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Aug

[New Game Review] Sprinkle HD Looks To Drench Lesser Puzzle Games With Its Awesome Water Physics

Posted by Matt Demers in Game Reviews, Games

Some of my favorite mobile games for the mobile platform are of the puzzle genre, because it tends to lend itself well to the array of controls that are provided. A new THD game that just landed in the Market today, however, combines simple controls and some quirky physics to give you a unique puzzling experience.

In Sprinkle, you are put in charge of a small village's fire department, who are in turn in charge of extinguishing fires that are caused by falling meteorites. Since the citizens of this village live in thatched-room huts (despite having the technology for a high-powered hose), you can imaging that fire is pretty bad for them.

Aug

[Rumor] Samsung Nexus Prime Will Feature 1.5GHz Processor And 4.5-Inch Display, Will Launch In October

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Galaxy Nexus / Nexus Prime, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Samsung

The wait has been long for those eager to find out more about Ice Cream Sandwich (i.e. everyone in the Android community), but it appears that the date is finally drawing near, as more and more details are starting to leak out. Last week we got our first look at the next version of Android, and today Electronic Times published some details on the first device that will run it - the Nexus Prime.

The info jives well with what we've heard previously: the Prime will be built by Samsung, and will feature a 4.5-inch "HD" AMOLED display as well as a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU.

Jun

[Rumor] The Next Nexus Phone: The Nexus 4G - LTE, 720p Display, Dual Core, No Function Buttons?

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Rumors

Take this with a massive grain of salt, but BGR has just let loose an article detailing what they claim will be either the next Nexus phone or, if not a Nexus, simply the new Android reference handset. Far more exciting than that is what BGR's source has told them what kind of features the phone will be packing:

A 720p "monster-sized" display - exact size unknown (also, goodbye qHD - nice knowing you)
Dual-core processor @1.2 or 1.5GHz (either a TI OMAP 4460 or a ULP Qualcomm 28nm Krait Snapdragon)
Android Ice Cream Sandwich (possibly dubbed Android 4.0)
Software function buttons (ala Honeycomb - no more capacitive touch)
4G LTE (yes, yes, yes!)
1GB RAM
5MP rear camera w/1080p video, 1MP front camera
Release around Thanksgiving

Unfortunately, several big questions remain unanswered.

Jun

Motorola Droid 3 Shows Off Its Updated Looks And Hardware In 3 Leaked Videos

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Droid 3, News

Last Updated: June 6th, 2011

Not much was known for a fact about the next crown jewel in the Droid line of Android phones that played a such a crucial part in the growth of the OS in the past 2 years. We had a suspicion that it would have a 4" screen, lose "the lip," and gain a dual-core CPU and a front-facing camera, all while bearing the name Droid 3, but no concrete proof of any of those.

A series of Droid 3 training videos surfaced today, well ahead of the device's release, which is rumored to be sometime this summer. The videos clearly show and confirm a larger form factor with curvier lines (4" sounds about right now), an 8MP HD camera that is capable of 1080P video recording, an updated version of MOTOBLUR (just look at that lock screen), a 5-row keyboard with a dedicated number row, and an HDMI output.

Jun

[Review] Riptide GP Proves What Tegra 2, And Android, Are Capable of Doing

Posted by Matt Demers in Apps/Games, Game Reviews, Games, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Riptide GP emerged from the Tegra zone late in May, touting amazing graphics that the Android system is now capable of pulling off. However, is it all flash and no substance?

Riptide GP comes to us from Vector Unit, the developer of Hydro Thunder Hurricane for the Xbox Live Arcade. While that game features a number of souped-up racing boats with weapon attachments, Riptide GP returns to the water for a comparatively tuned-down affair. Instead of boats with Gatling cannons, you race jet skis against AI opponents; you can pull off tricks in order to fill a boost meter, which can then be used to further a lead or recover from a costly spill.

May

[New Game Review] GRave Defense HD Brings Sexy TD Action, Spelling Errors and All

Posted by Matt Demers in Game Reviews, Games, Reviews

Last Updated: August 2nd, 2011

Tower defense (TD) games seem to be plentiful on mobile platforms: their control scheme fits well with a touch surface, they don't require much user input from the player, and don't tend to be graphically intensive. If you're an Android user, you've probably at least tried a TD game before; GRave Defense HD looks to be the one that conquers them all.

No, that was not a typo in the title: GRave Defense is really spelled like that. I'm not sure why, to be honest, as there are no drug-addled teenagers waving glowsticks around, nor does pulsing techno music drive the soundtrack.

Mar

The Dream Game Has Arrived: Full Version Of AirAttack HD With 8 Levels Now In The Market

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

A couple of weeks ago, I ran into a new game by Art in Games called AirAttack HD Lite, which was a free preview version of a top-down plane shooter, but with only 2 levels. The game was polished so well that I finished the 2 levels in a heartbeat and was left longing for more. In fact, if you remember, I called AirAttack HD "not your dream game, but the one after that."

Today, the full version is available. 8 levels, 58 enemy types, 2 planes (I was hoping for more, but since they have numerous weapon upgrades, we don't really need more than 2), 8 "huge end level bosses," 4 control methods (touch, relative, tilt, and joypad), and [optional - thank god] support for Tegra processors (THD) all await you behind the download links below.

Mar

Motorola XOOM + Android 3.0 Review: Sweet As Honey

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Motorola, Reviews, Tablet Reviews, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

Last Updated: February 8th, 2012

The Motorola XOOM: Ever since it was first teased at D: Dive Into Mobile, the Android community hasn't been able to take its eyes off the tablet's dual-core processor, gorgeous 10.1-inch display, and - last but certainly not least - Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) operating system.

Well now the device has officially gone on sale, and I've been ~~testing~~ falling in love with a review unit for the last few days. Typically, I end up hating devices that I adore at first blush, but the XOOM is an entirely different story - the device is far from perfect (where are the tablet apps?), but I have yet to find anything truly upsetting about it.

Feb

HTC Desire HD, Desire Z, Incredible S Set To Join The Gingerbread Club, But...

Posted by David Ruddock in Desire HD (Ace), Desire Z (Vision), EVO Shift 4G (Speedy), G2 (Vision), Gingerbread 2.3, HTC, Incredible S (Vivo), Merge, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

SlashGear has confirmed with HTC today that the Desire HD, Desire Z, and Incredible S (along with the standard Desire) will be receiving the bump to Gingerbread some time in the second quarter of this year. But, there's a potential caveat: US phones might not be included.

It remains unknown if HTC was also referring to carrier-branded versions of the aforementioned devices in its statement, and if it was, if those devices would be receiving updates at the same time as their unlocked, HTC-branded siblings. Phones in this category include the HTC Thunderbolt and Inspire 4G (both based on the Desire HD), as well as T-Mobile's G2, the EVO Shift 4G, and possibly the HTC Merge (all based on the Desire Z).

Feb

[Review] HTC Inspire 4G: A Pretty Face Only Gets You So Far

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, Inspire 4G (Ace, Stallion), Phone Reviews, Reviews, Videos

Last Updated: February 8th, 2012

About this time last week, I first started playing with our Inspire 4G review unit. And at first blush, I admittedly found myself enamored with this phone. Unfortunately, it was a love that started to splinter as the days went on, and the more I used it, the more I noticed just how unfinished some parts of this phone can feel. Overall, the Inspire is a good phone with the potential to be great, and I'll talk about what's holding it back (software, connectivity) further on in the review.

Don't let that statement deter you from considering purchasing it, though, because at $99 (or $60 on Amazon), the Inspire 4G is a steal of a deal if you're looking for a reasonably priced 4G smartphone.