Eric Ravenscraft - 11/104 - 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

Here's Why You Need To Download Duck Retro Hunt Right Now: Do It

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games, News

If you're old enough to have been around for the coolest parts of the 20th century, you know Duck Hunt. I don't need to explain this, do I? No. You know all about the bright orange gun and that annoying little dog and getting frustrated and walking right up to the screen and shooting an 8-bit duck point blank in the pixel. This is your childhood. And now, it's on your phone in a fantastic clone that utilizes the gyroscope in the best possible way.

Ignoring for just a moment the silly AR mode (which actually didn't work very well when I tried it), Duck Retro Hunt has one advantage over the myriad of Duck Hunt clones on the Play Store: instead of using a touch screen, you have to aim your phone in a gyroscope-powered virtual world to shoot the little birds.

Mar

Google Rolls Out Automated Translation Of User Reviews In The Play Store Developer Console

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

Recently, Google quietly began to test auto translation for app reviews in the developer console. Today, the company publicly announced that same feature and began rolling it out to all devs. Now, when they log in to their control panel, they can see the reviews in their preferred language, along with the original text. Neat.

Of course, this still isn't a replacement for native fluency, but it should aid developers in troubleshooting problems that users on the other side of the language barrier discover. This, coupled with replies to reviews, enables a high degree of communication between devs and users, which can only be a great thing.

Mar

Yet Another Humble Bundle Is Live, Pay What You Want For Metal Slug 3, Plants Vs. Zombies, Anomaly Korea, And More

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games, News

The last Humble Bundle for Android just ended, but if that wasn't quite enough to slake your desire for gaming on the go, may I interest you in the Humble Mobile Bundle? The primary difference between this one and the last is that this package won't include Steam codes for the desktop counterparts. Only Android. However, the four primary games you get are Contre Jour, Anomaly Korea, Plants vs. Zombies and Bladeslinger. If you pay more than the average ($5.38 at time of writing, but ~$7 is typical throughout the life of the sale), you can unlock Metal Slug 3 and The Room.

Mar

Galaxy S 4 Will Launch On T-Mobile On May 1st With LTE

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Samsung, T-Mobile

T-Mobile is not playing around today at its "UNcarrier" event. In addition to formally announcing the new, simplified prices with optional equipment repayment plans, and a shiny new LTE network, the company also says that the Galaxy S 4 will be arriving on its airwaves on May 1st, packing the ability to hook into that lovely 4G.

The carrier did not, however, elect to mention the pricing of the device. It has said that the iPhone, HTC One, and Blackberry Z10 will all have a $99 up front price and a $20/month payment plan. Over the course of 24 months, this makes the final price about $580 for those devices.

Mar

[Update: Evernote Too!] Catch Notes Follows Google Keep's Example, Commandeers 'Note To Self' Voice Action—Wait, They Can Do That?!

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

When Google announced Keep last week, one of the coolest features we learned about is the ability to accept the "note to self" command that has been part of Google's Voice Actions since the Froyo days. Previously, this would send an email to your own account with the transcribed text and the original audio file. Keep allowed users to send that data to a proper note-taking app instead. Well, as it turns out, Catch wants in on that voice action, so in a recent update, it's added the ability as well.

You know that scene in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Mar

T-Mobile LTE Goes Live Today In Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Jose, and Washington, D.C.

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Carriers, News, T-Mobile

Today, at a media event in New York, T-Mobile announced that it's finally ready to join the big-boy world of LTE networks. The initial round of activations match up just about perfectly with the earlier leaks. Major cities include Houston, Las Vegas, Washington D.C. and more. The proper 4G network can be used with the new "Uncarrier" plans that just went live a couple days ago.

Here's the full list of launch cities:

Baltimore
Houston
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Phoenix
San Jose
Washington, D.C.

Of course, you'll need a device to go with that new network and data plan.

Mar

PUK Is A Fast-Paced Action Puzzle Game That-Wait, Holy Crap, What's Happening?!

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games, News

I am going to show you a game. It costs about a buck on the Play Store and is very fun. However, once you begin playing it, you will have roughly five minutes until you either scream, demand a refund, or your head explodes. There are no other options. The game is called Puk. And it is insane.

The concept is simple. At the start of each level, you are given a set number of slingshot-able pucks (I get it!). You have to hit a number of large white circles on the play field with said pucks (...ohhh.

Mar

[The Android Police Podcast] Episode 54: Ninja Wesley Snipes Goes to Taco Bell

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Podcast

Welcome to the Android Police Podcast, Episode 54.

Don't forget - the Android Police Podcast's live broadcast is every Thursday at 5PM PST (www.androidpolice.com/podcast). The unedited video version of the podcast can be found here - and will likely include various verbal expletives, technical snafus, tangents, and probably a good 5-10 minutes of pre-podcast banter as we prepare. Watch at your own risk!

Mar

16GB Nexus 7 Is The First Device To Be Sold Through Google Play In India, Available Now For Rs. 15,999

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Nexus 7

The global rollout continues as Google adds yet another country to the list of places you can order a 16GB Nexus 7. The device showed up in the Play Store today for Rs. 15,999 (roughly $295 USD). No other variants of the tablet appear to be available, though. It's 16 geebees or bust. Currently the store says it will ship by April 5th, but you can order now.

Currently, the only content offerings from Google available on the Play Store are apps and books, but with the pace of advancement lately, it wouldn't surprise us if other services showed up before too long.

Mar

[Update: It's Live!] New Google+ App Brings Better Posts, Community Management, Location Sharing On Your Profile And More

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, Google, News

Today, Google announced a new update to the Google+ app that will be rolling out later today that brings a host of new features. For starters, the posts have been redesigned to look a little cleaner, provide more content up front, and are easier to interact with. For example, you can now swipe between photos in an album, and tapping content should take you directly to where you want to go. The current Google+ app has a problem with requiring the user to jump through several hoops to get to the meat of a post, so hopefully this makes things easier.