Ever wanted to be a legendary hero, a wise man with moustache, like those you see in many Far East movies? Start playing “Pandamania: Legend of the Fu Manchu” and you will soon be full of wisdom.

FizzPow Games, an independent developers studio, has realized a new iPhone/iPod Touch game called PandaMania: Legend of the Fu Manchu.

The game is about a Panda (“Skadoosh” anyone?) defending his tower with only his bow and arrows against hordes of enemies. To defeat the baddies he (thus, you) will have to center them taking into account the effect of gravity, as the arrows will not go straight. In your fight against the evil forces you will be able to use power ups and combos with special visual effects to kill the enemy hordes at once.

Some screenshots and even a movie are available to get the idea of the game, which really seems addictive cool too.

Here is the official press release.

FizzPow Games, an independent development studio creating innovative games for the Apple® iPhone and iPod touch, invites you into a world of archery and evil bandits with its latest app, PandaMania: Legend of the Fu Manchu. Breathing new life into the old fashioned castle defense games, PandaMania puts the power of the new genre “bow defense” in the palm of your hands! With original arcade action, PandaMania appeals to both casual and hardcore gamers alike and is guaranteed to have you hooked from the start.

“PandaMania offers endless amounts of gameplay elements sure to keep you playing for hours,” said Michael Stockwell, founder of FizzPow Games. “From upgrades to enemies, power ups to combos, users are continually challenged to build their skill level while increasing their scores in order to dominate the land. So take aim, young bowmaster! Destroy the hordes of baddies to regain your honor and recover your Fu Manchu!”

With your bow and arrow in tow, prepare to set out in search of the evil enemy who has stolen your most essential source of strength, your epic Fu Manchu mustache. Putting your superb archery skills to the test, you begin your journey across the world in the hopes to regain your power. Throughout the lands of PandaMania, you will be challenged by evil bosses while you fight to free all the villages taken captive by the hordes of bandits. Upgrade your arrows, shooting ability and tower, and with each level conquered you move one step closer to regaining your Fu Manchu and becoming the bravest warrior in all the land!

PandaMania features include:

• Intense arcade-style tower defense action with 50 challenging and unique levels
• Progressive storyline filled with hilarious comic graphics
• Levels span five diverse lands from rolling green mountains to towering volcanoes
• Each land presents new and creative boss fights, challenging you to find the enemy’s weakness in order to achieve victory!
• Numerous upgrades will keep you and your bow one step ahead of the advancing hordes

PandaMania can be found on the iTunes App Store at a special introductory price of $1.99.

Click here for a direct link, or visit http://www.facebook.com/PandaManiaGame to learn more about the application.

Via: FizzPow

Today only Proporta offers a 15% off any product for St. Patrick’s Day, and you can also find a couple of limited edition products to celebrate this occasion.

To qualify for the 15% off your next Proporta purchase you will have to enter the promotion code SHAMROCK at the cart page to receive the discount. Proporta’s Advanced Screen Protectors are included in the offer, too.

And if you can’t get enough, Proporta even created two Limited Edition products in honour of St. Patrick’s Day:

The Aluminium Lined Leather Case for the iPhone 3G/3GS

The Leather Wallet

which have both received a makeover and now show a green lining to give them that special St. Patrick’s Day feel.

Via: Proporta

This is just a quick reminder about the running SplashData JAMM Giveaway.

Today is the last day for three lucky JAMM readers to win one of the great apps by SplashData.

In order to have a chance to win, you only have to leave your comment in the SplashData JAMM Giveaway post before 11:59 PM of today Wednesday, March 17 (EST), and tell us what SplashData software you would like to grab. Tomorrow we will pick at random three lucky winners to get the SplashData software of their choice.

Don’t waste further time and enter the giveaway: your mobile device will thank you for a very long time!!

La Casa del Spera is going Android!

The Nexus One in my hand…

I ordered a Nexus One on the T-Mobile network here in Chicago. It arrived today and I have ported my number over from AT&T.  Its sitting on my kitchen counter right now, charging.  I initially had it synching mail and contacts from my Exchange account (it doesn’t do native Exchange Calendar sync out of the box…I have NO idea why…); but of course, its synching my iTechGear Google Docs account.

The Exchange Calendar sync issue has really got me bothered.  The new job uses Exchange 2007 and Outlook 2003 on the desktop.  With a simple relay rule out of Outlook, anything that hits my work mail account also hits my personal Exchange account, and Poof!  I’m all synchronized on my device. (The office uses BES, but they haven’t given me a Blackberry yet.)

However, this thing with the Nexus One missing Exchange Calendar sync is really causing me some grief. I’m not exactly certain what the best course of action is.  I have a few options:

1. Manually copy all relative appointments to Google Docs
2. Dump Exchange and completely switch to Google Docs
3. Attempt to set up a sync between Exchange & Google Docs on the PC
4. Purchase Exchange Touchdown for Android and use it to sync Exchange items on the device

I’m not certain what I am going to do yet, as I’ve had the address connected to my Exchange account for about 10 years and everyone and their BROTHER has that address.  Other Android devices (like other HTC Android devices) as well as the Motorola CLIQ can sync Exchange Calendar, so I’m not certain what the issue is (unless Google is just trying to force this internal debate with you, which I wouldn’t put past them; but I digress…)

I’ll be addressing this issue in my review, so stay tuned…

Initial Device Impressions (and the Full 360)
The Nexus One is Google’s attempt at a direct iPhone competitor. Period. Don’t let anyone or anything tell you otherwise. This IS the reason why Apple is chasing after HTC (and will eventually engage Google…somehow in all that mess.

The device has the same form factor as the iPhone and is relatively the same size and weight; but is more PDA focused than media focused. It has a good heft and feel to it, and is comfortable to hold. The trackball has got a definite Blackberry feel to it, and even lights up when system events trigger it. The back cover has a rubberized feel to it, unlike it’s Apple counterpart, and gives you a sturdier grip on the device.

Size Comparison – The Samsung Propel Pro, the Nexus One, iPod Touch, and Samsung Epix

The screen is…interesting.  First and foremost, it is a fingerprint nightmare.  While Apple’s iPhone has much the same problem, I don’t remember having this much trouble reading its screen (or that of my iPod Touch) as I seem to be having with my N1.  As far as the color depth issue that’s been reported with the device, I haven’t seen it as yet. Given that my focus is more business applications than gaming or multimedia, I’m not sure how the issue will impact me, if at all.

However, I am having glare issues with the device. The AMOLED screen washes out in direct sunlight and is difficult to read. The many fingerprint smudges don’t help much either.  When the screen is clean and free of glare, its really nice.  The light sensor in the device dims the brightness of the screen in response to ambient light; and yeah… it doesn’t help much either. In fact, I’m beginning to think that its half of the problem.

Left side from the bottom up: Epix, Propel Pro, iPod Touch & Nexus One

The device itself is rather thin.  While not nearly as thin as the iPod Touch, it is comparable to the iPhone.  Its not nearly as thick as the Propel Pro, due to its slide-out keyboard.  You should also note that the device’s volume rocker is on the left side.

Bottom from the bottom up: Epix, Propel Pro, iPod Touch & Nexus One

The bottom of each device.  The Nexus One has the micro USB port and three charging ports for the available desktop dock. The black hole next to the single dock charging port on the right is the device microphone.

Right side from the bottom up: Epix, Propel Pro, iPod Touch & Nexus One

The device’s right side is devoid of any buttons.  Of note, there is NO hardware camera button.  Many HTC devices, like the Tilt, have a camera button on the right side.  The Motorola CLIQ has a hardware camera button on the right side.  This is definitely a missing feature on the N1.  Trying to take a picture while holding the device steady and tapping the screen has been a challenge.  I’ll have more on this in my review.

Top from the bottom up: Epix, Propel Pro, iPod Touch & Nexus One

The only other button is the power button on the top of the device. (Yes, the trackball also is a “button” but that’s more multi-function, and will be covered in my review.)  The top also has the device’s 3.5mm speaker jack.

I’m still on my device honeymoon, so while its not all sunshine and daisies, I do like the device; and will likely keep it, barring any major flaws or issues that crop up in the next week or so (you get a 14 day grace period with the device from Google).

Stay tuned!  I hope to have things doped out soon and a review posted to the site in the next couple of weeks!

Cable Stable DLX by Skooba Design

The focus of this review is the Cable Stable DLX, a highly functional gadget and cord organizer, released by Skooba Design.  The folks over at Skooba Design were kind enough to send a review sample my way for a few days, so I decided to see if the accessory lived up to it’s hype.  I had the perfect basket full of cords to test it with.  Could the Cable Stable DLX help organize this mess of cords?  Grab yourself a glass of iced tea and join me as we find out!

First Impressions

Wrapped in clear plastic, and flanked with a simple cardboard shell including product information, the packaging of the Cable Stable DLX keeps the item clean from stray fingerprints while providing a full view of the exterior casing.  Upon removing the plastic wrap and the shell, the organizer first reminds me of a Trapper Keeper for techies.  Yep, one of those organizers for elementary students popularized during the ’80′s… I was in middle school and junior high and seeing the Cable Stable DLX brought back instantly fond memories of the time.  The material is black and durable in appearance.  The spine is formed as though an encyclopedia was enclosed.

Unzipping the Cable Stable opens like a book, exposing elastic straps along the left half and zippered mesh pockets on the right.  Small elastic straps also run down the interior of the organizer’s spine.  With all of this storage, surely I had found something up to the task of taming my mess of charger cords.  Keep reading to find out.

Interior, Laid Out Vertically

The Task

The picture below is real.  It was not fabricated for this review.

The Cable Stable DLX Tames This Mess of Charger Cords

The basket hosts an array of different charging cords and cables, usually tossed in quickly after charging one of my various gadgets.  For quite some time, I’ve planned to organize them, even going so far as to occasionally implement a method that soon failed.  Now we have the Cable Stable DLX, stepping up to the plate.  Would it be capable?

I started unpacking the basket, winding cords tightly and finding the appropriate size elastic holder.  In went one cord and then another.  Slowly the basket was emptying and the Cable Stable was earning it’s reputation as an organizational tool.

The Cable Stable DLX, Opened and Loaded

Conclusion

Skooba Design has done a great job with the design of the Cable Stable DLX.  The exterior is simple yet durable in structure.  The interior provides several different sizes of elastic latches and the zippered mesh pockets accomodate larger, less cable-like items.  As you have read, the Cable Stable DLX helped rid my office of a tangle of charging cords.  In doing this, it has done something that I have not been capable of for years.

Details

• The Cable Stable DLX is available for $39.95.
• You can find out more about the Cable Stable DLX and order it at:
• http://www.skoobadesign.com/product/cable-stable-dlx-84/