Android Authority |
- The Croods – The full Android app review
- Chromebook Pixel available to buy in Australia through Mobicity
- Google Fiber app launches in the Play Store, compatible with more than just the Nexus 7
- Cube U30GT2 goes for sale for $250, a quad-core 10.1-inch tab with full HD display
- Samsung Galaxy S4 vs HTC Droid DNA
- Sony’s unannounced Xperia SP gets its first render
- Second-gen Nexus 7 with high-res display to launch before Retina iPad mini, analyst says
- Motorola Electrify 2 gets upgraded to Jelly Bean
- 5.2-inch LG Nexus 5 leaks, sounds too good to be true
| The Croods – The full Android app review Posted: 16 Mar 2013 04:32 PM PDT
The Croods Game PlayIf you’ve played a Facebook flash game in your lifetime, then you can probably play The Croods without a problem. Like Facebook flash games, you are set on a big screen where you can perform a myriad of tasks. In terms of premise, you’ll be capturing wild animals, taming them, raising them, and feeding them. Feeding them will earn you items that you can use to progress through the game and you can also use them to feed other animals. In addition to that, you will be completing chores assigned to you by Gran, the local old person. These tasks don’t include anything difficult. You’ll be adding or removing scenery like trees, capturing animals, collecting items, and performing other menial tasks. In exchange you’ll get gold coins and experience. If you’re bogged down on items, you can hand them off to Ugga. Ugga will make you soup that you can use to upgrade your animals. It’s also a good way to grind for gold coins. It doesn’t take nearly as long to explain as it takes to perform. All these things will keep gamers very busy as things tend to move pretty quickly. At least during the beginning of the game. However, if you look closely, there is a pattern to the game. It’s capturing and feeding animals and completing tasks assigned by Gran. One thing we didn’t like about The Croods is that it’s a freemium game. So there are in app purchases where you can buy more crystal and gold coins. This is fine if you don’t mind spending a few extra bucks. For more serious gamers, this will be irritating as the game intentionally bottlenecks these resources to motivate people to buy them. You can play the game without spending any real money, but after a point there will be copious amounts of grinding for coins and crystals. This is an aspect we were very disappointed in.
The Croods Graphics and SoundIf you were hoping The Croods would impress you in these areas, you can forget it. The soundtrack is uninspired but it does what it’s supposed to, which is fill the silence space in the background. There are sound clips for various tasks and the characters will interact with one another occasionally. The graphics in The Croods is about on par with most Facebook flash games. This is both good and bad. It’s good because those games are typically played on computers and this is an Android game. It’s bad because those graphics aren’t overly impressive. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good, but they just don’t impress. You will not have any problems identifying characters and associating them with their characters in the movie.
The Croods OverallThe game play for The Croods has a lot of potential to be extremely addictive. While no one likes the tedious grind of collecting items and leveling up, The Croods tries to push the pace on this so there is always something to do. In most cases, they succeed but there are still some tasks that take awhile. A plus to this, though, is that you will receive notifications for the game outside of the game. So when something is done building your animals need fed, you can receive notifications for it. So you don’t actually have to play in the game to still be playing. At the end of the day, though, it depends on what kind of gamer you are. More serious gamers are not fans of the freemium premise and they won’t appreciate having gold and crystals (the main resources used for building things) bottlenecked to such a degree that they have to grind just to have enough. On the other hand, fans of games like Farmville 2 or Cafe World will feel right at home with The Croods as it features many similar mechanics to those games. By the time we were doing reviewing, we couldn’t really tell if we were playing a Rovio game or a Zynga game.
Wrap UpIf this looks like something you’re interested in, you can click the source link below to download it from the Google Play Store. It’s free to play, even if many of the elements in-game can be bought. We were able to see the charm in the game, especially if you’re excited about seeing the movie. However, we couldn’t get passed the fact that it looks and plays like a Zynga game on Facebook. So, once again, if you’re into that kind of stuff, then The Croods is right up your alley. If you don’t like those kinds of games, you could do your blood pressure a favor and steer clear. The post The Croods – The full Android app review appeared first on Android Authority. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chromebook Pixel available to buy in Australia through Mobicity Posted: 16 Mar 2013 03:13 PM PDT
Mobicity is selling the Wi-Fi Chromebook Pixel for $1,648.90, including GST. As per usual with purchases from Mobicity, you'll get a 1-year local warranty with the device and an option to upgrade it to a two-year warranty for an additional $65.95. You can expect the total price to be around $1700 as you'll have to pay a customs fee as well. Read also: Chromebook Pixel Hardware Review! Google is not selling the Chromebook Pixel in Australia themselves just yet, but Google Australia said in a statement made to Ausdroid that they would like to make the Pixel available to "more users over time". In the meantime, Australians will have to settle with importing Google’s latest Chromebook offering. The Chromebook Pixel sports a 12.85-inch 2560 x 1700 display with 4.3 million pixels. It has a Intel i5 dual-core CPU clocked at 1.8GHz, 4GB of RAM, a 64GB SSD and 1TB of Google Drive storage for three-years. Read also: The Chromebook Pixel project: Chrome OS Google launched the Chromebook Pixel in February. The device is available to buy from the Google Play Store in the U.S. and the U.K. In the U.S. buyers have an option to purchase a Wi-Fi only model and an LTE-enabled model, which is exclusive to the U.S. The LTE-enabled model comes with a free 100MB of bandwidth through Verizon Wireless. The post Chromebook Pixel available to buy in Australia through Mobicity appeared first on Android Authority. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Google Fiber app launches in the Play Store, compatible with more than just the Nexus 7 Posted: 16 Mar 2013 12:52 PM PDT
As noted in the change log, the app has a “re-designed user interface for simpler browse, search and discover your favorite content". Google also added better Wi-Fi connectivity to the app and made it compatible with devices running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean or higher. It works with both tablets and phones whereas it only worked on the Nexus 7 tablet previously. Read also: Should Google Fiber be in every home? The app turns your phone into a remote allowing you to surf through shows and movies that are currently live, recorded on your DVR and available on-demand. If you're one of the few lucky people to have Google Fiber, head on over to the Play Store and give this app a download. The post Google Fiber app launches in the Play Store, compatible with more than just the Nexus 7 appeared first on Android Authority. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cube U30GT2 goes for sale for $250, a quad-core 10.1-inch tab with full HD display Posted: 16 Mar 2013 11:28 AM PDT
If you're looking for an Android tablet that doesn't skimp out on specs, but at the same time won't cost a fortune, you may want to consider getting the Cube U30GT2. We've seen some worthy tabs from Cube in the past, such as the 9.7-inch U9GT5, which was released last year sporting a 2,048 x 1,536 resolution and offered for about $270. The 10.1-inch U30GT2 only packs a 1080p IPS screen of 1,920 x 1,200 resolution. However, the overall specs have been vastly improved. Starting with the processor, instead of going the dual-core route, the slate is powered by a quad-core 1.8GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, Mali 400 GPU, and paired with 2GB of RAM. On paper, the CPU is apparently faster than both Tegra 3 and Exynos 4412. The Cube U30GT2 also comes with 32GB internal storage, microSD support, a 5-megapixel main camera, a 2-megapixel front cam, a mini HDMI slot, an 8,000mAh battery, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean onboard. As for its price, you can grab the tablet online for $250, but remember to factor in the shipping fee as well. We heard that Cube has shipped out the first batch of the tab. If you order now, you can expect to have the U30GT2 delivered in 1-3 weeks. Planning to take a leap of faith? Like other budget tablets, keep in mind that the build quality may not be as good as some of the bigger OEMs. The post Cube U30GT2 goes for sale for $250, a quad-core 10.1-inch tab with full HD display appeared first on Android Authority. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Samsung Galaxy S4 vs HTC Droid DNA Posted: 16 Mar 2013 06:20 AM PDT
On Thursday, the Samsung Galaxy S4 was finally unveiled by Samsung in New York, putting an end to months of rumors and speculations about the new member of the insanely popular Galaxy S line of smartphones. Arguably one of the highlights of the device is the use of a 5-inch 1080p display. With the Galaxy S4, Samsung has made its fashionably late entrance in the already crowded club of full HD phone makers. At this point, the full HD invasion is complete, with nearly every Android device maker boasting at least on full HD phone in its portfolio. The fast adoption of full HD displays is so much more impressive when you think that just a few months back, the HTC J Butterfly, and its American doppelganger the Droid DNA were making the headlines with their new ultra crisp panels. Has Samsung managed to define what a modern smartphone should be like? Has HTC struck a better balance between specs and design, functionality and appearance? Let’s find out together. You can jump to the bottom of this article for a video review, or join us as we pit the Samsung Galaxy S4 against the HTC Droid DNA in four rounds: display, design and build quality, internal hardware, and software. Specs
DisplayThe HTC Droid DNA features a 5-inch full HD Super LCD 3 display that clocks in an impressive 441ppi pixel density. This Super LCD 3 display is a joy to gaze at, as it not only offers great contrast levels and pixel-free crispness, but also accurate color reproduction. In the Samsung corner, the 5-inch full HD Super AMOLED display on the Samsung Galaxy S4 is equally crisp, has better brightness, but (as all SAMOLED panels) less accurate color reproduction. Verdict: The HTC Droid DNA has more accurate color reproduction, thus has a small advantage in this round, although SAMOLED fans will surely want to go for the Samsung Galaxy S4. Design and build qualityThe Samsung Galaxy S4 borrows a lot from the design of its predecessor, featuring a very similar home button flanked by two capacitive buttons. The corners are less rounded on GS4 than they are on the GS3, making the phone look like a cross between last years Galaxy S and the Note. The Samsung Galaxy S4 measures 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm (5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 in) and weighs in at 130 g (4.59 oz), while the HTC Droid DNA measures 141 x 70.5 x 9.7 mm (5.55 x 2.78 x 0.38 in). As the numbers dictate, the Galaxy S4 is the more compact of these two smartphones. The HTC Droid DNA features an aggressive design, with bold red aluminum accents in line with Verizon’s branding. HTC has applied a rubbery texture to the back plate, making the DNA a bit easier to use with one hand. Verdict: Feel free to disagree in the comment section below, but even though the Samsung Galaxy S4 is a bit more compact, the Droid DNA is the better looking device.
Internal HardwareCPU, GPU, and RAMThe HTC Droid DNA uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro system on a chip (SoC), meaning that under its hood hums a 1.5GHz quad-core Krait CPU and a Adreno 320 GPU, coupled with 2 GB of RAM. The recently unveiled Samsung Galaxy S4 comes in two versions: an international version that uses an Exynos 5 Octa, a brand new chipset (rocking a quad-core A15 CPU plus a quad-core A7 CPU in big.LITTLE configuration, a GPU), and a North American version that will make use of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 600 CPU (a 1.9 GHz Krait CPU, an Adreno 320 GPU). Both versions will feature 2GB of RAM. As preliminary benchmark tests demonstrate, the Exynos 5 Octa proves itself faster than the Snapdragon S4 Pro.
Internal and Expandable StorageThe Samsung Galaxy S4 comes in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB versions and can work with microSD cards, while the HTC Droid DNA comes with 16GB of internal space and no microSD card slot. CamerasThe HTC Droid DNA features an 8MP primary camera and a 2.1MP secondary camera for video calling, while the Samsung Galaxy S4 seems to be a bit better endowed in this department, with its 13MP primary camera and a 2MP secondary shooter. Besides the larger sensor (and probably better optics), the Galaxy S4 also integrates a number of new little feature, that some might find gimmicky, but I am sure that many users will appreciate.
BatteryThe Samsung Galaxy S4 uses a 2600 mAh user-removable battery, which is obviously preferable to the 2020 mAh non-removable battery that's inside the HTC Droid DNA. Verdict: The hardware specs round clearly goes to the Samsung Galaxy S4 Android implementation and softwareVerizon’s HTC Droid DNA runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Naturally, both the carrier and HTC have promised a timely update to Android 4.2, but don’t hold your breath. The Droid DNA uses the HTC Sense 4+ interface, which is arguably better designed than the Samsung Galaxy S4's TouchWiz interface, albeit the latter comes with a number of useful software features such as: Air View, Smart Scroll, Smart Pause, and a number of others that you can learn all about in the article here. Verdict: The TouchWiz interface on the Samsung Galaxy S4 wins this round thanks to its array of software features. Hands-on videoVerdictBoth the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC Droid DNA are great Android smartphones, but the Galaxy S4 is not only faster, but also the more complete and versatile device. The Droid DNA features one of the best displays on any phone (especially if you want true-to-life colors) and features a snazzy design, it does have a couple of flaws that could have been easily avoided by HTC. Yes, I'm talking about that smallish battery and lack of microSD card support. What do you guys think: is the Samsung Galaxy S4 the new king of full HD smartphones ? Has the Super LCD 3 display on the HTC Droid DNA charmed you? Let us know in the comments! The post Samsung Galaxy S4 vs HTC Droid DNA appeared first on Android Authority. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sony’s unannounced Xperia SP gets its first render Posted: 16 Mar 2013 05:15 AM PDT
Aside from the flagship Xperia Z and Xperia ZL, Sony is prepping a pair of mid-range phones that have yet to be made official, the Xperia SP and L. We first learned of the former last month, when leaked pictures of the device made their way online. We also know that it's possibly going to be unveiled in Russia in a few days. Now, we have what appears to be the first rendering of the Xperia SP.
The render seems to match the live pictures of the Xperia SP, as seen above. So it looks like there'll be no visual surprise when Sony finally introduces the handset. Some rumored specs of the SP include a 4.55-inch HD display, a dual-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB RAM, and an 8-megapixel rear camera. Not too shabby, right? But apparently they're only good enough to be classified as a mid-ranger nowadays. If you're in the UK, you may get to play with the Xperia SP very soon, as it's been rumored to hit stores in the coming days. It might be offered for around £310 ($470) off-contract, which isn't at all cheap. Are you at all intrigued by the Xperia SP? The post Sony's unannounced Xperia SP gets its first render appeared first on Android Authority. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Second-gen Nexus 7 with high-res display to launch before Retina iPad mini, analyst says Posted: 16 Mar 2013 04:29 AM PDT
Budget tablets with high-resolution displays are coming later this year, an analyst estimates, with the second-gen Nexus 7 to beat to market a Retina iPad mini. DisplaySearch analyst Paul Semenza said that a Nexus 7 2 could arrive with an HD+ resolution display – 1920 x 1200 – that would bump pixel density from 216ppi for the current model up to 323ppi. Display mass production for the Nexus 7 could start in the second quarter of the year, much earlier than panel production for the Retina iPad mini. Apple is said to launch the iPad mini in the third or fourth quarter and equip it with a 2048 x 1536 resolution display, like the one found on the iPad 3 and iPad 4, but smaller. Pixel density would double, from 163 on the first-generation iPad mini to 324 on its successor. Among the potential Retina iPad mini display makers, Semenza lists LG Display, AUO, Japan Display and even Sharp, but he doesn't mention Nexus 7 2 screen suppliers. Actual launch dates for either product aren't provided yet, so we'll have to wait a while for more availability details on these two new products. At the same time, we'll remind you that analysts do make mistakes, and we're yet to see either Google or Apple announce their upcoming tablets, so take everything with a grain of salt for now. The post Second-gen Nexus 7 with high-res display to launch before Retina iPad mini, analyst says appeared first on Android Authority. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motorola Electrify 2 gets upgraded to Jelly Bean Posted: 16 Mar 2013 04:21 AM PDT
The Motorola Electrify 2 was launched in August of last year on U.S. Cellular. Following the arrival of Jelly Bean on its next of kin, the Electrify M, the same Android 4.1.2 upgrade is now rolling out to the Electrify 2. The software update will be pushed out to the device in phases, which means you won't be seeing it right away, unless you're very lucky. Once you've made the jump to the new 9.8.3O-118-14 firmware, you'll be able to enjoy the many awesome features that Jelly Bean has to offer, such as Project Butter, expanded notifications, Voice Search, Google Now, and more. If you're not too familiar yet with Google's excellent personal assistant, you may want to read our Google Now guide, which should make for a good starting point as to how the feature can help get you the information you need automatically. Back to the Jelly Bean update, let us know in the comments below whether you've received it or not. The post Motorola Electrify 2 gets upgraded to Jelly Bean appeared first on Android Authority. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5.2-inch LG Nexus 5 leaks, sounds too good to be true Posted: 16 Mar 2013 03:26 AM PDT
Now that the Galaxy S4 is out we've seen a variety of reports hinting at other smartphones that could be launched in the future, with most of them focusing on Google's X Phone. But there's also a new wild LG Nexus 5 rumor out there. From an untrusted source, Android and Me has gotten a hold of a leaked picture of an LG device that's a candidate for the Nexus 5 position. The leak for this LG Megalodon – apparently that's its codename for now – includes specs and features as follows:
Naturally, we're advising you to take everything with a large chunk of salt for now, as this Nexus 5 sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? At the same time, this isn't the first LG Nexus 5 rumor we've seen, so we wouldn't be surprised to see LG get the Nexus 5 contract after all, no matter whether today's leak proves real or fake. In case we're looking at the real deal, this LG Nexus 5 is said to arrive in October, so there's plenty of time to find out more details about the handset. The post 5.2-inch LG Nexus 5 leaks, sounds too good to be true appeared first on Android Authority. |
If you’re unfamiliar with The Croods, it’s a movie that’s due out in theaters on March 22, 2013 from the well known and widely respected animation studio Dreamworks. It features a few big stars, including Nicolas Cage, Cloris Leachman, Emma Stone, and Ryan Reynolds. As a collaborative effort, Dreamworks worked with Rovio Entertainment to turn The Croods into an Android game. Is it work playing? Well read on to find out. If you’re more of a watcher than a reader, our video review is posted at the bottom.
Australians wanting to get their hands on a Chromebook Pixel can now do so, as Mobicity has begun taking orders.
Kansas City residents with Google Fiber: Google is improving your Fiber experience by offering you its Google Fiber app on more devices than just the Nexus 7 you received with your service package.
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