Android Authority

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• Sonic Jump brings Sonic the Hedgehog to Android
• Does Acer have a $99 Android tablet in the works?
• Today’s Google Play surprise: The Polar Express for $2.99
• Titanium Gray to replace Pebble Blue Galaxy S3 on T-Mobile
• Omni System’s Eufloria HD for Android now available in the Play Store
• Google Shopping manager says search giant has no plans to enter the retail business
• Big update coming to Shadowgun: Deadzone, and a little gift for Kindle Fire users
• This Christmas, Google gives employees a Nexus 7, Chromebook, or Razr M
• Android rules supreme in Europe, but Apple manages record performance in US
• Top Samsung marketing executive to take job with Motorola

Sonic Jump brings Sonic the Hedgehog to Android Posted: 22 Dec 2012 09:36 PM PST Sonic the Hedgehog is among the more recognizable characters in all of video games. Ranking right up there with Mario and Pacman, With the death of Sega as a console, Sonic began to fade into legend. Remembered only by older gamers who remember what it was like playing on the Genesis. Sonic has made a comeback in a new game for Android called Sonic Jump. Originally, the game was only released for iOS. Thankfully, Sega came to their senses and brought it to Android as well. It’s available in the Google Play Store for $1.99. As Eurodroid reports, the game is a little generic. Described as a, “non-stop-bouncy-bouncy genre of game”, it appears as Sonic Jump is taking Sonic back to his 2D scrolling roots. Is Sonic Jump worth buying? If you’re a fan of Sonic, then yes. In addition to Sonic, the game features two other favorites from the series. That would be Knuckles and Tales. Each character has their own skill set. It’s not a lot different from any other scrolling game. However, for Sonic fans, the nostalgia is well worth the $1.99 If this looks like something you want to check out, you can find it in the Google Play Store here. Has anyone given it a try, yet? Let us know what you think of it. Related Posts Happy birthday Sonic! Sonic CD, Sonic 4 Episode 1 and 2 get price cuts on Google Play Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II for non-Tegra devices now up on Google Play for $6.99 Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II is out on Google Play and TegraZone

Does Acer have a $99 Android tablet in the works? Posted: 22 Dec 2012 07:42 PM PST Do you remember all those rumors about the $99 Nexus tablet? Well, they weren’t too far off. Reports out of Taiwan suggest Acer is ready to add another tablet to its Iconia lineup with the Acer Iconia B1. The newest addition to the lineup is rumored to be a $99 Android device, with some very interesting specs. The 1.2GHz processor and 1o24 x 552 resolution screen are fairly benign, but the inclusion of a SIM card slot is an interesting move. According to FCC filings, there appears to be some cellular ability built in. The FCC filings also have a “label info” page which gives us an idea of what the tablet should look like. Whatever the final cost of the tablet happens to be, it will definitely be competitively priced. Considering the specs and size, somewhere around $99 is realistic.  A low cost tablet running Jelly Bean could be a great addition to the Iconia family. If we’re lucky, CES 2013 could be the Iconia B1′s coming out party.   Related Posts Acer’s New 10-inch Android Tablet Coming in 4Q 2011 Acer's quad-core Iconia Tab A110 now up on Amazon, 7-inch Jelly Bean tablet for $230 Acer Iconia Tab A220 unveiled thanks to GLBenchmark, powered by 1.3GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 Processor

Today’s Google Play surprise: The Polar Express for $2.99 Posted: 22 Dec 2012 04:14 PM PST A lot of our readers haven’t exactly been thrilled with the surprises that Google Play is rolling out to celebrate the new year, and we can’t exactly blame them. Yesterday, the surprise was the app version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas. At least developer Oceanhouse Media went the extra mile to put all of its other Dr. Seuss apps on sale as well. Still it’s not the $0.25 apps that a lot of folks wish it was. Today’s deal is the Caldecott Award-winning picture book The Polar Express, discounted to $2.99 from its normally hefty price of $18.95. There’s no denying that this is a substantial discount, but given some of the other sales that big names like Square Enix are offering themselves, it seems like these may not be the deals that most users want. If you do like today’s deal, and want to pick The Polar Express up while it’s still discounted, hit the Google Play link in the sources section below. What do you think? Does it warm your heart to see the discount on The Polar Express? Or would you rather see deals like those we saw this time last year? Related Posts Today’s Google Play surprise: Free Live Stones Google Play's Longest Day Deals is on, dozens of apps and games discounted Google Play counting down to 2013 with a new deal every day

Titanium Gray to replace Pebble Blue Galaxy S3 on T-Mobile Posted: 22 Dec 2012 08:55 AM PST The Samsung Galaxy S3 is available in several colors, including Pebble Blue, Marble White, Amber Brown, Garnet Red, Sapphire Black, Titanium Grey, and La Fleur. Despite the wide range of colors the phone comes in, it looks like T-Mobile is only interested in selling two colors at one time. An internal memo has confirmed that the carrier is dropping the Pebble Blue color which is available on the carrier in favor of Titanium Gray. T-Mobile is reported to launch the Titanium Gray model of Galaxy S3 on January 4 but won’t be selling it until the Pebble Blue model is sold out. The details that surfaced on a leaked memo reveal that the stores must sell their existing inventory of 16GB Pebble Blue model before they switch to the 16GB Titanium Gray model. While the carrier is changing the inventory of 16GB model to gray and white colors it will still sell the blue and white models of Galaxy S3 for the 32GB model. While you may not be able to find the new color model of the device on January 4, which is the day it is going to launch, it is reported that the phone will be available in stores no later than January 9. The new Galaxy S3 model will also be available in Best Buy and Walmart stores on the same date the carrier will start its sale. T-Mobile is also having a year-end sale which is dubbed as “Zero Down Sale” through which users will be able to buy 16GB Galaxy S3 with no money down after a mail-in rebate.   Related Posts Rumor: Galaxy S3 Pebble Blue color to be replaced by Metallic Blue? Galaxy Note 2 – Marble White vs Titanium Gray color comparison [video] Vodafone UK finally starts shipping Pebble Blue Galaxy S3s, only 16 GB models for the time being

Omni System’s Eufloria HD for Android now available in the Play Store Posted: 22 Dec 2012 08:44 AM PST Omni System’s atmospheric real-time strategy (RTS) game for Android, Eufloria HD, is now available in the Play Store for download. The app, which first made an appearance in the Humble Bundle 4 for Android has been released in the store at a price of $4.99. The game features a plant-based art style, which makes it different from other titles available in the Play store featuring robots and zombies. Eufloria HD features strategic gameplay that involves space exploration, plant growth, bio mechanical evolution, and conquest. Users have to conquer asteroids located in deep space and use their resources to grow and nurture plants and other creatures. The game is all about acquiring resources. Opponents in the game will try to take your resources, and you have to come up with a strategy to beat them. Eufloria HD is optimized for both smartphones and tablets. The game features a story mode that boasts 25 levels with hours of gameplay. It also has a “Relaxed Mode” that brings a more ambient gameplay for more casual gamers. Users can also play Skirmish levels which allows them to play their favorite levels over and over again. There’s a ‘Dark Matter Mode’ as well that provides a more challenging way to play. Many levels in the game are made in such a way that they differ every time you play the game, shaping themselves according to how you play the game. Eufloria HD features an original ambient soundtrack by Milieu that adds to the game’s atmosphere. A free demo version of Eufloria HD is available in the Play Store and the full version is available for $4.99. Related Posts Total Defense 3D hits the Google Play Store Beat Hazard Ultra now available in the Google Play Store The Bard’s Tale now 50% off in the Google Play Store

Google Shopping manager says search giant has no plans to enter the retail business Posted: 22 Dec 2012 05:28 AM PST Google is a company known for jumping into completely new businesses, surprising the entire industry. The company is also known to discontinue those businesses when it doesn’t get the results it was hoping for, but that’s not what this post is about. In an interview with AllThingsD, Google Shopping’s VP of product management Sameer Samat revealed that, despite some predictions, the company has no plans to enter the retail business. Samat said in the interview "we aren't planning on being a retailer. We don't view being a retailer right now as the right decision." But this claim looks a bit off when we see Google’s recent acquisitions, which suggest that the company is working on building an infrastructure for selling physical items through online stores. The company recently bought Bufferbox, a locker service that provides consumers storage boxes where customers can have their stuff delivered. On this particular acquisition, Samat said that BufferBox has nothing to do with Google becoming a retailer. According to him, Google purchased the company in order to help other retailers become more competitive. He explained, "we are trying to provide a level playing field for retailers". He added that there are some companies that have managed to do tech as well as retail well and said "How's the rest of the retail world going to hit that bar?" Samat is obviously hinting at Amazon. Jeff Bezos’ company not only has a huge retail business, but also makes its own devices some of which are powered by Google’s own Android OS. Samat notes that its not Google’s aim to become a retailer itself, but the tech giant wants to help smaller companies compete with big players who have set the bar high. He said "I think it's great that Amazon and others, like Rakuten, are upping the bar," and Google wants to "create a level playing field”. According to AllThingsD, Google has made several changes to its site to improve the overall shopping experience. These include an imaging system that allows users to create 360-degree images of their products, such as this Lego kit. Related Posts The Nexus business model and why retail stores will never be able to compete Google buys BufferBox; think of them like a privatized post office box service Amazon to take on Google in the ad business with AdSense-like offering of its own

Big update coming to Shadowgun: Deadzone, and a little gift for Kindle Fire users Posted: 22 Dec 2012 05:13 AM PST For all you gaming fans out there Madfinger Games has released two major updates to its popular titles Shadowgun: Deadzone and Dead Trigger. To start off we will talk about the Dead Trigger. The game has been updated to add support for Kindle Fire. Now users of Amazon’s device can download Dead Trigger from the Amazon App Store for free. More importantly, Madfinger Games has released an update to Shadowgun: Deadzone that brings several new features to the game. The update is a must for all players, simply because the older version won’t work until you update it using Google Play. A caveat – after the update, all Research items will be reset to their original settings, due to a fix Madfinger Games applied to the Research menu. Apart from changes in the Research menu, the game has also received two new maps, new weapons, a player rank increase to 50, and more. Users can now also chat in the main menu and play with friends using the new Gangs feature. Madfinger Games has also added new rewards for Zone Control and Deathmatch. You can download Shadowgun: Deadzone for your Android device from the Google Play store for free. Amazon Kindle Fire users can download Dead Trigger from the Amazon Appstore here. Related Posts Shadowgun: Deadzone hits Play Store as free public beta Shadowgun: DeadZone now available for all, get it for free from Google Play Shadowgun: Deadzone is moving out of beta stage, official release arrives Nov. 15th

This Christmas, Google gives employees a Nexus 7, Chromebook, or Razr M Posted: 22 Dec 2012 05:04 AM PST Well, Merry Christmas to you, Google employees! Google loves to take care of its employees by gifting them with the latest and greatest every year around this time, and this year is no different. Last year, employees were given a Samsung Galaxy Nexus with a custom back cover to celebrate the close of 2011. This time around it’s a bit different, which may be better depending on what employees were expecting. This year, Googlers are able to choose from three devices: the Samsung Chromebook, The Motorola Razr M, or a Nexus 7.  The Motorola makes sense, as they are now part of Google.  That, and LG can’t seem to keep a steady supply of the Nexus 4 around. I’m sure Google thought it would be in poor taste to gift every employee with the phone that most people can’t get their hands on. Then again, depending on which Chromebook or Nexus 7 you want… you may not be able to get your hands on them, either. But you know what?  I’m not jealous mad at them. Those Googlers work hard and give us great products, so, Merry Christmas! Related Posts Merry Christmas! Touchscreen Google Nexus Chromebook reportedly in the works. Android convergence coming soon? Google's latest Chromebook to skip Asia for now

Android rules supreme in Europe, but Apple manages record performance in US Posted: 22 Dec 2012 04:57 AM PST A recent report by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech reveals that Apple has been able to capture more than half of the total smartphone marketshare in the US in the 12 weeks ending on November 25. According to the study, Apple held 53.3% of the market in the US, which is the highest the company has ever achieved since it entered the phone business. The company had 37% of the US market share same time last year. The recent gain is credited to the new iPhone 5, which has helped boost overall iPhone sales. iPhone’s rise in the US has come at the expense of Android. Last year, Android had a US smartphone market share of 53%, which has come down to 42% in one year. While iPhone is getting stronger in the US, Android is increasingly dominant in Europe. According to Kantar’s sales data, Android has a share of 61% of the market in the top five European markets. Android’s share has risen from 51.8% of last year. In Europe, Samsung is the number one smartphone manufacturer across the top five biggest countries of the continent. Samsung alone held 44.3% market share in the 12 weeks analyzed. Apple came in second, with 25.3%, share while HTC, Sony and Nokia fought for the third place. Related Posts Samsung dominates Europe with 45% market share, Android continues its jump IDC: Android rules the world market with 59% share, Apple second with 23% Android remains top dog in US and Europe, market share down however in the States

Top Samsung marketing executive to take job with Motorola Posted: 22 Dec 2012 04:44 AM PST Well, this is certainly interesting. Brian Wallace, vice president of strategic marketing for Samsung U.S., has been hired by Google/Motorola.  Wallace, who is credited for those Samsung ads taking dead aim at Apple users, will fill a “similar post” with Motorola.  As Google has declined to comment on the matter, we can only assume he will be charged with marketing Motorola devices and service. Having only joined Samsung a year ago, Wallace was previously with Research In Motion as vice president of global digital marketing.  With this acquisition, and the news of a Motorola “X” device next year, we’re beginning to wonder just what the folks at Motorola have up their sleeve.  An impressive new line of devices and a guy who knows how to market them?  How exciting! Hopefully we can look to see more ads like this next year Related Posts Motorola Exec: Motorola Plans for 2012 Will Not Change After Google Acquisition BMW jumps on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 marketing wagon Google hands over Motorola’s factories in China and Brazil to Flextronics

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