Eric Ravenscraft - 12/103 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Eric Ravenscraft

Eric is a snarky technophile with a taste for the unusual. When he's not obsessing about Android, you can usually find him obsessing about movies, psychology, or the perfect energy drink. Eric weaves his own special blend of snark, satire, and comedy into all his articles.

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Mar

HTC Announces Global Availability Of HTC One: UK, Germany, Taiwan Next Week, Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific By End Of April

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in HTC, News, One

Rumblings of delays aside, we've been waiting to hear more concrete information about the arrival of the new HTC One. Well, today we got something closer to solid facts. According to the company itself, the new flagship phone should launch in the UK, Germany, and Taiwan next week. Dates may vary by local carriers, but it won't be too long of a wait.

As for the rest of the world, more countries in Europe, as well as the North American and Asia-Pacific regions should see the handset land 'before the end of April.' No specific dates are given, nor any carrier information, but we already know that in the U.S.

Mar

Ragnarok Valkyrie Uprising Brings Addictive Anime-Style MMO Fun To Android

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games, News

To say that Koreans get into video games more than most of us would be an understatement. Sure, we may stay up til midnight to play a sweet new game, but these guys build friggin' stadiums to play them in. Starcraft isn't the only game that's taken off in Korea, though. Ragnarok Online has been a huge MMORPG in the country that spread worldwide and is now landing on Android.

The mobile MMO features a touchscreen-oriented UI (as you'd expect), a solo mode or online play for users who want to play with a party. Interestingly, you can also login to the game via Facebook, which may be a change for most MMO players.

Mar

Google Adds Over 400 Dark Horse Comics To Play Books, Including Star Wars, Serenity, And Buffy

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

Android devices are already pretty awesome comic readers. There's very little I love in the world more than watching Deadpool hack and slash everything in the universe up on the ultra-high resolution display of my Nexus 10. Though, if anything is gonna give the merc with a mouth a run for his ill-gotten money, it may just be the collective comic anthologies of properties like Star Wars, Hellboy, Serenity, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and more. Yes, Dark Horse comics are live on the Play Store.

The titles will launch in every country that Play Store books are sold (which, as of right now, includes Australia, Canada, Spain, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, India, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, France, Russia and the United States).

Mar

[Editorial] Just Because Google Closed Reader Doesn't Mean You Can Never Trust Any Service Ever Again

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Editorials

Did you hear about Google's sweet new app called Keep? After five years of Android existing without a basic note-taking app like iOS had for forever, Google finally got around to creating its own. Oh, and it even added a to-do list and picture uploading and voice memos and-wait, what's that? You don't want to use it because Google Reader closed? I'm not sure I follow.

I'm an open-minded kind of guy, though. I believe that problems can be solved by talking them out. And it's not like I'm not sensitive to your feelings. After all, I used Google Reader, too.

Mar

[Deal Alert] Unlocked Galaxy S III Going For $449 With Free Shipping On eBay Daily Deals

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Deals, Galaxy S III, News

I heard from a reliable source that you guys like unlocked cell phones. Well, eBay's Daily Deals have you covered today with an unlocked international Galaxy S III for $449, which is slightly cheaper than the previous deal on this handset of $470. The device comes in your choice of black, white, or blue. As a bonus, the shipping on these devices is entirely free, which makes it one of the cheapest high-end handsets you can get unlocked, excluding the Nexus 4.

Even if you are including the Nexus 4, this isn't bad. The GSIII was initially launched in May of 2012, so it's only 9 months old.

Mar

PSA: You Can Now Listen To The Android Police Podcast Feed In Google Currents, And It Rules

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Yesterday, Google added support for audio playlists and media controls to Google Currents. We thought this sounded like a pretty neat feature, and, hey! We're on Google Currents! So why not put two and two together? Today we updated our Currents edition to include a feed of our audio podcast and it's actually kind of beautiful. Take a look:

It was possible to add audio before, but it wasn't quite this nice. The feed works on both phones and tablets. Just open up the Android Police edition, tap the drop down that will initially say "Articles", tap on "Podcast" and boom!

Mar

Ravensword Is An Open World Action RPG That Definitely Isn't Skyrim, Still Looks Pretty Awesome

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games, News

Do you like sword fighting giant spiders, expansive worlds to explore, pickpocketing items from strangers, avoiding jail time, riding horses, sneaking around, gathering loot, switching from first- to -third-person at the tap of a button, choice-based questing systems, ragdoll physics, and ancient lore? Then I can think of two games you might be really interested in! One of them is Ravensword: Shadowlands!

The game is set in a fantasy landscape and sends the player on a mission to "solve the mysteries of the Kingdom of Tyreas." Presumably, these are different mysteries from the ones in the Kingdom of Aralon, which were addressed in Aralon: Sword and Shadow, a previous game from the same developer.

Mar

Eric Schmidt Denies Android And Chrome Will Merge, But There May Be More 'Commonality'

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

As soon as Andy Rubin stepped down from Android, and the head of Chrome stepped up to take his place while maintaining lordship of his former OS, rumors have flown wildly that the two operating systems may merge. Not so, says Eric Schmidt. Speaking at a Big Tent event in India, the former CEO, current Chairman says that the two will remain separate products, though they may have more "commonality" between them.

The announcement doesn't come as that big of a surprise. While the two platforms may serve a similar purpose for the moment, the underlying systems aren't exactly interchangeable.

Mar

Google Currents Update Adds Support For Audio Playlists, Media Bars, And Audio Controls

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Google released an update to the news reader it hasn't abandoned today, adding a bunch of support for audio-centric features. Playlists are now available for editions that contain audio content, and users will be able to play, pause, and jump forward or backward in the playlist. There are even status bar controls added for when audio is playing, so you don't have to sit staring at a blank playback page while listening.

Here's the full change log:

What's in this version:

* Audio playlist for editions with audio
* Audio media bar in app for stop, start, next, previous
* Story scanner audio icons for launching Audio directly
* Status bar audio controls when Currents audio is playing
* Syncing post read state between devices
* Bug fixes

It sounds a lot like Google is gearing up to make Currents more than just a guided content scraper.

Mar

[Trailer] Frontline Commando: D-Day On Its Way To Android's Beaches In A Landing Craft Full Of Explosions

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games, News

Gamers, players, and couch potatoes of the Android Entertainment Force. You are about to embark upon a great download, toward which the developers have striven these many months. The eyes of the Play Store are upon you. The hopes and prayers of war shooter-loving players everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on the IAP fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the microtransaction war machine, the elimination of nickel-and-diming tyranny over the oppressed peoples of the Android ecosystem, and security for ourselves in a free-to-play world.