Apps/Games - 315/395 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

May

[Review] Folder Organizer Brings Deep Customization to Organizing Apps

Posted by Matt Demers in App Reviews, Applications, Reviews

Last Updated: August 2nd, 2011

I've never been a big proponent of using folders on my home screen; I'm the kind of guy that can fit all the apps he uses frequently on a 5x5 grid. With the possible exception for a "Games" folder, I find them pretty useless. I mean, the app drawer itself is one big folder, and if there's anything I really need to access, it goes on my front page.

However, I've been playing around with a tool that's making the maintenance and use of folders a bit more practical. The aptly-named Folder Organizer adds a number of features to folders and transforms them from "drag to the icon" affairs to something a bit more automated.

May

[I/O 2011] Android Market To Support And Host Apps Up To 4GB In Size; 15-Min Return Policy Tweaked

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Apps/Games, Development, News

One problem that Android app developers (specifically game developers) have had to face is the size limit for apps in the Android Market, because up until now it's been a measly 50MB. For most apps that is more than enough, but for others - like graphically intense games, for example - it's not even close, so developers had to jump through hoops and implement downloading of additional resources manually. Remember Spectral Souls with its 1GB of data?

Good news, though - today at I/O, Google announced that as of June 2011, the Market will support apps of up to 4GB (well, 4GB + 50MB) in size, which should be large enough to house just about any game we could possibly want on our devices.

May

Android Market Extends App Purchases To 99 More Countries

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Apps/Games, News

One of the Android Market's biggest downsides has always been the inability to buy/sell apps in certain areas of the world. It looks like Google has been hard at work tackling this issue, though, as the reach of Android app purchases is extending to 99 more countries, for a total of 131.

This is probably some of the biggest Market-related news to come out of I/O this year, especially for citizens of the affected countries. Gone will be the days of users wishing they could get that paid-only app or developers having to set up a dedicated PayPal account and website just to make some revenue off of their hard work.

May

New Web Android Market Is Live, Adds Several New Features

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Android OS, Apps/Games, News

If you haven't been to the web version of the Android Market today, I suggest you go take a look. Google has thrown in a few new features, like trending apps and top grossing apps from the past 30 days. Not only that, but the navigation is much more intuitive, as the top paid and top free apps have been revamped, along with the addition of top games in the sidebar. The new market also includes suggestions based on what others have installed and viewed, like we first saw yesterday.

Other new additions include an Editors' Choice column, which highlights some of the best apps and games in the market, with personalized recommendations coming sometime later this year.

May

Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus Leaves The Exclusivity Of The Gameloft Website, Hits The Android Market

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Games, News

If you just can't get enough first-person-shooter action in your life, then you'll be glad to know that Gameloft released a port of its popular iOS title Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus in the Android Market this morning. Up until now, this game was available exclusively through Gameloft's website, so hopefully this means that we'll start to see more GL titles hit the Android Market moving forward.

This game itself looks like it really lives up to all of the FPS goodness that we've all come to expect from modern games - fast gameplay, multiplayer, and all of the headshots that you can handle.

May

[New App] FriendCaster Tab For Facebook, Now You Can Virtually Mingle In HD

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

So you have your shiny new tablet in front of you, fire up the market, download the Facebook app, and then it hits you: this app sucks. It was meant for phones, not tablets. Wouldn't it be great if there were a Facebook app that was optimized for tablets? Yeah, that would be pretty rad... Oh, wait, there is! It's called FriendCaster Tab, and according to the developer, it's the first Facebook app optimized for tablets.

It covers all of the basics that you need out of a Facebook app, including status updates, access to the news feed, and the ability to like and comment friends' status updates.

May

[Review] Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Simulator

Posted by Matt Demers in Game Reviews, Games, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Game ports fall into this weird category where developers have both an easy and difficult job in front of them. On one hand, the game can easily market itself on the nostalgia or hype of the product. On the other, however, they must successfully capture the feel of the original, which can be difficult.

The original Majesty is a bit of a cult hit in PC Gaming circles. You played as the traditional "overseer" of a kingdom and looked to vanquish whatever evil had set up shop within your borders. However, there was a twist in all this: you did not have direct control over the heroes and minions that helped your kingdom run.

May

Catch Notes Gets Updated, Gains Full Honeycomb Support For All Of Your Tablet Note Taking Needs

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

The popular do-everything notepad app Catch Notes received an update today that includes full Honeycomb support and provides some advanced features specifically designed for tablets. Among the new features is an improved UI that makes the app much more intuitive on the larger screen. You can now expect to see multiple views on the same screen, which will make note input a much more fluid task, along with an enhanced note editor that will allow for much faster note taking, and better overall organization.

Also included in this update is the addition of context-aware controls in the action bar and a more intuitive tagging process.

May

[Sneaky] Android Market Adds Suggestions Based On What Other Users Have Installed

Posted by Matt Demers in Applications

With all the I/O updates today, something managed to fly under our radar just long enough that we only noticed it when checking out the new Music beta. Google's Android Market now suggests applications based on what other users have installed.

While not a particularly ground-breaking update, this should aid in app discovery for those of us who're always looking for new things to install. Check out the Android web Market to see the difference!

May

Google Movies: Rent And Watch Movies On The Web (YouTube) Or Your Motorola XOOM Right Now

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

When Google announced its new Movies service today, some of the details of the service's launch were omitted in the information overload that is I/O. But now that we've had a minute to regain our composure and, you know, investigate, we've got some exciting news about Google Movies: you can start renting and watching right now (note: only the United States is currently supported):

The catch is that you'll only be able to do it from your personal computer (via the Web Market or YouTube in the browser) or on a Motorola XOOM in the Videos app for the moment (we're assuming that means it's limited to Honeycomb Android devices for the time being).