apps - 17/59 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Sep

[New App] Sky Motion Arrives On Android With Down To The Minute Weather Forecasts In US And Canada

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Applications, News

If you've ever been on your way out the door while trying to decipher a delayed weather radar map, this is your lucky day. Already a notable app for iOS users, Sky Motion has arrived on Android to make sure you always know when inclement weather is on the way.

This is not a full-featured weather app, and it's not supposed to be. Sky Motion specializes in hyper-local geolocation weather reports. By using a combination of GPS, radar maps, motion tracking, and prediction algorithms, Sky Motion tells you exactly when it's going to rain. It's not just rain, though. Sky Motion can clue you into approaching snow, freezing rain, hail, and sleet as well.

Sep

Google Play Store Surpasses 25 Billion App Downloads, Has A $0.25 Sale To Celebrate

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Apps/Games, News

You may remember that in December of last year, Google announced they had surpassed 10 billion app downloads in the Play Store, and had a $0.10 sale to celebrate. Today, the company is announcing that the Play Store has hit a whopping 25 billion app downloads. It took over 3 years to hit 10 billion; it took just 9 months more to hit 25 billion.

Accordingly, the Play Store is again having a sale for the next five days, with many products discounted to just $0.25:

Every day you’ll be able to choose from a collection of apps from some of the world’s top developers including Gameloft, Electronic Arts, Rovio, runtastic, Full Fat and more.

Sep

Aliyun App Store Confirmed To Be Distributing Pirated Android Apps, Many From Another Pirate Site

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Exclusives, News

A couple of days ago, we ran a story about a circulating rumor that Google had expressed strong concerns with the launch of an Acer phone powered by Chinese Internet firm Alibaba's Aliyun OS. As the post explained, Alibaba claimed that Google had warned Acer that releasing the CloudMobile A800 could result in the search giant "terminating its Android-related cooperation and other technology licensing with [Acer]." These rather strong words led to speculation over just what the issue could be with Aliyun, and whether Google had issued the warning at all. Google quickly confirmed its stance, indicating that Aliyun was an incompatible version of Android, and one that could "weaken the ecosystem."

Aliyun OS, for those wondering, is a Linux-based operating system built by Alibaba Group, China's largest Internet firm by transactions.

Sep

30 Best New Android Games From Last Week (9/5/12 - 9/14/12)

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Best Apps/Games/LWPs Of The Week, Games, News

Last Updated: September 18th, 2012

Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so.

This edition focuses only on new games.

Please wait for this page to load in full in order to see the AppBrain widgets, which include ratings and pricing info.

Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.

Featured App

The Tiny Bang Story

Android Police coverage: HeroCraft's 'The Tiny Bang Story' Sheds Xperia Exclusivity, Now Available For Other Devices

The adventure game is a lost art form that is thankfully getting a long-awaited revival on mobile.

Sep

[Screenshots] CyanogenMod Doubles Down On Core Android Functionality, Adds Stopwatch And Timer To Stock Clock App

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Part of the fun of custom ROMs is seeing how devoted developers improve upon the stock Android experience. Yesterday, we saw a fantastic example in the graphing calculator that's been released to the Play Store and will soon be integrated into CM10. Now, the team is bringing a new improvement to the stock clock app: stopwatch and timer features.

^{Screenshots taken during development. Actual features may appear different (in fact, almost certainly in the case of the left shot).}

The stopwatch and timer features have already been merged. They may not be rolled out to the nightlies just yet, as we tried out the most recent build and were unable to find them.

Sep

45 Best (And 3 WTF) New Android Apps And Live Wallpapers From The Last 2 Weeks (8/23/12 - 9/11/12)

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Applications, Best Apps/Games/LWPs Of The Week, News

Last Updated: September 13th, 2012

Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.

This is the app roundup. The game roundup from this week can be found here.

Please wait for this page to load in full in order to see the AppBrain widgets, which include ratings and pricing info.

Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.

Featured App

Video Locker Pro

Today's roundup is sponsored by Handy Apps' newest addition to its privacy and security stable, Video Locker and Video Locker Pro.

Sep

Amazon Will Offer Developers The Option To Sell Physical Items Via In-App Purchases

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Amazon, News

Well, this is sure to be an upset to the market. Amazon is going to allow developers the ability to offer in-app purchases to consumers for physical items that will be shipped to their homes. It's a little unclear yet if it will be limited to developers with products already on Amazon's website, or if Amazon will merely facilitate the transfer of shipping information. Could developers include in-app purchases of a physical product that they will handle distribution of themselves? That could be a huge boon for independent merchandise sellers, but obviously carries with it some inherent complications.

One of the first partners to offer products will be Activision, selling Skylanders characters.

Sep

Call Of Duty: Black Ops Zombies No Longer Sony Exclusive, Slaughter The Undead On More Devices Than Ever

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Games, News

It seems like most deadlines in the wide world of apps tend to slip, but this time Glu Mobile was relatively true to its word. When CoD: Black Ops Zombies was released in early August, we were told that the Sony device exclusivity would last 30 days. Well, it's been just barely over that and the game has been opened up to more devices. If you've got zombie killing on the brain, this is for you.

CoD: Black Ops Zombies is adapted from the console game, and it even brings some of the more popular maps from that version along for the ride.

Sep

[App Roundup] Our Top Six Favorite New Apps To Check Out From August 2012

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications

It's once again time to take a look at our top picks for best app from last month. August saw the introduction of a ton of worthy apps, but in the interest of saving readers from hours of reading, searching, and downloading, we've pared down last month's entries into a six-item shortlist. In this post, we'll briefly discuss the six best apps from August 2012 – six apps any user looking to get even more out of their device would be well advised to check out.

Mapsaurus (Beta)

You may remember our coverage of the Play Store's new "Recommended for You" functionality several days ago.

Sep

[New App] Foneclay Home Screen Replacements Are Like A Crazy Fever Dream On Your Phone

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Applications, News

Most of the home screen replacements out there are just variations on a theme. There are scrollable panels, icons, and an app drawer. Foneclay is something entirely different. With this app, you can turn your phone into functional, though bizarre art.

The app itself is essentially just a front end for downloading and installing the artistic home screen apps. Tap on one that looks interesting, and you can preview the UI before you download. Each home screen is installed like any other non-Play Store app from system dialogs. Some of the options are more impressive than others, with animations and really cool art.