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The Amazon Appstore doesn't have the available selection that Google Play has, but it's hard to complain when it's willing to give away a different free app each day. Actually, no it isn't, not when the time comes to update said app and the process won't initiate because it's over 50MB and you're on a mobile data connection. Any higher than that, since version 2.3 hit (though the limitation was even lower before then), has been a job for WiFi. Well, now that changes. Amazon's finally willing to let us blow through as much of our mobile data connection as we wish.
You've probably used a CyberLink product at some point in your life. Its PowerDVD software has long been one of the most common ways to get a DVD up and running on Windows, and, as counterintuitive as it sounds, an app of the same name made its way over to Android years ago. The company also produces a photo editor known as PhotoDirector, and now it's releasing an Android version designed specifically for tablets.
The Talon Twitter client has glided up to version 2.0, and it has quite a lively changelog trapped within its claws. The list is too long to fully dive into (no seriously, look at this thing), but here are a few of the highlights. The app now has a floating compose button, which you can see tucked in the bottom right corner of the first screenshot below. In the compose window that pops up, users have the new ability to post from different accounts. There's also a new bar widget, transparent widget themes, and a healthy helping of new app animations.
Following last week's big update, the Pebble smartwatch now has a centralized app store where Android users can find nifty content for their monochromatic watch. What next? The team is kicking off the Pebble App Challenge, offering up $5,000 to the app developer who finishes first and a Pebble Steel for each of the top 16 finalists. Users get new apps, some developers get nice stuff, and we the public get to watch the action firsthand.
MTV Music Meter's 3.0 Update Turns An Abominable Mess Into Something That Actually Looks Rather Nice
MTV wants you to know that its new MTV Artists app is now available in the Play Store, and that the offering makes it easy to discover musicians you haven't yet grown accustomed to. It contains thousands of music videos, free tracks, and a sizable selection of photos highlighting artists doing what they do best. You can also use it to discover the name of a track by letting the app listen to a sample of the song.
For Pebble owners, getting good apps and watchfaces has been akin to settling down in the Wild West. There are a handful of websites that do a good job of organizing content and making it easy to install via QR codes, and there's no way we can overlook the immensely useful Pebble apps app available in the Play Store, but these made things no less exciting when, back at this year's CES, the Pebble folks announced that a centralized app store was finally on its way.
Those torrents aren't going to download themselves. You're going to want yourself a solid bittorrent client, and since you're running Android, you're in luck. The BitTorrent app underwent a big 2.0 redesign just last month, and now µTorrent is starting to do the same. It's a much needed change too. Just take a look.
AllCast developer Koushik Dutta has added DLNA server support to his media Chromecasting app. Now anyone with AllCast installed can stream media straight from their DLNA servers to a Chromecast device with minimal effort.
AIDE is an integrated development environments that lets you develop Android apps... from an Android app. Now the piece of software has reached version 2.5 and is taking things a step further. Instead of merely letting you code, it's prepared to teach you how. The latest version provides interactive lessons with step-by-step instructions, so you can learn how to program in Java and develop for Android at your own pace.
The Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 typically costs you roughly $500, but Walmart's currently willing to part with one online for around $400 instead. Sure, there's a catch. It's refurbished. But if that doesn't bother you, you can get a 16GB version for $399.99. The 32GB option is going for just $30 more. Both are available in black and white.
Free-to-play games make us nervous. Let's face it, there's no shortage of them available for Android, and a sizable number sacrifice gameplay in their quest for riches. The original Royal Revolt was an exception. It didn't cost a dime to download, and the entire experience was enjoyable even if you opted out of buying any of the in-app purchases. Now the sequel is available in Play Store, and hopefully it keeps the tradition alive.
Adobe's Photoshop Express app has rocked Android for longer than many of us have, so earlier this year it underwent a makeover for the big 2.0. The new app is zippy, attractive, and designed from the ground up for KitKat. Now Adobe is rolling out 2.1, and the most notable changes are two new in-app purchases. These two packs, already available in the iOS and Windows 8 versions of the app, are the Premium Looks pack for $3 and the Noise Reduction pack for $5.
The Stig isn't your average racer. Actually, the character is. Hidden behind the same black visor that prevents us from knowing who is behind the wheel of any racecar before their helmet comes off, the character is both no racer and every racer at once. What does this matter? It doesn't, really. Here's what does - despite its name, Top Gear: Race The Stig isn't actually a racing game. Instead, it's a pretty straightforward endless runner driver.
A few days ago the Ouya folks announced the Ouya Everywhere initiative and the company's intention to expand the platform beyond the one inspirational-but-somewhat-disappointing Android-powered gaming console it's put out so far. Now it's announcing its first partner, Mad Catz, the developer of the less-inspirational-but-still-disappointing M.O.J.O system. To coincide with the news, Mat Catz is dropping the price of their product down fifty bucks to $199.99.
Just because a company files a patent for something, it doesn't mean that idea will eventually see the light of day. In this case, the patent filing in question doesn't just concern an unannounced but rumored product, it deals with a particular aspect. As it turns out, Samsung may one day want us to walk around interacting with our not-yet-confirmed-but-totally-expected Galaxy Glasses while typing on our palms.
Today the Google Play Games app has made the big jump from version 1.1 to 1.5, and there are quite a few new features tucked away inside that may cause you to hit its icon in your app tray a little bit more often. Let's dive in.
Twitch Announces Mobile SDK Empowering Developers To Bring The Popular Gameplay Broadcasting Experience To Android
Twitch Announces Mobile SDK Empowering Developers To Bring The Popular Gameplay Broadcasting Experience To Android
The PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One all allow gamers to record and broadcast gameplay online via Twitch, turning even single-player games into social experiences. Now the technology is coming to Android. Today Twitch has announced the release of its mobile SDK, which game developers can use to provide players with functionality similar to that found on consoles. Mobile gamers will soon be able to share their mobile gaming experience with the rest of the Twitch community.
Sprint has posted the details regarding an impending OTA for the Galaxy Tab 3. This software update won't turn the tablet into a brand new device, nor will it even bring along much in the way of fresh air, but it's better than nothing. Software version T217SVPUANB8 will improve WiFi, install KNOX, and make the WiFi "auto network switch" default to off. That last one's pretty specific, but Sprint says it will ultimately enable users to connect to any WiFi network regardless of its strength by suppressing the "Your internet connection is unstable" error message.
Mogees has surpassed its £50,000 Kickstarter funding goal with 13 days to go. Why should you care? Listen up. No seriously, click on the video below, and listen up. Written words don't quite do this concept justice.
There are multiple ways to go after users. One way is to come up with a catchy word (Scroogled), slur a competitor with it (Google), sell some shirts, and hope it sticks. An alternative approach is to introduce functionality that could potentially draw their interest. The latest Bing for Android update does just that. Now Bing supports downloading images found in search results, a feature Google previously introduced into its own search app only to remove it later.