Android Authority

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• HTC One trade-in deal deadline extended again
• Rogers Xperia ZL pricing leaked ahead of early April launch
• The Best Live Wallpapers for Android – Android Authority
• 32GB Nexus 7 up for sale on e-Bay’s Daily Deals for $229
• Developer Appxplore launches Alien Hive on the Google Play Store
• Microsoft’s Xbox did not infringe Google patent, judge rules
• HP develops next-gen 3D mobile display, no glasses required
• Gameloft’s UNO & Friends announced for Android with an official trailer
• Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini reportedly appears on official Samsung website
• Love ‘Game of Thrones’? Grab the companion app from Google Play for free

HTC One trade-in deal deadline extended again Posted: 23 Mar 2013 06:03 PM PDT After failing to ship the HTC One according to the initial launch schedule, HTC has decided to offer potential buyers another extension for the HTC One trade-in program. This is the second time HTC does this in a matter of days in order to cope with the HTC One shipping problems. Here’s what HTC told AndroidGuys: HTC is thrilled with the positive response we have received to our $100 trade-up offer. Due to this, we are extending the offer for customers who purchase the HTC One by 4/26 and trade in their old device by 5/31. We are pleased to bring this offer to even more customers so they can upgrade to the HTC One at an amazing price. HTC One buyers that register on the company's website until April 4 and buy the device by April 26, will get some cash-back for their old handset. Depending on the trade-in value, you'll a pre-paid Visa gift card with at least $100 credit on it (perhaps more depending on the value of your trade-in) as long as you complete one more step by May 31. That's mailing a copy of the proof of purchase of your new HTC One alongside the handset you're trading-in for the new HTC smartphone. Are you buying an HTC One this year? What handset will you trade-in? The post HTC One trade-in deal deadline extended again appeared first on Android Authority.

Rogers Xperia ZL pricing leaked ahead of early April launch Posted: 23 Mar 2013 05:40 PM PDT Those Rogers subscribers interested in getting on of Sony's new high-end Xperia handsets should be happy to hear that the Xperia ZL will soon be available from the Canadian carrier, with a new leak confirming launch details for this particular mobile operator. Sure, it's not the Xperia Z flagship, but the Xperia ZL is definitely worth considering when buying a new handset this year. In case you forgot, the Xperia ZL features a 5-inch 1080p display (443PPI) with Mobile Bravia Engine 2 technology, 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM, 4G LTE, 13-megapixel camera with Exmor RS sensor, 2-megapixel front-facing camera and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. According to a leaked screenshot published by MobileSyrup, the phone will be available in Canada in early April, having an estimated ship date of April 2. The internal document in the following image also reveals the pricing structure for the smartphone: $624.99 outright or $124.99 with a new three-year contract with the carrier. A few days ago, we told you that the handset is available for pre-order from Sony, carrying an off contract price of $674.99. Are you buying the Xperia ZL or are you more interested in getting your hands on the Xperia Z? The post Rogers Xperia ZL pricing leaked ahead of early April launch appeared first on Android Authority.

The Best Live Wallpapers for Android – Android Authority Posted: 23 Mar 2013 04:05 PM PDT Simple put, there are a lot of live wallpapers out there. You can find anything from simple wallpapers that just change color to ones that look and do crazy things. You can even find live wallpapers that have functionality. Finding the ones you’re looking for can be tough since there are so many. We’ve decided to help out by providing a best live wallpapers for Android list that you can start your search from. As usual, if you’d rather watch it, then we have posted our video at the bottom. Source url To download Android Pro! Live Wallpaper, click on the source URL. Androids Pro! Live Wallpapers First on our list is Androids Pro! live wallpaper. This is a simplistic wallpaper with a lot of customization options. There are a few shapes to choose from and you can make them pretty much any color you want. You can also change the background color or pattern. Once you have the objects and colors picked out, you can change the physics, size, and speed of the objects to your liking. So it’s possible to have a hundred little objects floating around or one giant Andy the Android floating around. As far as live wallpapers go, Androids Pro! is pretty typical. The free version is the same as the paid version except a few settings are locked. People seem to really like the paid version, however, and it has already amassed a 4.9 rating in the Google Play Store. So if you like Androids, customization, and live wallpapers that aren’t overly complicated, Androids Pro! is one to check out. Source url To download Christmas Rink Live Wallpaper, click on the source URL. Christmas Rink Live Wallpapers Christmas Rink Live Wallpaper is our next app and, admittedly, it’s really only worthy during one time of the year. Due to shopping crazes, that time of year lasts like three months, but who are we to complain? Christmas Rink is a very simple background and one of the more elegant live wallpapers on our list. It features an ice skating rink with a Christmas tree centerpiece that people ice skate around. It’s also interactive, as tapping skaters will make them skate faster. There aren’t a lot of customizations with this one. You can change the skaters to elves or Santa Claus if you want to. You can also control the snow that falls. However, that’s about it. If you’re not af an of Christmas or if you want something like this year round, the developer of Christmas Rink has a few other live wallpapers depicting other holidays. Source url To download Device Info Ex Live Wallpaper, click the source URL. Device Info Ex Live Wallpapers If you’re a regular watcher and reader of our app lists, then you’ve seen Device Info Ex Live Wallpaper before. It’s a favorite of ours and happens to also be the most functional of the live wallpapers on our list. Instead of just playing some animations and looking pretty, Device Info LWP shows you a variety of stats about your phone. You can view your CPU and RAM usage, storage, temperature, time, and even things like compass and tilt. You can customize Device Info in a lot of ways. You can change the colors of the background to match whatever theme you’re using. Also, the stat boxes are modular. So you can click and drag them which allows you to arrange the boxes in any order you like. You can also delete categories you don’t want or use. None of the other live wallpapers on this list have the functionality and usefulness of Device Info LWP. Source url To download Gold Future Interface Live Wallpaper, click the source URL. Gold Future Interface Live Wallpapers Gold Future Interface Live Wallpaper is a simple app but it looks glorious. It has a Dues Ex kind of flavor and that cyberpunk look is totally awesome. It features a gold color scheme with a clock, some moving spotlights, and some spinning circles that move when you change home screens. It has a lot going on but it really is a simple live wallpaper. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of customization options. You can change the position of the clock and the clock itself. Other settings include the speed of the animations and where other graphics are placed. However, unlike most of these live wallpapers, you can’t change the color scheme of Gold Future Interface. So if you don’t like gold, you probably won’t like this. Source url To download Koi Live Wallpaper, click on the source URL. Koi Live Wallpapers Of all the live wallpapers on this list, Koi Live Wallpaper is among the most beautiful. It’s essentially a pond where a bunch of Koi fish are swimming around. When you touch the screen, the water will ripple. When you touch the fish, they’ll get scared and swim away, and if you double tap, it’ll drop little blue flakes that the fish will eat. If you’re a fan of nature, then you’ll just love this wallpaper. There is nothing in this live wallpaper that can’t be customized. You can change how many fish there are and pick their colors individually. The water ripple effect can be controlled. There is a healthy supply of background images to choose from. So if nature, water scenes, and fish are your thing, this is one of the best live wallpapers on the list for you. Source url To download Snowfall Live Wallpaper, check out the source URL. Snowfall Live Wallpapers Snowfall Live Wallpaper has been around so long that it can be considered a classic. It was released during the very first waves of live wallpapers when the feature first became available and it’s still among the most popular and highest rated live wallpapers to date. It features a tree line view with falling snow. It’s a calm live wallpaper for those who don’t like a lot of action going on. It also happens to have a decent amount of customization options. Our favorite is the feature where you can have it switch from night to day based on what time it is. So it’ll be dark at night and bright during the day. You can also control snow fall, the trees swaying, and a number of other variables. If you want some more color, you can even add aurora borealis. If you’re into the Christmas spirit, you set Santa Claus to fly at random intervals across your screen. Source url To download Thunderstorm Live Wallpaper, click on the source URL. Thunderstorm Live Wallpapers Like Snowfall, Thunderstorm Live Wallpaper was around back when live wallpapers were a new feature. Also, like Snowfall, it continues to be among the highest rated in the Google Play Store. As the name implies, Thunderstorm shows people a thunderstorm on their devices. It’s complete with rain, moving clouds, and lightning strikes. It’s another one of our favorites on the list. It has a surprising amount of customization options as well. Really, you can make this do whatever you want. One of our favorites is the ability to set off a lightning strike by touching the screen. You can control the intensity of the lightning strikes as well. Perhaps its most unique feature is the ability to change the color of everything. You can do a black sky with red lightning if you want to. Or green lightning on a purple sky. It really is up to you and makes this among the best live wallpapers on the list. Source url To download Vortex Galaxy Live Wallpaper, click the source URL. Thunderstorm Live Wallpapers No really, Vortex Galaxy is probably the most beautiful live wallpaper on this list. It’s a space scene. So if you like space scenes, you can appreciate this live wallpaper even more. When you set it up, it fades in with a myriad of beautiful colors and stars. Then it will pulse and rotate and otherwise just sit there and be pretty. There is little to no interaction, though, so people who like slow wallpapers without a lot of action will enjoy this one. It also has very few customization options. What few options there are will be barely noticeable if you change them. So with Vortex Galaxy, what you see is pretty much what you get. This is no big deal because it looks very good and because it is very colorful, it can go with a plethora of themes already. Leaderboard and Wrap Up If you check out our leader board, you can see how all these apps rank up against one another. We at Android Authority do not have a ranking system. These are simply sorted by how they’re rated in the Google Play Store. So there is no bias by us. This is how the people who use these applications rated them. Also, an obligatory shout out to the live wallpaper Magic Butts. It didn’t rank high enough to be on the list itself but it was insisted that we include it somewhere. So here is its honorary shout out. If you like jiggling badonkadonks, then you can give Magic Butt a try in the Google Play Store. Of course, there are hundreds of live wallpapers in the Google Play Store. So it’s very possible that we may have missed one or two. So feel free to leave a comment below with your favorite live wallpapers if you think we missed one. Caring is sharing, is it not? The post The Best Live Wallpapers for Android – Android Authority appeared first on Android Authority.

32GB Nexus 7 up for sale on e-Bay’s Daily Deals for $229 Posted: 23 Mar 2013 02:23 PM PDT The 32GB Nexus 7 model has gone up for sale on e-Bay's Daily Deals for a mere $229, which is a bit cheaper than what the device is running for on the Google Play store. If you're in the market for a Nexus 7, the sale is quite a steal, especially with free shipping included. Of course, there's only a limited quantity available, so you'll need to snag one of these bad boys fast. Are you getting a Nexus 7 now that it has a discounted price? If you’re interested, be sure to hit the source link. The post 32GB Nexus 7 up for sale on e-Bay’s Daily Deals for $229 appeared first on Android Authority.

Developer Appxplore launches Alien Hive on the Google Play Store Posted: 23 Mar 2013 01:52 PM PDT Appxplore, a developer well known for a game called Sporos, has release a new game this week, Alien Hive. Alien Hive may, at first, look like another Bejewled clone, but don't let that be a turn-off, as the developer has incorporated some very unique features in the game, which, as Android Police notes, puts an interesting twist on the genre. In Alien Hive, just like you would slide three jewels together in Bejewled, you slide three alien seeds and eggs together. This results in evolving alien life, which you have to do more and more to create an advanced being without running out of energy. Focusing on developing alien life isn't the only thing you're going to have to worry about though. Robots will notch up the difficulty level of Alien Hive a bit when they begin to steal your evolving aliens, which you have to fend off with the variety of powerups you're given. The powerups are a nice addition to the game, but the items, like blasters and worm holes, are what you would expect from any alien-themed game. While Alien Hive may be hard during the first few levels, players should be able to ease into the concept of the game rather quickly with a helpful set of introductory lessons. Alien Hive is a casual game, so players will be able to learn and move through levels at their own pace. The game is currently available for free in the Google Play Store, but it is ad supported. If your interest is peaked, make sure to hit the source link below! The post Developer Appxplore launches Alien Hive on the Google Play Store appeared first on Android Authority.

Microsoft’s Xbox did not infringe Google patent, judge rules Posted: 23 Mar 2013 01:15 PM PDT Google-owned Motorola Mobility went after Microsoft over a patent involving the Xbox, and administrative law judge David P. Shaw has ruled in Microsoft’s favor. U.S. Patent Number 6,069,896 describes a technology that allows devices to communicate wirelessly over short distances. Microsoft was, to no surprise, “pleased with the administrative law judge’s finding,” while Google said it looks forward to the ITC’s final decision which will take place in July. In the meantime, Google has the chance to petition the International Trade Commission over the judge’s ruling and impose an import ban on the Xbox. Back in 2010, Motorola filed a complaint that accused Microsoft of infringing five different patents. Four of those patents have since been dropped. In fact, two patents regarding video-decoding were dropped by Motorola after Google reached an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission. That agreement promises that Google will not pursue sales bans based on infringement of standard essential patents (FRAND), patents which are, well, essential to devices. We’ll have to wait until July to see what the final decision is between both tech giants. However, with several patents being dropped in the past and the judge ruling in favor of Microsoft, it’s not looking like Google will be getting the decision it hopes for. The post Microsoft’s Xbox did not infringe Google patent, judge rules appeared first on Android Authority.

HP develops next-gen 3D mobile display, no glasses required Posted: 23 Mar 2013 12:48 PM PDT HP has developed a 3D screen for mobile devices that requires no glasses, and will be revealed in the Scientific Journal Nature on March 28. 3D hasn’t caught on like electronic manufacturers would have hoped for, a big problem being that many users experience headaches. Here is how this new screen from HP works: with traditional 3D mobile displays, the user has to be directly in front and center in order to see the effect. However, HP has created a way where you can still see a 3D effect with the display and user at as much as a 45 degree viewing angle. To pull this new display off, HP is using nanotechnology which involves multiple circles with tiny grooves etched into the glass, allowing for up to 64 different points of view. The grooves bend light and allow the user to see two points at one time, one with each eye, creating the no-glasses 3D effect. There are no details on when this display will make its way to phones or tablets, but HP may finally have a nice 3D solution for future mobile devices. The post HP develops next-gen 3D mobile display, no glasses required appeared first on Android Authority.

Gameloft’s UNO & Friends announced for Android with an official trailer Posted: 23 Mar 2013 11:52 AM PDT While Gameloft may already offer a decent version of UNO, that isn't stopping the developer from improving upon it. The studio has launched an announcement trailer unveiling its second UNO game, UNO & Friends. UNO & Friends promises to bring the thrill of the classic competitive card game UNO to Android, iOS and Facebook. Unlike Gameloft's previous UNO game, UNO & Friends will let players create their own multiplayer games with friends, family and even other random players around the world. Players have no need to worry about a lack of players to compete against, as Gameloft has added cross-platform multiplayer support to the game. Players, whether they be on Android, iOS or at home on Facebook, will be able to compete with each other seamlessly. Those players will also be able to start a game on Facebook and pick up where they left off on an Android or iOS device. In addition to the droves of multiplayer features, you'll be able to customize your game with unique avatars, different background themes and themed card decks too. With social features being at the core of UNO & Friends, Gameloft has added a weekly and all-time leaderboard to the game where players can compete for the top ranks. If you're a big fan of UNO and are looking forward to its dazzling multiplayer aspects, be sure to keep an eye out, as the game should be available very soon! The post Gameloft’s UNO & Friends announced for Android with an official trailer appeared first on Android Authority.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini reportedly appears on official Samsung website Posted: 23 Mar 2013 09:51 AM PDT Yesterday, photos were posted to Twitter revealing the Galaxy S4 Mini. However, another image was posted to Twitter today reportedly revealing four Galaxy S4 Mini model listings on the Samsung support website. Italian publication Android Caotic (source below) reports that the GT-I9190 is the standard Galaxy S4 Mini model while the GT-I9192 is the dual-SIM version. The GT-I9195 is reportedly the LTE variant and the GT-I9198 seems to be a model being made for China. This, of course, has not been confirmed by Samsung, so it’d be best to treat it as a rumor for now. On the other hand, it would be highly possible that four Galaxy S4 Mini models exist considering Samsung often makes multiple models for different markets. According to SamMobile, the Galaxy S4 Mini is expected to have a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD 960 × 540 display with a pixel density of 256ppi. It is also said to have a 1.6GHz dual-core processor and is running the latest version of Android, 4.2.2. The post Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini reportedly appears on official Samsung website appeared first on Android Authority.

Love ‘Game of Thrones’? Grab the companion app from Google Play for free Posted: 23 Mar 2013 07:13 AM PDT Are you a fan of the epic HBO TV series – and the superb novels – the Game of Thrones? If you're still trying to make your way through the books, whilst waiting for season 3 to start on the small screen, we know how difficult it can be to follow the story. While it's easy enough to hop on Wikia to try and make a better sense of the book's often twisted storyline and characters, now there's an alternative for those who like to get their fix of the hit show on Android devices. Previously released on iOS, the Game of Thrones Android app – A World of Ice and Fire – has landed on the Play Store. The app features profiles for over 540 characters complete with artwork, 380 places, and major houses, as well as interactive world maps. Rooting for Daenerys? Well, you can easily learn more things about her, such as her detailed bio, family and house information, and more. You can download the app for free, but it only lets you access the InfoPack from the first book. Each additional book companion will set you back $1. You might as well grab the complete set for $5 and get a bonus InfoPack. Hit the link below to get your copy now. To get you in the medieval mood, we’ve also embedded the latest Game of Thrones trailer above. Enjoy! The post Love 'Game of Thrones'? Grab the companion app from Google Play for free appeared first on Android Authority.

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