Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

TSF Shell Gets A Pretty Major Update, But You Still Probably Won't Buy it

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

When it comes to insane, flashy, over-the-top launchers, two immediately come to mind: GO Launcher's Next and TSF Shell. They're both about as "cutting edge" as it gets, and have a price tag to match – Next is roughly $16, while TSF is closer to $17. Still, if you're a fan of the latter (or have been on the fence about picking it up), it just got a pretty sizable update that brings a new dock, "desktop menu buttons," and some other "amazing" new features:

What's in this version:

Version 1.9.9 Ari 4th
1.Innovative Smart Dock (free size/position/direction/capacity).
2.Desktop menu buttons integrate in Smart Dock, easy operation and save desktop space.

Apr

Google No Longer Cares For WebKit Either, Apparently, Forking The Engine Into New Project Called 'Blink'

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

Man, WebKit cannot catch a break today, can it? After Samsung announced that it would be teaming up with Mozilla to build their own mobile browser engine called Servo, Google says its planning to fork WebKit to create a new project called Blink. Unlike Servo, this one will still be based on WebKit, but this new fork actually seems to be aimed not at competing with whatever Samsung is putting out, but rather at gaining freedom from another browser: Safari.

You see, Chrome doesn't actually use the entirety of WebKit. It mainly uses what's called WebCore, which handles HTML and CSS rendering.

Apr

Shadowgun: DeadZone Hits Version 2.0, Brings A Boatload Of New Stuff

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

Everyone's favorite mobile multiplayer FPS – Shadowgun: DeadZone – just got itself a pretty major update that brings several new features to the table. And by "several features" we actually mean "new guns, new maps, better friend support, and all sorts of other stuff." Here's a closer look at said stuff:

What's in this version:

➤ New 8 languages (Spanish,French,German,Italian,Russian,Chinese,Korean,Japanese)
➤ A brand new cool feature: BOOSTERS (Speed,Armor,Damage,Accuracy,Invisibility) and new Sentry Guns (Plasma,Rocket)
➤ Gold rewards for anyone who eliminates opponents with active Boosters
➤ New maps: Assembly, Warzone, Vortex, Train yard
➤ New deadly weapons
➤ Daily challenges and rewards
➤ Monitor the game stats of your friends
➤ Invite your friends to Zone Control mode
➤ Special Tutorial mode for rookies

All sorts of new hotness up in that apk, y'all.

Apr

Google Search Update Brings Real-Time Package Tracking, Faster Search Results, And Quick Feedback

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, Google, News

You know what we just can't get enough of? Google Now cards. Today, the data giant updated its search app with a new real-time package tracking card (as opposed to the static "Your order has shipped" option before). In addition, regular old search results should be faster, which users on older devices are likely to love.

As a bonus, the app now provides quicker access to feedback and settings on the cards themselves. All in all, this is a fairly small update, but the bump from the nice but mostly useless package tracking card from before to proper real-time tracking is a great benefit.

Apr

Follow Android Police (And Your Favorite Writers) On Facebook, Google+, Twitter, And Now App.Net!

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News

Man, there are a ton of social networks out there. It is friggin' hard to keep up with them. Obviously your first priority when you sign up for a new a service will be "Where can I get my Android Police fix?" Thankfully, we've put together a list of all the ways you can follow Android Police and our stable of writers and contributors all in one place. You are welcome, internet.

We're also going to start posting to App.net and see how that goes for a while. Do you use ADN? Hit us up over there!

Google+

Twitter

Facebook

App.Net

Apr

Chrome For Android (Stable) Update: Autofill And Password Sync, Standard Performance And Stability Improvements

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, Apps/Games, News

Password and autofill sync - features that have been in testing in Chrome beta for Android since last month - have finally come to the stable release channel of Chrome for Android. The password sync option isn't appearing for me yet, though the Chrome Blog post on the update suggests it may take a few days for the new features to roll out to everyone.

The official Chrome Releases blog details the changes (well, as detailed as they usually are), below:

Password Sync

Autofill Sync

Fixed issue where blank page would be loaded rather than URL

Performance and stability improvements

The update also brings Chrome for Android up to Chrome release 26, basically bringing it to parity with the desktop version.

Apr

Avast! Mobile Security Updated, Brings Simplified Anti-Theft Setup And User Interface, Folder Scanning, And More

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

Thanks to its amazing anti-theft features – which are powered by what used to be Theft Aware – avast! has long been one of our favorite mobile security apps. That's not to say its malware prevention abilities aren't also a highlight of the application, because they are – in fact, it's an all around good package. And thanks to a new update that hit the Play Store just a bit ago, it's just got better.

The update doesn't bring anything major – it's really about fine-tuning what features are already in place. You'll find a simplified Anti-Theft set up process afterwards, as well as a new AT UI.

Apr

Gaggle Of New Nexus Accessories (Nexcessories?) Show Up On The Play Store - Earbuds, Wall Charger, USB Cable

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Nexus 4

Three brand-new Nexus 4 accessories are appearing on the US Play Store (UK, Canada, and Germany too) today: a wall charger, a microUSB cable, and a set of earbuds with a built-in microphone. The wall adapter is a rather steep $16, the microUSB cable $10, and the earbuds $20.

Basically, you're probably vastly overpaying for all of this stuff, should you so choose to invest in it - 2.1A wall adapters (with two outlets, no less) can be found on Amazon for $10, and microUSB cables for a few bucks at Monoprice. But if you really need the official gear, it's there now.

Apr

New Twitter 4.0 Update For Android Finally Goes Holo - Swipeable Tabs And All

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, News

You read it right - one of the most popular apps on Android, and long-time holo holdout Twitter, has finally updated its look. And it's nice.

The new 4.0 release has an all-new feel, and improved hashtag and mention support in the search and compose windows. You also now tap and hold on tweets to bring up the action menu (reply, retweet, favorite, share). Here's the full changelog from the Play Store:

New in this release of Twitter for Android:
- We’ve got a brand new look and feel crafted for Android 4.0+. Navigate seamlessly between your favorite parts of Twitter with a simple swipe.

Apr

Evleaks Shows A Closer Look At Facebook Home, Pretty Much Looks Like Facebook All Over Your Phone

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Leaks, News

Who's ready for the Facebook phone?! Honestly, it really doesn't matter either way – it's coming whether you want it to or not. And as much as people are trash-talking this upcoming device, one thing's still pretty certain: everyone is curious about it. What's it going to be like? How much Facebook are we talking about here? Should I be afraid? While we can't answer or quantify all of those, we can shed a little light as to what the UI should look like thanks to a new post by @evleaks over at 9to5Google.