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May

Game Review: Fieldrunners 2 Doesn't Fix What Isn't Broken

Posted by Bertel King, Jr. in Game Reviews, Games

Fieldrunners 2 from Subatomic Studios is the sequel to one of the most popular mobile tower defense games out there. If you loved the look and feel of the first game, you're in luck. Fieldrunners 2 turns the charm up a notch and ushers in a host of new content. But if you had your fill of the original or tower defense games in general, I wouldn't say there is enough here to bring you back into the genre.

The Gameplay

If you've run through a few tower defense games before, you'll know your way around Fieldrunners 2. Still, this sequel hits all the right notes for the genre.

May

Want Advanced Play Store Filtering (Such As Seeing Just Paid Apps) And Ability To Add Your Own eBooks Into Play Books? Do This Now

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Google, News

I know many of you have been longing for a way to filter the apps you've paid for into one convenient list. Neither the web nor the app Play Store currently allow this, despite years of outcry. Things are looking up, however, as I believe Google is finally paying attention.

You see, there is a little-known official channel with current top suggestions for Play Store-related features called Suggest a feature for Google Play. You can suggest your own ideas at the bottom, but it also contains a curated list of current top suggestions you can vote for by clicking Suggest it (I think it's a little ambiguous to have a Suggest it button in a list of existing suggestions - it should probably be called Vote for it).

May

[Hands-On] Snoop Lion's Snoopify Sticks Stickers All Over Your Photizzle Fo'Shizzle

Posted by Bertel King, Jr. in App Reviews, News

Some apps enter the Play Store that leave me scratching my head wondering why someone would take the time to develop them. Snoop Lion's Snoopify is not one of those apps. This "photography" app fulfills a real societal need. Finally, I can be as cool as Snoop Dogg - erm - Lion. But that's just the beginning. My friends, family members, co-workers, and anyone else I've ever taken a picture of can now be as cool as Snoop Lion, too.

What it Does

The concept behind Snoopify isn't too difficult to grasp. It's a photography app that allows you to take a photo and apply some edits.

May

What We Can Learn From The Google I/O Session Schedule: Tons Of Gaming, Lower Latency Audio, Next-Gen Google TV, And More!

Posted by Ron Amadeo in News

We are gearing up for I/O here at AP, and with the release of the I/O Sessions schedule, we've got an even clearer idea of what Google has in store for us.

Google I/O is a traditionally developer-oriented conference, but it's also always been a huge source of news about upcoming products. I/O is the one time of year when Googlers are allowed to show off their projects, so there's lots of news out there; you've just got to pay attention.

Didn't get a ticket to I/O? No problem! You can still join the geek party and watch all the action live (or not live, whatever) on YouTube.

May

[Video] Must-See Home Automation Project Controls Lights And Entertainment Center By Voice, Starfleet Captain's Chair Still On Backorder

Posted by Cody Toombs in News, Tips & Tutorials, Videos

Let's be honest, most of us will never get to live in a crazy futuristic home like the Jetsons, but that doesn't mean we can't strive for a few of the simple luxuries. To that end, Doug Gregory is on track to make his living room smarter than the bridge of the USS Enterprise, all with a few electronic controllers and extensive use of Tasker. There's no way around it, you really need to see the video for this one.

Not counting home theater equipment and the Nexus 4, Doug was able to put everything together for less than $300, but he appears to have had the advantage of working for an authorized dealer.

May

[Update: Winner!] Celebrate Mothers' Day With Samsung And Android Police By Entering To Win A Galaxy Note II For Yo' Mama

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Contests / Giveaways, Galaxy Note II

Last Updated: May 12th, 2013

In the movie 3:10 to Yuma, Ben Wade (played by Russell Crowe) said "even bad men love their mamas" right after laying trash-talking Pinkerton Byron McElroy to rest (for saying bad things about Wade's mother, of course). I think this paints a pretty true picture: everyone loves their mother; rightfully so – none of us would even be here without our mamas, after all.

And if you want to show your mom how much she means to you this Mothers' Day, there's no better way to do it than with a massive and powerful smartphone. Maybe your mom is still stuck in the old days of the flip phone, or worse – maybe she uses an old iPhone.

May

Sony, Wake Up: Selling A Boring Mid-Range Phone For Nearly $500 In The US Is The Definition Of 'Doing It Wrong'

Posted by David Ruddock in Editorials, Sony

Hey Sony. It's been a while since I last ranted about how you're kinda-sorta screwing up that whole smartphone business of yours. In fact, it's been almost a year to the day. I had really hoped that by this year everyone's favorite Japanese electronics mega-corporation would have figured out the smartphone market to a reasonable extent in the US, but surprise: they haven't!

I really don't mean to single out Sony, but sometimes, it's very difficult to watch a company that is very clearly capable of making good products make such terrible decisions.

While the company's most-recent flagship handsets, the Xperia Z and ZL, have been far from hated by critics, neither has received much in the way of real acclaim, and it's not difficult to see why: they're simply not as good as handsets from the likes of Samsung and HTC.

May

Running Native Android Apps On Google Glass: INGRESS! (And Other Stuff) [Video]

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Glass, Google, News

Let's have some fun.

We always kind-of expect Glass to be Android based, but I was surprised to find just how Android based it was when I did a teardown of a Glass system dump. "Android based" is selling things a little short, Glass is Android, with just a few APKs piled on top. It reminds me a lot of Facebook home.

So, while I am still plugging away at my full review, I decided to take a bit of a break and see what happens when you try and run real Android apps on Glass.

It's actually pretty easy.

May

PSA: Today, TweetDeck For Android, iOS, And Air (Along With Facebook Integration) Are Getting The Ax

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

It's a sad day for TweetDeck lovers, boys and gals. As of now, the Android, iOS, and Air versions of the app are no more.

Upsetting as it may be, this shouldn't come as much of a shock to anyone – Twitter announced it would be retiring these now-defunct options back at the beginning of March. Mobile users are, of course, encouraged to switch to the official Twitter app, while desktop users have the option of either TweetDeck's standalone application or its browser-based tool.

This doesn't just mark the death of those TD variants, either – Facebook integration has now been canned, as well.

May

VoIP App 'Viber' Gets A Major Holo-clad Makeover, Releases Desktop Application

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

It's a pretty big day for Viber, the popular VoIP application that brings "free messages and calls" to your mobile. Seems that the guys behind the app (appropriately named Viber Media) have been hard at work preparing not only major updates to the Android and iOS applications, but also on an all-new desktop client for Windows and Mac.

The update to the Android version of the app brings many new features, including a new Holo'd-out look. Aside from that, you can now send video messages, a new voice engine improves the audio quality, there's an online status indicator, and you can transfer active calls seamlessly between the mobile app and the just-released desktop client.