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If you've ever felt the urge to indulge in Android-branded consumerism in the same way that Apple fans do, you might soon get the chance... if you live in India. The Economic Times reports that Google plans to open an Android-branded store called Android Nation in New Delhi's Select Citywalk shopping center. The store will feature Android hardware from multiple brands (not just Nexus devices) and operate in partnership with Asian conglomerate Spice Mobile. More stores across India are in the planning stage.
NVIDIA doesn't want to take any chances with its first portable gaming product. After receiving feedback from prospective customers when the initial $349 price for SHIELD was revealed, the MSRP has been lowered to 9 - a big deal for cash-scrapped gamers and hardware junkies alike. Those who have already pre-ordered the hardware will be charged the new price (with whatever funding source they specified) when it ships. NVIDIA has also officially set next Thursday, June 27th as the launch date for SHIELD.
After an initial release in Canada, Zynga's latest attempt to addict millions of mobile gamers is now available to the greater Play Store. Eden to Green fits broadly in the tower defense genre, with a variety of flowers fighting off an army of invading machines. (So it's like Terminator meets The Happening.) The game is a free download, though device support seems a bit spotty: my ancient HTC Incredible shows as compatible, while my nearly-new Galaxy Note 8.0 does not.
Will someone please tell Disney to stop passing the Where's My Water property around the corporate offices? After the physics puzzle game and its cutesy alligator mascot gained a nice little fanbase on Android, Where's My Perry was released last year, with a somewhat odd tie-in to the Phineas And Ferb cartoon. Now Disney has reached all the way back to Mister Mouse himself, and Where's My Mickey is available on the Google Play Store. The standard version is a buck, while the "XL" edition intended for tablets goes for two.
There's bad news for those of you who were hoping to play Bioware's classic PC dungeon crawler Baldur's Gate on your tablets. The Enhanced Edition has been removed from Apple's iOS App Store, making new purchases impossible. That doesn't mean a lot for Android gamers, but the reasons behind this move have implications for the Android launch. According to the official game website, the publisher insisted that the game be pulled based on a "contractual issue." Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition for Android is now on hold.
If you're just dying to try out Verizon's much-hyped augmented reality game fashioned after the company's DROID advertisements... well, then you've probably got some very strange tastes. The @DroidLanding Twitter account was re-activated yesterday after its usual inter-device slumber as a precursor to this game. We don't know when they'll make a formal announcement (though a dormant Play Store page has already landed) but you can download the APK and try it now if you like.
On today's episode of All My Mergers And Acquisitions, the long-running Sprint bidding war between Dish Network and Japanese carrier SoftBank appears to be over, at least for the moment. After SoftBank increased its Sprint bid to 21.6 billion dollars for 78% of the company last week, and Sprint subsequently sued both Dish and Clearwire for getting in the way of its corporate matchmaking, Dish has withdrawn its offer. According to Reuters, the company stated that submitting a new offer by today's deadline was not practical.
In exactly two weeks, the bell will toll for Google Reader, taking down the infrastructure for quite a few popular RSS reader clients with it. But a few are sticking it out, including the developer of popular Android Google Reader client gReader. Noin Nion has decided to expand the basics of gReader into a new app, tentatively titled News+. The new app will add support for extensions synced to external multiple external sources, including Feedly; gReader is one of the launch partners for Feedly's new alternative backend.
Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.
We knew Samsung's latest entry to the Galaxy Note series was getting an AT&T LTE version, and today the carrier has released more detailed information about its launch. Those of you that want to take your notation on the go can pick up a Galaxy Note 8.0 On June 21st (this Friday) for $399.99, with a two-year contract. That's pretty pricey, especially after other carriers have moved towards no-contract pricing for tablets - it's just as expensive as the commitment-free WiFi version. AT&T hasn't said how much an off-contract Note 8.0 will cost.
Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our regular news rounds. Consider this a quick update for the dedicated gamers who can't wait for our bi-weekly roundups, and don't want to wade through a whole day's worth of news just to get their pixelated fix. Today we've got an interesting take on top-down strategy, a unique spin on zombies, and a word puzzler from an unexpected source. Without further ado:
Last week there was a bit of hubbub among the still-tiny population of Google Glass users, after Google sent out packages to the Explorer program. A few of them spotted UPS packages coming in through the My UPS service, and speculation ran wild. What could this 1-pound package be? A free Nexus 4? Keys to one of Google's self-driving cars? A golden ticket for admittance to the Google X Dream Factory?
Imgur Beta App Updated To 0.1.11 With Not-Really-Holo User Interface, Still Has A Long Way To Go [Update]
Imgur Beta App Updated To 0.1.11
Imgur has become one of the standard Internet destinations for quick and dirty photo sharing, but its official Android app leaves a lot to be desired - though to be fair, it's still in beta. The latest update adds a much-needed Holo interface... sort of. The UI has definitely been improved over previous versions, and according to the changelog, it's Holo. While it's clear that the designers were trying for a more standardized app, the guidelines have been followed in some places and not others. It could be called "I Can't Believe It's Not Holo."
[One-Day Deal Alert] Amazon Drops The HTC One To $79.99 For New Contracts, $99.99 For Upgrades On Sprint And AT&T
Amazon Wireless sales are so dramatic and frequent that I don't know why anyone buys a retail-priced phone anymore. Case in point: Today's one-day sale
Amazon Wireless sales are so dramatic and frequent that I don't know why anyone buys a retail-priced phone anymore. Case in point: Today's one-day sale is a reduced-price HTC One, on-contract for both AT&T and Sprint users. New contract signees can pick up one of the best Android smartphones around for a jaw-dropping $79.99, while those renewing their contracts can get it for just a bit more at $99.99. Two-day shipping is free (no Amazon Prime account required), and the phone is offered in silver or black on both carriers.
Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Now Available For Preorder at AT&T: $200 On-Contract, $595 Outright
Ready to live life to the fullest, you jet-skiing, rock-climbing, skateboarding, heath food commercial stereotype? Then you need a phone that can take
Ready to live life to the fullest, you jet-skiing, rock-climbing, skateboarding, heath food commercial stereotype? Then you need a phone that can take at least as many bumps and bruises as you can, and Samsung and AT&T are happy to oblige. The carrier-branded version of the ruggedized Galaxy S4 Active announced yesterday is now up for preorder on the AT&T website. It's being offered in Dive Blue and Urban Gray colors. The phone will launch online and at retail stores on Tuesday, June 18th.
[Bonus Round] CRUSH, Gurk III Beta, And Little Nick: The Great Escape
Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our
Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our regular news rounds. Consider this a quick update for the dedicated gamers who can't wait for our bi-weekly roundups, and don't want to wade through a whole day's worth of news just to get their pixelated fix. Today we've got a new puzzle game from the makers of Slydris, a game that puts other "old school" titles to shame, and yet another licensed endless runner. Without further ado:
Press RSS Reader Updated To Version 1.3 With Support For Feed Wrangler And Feedbin, Feedly and Fever Coming Soon
In case you hadn't heard, Google Reader will be mercilessly and permanently shut down in just over two weeks. It's kind of a big deal. Not just because
In case you hadn't heard, Google Reader will be mercilessly and permanently shut down in just over two weeks. It's kind of a big deal. Not just because of the millions of readers who actively use it, but because of the services that rely on Reader as a backend for their own platforms. Press, a popular reader launched on Android with some fanfare back in December, is now preparing for the Readerpocalypse. In addition to syncing with Google Reader, Press now works with popular paid alternatives Feed Wrangler and Feedbin.
Sony Opens Up The SmartWatch, Encourages Developers To Create Alternative Firmware
Sony wants to make sure that you remember they've got a smartwatch, what with all these Pebbles, Agents, and every other Johnny-come-lately crowding the
Sony wants to make sure that you remember they've got a smartwatch, what with all these Pebbles, Agents, and every other Johnny-come-lately crowding the market. They may have found the perfect vector for getting their somewhat aged Bluetooth watch back in the spotlight, at least among die-hard Android power users: custom ROMs. Sony is now officially condoning hacks and modifications to the SmartWatch, as detailed on their Developer World blog.
Korea Times: Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 To Be Unveiled At June 20th London Event, Says CEO JK Shin
We wondered what Samsung would have up its sleeve for that shadowy Premiere event, set for June 20th in London. Or more precisely, we wondered what it
We wondered what Samsung would have up its sleeve for that shadowy Premiere event, set for June 20th in London. Or more precisely, we wondered what it had left - the company has unveiled no less than three variants of the Galaxy S4 (at least by name) and two new tablets since the event was announced. According to the Korea Times, at least one new product will be the Galaxy Camera 2, successor to last year's eponymous category-bending smart camera.
[Bonus Round] Icy Tower 2 Temple Jump, Flying Fox, And Kyubo
Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our
Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our regular news rounds. Consider this a quick update for the dedicated gamers who can't wait for our bi-weekly roundups, and don't want to wade through a whole day's worth of news just to get their pixelated fix. Today we've got an update to a much-loved jumping platformer, a barnyard theft simulator, and a unique take on the sliding block puzzle. Without further ado: