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So you want more than Google Play can deliver, and the Amazon Appstore leaves you cold. Russian Google competitor Yandex is here to help: they've just launched their own branded app store, creatively titled Yandex.Store. The APK is a freely-available download for any Android device, and after a standard account setup process, you've got access to an impressive selection of mainstream apps. Big titles like Angry Birds, ES File Explorer, SoundHound, Twitter and Opera Mobile are all sitting on the front page. Beneath that is a cache of apps 50,000 strong and growing.
Pay-as-you-go Sprint subsidiary Boost Mobile would like you to know that they've got LTE service. It's okay if you didn't - it's not as if they had any phones that could take advantage of the speedier standard. But that should be rectified in just a couple of weeks, when the HTC One SV And the ZTE Force (officially the "Boost Force by ZTE," because American carriers like to push around smaller OEMs) become available for purchase. You can pick both of them up on March 7th for $299.99 and $199.99, respectively and without contract. Meanwhile, over at the other prepaid Sprint MVNO, Virgin is repackaging the Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE for $299.99.
Well folks, it's time for speculation and rumor on the Galaxy S IV to die... at least when it comes to the device's glamorous debut. Samsung Mobile division chief JK Shin confirmed to Edaily News (Korean) that the company's new flagship device will be revealed in New York City on Thursday, March 14th. The date was previously suspected after a well-known tipster leaked it earlier this week. Samsung has chosen to move its more typical European or Asian venue to the United States after it was "inundated" with requests from U.S. carriers to launch the device here. Let's hope that means that it will come to American shores quickly (or maybe even simultaneously) after a worldwide release.
If you've got a Sprint Galaxy Victory 4G LTE in your hand, you're no doubt craving a little Jelly Bean, since the budget smartphone launched with Android 4.0 back in September. While Samsung hasn't seen fit to update to the latest Android release (and likely won't for some time), you can still get some spiffy new features via the 4.1 update. Samsung Updates has posted what appears to be the official 4.1.1 over the air update, and it's downloadable right now. The L399VPALJ9 package weighs in at a beefy 370MB.
It's that time again, custom ROM fans. The oh-so-versatile Android Open Kang Project has released its fourth 4.2 build, this time updated to the latest 4.2.2 AOSP code. While feature additions beyond the ones added by Google themselves are few and far between, the list of supported devices for AOKP 4.2 has greatly expanded. Most of the phones in question come from Verizon's Motorola stable.
[MWC 2013] HP Slate 7 Officially Announced: $169 Buys Low-End Specs, Beats Audio, And Stock Jelly Bean In April
HP Slate 7 Officially Announced: $169 Buys Low-End Specs
It took them the better part of two years, but HP is finally ready to get back in the consumer tablet game, this time backing Android. Their first tablet will be the Slate 7, a small model that's light on price and even lighter on surprises. Roughly comparable to the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, the 1024x600 FFS+ LCD screen sits on top of a 1.6Ghz dual-core A9 processor, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of MicroSD-expandable storage. According to HP's promotional page, it will be available in at least two colors. The rear camera is a disappointing 3 megapixels, with the front a dismal VGA model, and it runs stock Android 4.1. Wait, what?
One-touch games work great on mobile platforms - it's part of the formula that makes endless runners and Angry Birds incredibly popular. Adapting that simplicity to racing takes a little finesse, but developer Crescent Moon Games (creators of the popular Paper Monsters and Aralon games) seems to have managed it. In Slingshot Racing, all the powered sleds go at the same speed and have no steering, so to get ahead, you fire a grappling hook at a corner fulcrum to make the best line through the icy tracks. It's a lot like slot car racing, for you old timers.
Samsung just unveiled the Galaxy Note 8.0, but they won't be satisfied until there's no stone unturned for Mobile World Congress. In a disappointingly dry press release the company debuted the Samsung HomeSync, an Android-powered set top box that combines Google TV features and a home media server. Major bullet points include a full terabyte of storage, WiFi and Ethernet access, and an interface powered by Jelly Bean (presumably 4.1) with full access to the Google Play Store.
We've seen it leaked a few times, but Samsung has beaten the Mobile World Congress rush and officially unveiled the Galaxy Note 8.0. The device is basically a super-sized version of the Note 2 smartphone, right down to the physical home button (a first for Samsung's post-Android 3.0 tablets), call capability, and vertical orientation.
Don't let the title fool you: this app isn't a WiFi-exclusive version of Skype. That would be silly. Instead, it's an easy access app for Skype's network of partnered WiFi access points, which the company claims is more than a million strong in various airports, cafes, and train stations. There's nothing stopping you from using them normally (or using the standard Skype VOIP app), but Skype WiFi will quickly connect and authenticate your Android-powered device.
In case you hadn't heard, back in August of last year Twitter changed the rules for their API, limiting developers to 100,000 individual user tokens for outside apps (or 200% of then-totals, if the app already had more than 100,000 users). To say the change was controversial would be an understatement. Falcon Pro, a favorite among Android Twitter users, has hit the limit. New users cannot log into Twitter via Falcon Pro. That includes those who have already paid for the app and are reinstalling for a new device or ROM.
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.
MLB.com At Bat Update Offers Update Live Coverage Of Spring Training Through The World Series, For A Price
MLB.com At Bat Update Offers Update Live Coverage Of Spring Training Through The World Series, For A Price
Opening day is six weeks away, baseball fans, but there's plenty of pre-season action to whet your appetite. MLB.com hopes that you're desperate enough to pay for the privilege: while you can download the latest version of the MLB.com At Bat app (not to be confused with last season's MLB.com At Bat 2012), you'll have to be an MLB.com subscriber or pay a $19.99 in-app purchase to access a year of premium features. The "Lite" version is now the only version, with the IAP replacing At Bat 2012. Live video is exclusive to subscribers, but nifty features like live audio, play-by-play updates, and a field view can be had for the "lower" price.
Sometimes Long-Term Evolution wireless is presented as the future of mobile, and the answer to network incompatibility. That's half true. While LTE and GSM tend to play nice (or at least nicer than the entirely disparate GSM and CDMA standards) the bands and frequencies used for high-speed wireless access vary pretty widely in different countries, or here in the US, across different networks. Chip OEM Qualcomm is hoping to banish network anxiety with a new family of LTE radios, christened RF360. You can expect to see the radios embedded on future Snapdragon platforms.
The life of a racehorse trainer is no bed of wood shavings. It's a dirty, thankless job, with high risk to both money and person, and a big win can be years in the making. So what better vocation to make a sim game out of? Android gaming favorite Kairosoft is up to the challenge - after all, they managed to make both real estate and tailoring fun - with Pocket Stables. Surprisingly, they've also gone back to their old price model: the game is $4.99 with no ads or in-app purchases.
Attention, kind neighbours to the north: the Amazon Mobile app now works with the Amazon.ca website. The latest update doesn't add any extra features, but Canadians can browse their own store, the US store, and stores from the UK, Germany, France, Italy, China and Japan. For Americans (and Americans only) Amazon is also offering a "Subscribe and Save" promotion: subscribe to regular monthly deliveries of five items or more and you'll save fifteen percent on the total cost. This deal isn't exclusive to the app - check it out here from your browser.
So, you've got an idea for the best app never to hit Android, and you know it'll take the world by storm once you get it published. There's just one problem: you don't know Java from an Indonesian island. You could quit your job, shop around for investors, hire programming talent, and try to make it on your own. Or you could submit your app idea to Dandy and let the people decide.
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.This edition focuses only on new games. The app roundup is coming up soon.
eBay's Android app has left a little to be desired, especially considering that their mobile web app is pretty serviceable in and of itself. Today's update brings a slightly refreshed user interface, a few bells and whistles in the alert system, and a desperately needed revamp of the checkout process. Phones and tablets running Android 2.1 or later can download the app, but don't expect the UI to scale.
There have been a few items in the rumor mill about Google either investigating or planning retail stores, not unlike the Apple stores that famously dot malls and upper-class shopping areas around the world. 9to5 Google reported a tip from "an extremely reliable source" citing a 2013 rollout schedule for a Google store. Then the Wall street Journal, itself a pretty reliable reporter of the inner workings of Google, reported the same thing. The WSJ omitted a time frame, and noted that the 2013 claim may not be accurate.