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Prior to today, Prison Architect: Mobile was only available as a soft launch title in a few select countries. Well, that changes forthwith as it is officially available right now for all of us to enjoy. Well, to be specific, those of us with a tablet can enjoy it. Sadly the game is not compatible with non-tablet devices. But those of you who do happen to own an Android tablet, then it would appear that you are in luck.
A few days ago, we wrote about Google's new My Account interface, which had its material design debut coinciding with Google I/O. The new interface makes checking and adjusting your security and privacy settings both beautiful and easy.
As Googler Andy Bohm notes on G+, Google's Privacy team didn't appear on stage during the I/O keynote this year, but that doesn't mean the team didn't have anything awesome to talk about. Specifically, Google has launched a revitalized account management interface. The new My Account page injects privacy and security settings with simple navigation, easily understood explanations, and tons of awesome illustrations to walk users through checking, changing, and otherwise managing their account/privacy settings.
Does your business, service, app, or other technological entity rely on Google's enterprise cloud services to function? Then you might want some way to manage that service from your phone or tablet. Here it is: the Cloud Console app for Android. This handy little tool is currently in beta, but those who rely on Google's hosting and virtualizing service will surely be able to overlook that. The app has been popping in and out of the Play Store for the last week, so we threw it onto APK Mirror in case it disappears again.
Trello for Android, a popular task management app that describes itself as "a whiteboard with super powers," got a big update today, introducing the app's "first foray into material design." The update comes with revamped layouts, new navigation paradigms, and tons of aesthetic improvements.
We've been seeing bits and pieces (and fully functional prototypes) of Google Stars for a long time now. The tool, which for now acts as a replacement for Chrome's bookmark manager, has been in development even longer, but it looks like the Chrome extension might finally be ready to roll (assuming it doesn't get pulled again) as Google released "Bookmark Manager" to the Chrome Web Store earlier today.
Google's Inbox implements a really smart management paradigm - specifically, users can swipe in one direction to "snooze" a message (designating a time at which the message will reappear in the inbox), or swipe the other way to mark the message "done," essentially archiving it. Steve Albright, in a post to Google+, recently opined that this paradigm might find a good home among all of Android's notifications, rather than being confined to Inbox messages.
Adobe's latest Android creation is Creative Cloud (preview), a file management tool connected - as the name suggests - to Adobe's Creative Cloud.
Exclusive Early Glimpse At EnergySense, The Start Of Google's Renewed Bid For Home Energy Management
Yesterday, The Information reported that Google is rumored to be working on smart thermostats, in a renewed bid to help users manage their home energy (and interior climate). Information on the project is sparse so far, but Google hopes it will be a successful follow-up to the unsuccessful PowerMeter, a service that was killed off due to apparent scaling difficulties.
Popular (and well-established) music manager/player Winamp got an update today, bringing the app to version 1.4.6 and introducing (among other things) long-awaited notification player controls. The controls match the look and feel of the app they belong to, using a design language that (unfortunately) doesn't look like it's been revisited in a while. That said, they work like a charm, and add much-needed functionality.
A few days ago, Facebook quietly released its Pages Manager app for Android to the Play Store. The app, which had been making iOS-toting page managers' lives easier for quite some time, was a welcome addition, save for one thing: it could only be installed in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, leaving US users in the dark.
In the mad scramble to keep up with all the major social networks, a number of third-party clients have popped up over the years to help you manage everything. Not that Twitter takes too kindly to these sorts of shenanigans. Still, services like Seesmic tried to replicate the native Twitter experience while augmenting it with Facebook integration in one app. When Twitter gutted third-party APIs for consumer-facing apps, Seesmic likely faced some trouble. What's a struggling independent developer to do? Team up with an even bigger one!
Google has never really made it a priority to give Android a desktop syncing and management client like iTunes is for the iPhone. For the most part, it hasn't been missed that much. Google can perform cloud-based backups of app data, contacts, email, photos, music, and just about everything else you might need. If you use all of its services, of course. Moborobo, on the other hand, is a beautiful client that does all of that and more right from your desktop.
Bringing the "world's best-selling Football management game" to Android users everywhere, SEGA recently introduced Football Manager Handheld 2012 to the Play Store recently, giving players the opportunity to "take the hot-seat at any club" including leagues in 12 countries (across several continents), with full control over team management from training to tactics to live management during matchdays.
Android has had some powerful to-do lists dating all the way back to Cupcake, but few are quite as nice-looking as 2Do, a recent entry (although Astrid's new design might be a solid contender). The $7 to-do list (yes, you read that right) does it's best to make itself worth the money. Tabbed calendars, the ability to attach photos, starred tasks, and a selection of themes make it one of the nicer to-do lists we've used. It even has support for the Galaxy Note's S Pen.
With spring rapidly approaching, there's one very big question on everyone's mind: How much longer until The Avengers comes out?! Since that's a question that's easily answered by Google, though, we'll answer another burning question instead: How can I manage my Fantasy Baseball team and ignore my family at the dinner table at the same time? Easy! ESPN's new Fantasy Baseball 2012 app!
KF Software House recently introduced a solution for the more time-constrained Android users among us, releasing App Timer Mini to the Android Market. App Timer Mini (ATM) does exactly what you may expect after reading its name. The app allows users to observe and track how long they spend using certain apps by placing a handy timer in the corner of your screen.