 survive a few whacks on the move, it can also handle accidental spillage. We witnessed a glass of tap water being poured into the keyboard by a gleeful marketing bod, which made the laptop shut down to protect its vital components. After tilting and shaking it to get rid of the water, we left it a short while then tried the power button. To the marketing bod’s further glee, it powered up without a whimper.

When we got back to TechRadar HQ, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1′s keyboard was thankfully dry again. We spent a couple of hours bashing out a lengthy exposition and were impressed by the comfort it offered. Each key is firmly set, poking through individual holes cut in the chassis, isolation-style. Even better, they’re backlit for ease of use in the dark.

It’s a great board for touch typing, although the arrow keys are a little cramped and we occasionally hit the PgUp/PgDn keys by accident. Our only other complaint is the corner position of the Fn key, which indents the left Ctrl key. We often hit Fn by mistake when using Windows shortcuts, which never failed to be bloody annoying.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1′s touchpad is rather ropey, its bevelled surface proving unresponsive to our swipes and prods, while the mouse buttons are unfortunately integrated into the bottom corners. Lenovo has also built in its trademark ‘nipple’ pointing stick, which protrudes from the centre of the keyboard. We can’t stand the thing, but others may disagree.

ThinkPad laptops always have a good range of features, aimed at business types, and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 is no exception. To the right of the touchpad you’ll find a fingerprint scanner that can be used to log you into Windows and even your favourite websites. It’s a good alternative to remembering passwords, if your memory is as bad as ours.

A SIM card slot at the back allows you to access the web while roaming, and you have standard built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi if you’re in range of a wireless network. Other ports include HDMI and DisplayPort connections for attaching monitors or projectors, and a SATA port that doubles as a sleep-and-charge USB port, for charging portable devices with the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 powered down.

You only get 320GB of storage, but there are few laptops this slim that offer more. This should still satisfy most people, although anyone who wants to carry around a large media collection would be advised to get a portable external drive. There’s also no built-in DVD drive.

Although the Lenovo ThinkPad X1′s screen is rather compact, at just 13.3 inches, it’s also vibrant enough to bring photos and films to life. HD movies look fantastic, and even sound great thanks to the surprisingly powerful built-in speakers.

We were particularly impressed by the wide viewing angles, and it’s bright enough to make working all day a comfortable experience. Unfortunately the Super-TFT coating means annoying reflections appear when it’s used outside.

One of Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge processors, a Core i5 2520M running at 2.5GHz, is the brains behind the Lenovo ThinkPad X1. We expected great things from our benchmark tests, and sure enough this laptop delivered.

The whopping Cinebench score of 10918 was only recently bettered by Dell’s incredible XPS 15z, which packs an Intel Core i7 CPU. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 will happily run anything you want, and last you quite some time to come. We noticed no slowdown even when running the most demanding editing suites and memory-crippling software.

Unfortunately, there’s no room in the Lenovo ThinkPad X1′s slender body for a dedicated graphics card. While Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors do a decent job of handling image rendering, more than doubling the performance of the previous generation chipsets, it’s still nowhere near enough power to play the latest games on anything resembling a decent detail setting.

Still, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 is a business machine at heart, and you definitely have enough graphical grunt to edit your media with applications such as Corel VideoStudio Pro. If you do want to kick back and relax, you’ll at least be able to play older games such as Left for Dead 2 and stream HD video.

The battery uses Lenovo’s RapidCharge technology, which recharges to 80% in a very impressive 30 minutes. However, we found the battery drained just as quick. If you watch a film on your hard drive with the screen turned up to full brightness, you’d better make sure it’s a short one – our review unit died after just 107 minutes.

If you dim the screen and restrict your usage to web browsing or bashing out a chapter of your novel, you’ll get another hour before the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 dies. It’s still not massively impressive though, considering its ultra-portable status.

Benchmarks

Cinebench: 10918
3DMark 03: 7765
Battery Eater 05: 107 minutes

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 business laptop may look familiar, but it’s impressively slimmed down from previous models and also reassuringly rugged. But can this ultra-portable hold its own in an increasingly competitive market?

We liked

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1′s rubberised body is solid as well as slender, and can take a few knocks or drops and come back fighting. We were particularly impressed by how well it coped with water spillage, powering down quickly and returning to normal as if nothing had happened.

The latest Sandy Bridge Core i5 technology provides stunning performance, coping with any software we threw its way. Features are plentiful, from the built-in 3G roaming support to the integrated fingerprint scanner.

We loved the Lenovo ThinkPad X1′s vibrant 13.3-inch display, with its rich colours and excellent viewing angles, while sound quality is surprisingly strong from the built-in speakers. And all this comes in a slim and light package that can be carried around everywhere you go.

We disliked

The lack of dedicated graphics on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 is a shame, but you can still watch HD films and run media editing suites. More of a sin is the battery, which dies in less than two hours when watching films on the move.

Although the backlit keyboard is well-sized and comfortable to use, the indented Left Ctrl key made using Windows shortcuts a real pain. We also found the Lenovo ThinkPad X1′s touchpad awkward to use at times. It’s not as responsive as we’d have liked, and the integrated mouse buttons are a downer.

Finally, if you want an ultra-portable laptop for working outside, bear in mind the reflective glossy screen coating.

Verdict

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 presents a tantalising combination of impressive power and ruggedness that should appeal to anyone seeking a regular travel companion. Just don’t expect it to last long without a power socket.

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The BUG VILLAGE Android App by Glu Mobile is an Android game in which you build a village with several different types of bugs who have home that you built in the village. The village depends on resources which you must set up to be garnered. The gameplay requires a tutorial which is extremely helpful in understanding the game and does simplify the controls and game play. The graphics engine on the game is on par with some of the better games for Android. The game is regularly updated and maintained as well.

When you open the app you will see the main menu in front of you and you will be able begin the game immediately. Once you have completed the tutorial it’s time to begin growing your village. Remember you are responsible for maintaining and growing the entire village. You are also responsible for making sure that the gold coins are spent properly to ensure you get the most “bang for your buck.” As you earn more money you will be able to purchase more bug items and upgrade the items in the village.

Overall, this is a very fun an entertaining game. At the time of this review the BUG VILLAGE Android App is free. Thumbs Up.

Download BUG VILLAGE Android App

There’s no debate, really: the original Yeti, unleashed last year, is the best USB microphone going. We gave it a well-deserved five star review and since then it’s dropped to an average price of under £100.For such an accomplished mic, that’s frankly astonishing.

The Blue Microphones Yeti Professional version doesn’t actually mess with the formula at all.

It has the same proprietary three capsule sensor with on-board gain control. It has the same quartet of operating modes, making it suitable for close-range, conferencing, stereo or mono recording.

It carries the same old-school looks, this time with a matte black finish to the body. And it’s equipped with the same two-way USB interface which features the same latency-free headphone/Mac output monitoring.

It’s still as compatible and straightforward as its older sibling where it counts. The big change that’s been made in the transition from standard to professional is the addition of a stereo XLR jack, which means the Yeti Pro can be hooked up to any industry-standard mixing console and used as a standard condenser mic.

This really solves the big deficiency of the original model; attempting to run a jack through its headphone monitoring port and hook it up to a desk was awkward at best.

Here you run the included Stereo XLR to 2x XLR cable directly into two mono tracks, switch on phantom power, and you’re done.

But that luxury comes at a price. Shop around and you might find the Yeti Pro for £210, over twice the price of the original, which stings a bit for the addition of a single feature.

Podcasters who have made the jump to a mixing desk will rejoice at the flexibility on offer: the consistency afforded by the ability to take the same mic you use in the studio out on the road is not to be sniffed at. But that XLR socket is going to be wasted on most of us.

It’s the one thing that was missing from the original; now all that’s missing is a drop to a reasonable price.

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The Zoo Story Android App by TeamLava, LLC. is an Android game in which you build a Zoo in order to bring in money and attract new customers to your zoo. The game is very well designed and has a proper and logical flow to it. The graphics engine on the game is superb and everything is clearly displayed. The game play is very easy to understand and learn, especially if you have played other games that follow a similar format on Android. Once you have read the FAQ’s on how to play the game you will have a much better understanding of how the game works thus making it easier.

When you open the app you will see the main menu in front of you and you will be able begin the game immediately. Once the game begins you will see the current set up of the zoo. It is your job to spend the money and build the zoo up so that customers come and spend money. You will also need to strategically design the layout of the zoo and properly place food stands and restrooms in order to accommodate the largest number of people so you can make more money.

Overall, this is a very well made build your own zoo game for the Android platform . At the time of this review the Zoo StoryAndroid App is free. Thumbs Up.

The Google+ Android App by Google Inc. is Google’s attempt to penetrate the social networking game. Google has done a, masterful job with its customary simple design and seamless integration with Android as well as all the other Google applications. Google +’s interface is extremely simply designed and has many features that the other social networking utilities do just shed in a different light. For example, instead of a like button there is a +1 button which we all know is way better than “Like.” Other features include huddle sessions which will for instant conversations with multiple people. This feature is very similar to a BBM type application.

When you open the app you will see the main menu in front of you and you will be able to select from the different options that are included in the Google + application. You will be able to access your different circles of friends as well as access the huddle feature of the app. The news updates from the members of your different circle will be updated when you open the app each time. The Google + app also comes with an instant photo upload feature to instantly capture and share any moment.

Overall, this is a very useful app for accessing your Google+ account. At the time of this review the Google+ Android App is free. Thumbs Up.

Corel Painter has long been the pro choice for digital painting, thanks to its amazing natural media feature set that accurately replicates the look and feel of traditional materials such as paint, pencils, gouache and, well, you name it really; if you can use it in real life you can simulate it in Painter.

In recent times, it has had a number of high-quality competitors – ArtRage and the excellent SketchBook Pro to name but two – so what does version 12 bring to the table to help artists achieve their best work yet?

Quite a lot, as it happens. The first thing you notice is the new interface. It’s not a major change, but the app feels slicker and more intuitive. You can, from the welcome screen, now choose a workspace preset depending on what you’re using the app for – concept art, illustration and so on.

Painter then loads the panels that are associated with that particular workflow. It’s nothing new but it makes customising Painter a lot easier. You can also add a paper texture and set up document presets from the welcome screen.

Other workflow enhancements include enhanced layer and colour preservation when switching between Painter and Photoshop; and a High Quality display mode, giving you a view of how your image will print when zoomed right in (rather than displaying pixels).

There’s also enhanced brush library management and a new Temporal Colours palette, it being a simplified HSV wheel that floats above your document.

But enough of the workflow – what are the creative tools? Well, most notable are the new Mirror and Kaleidoscopic Painting modes.

The Mirror mode enables you to paint in perfect symmetry across a number of planes. You can change the amount of planes and their position. This tool is great for quickly sketching faces and the like, meaning you only have to draw one side before refining.

The Kaleidoscopic mode is a little more bizarre: you specify a number of planes and then have your artwork reflect in the segments between the planes. We’re not sure you’ll use it that often, but it is a lot of fun! Being able to clone from multiple sources is also a nice addition.

A new Painter release wouldn’t be complete without new brushes though, and thankfully Painter 12 has some great additions. Firstly, the whole engine has been speeded up with multicore support, meaning brushes are faster.

There’s also ‘Computed Circular brush controls’. This means brush properties are calculated rather than being a bitmap – and you can, in the Computed Circular brush control panel, specify the tip profile of certain brushes. This enables you to change dab opacity and hardness, which controls the colour density at the outer edge of the dab. It’s all behind-the-scenes stuff that speeds up Painter and makes it a much more enjoyable app to paint with.

In terms of new brushes, there’s Gel brushes, enabling you to tint an image’s underlying colour (with blending mode controls); six new digital airbrushes; and Real Watercolour – these simulating working with a watercolour brush, paper, pigments and a glass of water.

And they are great – you can adjust paper texture settings on the fly and even specify wind settings to determine which way the paint will flow. They are a joy to use and add another dimension to your creative toolbox. There’s also Real Wet Oils, to which you can add solvents to thin and create washes, and so on.

Overall, Painter 12 is a great update. And a must for anyone serious about digital painting.

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Sooner or later, everyone wants to do more with their photos than iPhoto allows. FX Photo Studio Pro is potentially the next step, offering editing tools as well as 159 special effects.

FX Photo Studio Pro’s interface is simple, easy to use – but also fun. Just drag and drop an image onto it and the program will give you a scrolling set of effects. Click on one to see the ‘before’ and ‘after’ versions next to each other and a palette offering you customisation options. Click on the green ‘Apply’ button to apply it, then continue adding as many effects as you want.

There are also tools for cropping and rotating the image that are just as easy, if not easier to use as iPhoto’s.

And there’s an Adjust section for changing colour balance, levels, sharpness, noise, shadows and highlights, as well as the usual brightness, contrast, and so on.

You can save the image in formats including raw, JPG, TIFF and CR2, or share the image on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter or Flickr. You can also share a combination of effects you’ve used as a ‘Preset’ – a simple code to type in to recreate the complete set.

FX Photo Studio Pro is a fun, easy tool to use. Many of its 159 effects feel like they’re there to bolster the set, rather than because anyone would use them. But there are some decent ones in there.

Still, at nearly £25, it’s an expensive app that’s halfway to the price tag of Adobe Photoshop Elements. While it’s worth considering, do so carefully.

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The Goblin Invasion (HD) Android App by gmobile is an android game that is a medieval version of Red Alert. There are two sides, the humans and the Goblins. Read the market description for the plot story behind the game. The game has an impressive graphics engine and is based off an online playing format. The map upgrades prior to each level can sometimes be slow, as is the completion time for upgrading your weapons and other such items used to defend your kingdom against the Goblins. This game does require the installation of Feint as part of the games install process. Feint is the multiplayer online platform utilized for this game.

When you open the app you will see the main menu in front of you and you will be able to let gameplay begin. Consent for Feint, then a small map upgrade and off you go to pound some goblin face in. When you begin you will have to build up your mini kingdom using the plots of land in which you currently control. You will need to allow time in between upgrades as the upgrade process is quite lengthy for this particular game. Choose weapons and structures wisely as when the Goblins attack they come prepared to fight.

Overall, this is a very fun and entertaining game. At the time of this review the Goblin Invasion (HD) Android App is free. Thumbs Up.

Download Goblin Invasion (HD) Android App

There aren’t many science guys out there who’ll argue that humans evolved to sit at desks, typing away at keyboards and bathing themselves in the glow of monitors. In fact, recent studies claim this lifestyle is extremely bad for you and you should at the very least take regular breaks from your hallowed sitting position.

BreakTime is an app that can give you these reminders and, optionally, force you to step away from the keyboard.

In use, BreakTime reminds us a lot of The Iconfactory’s Take Five: after you define time settings (for gaps between breaks and length of breaks), the app gets out of your way. Then, 10 seconds before a break is due, a sleek countdown window appears under BreakTime’s menu-bar item.

You can use a slider to delay the break, if you wish; otherwise, the screen dims and the BreakTime countdown begins, signalling your window of opportunity to grab that cuppa.

Using the app’s preferences, you can optionally have it ‘enforce’ your break by disabling the Mac OS X app switcher and any early use of the countdown window’s Done button.

If you’re insanely busy, there are escape paths – the window has delay timers of its own (for one, five and 15 minutes), and you can always quit the app using Command+Q.

We really like BreakTime – rather like Take Five, BreakTime does a simple thing really elegantly, with very little intrusion. It’s also light on the system and light on your wallet, and it’s therefore pretty much perfect for anyone who rarely remembers to take regular breaks from office tasks. And we bet that’s most of you.

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The Best IQ Test Android App by chris24 is an android IQ test that is designed to do exactly as the title indicates: test your IQ (Don’t we feel smarter already?). The IQ test is extremely simple and easy to use and the games design promotes this as well. Since there is no need for any kind of special graphics, the IQ test was designed in all black and white; this may also be used to eliminate any unnecessary distractions for people who are serious in taking this IQ test. After taking the test myself, I can attest that this is a genuinely designed IQ test not like the other IQ tests that may be used more for recreational use. *Please Note: I am simply stating this is a more realistic IQ Test not that is intended to be used as an official IQ test.*

When you open the app you will see the IQ test in front of you as you should be ready to begin immediately upon opening the app. The info button explains how the test works and the skip button allows you to move on to another question and come back to the question that you have selected to skip. Work your way through the test, there are 39 questions and the questions get progressively more difficult as the test continues. At the end of the test you will be give your scores, your IQ number and where you fall on both the US and European scales.

Overall, this is a great IQ test app. At the time of this review the Best IQ Test Android App is free. Thumbs Up.

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The Thrutu Android App is an android app that allows for instant sharing of photos via a phone call or SMS. If you place a phone call and the person you are speaking to also has the Thrutu app installed you will be able to instantly connect and share multiple different files on your phone. The app is very simply designed and the learning curve is relatively non – existent. The icon buttons are fairly self-explanatory in what they represent. The use of this app outside of a phone call is not limited as it makes it very simple to share via SMS.

When you open the app you will see the main menu in front of you which will allow you to start getting to know this app. The settings are in depth and will allow you to customize many options for the app to be curtailed to your liking. When you make a call the Thrutu icon will appear and you will be able to begin sharing whatever you like. If the other person has Thrutu you will be able to instantly share the items. If the other person does not have Thrutu then you will be able to send the object through SMS message instantly.

Overall, this is a great app that has tremendous features. At the time of this review the Thrutu Android App is free. Thumbs Up.

Download Thrutu Android App

The Thrutu Android App is an android app that allows for instant sharing of photos via a phone call or SMS. If you place a phone call and the person you are speaking to also has the Thrutu app installed you will be able to instantly connect and share multiple different files on your phone. The app is very simply designed and the learning curve is relatively non – existent. The icon buttons are fairly self-explanatory in what they represent. The use of this app outside of a phone call is not limited as it makes it very simple to share via SMS.

When you open the app you will see the main menu in front of you which will allow you to start getting to know this app. The settings are in depth and will allow you to customize many options for the app to be curtailed to your liking. When you make a call the Thrutu icon will appear and you will be able to begin sharing whatever you like. If the other person has Thrutu you will be able to instantly share the items. If the other person does not have Thrutu then you will be able to send the object through SMS message instantly.

Overall, this is a great app that has tremendous features. At the time of this review the Thrutu Android App is free. Thumbs Up.

Download Thrutu Android App

Mention Nisus Writer to a Mac user of a certain vintage, and they’re likely to go all dewey-eyed and start muttering things like “Remember Compact?” and “Lovely macros!”.

It’s a powerful word processor with a long and illustrious heritage. The move to OS X a decade ago, however, meant that the developers had to go back to the drawing board. They regrouped and brought out Nisus Writer Express, a simple word processor (more a souped-up TextEdit than a cut-down Word, and none the worse for that) then introduced its big brother, Nisus Writer Pro.

And now we have Nisus Writer Pro 2, which adds more features and further consolidates Nisus’s position as a credible alternative to Apple’s Pages and Microsoft Word, even for power users.

In fact, while you can treat even Nisus Writer Pro 2 as ‘TextEdit with knobs on’, you could argue that it’s actually a far more powerful and flexible word processor, and one that can be better customised to suit your particular needs and style of working, than the behemoth that is Word. It’s clean, fast, stable and can be personalised in many ways.

Nisus’s traditional strengths are there too – its crazily powerful Find and Replace, and its macro system, to name just two. But there are lots of new features to tempt upgraders and new users alike.

It gains support for Track Changes, making it easy to collaborate on documents, add comments and review changes made by other team members. It’s not without fault: though it can happily open DOC and DOCX formats so you can share files with Word-using colleagues on both Mac and PC, it converts them on opening, forcing a slightly awkward round-trip if you’re pinging the same document back and forth. (Nisus’s default file format is the widely supported RTF; annoyingly, while Word opens RTFs with Track Changes turned on, Pages only seems to accept Track Changes in DOC/DOCX.)

Writer Pro 2 also adds some simple drawing tools – shapes, lines, floating text boxes – in a nod towards basic desktop publishing abilities. It would be foolish to think of it as a DTP package, however; Pages is much better for DTP, though it’s a weaker word processor than Writer Pro 2.

One small but welcome feature is an easy way to add special characters to your documents. You can customise one of the panels in the Tooldrawer to suit.

As well as some additional formatting and style options such as paragraph-level borders, shading, and document watermarks, this new version builds on its predecessor’s rich tools for building structured documents by adding the ability to export PDFs (with clickable links for cross-references, tables of contents and more) and EPUB. You’ll need to tinker to get the EPUB export right, such as for viewing/selling on iOS’s iBooks app; nevertheless, it’s good to have the option.

It’s a very different beast to apps such as iA Writer: it has similar complexity, power, and flexibility to Microsoft Word, with none of the bloat or – to some – irritating automation.

If you write long or complex documents, collaborate with others, or just want a clean, elegant word processor that you can customise to suit how you work, you should at least try the demo of Nisus Writer Pro 2 on your MacFormat disc.

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The Thrutu Android App is an android app that allows for instant sharing of photos via a phone call or SMS. If you place a phone call and the person you are speaking to also has the Thrutu app installed you will be able to instantly connect and share multiple different files on your phone. The app is very simply designed and the learning curve is relatively non – existent. The icon buttons are fairly self-explanatory in what they represent. The use of this app outside of a phone call is not limited as it makes it very simple to share via SMS.

When you open the app you will see the main menu in front of you which will allow you to start getting to know this app. The settings are in depth and will allow you to customize many options for the app to be curtailed to your liking. When you make a call the Thrutu icon will appear and you will be able to begin sharing whatever you like. If the other person has Thrutu you will be able to instantly share the items. If the other person does not have Thrutu then you will be able to send the object through SMS message instantly.

Overall, this is a great app that has tremendous features. At the time of this review the Thrutu Android App is free. Thumbs Up.

Download Thrutu Android App