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If you've been patiently waiting for the sequel to popular top-down shooter Gun Bros, the wait is over. After teasing the release, Glu Mobile posted the game on the Play Store earlier today, giving Android the closest thing it's going to get to Gears of War for the foreseeable future. It's a free download, compatible with Android 2.1 and up, though the more advanced 3D graphics mean that older devices may struggle to run it smoothly.
Ah, the golden age of pulp fantasy. When men were men, women were women, and gigantic, toothy, screaming monsters were everywhere. New iOS pilgrim God of Blades takes its inspiration from the muscle-bound heroes from Cimmeria, slaps them on a two-dimensional endless runner background, and throws in more swords, axes, and clubs with a nail on the end than any undead warrior could ever need.
In a surprisingly quick update, the Android Open Kang project has reached its fifth Android 4.2 release, complete with some worthy additions to the list of supported devices. The much-demanded Samsung Galaxy S III international version leads the pack, with the Verizon and Sprint variants of the Galaxy Note II also making for some pleased users. (S-Pen support has been added for these models specifically.) The LG Optimus LTE, plus its American variants the Nitro (AT&T) and Spectrum (Verizon) round out the pack.
If you're looking for something new in the stagnating world of tower defense, this is it. City Conquest turns the genre on its head, by forcing players to defend their own territory and attack others simultaneously, with a combination of real-time and turn-based gameplay. It's a bit hard to wrap your head around, but trust me, the experience is well worth the effort. City Conquest is a free download in the Play Store (ad-supported, no in-app purchases) for devices running Android 4.0 or later with a resolution of at least 960x720.
We know that at least a few of you have been eagerly waiting for Samsung to release its stylus-packing Galaxy Note 10.1 in a more wireless flavor here in the States. Starting on Thursday, March 7th, you'll get your surprisingly specific wish: Verizon will start selling the tablet online and in stores for $599.99. For six Benjamins, you'll get the pleasure of the Note's S-pen function and related TouchWiz apps, plus the honor of promoting Big Red through what is quite possibly the most gaudy, ostentatious carrier branding in the history of mobile electronics.
It's been a long, long time coming, but the official Android 4.2 update for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus is here. The black sheep of the Nexus family has waited for four months to get updated to the latest release, and while Verizon is currently testing the software for a probable release later this week or month, you don't have to wait that long. Long-time Android tipster WinDroidGuy got his hot hands on the update ZIP package, and eager users can download it right now.
Get those fingers ready, Opera fans: the biggest thing to happen to your favorite mobile browser in years has arrived. Opera Software announced a new and retooled version of their browser in February, and demonstrated it during Mobile World Congress. The Opera browser beta (no Mini or Mobile here, it's the "full" version a la Chrome) is live in the Play Store. It's a free download for just about any Android device, so get to it.
When we first covered Adobe's "new" Photoshop Touch for smartphones, we were skeptical - after all, the tablet version wasn't cheap, a and an extra five bucks for what was essentially the same app seemed like a bit of a rip-off. (Adobe isn't exactly known for their reasonable pricing in any case.) But after using it extensively, I can say that not only is it worth every penny, it's worth it even if you already own the tablet version.
It's a widely-known fact that Google's unofficial motto when it comes to potential monopolies, privacy violations, and other slightly gray areas of technological ethics is "don't be evil." Lately it seems like Twitter is taking the opposite approach. The latest victim of their incredibly frustrating corporate policy is TweetDeck, the once-loved power app for Twitter that was acquired by the service itself in 2011. In a rambling post on the official TweetDeck website, the developers mentioned that they are ending support for the Android version (as well as the iPhone and Adobe Air versions, and Facebook integration) in May.
If you live in the south or the Great Plains, you know the feeling of going to bed without knowing if your house will be there in the morning. Tornado is the latest in the American Red Cross's series of disaster relief apps, and since tornadoes are by their very nature sudden and unpredictable, it's a welcome addition to the Play Store. The app ties into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's alert system, and emits an alarm when your area (or any area you designate) receives a tornado warning. There's also an all-clear signal when the danger has passed.
There was one black spot on our mostly favorable review of the Pebble smartwatch: the music control app just didn't work on some phones. As stated in the review, that's probably got more to do with the phone in question than Pebble's software, since it worked just fine on two separate Nexus devices. Even so, the people at Pebble have been listening, and the latest update to the official app includes a music player selection feature. It will scan your device for music apps and let you choose which one your watch will default to.
Google gets a lot of abuse for not making various parts of its Play Store available in most countries. It's not necessarily their fault, especially when it comes to books, movies, and music - international content contracts are like trying to trade horses on a quantum level. But a major part of the globe gets more access tonight, as Play Store Books become available to India's population of 1.2 billion. Get your literature on, folks.
Update: After reaching out to HTC, we've confirmed that the statement on Facebook does in fact mean that the mentioned devices - the HTC One X, X+, S, and Butterfly - will be receiving Sense 5 in a future software update. Some features of Sense 5, though, will not be included, as they depend on specific hardware found in the HTC One.
If you're the kind of fan that absolutely must have a Star Wars version of everything in your life, then grab your officially licensed Ahsoka Tano phone case and head for the Play Store. Zen Studios, makers of the well-received Zen Pinball HD, have released their Star Wars-themed pinball app, creatively titled Star Wars Pinball. It's a reasonable $1.99, but unfortunately restricted to Android 4.0 devices and above, and thus tragically off-limits to the Special Edition R2-DROID2.
US Cellular Adds The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 To Its LTE Lineup For $499.99
US Cellular Adds The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 To Its LTE Lineup For $499.99
Its smaller 8-inch cousin is getting all the attention at Mobile World Congress (for better or worse), but the plus-sized Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 still has a few fans. At least one of them works at regional carrier US Cellular, because the device is now their second 4G LTE tablet, behind the original Galaxy Tab 10.1. The Galaxy Note 10.1 is available now from US Cellular's website and retail stores for $499.99; it requires a 2GB data plan, but not a long-term contract.
I'll be honest: I have no idea what's going on in this game. Towelfight 2: The Monocle of Destiny appears to be a pretty basic twin-stick shooter, right up until you notice that your wizened player character is shooting homicidal, spherical animals out of his eye. These critters have powers of their own, including lasers, chainsaws, and explosions. And when you kill enemies, they burst into Batman-style sound effects, which for some reason include "dirigible" and "maple syrup." Also, there's a dog, and you can play fetch with him.
NVIDIA's Tegra 4 platform raised a few eyebrows at CES, and a few more at Mobile World Congress. Now we're finally getting to see some compelling evidence of the chipset's superiority over Tegra 3and its current-gen competitors. But while NVIDIA is making a name for itself in the mobile OEM space, its bread and butter will always be gaming. So without further ado, here are a few of the first games that are taking advantage of Tegra 4 hardware.
Update: It looks like Telstra has had carrier billing for a couple of months, and Google is just now getting around to updating the support page. Thanks to Adam Ricket (@onlineadr) for the heads-up.
Falcon Pro Developer Raises App Price To $132.13 To Discourage Downloads, Petitions Twitter To Raise Token Limit [Update]
Falcon Pro Developer Raises App Price To $132.13 To Discourage Downloads
More than a few Twitter power users were upset when Falcon Pro, the popular Android Twitter client, hit its 100,000 user token limit and became nigh useless for new or returning users. Developer Joaquim Vergès has resorted to an unconventional approach to get the word out about Twitter's draconian API policies: he's raised the price of the formerly $1 app to an eye-popping $132.13 (€100), ostensibly to discourage people from actually downloading it. Those who formerly purchased it can re-download it via Google Play's standard method, though logging in may be impossible.
Ah, fantasy sports: the Dungeons and Dragons of the jock world. There are more than a few options for you to spend your fantasy money on, but ESPN's seems to be the first that's ready for the 2013 baseball season. So if you've just got to get your lineup ready for the big office matchup weeks in advance of opening day, feel free to download ESPN Fantasy Baseball.