October 2010 Archives

Oct

REVIEW: Reckless Racing Brings Yeehaw Dorifto To Android

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Apps/Games, Games

Note: Testing for this review was done on a Nexus One

I love drifting. As I tuck myself into bed, I can be heard to whisper "Good night, Dorikin". So when I read that Reckless Racing, so long anticipated on the Droid Forums gaming section, had finally been released, I immediately bought it from the market.

My first impressions weren't particularly positive. The country hick theme (RR was formerly known as Deliverace) did not appeal to me, and the single-thumb control scheme was terrible. It didn't feel like it had been worth the wait, especially after a 20 minute ...

Oct

DataViz Announces Documents To Go Version 3.0, Adds Google Docs Support, Enhances Just About Everything

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Applications, News

Let's face it: productivity suites like Microsoft Office or the cloud-based Google Docs aren't exactly exciting, but they are among the most vital applications for the businessmen in us. Whether this remains true when 2.8-4.3-inch displays are concerned is debatable, but if you ask DataViz, the company that developed the free Documents To Go app, the answer is a resounding "yes."

The company has just released a brand new version 3.0 of its uber-popular app, which includes numerous improvements, namely:

a "totally redesigned" UI (not so sure that's for the better, though; all I'm seeing right now is a bunch

...

Oct

Samsung Promises FroYo Update For All Galaxy S Versions In November [Update: UK Only]

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in AT&T, Captivate, Epic 4G, Fascinate, Froyo 2.2, Galaxy S, Mesmerize, Samsung, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon Wireless, Vibrant

All together now: finally! After several broken promises and recalled updates, Samsung's just announced that Android 2.2 FroYo will be available through a "brand new version of Kies" (that's Samsung's software upgrade system) early in November for Galaxy S owners in the UK, while "all operator versions" are "expected" to be available by the end of November (hopefully that includes the "operator versions" of the Galaxy S that Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile are currently carrying here in the States). One could complain that it's about four months late, and that's likely due to the evils of custom ...

Oct

Tip: Set Up Automatic Scheduled Nandroid Backups Using ROM Manager

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Mods, Tips

This article is aimed at rooted Android users using ROM Manager - if you are one of them, you should definitely consider looking into it; otherwise move right along, as this info will not apply to you. To see what ROM Manager can do for you, check out our guides here:

When was the last time you did a Nandroid backup? Was it this week? This month? Three months ...

Oct

Android's Newest Dance Dance Revolution Clone Drops, Catchingly Named: Beats, Advanced Rhythm Game

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Games, News

Fan of Dance Dance Revolution? Developer Keripo has you covered: on Monday, he released his awesomely named DDR Clone,"Beats, Advanced Rhythm Game."

_{Because "Press Arrow Keys To The Beat Of Music" was already taken.}

The game only comes with a few songs to boot, but it supports StepMania songs and stepfiles - meaning there's already a substantial base of supported music files.

Developers video demo:

Sound like a good time to you? Head on over to BeatsIIDX (the game's official website), scan the code below, or search for the app in the Market.

[Source: XDA-Developers]

...

Oct

[Updated] Winamp For Android Arrives To The Android Market, Features Lockscreen Widget (!), Whips Llama's Ass [Hands-On]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Have I gotten a treat for you music lovers? Winamp, the very first good music player for Windows - and one I still use religiously to this day - hit the Android Marketplace today, largely unnoticed in the Androidosphere.

It's still in Beta, but after using it for 15 minutes, I was so impressed that I set it as my default player and uninstalled the others. Let me tell you why, in the order of importance.

Hands-On

Lockscreen widget - it works, and works really well. I don't know how they pulled it off exactly but it shows up

...

Oct

[How-To] Motorola Droid 2 Overclocked To 1.2-1.3GHz; T-Mobile G2 Says "Welcome To The Party"

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Droid 2, Mods, Motorola

This article deals with a couple of advanced topics. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the terms, hit up our primers here:

Today must be some sort of national overclocking day - first the T-Mobile G2 went down to the force of xda-developers, and it looks like Motorola's Droid 2 is next up in line (albeit getting its treatment from the AndroidForums). While the speeds aren't quite as impressive (users have only been able to achieve 1.2-1.3GHz from 1GHz as ...

Oct

Motorola Droid X FroYo Source Code Released, Developers Go Wild

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Dev, Droid X (Shadow), Froyo 2.2, Motorola, Verizon Wireless

This isn't the first time the Droid X has had its source code revealed to the world, but it's a first for the frozen yogurt kind (MotoBlur-ridden as it may be). That's right - despite some acknowledged issues with the update, Motorola has decided the pressure of the GPLv2 license was too much to bear and handed over the source code for the Droid X's FroYo update. Hackers, developers, and anyone else interested, tinker away!

Note: If you have any confusion regarding Android's dual Apache/GPL licensing, head over to this excellent ArsTechnica article that explains it in great detail....

Oct

T-Mobile TV Ripped Out Of myTouch ROM, Now Available For Download [UPDATED]

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Dev, HTC, myTouch 4G (Glacier), News, T-Mobile

Looks like the new video-enabled Yahoo app wasn't the only thing ripped out of the leaked ROM for the new T-Mobile myTouch - the T-Mobile TV app, which is no unfamiliar sight, has just been pulled out of the ROM as well.

As we can see in the screenshot above, the interface is quite slick, with a nice black bar along the bottom to select content providers (FOX News, MSNBC, ABC News, CNBC, ESPN, and NBC Sports from what's visible). Androinica claims that the service is powered by MobiTV, much like Sprint TV as well as AT&T's and Verizon's ...

Oct

Gauntlet, Thrown: Costco Drops Price Of T-Mobile G2 To $50 With New Contract, No Activation Fee

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in G2 (Vision), News, T-Mobile

It's certainly a good time to be in the market for a new flagship Android device, isn't it? Amazon is selling the Motorola Droid 2 for just $.01, and the HTC EVO 4G and Samsung Epic 4G for a cool $100. Lately, Amazon and Costco have been in a price war over the T-Mobile G2; Costco struck first, dropping the upgrade price to just $100 - to which Amazon replied by dropping the new contract price to $80. Now Costco has shot back by lowering their own new contract price to just $50 without any rebate.

Unfortunately, the upgrade ...

Oct

Updated, More Polished, Standalone YouTube App Hits The Android Market, And It Is Awesome

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Google is on a serious roll lately - after releasing standalone Gmail, Maps, Navigation, Street View, and Car Home apps, today the company continued to decouple its applications from the core of the Android OS with the release of the standalone YouTube app.

Not only is the app now updateable using the Market, which means we'll get updates faster and without requiring OTAs, but it also comes with a shiny new UI, ability to vote, view and leave comments, and play videos in portrait mode. Check out the screenshots I took below and hit up the direct Market download ...

Oct

T-Mobile G2 Overclocked To 1.42GHz, "Basically Blows Every Retail Android Phone Out Of The Water" - Here's How To Do It

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Dev, G2 (Vision), HTC, Mods, T-Mobile

This article deals with a couple of advanced topics. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the terms, hit up our primers here:

The G2 may have a next-gen MSM7X30 processor, but unfortunately, HTC and T-Mobile have decided to clock it at a ...

Oct

EA Acquires Chillingo For $20 Million - Chillingo To Give A Damn About Android Again?

Posted by Andrew Huff in Apps/Games, Games, News

It was rumored earlier this morning that Chillingo, publishers of the massively popular games Angry Birds by Rovio and Cut The Rope by Zeptolab, would be acquired by a major company. It has been confirmed that a deal has been struck and Chillingo has been acquired by EA for $20 million in cash and possibly more.

While full details of the transaction haven't been released yet, there were probably some other bonuses involved as $20 million is far below Chillingo's estimated worth of $80 to $200 million. Recently they published Cut The Rope which sold over 1 million copies in ...

Oct

App Developer Posts His Experiences And Thoughts On Android Market And Apple App Store: Android Market Is Alright, But...

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Apps/Games, Dev, News

Benoit Essiambre, the developer behind iOS and Android apps Speed Bones, Speed Muscles, and Speed Anatomy, recently compared his experience with the Android Market to that of the Apple App Store. Particularly, he discussed ease-of-use, support, and perhaps most importantly, profitability. His thoughts as a developer: the Android Market has a perk or two, but overall it still falls short of the Apple App Store.

His first point: Canada only received paid market support just a few weeks ago. In fact, he created Speed Bones nearly two years ago, before realizing that the Market didn't yet ...

Oct

Super-Awesome Interactive Live Wallpaper: 3D Active Blocks

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Apps/Games, Mods, News

Last Updated: October 29th, 2010

Given how popular live wallpaper (LWP) posts are, it's surprising that - with the exception of the Dancing Droid LWP - we haven't really had a big one since we found the R2-D2 set back in early September. Consider the dry spell over: meet the newest post-worthy LWP, 3D Active Blocks. The work of XDA-Devs member mmone3, the premise is simple: it takes pictures (either preset or pictures from your gallery) and breaks them into blocks; the blocks then break up, move, and transform (via various effects) into other pictures.