Liam Spradlin
Besides being an avid Android fan and blogger, Liam is a photographer with a degree in both Anthropology and Sociology. He can usually be found reading through blogs, taking photos, or studying ancient pottery. Liam has been known to leave on international trips at a moment's notice, and can't resist a new challenge.

03
Nov
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Swype BETA Gets Its First OTA Update, Bringing Context Prediction And Japanese Language Support

Posted by in Applications, News

Back in October, Swype announced that with Swype BETA 3.26, the popular keyboard solution would have automatic update capabilities, replacing the tired routine of uninstalling Swype and using the proprietary installer with a significantly easier OTA process, which keeps all your settings intact.

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In the keyboard's first OTA, which began rolling out today, Swype brings a context-based prediction engine, which learns from text you've already entered to better predict what you want (or meant) to say, while continually learning from your typing. For now, the prediction engine is only available in a few languages, but other languages are coming soon. Here's why Swype had to say about the new prediction engine:

This version of Swype contains a new component that we call the Context Prediction Engine (or "CPE" for short).

03
Nov
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Information Surrounding Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet Slips Out - Look Out Kindle Fire

Posted by in News, Nook Tablet, Tablets

Looking to keep pace with Amazon, it seems Barnes & Noble has something up their sleeve this month - the Nook Tablet. Coming to market in just under two weeks, the Nook Tablet is a dead ringer for the Nook Color, but it brings to the table substantially pumped up specs that, in some ways, surpass its nearest competition - the Kindle Fire.

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A nice set of photocopied documents leaked out today, giving us all the details we need about the Nook Tablet - it's set to launch November 16th at a cool $249. Yes, that is about $50 higher than the Kindle Fire, but wait till you see the specs:

  • OMAP 4 Dual-Core Processor at 1.2GHz
  • 1GB RAM
  • 16GB On Board Storage
  • 7" VividView IPS Display at 1024x600 (169ppi)
  • About 8 Hours of Battery Life
  • A Trim(mer) 8.1 x 5 x .48" Form Factor

As you can see, the Nook Tablet actually bests Amazon's Fire in terms of both storage and RAM.

02
Nov
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[New Game Review] Age Of Defenders Easily Overshadows Existing Tower Defense Games With A Polished, Thoughtful, Unique Approach

Posted by in Game Reviews, Games
Last Updated: November 4th, 2011

About a month after CUKETA got us excited about Age of Defenders, their unique new take on tower defense has hit the Android Market. Of course I had to get a copy and check it out for myself. I wasn't disappointed.

At A Glance

First of all, Age of Defenders is gorgeous. The menus, loading screens, and of course the gameplay environments are all extremely polished and look great. Besides its aesthetic appeal, Defenders offers a lot in the way of functionality. What's unique about this game is that it's a hybrid between tower defense and strategy, making you both the defender and attacker at once, while competing against other players online.

02
Nov
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Age Of Defenders Hits The Android Market At Last, Successfully Marrying Tower Defense And Strategy Genres

Posted by in Games, News

Those of us who have been anxiously awaiting the release of Age of Defenders for Android can finally exhale - CUKETA has released their beautiful, unique creation to the Android Market.

The game deftly combines the tower defense and strategy genres, pitting you against other players in an online setting, and even allowing for live chat during matches. The game essentially gives you the dual roles of defender and attacker. The player must build a defense surrounding their own tower, while simultaneously planning various attacks against the opponent.

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Add to that the stunning graphics and environments we've been excited about since October, and you've got an amazing, dynamic game.

01
Nov
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[Update: Now In The Market] PowerAMP 2.0 RC Now Available, Likely To Become Official Release November 1st

Posted by in Applications, News

Update: It just went live in the Market. Hit the widget to download!

PowerAMP

Download PowerAMP from Google Play
QR code for https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.maxmpz.audioplayer

PowerAMP

Download PowerAMP from Google Play
QR code for https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.maxmpz.audioplayer.unlock

PowerAMP, one of the most sophisticated music players available for Android, is about to be updated to version 2.0. The developers have made the latest release candidate available ahead of time, however, noting that it will likely be released as the official 2.0 update this November 1st.

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The differences (so far) between 1.4 and 2.0 are fairly substantial, mainly coming in the form of stability fixes and changes to the UI and audio engine. The two main changes noted in version 2.0 are the added ability to delete items, and an update to the musiXmatch plugin, which allows users to search for lyrics to almost any song, and see the lyrics of songs that are currently popular.

01
Nov
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[New Game Review] Cosmonauts Makes Fighting Galactic Evil Fun, Social, And Kind Of Cute

Posted by in Game Reviews, Games

Superplay games made its first entry into the Android Market recently with Cosmonauts, a cartoony outer space “turn-based combat” game which spoofs cold-war drama by pitting you against a galactic superpower aiming to conquer space itself.

At A Glance

Cosmonauts is an amusing game that’s easy to pick up and play at any time. It offers familiar three-stars-per-level gameplay, but also allows for combat against real players. If you want to play with a friend, Cosmonauts offers a pass-and-play option, meaning you and your opponent share a device. Alternately, you can choose to be paired up with a random opponent for online gameplay.

30
Oct
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CyanogenMod 7.1 Nightlies Expanded To A Slew Of Devices, Including AT&T's Samsung Galaxy SII, Motorola Atrix 4G, Optimus Black, And Tons Of Xperias

Posted by in Android OS, Atrix 4G (Olympus), Development, Galaxy S II, Sony Ericsson, Xperia Arc (Anzu, X12), Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone), Xperia X10 (es209ra), Xperia X10 Mini / Mini Pro (Robyn / Mimmi)

It looks like the Cyanogenmod team, in a continued effort to bring continually-updated Gingerbread goodness to as many devices as possible, have brought nightlies to a new crop of handsets, including AT&T's variant of the Samsung Galaxy SII, the Motorola Atrix, LG's Optimus Black and a handful of Sony devices including the Xperia X10, Play, Arc (X12), X10 mini, ST18i, and about five others.

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Update: Here are some of the popular device/codename mappings (mapping these took a significant and unnecessary amount of time. This is exactly why Artem posted this today):

  • AT&T Galaxy S II - galaxys2att
  • Atrix 4G - olympus
  • Optimus Black - p970
  • Xperia X10i - es209ra
  • Xperia X8 - shakira
  • Xperia Play - zeus
  • Xperia Ray - urushi
  • Xperia Mini Pro - mango
  • Xperia Mini - smultron
  • Xperia Active - satsuma
  • Xperia X10 Mini Pro - mimmi
  • Xperia X10 Mini - robyn
  • Xperia Neo - hallon
  • Xperia Arc/X12 - anzu

Personally, I am on pins and needles waiting for CM9 to bring us Ice Cream Sandwich, but if you're more interested in the latest and greatest software that's actually available for your handset, head over to download.cyanogenmod.com and look for your device.

30
Oct
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[Download] We'll See Your Nyandroid Logcat, And Raise You A Boot Animation

Posted by in Development, Off-Topic

You may remember last month, when some developers cheekily requested that Android's logcat icon be replaced with an image of the famed nyan cat. You may also remember that their request was granted, boosting some users' productivity by up to "200%."  Thanks to an anonymous benefactor, we've got something even better:

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That's right, a nyandroid boot animation. Finally, you can see Andy rocketing through the galaxy, leaving a trail of rainbows behind, each and every time you switch on your device. Not sure how to install custom boot animations? Check out our guide before grabbing the download below.

Download: Mirror 1, 2

29
Oct
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MadFinger Games Hard At Work On Multiplayer For Shadowgun, Taking Suggestions From Players

Posted by in Games, News

Shadowgun, a game we recently reviewed, is a Tegra-straining, visually impressive, polished action game that has been quickly garnering attention since it was announced. Looking to take players' experience over the top, MadFinger Games opened a thread on their own forums earlier this month, indicating that they were working hard on multiplayer capabilities for Shadowgun, asking for users' "wishes, opinions, or ideas."

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Shadowgun is already a great experience, and at the low price of $4.99 US, it's an amazing value. I trust that MadFinger will deliver a multiplayer experience that lives up to the name Shadowgun has already forged for itself, and I am sure I'm not the only one for whom anticipation is quickly mounting for its integration into the game.

29
Oct
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[Deal Alert] Adorama Offering 8GB 1GHz And 16GB 1.5GHz Archos 80 G9 Dual-Core Tablets For $250 Each (That's $50 And $80 Off, Respectively)

Posted by in Deals, Tablets

Adorama, one of the more popular online purveyors of photo equipment (and other electronics), are offering a couple of awesome deals on Archos' 80 G9 tablets, selling the dual-core 1GHz 8GB model, as well as its 1.5GHz, 16GB counterpart for $250 each. Of course, since the 1.5GHz model was delayed, your purchase will essentially count as a pre-order, but $250 for this power-packed tablet is practically a steal, taking a cool $80 off the original price tag.

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While they may be relatively inexpensive, both Archos 80 G9 tablets have a lot to offer. Here are some of their specs:

  • 8" 1024x768 display
  • Android Honeycomb 3.1
  • ARM dual-core CORTEX A9 OMAP 4 processor (1GHz and 1.5GHz, respectively)
  • 8/16GB internal storage, expandable with microSD slot
  • 512MB RAM
  • Front facing camera capable of 720p encoding
  • mini-HDMI port
  • built-in kickstand

If you've been waiting for a discount on the 8GB variant of the Archos 80 G9, or want to get a great deal on its more powerful counterpart (and don't mind waiting for it to become available), head over to Adorama.

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