Apps/Games - 26/390 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

AutomateIt (A Tasker-Like App) Gets Weather-Based Triggers: Make Your Smartphone Alert You When It's Going To Rain

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, News

We've all been there - you walk out of a restaurant or your workplace, only to discover "oh crap, it's raining." Your first thought? "I wish I had known this an hour ago." Checking the weather religiously may be a part of some people's daily routine, but I can say with confidence that I regularly step outside improperly dressed for the [admittedly narrow] range of climate conditions I sometimes encounter. Especially when it rains.

AutomateIt wants to make those surprise showers a thing of the past, though. The app lands somewhere between Tasker and Motorola's Smart Actions (not super technical, but with tons of options and ways to trigger alerts), and has been around on Android for quite some time.

Apr

[New Game] The Makers Of Call Of Mini Try Their Hands At Dungeon Crawling With Tiny Legends: Heroes

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Games, News

Dungeon crawlers are getting a surprising revival on mobile platforms, and Triniti Interactive has just thrown their surprisingly blocky hat in the ring. Tiny Legends: Heroes is the second entry in their Legends series. This one is focused on strategically managing multiple characters at once (a la Battleheart, among many others) and keeps the distinctive, quasi-retro art style that's help made their other games so popular.

You're given up to three Heroes to manage on any given stage. Swipe your finger from one hero to an enemy to engage them, or from one friendly to another to heal. Special attacks are performed via handy buttons, and leveling up your fighters will result in more powerful skills.

Apr

With The Help Of The XDA Community, Koush Releases A Universal ADB Driver For Windows That Actually Works on 8

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

The first time I tried using ADB after updating my PCs to Windows was a very unpleasant experience. What worked so well on Windows 7 was apparently borked in Windows 8 thanks to the new driver verification system that disallows unsigned drivers from running without this mode being first disabled, which requires a reboot. Upon subsequent reboots, driver verification is re-enabled, making the entire process tedious and beyond frustrating. I've since resorted to using a portable version of Linux Mint install virtualized within Windows – a less than ideal setup, it is.

Today, however, famed Android dev Koushik Dutta (Koush) has released a universal ADB driver that not only works with all Android devices (that's right – no more proprietary drivers!), but also all versions of Windows – including 8.

Apr

Kittehface Software Releases Photosphere Live Wallpaper, Gives Your 'Spheres Another Practical Use

Posted by Cody Toombs in Applications, News

Haven't you been waiting for something better to do with your photospheres than just uploading them to Google+ for other people to enjoy? Thanks to Photosphere Live Wallpaper, you can finally place them front-and-center on your home screen. The idea is simple, a live wallpaper that uses your spherical photography as a background. It's one of those ideas we've all thought of, but until now, has remained absent from the Play Store.

The developer, Kittehface Software, includes the beach shot seen above, but otherwise assumes users will provide their own photospheres. This may not be a problem to some of the natural paparazzi in our audience, but for those with less skill behind the camera, check out our recent coverage of SphereShare.net to borrow from a larger pool of publicly shared creations.

Apr

Download: Pre-Release Facebook Home App Leaks Out, Partially Functional

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, Leaks, News

Update: It looks like Facebook has killed the leak remotely. Users who installed it are now reporting that their feeds have gone dark. Oh, well. It was fun while it lasted.

Facebook Home, the company's trumpeted home screen replacement effort, has been a popular point of discussion since before it was announced.

For those who missed the announcement, Facebook is looking to replace your device's normal launcher with a continuous in-your-face social bonanza, featuring a huge news feed on your lock screen, a new pop-up chat called Chat Heads, and pretty complete integration with the social network, allowing for status, photo, and other updates on the fly.

Apr

'Babel' Name Purportedly Makes An Appearance In Gmail, Might Be The Real Deal

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

From poorly-executed "leaks" to potential legitimate sightings, there's been a lot of hubbub about Google's supposed unified messaging service, likely called Babel. This isn't necessarily surprising. After all, if you asked most Android enthusiasts what feature they most wanted from the platform in its next iteration, you'd hear a lot about unified messaging. We've tried to stay clear of covering every flurry of Babel-related murmurings so far, but today we saw something new – Google+ user Patric Dhawaan posted a screenshot of what he says is a notification in Gmail, triggered when "pruning" his inbox.

At first, we were a bit suspicious of the screenshot.

Apr

[Weekend Poll] Are You Going To Try Facebook Home?

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, Polls

On April 12th, Facebook Home will arrive in the Play Store... for select devices. It's a homescreen replacement app, and for those who use Facebook regularly, might be something worth looking into. The demos of the app looked smooth and simple - there's a lot of that gesture business going on - and while I'm not exactly big on Facebook, I know I'm going to give it a whirl just to see what it's like.

What about you - is your curiosity piqued enough to try out Facebook's newest mobile endeavor (assuming your phone is compatible)?

Apr

Video: This Is How Facebook Will Advertise Home And The HTC First

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Applications, First, Videos

As we all know, Facebook had an announcement earlier this week. The most pervasive social media outlet on the planet announced Facebook Home – a product that essentially amounts to a highly integrated launcher for your Android phone. It also announced the HTC First, a phone optimized for Home, offering a fully Facebook-ed experience.

The launcher is actually pretty nice – features like the unfortunately-named Chat Heads are almost enough to sell this writer on the idea of making an Android hamburger out of a phone, with Facebook Home serving as the top bun (or maybe the lettuce). The key to its success, though, will be advertising.

Apr

Talkray Undergoes Holo Refinement In Version 1.17 Update

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, Device Updates, News

Talkray, from the makers of the incredibly popular touch-talk app TiKL, is an ambitious app – it looks to be your one-stop shop for mobile communication on the go, communicating through text, pictures, videos, and voice all for free. Until now, though, the app has had a fatal flaw – its design. While not the worst design we've seen, Talkray had, shall we say, unfortunate looks. Inconsistent styles, gradients mixed with flat elements, and Gingerbread-style tabs abound.

In its latest update (to version 1.17) though, the app underwent a bit of beautification, bringing it closer to a true holo standard. The redesign isn't perfect, but it's undeniably better.

Apr

[New Game] Worms 2: Armageddon Invades Canada (And Only Canada) With Classic Ballistic Gameplay

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Games, News

The long-running Worms franchise made an ungraceful exit from the Play Store when franchise owner Team 17 Digital deemed Electronic Arts' support unworthy of the brand. Now they're back in Worms 2: Armageddon (a sequel to the XBLA/PSN Worms, and not to be confused with the 1999 Worms Armageddon game) from Team 17 itself. The game is now available on the Play Store... in Canada. And only in Canada. At the moment it's a soft launch for the northern territory, so there's no word on when it will get a wider release.