latest
Google's 20 Reorganized Play Store Game Categories Now Live, Including Game-Related Widgets And LWPs
At the end of last year, Google promised a big Play Store reorganization during which the 8 existing game categories would be cleaned up and expanded to 18. Two of the categories (Widgets and Live Wallpapers) weren't even games at all - they somehow ended up there and bothered everyone who noticed ever since.
If you were a kid during the 80s, or you just happen to spend too much time watching Cartoon Network, then you've seen claymation - the art of stop-motion video with molded clay and any other odd objects laying around the house. It's time to recall those days with Plasticine Jungle and Plasticine Ocean by developer Kolesov & Mikhaylov. These live wallpapers bring us back to our youth with brightly colored shapes and uncanny textures.
Back in the day, I used to use Samurize or RainMeter on my Windows machines to output the current system info on the desktop. That way, if something started acting funky, I would have an idea of where to start looking – if RAM was starting to get full, closing a couple of larger programs would usually fix the issue. If the CPU was peaking, then I could easily fire up the Task Manager and kill the culprit, proving that violence sometimes is the answer.
Android 4.2 brought a nifty, albeit it somewhat useless, new feature called Daydreams. In a nutshell, Daydreams is just a screensaver, which might be useful in some situations - specifically on tablets. For the current time, though, there are only a few different stock options for Daydreams: clock, colors, Currents, Photo Frame, and Photo table. There are also a few apps out there that have incorporated the feature - like Beautiful Widgets, for example - further increasing Daydreams' usefulness.
Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of live wallpapers. I love the idea, but in practice I've never found one that suits my taste and is compelling enough to stay on my device for more than a few minutes. That changed today with Cypher Cove's release of Audio Glow to the Play Store.
Despite what its name suggests, DualBoot Games actually makes some of the best live wallpapers around. We've featured several of their offerings before, and the newest one to hit the LWP realm could be the best one yet.
Do you like live wallpapers? Do you use live wallpapers? If so, then here's a new one for you: it's called Digital Embers, and it's just downright pretty.
Generally speaking (and apparently like most Android owners), I love the idea of live wallpapers, but in practice, the cost (on the phone, not the wallet) is too high to stomach in return for a bit of show. For quite some time (probably about 6 months of my nearly 2 years with Android), though, I ran the absolutely awesome Mario Live Wallpaper. Until recently, that is - after roughly 3 months straight with it, I switched to a static wallpaper (specifically, this one) once more.
When it comes to my Android devices' home screens, I'm fickle. It is rare that a wallpaper or layout will last more than a few days. That being said, I find that live wallpapers tend to have a much longer shelf life than their static counterparts, perhaps because they are – generally – so much more dynamic. Taking the concept of a truly dynamic LWP to another level entirely, Central Core Studios has introduced RadiantWalls HD – PlanetScapes to the Android Market, making your device "a window looking out onto the surface of the planet Avalon."
If you're a fan of live wallpapers and holidays, then you probably love holiday-themed live wallpapers, no? That also probably means you're still rocking DualBoot Games' Christmas LWP while waiting for a new holiday to coat your homescreens in. Good news! Valentine's Day is right around the corner and DualBoot Games has once again delivered the LWP goods that you so desperately crave.
Adam Ratana, creator of a series of skull-themed live wallpapers, recently released Steampunk Skull Live Wallpaper to the Android Market, bringing an interactive clockwork skull to your device's home screen.
The creators of such marvels as My Beach and Celtic Garden, DualBoot Games, have outdone themselves this holiday season with Christmas HD - what I believe to be the most intricate live wallpaper I've seen on Android in a long time (ever?).
If you're into throwing quirky, fun stuff on your Android and just love live wallpapers, this is the app for you. It's called Alive TV, and it's not only a fun way to liven up your homescreen, but it's very well made, [somewhat] functional, and quite pleasing to the eye.
Maxelus, a "Top Developer" in the Android Market, is well known for creating stunning (if not slightly trippy) live wallpapers - particularly the "Galaxy" series of LWPs that bring gorgeous, fictional outer space scenes to your Android phone or tablet.
There's no doubt that we're all waiting with anticipation for the HTC Vigor, which is rumored to be coming out as the Droid Incredible HD, to hit the market. It's reportedly going to be the first full HD phone, sporting a 720p display, 1.5Ghz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, Sense 3.5, and Android 2.3.4 -- in other words, it's going to be a beast.
Normally, I feel like live wallpapers are a novelty at best. While they may add functionality or pleasing aesthetics to a device's homescreen, they usually end up sucking down the battery and slowing down the device as a result.
Remember the stunning MyWater live wallpaper that was ripped out of the Transformer a month ago, complete with ice cubes floating in water that shifts around when you tilt your tablet? Here it is: