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You've got a lot of options for high-end Android devices just at the moment, with the HTC One M8 out and the LG G3 coming soon. But if you want something for Verizon right now and your funds are limited, you could do a lot worse than the Samsung Galaxy S5. Amazon's wireless portal has the phone on Big Red for just fifty bones, assuming you're a new customer or you're adding a new phone line.
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 radioactive platformer, an incredibly creepy adventure game, a puzzle game that takes physics seriously, an endless runner with no running, and a platformer that's more metal than the HTC One. Without further ado:
Rdio's Android app got a teensy, tiny update today, adding gapless playback to all devices running Android 4.1. According to the "What's New" section of the Play Store page, the feature was added in by popular demand. For the uninitiated, gapless playback is exactly what it sounds like: a seamless transition from one track to the next. It's a big deal for some users, and much harder to do on a streaming music service than on local playback.
In addition to substantial updates to the Android Device Manager and Chrome Beta yesterday, Google Maps is getting an adjustment as well. The new version (8.1) revives the Terrain Mode view, which lets you easily see the various elevation changes in surrounding hills, mountains, and valleys. (Terrain Mode was removed in Maps 7, for some reason.) There are also a few user interface changes to the various navigation screens. It's a small update compared with the the full 8.0 bump from earlier this month, but there are still some useful additions.
When an iOS app comes to Android, all too often it's merely a half-hearted copy, taking no notice of the user interface standards or the expanded capability of the platform. I'm happy to report that this is not the case with Sunrise Calendar, which has managed to gain quite a following across the way for its impressive layout and sunny visual design. It's available now for all Android devices running 4.0 or higher, though there's no tablet interface at the moment.
Wow, it's been over three years since we wrote about the official app for Digitally Imported Radio, or as it's known in your URL bar, DI.FM. (Fare thee well, "Android Market.") This app lets you access 65 finely-tuned streaming music stations focusing on electronic music and similar genres. The update to version 1.5 lets you sign in with either Google+ or Facebook. You can still log in with an existing DI account, or create a new one sans social network.
As a keen and professional observer of the modern consumer electronics market, I can say without fear of contradiction that smartphone screens are getting bigger. So can columnist Alex Barredo, but he's done an impressive amount a statistical legwork and presentation to prove it. On the surface his analysis of smartphone size screen trends may seem obvious, but within you can find dramatic shifts in patterns of both the overall market and specific companies. It's worth a read if you're interested in trends and device design.
Android Device Manager is already a great way to ensure you can locate, lock, or wipe your phone if you lose it. You can remotely access it from your tablet or any full computer, but what if you're out and about and don't have any spare technology handy, and no way to connect it? Google has delivered a solution in the form of the latest Android Device Manager update. Now any Android device with ADM can allow guests to log in, with full access to remote location, ringing, locking, and wiping.
According to Wikipedia, there were 19 entries in the perennial Worms franchise before the latest game was published on iOS last year, not counting re-releases, ports, spin-offs, and expansion packs. So why is this one simply titled Worms 3, when in fact we've already had Worms 2, Worms 4: Mayhem, Worms 2: Armageddon (published after Worms 4, by the way), and Worms: Ultimate Mayhem? Who knows. Apparently fans of this series aren't bothered by inconsistent numbering schemes.
Gamers who've been living under a priceless hand-carved ancient monolith might not know about Uncharted, a series of PlayStation-exclusive action adventure games that have sold tens of millions of copies across three titles. The odds of us getting an Android port of Uncharted are somewhere between slim and none. But you can get a shameless copy of Uncharted-style gaming with Unearthed: Trail of Ibn Battuta, available now on the Play Store.
It seems that just about every major organization or service is being targeted for a gigantic data breach these days. Spotify was the latest service to be attacked, and yesterday the music streaming company specifically told Android users to upgrade their apps soon to protect themselves. The update is available today, but Spotify isn't taking any chances: it's created an entirely separate entry in the Play Store to make sure users get the point.
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 an endless runner from the makers of Rock Band and a trio of BulkyPix casual titles. Without further ado:
For my money, Nova Launcher is the best of the AOSP-style launchers available in Android. Developer TeslaCoil Software has consistently updated the launcher for the better part of three years, and one of the biggest updates is coming soon. Nova 3.0 won't add any earth-shattering changes, but there are a bunch of little changes that will thrill the customization-obsessed in small ways.
Google's Text-to-Speech app isn't exactly one that grabs headlines, but it's certainly useful for those who rely on it. Today it gets a little more useful as Google has added a handful of languages for its speech output support. The latest update adds support for selecting and speaking text in Dutch, Polish, and Russian, and better support for at least some dialects of English spoken in India has been added as well.
LG didn't do much of a job keeping the flagship G3 under wraps - pretty much every detail has been leaked in some capacity before today. But the press event in London made it official and laid the phone bare for all to see. LG's headliner for 2014 bests headliners from both Samsung and HTC with a 5.5", 2560x1440 screen boasting a DPI of 538. Unfortunately the oh-so-shiny case is only "metallic" (read: plastic), and not true metal like the HTC One family.
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.
My, my, but it is difficult to keep a device properly under wraps these days. The latest leak for LG's 2014 flagship G3 comes courtesy of the company's own Dutch website, spotted by Netherlands enthusiast site Portable Gear. LG took the promotional page down almost immediately, but not before keen eyes managed to record pretty much everything about the upcoming phone. Spoiler alert: reading the following won't leave you many surprises for tomorrow's event in London.
It's been more than six months since we revealed changes in the code of the YouTube Android app that indicated the long-rumored YouTube streaming service was imminent. So what's the holdup? A rocky relationship between YouTube and independent music publishers may be to blame. Late last week the Worldwide Independent Network, a trade organization for indie musicians and labels, issued a press release decrying Google's treatment of independent labels.
Remember that neato Sony car stereo we checked out at CES, which is basically the perfect receiver for someone who uses their phone for all their in-car entertainment? Well, the XSP N1BT (catchy!) is here. You can buy it from Crutchfield or pre-order it now on Amazon for $249.99, and it will ship out on Thursday the 29th, just barely making Sony's May commitment for release.
Regular Android Police readers know we're big fans of ZeroLemon's even bigger batteries for most flagship phones that can support them. If you've got an LG G Pro 2 (and preferably some oversized pockets as well), you can extend your untethered time by a considerable amount with the 9500mAh extended battery. The battery and its body-wrapping case are now on sale at Amazon for .99.