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A few days ago, I posted about a student project at a Russian University that aims to run two or more instances of Android at the same time on a single device. It's a technology called virtualization, and we already use it on web servers and developer machines everywhere.
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.
HTC One Developer Edition Pre-Orders Open Up To U.S. Customers For $649
HTC One Developer Edition Pre-Orders Open Up To U.S. Customers For $649
Do you have an extra $649 burning a hole in your pocket? Do you have a hankering for a carrier and bootloader-unlocked HTC One? If so, we've got some news for you. HTC just opened up pre-sales for the HTC One Developer Edition to US customers.
It seems that no company can keep a secret for very long. With I/O fast approaching, Google and ASUS are in the spotlight again as details creep out about a pending refresh to the Nexus 7. According to Reuters, two undisclosed sources have leaked plans for a likely release date around July with pricing as low as $149. The tipsters also let slip that the revised tablet will be packing an unspecified Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and that Google hopes to ship 6-8 million units before the start of 2014.
Go ahead and file this one in the Super Cool Tech category. A Russian blog, Rozetked.ru, posted video of a Galaxy S2 running two copies of Android at the same time. The three-and-a-half minute video takes us through a demo switching between a pair of ROMs while playing music from both, proving that the hardware resources can be shared. After the audio segment, we are shown decently high frame rates on a 3D benchmarking app and Angry Birds. According to the team behind the project, running two concurrent instances of Android only takes about 10% off of battery life while the impact on system speed is negligible. Unfortunately, the voiceover and original subtitles are in Russian, but the automatic translation on YouTube does a passable job of clearing things up for the rest of us. (You may need to manually enable subtitles.)
Nothing brings a smile to my face like the words "Tablet Optimized," and thanks to SoundHound, I'll be walking around with a little grin all day long. The music recognition service has updated its Android app to include a fully realized tablet UI and a few other performance enhancements. Here are a few screenshots for comparison (taken on my Nexus 7):
Hot on the heels of Tasker's official 4.0 release which brings a Holo-styled UI for users on Android 4.0+, Crafty Apps has just dropped the price to $1.99. Normally priced at $6.49, this is the first time any of us can recall the popular automation app having ever been on sale.
Zach Weiner is a name known by many on the Internet thanks to his online comic SMBC and several other funny and educational productions. Now, he is adding an interactive gamebook to his repertoire with Trial of the Clone. First published as a paperback in October 2012, the digital project started its life on Kickstarter with a modest goal of $15,000, but had achieved an impressive sum of $130,132 by the end.
Do you like free stuff? Do you have access to the Amazon Appstore for Android? Have you been forgetful about claiming the free app of the day? Then I have great news for you. Amazon is holding a Free App of the Day Greatest Hits promotion. Featuring 18 popular and previously freed apps, the promo returns each to the excellent price of $0 for a limited time. Here is a look at what you can get:
Ok, first I'm going to tap for a red to bolt the Dimir Guildmage and swing for 6. Then, tap another red and my Everflowing Chalice for 4 to summon a Deathforge Shaman and pay the kicker 5 times for 10 damage. See, you should have mulled in the beginning, you were too mana screwed to play your hosers. I've got the game unless you topdeck a Geddon. Oh crap, it's shutting down! No!!! I've been playing Magic 2014 all day and forgot my charging cable!!!
We have some good news to share with our neighbors to the north: the Optimus G is getting an update to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. Right now, this only includes customers on Bell, Rogers, and TELUS. LG says that SaskTel users will receive the OTA in "late March", which suggests it should begin shipping only a few days behind the other carriers. This version bump will bring support for Google Now, offline speech recognition, expandable notifications, and several other goodies. LG has also packaged a few of its own improvements, but seems to have left out an upgraded QSlide 2.0. Here is the full changelog, provided by MobileSyrup:
There's nothing better than finding one of those rare apps that seems to do the impossible. Every time I try a piece of software, I have a tiny hope that it will be so good that I'll want to describe it as magic. As a photo editor, Handy Photo is definitely invoking some kind of witchcraft. This impressive app comes from ADVA Soft, the brilliant team responsible for TouchRetouch. Many of the same amazing powers have made their way into this new entry, but it goes much further. Let's just start with the video, which despite the marketing speak in the beginning, is pretty mind-blowing.
Since the dawn of mobile gaming, a handful of genres have struggled with the transition to tiny screens, while still keeping usable controls. Oil Rush is Unigine's attempt at one of the most daunting categories, real-time strategy. The game doesn't come with just another slightly different control scheme, it's equipped with a full storyline, high end graphics, and voice actors! Oh yeah, and a pretty high price tag...
I love classic arcade shooters! Neon graphics, fast moving foes, and chirpy sound effects. That style takes me back to the days of playing Asteroid or Galaga on massive cabinets, where reflexes and planning were fundamental and a quarter only bought 3 lives. Spikepit Games brings some of that feeling back with Plasma Sky, but you can keep the change in your pocket.
If you were a kid during the 80s, or you just happen to spend too much time watching Cartoon Network, then you've seen claymation - the art of stop-motion video with molded clay and any other odd objects laying around the house. It's time to recall those days with Plasticine Jungle and Plasticine Ocean by developer Kolesov & Mikhaylov. These live wallpapers bring us back to our youth with brightly colored shapes and uncanny textures.
This is one of those things that you just have to see to believe. Developer Dave Sapien is working on an "experimental pop up text adventure" that relies on Tasker as the development environment and Tasker App Factory to package the apk. This isn't a particularly easy feat, given that the platform is mostly unsuitable for complicated sounds and graphics. His solution is to make the entire game out of simple dialog boxes, each with two options that guide a player through the story. Around the 13th and 17th hour of every day (1pm and 5pm, respectively), players are presented with a new bite-sized adventure. Users are allowed to delay for an hour or rain-check their activity until the following day. Unfortunately, the constrained playback schedule won't allow for deep immersion in the text-based plot, but it remains fun for its short duration.
Even though Verizon is not known for having a speedy update approval process, owners of the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 and Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 are finally about to win the Jelly Bean lottery. The OTAs will bring each device up to Android 4.1.2.
It's Less Than 12 Hours Before The Galaxy S IV Will Be Unveiled, And The Leaks Are Flowing Freely
12 Hours Before The Galaxy S IV Will Be Unveiled & Leaks Are Already Coming In
In the short time leading up to a new flagship device, the likelihood of a credible leak tends to skyrocket. With mere hours before the Samsung Galaxy S IV is unveiled, 19 high quality photos and 4 videos have made their way into the world. The pictures have excellent lighting, well chosen angles, and spec-rich text bubbles - there is no denying that they look like shots for the Chinese market. The videos, posted by istevencom on YouTube, clearly demonstrate features of the new handset. These new leaks corroborate some of the previously seen cases and pictures.
A French image processing company by the name of DxO Labs has filed a DMCA takedown request targeting 12 GitHub repositories containing device-specific code for ROMs, most of them maintained by CyanogenMod team members. The notice is vague, only citing:
Are your nightmares set on a thin path bordered by trees? Do your thumbs reflexively swipe left or right before turning down a hallway? Do you fear flying monkeys? If you've answered 'yes' to any those questions, you might have Temple Run Syndrome. If your symptoms are not too severe, try out Catcha Catcha Aliens! for something a little different.