Apps/Games - 288/394 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jul

[Total Nerdgasm] Total Commander For Android Is Very Real And Functional, With Root Support And Plugins - No Ads And Free Forever

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in App Reviews, Applications, News, Reviews

Last Updated: November 4th, 2011

When we found Medieval Software's new app called Dual File Manager XT yesterday, we jumped on it right away due to its 2-pane support. Ever since the '90s, 2-pane "orthodox" file managers like the Midnight, Norton, Volkov, and most recently Total Commander have been an absolute necessity on any computer I use.

In fact, once I install a Windows OS nowadays, Total Commander is the first program that follows. Those who try 2-pane file managers can't (or rather shouldn't want to) go back to the conventional Explorer-style layouts - the level of productivity they bring is unparalleled.

Total Commander for Android

But let's come back to Android - after we posted the Dual File Manager XT, 2 people (Wr3ck and Martin) brought to my attention the fact that Christian Ghisler, the developer behind my favorite Total Commander, has been actually working on an Android port for quite a while now.

Jul

New App: Dual File Manager XT Brings Awesome Dual-Pane File Management To Android

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, Apps/Games, News

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

If you're like us, you probably spend a little bit of time in your Android device's directory system, hunting down stray files or unused app folders ripe for deletion. Or, more frustratingly, moving files between folders. This has never been particularly easy on Android, because you're limited to enough room on most handsets for one open file directory at a time - but no more.

Update: In response to a lot of you who are asking for root support, the app developer wrote in to say this:

"yes ROOT will be added if the program along with additional features."

Even with robust file management applications like Astro, moving files from folder to folder is a bit of a pain.

Jul

Developers Can Now Upload Multiple APKs Per Android Market App Listing

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Apps/Games, News

As announced back at Google I/O, Android developers now have the ability to upload multiple APKs (individual package files) under the same listing in the Android Market. When you download an application that has multiple APKs associated with it, the Market will intelligently pick the APK that is most compatible with your device.

This gives developers an alternate method of supporting a wide variety of devices (say, phones and tablets) without stuffing complicated logic and graphical assets into a single APK. If used right, the new technique, which is completely transparent to end users, will result in smaller app sizes and eliminate the need for separate Market listings (case in point: Qik).

Jul

Lodsys Sues Rovio For Patent Infringement Over Angry Birds For Android - We Break Out The Popcorn

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

Well, it seems Lodsys has gotten a lot more gravitas in the last few months due to the success of its patent-trolling efforts. The company's legal reps have amended a complaint filed in the Eastern District of Texas (also known as the "rocket docket" district for the speediness and plaintiff-friendliness of its trials), and it's a doozy.

From Lodsys's Complaint

Lodsys has sued Rovio over Angry Birds for Android (and iPhone), along with Electronic Arts (EA), Atari, Square Enix, and Take-Two Interactive - and many others (37 total, in fact). The latter publishers were all sued for iPhone games.

This, in our book, says little for Lodsys's credibility.

Jul

[Updated x2: Flashable Zip For Rooted Transformer Added] Download: Netflix 1.3.0 APK - Working On More Devices Than Listed As Supported (Including Honeycomb Tablets)

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

The updated Netflix APK that officially landed in the Android Market today has successfully been extracted and made available for download on "unsupported" devices by XDA member quixin. As you may know, Netflix 1.3.0 is the first version to support Honeycomb devices of any kind thanks to the Lenovo IdeaPad K1. Of course, the K1 has that super-special hardware-based DRM that was assumedly put in place just for Netflix support. Because of this, we wondered if Netflix would require this type of hardware level support in all future devices... but it appears that's not the case. The updated APK should work flawlessly on all Honeycomb devices, and probably most phones, too.

Jul

[Teaser] Liquid Entertainment Is Bringing 'Battle Realms' To Android, But Not In Its Classic Form... Yet

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Games, News

Fans of the classic game Battle Realms have a real treat coming sometime next year (I know, that's still a while from now, but good things come to those who wait), as Liquid Entertainment is bringing a version of the game to Android. It's not the same style of Battle Realms that you fell in love with years ago, however - it's going to be a collectible card style game set in the traditional Battle Realms world. The devs sent us some concept art, and I must say, it looks pretty sick.

If card-based games aren't really your thing, then you may want to keep your eyes on Liquid once this game is released, as the dev dropped us a little hint that a full real-time strategy version would be in the works once the current version is complete and hits the Market.

Jul

Amazon Appstore's Free App Of The Day Is The Mind-Reading SwiftKey X (Normally $3.99) [7/21/11]

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Applications, News

Just a week after shedding its beta status, the ever-popular keyboard SwiftKey X is being featured in the Amazon Appstore as the free app of the day, down from its usual $3.99 price. If you've never used the beta, SwiftKey X has a few great features that distinguish it from many other alternative keyboards:

Improved word prediction using TouchType's Fluency Prediction Engine
Personalization Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, and SMS
"Precise" and "Rapid" typing styles
Supports multiple languages simultaneously

This is actually the second time one of TouchType's apps have been featured on the Appstore, the first being the original SwiftKey a few months back, so there's hope for tablet owners that SwiftKey Tablet X may be featured soon as well.

Jul

[Updated x3] Netflix Adds Support For 16 New Devices, Including The Thunderbolt, EVO 3D, Droid 2, 3, X2, Charge, Atrix 4G, Bionic (!), And... One Honeycomb Tablet

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Atrix 4G (Olympus), Bionic, Charge (i510), Droid (Sholes), Droid 2, Droid 3, Droid X (Shadow), Droid X2, Epic 4G, EVO 3D (Shooter), EVO 4G (Supersonic), Fascinate, Froyo 2.2, G'zOne Commando, G2 (Vision), Galaxy S, Galaxy S 4G, Gingerbread 2.3, Incredible, Incredible 2 (Vivow), myTouch 4G Slide (Doubleshot), News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Nexus S 4G (Crespo4g), Revolution, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

Netflix this evening appears to have quietly unleashed the Android app on 16 more previously unsupported devices, all without updating the application at all.

The whole situation threw us off quite a bit, as the Netflix app description now lists both the new devices and a reference to a new version 1.3, while the app itself is still stuck at 1.2.2.

Nevertheless, after trying to find it in the Market using devices that were previously unsupported (HTC EVO 3D and Thunderbolt), to our pleasant surprise, we succeeded. So... it seems that Netflix indeed simply updated the list in the Market publishing console without updating the app at all, which means it was compatible with all of them all along.

Jul

Viber For Android Leaves Private Beta, Now Available For Everyone On The Market

Posted by John Thompson in Applications, News

Viber is a cross-platform VoIP app which currently runs on iOS and Android, allowing you to make free calls using your data plan so you don't have to use up your minutes each month. So far though, it's Android existence has been limited to a private beta to test the service and iron out bugs before releasing it to the masses.

If you've been waiting anxiously to begin using Viber on your Android phone, you can now download it from the Market for free starting today and begin using it to text and call your friends.

When you install Viber on your phone, it will scan your contacts and let you know who else is using the service so that you can call them for free.

Jul

DC Comics Partners With ComiXology, Unveils Their New App

Posted by Matt Demers in Applications, News

A large amount of that comics market has been claimed to the app ComiXology; it's usually been the gold standard for a lot of comic-dom's digital offerings. However, as with other things, it's almost impossible to enforce a standard.

DC Comics has partnered with ComiXology in order to produce their own digital offerings, and distribute them to their audiences. This app uses a lot of the same technologies as ComiXology's, like the Guided View, which allows for easy touch-based scrolling. Readers will be able to buy and read individual issues of comics, as well as large collections of back issues at once.