Android World: AndroidGuys

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

AndroidGuys

Galaxy Note 8.0 rumored to receive a new color for the summer
Google may be announcing “Google Playground”, a rival to Apple’s GameCenter, on May 15th
Consumer Cellular adds LG 930 and Samsung Galaxy Exhilarate to Android portfolio
LG Optimus G successor spied on Sprint website
Rovio intros Accounts for cross-device game sync
Ring Defense – A vectorized tower defense game with a George Bush cameo

Galaxy Note 8.0 rumored to receive a new color for the summer

Posted: 07 May 2013 12:48 PM PDT

Thanks to our pals at SamMobile and an insider at Samsung Benelux, we have learned that Samsung may be working on releasing the Galaxy Note 8.0 in color. The new hue is expected to be a "Brown Black," and as of now it looks like it may be available around the 25th week of the year (also known as mid-June to us basic folk.)

Other than a new color, the specs and features will remain the same. The Galaxy Note 8.0 has an 8.0-inch display at 1280 x 800, quad-core 1.6GHz Exynos processor, 2GB of RAM, a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, as well as a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera. The tablet is also running Jelly Bean and includes support for the S Pen.

So far there aren’t images of this Brown Black Galaxy Note 8.0 floating around just yet, but we have heard the new color is expected to be available for both the WiFi and the 3G-equipped models.

Source: SamMobile

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Google may be announcing “Google Playground”, a rival to Apple’s GameCenter, on May 15th

Posted: 07 May 2013 12:46 PM PDT

According to various sources around the internet, some very special people are receiving some very special invites. The invites supposedly offer people an opportunity to “reinvent the playground” at Google I/O on May 15th at 9 AM. Here’s a look at the invite:

Now, of course, there’s always the possibility that this is fake. Some giveaway clues, for example, include the low-resolution space invaders style android heads, as well as the overall seeming lack of simplistic eye candy that Google is so famous for when it comes to design. So, take this with a grain of salt, but keep it in the back of your mind for I/O. Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments.

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Consumer Cellular adds LG 930 and Samsung Galaxy Exhilarate to Android portfolio

Posted: 07 May 2013 10:11 AM PDT

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Consumer Cellular announced on Tuesday that a pair of Android handsets have joined the carrier’s growing roster. As part of an expected larger rollout of smartphones, the LG 930 and Samsung Galaxy Exhilarate are two very different options for the no-contract AARP crowd.

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The Samsung Galaxy Exhilarate runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and features a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 4-inch display, and 5-megapixel camera. Priced at $150, the phone is more than enough to get your older family members started on Android.

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The LG 930 runs $300 and features a more powerful experience with specs that include a 4.5-inch IPS HD display. Additional details include Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 8-megapixel rear camera, and 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

Outside of the standard fare of rate plans, Consumer Cellular also provides five “Connect!” data plans for smartphone users. Light usage plans offer 10MB of data with heavy usage defined as 1GB per month. Consumers can pick and choose data plans at any time, making changes without penalty.

Consumer Cellular

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LG Optimus G successor spied on Sprint website

Posted: 07 May 2013 08:08 AM PDT

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A new LG smartphone has been spotted on Sprint’s website, potentially leading to a successor to the LG Optimus G. Found with the model number LS980, the handset looks to run Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. Additional details are found to include 2GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, a 1920x1080p HD display, and rear 13-megapixel camera.

It’s ugly stuff, but you can piece the details together out of this build.prop info page. Also, the Bluetooth SIG has some information that seemingly confirms some of the details.

Looking ahead, we’re likely in for an Optimus G2 and not the Optimus G Pro.

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Rovio intros Accounts for cross-device game sync

Posted: 07 May 2013 06:58 AM PDT

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Ever find yourself installing a game, –let’s say, Angry Birds– on one device that you’ve already started playing on another handset? Maybe you purchased a tablet and thought, “Hey, I bet it’s a lot easier to play on the 7-inch screen.” What happens? You log in, and have to start all over again. Agonizing, isn’t it?

Rovio has introduced a feature called Rovio Accounts which lets you sync your levels across multiple devices and back up your progress. A long time coming, it should help ease your three-star frustrations.

Rovio Account lets you store your game progress and continue playing on another device…Our fans have been asking for a way to play their game on different phones or tablets without losing their progress when changing the device. This is exactly what Rovio Account lets you do!

Unfortunately, this isn’t something you’ll find on all of the Rovio titles; Rovio Account is currently available in The Croods game and in Angry Birds on iOS in Finland and Poland. A global expansion is expected for the flagship game and the other Rovio titles.

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Ring Defense – A vectorized tower defense game with a George Bush cameo

Posted: 07 May 2013 06:34 AM PDT

Ring Defense follows the basic formula of tower-defense games. You build towers, traps, and guns to defeat wave after wave of enemies trying to capture your castle or base or, in this case, your energy. What Ring Defense does not adhere to is the general gaming rule that you can throw in a few unique twists but you can’t uniquely twist everything.

From the start, Ring Defense has a very common vector-style map. Every level has different layouts, but there are squares where you can place and build up your defenses like most tower-defense games. However, the further you delve into the game, the more you notice that every common gameplay element in Ring Defense has an uncommon layer on top of it.

Your defense towers cannot only be upgraded (as is normal), they can be combined with other towers to create a doubly dangerous mixture of status ailments like critical, poison, slow, and other elements dependent upon the colors you’ve mixed. Aside from that, towers are not hindered by the allotted squares; they can become traps if they’re moved into the paths of the enemies, slowing and hindering the enemy’s progress, and they can become bombs to throw at every enemy within a wave (though you’ll lose that tower). Finally, there isn’t a set number of points you have to save from the enemies; instead, you gain energy from killing them and lose energy by letting them past your defenses so do not let your energy get to 0.

Ring Defense also throws tons of options at you so that you can customize your experience. You can fast forward, pause, slow down, order the next wave in, change your tower’s and even set the health and pace of yourself or the waves of enemies. These are very welcome options to all tower-defense skill levels as you can make the game as easy or difficult as you like.

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Other options you can modify include a skill tree to make your towers cheaper or stronger, a level editor to create your own maps, and an option to choose what the enemies look like. Yes, you can destroy Pac-Man lookalikes or laser George Bush’s head as it makes a break for your energy. There are options for almost everything including gameplay modes like time trials and sudden death.

If you’re looking for an ultimately customizable tower-defense game, Ring Defense is the best out there. While the graphics are on the lower end, you can’t sell towers (though you can move them), and there aren’t as many levels as I would have liked, Ring Defense excels at being a great mobile game that you can cater to play exactly how you want.