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We know how you like your games. Engaging with a hint of hilarity and fantasy. Penny Arcade, legendary webcomic and gaming community taste-maker, has released the third installment in its turn-based RPG Penny Arcade's On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 to the Play Store. $3 gets you access to the entire adventure, extra DLC and a "rejiggered UI," which just sounds fancy!
At this point, this one online retailer has leaked more information than we have space on the internet to put it. This time, the inventory system that previously leaked the name of the Nexus 4 is showing with color options and a price tag in tow. Apparently this device will cost £389 without a SIM. For our American readers, the exchange rate would bring that out to about $628, though we imagine they'll massage the number a bit by the time it hits the states.
Let's start with a disclaimer, shall we? Analysts are generally full of it. When we hear a claim that says, with undeserving certainty, that come 2016 there will be 2.3 billion Android and 2.28 billion Windows devices, we're a little skeptical. The likelihood that anyone knows exactly how many units of a particular platform will sell to that level of accuracy is almost none.
[Update: Open Source Kernel, Too] It's Official: Sprint's Galaxy S III Jelly Bean Upgrade Starts Rolling Out Today
Sprint's Galaxy S III Jelly Bean Upgrade Starts Rolling Out Today
We heard the rumor yesterday and now it looks like our dreams have come to pass! Sprint's Galaxy S III will be receiving an OTA Jelly Bean upgrade starting today. Of course, this also bring a new TouchWiz update as well, but fortunately, things like Google Now and widget organization magic will remain intact. Here's the changelog:
You're clearly not tired of zombies, are you? How could you be? They're the perfect surrogate for people in violent video games. Without worrying about any of the moral consequences, you can shoot, chainsaw, maim, electrify, incinerate, or nominate them for Oscars! Try doing that with a normal human being! In Zombiewood, the carnage takes place in a Hollywood (get it?) backlot, the one place you've always wanted to let loose and break stuff.
It seems a little fitting that the first site to give us an indication of when we'll get our hands on the Nexus 4 was also the first site to leak its name. According to a device listing page that has now been pulled, the newest, shiniest, sparkliest Google hardware may be available pretty soon after the announcement next week. The Carphone Warehouse says that pre-orders will ship on October 30th. Dang, that's fast.
For years Nuance's Dragon served as a leader in the world of voice dictation and commands. More recently, though, as Google and Apple move in on the speech control world, the company has a more pressing need than ever to distinguish itself. Enter Dragon Mobile Assistant. This app aims to "expands the natural language understanding and artificial intelligence" of Dragon Go! and "[add] the most popular personal assistant features."
Fans of old-school classics, gather round and feast your eyes! Atari has announced that two of its high-value properties will be coming to Android in 2013. First on the list is the retro hit Roller Coaster Tycoon. If you were around in the late 90s (and we assume most of our readers are over the age of 12), you might remember that there were two kinds of simulation games back then: Sim games from Maxis, and everyone else. At the top of that gleaming mountain of "everything else" was Roller Coaster Tycoon.
One of the most distinct disadvantages of Google TV is how expensive some of the boxes can be. To that end, the Logitech Revue, one of the first devices to run the television-oriented platform, has served as a cheap entry-level set top box for the curious. Now, it's cheaper than ever. Normally $100, you can use a coupon code (TPF73771) to get $20 off a refurbished model up front, plus a $30 rebate to bring it down to a meager $50.
This one goes out to those of you who buy your phones off-contract. The international GSM Galaxy Note II is available today from [ebay id=261115671442 text='eBay Daily Deals'] for a comparatively affordable $589. The model comes with 16GB of on-board storage in a marble white shell.
We've heard plenty of rumors, and at this point, we have no reason to doubt that there will be an LG Nexus phone appearing at Google's Android event on October 29th. Now, courtesy of LG's head of Mobile Product Planning at an Optimus Vu launch event in New Delhi, we have an idea of when the phone might roll out. If Indian market availability is any indication, that is. Speaking to IBN Live (an Indian news organization of which CNN owns a 26% share), the exec had this to say:
The Playground Is Open Again: What To Expect From Google's Android Event On October 29th
What To Expect From Google's Android Event In October
After seeing a deluge of rumors, leaks, and hoax after hoax this season, it looks like we're finally starting to wind down. With Google's Android event a mere 8 days away, it's time to clear away the muck and take a look at what we expect to make an appearance just a couple days before Halloween. Let's start with the stuff we're most confident in and work our way down, shall we?
Straight from the horse's mouth is always the best way to hear about updates, even if it's less-than-stellar news. Today, Sony confirmed its schedule for Jelly Bean updates on its line of phones. For starters, the recently-launched Xperia T and Xperia TX will be upgraded "from mid-Q1 2013." This will put the latest and greatest from Sony a solid six months behind Android 4.1's initial launch and, if our guess is correct, at least a few months behind the possible release of Android 4.2.
MetroPCS Is Getting The Galaxy S III Too, Priced At $499 Without A Contract
MetroPCS Is Getting The Galaxy S III Too
When we think of "budget" phones, a $500 Galaxy S III may not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, MetroPCS' usual strategy of having customers buy phones off contract and save money on the service is in full swing here. The device comes with a hefty price tag up front, but pick up the carrier's $50/month plan for unlimited talk, text, and 2.5GB of data, and you're looking at around $1700 over the course of 2 years. Compare that to, say an $80/month plan with a $200 device ($2120 over two years) and you could face some steep savings. Not bad.
It may be pretty hard for Apple to get away from the ruling that it has to state publicly on its website and in advertisements that Samsung didn't copy the iPad. An appeals court has ruled that the previous sentence should still be in place. The judges stated that, if Apple wasn't the one to clear up the confusion, the damage caused by the lawsuits all over Europe would be irreparable to Samsung.
With every .5 billion franchise, there's bound to be a slew of games, merchandise, and paraphernalia to go along with it. Today's latest entry is Marvel: War of Heroes, a digital "card" game wherein you play an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. assembling a crack team of superheroes to save the world's supply of ISO-8 from supervillains. Of course, we use the word "card" here rather loosely as anyone who's played a card game before, digital or otherwise, is likely to be a little flummoxed by how this game works.
Color, The Multimedia Service That Could Never Figure Out What It Does, Is Closing Down According To Reports
Color, The Multimedia Service That Could Never Figure Out What It Does, Is Closing Down
You'd be forgiven for not knowing exactly what Color is or does. The sordid history of this app, and its parent company Color Labs, is a complicated one. Headed by Bill Nguyen, famous for founding Lala, the incredible music streaming service that was purchased by Apple and promptly closed down, Color Labs received $41 million in funding for its initial app Color for Facebook. Several fundamental changes and a year and a half later, the company is reportedly going to close the books on itself. And I still don't know what it does.
Have you ever wondered what it's like in the giant facilities where Google keeps all your data magically tucked away, ready at the tap of a screen? Well today, you can explore one such data center, street view style. An accompanying video will take you on a guided tour, showing you how the internet giant stores your data, keeps it cool, and destroys it when hard drives fail. Of course you can also walk around the building by yourself, and we certainly suggest you do, as there are plenty of easter eggs. Would you expect anything less from Google?
HTC J Butterfly Announced, Comes Complete With 5" 1080p SLCD 3 Display And A Japanese Launch
HTC J Butterfly Announced
Remember that HTC phone with the massive, 5" 1080p display that we've been hearing rumors about? Well, it's here! Where "here" means Japan. The Taiwanese manufacturer has just announced the HTC J Butterfly, the follow up to the previous HTC J model. This phone is packing a positively drool-worthy 1080p SLCD 3 display (you read that right) in a 5" slate. In case you were wondering, that is a retina-destroying 440ppi.
Did you think that the Galaxy S III was the only one getting all of Samsung's Jelly Bean attention? Not so! As it turns out, the company is also working on Android 4.1 for older phones, including but not limited to the...*deep breath*...Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch. A build has leaked out over on XDA of 4.1.1 in all its TouchWiz-ified glory that's ready for the flashing looking at, if you're feeling adventurous bored.