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UK readers, have you been stewing in jealousy over Americans' access to Android TV and the Nexus Player? Well you shouldn't be - it's not all that great, at least at the moment. But if you're eager to check out the only retail ATV device available thus far, now you can. The Nexus Player is selling on the UK version of the Google Store for £79 (a little less than $120 USD at the moment - sorry about that). It's also available on Amazon.
Apparently Blizzard isn't the only game developer that had a burst of inspiration after a late-night cable viewing of Kung Fu Panda. Taichi Panda is the first game from the American arm of Chinese publisher Snail Games. This dungeon crawler won't break the mold in any particular way, but it's a solid top-down action game with online multiplayer baked into its core mechanics. Oh, and there are fighting pandas in it.
Ubisoft seems to have an odd fixation with horse-themed mobile games. The publisher made an Android version of the inexplicably popular Howrse, a sort of equestrian-themed adaptation of free PC RPGs like Ragnarok Online. Now Ubi has created its own horsy mobile game, the innocuously-titled Horse Haven World Adventure.
Stop me if you've heard this one before: an ambitious group of hardware creators has an idea for an Android-based gaming console, but they need your help to complete it. Yes, the ZRRO sounds a lot like many other Android set-top boxes that have cropped up over the last few years. But wait, there's more! This one includes a touch-based controller... that works a lot like a remote smartphone. Without the screen.
Pity the poor Verizon customer, whose options for user-moddable Android phones are more limited than any other US carrier. It's particularly cruel, then, that Verizon tends to get some awesome Motorola exclusives in the DROID line. 2014's entry is the DROID Turbo, which is basically the Nexus 6 crammed down into the 5.2-inch body of the second-gen Moto X, plus the usual DROID Kevlar styling and an enormous 3900mAh battery. Oh, and a locked bootloader that makes root and custom ROMs difficult.
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 pixelated tactical game, and adventure classic, a stretchy platformer, and... I honestly have no idea what the last one is. Without further ado:
Drupe would like you to think that contacts on Android, and on mobile in general, are broken. They're not - phone makers and developers have been doing this for a while, after all - but that doesn't mean that they can't be improved upon. Drupe is a "floating" app that puts contacts, and the means to do all sorts of interesting things with them, in a unique overlay accessible from any other app. Check it out in action in the video below.
Android Auto is finally here! Sort of. It's available in exactly one (incredibly expensive) car stereo at the moment, meaning that there are probably more active users of the Nexus Q right now. But that isn't stopping some responsible developers from adding the support for the new hardware into their apps, and today popular podcast manager BeyondPod joins them. The latest beta version, available as a direct download or via the Play Store beta system, works with Google's automotive electronics push.
Does your business, service, app, or other technological entity rely on Google's enterprise cloud services to function? Then you might want some way to manage that service from your phone or tablet. Here it is: the Cloud Console app for Android. This handy little tool is currently in beta, but those who rely on Google's hosting and virtualizing service will surely be able to overlook that. The app has been popping in and out of the Play Store for the last week, so we threw it onto APK Mirror in case it disappears again.
Have you noticed that it's impossible to search for a game-related video on YouTube without seeing dozens of hour-long "Let's Play" videos? You're not the only one. According to a report from The Daily Dot, Google is looking to re-make YouTube's live streaming service (the one you use for every official Android event) with a focus on video games. The report cites anonymous sources "within the streaming industry," so it's firmly in the rumor department for the time being.
Far be it from me to tell gigantic companies like Turner Broadcasting or Time Warner what to do with their Android apps. But when the last version of your official streaming app has what look like Froyo screenshots on the Play Store (from back when it wasn't even the Play Store), it might be time for an update. Adult Swim, the allegedly grown-up portion of Cartoon Network's programming block, now has a much more modern app for fans to watch new shows and back episodes.
Before we continue, let's get a couple of things straight: this is the DROID Turbo (model number XT1250), a souped-up version of the Moto X 2014 that's exclusive to Verizon in the United States. It's ostensibly a sequel to the DROID Maxx from 2013, and like almost all Verizon-branded devices, it has a locked bootloader. No custom ROMs for the poor DROID Turbo. And this is the Moto Maxx (model number XT1225), the exact same phone released without the Verizon branding or a locked bootloader, and currently sold only in Latin America. Bummer.
What's this? A current-generation AT&T phone and its year-old sibling getting updated on the same day? We have an embarrassment of riches, folks. Just a few hours after the Lollipop over-the-air update for the Galaxy Note 4 started on Ma Bell, the Galaxy Note 3 (from 2013) is getting the same treatment. AT&T's support page says that this is Android 5.0, build number N900AUCUEOC1.
The Fire TV Stick is a fantastic little video streaming device, according to our own Cameron Summerson. Though it lacks some of the more complex features of its big brother the Fire TV, it can handle all of Amazon's diverse digital media offerings and plenty of apps and games from the Amazon App Store to boot. Amazon customers in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Austria will have a chance to check out the Fire TV Stick for themselves on April 15th.
Remember back in the days of "dumb" phones when everyone wanted them to be as tiny as possible? Then the original RAZR hit, and it was all about thinness, even to the point of absurdity? That second trend is still going strong, but a contender for the next one is phones (and laptops and TVs and what have you) with the least amount of screen bezel possible. Behold, a new Oppo phone that gives the oddball Sharp Aquos Crystal a run for its money, at least on the left and right sides.
Amazon's Android tablets and phone are often seen as second class citizens in the mobile world, but its Fire TV set-top box and Fire TV Stick gadget are worthy competitors in their respective spaces. Amazon is about to make both of them even better with a new update aimed at expanding functionality, particularly in those small but crucial areas that can make a big difference to the user experience. First up: Wi-Fi access for hotspots that require browser-based authentication, like dorm rooms, hotels, offices, and the like.
The Galaxy Tab S 10.5 is one of the best all-around tablets on the market right now, if you don't mind a steep asking price and Samsung's rather heavy-handed software. The tablet launched with Android KitKat, but now it's getting an update to Android 5.0.2! ...just in time for owners to be miffed that they're not getting the bleeding-edge 5.1 release. Oh well, if wishes were horses we'd all be eating steak.
Considering the sheer number of users that RunKeeper has, there must be a considerable crossover between people who love the app and people who want it to conform to Android's visual design style. For however many of those people that there are, today is a good day: the company announced a comprehensive Material Design overhaul for version 5.5.3. It's in the Play Store right now - no need to wait on a rollout.
If you're having trouble downloading app updates from the Play Store right now, you're in good company. We're getting reports from multiple Android Police readers that Error 944, a rather nondescript problem that prevents automatic and manual updates, is interrupting said updates on apps all over the store. While many people are not seeing the errors, at least one AP staff member is finding them on multiple apps. It's pretty frustrating.
Confession: I still haven't played part two of TellTale's episodic Game of Thrones series. For all I know, King Joffrey has arrested all of our heroes and sentenced them to death by rabid weasel (it seems like his kind of corporal punishment). I'd better get to the weasels - if weasels there be - before Thursday of this week when Episode Three, "The Sword in the Darkness," comes out on Android.