Ryan Whitwam - 16/30 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Ryan is a freelance tech writer, skeptic, lover of all things electronic, and Android fan. In his spare time he reads golden-age sci-fi and sleeps, but rarely at the same time. His wife tolerates him as few would.

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Dec

Modern Combat 4 Review: Playing By Big Boy Rules On The Small Screen

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Apps/Games, Games, Reviews

Gameloft has carved out a nice little niche for itself by taking popular console games, and tweaking the formula (and title) just enough to get away with it. The Modern Combat series has been presented as the mobile equivalent of Modern Warfare, and it's just reached its 4th incarnation with Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour. Does this formula of console-style play still work on Android?

Gameplay And Story

Modern Combat 4 is a first person shooter that makes heavy use of cinematic elements to tell what we can only hope is a good story. The game is split up into missions with a few auto-saving checkpoints along the way.

Dec

Verizon Flipping The Switch On 4G LTE In Multiple Markets Out West On December 20

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Carriers, News, Verizon Wireless

It can be hard to hear how speedy and wonderful Verizon's 4G LTE is when there isn't a 4G tower within 100 miles of your home. Well, that's about to change for some lucky folks in the western half of the US come December 20. Big Red continues to creep closer to a 100% overlay with its 3G network all the time.

All of the following cities are going to see LTE go live on December 20:

Port Angeles, WA
Port Townsend, WA
Sequim, WA
Kennewick, WA
Pasco, WA
Richland, WA
Klamath Falls, OR
Roseburg, OR
Jackson Hole, WY
Teton Village, WY
Kemmerer WY
Pinedale, WY
Price, UT
Richfield, UT
Lamar, CO
LaJunta, CO

Of course, you need an LTE handset to take advantage of the faster 4G speeds, but most phones Verizon has sold in the last few years are 4G-capable.

Dec

Google Unleashes Massive Wave Of App Updates To Drive, Earth, Shopper, Magazines, Search, And More [Updated]

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Applications, Apps/Games, News

Google Currents is not the only Android app the company updated today as many first-party apps saw relatively minor updates through the Play Store this afternoon. Basically, the next time you check your app list be prepared to wait on those updates to download.

If you are one of the few still using a Google TV device, the PrimeTime and TV Search apps have been updated. PrimeTime comes with bugfixes and faster access to the channel guide. TV Search should be faster and less prone to crashes. On the phone side of things, Shopper has a shiny new UI and performance enhancements.

Dec

Lawsuit Claims Airpush Ads Responsible For Shady Premium Rate Charges

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in News

As if you needed another reason to hate the very concept of Airpush ads in Android apps, there is now a lawsuit alleging that these ads have been used to bilk consumers out of some real cash. The class-action complaint, filed in U.S. District Court of Colorado takes aim at developer GoLive Mobile and the Airpush ad network. If the claims are accurate, there has been some seriously seedy stuff going on.

Maybe you've never seen an Airpush ad on your device, but plenty of users have. Airpush basically sticks ads in your notification area that often look like real system notifications.

Dec

[New Game] Namco Releases Isaac Newton's Gravity 2 With Even More Physics Fun Than The Original

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Apps/Games, Games, News

I'm not usually in favor of leveraging the name of a long-dead and respected scientist to sell an app, but for Namco I can make an exception. Isaac Newton’s Gravity 2 is the newest physics-based puzzle game on Android, and you can try it out for free.

This game comes with 10 levels in the free download. If you want to play the rest of the game, you gotta pay up. Each of the two 50 level packs will run you $0.99, which is not unreasonable. Gameplay consists of getting a ball to the end of the stage using objects like magnets, trampolines, and bumpers.

Dec

Raiden Legacy Review: A Reminder That Video Games Used To Be Really, Really Hard

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Apps/Games, Game Reviews, Games, Reviews

Last Updated: December 9th, 2012

Twenty years ago you had to pump quarters into an arcade machine to enjoy the punishing shooter known as Raiden. The game was so successful that multiple sequels followed. Now you can play four Raiden arcade games on your mobile device for a one-time fee. This is a retro gaming experience that tries to preserve the feel of the original game, and still make it work on a touch screen. So is Raiden still awesome? Let's see.

Gameplay

See that thing there? Shoot it. That other thing over there? Shoot that, too. That third whatsit over there? That one is a power up.

Dec

T-Mobile Removes Nexus 4 From Its Website Entirely [Update: It Returns, And At $199]

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in LG, News, Nexus 4, T-Mobile

Remember earlier today when T-Mobile inexplicably cranked up the price of the LG Nexus 4 from $199 to a whopping $399 on-contract? Well, you don't have to worry about folks being gouged like that anymore. No, T-Mobile didn't realize how boneheaded that price was. It has just removed the Nexus 4 from the website entirely.

The device does not show up in the list of Android phones available from T-Mobile, but it does still appear in search results on the site. However, if you try to click on the listing for the N4, there is nothing there. The site redirects you to the other phones T-Mobile has on sale.

Dec

[New App] Official Etsy App Arrives On Android To Make Shopping For Artsy Trinkets Even Easier

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Applications, Apps/Games, News

Are you feeling particularly craft-y today? Then you will be interested to know that everyone's favorite handmade marketplace, Etsy has a new Android app. It's never been easier to browse for reasonably-priced knickknacks on your phone.

The app feels properly designed for Android. Holo elements like the action bar, tabs, and scrolling are all implemented correctly. Although, it doesn't feel like a cookie cutter Holo app either. Oh, speaking of... I wonder if I could find some Android cookie cutters on Etsy. If you decide to look for something obscure like that, the app's search interface works well.

Dec

[New Game] Raiden Legacy Blasts Its Way Into The Play Store

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Apps/Games, Games, News

If you're old enough to remember a time when arcades blanketed the landscape, you probably also remember Raiden. This top-down scrolling shooter debuted in 1990 and attracted legions of fans. Now more than 20 years after it showed up in an arcade cabinet, you can play Raiden and its three sequels on your Android device courtesy of DotEmu.

This single download contains the original Raiden, Raiden Fighters, Raiden Fighters 2, and Raiden Fighters Jet. All these games follow the tried-and-true formula of shooting absolutely everything that appears on the screen. There are 15 ships to unlock and take into battle, each with unique weapons and abilities.

Dec

AT&T's Samsung Galaxy S III Getting Android 4.1.1 Update Through Kies Right Now

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in AT&T, Galaxy S III, News

Sprint and T-Mobile might have beaten the big boys to the punch, but now it's AT&T's turn to get its Galaxy S III updated to (almost) the latest and greatest version of Android. The 4.1.1 update has started showing up for users of the AT&T Galaxy S III (that's the SGH-i747) in the Samsung Kies update and sync software.

Update 12/4/2012: AT&T just announced the update, and it looks like it will indeed be coming only via Kies.

The device launched with Android 4.0.4, so users can expect some solid additions in this update like Google Now, project butter, and enhanced notifications.