Cameron Summerson  
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Cameron is a self-made geek, Android enthusiast, horror movie fanatic, and musician. When he's not pounding keys here at AP, you can find him spending time with his wife and kids, plucking away on the 6-string, or watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre on repeat. |
Well, it's that time again. Time to talk about apps and games that happen to be cheaper than they are on "normal" days – and today's selection brings some mighty interesting options to the table. If you're into music creation, a couple of tools from developer niko twenty made the cut; there's also something for the aspiring meteorologists (or just someone who wants to know what the weather is like); as well as a pair of intriguing game titles. Sold? Here's the list.
Have you ever wondered just how private your data is? How protected your personal info is? For all you know, apps could be running off sharing your phone number, contact log, and device ID to third parties. Or even worse, they could be doing so over an unencrypted connection. I shudder at the very thought.
Fortunately, BitDefender has a new app called Clueful that aims to show users what their apps are really doing behind the scenes and how private their data is. It gives each device a Privacy Score based on the currently-installed apps, along with a simple breakdown of potential risks in three different categories: high, moderate, and low.
Things just got a little better for any game developer who uses the Unity3D Engine – the formerly $400-a-piece mobile add-on packs for Android iOS are now free for life. This is a massive bonus for game devs, as it allows them to easily brings their games to the mobile scene with very little effort.
Of course, there are limitations within these now-free add-ons that will require the Pro version of Unity ($1500) to circumvent, but this will at the very least give you a good idea of what's in store if you wish to port a game.
If you already have Unity installed, you need only update the software to access the Android and iOS build options.
Opera has been talking up its new browser entry into the Android world for a few months now, with a beta version hitting the scene back in March. That beta has now graduated into a final release, which just landed in the Play Store this morning. The overall appearance and functionality seems to be largely unchanged from the beta, so users who have been testing out the browser should feel right at home with the first stable offering (which is a completely new listing in the Play Store, not an update to the beta).
This is a much-needed leap for Opera, as it forgoes the Presto rendering engine in lieu of Webkit (a la Chrome), which is arguably much faster.
Ah, T-Mobile's illusive Galaxy S III LTE. We've known it was coming for months now, and the long-overdue device has now silently showed up on T-Mo's website sporting a $70 down payment. Unfortunately, there's no release date in sight, but a leaked internal document obtained by TmoNews shows June 5th as the official launch date, suggesting that the 'add to cart' option here is merely a pre-order option.
Everyone expected Google's new Hangouts feature – the long-rumored Babel service – to put an end to multiple messenger applications. We hoped it would combine GTalk, Google+ Messenger, and Google Voice at the very least. Unfortunately, that's not exactly what we got... yet, anyway.
According to a recent Google+ post by Nikhyl Singhal, manager of real-time communication products (like Hangouts) for Google, that could start to change very soon. Firstly, Singhal addressed the removal of outgoing calls for Google voice, stating that "they're working hard to support both [inbound and outbound] calls," and they should both be available soon. Good new for Voice junkies, no doubt.
We've long been fans of OneLouder apps here at Android Police, so it comes as a bit of a shock to see that the company was purchased – along with its parent company, Handmark Inc. – by Sprint. For those who may be unfamiliar with the name OneLouder, the dev team is responsible for apps like 1Weather, Friendcaster, and TweetCaster, just to name a few. Handmark, on the other hand, is more of an all-in-one app store for Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone/Mobile, Palm, and the like.
So, the question is: what does Sprint want with an app store and a mobile development team?
Throughout the history of the modern smartphone, those who wanted something that could take a beating but keep going were left with one option: buy a device with at least year-old specs. For some reason, manufacturers just couldn't get behind the idea of releasing an ultra-ruggedized device with cutting-edge specs. That has slowly started to change as of late with devices like the Sony Xperia Z, and now Samsung is looking to join the party and with a rough-and-rugged device featuring top-tier specs.
This is, of course, the rumored Galaxy S4 Active. Bearing more than just Samsung's flagship namesake, the Active appears to also share the powerhouse device's spec list point-for-point, which includes a 5-inch 1080p display and Qualcomm Snapdragon 600.
When it comes to device protection, Otterbox has long been a trusted name in the case scene. It offers cases with varying levels of protection – everything from the rough-and-rugged Defender Series to the lighter-weight Commuter and Reflex cases – so there's something for just about everyone.
But with the most recent releases for devices like the Galaxy S4, the company is also offering something a bit different: colors. Why be stuck with boring black just to make sure your device has the best protection it can get? With each series there are a variety of colors to choose from to better suit your personal style – be it Wild Orchid, Berry, Glacier White, or some combination in between, there's a color option that should scream "me."
Here's a look at just a few of the new offerings Otterbox currently has going for the GS4:
![1[5]](http://cdn.androidpolice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/nexusae0_154.png "1[5]")
![2[5]](http://cdn.androidpolice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/nexusae0_252.png "2[5]")
![3[5]](http://cdn.androidpolice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/nexusae0_351.png "3[5]")
![1[7]](http://cdn.androidpolice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/nexusae0_171.png "1[7]")
![2[7]](http://cdn.androidpolice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/nexusae0_271.png "2[7]")
Like I said, those are just a few of the choices!
The time has come, ladies and gents – NVIDIA's Project SHIELD (henceforth known only as SHIELD) is ready for pre-order for users who previously signed up to receive SHIELD updates via email. Everyone else will have to wait until May 20th to secure their own directly from NVIDIA or from NewEgg, Gamestop, Micro Center, or Canada Computers, which teaches us one thing: always sign up to be notified of device updates. The actual units should be shipping some time around late June, and the launch will be limited to North America.
Update: Turns out the response for SHIELD has been greater than originally anticipated, so NVIDIA and its partners have moved the pre-order date from May 20th, to today.
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