Sunday, December 23, 2012

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

Android Overload: Flickr Pro free for 3 months, ZTE Grand S image, Xperia Z and more

Posted: 22 Dec 2012 05:40 PM PST

Merry Christmas, guys! We hope your holiday weekend is great, but check out the latest news before you start giving, receiving and celebrating. Android Overload is where we bring you all the news that didn’t make it to our home page but are still worth a read. Here is what we have today:

Get 3 months of Flickr Pro for free just by using the app [Flickr]
ZTE Grand S images leak, ready for CES [Engadget]
Archos 97 Titanium HD announced, pretty much an iPad [ARCHOS]
Sony Yuga to be Xperia Z [Xperia Blog]
Motorola patent invalidated, may affect German iCloud ban [Electronista]
Nook HD+ Gets Alternate Root Method, Gapps, and More [XDA Developers]
Orange and China Mobile to Collaborate on NFC Services [Cellular News]
Nimble TV beta now available, but only for few [Nimble TV]

Cruzerlite gives us a sneak peek at awesome upcoming Nexus 4 case

Posted: 22 Dec 2012 03:39 PM PST

Cruzerlite has become very known for their Androidified cases, and they are at it again with a much more awesome design! The guys from Cruzerlite have sent us this nifty sneak peek at what is to come and we are already loving it.

We don’t have any other details yet, but they should be available for pre-order “soon”. If you have managed to get your Nexus 4 already, this case is at least close to being the coolest one we have seen for the device. Unless you really like the official bumper case, which is also incredibly hard to get a hold of.

We will definitely keep you in the loop about these, so stay tuned for upcoming details and… a little Christmas surprise for our readers!

15 Minute Challenge: $20 Demon’s Score from Square Enix

Posted: 22 Dec 2012 03:15 PM PST

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Yesterday we told you guys about 3 games new to Google Play from legendary game publisher Square Enix, one of which was a $20 game — yes, $20 — called Demon’s Score. The game’s pricing puts the title right up there with some of the most expensive the Play Store offers and many of you were wondering if the game was even any good (let alone worth twenty dollars). Well, I decided to give Demon’s Score a quick spin taking full advantage of the Play Store’s 15 minute return window. If you guys want to learn a little more about the game in addition to my initial thoughts, here is my 15 Minute Challenge for Demon’s Score by Square Enix.

Story

The game stars a young college student by the name of Serenity who’s looking for her dad in a haunted castle filled to the brim with musical themed monsters. Inside she runs into a teddy bear who helps her in her quest to find her father and unravel the secrets of the castle. In typical Japanese fashion, Serenity must utilize scantily clad outfits (obtained from conquered bosses) to give her new abilities and take on the worse creatures hell has to offer.

Gameplay

Each stage in Demon’s Score is broken up into two parts: Track 1 where players face off against smaller enemies, and Track 2 where players go toe-to-toe against the boss of that stage. Each boss has their own unique musical track — to the tune of a specific genre of music — and on the stage leading up to the boss (Track 1), the music also changes depending on the equipped demon/outfit. New music = new experience. The stages also have 3 difficulty settings — easy, normal, and hard — and if players beat a stage on all 3 settings, Square promises something special (less clothing perhaps?).

Gameplay in Demon’s Score is comprised of carefully timed to button presses and gestures, all to the tune of a various Japanese musical genres. Square describes the game as “off the hook, break beat action” which, in some weird way kinda helps, but you’d be better off picturing a mashup of Mega Man meets Devil May Cry, meets Elite Beat Agents. The flow of the game goes like this: beat a stage, face a boss, steal their powers, get a sexy new outfit, rinse and repeat.

Graphics

Visually, the game looks great. Console quality even. Powered by Epic’s Unreal Engine and optimized for the Nvidia Tegra 3, Square added a few nice special effects not present in other versions of the game, namely:

  • The Rim Lighting feature, which yields more dramatic actions and movements by bringing brilliant highlights to character outlines in backlit scenes.
  • Enhanced photorealism and three-dimensionality of characters with the Bloom feature, which produces a stunning diffusion of light in extremely bright conditions.
  • A depth of field created by focusing the camera on the character and blurring both background and foreground, lending even more realism to the game.
  • Twice the resolution of other versions of the game, resulting in higher-quality and sharper graphics across the board.

Serenity and her demonic outfits were the real star of the show, offering a wide variety of styles making sure that, no matter what your fetish, she’s got an outfit just for you. Enemies, bosses and the frequent times players are given a direct view of Serenity’s hindquarters (read: constantly) really showed off an amazing attention to detail and solid character design. There’s no question — Demon’s Score definitely has some high production value going for it. The problem with the graphics is that, while completely amazing looking, you don’t get enjoy them very much with huge onscreen beat cues and your hand constantly obstructing your view. First world problems, I guess.

Verdict

Okay, so I’ll admit it — the game is good. Real good. But is it $20 good? While it was nice of Square to include all the downloadable content from the iOS version for the Android release (a $32 value), typically, you’d still find a game similar to this on Xbox Live for between 800 – 1200 Microsoft points ($10 – $15). As much fun as I did have with Demon’s Score, I can’t say I was able to bring myself to plop down $20 for it. And I’m not usually too frugal when it comes to my gaming. Still, for those of you scoring Google Play giftcards this holiday (they’re sure to be a hit) and your Tegra 3 device is in need of some love, you may want to give Demon’s Score a shot. I’ll be waiting until my budding rap career finally takes off.

[Demon's Score on Google Play]

Make your screens jolly with Google’s Happy Holiday Cards!

Posted: 22 Dec 2012 02:04 PM PST


Christmas is almost here! The family is getting together and all the kiddos are screaming over their gifts, but what about us Android fans? We deserve a little joy too, right? This is why Google has put together a few Nexus-themed Happy Holiday Cards.

They feature our very favorite little green robot, along with all of his holiday friends – including polar bears, penguins and… Big Foot? Either way, you can print them, share them, give them away, use them as wallpapers or do as you please with them. Download them straight from here if you want them. Merry Christmas, guys!

Nexus_campfire_front (1) Nexus_fireplace_front Nexus_igloo_front Nexus_skating_front

[Nexus Google+]

Weekend Poll: Major carriers vs MVNOs

Posted: 22 Dec 2012 01:31 PM PST


Major carriers have something to worry about – MVNOs. Mobile virtual network operators are those smaller carriers that don’t own networks, but are licensed to use other carriers’ networks to offer cellular services. Such service providers can offer much more affordable prices without contracts, but there are still incentives to sign your life away to a major carrier.

MVNOs have become very popular among smartphone users as devices start becoming more affordable. One can purchase a Nexus 4 for as low as $300, for example. This device is far superior to other equally-priced smartphones, and arguably better than even some that double its price. You can take this (or any other compatible device) to a GSM MVNO and just use the big carrier networks with small carrier prices. Or you can opt to buy their own devices, if you would rather make the process easier or the carrier uses a CDMA network.

These small carriers tend to offer great deals. They do have to pay fees to network owners, but they also don’t have to invest in improving networks and keeping towers up-to-date. You can save up to thousands of dollars per year if you opt for one of these pre-paid options.

But with all these great and affordable options, why are we sticking with major manufacturers? Well, there are many benefits, the main one being convenience. Though we end up paying more in the long run, there are many benefits to being with one of the big 4.

For one, it is possible to sign a contract and get a phone at a much discounted price. Most users don’t have $600 to $700 to pull out and spend on a good, high-end device out-of-contract. And the good devices you can find at a lower price can be rare. The most expensive on-contract devices cost around $300, which is much easier to swallow.

Major carriers also tend to be more reliable in terms of customer service. Of course, they have the resources to help out more… even if you have to sign your wallet away for 2 years. Not to mention they usually carry the best devices, but that is starting to change.

Hey! There is also the option of going prepaid with one of the 4 major carriers. T-Mobile has some great deals for prepaid customers, an all other carriers have prepaid options. Or maybe you are no longer in contract, but want to keep your older plan (mostly unlimited data customers’ situation).

With all of this in mind, we are wondering at what point MVNOs are. More and more Android users are starting to opt for prepaid MVNO carriers like Straight Talk, Solavei, Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile and many others. Our audience consists mostly of Android users (of course) so it would give us a great idea of how the market between MVNO and major carrier customers is.

Please participate in the poll and give us your two cents! Do you prefer staying with a traditional carrier or have you moved on to a more flexible mobile world? And why?

Posted by at 8:34 AM

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