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Love it or loathe it - and plenty of people seem to do both - it doesn't look like Google's most recent attempt at a social network is going anywhere soon. Today marks four years since Google+ was first introduced as an invite-only beta, after which it rapidly expanded with an Android app and hooks into nearly every Google web and mobile service. Google continues to update and refine Google+ on a regular basis.
Video editing on mobile is still far from perfect - the complexity of the task and the limitations of a small touchscreen mean that getting anything done with precision is tricky. Apps with bite-sized editing like Vine are a good starting point, but we could use something to occupy the middle ground. Enter Redub, a video editing tool from developer Sumoing. It aims to bring a few much-needed tools (and an easy interface) to mobile video editing.
The DROID Turbo is the most powerful phone in Motorola's lineup (tied with the larger Nexus 6 for most of its specs), and it's Verizon's exclusive flagship in the United States. It's also running Android KitKat, as it has been since launch, well after all of the other manufacturers have upgraded their leading phones to Android 5.0 at the very least. Motorola executives promised an upgrade straight to Android 5.1... over two months ago.
You know, it's not as if cartoons based on video games are new. Mario. Sonic. Mega Man. Excuuuse Me Princess Zelda. The thing is, I don't think I can recall any of those ever being good. Fruit Ninja developer Halfbrick Studios seems intent on following in the steps of Rovio and ZeptoLab by adapting its most popular game into a TV series. Interestingly, the company is partnering with YouTube to do it.
If you've been waiting for a more stable version of the CyanogenMod ROM to become available before upgrading to Android 5.0, now's your chance. Snapshot builds of CM 12 are now rolling off of the build server and onto the CyanogenMod download page, going in their usual alphabetical order by codename. These are the first snapshot versions of CyanogenMod 12, and according to members of the CM 12 team, they'll also be the last.
Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our regular news rounds. Consider this a quick update for the dedicated gamers who can't wait for our bi-weekly roundups, and don't want to wade through a whole day's worth of news just to get their pixelated fix. Today we've got a unique top-down shooter, a reverse Mario game, a 2D zombie sniper, a group-based shooter, a cartoony racer, and a digital RPG board game. Without further ado:
Google is doing its darnedest to make developers happy. To a certain extent, anyway - it still makes some major mistakes on a pretty regular basis, but at least it's trying to expand availability for paid apps to more users and, crucially, more developers. Today developers in Azerbaijan, Iceland, Peru, And Yemen can submit paid apps to the Google Play Store, as well as offer in-app purchases. Previously Android users in all four nations could buy apps, but not sell them.
Square Enix, listen to me: stop making Android ports. Please. You're really bad at it. All of these games, most of which are decades old and extremely expensive by mobile standards, are embarrassingly lacking in polish and features.
HooToo makes some unique and versatile gadgets. These portable boxes include USB rechargeable batteries and tiny Wi-Fi routers: plug in a standard Ethernet connection, and you'll get your own wireless network - perfect for hotels that charge for slow Wi-Fi, or simply don't have good reception. They can also wirelessly share files from USB drives and (on at least some models) MicroSD cards. Today you can take 20% off the entire range of various HooToo TripMate gadgets with the coupon code "KT7JMSMB" on Amazon.
Pity poor Sonic the Hedgehog. The guy is basically the Dallas Cowboys of the video game world: after gaining almost universal appeal in the 90s, his victories over the last few years have been few and fleeting. But SEGA isn't giving up on its blue mascot, if only because he's probably the only marketable franchise that isn't a Kickstarter campaign or a hyper-sexualized murder machine. So here we are, with a new Sonic game that sees one of the most iconic platforming stars in the world... aping mobile endless runners.
Not many Android apps can say they've been installed a billion times. In fact, before today there were only ten - and out of those ten, only three of them were non-Google apps (and all owned by Facebook). Today Google's first party messaging client, Hangouts, joins this elite group of billion-device apps... notably behind its competitors, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
Baseball fans who recall more pixelated ages of gaming will remember R.B.I. Baseball as one of the more consistently good MLB franchises, and it's been revived for mobile platforms. Surprisingly, it's a true premium game - five bucks gets you the entire experience, complete with licensed teams, stadiums, and player likenesses, all without an in-app purchase in sight. It's an odd and happy thing to see come out of a pro sports license.
Facebook would really appreciate it if you would help them take over the world. You know, if you're not too busy or anything. To that end, they've decided to make Facebook Messenger (recently graduated from a simple social network feature to a quasi-platform) truly stand on its own. So now you can use Facebook Messenger even if you're not one of the billion or so people with a Facebook account - or even if you are, and you don't want to associate your account with your messages.
Developer Digital Tales has been hyping its latest Superbike game for a few weeks, and today it's finally been released on Google Play. SBK15 is a simulator in the general sense, and it tries to bring a feeling of realism to its motorcycle races. The tracks are based on real tracks, the bikes are based on real bikes, and the riders are licensed likenesses of world championship racers, complete with authentic sponsor logos plastered to their helmets.
When it comes to fancy ways to charge your fancy smartphone, the latest devices generally have two tricks up their sleeve: wireless charging and quick charging. The people behind the Qi wireless charging standard are hoping to have the best of both worlds. Today the Wireless Power Consortium (which includes members like Texas Instruments, Huawei, Nokia, Philips, and Logitech) announced that the latest version of the specification will support charging at a rate of up to 15 watts.
The open-source nature of Android means that you can run the mobile operating system on just about anything if you've got the know-how. Case in point: A YouTube user named Josh Max has managed to get it running on his Texas Instruments TI-Nspire CX. If that name conjures up images of middle school algebra exams, it's because it's a graphing calculator. Check it out in action in the video below:
There are some impressive alternatives to Google's flagship tablet, but if you want an AOSP-powered machine with a built-in LTE radio, you're hard pressed to find anything in the same weight class. The 32GB version of the Nexus 9 LTE goes for a whopping $600 on Google's online US storefront. Amazon is selling it for quite a bit less, but if you want a good deal, you can't beat Expansys USA.
Online gamers know the value of communication, believe it or not. For every twelve-year-old cursing into his mic like a sailor with a stubbed toe, a dozen are connected to third-party communication apps and coordinating efforts behind the scenes. That's actually a bit tricky for PC games - you either need some kind of overlay or you have to switch programs to manage your connection. Curse, a service with more than a million registered users, hopes to fix that.
If you're a frequent user of the upload and convert feature in Google Drive/Docs/Sheets/Slides, you'll be happy to hear that it's gained a few new tricks today. Specifically, Google's cloud office apps can now display and "read" more image formats. According to this Google blog post, Docs & Company can now convert TIFF-formatted images (which are popular among graphic designers for extra-large images) and those that use the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK) color profile instead of RGB.
If you've been drooling over Amazon's version of Google Now and Siri (or perhaps HAL-9000... in a good way), you can now buy it without an invitation. Starting today, the Echo is available in the United States for 9.99. That's $20 off of the original "retail" price, but $80 more than Amazon Prime customers have been paying after going through the invitation process. Those who purchase today will also have to wait a bit, since the Echo isn't shipping until July 14th.