09
May
hi-256-0-399e9fbfd979eff28e77405e7c49d5bebe567f19

With all of the retail giants out there, I'm really surprised that Walmart is this late to the game in releasing its Android app. I guess the old saying "better late than never" applies here just as much as anywhere else, and any app that makes our lives easier is always a welcome addition in my book.

The Walmart app offers up all of the goodies that you need to shop-on-the-go, like deals, recent price drops, search, and store locator (including a filter to find stores with specific departments, like pharmacy). It goes a bit further than other apps of this type, though, serving up the local ad with a single tap, order tracking, and a front-end to the pharmacy.

09
May
ZP_THD

On Friday we told you about the arrival of Pinball HD for Tegra devices, but if that just wasn't your cup of tea where pinball is concerned, then you'll be happy to know that ZEN Pinball THD will become part of the Tegra Zone family soon. ZEN Pinball is a port from the popular Playstation 3 game of the same title, and this will be its first venture into the mobile world.

ZEN features all the dynamic gameplay that you've come to expect out of games designed for Tegra devices, with super-realistic environments and real-world pinball physics. The tables are graphically rich and full of textural depth that is sure to please everyone from casual gamers to the most hardcore pinball enthusiasts.

08
May
IMGA0002
Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Make no mistake, the DROID Charge is a cool phone. It looks cool. Its boot screen looks cool. Hell, even the camera has been carefully crafted to look like some sort of crazy piece of future-tech.

In the past week, I've had three separate people ask me what phone it was (something that I never experienced with my Nexus One or the HTC Inspire), and then proceed in some way to compliment its appearance or the vividness of its display. Unfortunately, this just goes to show that the Charge is a classic case of "don't judge a book by its cover." Why?

08
May
hi-256-0-cebb14a080486962e8ce1e8c18391aa11bb390f6

It's been a while since the last ADW Launcher EX update, but it may just have been worth the wait. The author of ADW EX has implemented some major changes and fixes for version 1.3.0. Check out the change log below:

ADWLauncher EX v1.3.0

Changelog:

  • Completely redone the app drawers code from scratch to improve memory usage and scrolling performance, even with transparencies, live wallpapers, etc
  • Scroll snapping on the vertical drawer/4d drawer “a la launcher 2″. (option enabled by default)
  • True” home screen looping (enabled by default) ported from ADW2.
  • New theme management screen with added functionality (and more will come)
    • Dock and dockbar background customization moved into the new theme management screen.

08
May
2011-05-08 08h43_54

Sprint customers hungry for vanilla Gingerbread can stop holding their breaths now - the Nexus S 4G just went on sale. Sprint will charge you $199.99 for the Samsung-made device, but if you're looking for the best bargain in town, you'll want to visit Best Buy - they're selling it for just $149.99 with a new two-year contract. BB's upgrade price is still $199.99, but at least free shipping is offered by both retailers (ETA: 5/11-5/14 at Best Buy; 2-5 business days at Sprint).

As a reminder, this stock Android machine comes loaded with:

  • 4-inch Super AMOLED Contour display with a WVGA (800x480) resolution
  • WiMAX connectivity
  • 1GHz Hummingbird processor
  • 512MB of RAM
  • 16GB of internal memory

All in all, the handset isn't exactly a spring chicken in terms of specs, but the software is what really matters - and just like T-Mobile's version of the phone, the NS 4G delivers on that front with stock Android 2.3 and Google Voice integration.

07
May
image

We love Android shirts. Really. To the point of considering wearing something like this.

So when Malc Foy emailed us a tip about a group of like-minded artists working on a series of mashup Android characters, we had to check it out.

It's called Droidarmy and so far contains over 20 designs, about a third of which I suddenly want to wear. Here they all are:

image

My Favorites

Here are some of my favorites:

Droidbird

image

Droidberg - though I already own this one.

image

Darth

image

DroidBorg

image

 

Bonus

I actually like this shirt the most, but for some reason it's not tagged as Androidarmy.

07
May
android-tweak-20110201162950
Last Updated: September 3rd, 2011

It's that time of the week again folks - time to hit the polls. This week's question is one that'll allow you to express what you think an Android handset should let you do in terms of customization, modification, and other various tinkering (think rooting, custom ROMs, kernels, etc). Basically, we want to know how important it is for you, as a consumer, that your next phone be easy to customize. Or if that really isn't important at all.

Let us know in the comments what ROMs, rooted apps, and other goodies only available to the rooted/unlocked users among us that you just can't live without.

07
May
Thumb
Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

In the world of mobile phones, cases can be something of a contentious issue. There are those who insist that putting a case on anything so beautiful as a high-end Android phone is pure blasphemy, and anyone who does so is sullying the experience of owning high technology. Others recognize that they are walking around with $500 worth of slippery glass and plastic, opting to cover that shit up. Personally, I am on the fence. I alternate between the two options, revelling in the hard work of the designers at HTC on some days, and others I want to shake up the look and maybe get a little extra protection.

07
May
wm_snap20110507_111102
Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

If you grew up in the 90s or early 2000s and played PC games, you've undoubtedly heard of the Heroes of Might and Magic franchise - a series of turn-based strategy games by New World Computing. Heroes of Might and Magic 2 was the first truly amazing game of the series, followed by HOMM3 with improved graphics, and then going to crap starting with the 4th one. I think HOMM2 and HOMM3 collectively stole not months, if not years, of my time, and I am still just as excited to play either of them as I was back in the day - the replayability factor of these games is through the roof.

07
May
image

Update: It's up for sale yet again today, Saturday, May 7th.

Woot.com, Internet's favorite a-deal-a-day site that I personally religiously check daily, is offering up an Android tablet deal today that may be hard to pass up for those looking for a beefy, yet budget, Android tablet.

The very hackable ViewSonic gTablet, which sports a speedy dual-core 1GHz Tegra 2 CPU, a 10.1" 1024x600 TFT display, a front-facing camera, 512MB RAM, 16GB ROM, and USB host capabilities, is sitting there for the next 12 hours (or until it's sold out) for the very low price of $279.99 + $5 shipping.