Applications - 200/262 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

May

hi-256-0-982dd593f7cdd0043aa6d69d4adaeea3692552e3

Play Tegra Zone Games On Non-Tegra Devices With Chainfire3D

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, Development, News

Yesterday, we told you about the OpenGL video driver Chainfire3D. At the time, there was a common question: what can you really do with this? Some crafty XDA users have set out to prove exactly what you can do using CF3D, and here at AP, we all think it's nothing short of awesome.

In the past, we've highlighted several games specifically for Tegra devices, and we felt the backlash from users that wanted these games but lacked the proper hardware (read: no Tegra). Now, however, it is possible to play Tegra-specific games on non-Tegra devices, thanks to the CPU emulation and a few plugins in CF3D.

May

The Power Of Tasker - "Google Cal Widget & Auto Sat Nav" Is The Most Intricate And Amazing Tasker Script We've Seen So Far

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Development, News

Last Updated: May 25th, 2011

Some call Tasker the most versatile application ever created for Android, and I'm inclined to side with them. The app can automate hundreds of actions and bundle them together in powerful scripts that do exactly what you want them to do (see our Tasker review). Want to silence your phone at night and then restore the ringer to a predefined volume in the morning? No problem. How about popping up a menu of music apps when you plug in your headphones? You got it.

However, the Tasker "task" that brandall from xda created today takes the cake when it comes to complexity and functionality.

May

Twitter Closes TweetDeck Deal For More Than $40 Million

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, News

This whole ordeal seemed a little surreal since day one of the rumors, but earlier today, Twitter and TweetDeck finalized an agreement which would see Twitter take ownership of the popular multi-platform social media app. The price is reported to have been over $40 million in cash and stock.

Twitter has always had stand-offish relations with the many 3rd party applications which tap into its own service, heavily restricting the manner in which such apps can use and present Twitter feeds. TweetDeck, though, has become wildly popular for its integrated feed system, which combines Twitter, Facebook, and Google Buzz all into a customizable multi-pane user experience.

May

[New In The Market] Robotek Brings Lasers, Explosions, and Risk-Based Mayhem To The Palm Of Your Hand

Posted by Matt Demers in Applications, Games, News

Just in case you thought today would be devoid of some kind of fun, developer Hexage decided to release its latest game, Robotek. You play as the last human holdout on a robot-conquered Earth, slowly working from one base to take liberate nodes, countries, continents, and eventually the planet back from your oppressors. Combat plays out in a strategic, turn-based style, but there's a bit of a twist to it.

You fight your robot enemies by spinning a virtual slot machine from which you gain bonuses, drone units and special attacks based on the outcome. This mechanic adds a bit of unpredictability to the game while still allowing you to plan your next move: the first tumbler moves slow enough that you can choose where it lands, but the second and third are more of a crapshoot.

May

[New App] Chainfire3D Hits The Android Market, Tweaks Your Graphics To Improve Performance And Battery Life

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

Android app developer Chainfire released an interesting app into the Market recently called Chainfire3D - "an intermediary OpenGL driver." Basically, this app sits between your app and the proprietary graphics driver on your device and can manipulate the commands between the two.

This enables you do some pretty rad things with your device in order to increase efficacy, battery life, performance, etc. For example, you can use Chainfire3D to enable night-mode, which basically only powers the red pixels on your device in order to save battery life (yes, it makes everything look red - see below).

Other features of Chainfire3D includes a multitude of texture manipulations, including the ability to reduce texture sizes and quality (for faster gaming) and unroll textures, which converts non-32 bit textures into 32 bit.

May

[Review] CrossTxT Bridges The Gap Between Phone And Computer For Easy Texting - Regardless Of Browser

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in App Reviews, Applications, Apps/Games, News, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

A few months ago we reviewed an interesting app called Texty. This app connects an Android phone to a computer through Chrome, and allows the user to send text messages straight from said browser. This is useful when you are working on your computer and you do not wish to move your hands away from your comfortable ergonomic keyboard and start pecking away at a small 3-4" screen. CrossTxT performs a similar function, but in my opinion, is far superior to Texty.

Set-Up: Android

Firstly, CrossTxT is currently in beta and you will have to sign-up for a free invite.

May

Thumb Keyboard, Hands Down The Best Tablet Optimized Keyboard, Receives Major Update To V4.0

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Thumb Keyboard, a multi-layout keyboard compatible with both phones and tablets, is, in my opinion, the absolute best single piece of software you can grace your precious tablet with (see our review for more details).

The split-key design allows for comfortable typing without having to reach too far, and the number of bells and whistles keeps increasing with every release. Different designs for each orientation, multiple themes, multiple size customizations, a multitude of layouts (phone standard, phone split, 5", 7", and 10"), 34 languages... I can go on and on.

I've tried the stock keyboard, SwiftKey Tablet, and the Samsung keyboard, but none of them come even close to Thumb Keyboard.

May

Mozilla Launches Separate Firefox For Android Beta App To Test New Features Early

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Firefox for Android has come a long way since the project hatched as "Fennec" many months ago - there is no doubt about that. What started as a bloated, slow, and buggy pile of crap (really, it was bad), is now one of the greatest browsers Android has to offer (add-ons ftw!). Don't get me wrong - it's still lacking quite a few features - notably, Flash support, faster font redraw on zooming, better startup times, etc., but Mozilla knows this and is working hard on the next version - 5.0.

In order to test out new (but potentially buggy) builds, the company decided to introduce a separate Beta app into the Market today.

May

Hacker's Keyboard Brings A Full Keyboard Experience To Android

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

If you've been looking for a full, 5-row keyboard experience on your Android device, then look no further - Hacker's Keyboard may fit the bill perfectly. HK is really designed to be used with apps like ConnectBot for SSH since it features working Tab, Ctrl, Alt, Esc, and arrow keys, but it's worth noting that this keyboard may not work properly with all apps. The reason for this is because some apps may not recognize the additional keys, as they weren't built to handle that type of virtual input.

However, if you experience any other problems while using this app, the developer requests that you file a bug in the issue tracker so he can work on a resolution.

May

TweetComb And Newsr Drop The Price Tag, Go Free For All To Enjoy

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

When it comes to Honeycomb specific apps, the selection isn't huge, so when you can score some for free, that's always a good thing. Honeycomb app dev Chris Stewart decided that he was in agreeance with that idea and has relinquished the price of two of his HC apps - TweetComb and Newsr - to display that.

As its name suggests, TweetComb is a Twitter client designed specifically for Honeycomb. While it may not be as good as say, Plume, it's really hard to compete with the price (even with the free version of Plume, you have deal with ads, whereas TweetComb appears to be ad-free).