Ryan Whitwam - 20/30 - 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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Oct

[New Game] Royal Revolt Is The Prettiest Medieval Warfare Simulator You'll Ever Play

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Games, News

In Royal Revolt you play the role of the young prince, recently dethroned by his extended family. To reclaim your kingdom there is but one option: storm the castle! Conquer all 30 castles, and you will be restored to your throne. But beware, you will encounter dangerous magic, pointy arrows, and the dreaded in-app purchases during your quest.

The controls in Royal Revolt will take some getting used to – it's all tap to move, not thumbstick based. To make up for this you can enjoy the absolutely wonderful, fluid graphics. The game has a Pixar animation sort of vibe, and the colors are fun and vibrant.

Oct

Alcatel ONE TOUCH Shockwave Hits US Cellular Today For $49.99

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in News, US Cellular

It's easy to get caught up with the top-of-the-line Android devices, but there is also a thriving market for budget handsets. The Alcatel One Touch Shockwave is such a device, but it's not without appeal. The Shockwave, as its name suggests, is built to withstand being knocked around a bit.

The Shockwave has a shock-resistant casing, Dragontrail tempered glass, and water-resistant seals. It's a smaller device with a 3.5-inch screen and rounded corners. The specs are definitely toward the low end with a 3.2MP camera, single-core 800MHz processor, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. That small touchscreen is also sitting at HVGA (480×320) resolution.

Oct

LG Spectrum ICS 4.0.4 Update (Build VS920ZV7) Rolling Out To Devices Soon

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in LG, News, Spectrum

Ah, the poor LG Spectrum. Soon after it was released with mediocre Gingerbread-based software the Samsung Galaxy S III showed up to rain on LG's parade. Well, the Spectrum is getting a big update to Android 4.0.4 that should make owners much happier. Watch out, though. It clocks in at a whopping 384MB.

Many of the new features will be familiar to users of ICS on other devices, but some of it is part of LG's Android skin. Features include:

Customizable lock screen shortcuts
Customizable home screen launch bar
ICS system theme
ICS-style app drawer with widgets
ICS multitasking
ICS-style notifications
Quick settings in the notification panel
New power saving functionality
ICS data usage monitor
Verizon Remote Diagnostic Tool (if you're into that sort of thing)

Yes, Jelly Bean has been out for months, but this was not a terribly well-received phone.

Oct

Samsung Releases Unity Extension SDK For Galaxy Note S Pen Game Integration

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Galaxy Note (GT-N7000), Galaxy Note II, News

Device-specific hardware tends to get overlooked by the third-party development community, but the S Pen from Samsung's Note phones might be the exception. There are a lot of Note users out there and it has a stylus that's actually worth using. Samsung is now offering game developers a way to better utilize that feature with the Unity Extension SDK, which can be downloaded from Samsung's developer site.

In case you're not aware, Unity is a 3D game engine that's used by a number of popular titles. The new SDK will allow developers to accept input from the S Pen. The SDK provides devs with access to SCanvasView in their games.

Oct

[New Game] W.E.L.D.E.R. Arrives On Android To Save Words From Extinction, Great Intro Video Included

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Games, News

Over on the iOS side of things, W.E.L.D.E.R. has made quite a name for itself with unique word-based gameplay and a real sense of humor. Now you too can get in on the fun with W.E.L.D.E.R. on your Android device of choice. Make sure you check out the video below so you know what you're getting into. This is serious business.

W.E.L.D.E.R. is a bit like a combination of Boggle, Scrabble, and Bejeweled. You have to create word combinations with various tile types to get the most points. The better you play, the more special abilities you get access to. It's not just about mindless fun, though.

Oct

Subsonic Music Streaming App Updated To Version 3.5 With Holo UI At Long Last

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Applications, News

Before there was Google Music, there was Subsonic. This app has attracted quite a lot of users for its ability to stream music that you have stored on your PC. The only trouble is that it has always been fairly ugly. This update solves that issue.

After installing the Subsonic app, you have to pick up the server software for the computer where all your media is stored. Sadly, this software will cost you $15, but there is a free trial. You can stream and cache mp3, ogg, aac, flac, wma files with Subsonic. The app also supports most video file types, but you need good bandwidth to pull that off.

Oct

SEGA's Zaxxon Escape Review: A Classic Game Successfully Reimagined For Your Phone

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Games, Reviews

Readers of a certain age might remember pumping quarter after quarter into arcade machines back in the day. Maybe one of those arcade games was the classic shooter known as Zaxxon. Now 30 years later Zaxxon is back as a fast-paced tunnel racer that requires some quick reflexes. It's easy for a reimagining of classic titles to go off the rails, but how does Zaxxon Escape fair? Let's see.

Gameplay

There's not much of a backstory here; you are in a space ship and have to get out of Zaxxon's asteroid city through a series of randomly generated tunnels with an explosion hot on your heels.

Oct

Android 4.1.2 OTA (JZO54K) Rolling Out To Takju Galaxy Nexus, Manual Update Link Available

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Galaxy Nexus, News

It truly is update season as Google gets all its Nexus devices up to date prior to the presumed announcement of 4.2 at the event later this month. Today an update to 4.1.2 has started to reach the Takju variant of the Galaxy Nexus, and you don't have to wait if you don't want to.

Before you get too excited, your device is only compatible with this update if it meets the following criteria:

Your device is the Takju version of the Galaxy Nexus. This is the GSM Nexus being sold in the Play Store, not the European GSM Nexus.

Oct

Motorola's RAZR M, RAZR HD, And Atrix HD All Rooted Courtesy Of Dan Rosenberg

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Motorola, News, Photon Q, RAZR HD / RAZR MAXX HD, RAZR i, RAZR M

If you were thinking about picking up one of Motorola's newest Android handset, maybe this will push you over the edge. Android tinkerer Dan Rosenberg has published a root exploit that should work on almost all of Motorola's recent devices including the RAZR M, Atrix HD, Photon Q, RAZR i, and the upcoming RAZR HD.

The exploit is exceptionally easy to run. All you have to do is get your device plugged in with USB debugging on. Download the .ZIP file from the source link below onto your Windows PC, and launch the 'run.bat' file. You will get a series of instructions guiding you through the process, but it should only take a few minutes.

Oct

Razor Salvation Review: The Only Salvation Comes When You Stop Playing

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Games, Reviews

This game seems to have everything going for it. It has an alien invasion, destroyed cityscapes, big guns, and Tegra optimization. By all rights, Razor Salvation should be a killer game. This title isn't free and it's a big download, so you should know what you're getting into. Let's see if it's worth your time.

Gameplay

The premise of Razor Salvation is epic, but poorly explored. The gist of it is that aliens have invaded Earth, and you have to land your dropship in various locations to save as many humans as possible. As you progress, more of the background regarding the Xenos invasion and the infected human population is revealed.