Reviews - 25/69 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

May

Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode II Review: A Really Great Game - If You Have A Controller... And Some Patience

Posted by David Ruddock in Game Reviews, Games

If you were a child of the 80's or early 90's (and weren't some Nintendo fanboy, pft), the name Sonic probably has some deeper, almost religious meaning to you. I remember worshipping at the Genesis 16-bit altar for hours on end as a kid, and my deity of choice was the hedgehog in blue. Sonic. Sonic 2. Sonic 3. Sonic and Knuckles. Sonic CD (oh yeah). Screw Sonic 3D Blast, though. That game was bogus.

There have been 30 Sonic video games to date. Sonic 4 Episode II is number thirty-one. In recent years, Sonic has failed to generate much in the way of...

May

Toshiba Excite 10 Review: Don't Let The Name Fool You, It's Just Another Tablet

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Excite 10 (AT300 / AT305), Tablet Reviews

The Tegra 3 tablet battle is in full swing now, with four full-featured tablets on the market at the current moment (ASUS Transformer Prime, Transformer Pad 300, and Acer Iconia Tab A510 being the other three). Today, we're going to take a look at the newest one of the bunch: the Toshiba Excite 10. This is the first device to come out of Toshiba's newly announced Excite line, with 7.7" and 13.3" models coming in early June.

Toshiba has come a long way and changed up its philosophy on Android tablets quite a bit since the original Thrive, but is it enough to take the Tegra 3-tablet-crown?

May

Machinarium For Android Game Review: The Best $4 You'll Ever Spend On An Android Game

Posted by David Ruddock in Game Reviews, Games, Reviews

If you haven't heard of Machinarium, you probably aren't much of a PC gamer. That's not mean to be some kind of "high and mighty" insult - it's just the truth. Machinarium is a small indie game that was released for PCs and Macs back in September of 2009, developed by Czech studio Amanita Design. It won numerous awards as indie game of the year, as well as accolades for its astounding artwork and soundtrack.

It's a game I think almost anyone can play and love (and hate, but that comes with the territory), which is saying a lot for a click-and-explore puzzle title.

May

HTC Evo 4G LTE Review: Sometimes The Ugly Ones Try The Hardest

Posted by Ron Amadeo in EVO 4G LTE (Jewel), HTC, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Sprint

Last Updated: June 14th, 2012

Hello and welcome! Allow me to introduce you to Sprint's next big boy phone: (deep breath) the HTC Evo 4G LTE.

This is Sprint's version of the HTC One X. HTC's much publicized "One" branding strategy survived a grand total of two carriers in the US - Sprint kicked it to the curb in favor of the aforementioned alphabet-soup-style naming convention. Keep in mind the original Evo was actually called the "HTC Evo 4G," so you're going to need to be detail oriented when talking about the Evo line. But hey, considering this is the same marketing department that birthed the novella known as the "Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch," we actually got off pretty light.

May

[Review] Turntable.fm On Android: It's Fantastic If You Have A Good Network And A Bit Of Luck

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, Reviews

We've been waiting on turntable.fm to land on Android for a while now. Well, it's finally here! The music sharing service has been available for a little over a year on desktop machines. The concept is simple: DJs join a room and share songs with an audience that can then vote on whether a song is Awesome or Lame. It's a great concept for sharing music.

The only thing that could make it better is if you could listen to (or DJ!) a room while away from your computer. iOS users have been able to do this for a couple months, and now Android users can join the fray.

May

[Lightning Review] Bracketron Power Dock Flex: It's Not As Cool As It Sounds

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Other Reviews

I love gadgets. Not only that, but I love gadgets for my gadgets: cases, docks, stands, mounts, keyboards, and pretty much anything else you can think of. There's also a dark side at work here, though: I'm also a perfectionist. As such, I'm always on a quest for the perfect thingy-majig, which, in all likelihood, probably doesn't exist.

Ergo, when I saw the Power Dock Flex from Bracketron (I have to admit, I'm a sucker for most things with the word "flex" in the name), I thought it seems like a fantastic idea.

Alas, it's far from perfect.

What is it?

May

[Head-To-Head] ASUS Transformer Prime Vs. Acer Iconia Tab A510

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Eee Pad Transformer Prime, Iconia Tab A510, News, Tablet Reviews

Last Updated: May 15th, 2012

Last week, I threw the Acer A510 and the ASUS TF300 in the ring together for a head-to-head battle. After claiming the A510 as the victor, several readers wanted to know how it compares to the Transformer Prime (referred to as the TF201 from here on out). Since you probably already know what a head-to-head is all about, let's just get right to it.

Fight!

First off, let's look at the hardware specs of each:

Acer Iconia Tab A510	ASUS Transformer Prime TF201
10.1-inch 1280x800 TFT display	10.1-inch 1280x800 Super IPS+ display
1.4GHz (single-core)/1.3GHz (multi-core) quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor	1.4GHz (single-core)/1.3GHz (multi-core) quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor
1GB DDR2 RAM	1GB DDR2 RAM
32GB built-in storage	32GB built-in storage
5MP rear camera, 1MP front	8MP f/2.4 rear and 1.2MP front
3.5mm headphone, microSD, microHDMI, and microUSB	3.5mm headphone, microSD, microHDMI, and ASUS proprietary
Android 4.0.3 with Acer Ring	Android 4.0.3 with minor ASUS tweaks
6.9" x 10.2" x 0.43", 1.54 lbs.

May

Flipboard APK Pulled From The Galaxy S III, Available For Download - We Go Hands-On

Posted by John Thompson in App Reviews, News

One of the things that we didn't have chance to cover at Samsung's Galaxy S III event last week was the presence of Flipboard on all of the demonstration units on show. Naturally, this has led to speculation that the release of Flipboard for the rest of the Android community may be coming soon - Flipboard's website says that it "will be available on select Android mobile phones" in the coming months - but you won't have to wait and find out, as the .apk file has already been taken from the Galaxy S III and shared for other Android users to install.

May

[Lightning Review] Arkon Mega Grip And Slim Grip Bicycle Mounts: Checking Your Email While Riding Has Never Been Easier

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Other Reviews

I recently took up bike riding as a good way to get outside and get active. Being a tech-junkie and overall stat-lover, though, I immediately wanted a good way to track my rides in detail, including real-time MPH, distance traveled, and all the other info that may help me better keep up with my progress. Instead of going the traditional "bike computer" route, though, I decided to use my smartphone to accomplish the task at hand.

After finding a couple of terrific apps to get the info that I wanted (Move! Bike Computer and MapMyRide+) and creating an NFC tag so I could quickly put my phone into "bike mode," I was still missing one key component: a way to keep an eye on my phone.

May

Samsung Galaxy S III First Hands-On

Posted by John Thompson in Galaxy S III, News, Phone Reviews, Videos

After months of rumors and teasers, we finally got the chance to see the Samsung Galaxy S III first hand last night, at the company's Unpacked 2012 event in Earl's Court, London. Following many (many) free drinks and canapés, Suzi Perry - who hosted the popular Gadget Show here in the UK - took to the stage to kick off proceedings and introduce JK Shin, President of Samsung's mobile division, who officially introduced the new Galaxy to us.

By now, I'm sure you're all familiar with the specs of Samsung's new iPhone crusher, but just in case you need a little refresher, here's what you can expect when it ships to Europe in May…

Hardware

First impressions were mixed when we first saw the Galaxy S III; the phone is modeled off the shape of a pebble (nature was a big theme at the event last night, with Samsung donating $100 to the WWF for everyone in attendance), with rounded corners and just two capacitive buttons at either side of the physical home button.