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

Nexus S Jelly Bean

Google confirms Nexus S Jelly Bean roll-out, lists carriers

We broke the news yesterday that some GSM Nexus S models were starting to see their Android 4.1.1Jelly Bean update rolling out, and now we have the official confirmation from Mountain View. Google took to its +Nexus Google+ account to bring news that Jelly Bean is currently pushing out to customers on at least five carriers around the world, as well as the unlocked GSM models, presumably. Here's the official word --

"We've started rolling out Android 4.1, Jelly Bean, to Nexus S phones on a number of carriers including T-Mobile, H3G [Three], O2, Rogers as well as Vodafone in most countries, with more to come. Enjoy!"

No word on Sprint's Nexus S 4G just yet, but given that phone's history with updates, owners could be in for a fairly long wait. If you've already gotten Jelly Bean on your Nexus S, shout out in the comments and let us know how you're doing.

http://www.androidcentral.com/google-confirms-nexus-s-jelly-bean-roll-out-lists-carriers

link: 

Great Big War Game

Great Big War Game review - silly but strategic

Great Big War Game launched this week, riding on the coattails of its highly successful predecessor Great Little War Game. The same turn-based hex grid warfare is there, along with classic strategic elements such as elevation, fog of war, resource management, and a wide variety of land, sea, and air units to command. 

Great Big War Game's biggest asset is its ridiculous spin on war. The campaign mode puts you in the shoes of an inept general who weathers a barrage of sarcasm from his subordinate all while trying to impress the sexy new lieutenant. Don't let the silliness fool you, though. Great Big War Game has a ton of tactical depth.

Gameplay

The controls in Great Big War Game are very straightforward. Tap a soldier, tap where you want him to go, and off he goes. There's an undo button for moves made by mistakes, but not for combat encounters. More advanced maneuvers like embarking and disembarking from transports take some getting used to, while others like building troops at your base are easy as pie. My biggest complaint on the control front is that it can be tricky designating a hex to move to when zoomed out all the way, since they're very tiny when playing on a phone. After you've moved and attacked with all of your forces, the opponent does the same. Each turn starts off with cash collection based on the number of controlled resource points; that cash is then spent training a variety of troops and building vehicles. 

For all of its goofiness, Great Big War Game has a ton of tactical depth. Troops have limited ammunition, and a set number of squares to move which varies based on the kind of terrain that's being crossed. As a player progresses through the campaign, they earn Battle Points, which can be used to ugprade different unit types. This is a great way of tailoring an army to particular play styles. The effects of elevation on range and the threat of building capture by engineers provides a ton of additional nuances that you normally only see in full-blown real-time strategy games for PC.  

There's both online and local multiplayer available in addition to the ongoing single-player campaign mode and one-off skirmish games. In-app purchases are kept to a minimum, and are mostly for additional maps. On its own, Great Big War Game includes 15 maps for skirmishes and multiplayer rounds. 

I had some definite problems with stability in Great Big War Game when having the developer option of "show touches" on. Having to do two battery pulls on the same level using a Galaxy Nexus with stock Android 4.0.1 does not a happy camper make. Your mileage may vary, of course. 

Graphics and audio

If there's one thing going against Great Big War Game, it's the 3D models. Nothing has changed visually since the game launched on Android in January, and the simplistic characters make me cringe with memories of early 90s PC games. We've seen Android handle some pretty intense graphics, so it's a bit disappointing to see things dialed back this far.

Of course, the cartooniness makes sense given the ridiculous dialog between missions in the campaign mode and overall silly attitude of the game. The humor of those cutscenes is mostly of the knee-slapping variety, but still manages to consistently get a smirk out of me. Besides, with so many units active on screen at the same time, it's no surprise that the models needed to be kept simple. The graphics aren't all bad either; there are a few fancier visual effects, including explosions, smoke, transition animations, and weather effects.  

In order to keep the battlefield lighthearted, Great Big War Game turns off blood by default, and even when it's enabled in options, you'll see little more than little messy splotches on squares where troops have died. It's hard turning war into something to joke about without a bit of tact, but Great Big War game does as good of a job of that as one could expect. 

The in-game music is altogether maddening and repetitive - it won't take long for you to turn it off in the options. The sound effects are explosive, and voice acting appropriately goofy and exaggerated. 

The good

• Deep tactical gameplay
• Several multiplayer options
• Tons of maps available through IAPs

The bad

• Simplistic 3D models
• Annoying music

Conclusion

If you've already poured a lot of time into Great Little War Game, you probably aren't going to find a lot that's new here outside of multiplayer; of course, if you loved the original and are hankering for more, you'll be happy to see that the spirit of the game hasn't been changed. 

The lighthearted spin on war works particularly well in the few bits of dialog and narration throughout Great Big War Game, but the graphics seem altogether simplistic when compared to some higher-end gaming experience on Android, especially when the camera angle zooms in for close-ups of battles. The comedy is high-quality at least, and even if it's only being put on so players can excuse the graphics, that's fine by me. Not everybody will appreciate war being taken so lightly, mind you. 

$2.99 is a reasonable enough asking price. One gets the sense that the developer is double-dipping by asking for in-app purchases for the extra maps, though it doesn't bother me that much; those that get heavily involved in Great Big War Game will happily throw in a few extra bucks for more maps, while the basic 15 maps is plenty for more casual players, especially with online multiplayer available. 

For deep, tactical gameplay with a few chuckles, Great Big War Game is going to be hard to beat. 

Download: Great Big War Game ($2.99)

link: http://www.androidcentral.com/great-big-war-game-review-silly-strategic

Restoring the Nexus 7

Restoring your Nexus 7 using Google Factory images -- a guide [from the forums]

So you bought a Nexus 7, partially because it's a Nexus device and you wanted to hack the living crap out of it. Cool -- me too. Whether you're just beginning, or an old pro you will need factory images to fix the things you've broken. But having them isn't enough, you'll need to know how to use them. It's one of those things that isn't hard, but when you're not used to doing this type of thing it's always nice to have a friend to guide you. AC Forums Adviser 2defmouze is that friend, and he's prepared everything you'll need to know about fixing your Nexus 7 once you've made it unbootable. And that is priceless. Hit the Nexus 7 forum link below and bookmark it right now, and be sure to give 2defmouze some love while you're at it.

The best part about having folks like 2defmouze and the rest of the great crew in the forums working on guides and how-tos is the level of support you'll get if you come across something you can't figure out on your own. We're picky here at AC, and we don't hand out Adviser badges to just anyone. You can trust these guys with your precious toys. That's why I'm always steering you guys there -- they are Android nerds to the core, and know their stuff. 

[GUIDE] Factory Image Restore for your Nexus 7

link: http://www.androidcentral.com/restoring-your-nexus-7-using-google-factory-images-guide-forums

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

G’Five Android smartphones

G’Five Android smartphones hit Indian market at Rs 6999 | G’Five Android smartphones features,specifications and price in india

Chinese handset maker G’Five has launched five Android smartphones in India priced between Rs 6,999 and Rs 12,000.

The Android phone models G’Five A79, A86, I88, G95 and G3D would be based upon the cloud mobile internet technology called ‘G-Cloud’.

All the models are equipped with 5.55 GB large cloud storage space for better synchronization of schedules and information at any time.

Specification of the models

G’Five A79
Priced at Rs 6,999, the phone and runs on Android 2.3. Has a 4.0-inch HVGA capacitive multi-touch screen with 320 x 480 resolution. Has 5MP camera, BCM21552 832MHz high performance processor, WCDMA 3G/Wireless Internet connection, 1850mAh battery, GPS/AGPS, G-Sensor.

G’Five A86 
Priced at Rs 7,999 and the phone has 4.0-inch WVGA capacitive multi-touch screen with 480×800 resolution. It has 8 MP Rear camera, 0.3 MP Front Camera, 1GHz high performance processor, WCDMA 3G/Wireless Internet connection, 2800mAh battery, GPS/AGPS, E-Compass,and G-Sensor.

G’five I88 
Priced at Rs 8,899 the phone has a 4.3 Inch WVGA capacitive multi-touch screen with 480 x 800 resolution. It runs on Android 4.0 and has 8 MP camera, 512MB RAM, MTK6575 1GHz high performance processor, WCDMA 3G/Wireless Internet connection, 2800mAh battery, GPS/AGPS, E-Compass, and G-Sensor.

G’Five G95
Priced at Rs 9,499 the phone has 5.3-inch WVGA capacitive multi-touch screen with 480 x 800 resolution. Has 1GHz high performance processor, 8 MP camera, WCDMA 3G/Wireless Internet connection, 2800mAh battery, GPS/AGPS, E-Compass, and G-Sensor.

G’Five G3D 
Priced at Rs 11,799, the phone has a 4.3-inch glass – free 3D screen (QHD 540 x 960). It runs on Android 4.0, has 8MP camera, RAM 512MB DDR2, MTK6575 1 GHz high performance processor, HDMI output and backup battery expansion, WCDMA 3G/Wireless Internet connection, 2800mAh battery, GPS/AGPS, E-Compass, and G-Sensor.

link:http://mafiastuff.com/gfive-android-smartphones-hit-indian-market-at-rs-6999-gfive-android-smartphones-featuresspecifications-and-price-in-india/

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/

iOS 6 Beta 2

Latest iOS 6 Beta 2 Hits Developers

Two weeks back, during the WWDC, Apple announced iOS 6. Following that event, registered developers got access to the beta, giving us our first hands-on look at the newly refreshed platform. Now Apple’s ready with its first follow-up to that initial release, starting distribution of iOS 6 beta 2.

Based on the release notes that have been made available, it looks like Apple’s implemented quite a few bugfixes that address issues existing in the first beta. Quite a few of those work on improving the operation of Apple’s Game Center; iMessage also sees a couple bugs squashed, as does PassBook and the Movie Player. On the UI side, keyboard sound effects now shouldn’t cut-out when typing quickly, and the keyboard will more gracefully handle device rotation.

Users also report some icon changes; when installing the update itself, the gears icon now animates. We’ve also heard that the default Weather app now changes its icon to reflect what the actual weather’s like.

As developers start to play around with this release, we may get to hear about some even more interesting changes hidden away in iOS 6 beta 2. In the coming weeks, we’ll be getting additional opportunities like this one, as Apple continues to release more iOS 6 betas.

Update: We’ve already started hearing about some of these new features. There’s a new toggle for sharing Photo Streams, new icons to reflect Twitter’s recent redesign, and a new option for controlling Reading List cellular data usage.

Source: Apple
Via: 9to5 Mac

link: http://pocketnow.com/2012/06/25/latest-ios-6-beta-2-hits-developers/