Matt Demers
Matt Demers is a Toronto writer that deals primarily in the area of Android, comics and other nerdy pursuits. You can find his work on Twitter and sites across the Internet.

18
May
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[Review] ReadItLater Strips Dirty Articles, Stores Them on Your Phone

Posted by in App Reviews, Applications, Reviews
Last Updated: August 2nd, 2011

It's not exactly news that mobile devices are quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to consume data. From Twitter feeds to RSS, it's becoming increasingly common to see people reading on their devices, whether it be a tablet, e-reader or phone.

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The Search for Simplicity

However, a problem I ran into was that not all web sites are optimized for reading on a mobile device. While some sites have the decency to have a mobile theme, others load in full view and have trouble wrapping text to a zoomed-in screen. Dealing with page formatting while reading long articles wasn't something I felt like doing, so I began looking for alternatives.

16
May
trillian

Trillian For Android Sheds Price Tag, But Gains Ads In The Process

Posted by in Applications, News

Cerulean Studios, creator of the popular cross-platform IM client Trillian, recently announced that all versions of the aforementioned product would transition to a free-with-ads model, as opposed to a paid download. Even though this change took place about a week ago, it looks like the Market listing has finally been updated to reflect accordingly.

Users are still able to subscribe to a paid service that is ad-free and adds new features, like the ability to view chat histories online. Users who've paid in the past will have their purchases honored, and will be able to transfer them over to other platforms.

16
May
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[New Game Review] Battleheart Brings Functional, Frantic Fantasy Combat to Android

Posted by in Game Reviews, Games, Reviews
Last Updated: August 2nd, 2011

 Many games will try to wow users with amazing graphics or realistic art styles, however, this sometimes comes at the expense of a playable game. Battleheart is a new iOS port that manages to get the best of both worlds: a pleasing art style and an awesome control scheme for a premise that could have easily been tainted by complication.

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The Game

Battleheart is a sword-and-sorcery RPG where the player is put in control of a four-hero squad that go off to achieve victory, glory and riches. The makeup of the party is completely customizable, courtesy of a tavern in town.

15
May
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[New Game Review] Glu Mobile Releases Contract Killer - But Is It a Kill Shot?

Posted by in Game Reviews, Games, News, Reviews
Last Updated: August 2nd, 2011

When Glu Mobile released Contract Killer this week on the Market, I remembered scenes from my youth when I lusted over Silent Scope, a sniper game that had a rather robust arcade cabinet. Besides being able to play the game with a full-sized sniper rifle, I was amazed by the game mechanics. Because you're firing from such a long distance away, how could you expect to be in any danger?

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The Game

Contract Killer puts you in a similar scenario: you're a hired gun looking to make money by any means necessary. Through 17 story missions, you deal with a variety of unsavory characters and their desires to see certain people taken out.

13
May
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[New Game Review] GRave Defense HD Brings Sexy TD Action, Spelling Errors and All

Posted by in Game Reviews, Games, Reviews
Last Updated: August 2nd, 2011

Tower defense (TD) games seem to be plentiful on mobile platforms: their control scheme fits well with a touch surface, they don't require much user input from the player, and don't tend to be graphically intensive. If you're an Android user, you've probably at least tried a TD game before; GRave Defense HD looks to be the one that conquers them all.

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No, that was not a typo in the title: GRave Defense is really spelled like that. I'm not sure why, to be honest, as there are no drug-addled teenagers waving glowsticks around, nor does pulsing techno music drive the soundtrack.

12
May
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Flash 10.3 For Android Released - Fixes Issues with Security, Video Playback, Stability, And More

Posted by in Apps/Games, News

A new update for Adobe Flash is now available in the Android Marketplace, bringing the version up to 10.3.

The update brings a number of features and fixes to Flash on Android, including fixing some issues with the Samsung Galaxy S, where certain video resolutions wouldn't show up. It also fixes crashing issues with the HTC EVO, along with optimization for OMAP 4 Cortex-A9 processors. The rest of the fixes can be found in the official changelog quoted below.

Source: Adobe

Flash Player 10.3

Download Flash Player 10.3 from Google Play
QR code for https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.flashplayer

Features and Enhancements

Flash Player 10.3 is the newest runtime release of the Open Screen Project that enables uncompromised Web browsing of expressive applications, content and video across devices.

12
May
cyb

[Review] Cyberlords Brings Cyberpunk RPG Action to Android

Posted by in Games, Reviews
Last Updated: August 2nd, 2011

One thing I remember about flipping through Nintendo Power magazine in my childhood is the Shadowrun SNES game. Based off a popular pen-and-paper RPG, Shadowrun is set in a dystopian future where humans can splice themselves with technology to gain new powers. The player wades through a maze of lies, deceit and all-around scummy people to meet their goals, whatever that may be.

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The reason I bring Shadowrun up in a review about Cyberlords is that the atmosphere feels stunningly similar. In Cyberlords, you're an amnesiac who wakes up in a clinic after an operation gone wrong. While escaping, you link up with two other members of an underground resistance in a typical "fight the power" storyline.

12
May
wunderlist

[Review] Wunderlist Makes Tasking Look Gooood

Posted by in App Reviews, Applications, Reviews
Last Updated: August 2nd, 2011

I have a couple requirements for any application that wants to help me with organization: it has to have a functional desktop client to sync to. This is nothing against Android's system, but I find that if I have to do any extended typing on it, my enthusiasm for the app fails (coincidentally, along with my time management skills). This is what's kept me from using Astrid with the enthusiasm everyone seems to be talking about; all my time isn't spent on my phone, so why should I leave my tasks there?

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However, Wunderlist not only provides a functional multi-platform client, it makes it look good.

11
May
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[Review] Folder Organizer Brings Deep Customization to Organizing Apps

Posted by in App Reviews, Applications, Reviews
Last Updated: August 2nd, 2011

I've never been a big proponent of using folders on my home screen; I'm the kind of guy that can fit all the apps he uses frequently on a 5x5 grid. With the possible exception for a "Games" folder, I find them pretty useless. I mean, the app drawer itself is one big folder, and if there's anything I really need to access, it goes on my front page.

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However, I've been playing around with a tool that's making the maintenance and use of folders a bit more practical. The aptly-named Folder Organizer adds a number of features to folders and transforms them from "drag to the icon" affairs to something a bit more automated.

10
May
majesty

[Review] Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Simulator

Posted by in Game Reviews, Games, Reviews
Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Game ports fall into this weird category where developers have both an easy and difficult job in front of them. On one hand, the game can easily market itself on the nostalgia or hype of the product. On the other, however, they must successfully capture the feel of the original, which can be difficult.

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The original Majesty is a bit of a cult hit in PC Gaming circles. You played as the traditional "overseer" of a kingdom and looked to vanquish whatever evil had set up shop within your borders. However, there was a twist in all this: you did not have direct control over the heroes and minions that helped your kingdom run.

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