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.

25
Sep
voxeltiny

Voxel Invaders Is A Galaga-Like Space Shooter That Thinks Two Dimensions Just Isn't Enough

Posted by in Games, News

You seen one top-scrolling space shooter, you've seen 'em all, am I right? No, as a matter of fact, I am not. Voxel Invaders is here to prove that. Take a look at the trailer below and you see that the game starts off simple enough. Some nice, 3D-ish graphics adorn an otherwise banal battleground. Or so it seems. Until around ten seconds into the video, when the world shifts and we see things from a whole new perspective.

It's not just a plane change here, either. Voxel Invaders incorporates elements from a variety of different retro and modern game styles for an elaborate experience.

24
Sep
2012-09-24_13h15_04

Sprint Rolls Out LTE To More Cities, Begins Network Vision Rollout In Chicago, New York, And Los Angeles

Posted by in News, Sprint

Sprint has some presents for you, especially if you live in the midwest. For starters, several cities are getting their shiny new LTE networks lit up today including Wichita, KS, Waukegan-Lake County, IL and more (listed below). As an added bonus, the #3 carrier also announced that the Network Vision rollout is beginning in Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles. For those who are unaware, the Network Vision plan provides for significant improvements to the existing 3G infrastructure, in addition to eventual LTE upgrades.

Here's the list of markets that will see LTE activated in their area:

Lawrence, KS
Topeka, KS
Wichita, KS
Waukegan-Lake County, IL
Barnstable-Hyannis/Mid-Cape, MA

It's not a huge rollout, but the improvements to the 3G network in Chicago, NYC, and LA should be welcome as Sprint makes ready LTE coverage in those cities.

24
Sep
novatiny

Nova Launcher Iterates To Version 1.3, Brings Several Jelly Bean Style Launcher Features To ICS Users

Posted by in Applications, News

One of the biggest drawbacks to new versions of Android is that it can take forever for the new features to roll out to current users. For launcher-specific items, though, we can always count on developers to bring us up to speed. Nova Launcher has done just that with several Jelly Bean-esque add-ons to its ICS-compatible app, including automatic rearranging of desktop elements, and the ability to fling apps and widgets away to remove them from your homescreen.

nova1 nova2 nova3

Here's the full list of what's new:

Since 1.3.0
Fix preview screen
Misc minor fixes
Since 1.2.2
Jellybean launcher features (Works with ICS)
-Desktop automatically rearranges to fit
-Long-press then fling to delete items
-Project butter related enhancements
Import from other launchers
Custom drawer grid size
Uninstall on quick menu
Performance improvements
- Smoother scrolling
- Faster load
- Reduction of memory usage
- Reduction of APK size
Fixes

The update is available via the Play Store and should be a welcome addition to anyone running a skinned launcher on an ICS device.

20
Sep
facebooklogo

Facebook Brings Messaging Improvements To Messenger And Main Facebook Apps, No It's Not The New Native App

Posted by in Applications, News

I know, you were really hoping for that extra special upgrade that Zuckerberg has been teasing ever since he admitted that HTML5 was a mistake. This should be a nice little improvement, though. Now, no matter which app you do your Facebook messaging from, whether it's messaging in Facebook, or via Facebook Messenger (confused yet?), you'll be able to see which of your friends is online, whether they're mobile, and even pin select friends that you talk to most to the top of the list.

fmessage1 fmessage2 fmessage3

There is also a new, somewhat familiar look to the threads themselves. Additionally, you can "try texting with Messenger" which is a feature that is only available on some phones it seems.

20
Sep
ICON_1024

Ubisoft's Rayman Jungle Run Is Delayed By A Week, Will Arrive On The Play Store September 27th

Posted by in Games, News

Not so fast there, limbless flyboy. While Rayman Jungle Run was scheduled to arrive on the Play Store today, it looks like a delay has set back those plans and now the side-scroller based on the popular Ubisoft character will be launching on Thursday, September 27th. Not a huge delay, but one that's being made to "provide the best gaming experience."

Here's the full comment from the Ubisoft rep we spoke to about the delay:

Rayman Jungle Run will now be available on Google Play on Thursday September 27th @ 10am CET. We are very sorry that the Android version release on week later than expected but we wanted to provide the best gaming experience for the players with a software fully optimized for all Android devices.

20
Sep
2012-09-20_13h00_57

AskPatents Is A Crowd Sourcing Forum That Puts Armchair Patent Analysts To Work In The Fight Against Trolls

Posted by in News

Let's face it. The patent system is a mess. Applying for a patent can be a process that takes years. Then there's the issue of prior art. Is this patent valid? Was it obvious? Should it have been granted in the first place? And that's without getting into whether or not other devices infringe. It can be a huge cluster of ugly. Enter AskPatents. This new Stack Exchange site has been set up to crowd source the finding of prior art and researching whether or not patents are valid.

2012-09-20_13h19_30

The site functions very similarly to other hivemind information hubs like Metafilter or, you know, Stack Exchange.

20
Sep
bard's tale

The Bard's Tale Saunters In To An Android Pub Near You, Packs Cary Elwes And Renaissance Humor In Its 3.5GB Package

Posted by in Games, News, Videos

No, it's not the Bard of Avon, but this smarmy rogue should still be able to keep you plenty entertained. The Bard's Tale is a Diablo-ish RPG starring Cary Elwes (best known for ruining your perception of the Dread Pirate Roberts and Mel Brooks' Robin Hood by doing this). Complete with absurd humor, catchy drinking songs, and adventure galore, this game promises to keep you engaged for up to 3.5GB worth of your time (for Tegra device owners, 1.7GB otherwise). Yes, it's friggin' huge.

We'll be doing a review of this game before too long, so I won't spoil everything.

19
Sep
rhapsodytiny

Rhapsody App Turns 3.0, Celebrates By Adding Offline Support For Individual Tracks And Albums

Posted by in Applications, News

While services like Spotify and Rdio may steal the spotlight most of the time, there are other streaming subscription services out there. Related: we need a better name than "streaming subscription services." Rhapsody, originally founded by Real Networks and since become an independent entity, has a pretty impressive library that users can now download for offline playback. An essential feature for a modern cloud music player. Update: To clarify, it's the ability to download songs on an individual or per-album basis that is new. Users were always able songs by adding them to a playlist first. This simply makes the process simpler.

19
Sep
2012-09-19_13h47_44

Samsung's Newest "Next Big Thing" Ad Is Just Like Last Year's Model, But Slightly Bigger

Posted by in News, Samsung

Last year, Samsung revolutionized parodies of revolutions. Now, they've revolutionized the revolutionizing of making fun of revolutionizing revolutions. The Korean manufacturer has released the newest iteration of its "Next Big Thing" series of ads. This model has 50% more runtime than last year's model. New features include "the iPhone is for your parents," "we've had 4G for a while," and the totally not subtext-laden "my screen is bigger than your screen."

The new 90-second spot will be available tonight on national TV. No word yet on whether the ad will be compatible with current consumer biases, or if users will have to upgrade their snark to take the commercial seriously.

18
Sep
2012-09-18_14h24_14

Samsung Galaxy Exhilarate Gets The Ice Cream Sandwich Bump, Available Via Kies Right Now

Posted by in Galaxy Exhilarate, News

If you say nothing else about Samsung, the manufacturer is at least thorough about getting Ice Cream Sandwich out to as many devices as possible, if not punctual. Today's latest addition to the 4.0 stable is the Galaxy Exhilarate, a mid-range phone on AT&T. The update will be rolling out via Kies immediately.

2012-09-18_14h31_27

The upgrade will not be sent out over the air, so break out those micro USB cables. The boost from Gingerbread should be a significant and welcome one for Exhilarate users. It's nice to see Samsung hasn't completely forgotten its mid-range line of phones. Even if the company does have about a million of them.

Page 53 of 104«First...102030...5152535455...607080...Last»