the - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Nov

Google Brings Play Music To France, Germany, Italy, Spain And The UK Right On Time

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

Just as planned, Google just unleashed Play Music upon select European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK.

We've known that Google would bring Music to Europe since last month, when the Mountain View giant also announced a new alliance with Warner Music Group, meaning that Play Music was finally partnered with "all of the major record labels globally."

Readers may remember that this rollout also heralds the introduction of music matching for Google Play Music users. Music Matching, for those unaware, is a service by which Google peeks at the music users upload to their account (up to 20,000 songs free), and checks the files against its own servers, automatically adding matched tracks to the user's library without the need for lengthy uploads.

Mar

[Update: THD Version, Too] Shadowgun Updated With Improved Effects, New (Free) "The Leftover" Expansion Brings 4 New Levels Amongst Other Goodies

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Apps/Games, Games, News

Update: After months of waiting, the THD version has now received this expansion pack. Hit the widget and get to killin'!

Shadowgun THD

Madfinger Games has just rolled out an update to their uber-hit third-person shooter Shadowgun, and this time around they have included more than just some bug fixes. The most significant aspect of the update is a new free expansion called "The Leftover" - check out the trailer:

The Leftover "directly follows the events of the original SHADOWGUN" and features:

4 new levels

New enemy creature

New gun

New type of gaming interaction

New soundtrack

The update brings some new effects and features to the original campaign, as well:

Camera shakes and bullet trails
Player can now roll
Tuned difficulty, weapons, and enemies
Better, more intensive gaming experience

The THD version of the game (with improved graphics and additional effects to take advantage of the extra horsepower Tegra 3 provides) hasn't yet been updated, and there's no official word as to when it will be.

Feb

Fire Maple Games (Of "Grisly Manor" Fame) Releases Second Puzzle/Adventure Game "The Lost City"

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Games, News

While The Secret of Grisly Manor wasn't exactly a smash hit, it was a huge cult favorite of those who enjoy Myst-style puzzle games. Now, Fire Maple Games (the developer behind Grisly Manor) is back with a new game. While the gameplay style is much the same as Grisly Manor, the setting is quite different - and quite beautiful:

Grandma was right.

Nobody really believed her. Not even you, her favorite grandchild.

But she was right. And more so than you could ever imagine.

The city before you, deep in the mist shrouded forest, can't be found on any map.

Mar

The War Against Infringement On The Android Market Is Heating Up: Fruit Ninja Clones And More

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Apps/Games, Development, Editorials, News

The Android market is filled with apps of questionable legality. But oftentimes, overpriced, branded theme and clock apps like those you'll find here are considered relatively harmless - who's stupid enough to buy them, anyway? Still, apps in this category are in clear violation of registered trademarks - and that doesn't sit well with their holders.

Google even has a page for developers and copyright holders to submit DMCA takedown requests for apps on the Market. Google's form guides you through what information is needed, and how to identify the apps in question - really, it makes the whole process quite simple.

Feb

Dell Streaks On Rogers And AT&T Finally Getting Froyo OTA

Posted by David Ruddock in Dell, Froyo 2.2, News, Streak

Last Updated: October 10th, 2011

The time for Froyo has finally come for Dell's first Android device - and I'm sure all 12 US and Canadian Streak owners jumping for joy. Dell announced today that it has begun a rollout of the long-awaited bump to Android 2.2 for its tablet-phone in North America, dragging only a few months behind its UK counterpart. The update, to be clear, is an OTA. The Dell release suggests rebooting your phone will detect the update if the rollout has reached you.

Dell originally promised the update before December 31st of 2010, so that makes this update nearly two months overdue.

Sep

[Update: Also Includes A GPS Fix] The Samsung Captivate Is Receiving An Update (But It Isn't The One You Want)

Posted by Brad Ganley in Captivate, News

AT&T has just started incrementally rolling out an over-the-air update to Samsung Captivate users. The update is 12Mb in size and is composed entirely of bug fixes. I would think that they would focus all their energy on getting Froyo out to the Galaxy S phones but, apparently, whatever this update fixes is more important.

Here is a snippet from the AT&T website that explains a little bit further:

Update: this OTA also includes a GPS fix, according to a Samsung email we just got:

An update to improve the Samsung Captivate's GPS performance is now available. Captivate customers will receive a notification on their device that an update is available and will simply need to download the file to update their phone.

Aug

[App Of The Week + Giveaway] Tasker: Automate Your Android + 20 Free Tasker Licenses (£3.99 Each)

Posted by David Ruddock in App Reviews, Applications, Contests / Giveaways, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Have you ever wished your phone would just automatically silence itself while you're at work? Or maybe that it would immediately start Pandora when you plug in your headphones? Wish no longer: Tasker's got you covered.

This contest is now over. We have selected the winners - see if you are one of them towards the bottom of the page.

Tasker's goal is to automate (you guessed it) tasks on your Android device. This may sound a little trivial at first blush. But make no mistake, Tasker is anything but a trivial application. In fact, I can honestly say that Tasker is the single most feature-rich Android app I have ever used.