Back in 2016 I looked at the ZAGG Pocket Keyboard, a jacket pocket solution that used multiple hinges to provide a narrow form factor - it worked, but it wasn't 'lappable' and the sheer number of ribbon cables and multiple points of failure was a little worrying. Fast forward two years and we have the new ZAGG Flex, taking inspiration from the multiple two-in-one keyboard designs for tablets that turn into 'laptops'. With the Flex, your phone can be your tablet or laptop too. Or - you know - use a tablet as well. Regardless, the Flex is superbly made and possibly my new favourite Bluetooth keyboard solution.
"It's all too much for me to take!" sang The Beatles, and it's exactly how I feel about this UWP game for all Windows 10 computers and phones. Taking the familiar (ball shooting) Zuma premise, bonuses, powerups, and 'special' balls come so thick and fast that you're left breathless in their wake. Is it worth learning and persevering? Possibly, though it'll cost you, since the IAPs here are swingeing.
Never reviewed on AAWP before, but seemingly the last premium music streaming service running as a full, native UWP application for Windows 10 Mobile, I thought it was high time that Deezer Music got some attention here. It's not as huge as Spotify, but the idea's very similar and the implementation under W10M is top notch.
You'll see in the Apple and even now Android worlds that wired headphones are falling out of fashion. Sadly. But not in my household and not in the world of Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile, with every single handset ever made having a 3.5mm jack. And striking one more blow for quality in-ear headphones rather than tinny, plastic outer-ear headsets, here's my review of the latest 3D-printed (yes, really) design from Brainwavz.
The story so far: Facebook had a MS-written client for WP8.1 and all was well. Then Windows 10 Mobile came along and Facebook built its official application on the OSMeta middleware, meaning that the client was slow and heavy on resources. So the canny W10M phone user just used the Facebook web site. Until last week, when this stopped working well in Edge (everyone got served the ultra 'basic' version of content). Making this the perfect time to look at third party Facebook client, LightSocial Pro UWP.
As is traditional, I save this sort of accessory review for Friday. Bluetooth speakers are very common and commoditised by now, of course, but I chose this one to review because it has a single unique selling point. It has a carrying handle. Don't laugh - it makes a huge difference and is immediately likeable - every other speaker has to be held in a vice-like grip or cradled somehow. The DA150 here can be hooked around a finger while you carry other things, to the beach, to the garden, whatever. Read on...
Last week, I unpacked and set up the Fitbit Versa, one of the remaining smartwatches with 'full' Windows 10 Mobile support. All went pretty well, though there were some questions about detailed functionality and logging. With a few more days of real world use under my belt (on the IDOL 4 Pro), here's my review of what works... and what doesn't.
Back in March (2018), I reported on Fitbit's UWP application for Windows 10 including support for the new 'Versa' smartwatch. Fitbit is one of the few accessory companies still believing in Windows 10 Mobile as a viable concern and their full range of trackers and smartwatches are supported by their UWP application. And the Versa is almost the perfect smartwatch, borne of five years of iteration (including the Pebble tech, which Fitbit acquired). Here are my first impressions of the hardware and of getting hooked up.
While uber-geeks like me might play around with (open source) KeePass secure databases, the wise user keeps things simpler and standardises on a commercial solution from day one. Enpass is one of the newer breed of properly supported secure stores - there are extensions on the desktop for password injection, but here I'm looking at Enpass on Windows 10 Mobile, the synced and backed up place for all your secret stuff. And apart from some 'fit and finish' and the usual import issues, it works pretty well.
It's rare to find a Windows 10 UWP application that's this slick, this polished - I guess I'm coming to Realarm quite late, since it's been out for a while, but so many people had recommended it that I couldn't ignore it any longer. The delay also means that it's had plenty of time for updates. In use, I only encountered one tiny bug - everything else one might ever want in an alarm utility is present and correct and working. With sophisticated rules, puzzles to solve to prove you're awake(!), and syncing to OneDrive, Realarm is the real deal.
