new - 12/44 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Sep

[New Game] Noodlecake's Velocispider Successfully Combines Retro Arcade Action With A Robotic Dinosaur-Spider Hybrid

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Games, News

Noodlecake, the makers of Trainyard, HueBrix, and Continuity, have just made available their latest entry in the Play Store, Velocispider. Before continuing, I should explain that Velocispider's titular protagonist is a half dinosaur, half spider robot. Knowing that, the rest of the game's characters are relatively sensible.

The premise of the game is simple – you are a robot spider dinosaur with rare eggs to protect. The CEO of the Robot Seafood Corporation wants those eggs, and will send thousands of enemies your way over the span of 20 levels. Gameplay is even simpler – Velocispider is a fixed-view shooter, in which our spider-dinosaur hero fires continuously upward as wave after wave of enemies approach.

Sep

After Several-Month Absence, CallApp Makes Its Way Back To The Play Store With New Features In Tow

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

Back in May, Liam spent some hands-on time testing out a then-new app called CallApp. Dubbed as a sort of supercharged caller ID, CallApp gives detailed info about who's calling you (or who you're calling), by pulling information from various social networks and the web.

Soon after release, the app was voluntarily pulled from the Play Store. During the app's hiatus from official channels (it was still available through their official site), however, the devs were still working on it. Making it better. Adding new features. Doing other stuff.

The new CallApp is now back in the Play Store, bringing along with it all sorts of new features, like a "reminders" section that displays missed calls, manually-set reminders, and automatically aggregated birthdays.

Sep

Chameleon Launcher Leaves Beta Status, v1 Is Now In The Play Store

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

Hey, guess what? After about 18 hours as a Release Candidate, Chameleon Launcher for Android tablets is now available in its full v1.0 glory. That's right, it's no longer beta.

It has been a twisty, turny, windy, and other non-straight words journey for Chameleon, so it's nice to see the launcher hit its first full release. According to the Chameleon Blog, there are still a few kinks to be worked out (which makes me question the "final" release status), but hopefully that'll happen relatively quickly.

If you backed Chameleon on Kickstarter, you should be able to grab the app from the Play Store now.

Sep

Google On Acer's Canceled Phone Launch: 'Non-Compatible Versions Of Android, Like Aliyun, Weaken The Ecosystem'

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Acer, Android OS, Google, News

Last night, we reported on some pretty strange rumors concerning an Acer product launch set to take place Thursday in Shanghai. The rumor was that Google had put its foot down over Acer's announcement of an Aliyun-powered smartphone, and threatened to "terminate all android-related cooperation" with the Taiwanese manufacturer should it proceed with the CloudMobile A800's introduction.

In case you missed the story, Aliyun is an OS developed by Alibaba Group, China's largest Internet firm by transactions. The OS, while not explicitly marked as an Android fork, is pretty closely related to the original platform. The OS boasts a reliance on cloud storage, and can even run Android apps using a "virtual machine."

Today, looking to clear the air, Google released a statement on the issue, indicating that yes, the search giant had put its foot down.

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

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

Leaked Screenshots Reveal AT&T's Samsung Galaxy Note II (SGH-I317)

Posted by Liam Spradlin in AT&T, Galaxy Note II, Leaks, News

Judging from a new leak released to BriefMobile by a "trusted source," it looks like the Galaxy Note II lineup is pretty much complete for US launch.

The source today provided BriefMobile with screenshots taken from an SGH-I317 unit (codenamed toIteatt) running on AT&T's 4G LTE network, and packing all the specs you'd expect from the original phablet's successor – Android 4.1.1. Jelly Bean, a 720x1280 resolution, and a quad-core 4412 Exynos processor.

What's more, the source divulged that the Note II is almost exactly the same as the international version (presumably following the trend Sammy started with the Galaxy SIII), and is even missing AT&T branding.

Sep

[New App] Official TechCrunch App For Android Tablets Hits The Play Store

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

For those who like to keep up with the startup scene in Silicon Valley, there are few resources better than TechCruch. Of course, that's not all the TC crew covers - there's also gadgets, gear, and other fun techy junk.

And now, you can get all the TechCruch content you can handle by way of an official Android tablet app. The app appears to be well designed, as it features an intuitive split-screen layout and a rich, immersive experience. After messing around with it for just a few minutes on my Nexus 7, I have to say that I'm quite impressed with the implementation.

Sep

Pre-Orders For All New Amazon Kindle Variants Are Live [Links]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Amazon, Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD, News

Last Updated: September 8th, 2012

Earlier today, Amazon announced a slew of new Kindle products: a refreshed 8GB Fire, brand new 16/32GB Fire HD 7" and 16/32GB Fire HD 8.9", including 32/64GB LTE-enabled variants, and a Kindle Paperwhite which doesn't run Android. The pre-order links weren't working right away, but they've just gone live, and I have them all for you right here.

Kindle Fire (2012 Refresh)

8GB - $159 (September 14th release date) - Pre-order link

Kindle Fire HD 7"

16GB - $199 (September 14th release date) - Pre-order link

32GB - $249 (October 25th release date) - Pre-order link

Kindle Fire HD 8.9"

16GB - $299 (November 20th release date) - Pre-order link

32GB - $369 (November 20th release date) - Pre-order link

Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G-LTE

32GB - $499 (November 20th release date) - Pre-order link

64GB - $599 (November 20th release date) - Pre-order link

Kindle Paperwhite

Repeat after me - "paperwhite." Not "paperweight." Amazon didn't think this one through, did it?

Sep

[Game Roundup] Here Are Our Five Picks For Best New Game From August 2012

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Games

Of course, with a new "top app" monthly roundup comes a rundown of our top games from the previous month. August saw a lot of entries into the Game section of Google's Play Store, but we've sorted through them all to bring you the six absolute best entries from last month.

Our selection covers a broad range of genres, and users looking to entertain themselves with their mobile devices can't go wrong with any of the choices. Without further ado, let's dive in to the six best games from August 2012.

Jetpack Joyride

Jetpack Joyride, another one of Halfbrick Studios' smash hit games, finally found its way to Android last month, satisfying the intense anticipation of fans and delivering what Jeremiah calls "everything a mobile game should be, plus robot dragons."

The game, which follows the jetpack-stealing, coin-grabbing exploits of the square-jawed Barry Steakfries, has a simple underlying dynamic: stay alive as long as you can, and get as many coins as possible along the way.