The Kymera Magic Wand – Review

I recently purchased a Kymera Magic Wand. You may be wondering what on earth that is! Basically it is a universal remote control – with a twist.

With a normal universal remote control you just press a button and the channel changed, or you mess with the volume. However with the Kymera Magic Wand you do a magical movement in order to get your device to respond.

A Kymera Magic Wand

My Kymera Magic Wand

It’s one of those things that when you see it you either think to yourself ‘I must have that!’ or ‘what’s the fuss all about?’ I was the former of those two. So after seeing the wand on the show Dragons Den, I rushed out to buy one.

This video of them on Dragons Den really does show off the capabilities of the wand! From about 51 seconds to 1.09 seconds really shows of the wand, the rest is just for interest 🙂

The wand can be used to control almost anything from your simple TV and HiFi to more complicated things like remote controlled garage doors and even remote control lights!

The remote works by learning your existing controls infrared codes, but you do have to program these in for yourself.

Using the wand is a great deal of fun, especially the first time you use it. You can remotely control your TV with a swoosh of your Kymera Magic Wand. If you are a really big fantasy fan, I am sure that you would love this gift, as would those people who love the latest and coolest gadgets – like me 😉

Is The Wand Easy To Use?

The wand can be a little difficult to use at first, however after a bit of practise you get used to it. The Wand Company say

“This wand it not a toy, it is a finely tuned instrument of control.”

showing that if you are looking for some quick fun, this may not be the thing for you, as it can take a while to get used to.

The main problem that I have found with the wand is that it is sometimes too sensitive. Sometimes I will pick it up, change the channel and then place it down again, only for it to bring the guide up onto the screen, as I have placed it down slightly firmer than I should have. This can start to get annoying after time. That and the fact that it doesn’t always respond how you want it to is why I haven’t used it all that much recently.

The Wand Company do provide a useful tutorial on their YouTube channel, however it isn’t really able to help you stop the wands more annoying traits.

Does It Really Feel Magical?

The wand really does look the part, and is a great gadget to show off to all your friends when they come round. It looks like a real magic wand, and is also packaged like one. It also comes with instructions as to how to use your wand, which are printed in such a way to make them look like a scroll.

Scroll like instructions for the Kymera Magic Wand

The Kymera Magic Wand’s scroll like instructions

The design of the wand and the presentation really is fantastic. The packaging really helps make the wand look the part 🙂

The Kymera Magic Wand's Packaging

The wand really does look the part with its fantastic packaging!

Is The Wand Value For Money?

Well the wand currently retails at just under £50 (around $80) which is pretty pricey, but when you consider the technology inside, also reasonable at the same time. The question is, is it worth it?

My honest answer, no. If they were £20, sure, run out and buy one, however for the price that they are, and the amount you would use it, it really isn’t worth the money. You get a novelty factor when you first use it, and when you introduce someone to it who has never seen it before, however it never really becomes an every day item that you use on a regular basis. If you are a big wizard fan and a techie, you will probably enjoy (and use) it more, but is it worth £50? Make your own judgement.

For more information on the wand, please visit The Wand Company’s website, and YouTube channel.

Create 3D models of your dreams with PLapp

Did you build your own spaceship or fighter plane when you were a kid having it to either guard your fantasy kingdom or just go gun blazing on your sibling? If you answered yes, you’ll love the iPad app I am reviewing today. PLapp is an amazing app which can be used to build all kinds of plastic models in a digital 3D environment assembling and customizing parts as you wish. Frankly speaking, I straight away was overjoyed by the fun and challenges this game offered.

PLapp is a model kit building app that lets you create 3D models and customize them as per your choice without compromising on the experience of building them in reality and lets you to even share the models you’ve created, with your friends on Facebook.

PLapp iPad app Screenshot

Assembling the parts of your 3D models couldn’t have been more enjoyable, with enough and more options for customization like a range of decals, materials, textures and colors all on your iPad, you can have all the fun you want without worrying about getting your hands dirty. Adding to this, PLapp comes with sound effects that are exactly like those you hear when you assemble and demolish model kits! The app has a simple interface and great functionality to assemble and color your models.

The 3D models you design move around really smoothly, making it hard to believe that they have been digitally created. This app gives you the thrill of having constructed your own models and provides you with plenty of options for customization.

As I said earlier, this app is sure to bring out the child in every adult as it will take you back to those days when you spent hours in your room with your siblings or playmates, patiently assembling various parts to build the machine of your dreams. Download PLapp and lose yourself for a few hours in the enchanting world of building 3D models!

I also found a demo video in Youtube for the app and in case you want to check it out, here is the link – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aIlVJ02Yv8

RingSkin Android App Review

For the past few days I had been busy looking for an app that could help me do away with that old, boring Android robot from my HTC, yes I own a android too along with my iPhone. I found a new app, running in its first version and I got my hands on it. So lets have a look at it here.

RingSkin can customize the Android call screen and put an end to those annoying spam calls. It lets users make full use of the image galleries and the camera, so that they can receive calls in the way they want. With some impressive images and animation skins, this app allows users to spice things up by adding decorations to them.

Ringskin Android App opening screen
Apart from these default animations and decorations, users can set their favorite clips – movie or music videos as their call screens for video ringtones. This app assigns screens in two methods – for groups and for individuals. Therefore, users can assign different individual images for each caller or they can go with assigning a common image to a group, like say a one for mates from school, one for colleagues, family and so on. You get the idea, right?

In my opinion, the customization RingSkin offers for call screens should be default in Android, so as to speak as it also helps users deal with spam callers as it has block-call capability. The UI is well designed and easy-to-use. This app really adds a vibrant touch to the screen while making and receiving calls. However, the ‘Skins’ area would have been a great one if the developers had included some interesting video clips.

The best part is that RingSkin is available for free and requires Android 2.1 or up. There is a pro version for the app, which you can get without coughing up anything additional, by just clicking on the ads and earning 400 points! You can see the ads in the ‘Settings’ option and if you want to check out the pro version of RingSkin click the ads!

You can download RingSkin from the Android Market for free.

EDITOR NOTE: This app no longer exists, so links to it have been removed – note by Christopher