Google Wallet is Google’s own NFC-based mobile payment system, which should have taken off by now, at least according to the Search giant’s wishes. However, that’s not exactly the case, and Google is still struggling to make the payment method popular with the crowds. It definitely doesn’t help to have to fight against three of the four main U.S. mobile operators – Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile – which are working on their own mobile payment operation called ISIS. That means Android handsets launched by these three carriers do not come with Google Wallet on board, which is quite a hassle for Android users that want to use the service. Even Sprint, currently the only mobile operator that supports Google Wallet, wants to get itself its own mobile payment operation, although no new product announcements have been made in that regard yet. Meanwhile, if you have purchased a Galaxy S3 from Verizon, and want to have Google Wallet up and running on the handset then we have good news for you: it can be done. However, in order to get Google Wallet running on a Verizon Android handset with NFC capabilities such as the Galaxy S3, you’d have to root the device and install additional files. While we’re definitely not encouraging you to perform any tasks, it’s up to you to choose whether to have Google Wallet enabled on the Verizon Galaxy S3 or not.
In case you do want to use Google Wallet on the handset, make sure you follow all the available instructions from xda-developers, and also watch the video above.
We knew since last year that Samsung was working on a 2560×1600 panel for tablets. Some thought that this panel would be used for the new iPad, but it was pretty obvious Samsung would want to use it themselves as well. This is not to mention that the ratio is 16:10, which is exactly what this Android tablet has. We’ve also heard rumors this year about a tablet that is “bigger than 10″ that would have the long-awaited Exynos 5250 chip, which would contain a next-gen dual core 2 Ghz Cortex A15 CPU and a next-gen Mali T604 GPU. The Mali T604 should be at least twice as powerful as the “overclocked” Mali400 in Galaxy S3 (it’s usually how these ARM GPU’s evolve), and it’s the only chip that could handle such a high resolution (2560×1600) properly. It should be the most powerful GPU coming out this year, and it will easily beat the upcoming Adreno 320 and whatever upgrade Nvidia does for Tegra 3′s GPU. I also see no reason why it couldn’t beat Apple’s A5X’s GPU from the new iPad as well, if it’s indeed twice as powerful than the overclocked Mali400 in Galaxy S3. The Mali400 GPU is already getting pretty close to the new iPad’s GPU. Since the TI OMAP 5 will be only 5% faster than Apple’s A5X’s GPU, it should beat it as well, but TI is using an older GPU, and it won’t be competitive in graphics features.
While all of this has been mostly rumors (except the Exynos 5250 part), the tablet itself has been confirmed by a Samsung document that was revealed in Court, which shows the existence of a 2560×1600 tablet with a 11.8″ display. The resolution is “double” (4x the pixels) that of normal 10.1″ tablets today, which have 1280×800 resolutions. The size is a little bigger, so the PPI is around 255, still very close to what Apple would want a “retina display” to be, considering the new iPad has only 9 PPI more (264).
I doubt the display is Super AMOLED, because that would make an expensive panel, even more expensive. But as long as it has a super high quality IPS/PLS display, then it should be fine. Some people may even prefer it over the alternative – a Pentile Super AMOLED. It doesn’t rule out the possibility of a Pentile Super AMOLED display, though, as Samsung’s demo 2560×1600 10″ panel was Pentile Super AMOLED.
But the real question is, would the public use an 11.8″ tablet? I remember when I first held an iPad (compare Galaxy Tab 10.1 to iPad2 above). I thought it was a lot smaller than I thought it would be, so I think there’s a market for slightly larger tablets. However, it would make a lot of sense to turn this tablet into an “ultrabook” as well when you want to, just like with the Asus Transformer devices. For such a big size, it would be great to have S-Pen support as well. But while these things would be nice to have, I doubt Samsung will add them, even as accessories.
When can we expect this tablet? I would’ve expected it a lot sooner, but seeing how the Exynos 5250 was rumored to go in production in Q2, then we probably won’t see it on the market until early Q4 this year. But maybe we’ll get at least a glimpse of it at Samsung’s event on August 15th
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Every once in a while, an app comes along with such ingenuity and intuition, that it makes its audience pause and reflect on how integral smartphones have become in our daily lives. The creative app I’m about to share with you is one such app and believe me, it won’t disappoint that headline! Friday, as noted by its developers, “changes the way you use your android. It captures your entire life through your phone and builds a beautiful timeline of your life.” In essence, it’s a bit like using Facebooks’ notorious Timeline but as a separately functioning Android app. This can be handy for those of us who stay on the move, but want to tweak our lifestyles for maximum efficiency which results in more productivity. Friday has an applet’s feature so 3rd party developers can extend the service to greater functionality beyond the original concept. The downside is there’s only one applet available at the moment, but that list should grow pending Friday’s popularity growth. In addition, all the well-known social media sites can be added to help Friday track your movements and build a personalized portfolio. When you have enough data stored in the app, you can then query it for some concise answers on where to better your life. The best way to describe Friday is how it’s developers mention it: A passive auto journal. Friday is a free app and comes with a fresh update as of 30 July.
We haven’t seen much news on the accessory front from for the Nexus 7 since the tablet launched earlier this month. In fact, it’s been hard to keep the official covers from the Google Play store in stock. According to Nordic Hardware, more accessories for Google’s first Nexus tablet are coming August, 24th.
The Nexus 7 comes with 4 pogo pins on the side. We’ve always assumed they were more than just eye candy, that eventually the Nexus 7 would get a dock to accommodate them. According to the leaked slides, you’ll be able to pick a dock up for $49.99 MSRP. The leaked info also shows a 3.5mm speaker line out and a microUSB port for charging. The dock is said to be “perfectly-angled for better movie and photo viewing, browsing, and email.” Sadly, nothing about HDMI was mentioned at this time.
If you weren’t a fan of the grey TPU cases supplied by Google on the Play Store or were having a rough time grabbing one as they were out of stock, you’ll soon have another option. Coming August 31st, you’ll be able to pick up a premium leather case, available in 4 stylish colors for an MSRP of $39.99. For $16.99 you can grab an ASUS travel cover in one of 6 stylish colors, complete with the official Nexus logo.
And last but not least, if you’re into world traveling, ASUS has plans to release a travel charger kit for an MSRP of $24.99. The additional chargers support the UK, EU, AU, TW, Canada, and the USA.
Although Wind-up Knight is arguably one of the most entertaining 3D games on Android, piracy has had little effect on the company’s fortunes. In fact the developer behind it says that while on Android the piracy rate is about only 12%, on iOS it’s about 15%, and when it was a paid app on iOS, the piracy rate was as high as 80%. That seems almost unbelievable to those of us who are constantly fed the message that the Android ecosystem is plagued by piracy because of app sideloading and of the open nature of Android, which allows for easier rooting and such. But iOS, which doesn’t have sideloading and jailbreaking is more of a pain, seems to be plagued by just as much piracy, if not by more. There could be a good reason for that, too. On Android there are more free apps than on iOS, so piracy should be higher on iOS, all things being equal, because there’s more to pirate (more paid apps). As the Wind-up Knight developer says, the piracy of his app used to be 5 times bigger when Wind-up Knight was a paid app. There’s also another interesting nugget from his Google+ post. He says that close to 100% of pirates are from China. That’s because in China either they really can’t afford paying for those apps, so they wouldn’t buy them anyway, or they don’t even have access to the Google Play Store, if they buy devices with some no-name forked version of Android. But the apps should still be compatible with those devices, so they pirate them.
This is a very similar issue to the malware one, where the vast majority of Android malware happens with apps that weren’t downloaded from Google Play, but from a Chinese app store or pirate sites. So my suggestion is that in the future when you’ll hear unbelievable horrifying stories about “Android piracy” or “Android malware”, things will probably be better than they make them sound, and those issues will probably be mostly originating from China. In the mean time, don’t be afraid to get your own copy of Wind-up Knight from the Play Store.
Multi-user accounts on an Android device is something that users have been longing for. Having multiple user support is something that personal computers have had for quite some time now, thus it only makes sense for it to finally be implemented into Android phones, and most importantly, Android tablets. Thanks to some digging by one of CyanogenMod’s finest developers ciwrl, it seems as if Google has left some “bits and crumbs” of code within Android AOSP (Android Open Source Project) suggesting that multi-user accounts will eventually make its way into Android. If you’re not familiar with Android’s AOSP, anyone can look through the various commits (a code pushed to the code repository) that are pushed into AOSP at any time. It’s also important to note that every time you push a commit into the repository, the publisher must add a comment as to what the newly pushed code does and what it is going to accomplish. In this case, Google coders themselves have been pushing commits that caught ciwrl’s attention because it has given indication that Google is slowly preparing, or implementing, multiple user accounts into Android for the past year. While it’s great to see that Google has started to implement this, it’s most likely far from finished and probably won’t be available until at least the next firmware after Jelly Bean. There’s still much to be done as adding something this big needs a large testing phase. Google will also have to create the necessary UI for this, one that will be easy for users to switch between user agents. Perhaps a user agent screen where one can pick their user name, avatar, and settings much like the conventional laptop or desktop computer. Ron Amadeo from Android Police has put together a nice over view of the commits that ciwrl found and explained how every one of them is geared towards multi-user accounts. If you would like to read more about this, you should definitely hit up the source link for much more information. Would this be something you guys are excited about?
Despite the seemingly exorbitant price tags attached, it seems gamers have responded well to the porting of several games from the Final Fantasy series to Android – with the highest priced one being Final Fantasy III’s $16, followed by the original Final Fantasy, which goes for $7 on Google Play. Square Enix is preparing to release yet another FF game for RPG enthusiasts, Final Fantasy Dimensions. Final Fantasy Dimensions is expected to be Square Enix’s main star in Gamescom, and we should hear more launch details as the gaming event unfolds. The game itself was the first Final Fantasy title to be developed for mobile platforms when it was released as the Final Fantasy Legends in Japan in 2010. The 2D role-playing game features an Active Battle System – first seen on Final Fantasy IV – and will let gamers take on the roles of different characters and their jobs, which range from Freelancer, Warrior, Monk, Thief, Red Mage, Black Mage, White Mage, and Summoners. Players will control the “Warriors of Light” or “Warriors of Darkness” party, each with five members and their own set of skills. Other games to look forward to from Square Enix for the Android platform include the matching game Qwirkle, matching puzzle game KooZac, a revamped SolaRola, and brain-training game Mensa Academy. Better start logging more hours on the two Final Fantasy games you’ve purchased with your hard-earned money above before you jump on the Final Fantasy Dimensions, which should come out pretty soon, and the rest of Square Enix’s upcoming offerings. Any takers?
Ten heads are better than one, or so our friends at Google think as they have today unveiled that Google+ Hangouts will be replacing Google Talk as the embedded video chat service within Gmail. From today the service will be available for all users with a personal Google account, you’ll need to sign up for Google+ to enable the video conferencing feature. Google Talk has long been Google’s messaging service since it launched on desktops back in summer 2005. It was also a mainstay of Android right from the very beginning, included as a core application in version 1.0 back in 2008. Google later added video calling to the application via the Android Gingerbread 2.3.4 update for the Samsung Nexus S. Cue the launch of Google+ back in summer 2011. Google+ has had mixed success to date, although still very much a work in progress. All pros and cons considered, it’s fair to say that Hangouts has been one of the stand-out features of the service. As soon as Google+ was launched many Android users questioned the need for both Hangouts and Google Talk. Could this latest move be a nail in the coffin for Google Talk? Check out the video below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Gaming fans interested in bringing the game experience down to a more personal, portable scale should have a new option hitting the market soon. Wikipad is planning to release a new tablet named after the company sometime before the end of the year. They recently showed off the latest iteration of the device to VentureBeat and shared specs for the device which include:
10.1-inch IPS display
16:10, 1280 x 800 resolution
weight of 560 grams
8.6 mm thick
NVIDIA Tegra 3 T30 1.4GHz quad-core processor
1 GB RAM
16 GB internal storage (minimum, may eventually have more available)
8-megapixel rear-facing camera/2-megapixel front-facing camera
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system
Controller add-on
That last item, the controller add-on, will be of special interest to gamers. Resembling an Xbox 360 controller, the add-on includes two sets of triggers, bumpers and analog sticks to go with four “face” buttons, a start button, and a select button. The device also places speakers in strategic locations to try to improve audio performance. Pricing and a definite delivery date have not yet been set. As we previously reported, Wikipad is planning to team up with Gaikai to provide a streaming game service on the device.
According to Strategy Analytics‘ latest research, smartphone sales in the U.S. dropped by 5 million, down to 24 million in the 2nd quarter of the year. The reasons for this sharp decline in smartphone sales include:
“A volatile economy, maturing penetration of smartphones among contract mobile subscribers, and major operators tightening their upgrade policies to enhance profits [...].”
It also seems iOS surged to 33% from 23% a year ago, by stealing an extra 10% from the others – half from Android, which dropped from 61% to 56% and half from Blackberry (now less than 7%) and “others” (WP7, etc).
The drop in Android sales happened before the Galaxy S3 launched in the U.S., which means Android will probably go over 60% again in Q3, and then will probably drop again in Q4 when the next iPhone will be launched. It is possible that in the future Android might not be able to maintain its 60% market share in the U.S., and will perhaps have a hard time staying over 50% as well. Now that the iPhone is available from almost all American carriers, the iOS and Android market shares will probably tend towards becoming equal in the future, or perhaps we’ll see Android’s market share become only slightly bigger than iPhone’s market share. But for now this still remains pretty unpredictable, as we don’t know how people will react to the new iPhone. If they find it way too similar to the previous 2 generations, their interest might drop, and the iPhone’s market share might stagnate or even drop. RIM seems to be in a terrible position with Blackberry, which is now at 6.5% market share, and will probably continue to drop by the time the company even gets to launch its new BB10 operating system. Even my suggestions for them might not work anymore at that point. This is why when you get disrupted by new technologies, you need to act years before they start affecting you financially, otherwise you get to a point where it’s too late to do anything about it. This is a lesson that both Nokia and RIM are learning the hard way because they refused to acknowledge for years the change in the market.
With the Galaxy S 3, Samsung has built a phone that everyone and their brother seems to want. It's big, it's beautiful, it's fast, and it's hacker-friendly everywhere except Verizon Wireless. We all remember the outrage when it was discovered that the bootloader on the Verizon model was protected, and Samsung was quick to tell us they would be releasing a "developer" edition with an unlocked bootloader "soon". That's more sets of quote marks than I care to see or use when talking about unfettered hardware. A couple weeks back the dev model showed up on Samsung's website with the same "coming soon" tag (look, more of those pesky quote marks), but since then nobody has said a word. This is pretty important to hardcore Android fans, so I would hope it's equally important to someone at Samsung HQ. For us, Android on our phones is like Linux on our desktop -- something we can tweak to our liking and break any old way we want to break it. That's probably why Verizon wanted a locked model (make no mistake, I'm sure Verizon was behind it) to begin with. That plan has pretty much backfired, as even with the locked and encrypted bootloader folks have managed to hack the living crap out of the Verizon Galaxy S 3. You can't defeat a determined Android nerd, let alone hundreds of them. But that doesn't matter. We want freedom to tinker as promised. We never forget a promise. Let's hope Samsung hasn't forgotten either. Of course, it's possible that Big Red has changed their mind about allowing a wild and free Galaxy S 3 all over their LTE network. We're poking around to see if that's the case. But it's more likely that the "coming soon" tag has a different meaning to the folks in suits than it does to the rest of us. Samsung, don't wait to do the right thing until it's so late nobody cares about it any longer. As mentioned, we never forget. We want to love you. We want to praise the way you remember the development community that you used to love back. Don't forget us.
Samsung has an interesting strategy for its smartphone business that seems to have worked great so far. Ever since launching the original Galaxy S, Samsung made similarly-looking low-end smartphones as well. This halo effect helped the company make its lower-end phones more appealing to customers who couldn’t pay many hundreds of dollars at once for a flagship device, or wouldn’t pay a lot on a contract every month, in order to get the carrier subsidy. The Galaxy Ace is one such example that has benefited from the success and popularity of the Galaxy S. Now we see Samsung coming out with the Galaxy S Duos, technically a low-end phone, that looks a lot like the Galaxy S3, while being smaller (4-inch) and having a slightly modified home button. The phone seems to be the Galaxy Ace Duos bigger brother, another even lower-end phone that looks a lot like Galaxy S3 as well. The resolution of the Galaxy S Duos’ display is only 800 x 480, which means it has a pixel per inch (PPI) density of 233, which is not too bad for such a low-end device. The device has a 1Ghz Cortex A5 processor, which means it’s based on the ARM v7 architecture, so you’ll be able to run the Chrome browser. Unfortunately, it still only has Adreno 200 GPU – it will do the job for daily tasks, but don’t expect to play many of the latest 3D games on it.
The Galaxy S Duos will have a 5MP camera on the back and a VGA front-facing camera. It will come with 4GB of internal storage, microSD expansion and 512 MB of RAM. The phone runs Android 4.0, so that’s a big plus, although there’s no news on whether it will ever even get Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The Galaxy S Duos name comes from the fact that the handset has dual SIM connectivity, which is another big plus for this phone. I expect it to sell very well, depending on its price, which is unknown right now. As for availability dates, the device is expected to arrive very soon, but a clear release date is not available yet.
According to LG Canada, the Optimus 2X won’t receive an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich as originally stated. The statement was issued on response to a tweet asking about the status of the update, or what we assume is asking about the status of the update — the actual phrasing doesn’t make much sense in terms of standard English. Regardless, LG Canada offered no explanation for the change of heart, only stating “the original announcement was a general statement issued from HQ.” If we want to find a silver lining in those words, we may be looking at a situation where the update isn’t currently planned for versions of the device tied to Canadian carriers, but that a rollout in other locations might still be on the table. This seems unlikely, however, as it makes little sense for LG to spend the man hours developing the update only to not deploy it on all compatible handsets. Things aren’t looking good for Optimus 2X owners at this point, but manufacturers have been known to flip-flop on these decisions in the past. The 2X certainly has the hardware credentials to support Android 4.0.
The Nexus 7 is a major hit, but the 16GB version seems to be the more popular version. Or at least Google didn’t anticipate the demand as it seems to go in and out of stock pretty quickly. Google was hoping more people would adopt the cloud concept, but the fact that the Nexus 7 is a WiFi only device makes it difficult at times, especially travelers. Anyways, we just wanted to let you know that the 16GB version is back in stock and it if you get on it quickly enough, there’s a good change you will receive it by the weekend. Just hit the Play Store link below to download.
Those of you in the UK can finally look forward to the elusive Samsung Galaxy Beam smartphone— no seriously this time. Since seeing it in action at MWC this year, the phone has been incredibly anticipated and has even been up for pre-order for quite some time. Samsung has finally gone ahead and announced the projector smartphone will be available in various British outlets, starting today. In case you’ve forgotten, the Gingerbread-powered phone is humming on a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 4-inch WVGA display and a projector capable of displaying content— all in high-definition and up to 50’’ wide. There is no word on pricing in Samsung’s announcement, though we’re expecting it to be somewhere in the neighborhood of £442.80 including VAT ($590). But hey— you can’t put a price on a device that allows you to share those special moments, right? Hit the break to see the full presser from Sammy.
UK AVAILABILITY OF SAMSUNG GALAXY BEAM ANNOUNCED
Latest Galaxy device now available 30 July 2012, London, UK – Samsung Mobile UK has today announced the Galaxy Beam will be available in the UK from today. Joining Samsung’s Android-powered Galaxy portfolio, the Galaxy Beam is a projector smartphone that lets people display and share multimedia content wherever they are. Simon Stanford, Vice President, UK & IRE Telecommunications & Networks Division, Samsung UK and Ireland said: “We were delighted by the hugely positive response we received from both customers and media when we first announced the Galaxy Beam at Mobile World Congress back in February. It’s the kind of device you won’t find anywhere else – a high definition projector within a standard sized smartphone – and is great for people who want to watch movies, show photos to friends or need to give a presentation while they’re out and about.” People can use the Galaxy Beam to transform any room into a mini home-theatre by projecting full screen video clips, maps, business information and games onto the wall or ceiling – all in high-definition and up to 50’’ wide. Holiday snaps can be captured and shared instantly using the Galaxy Beam which also boasts a 5MP camera. It’s also a great device for both students who can collectively share videos or work in any room or student lounge, and gamers who can download their own or choose from over 1,000 games available via Game Hub, Samsung’s dedicated virtual gaming store, then project games to turn gaming into a shared experience. As well as its full built-in projector, the Galaxy Beam is still stylist and portable. Measuring just 12.5mm thick and featuring a sleek design, the device runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and is powered by a 1.0GHz dual-core processor, so its quick and responsive. 8GB internal memory means there’s tonnes of space to store multimedia content, whilst its 2000 mAh battery means people don’t have to worry about Galaxy Beam running out midway through sharing their content.
The personal data that’s stored on your Android device is not as secure as you may think once it gets into the wrong hands. Sure, your lost/stolen smartphone is protected by some sort of unlock code, but that kind of security does not guarantee that your data won’t fall into the wrong hands. AllThingsD talked to Viaforensics’ director of research and development Thomas Cannon at the Defcon hacker conference, who revealed that the actual passwords that people use to protect their Android devices are the weak link that can be exploited to bypass the device’s encryption. Apparently hackers won’t try to find a flaw in the “Linux-based encryption,” but rather go for the passwords that protect it, which are pretty weak:
That’s because Android uses the same password to decrypt the data on the phone as is used to unlock the device. People tend to use either short PIN numbers, simple patterns or easy-to-remember words. As a result, the encryption is fairly easily broken, through what is known as a brute-force attack.
One way to fix this security exploit is to have Google implement a two-password security system, one password for booting the device, which would be used to decrypt the phone during boot, and another one that can be used to unlock the device. The publication points out that only Android devices running Android 3.0 or later come with encrypted data, while previous Android versions don’t offer this security feature to users. This is the second report in as many weeks that details security deficiencies of Android, with a previous story revealing that devices running any Android version up to Jelly Bean are prone to malicious attacks – the good news here is that Jelly Bean is more secure than its predecessors, but then again, not all Android devices out there will be able to run it
A few days ago we showed the response Asus gave when asked why the Nexus 7 tablet that it created together with Google – apparently the device would have been a little more expensive with a back camera on board. Therefore, the final Nexus 7 design offers only a front-facing camera with support for video chatting. The lack of a rear shooter has been mildly criticized by some users that for some reason want to take pictures with a tablet, no matter how big such a device is.
A recent xda-developers unboxing and teardown of the Nexus 7 reveals various things about the first ever Jelly Bean tablet and focuses on a certain detail about the internal components of the device that previous teardowns did not mention.
Apparently, the Nexus 7 was initially designed to sport a rear camera. The motherboard has space for a camera module, which was left unused, probably to cut costs, just as Asus explained earlier. The Nexus 7 uses apparently the same design of the Asus MeMo 370t, a tablet that Asus unveiled earlier this year, and which should have been equipped with a rear-facing camera. As you can see in the first image, taken from the iFixit Nexus 7 teardown, the rear-camera slot is present, but the detail has been overlooked so far by the guys that performed the teardown but also by the media, us included.
Does this mean future 7-inch Nexus-branded devices will come with a back camera? It’s too early to tell, but we’ll definitely keep you updated.
Sam Mobile claims to have got hold of the firmware of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 GT-N8000, which means that the long-awaited slate should officially launch in the close future. The firmware details are:
Android 4.0.4
Build date: July 20
CODE: N8000XWALG7
PHONE: N8000XXLGA
CSC: N8000OJVALG4
Although it’s not impossible, it is highly unlikely that Samsung will have Android 4.1 Jelly Bean on the Note 10.1 by the time will launch. The Galaxy Note 10.1 is a classic example of how Samsung (or any manufacturer for the matter) should not handle product launches. The Note 10.1 was first revealed at the Mobile World Congress in March, serving as a makeshift centerpiece for Samsung’s presence at the fair. As it was later revealed, Samsung needed something flashy to show, so they whipped up a product based on the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The Note 10.1 was identical in appearance with the Tab, with the only real discerning feature being the stylus. Later on, Samsung revealed that the Note 10.1 would get an upgrade, both in terms of specs and in terms of appearance, which would cause it to be delayed, after it was initially pegged for an early summer launch. The slate got a quad-core processor and a slot for the stylus. After a series of leaks and even a hands-on video, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 popped up for pre-order on Amazon, only to be taken down in a matter of hours. Samsung said that the listing was premature and the specs of the tab were not even finalized. The Note went back up on Amazon a couple of weeks ago, without any visible changes to the specs, but also, without an availability date.
The latest speculations about the Galaxy Note 10.1 concern the August 15 event that Samsung has announced last week. Some think that Sammy will finally make the new tablet official at that event, although we can’t really be sure. The Galaxy Note 2 is also supposed to arrive soon, so we might see that instead of the Note 10.1. What do you think? Are you looking forward to wielding the S Pen on a 10-inch screen?
Last week we mentioned that Madfinger, developer of zombie shooter Dead Trigger, had decided to make the game free due to the piracy rate for Android apps being “unbelievably high“. This statement, of course, has caused a lot of debate over whether Android apps are easier to pirate than iOS apps, and how big a problem piracy really is for Android. The latest developer to speak out about piracy is Chris Pruett, the developer of the very popular Wind-up Knight game. His point of view, however, is a little different than Madfinger’s. He took to Twitter to post a series of 10 tweets explaining his thoughts. It started with this:
“Lotta press about Android piracy lately. For the record, our piracy rate is about 12% on Android and about 15% on iOS.“
So first of all, he is stating that piracy is happening, but also states that it’s not an Android only problem, with the iOS piracy rate slightly higher than Android. But he goes on to say more on Google+, basically compiling all his tweets into one cohesive statement. Read it after the break.
“When Wind-up Knight for iOS was a paid app, the piracy rate was more like 80%. For both Android and iOS, close to 100% of our pirate users are in China . Those users can’t buy things on Android anyway. I think piracy is, as always, a red herring. You can’t stop it, but as long as it’s slightly arduous, it’s not a lot of lost sales. Because a huge number of people who pirate software would never buy it in a million years. You aren’t losing a sale to them. Piracy starts to matter only when pirate users can cost you money in other ways, e.g. network bandwidth and server cost. Yet another reason to be a free app in today’s mobile marketplace.“
Piracy is obviously a problem, but perhaps it’s not as big a problem as some would think. Pruett makes a good point that most pirates would never have purchased the app in the first place, so it’s not really a lost sale. China seems to be the biggest culprit, and they can’t buy apps in the Play Store anyway. By being a free app and looking for alternative revenue streams, such as in-game advertising, many Android developers can avoid the piracy issue.
The HTC Desire HD Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade drama has finally come to an end, as the Taiwanese smartphone maker explained why it decided to scrape ICS update plans for the once flagship handset. But that’s not the case for newer HTC devices, which are still on track to receive their ICS builds. One of them is the LTE-enabled Verizon HTC Rezound, which should get its ICS build at some point in the very near future. A new Android Guys post features a leaked screenshot that clearly shows that the HTC Rezound should receive its ICS over-the-air (OTA) update at some point today. However, Verizon is yet to confirm the news and we haven’t seen any additional reports mentioning the upgrade. Moreover, there’s something strange with that screenshot when it comes to the dates mentioned for the Rezound ICS upgrade.
For starters, “7/29” is written differently than other dates mentioned in the table in the “Push PTA or EUT” column – see the rows above and below the Rezound’s row where the dates are formatted differently to show a “0” in front of the month: “08/01” and “06/22”. Similarly, the following column shows an availability date of “6/1” rather than “8/1.” We’ll take this leak with a grain of salt for now, but we’ll definitely looking forward for feedback from Rezound users. Did you get ICS yet?
Card games are great past-times for people of all ages, whether you are still in your teens or way past it. Some card games entail strategy and quick decision-making skills. Slowpokes, they say, both in movement and thinking, will really have a hard time appreciating card games. But, if you have sufficient amounts of strategy and logic stored in your head, being fast will not be a requirement for you.
On the Google Play Store, there are numerous apps that cater to people who love playing card games. One card game I bet almost everyone has is solitaire, but, in this article, we won’t be including that. We have a separate article dedicated to solely giving you the best solitaire card game apps befitting your Android device. This time around though, we’ve listed card game apps that will surely make you and your friends sit down and play for hours.
Read on to see the best card game apps that you can download for your Android device. We are not promoting gambling but it all boils down to how you make use of the apps. Fun and entertainment is what we’re trying to serve you and with the apps in this list, we hope we can be of help if you are looking for best Android card games that will entertain and occupy your time.
Who doesn’t like poker? Well, I for one haven’t played the game with real chips and cards but with Live Holdem Poker Pro, people like me who haven’t played it can definitely learn the ins and outs of the card game.
Live Holdem Poker Pro is one of the most-played social poker. You get to play poker with millions of app players worldwide, as well as with players from Facebook. What makes this app almost similar to playing poker in real life is its live chat feature. You get to chat with other players during a game and maybe invite them to another one after your game has ended.
Live Holdem Poker Pro lets you choose between two game modes: the Shootout Tournament Mode and the Sit-n-Go Tournament Mode. You can also choose to play these tournaments or you can play Fast Tables as well. Gold and diamonds can be used to purchase virtual goods that you can send to the people on your table.
Live Holdem Poker Pro, despite having Pro in its name, can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store.
If you have a penchant for luck and chance games, this card game app is for you. Bingo Heaven – Free BINGO GAME lets you play Bingo wherever and whenever you want. Playing Bingo this time won’t require you to have a tangible bingo card because having this app on your Android device is as good as playing it in actuality.
This card game app will not only let you reach BINGO (and actually shout it) but you’ll be given a series of goals to achieve, which makes playing this game more fun. This card game app is not your everyday bingo because it has powerups you can use during the gameplay. These powerups will charge overtime, so when you want to fire one away, you’ll have to wait a bit before you can do so.
Do take note that Bingo Heaven – Free BINGO GAME requires an Internet connection for you to be able to play. And, of course, this card game app is absolutely free. Download it today and play the classic card game with better gameplay and prizes.
Texas Holdem or Hold ‘em is one of the many variants of poker. If you are wondering if this variant came from Texas, then wonder no more for you’ve just hit the bulls-eye. Although it is another kind of poker game, playing it will still hook you, nonetheless.
Texas HoldEm Poker Deluxe gives you classic gameplay of the poker variant. You get to play with over 3 million poker players on Facebook, Android, and other platforms. This app has stunning graphics that will surely give you the feeling of being in a luxurious casino. Hundreds of poker tables are accessible with just one click.
If you are a poker enthusiast and want to play poker anywhere, get this app. You can also play this app using your Facebook account, so whether you are playing the app using your Android device or through an app on Facebook, you can access your profile and continue playing. This app has an easy-to-use interface, so playing the game is top priority and navigating around the app is not a problem at all.
Blackjack, otherwise known as 21, is one of the most widely played casino card games. This card game’s rules have a number of variations, but the goal is to come up with a sum of 21. Face cards like the King are assigned 10 points, so if you have one of the face cards, your mission now is to come up with 21 without exceeding.
Whether you are still a beginner or a pro when it comes to playing this game, Live BlackJack 21 will help you get used to how the game works. You’ll have the chance to play with other players and maybe make some friends to help you understand the game more. Blackjack is not purely a game of chance because the game’s outcome will also depend on your decision-making skills.
You can start playing by logging in using your Facebook or Abzorba account. You may also choose to log in as a guest. This app has a large community of blackjack players, ready to test you out if you have the skills in playing the game. You can post your results via Facebook and Twitter, letting your friends know how good, or terrible, you are at playing blackjack.
Hearts Free is a card game app that lets you play a rather interesting kind of card game. The card game, Hearts, is an evasion type trick-taking card game. The card game’s main objective is to have the fewest points by the time the game ends.
This card game app has features like the option to play full Hearts with optional Jack of Diamonds rule, card passing options, 18 levels of difficulty for the CPU opponent according to skill, and 5 backgrounds to choose from. Hearts Free also has the hints and undo options, allowing you to have some idea of what to do next in the game.
Your stats will also be recorded, as well as your CPU opponent’s. You’ll get to compare your stats and probably be pushed to do better the next time you’ll play. Hearts Free has a smooth interface and no laggy gameplay. Get this card game app for free today and start perfecting your skills in playing Hearts. This app is ad-supported but worry not, the ads are unobtrusive. They won’t get in the way of your game.
Drinking gin or rum is probably not necessary for you to play this card game. Gin Rummy Free, developed by AI Factory Limited, is one card game app you should have if you are a die-hard gin rummy player. Play the card game even without real cards. All you’ll need is your Android device and an opponent.
Gin rummy is a fairly simple game. Its objective is to score an agreed number of points or form sets and runs of cards by the end of the game. Face cards’ points are 10 each, aces at 1, and the remaining cards’ points are scored using their numerical values. This card game does not bank on pure luck. Your skill strategy and decision-making skills are still key to ensure your victory.
You have 15 CPU opponents to choose from, each varying according to the skill level. If you are not confident enough of your skills, have a game with the beginner level of the CPU opponent and gradually level up to harder ones. Customizing the deck of cards is also possible, as well as choosing the background that will best suit you.
Here’s another poker card game app that is very famous among poker addicts. Zynga Poker also has an app for Facebook, allowing you to play the game with your Facebook friends. Now, you can continue the fun with the use of your Android device.
This card game app exudes a Las Vegas casino kind of feel with its impressive graphics and intuitive UI. In-game chatting is also one feature of this app, allowing you to converse with the other players at the table. You can play this game live with your Facebook friends, play one-on-one, or have 5 to 9 players at one table.
You can choose to play Zynga Poker as a guest or you can use your Facebook account. When you are a first-time player of the app, you get to have $20,000 worth of chips, enough to get you starting in the game. Zynga Poker supports languages like French, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and more. Zynga Poker is surely one app worth downloading and playing in your free time.
Racing doesn’t only apply to cars. In this card game app, you do a lot of time beating. Speed Card Free will definitely test your brain and finger speed, demanding a lot of good hand and eye coordination. Being slow is a major no-no in this app because if you are not fast enough, you’ll get left behind.
This card game app only has one main aim — to get rid of your cards as fast as possible. You need to beat your computer opponent and every time you do, the level of difficulty gets higher, and the computer opponent gets faster.
Speed Card Free has a smooth and fast gameplay, perfect for those times when you are getting very immersed in the game and don’t want any lags. Being a fast-paced game usually calls for fast gameplay and fast rendering of the graphics, which this card game app didn’t fail to consider. What’s more, it has infinite levels, sure to satiate your hunger for more fun and more adrenalin rushes.
Speed Card Free is ad-supported but the ads don’t obstruct the game. It is downloadable for free from the Google Play Store. Download it now and test how long you can last with this fast-paced card game app.
Spades Free, based on the plain-trick game where the spades are always trumps, is a very entertaining app that will take much of your free time. In this game, the aces are ranked as highest followed by the face cards, and the lowest card is the number 2 (of any suit).
This card game app allows for full spades partnership play where you get to choose whom to play with and whom to play against. You can play with any of the 18 character opponents of varying skills from beginner to expert. With the variation of skills, you can practice and come up with strategies to assure your win.
We can always expect great game from AI Factory Unlimited, and being one of their products, Spades Free is not short of impressive in both its gameplay and graphics — smooth, classy, fast. And, just like the other card game apps mentioned on this list from the same developer, user and CPU player stats are available, may it be for encouragement to strive harder in the next games or for boasting to your friends at how good you are.
Game rules and help options are also included, aiding you if it’s your first time playing the game. Spades Free is a free card game app and has unobtrusive ads that will not disturb your game in any way.
To wrap our list up is a card game app that is pleasing to the eye because of its show of colors. UNO FREE is a fun card game based on color and number matching. Being a world-famous game, producing a mobile version of the game will surely keep fans playing it anytime, anywhere.
UNO FREE has an intuitive UI that allows you to drag and drop cards. You get to choose your avatar and your color prior to starting the game, giving you much identity especially when you want to play a multiplayer game. You also have the freedom to customize your own game by tweaking the draw types, UNO rules like 7-0, and Jump-in.
In multiplayer mode, you can play locally with your friends through the use of a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection, given that your friends also have the same app installed on their Android devices. Playing online is also possible, if you want to challenge yourself with other players from other places.
We’ve just listed the best Android card game apps. If some of these apps piqued your fancy, get them now and have fun wherever and whenever, either by yourself or with your friends. Do check our article about the best solitaire games you can find from the Google Play Store.
Finding and booking a hotel even if you are in the middle of nowhere is easy, that is, as long as you have your smartphone with you. You can avail yourself of such service via the numerous hotel booking applications which you can find on the Google Play Store, from the most famous and reliable to the freshest ones.
We have already featured several of the best Android apps for finding cheap hotels and now we turn our attention to a fresh app called Smartive Hotels that won’t just let you book your hotel accommodation easily but also packs extra features. Smartive Hotels joins the long and growing list of hotel booking apps on the Google Play Store. It simply lets you book hotel accommodations conveniently and safely. It’s intuitive and generously descriptive, providing you with important details such as images, maps, and a detailed description of a hotel to help you make up your mind easily on whether to book or not.
Using Smartive Hotels
Using this app is easy; just enter your destination or location, as well as the dates of your stay, and the app provides you with a list of the available hotel rooms that you can choose from, detailed with a star rating, distance, and price with possible discounts. It even lets you narrow your search via the Filter button below the screen.
Tapping on a specific hotel accommodation reveals more helpful underlying descriptions, not only limited to the hotel’s description but also keeping you abreast of the hotel rules, the price (available in 20 currencies), a TripAdvisor guest rating, and other fees. Through this app, you can access over 140,000 hotels worldwide right on your Android device.
An interactive map is also provided within the app where you can easily check the most suitable place for you to stay. For instance, if you want to stay close to a certain establishment, you can easily do so. Just hover over the hotels that you can see on the map and book the hotel you want by tapping it.
Extra features
Those features could already suffice where looking for and booking a hotel room is concerned, however, the app also has some unique features which make it pretty interesting. It protects your phone’s data with reliable SSL encryption, which means you won’t have to worry if you are trying to input confidential and private data. And, the most interesting part of all: a 24/7 customer service that you can contact regarding any problem that may arise. If you are looking for a fresh and unique hotel booking app on the Google Play Store, Smartive Hotels is definitely an app that’s worth checking out. Download Smartive Hotels from the Google Play Store for free.
