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Dec

Dropbox Preview Build 1.3.0.6 Now Available On The Dropbox Forums

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Apps/Games, News

Everyone knows and loves Dropbox, and with build 1.3.0.6, its Android version is about to get even better. For now it's but a preview -- a "forum build," by official Dropbox terminology -- though we'd expect that to change soon, as in my experience it seems quite stable.

The main addition here is "optimization" for Android 4.0, presumably consisting mainly of performance tweaks. Additionally, the update features:

support for foreign languages
quick offline access to files ("favorites")
the ability to bulk upload photos and videos
the option to rename files and folders
single-tap access to all file and folder actions
an improved gallery
uploading from and exporting to local storage
the obligatory bug fixes

Interested?

Oct

[Update: Gameplay Trailer Added] Race Of Champions For Android Screenshots Make Us Drool, Want To Go Go-Karting

Posted by David Ruddock in Games, News

I've never really thought racing games could work on tablets or smartphones with touchscreen controls, maybe the upcoming title Race of Champions will change my mind. I sure hope it does, because by the looks of it, this game is shaping up to be awesome. Take a look at some of these screenshots:

Update: Here's the gameplay trailer, as well:

This will probably be as close as I ever get to driving a KTM Crossbow.

These were taken on what appears to be an ~~emulated instance of the game~~ iPad (the resolution is 1024x768), but given the hardware in most newer Android phones, we wouldn't expect any decrease in quality once the game makes it debut on the small screen.

Oct

Confirmed: Ice Cream Sandwich Looks Great On Tablets - Here's The Evidence

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Google, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Tablets

One of the first things that crossed our minds when Google wrapped up its Ice Cream Sandwich press conference was "what about tablets"? Well now, thanks to This is my Next, we can finally lay those fears to rest: Android 4.0 looks absolutely fantastic on a larger display.

As you can see, it doesn't look all that different from Honeycomb, which makes sense given ICS' promise of unifying Android on phones (currently Gingerbread) with Android on tablets (Hcomb). Still, it has been brushed up here and there - and we like it!

So, how'd they do it? The TIMN team decided to take the Android 4.0 SDK for a spin, and in the process of doing so they discovered an option that allows devs to change the emulator's screen size.

Oct

T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II Initial Impressions

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Galaxy S II, Hercules, Samsung, T-Mobile

Last Updated: August 2nd, 2012

The FedEx man brought me a lovely little gift yesterday: The T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II. This is the last stateside arrival of the Galaxy S II family. The review will take a bit to get out the door, so until then I figured I'd whet your appetite with some initial impressions.

First of all, this thing is big. Really big. I have to say though, I love the design of it. It feels sturdy and very well made. Like Samsung really knows what they're doing. The plastic back has a wonderful texture to it that almost makes it feel like leather.

Sep

Android Developers, Listen Up: ADT 14 And SDK Tools r14 Previews With Much Needed Improvements Are Now Available For Download

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, Development, News

As an Android developer, I don't think I've been this excited for an ADT and Tools releases in a long time. The Android tools team (Tor and Xav) just dropped off the latest ADT and SDK Tools at the Android Tools download site, bringing both up to version 14.

Among a sizeable list of improvements I'm mostly excited about these (and by excited, I mean ecstatic):

Improved incremental builds. Resource compilation is run much less frequently. It is no longer run when strings are edited, or when layouts are edited(unless a new id is introduced), and it is no longer run once per library project.

Sep

[Preview] Beautiful Jelly Defense From Infinite Dreams Coming To Android September 29th

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Games, News, Videos

Infinite Dreams, the creators of such hits as Sky Force and Shoot The Birds, are famous for high quality and absolutely stunning graphics in their games. Their upcoming title, Jelly Defense, is no exception. Today, we have a sneak peak at the first official trailer of this newcomer to the Tower Defense genre with a few new twists (or should I say "twisters"?).

The game, featuring 20+ missions, 8 unique power-ups, and 10 tower types, will be available in the Android Market September 29th. And now, dive into the trailer to see all the gorgeous eye-candy that's coming your way (fast forward to about 1:50 for actual gameplay):

Gliwice, Poland – Infinite Dreams, award-winning mobile games publisher has released an official game trailer for Jelly Defense, an upcoming tower-defense game for iOS, Mac OS and Android devices.

Aug

[First Look] GameLoft Releases A 'Cowboys & Aliens' Game To The Android Market - Let's Hope It Was Better Than The Movie

Posted by Matt Demers in Games, News

On paper, it seemed like a winning formula: take a bunch of cowboys, pit them against invading aliens, and see who comes out of it alive. Hot on the heels of a major theatrical release, GameLoft is releasing a Cowboys & Aliens game to the Market.

However, instead of the star-studded film (which, if you figure the $89 million earnings and $160 budget, was a huge flop), this game chooses to focus on the comic they used as source material.

Gameloft seems to have taken the title of "tie-in" developer, as they have experience releasing apps featuring properties like Shrek, Assassin's Creed, Fast 5, Avatar, and Spider-Man.

Aug

Now Possible: Enable Honeycomb-Style Gmail Preview Pane On Regular Gmail.com - Yup, Gmail Labs Still Going Strong

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Off-Topic

The latest post over at the official Gmail blog brings us some heart-warming and exciting news around a new Gmail Labs feature called Preview Pane.

It means Gmail Labs are still going strong and
If you own a Honeycomb tablet, you may already be familiar with the preview pane interface that Gmail for Honeycomb uses. There are 3 panes in total - folder list, message list, and a convenient preview pane, and as of today, you can view all 3 right in your regular Gmail.com.

The new UI is likely to boost productivity for most users (if you run around Gmail using only keyboard shortcuts and don't even need a mouse, the productivity boost will likely not apply to you).

Jun

HTC Has A "Sense" Of Humor - Friend Stream Widget References Resident Evil 3: Nemesis

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in EVO 3D (Shooter), HTC, Sensation / Sensation 4G (Pyramid)

Complaints about HTC's Sense UI becoming increasingly bloated are nothing new, but there's no denying that the skin has its upsides - and Reddit user TheEntireUniverse just unearthed another such boon. Behold, the preview image for Sense 3.0's "Friend Stream" widget:

For those not familiar with the reference, Jill Valentine is one of the main characters in the popular Resident Evil franchise, and the Nemesis-destroys-a-helicopter story was taken right out of the third game in the series.

So how does it all end? To find out, you'll have to wait for HTC Sense 4.0, which will introduce the revolutionary new "Nemesis Stream" widget.

Jun

[Video] Gameloft Unveils Its First Unreal Engine Game: March Of Heroes

Posted by David Ruddock in Games, News, Videos

I'll admit, I don't keep up too much on Gameloft's Android offerings, but the developer has received a reputation for releasing some of the higher quality Android games available (just not on the Market).

Their latest offering, whose release date is unknown, is March Of Heroes. What makes March Of Heroes different is that the game has been built on the Unreal Engine, which is a much more configurable and modern engine, and is probably the most advanced game engine on any mobile platform.

We don't have any information on a release date or pricing, but Gameloft generally churns out titles pretty quick, so you probably won't be waiting too long.