Apps of the Week

Apps of the Week - Shine Runner, SMod Forever, Camera Launcher and more

Android Central's editors have once again picked their favorite apps for the week. We've got a lot of games this go around, but also a few utilities you might find handy. Anyone who picked up a Google Nexus 7 will definitely want to check out our picks this week. Dig in after the jump!

Shine Runner

Richard Devine - This isn't a new title, but is one that may have been overlooked in favor of other racing games. Shine Runner is from the same developers as Riptide GP, which for some would be enough to warrant trying it out. The aim is to pilot a fan boat through the bayous and fill your cargo hold with all manner of booty and sell it on to the highest bidder.

It looks fantastic and has been enhanced for Tegra 3, so it's a stunner on the new Nexus 7. Environments are fully destructible - who doesn't like the idea of sending a cop flying through the air while you're on your moonshine run? The controls are simple, and there's full support for OpenFeint and game controllers. It's great fun and proving very difficult to put down.

Download: Shine Runner ($0.99)

SMod Forever!

Sean Brunett - I have a variety of podcasts that I listen to and one of my favorite networks is Kevin Smith’s SModcast. You may know Kevin Smith as director of films like Clerks, Mallrats and Dogma. It has a bunch of shows that cover a variety of topics in the realm of pop culture. He hosts many of them with colleagues such as Jason Mewes and Ralph Garman. SMod Forever Is not an official app, but one made by devoted fans and it is done really well. It gives you a nice UI to view and sort through the various SModcast programs. You can subscribe to a particular show’s feed (which also tells you the episode frequency), download episodes and make playlists. If you’re a fan of Kevin Smith or are interested in the shows he produces, I’d highly suggest this app.

Download: SMod Forever! (free)

Sonic 4: Episode 2

Alex Dobie - With so many people picking up the Tegra 3-powered Nexus 7 this week, here's a Tegra-optimized game that looks great on the new Jelly Bean tablet. Episode II is the latest installment in the Sonic 4 series, and it comes in both regular and THD flavors, with the latter offering superior graphics and being available only to Tegra device owners. Sonic's sidekick Tails returns this episode as the two speed their way through four zones to fight Dr. Eggman and Metal Sonic.

In terms of visuals and gameplay, Episode 2 is a significant step up from its predecessor with more emphasis on the speed - the very thing that made classic Sonic titles a hit in the series' hayday. With Tegra-powered graphics backing up the experience, the game is a visual treat. In addition to the paid versions, there's also a Tegra-only "lite" version that gives you a short sampling of levels for free.

Download: Sonic 4: Episode 2 (free/$6.99)

Gyro

Anndrew Vaaca - Gyro is a simple little game that came out of nowhere and managed to ruin my entire day, yet I still feel compelled to suggest it. The concept is pretty straightforward: spin the wheel to match the colors of the flying dots (Gyro calls it "neutralizing the viruses"). Collect power-ups along the way and work towards achievements to land yourself on the online leaderboard. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Well, it's not. In fact, you may just end up spending your entire day with Gyro. Consider yourself warned.

Download: Gyro (free)

Camera Launcher for Nexus 7

Chris Parsons - So you got yourself a fancy new Nexus 7 only to find out there is no camera icon on the device and no way to access the camera unless you launch it within an app, like Instagram. No worries, Paul O'Brien has you covered with Camera Launcher for Nexus 7. It allows you to use the Camera and Video Camera applications on your Nexus 7. Sure, you'll likely not need to use them often, but Camera Launcher makes sure they're readily available when you do.

Download: Camera Launcher (free)

Bloons TD 4

Jerry Hildenbrand - The Bloons tower defense games have been a staple of flash websites forever, and Bloons TD 4 for Android keeps that trend going on our smartphones. It stays faithful to the Bloons series of games, and brings all the towers and balloon types to Android. There are plenty of tower defense games for Android (I know, I've probably tried them all) and plenty of them are great, but I find myself Installing Bloons TD 4 on every phone or tablet I sign into. It's a great way to kill a few minutes and runs on every modern version of Android (1.5 and higher). You won't mind spending the three bucks on this one.

Download: Blooms TD 4 ($3.15)

vTap QuickSearch

Simon Sage - vTap QuickSearch is a light, easy to use search utility that serves up results from all over your Android device (settings, messages, contacts, and mail) as well as the web. Over time, it figures out which searches you make most frequently and generates a custom home screen with shortcuts to your favorites. Real-time results are pulled in from a bunch of sources, like IMDB, Wikipedia, Fandango and Google Play, in addition to location-based results. There are a few gaps, like no voice search, but on the whole, it provides some added depth of search to the default search bar without having to install extra apps.

Download: vTap QuickSearch (Free)

As always, we welcome feedback on the kinds of Android apps you'd like to see in this weekly feature. Are there any big ones we didn't cover here? What would your personal picks be? Feel free to drop us a tip on the hint line if you find a particularly awesome app that you'd like to see us cover next week.

link: http://www.androidcentral.com/apps-week-shine-runner-smod-forever-camera-launcher-and-more

Best Free Android Apps

The best free Android apps of 2012, at least so far

As we are now comfortably past the midway point of 2012, it is now time to take inventory of the best Android apps available to download on our smartphones and tablet devices.

Our list of the best free Android apps of 2012 so far is dominated by titles that either initially appeared on iOS devices, or launched simultaneously on both platforms. We don’t view this as a lack of creativity or innovation in Android. Rather, it illustrates that major app developers with must-download titles need to be active on both platforms.

Here are our five favorites that we encourage you to tap into right away.

Flipboard

Our favorite iPhone app of 2011 finally and officially arrived to Android in June. One can argue that Android itself was not fully operational until Flipboard arrived. The socially curated magazine – which beautifully presents news, photos and status updates shared by your social graph – included YouTube integration as part of its Android launch (Google+ integration arrived a few days earlier). Flipboard is also the best way to read content from third-party publishers on mobile devices. While I was initially biased towards reading New York Times content on the publication’s owned and operated app, I really dig the serendipity involved in scrolling through articles within Flipboard that I otherwise would ignore in a menu-based interface. It is also great to have this information in the same app as other articles shared by members of my social graph.

Instagram

Better late than never. While Instagram debuted on iOS devices in 2010, it did not arrive to Android until March. The app’s emergence on Android was a positive development to say the least for the photo-sharing pioneer. Within one week, Instagram attracted more than 5 million downloads. A few days later, the company was acquired by Facebook for what was at the time a 10-figure valuation. The company’s immediate triumph illustrates how apps need to be available for both iOS and Android devices to emerge as a true pop-culture sensations.

Download the Appolicious Android app

Pocket (Formerly Read It Later)

We thought this app was worthy even before the brand new update which makes is compatible with Jelly Bean devices (including the Nexus 7). Formerly known as Read It Later, this “read later” app’s April rebrand involved more than just a name-change and price reduction. Pocket’s new features, which include the ability to seamlessly view videos and images as well as grid-based article lists, do not undermine the app’s simple and elegant interface.

Viggle

Receiving discount cards from the likes of Amazon, Starbucks and the Gap just for watching TV for many could be considered the American dream. Viggle makes it a reality by letting users check-in and earn loyalty points for watching their favorite programs. The app performs reliably, while offering additional features including trivia questions, polls and curated tweets as gravy.

Airbnb

Airbnb’s arrival to Android in January, after previously being available online and via iOS devices, was more than just a copy-and-paste job from one platform to another. The service, a vacation-rental marketplace, for the first time made it possible for property owners and travelers to quickly instant message each other for questions or go over any issues that arise during a stay. There are more than Airbnb 200,000 listings across the world, as well as curated travel recommendations from the likes of Ashton Kutcher and Jack Dorsey.

link: http://www.androidapps.com/tech/articles/12428-the-best-free-android-apps-of-2012-at-least-so-far

Impressive Android Apps

Impressive yet little known Android Apps

The best part of having a smartphone is that you have access to thousands of apps that add individuality to your phone. You will have the same smartphone like others but your apps will make it unique & different from others. Here is the list of few very interesting, functional & little-known apps for Andorid phones.

1. Sensor Music Player

The Sensor music player is just what the name suggests – a sensor-based music player. I’m obviously not throwing any rocket-science at you when I say that the app makes full use of the proximity sensor and the accelerometer. This player basically allows you to skip tracks on your music playlist, without having to touch your phone. It also allows you to accomplish this in a number of ways, including “Flyer over”, “Pocket” and “Hammer” options. Fly over allows you to simply pass your hand over the sensors (distance should be than 5cm) either left or right to either get to the beginning of the track, or to skip it. The pocket option allows you to do the same, when your device is in a pocket; all you have to do is press the device (hard). The hammer option is the most entertaining; it basically allows you to skip tracks when your device is placed on a surface, by hammering on the surface. Of course, this is not the most civil way of skipping a track on your playlist, but it is nonetheless, very entertaining!

2. MX Video Player

Obviously most smartphones come with standard media players, but there are always times when you want to have more control – I know I do. I came across this app when my stock video player couldn’t play a Quick Time movie file that I had downloaded. I browsed through the “Play Shop” to find an app that would support the file format, or just convert it to a readable format. Like most people, I usually download apps, take them for a test-drive and delete them if I don’t like them. This one, obviously, stuck around. The best thing about this app is that it makes better use of my smartphone’s touch screen and gives me more control over the media content.

3. Skitch

Evernote comes up with the best apps; they are not only functional, but also fun. My personal favorite is their signature app Evernote, which is great for taking notes, complete with recorded sound and images. But since I’m covering some lesser-known ones this time, I thought I should shed some light on Skitch. It is one of the Staff Choice apps, and is quite fun to use. Skitch is basically a photo-editing app of sorts, which allows you to make illustrations on top of images, Google Maps and obviously on a blank pad. As an image editor, it is not like Pixiro-matic or Color Touch apps that run images through different filers. It just lets you make doodles on it, and even move arund the doodles. I love using Skith to make notes on Google Maps. The app allows you to zoom into the location of your choice, captures the screenshot and then you can get as creative as you want with it. The strokes you make turn out to be quite decent.

4. Gifinator

Gifinator is an app I came across when I was tempted to make a GIF file out of a bunch of images I found. I wanted to paste them together to play like a stop-motion clip, and for that purpose, Gifinator proved to be simple and efficient. The app is very basic, and gives you the option to either add a number of images from your phone memory, or take an image using the camera.

* All these apps are free to download & are tested by me for the purpose of this article.

link: http://www.bignbest.com/impressive-yet-little-known-andorid-apps/

iPhone & Android mobile apps

Twitter updates iPhone & Android mobile apps with expansive experiences

One hundred and forty characters are no longer enough for microblogging platform Twitter. As social media users gravitate towards a more visual web, Twitter has started rolling out the second phase of its “expanded tweets” tweets feature.

Both Twitter’s iPhone and Android mobile apps have been updated to include Twitter’s new expanded tweets -- enabling microbloggers to see image and video content previews from Twitter’s selected partners when they click on a link contained within a tweet.



“When you tap a Tweet linking to a Kickstarter project, for example, you can play its video directly from the Tweet details view in your app. You can also read article summaries when you tap Tweets linking to sources like The Atlantic or play videos or view images when you expand Tweets linking to websites like Etsy andVimeo,” said Twitter project manager Sung Hu Kim in a post on the company’s blog.

The change reflects a wider trend towards visual storytelling taking place within social media. As image- and video-sharing social networks like Pinterest, Instagram and Viddy gain viral popularity with users, more mature social networks such as Facebook and Twitter are updating their design to cater for a more visual community of users.

Twitter introduced expanded tweets on its website less than a month ago partnering with websites including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Breaking News, TIME, WWE, BuzzFeed, TMZ, Lifetime and Daily Motion.

Twitter has also made updates to notifications and search within its mobile apps.

Both Twitter for Android and iOS now support push notifications for tweets so you can configure the app to send you a notification when one of the people you follow posts something new.

Twitter has improved the search experience on its mobile apps too with enhanced autocomplete and additional name suggestions when you search for people.

The updated versions of Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for Android are available for download now from https://twitter.com/download.

iphone for verizon

February 10 is the date to watch, as Verizon told the country recently at a New York City press conference. It's on this date that the company announced that it would begin selling Apple's popular touch screen smart phone, the iPhone.

The announcement was made at the Lincoln Center by Verizon COO Lowell McAdam and Apple COO Tim Cook, and was greeted with much excitement and discussion. This plan will formally break the monopoly over iPhone service currently held by the telecommunications giant AT&T.

Verizon customers will be offered the opportunity to acquire a new Verizon iPhone through pre-order on February 3, a full 7 days before the phone is set to go on sale to the public at large. Verizon plans to offer several advantages over the iPhone models and service currently offered by AT&T. For example, the Verizon iPhones will be able to connect with up to 5 Wi-Fi devices, turning them into personal Wi-Fi "hot spots".

They will also connect to the CDMA network rather than GSM, which many analysts are suggesting could lead to greatly increased network stability. Many current iPhone users are sincerely hoping that the Verizon wireless service will be up to the task of providing an improved alternative to their current service plans.

Often considered to be one of the most innovative and beautiful mobile phones on the market, the Apple iPhone is a wonderful mobile device with a responsive touch screen, excellent screen resolution, the ability to take pictures and videos, and an expanding collection of apps that allow users to have their phones perform a wide array of tasks. The excitement over opening up this much loved device to new service providers is quite palpable, and apple aficionados are so far embracing this move as a positive step.

Verizon plans to offer a 16 gigabyte model for $199.99 with the purchase of a two year contract, and a 32 gigabyte model for $299.99 with the same contract. Unfortunately, Verizon and Apple are not yet able to provide access to 4G capabilities, but many are cautiously optimistic that Verizon will still be able to give AT&T quite a run for its money by providing alternative services and selection. And industry insiders suggest that a 4G iPhone plan from Verizon may be available as soon as this summer.

In response to this new competition, AT&T has already slashed the prices of its older generation iPhone models and plans to take on Verizon with aggressive marketing strategies. Rumors are running rampant as to what forms this competition will take, and many expect Verizon to offer unlimited data plans as an incentive to choose their iPhones over those offered by AT&T.

What's certain is that the new competitive environment will be a great boon to consumers as both companies will be incentivised to provide improved levels of service and support at reasonable prices. In the end, it will be the community of iPhone enthusiasts who are the real winners in this collaboration.

Please see our Author's box below for Verizon iPhone offers, and other exciting news of what Verizon has to offer their customers.

Thank you for taking the time to read about the new Verizon iPhone. Here is more information where you can buy AT&T & Verizon iPhones at Amazing prices or take a look at only Verizon iPhones here.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_G_White

                                             

verizon iphones

At a press conference in New York City recently, Verizon and Apple teamed up to announce an exciting new development for Apple iPhone lovers. Apple COO Tim Cook and Verizon COO Lowell McAdam met at the Lincoln center to announce that Verizon will begin carrying the Apple iPhone starting on February 10, 2011.

Fans of the iPhone, Apple's extremely popular touch screen smart phone, have been buzzing with excitement at this news as it signifies the end of the monopoly in iPhone service which is currently benefitting the well-known telecommunications company AT&T. Many current iPhone users are looking forward to having the opportunity to choose a new service for their favorite mobile device, and are hoping for some improved performance.

Industry analysts agree that the Verizon iPhone, using the CDMA network rather than the GSM network, could very well lead to greater stability and reliability of service. iPhone users are looking forward to the possibility of fewer dropped calls and more responsive customer service. The competition is expected to ignite a struggle for the hearts and minds of consumers as AT&T attempts to hold on to its lead and Verizon looks to build its customer base of iPhone users.

AT&T has begun its response by severely cutting the prices of its older generation iPhone models, and is also planning to begin aggressively marketing its services to possible new customers. Verizon, for its part, has arranged to offer it's iPhones with a brand new feature that allows users to connect their phone to up to 5 Wi-Fi devices, which will turn the iPhone into a personal Wi-Fi "hot spot".

Verizon is also planning to build momentum for its first steps into the Apple iPhone market by allowing its existing customers to pre-order the popular smart phone a full 7 days in advance of it going on the market on the 3rd of February. The offerings on plan include a 16 gigabyte model which will retail for $199.99 if the customer elects to purchase a two year contract or a 32 gigabyte model for $299.99 with contract. 4G capabilities are not yet forthcoming; however, it seems likely that such capabilities could become available by as early as the summer of 2011.

Opening up this popular mobile device to new competition seems to many to be the logical step for Apple to take in this market. The Apple iPhone has already garnered a lot of attention for its innovative and beautiful design, it's extremely responsive and easy to use touch screen, wonderfully sharp screen resolution, and the plethora of applications available to truly turn the iPhone into a multi-function device. It's ability to take pictures and videos and then to manipulate them as desired and send them to friends at any whim has made this smart phone an extremely fun to use device, and fans of the iPhone are quite excited at the prospects for new competition.

How the new competition will play out is uncertain, but what we do know is that it's bound to provide incentives for both companies to woo customers with improved prices as well as a focus on customer support and service. It's a winning situation for iPhone lovers.

Please see our Author's box below for Verizon iPhone offers, and other exciting news of what Verizon has to offer their customers.

Thank you for taking the time to read about the new Verizon iPhone. Here is more information where you can buy AT&T & Verizon iPhones at Amazing prices or take a look at only Verizon iPhones here.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_G_White

                                                         
                                                      

android 2

The original Apple iPad has had a great first year. Although tablet pcs have been around for quite a few years, the sluggish and unfriendly performance offered never captured the publics' imagination to any great degree. Now, with the unimaginable success of smartphones over the years, it was time for the tablet to make a comeback. Apple have exploited the lack of competition in this end of the market to build a sizable advantage over the competition, mainly from Android. However, not to outdone by Apple, Google have moved swiftly to update their Os for tablets and help companies like Motorola and Samsung get their own tablets to the market quite quickly. But has the "rushed" launch of the Galaxy Tab hampered their momentum? The original Tab was released to the market using the smartphone version of Android and commentators felt this was a bad move, especially considering how well the iPad performed. However, with Honeycomb now being drip-fed onto the latest and most powerful Android tablets, the playing field has been levelled somewhat.

With the iPad 2 featuring an updated dual-core processor, the Android tablets quickly followed suit with the Motorola Xoom and Galaxy Tab 10.1 featuring similar engines. These are widely considered the "Big 3" in the tablet world at the moment, RIM's playbook and other such tablets are not exactly garnishing the greatest reviews. All of the "Big 3" feature updated Os's, front and rear facing cameras and HD video recording. Both Android tablets have 1080p playback, whereas the iPad 2 only manages 720p. Many reviewers have commented on the fact that, despite having a slightly lower resolution, the iPad 2's screen just looks better. The two Android tablets are the clear winners when it comes to the cameras, with both featuring 2MP front facing and the Xoom having a 5MP rear, the Tab an 8MP. The ipad 2 can only manage a VGA front facing camera, with the rear rumored to be 3-5MP. Apple will undoubtedly address this shortcoming with their annual hardware update of the iPad, most likely due Spring/Summer 2012.

Android 3.0 has now been fully optimised for tablets, although Googles frustrating policy of only making the latest versions available on select machines remains. This will not really affect the high-end Android tablet customers, but the lower end will have to make do with older builds. Widgets and full Flash support are now in place, Androids only real ammunition against the seemingly unstoppable iPad 2. This will no doubt make a sizable dent in Apples market share, but many (including myself), expect Apples domination in this market to continue for years to come. Recent figures released point to the iPad having 89% of worldwide and 97% of US traffic. Android has come on leaps and bounds in the past few years, taking a sizable chuck of the smartphone market. Non 'premium' smartphones are doing excellently for the Android brand, offering consumers a complete smartphone experience at a fraction of the price of a new iPhone 4 or Galaxy S2. Honeycomb and future Android updates will continue to improve their tablet experience also, offering a flexibility an Apple device will never have.

Apple, I feel, will continue to dominate the tablet sector for years to come. With the iPad and iPad 2, they have built a brand people want. Microsoft has had tablet PCs out for years and been unable to convince the public or even the vendors that they are the future. Apple has built a lifestyle tool in the iPad. A 'tablet pc' may sound daunting for casual users, an iPad is 'just a big iPhone', but the public love it. Now with iOS5 on the horizon coupled with the iCloud and iTunes Share services, the ease of use can only get better. Better multitasking, tabbed browsing, notifications and multi-touch gestures are some of the new features available for the iPad and iPad 2 this September. Unlike the latest versions of Android, these will be directly available for download to your device, no limitations. iTunes is the biggest music store in the world, the new features in iCloud and iTunes share will only increase this.

The winner here? Well both the iPad 2 and Android equivalents are all fantastic devices, similarly priced and when it comes down to it, really quite similar. Choice has never been better and buyers have a wealth of literature at their fingertips to help them choose. Apple will continue to dominate I suspect, however Google cannot be written off and will continue to steal the iPad's market share, albeit slower than they may like. So, the real winner here is you, the consumer. Choose wisely, and you wont be disappointed.

www.ipadcaseuniverse.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_McCormack