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Nov

[New Game] Melesta's Toy Defense Comes To Android – Become 'A Truly Great Leader' While Playing With Toys

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Games, News

Melesta Games' Toy Defense, a tower defense-style game that's already found a home on iOS, made its way to Android today, bringing with it a familiar tower defense dynamic with turrets and enemies pulled straight from your childhood toy chest.

If you've played other tower defense games, you know what you're in for with Toy Defense – defend your "tower" using various upgradeable turrets, weapons, etc. as wave after wave of enemies march through. While Toy Defense doesn't invent a genre, it's a polished, thoughtful TD game that will undoubtedly please fans of the genre, while adding a few unique touches.

Nov

New 3DMark Set To Bring Consistent Cross-Platform Benchmarking To Windows, Windows RT, Android, iOS

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, News

Popular benchmark and performance test maker Futuremark today announced that their 3DMark product, "the world's most popular benchmark and PC test," will be getting an update that brings it to Windows, Windows, RT, Android, and iOS, allowing the tool to join the ranks of cross-platform benchmarkers like the popular GeekBench.

The new version of 3DMark, which is expected to hit "before the end of the year," will include three all-new tests designed to benchmark devices from smartphones all the way up to high-performance gaming PCs.

The trio of new tests, which increase in intensity, methods, and purpose, include Ice Storm (for mobile devices and "entry level hardware"), Cloud Gate (for Windows notebooks and typical PCs), and Fire Strike (for high-performance gaming hardware).

Sep

This May Just Be The Best Email To Ever Hit Our Inbox

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Off-Topic

Earlier today, we received an email with the title "iPhone 5 PR Stunt Ends in Disaster Leaving 21 Homeless." You won't see any spoilers from me - just read:

iPhone 5 PR Stunt Ends in Disaster Leaving 21 Homeless

September 26th, 2012, San Francisco, in a series of "stunts" to gain public attention for a new Apple iPhone 5 and iPad game launch, a startup went overboard causing massive property damage.

At 7:00 am, a crew drove 3 cranes, equipped with 1.5 ton wrecking balls, to a mid-city housing complex. The wrecking balls were painted to look like roundish flying Yumbies, adorable characters who smash through buildings and other structures in the game.

Sep

Where Do They Get Those Wonderful Toys? Comparing The Newest iPhone To Android

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Editorials

Yes, we're an Android site. Yes, there was an Apple event today. We're gonna talk about it. As the newly-recast Rhodey said in Iron Man 2, "It's me. I'm here. Get used to it." Because the new iPhone raises a lot of questions: Didn't I see an Android phone with [some feature] before? Is the new iPhone really the thinnest smartphone around? Why in the world would apps need to be letterboxed? The answer to these questions and more lie within. What doesn't lie within is fanboy bickering. Let's keep it civil everyone.

It's The Size, Stupid

Easily, the biggest new feature for the iPhone 5 is the display size.

Sep

[Oh, Snap] Google Sponsoring Free Boingo Wi-Fi Across The US Again In 4000 Locations, But Only For Laptops And Android Devices

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, News

I'm not the kind of person that finds some subtle jab at Apple around every corner, but today Google and Boingo announced a free Wi-Fi partnership that makes drawing such a conclusion hard to avoid.

Google has sponsored Boingo Wi-Fi a number of times in the past, offering the company's wireless internet in hotels, shopping malls, subways, and airports around the world. Today's deal extends to 4,000 hotspots across the US, including 15 major airports, numerous Manhattan subways, and thousands of other locations. It is also specifically branded as being sponsored by Google Play, not simply Google.

The catch is that, this time, only some devices can use the free service.

Aug

Halfbrick's Hit iOS Game Jetpack Joyride Finally Hits Android

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Games, News

Jetpack Joyride, a game that's already seen huge success on iOS, finally came to Android today. The game – which ranks with Temple Run in terms of interest and demand from Android users – comes to us from Halfbrick Studios, the minds behind the insanely popular Fruit Ninja, and delivers the same action-packed, stylistically awesome experience as its iOS counterpart.

The game invites players to "take to the skies on a one-way trip to adventure," following the story of Barry Steakfries, who breaks into a secret lab to free experimental jetpacks from evil scientists, causing plenty of mayhem in the process.

Aug

Google's Motorola Files New Lawsuit Against Apple At The ITC, Seeks Import Bans On Pretty Much Everything Apple Makes

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Legal, Motorola, News

According to Bloomberg, Motorola Mobility has just filed a new lawsuit against Apple at the ITC. Now, ordinarily, we might not report on the filing of such a suit - especially when the complaint hasn't been made public (we have basically zero details). What makes this particular filing important, though, is that it is the first lawsuit filed by Motorola now that it is officially, 100% a part of Google. That's a big deal.

It means Google signed off on this action. It means Google isn't interested in playing a purely defensive role in the mobile patent wars. And while this is sort of by proxy (MMI is in many senses separate from Google), the fact that Motorola filed this suit at all says a lot.

Aug

iOS Developer Appigo Is Threatening To Sue Android Apps For Using The Word "ToDo" In Their Names, Generally Being Ridiculous

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, Development, Legal, News

As Android Police's unofficial person who knows things about laws (as always, none of this is legal advice), sometimes I see law stuff going on in the tech world that just makes me mad. This is one of those times. Appigo, an iOS and OS X developer, filed for a trademark on the word "Todo" (see it here) under the scope of a software application (basically).

Yesterday, we received an email from a developer of an app for Android called Star Trek ToDo Agenda. He was contacted by Appigo, with the following email (private information redacted):

Hello,

I'd like to discuss a small issue with one of your apps:
Your App Name: Star Trek ToDo Agenda
Your App URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stanlm.startrektodoagenda&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5zdGFubG0uc3RhcnRyZWt0b2RvYWdlbmRhIl0.

Jul

[Editorial] Just How Bad Is App Piracy On Android Anyway? Hint: We're Asking The Wrong Question

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, Editorials

When crowd-favorite zombie shooter Dead Trigger decided to drop its price from $0.99 to free, citing concerns over piracy, the tech world renewed its interest in an age-old debate: how bad is piracy for developers? Of course, any lost sale is money out of a developer's pocket (though it's important to distinguish between downloads and lost sales). However, the question should and needs to be answered: just how bad is the piracy problem on Android?

Zombies Vs. Knights

Dead Trigger provides an interesting starting point. The developer, Madfinger, notes that its previous game Shadowgun experienced a rather high level of piracy when priced at $8.

Jul

The Galaxy Nexus Is No Longer Available For Purchase From Google Play In The US

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Galaxy Nexus, Google, News

If you just felt a disturbance in the internet, as if millions of Android users cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced, here's why: the Galaxy Nexus is no longer available via the Google Play Store. This comes after Apple won an injunction against the sale of Google's flagship device last week. As of now, the device is not allowed to be sold in the US which includes, but is obviously not limited to, online sales from Google.