Home Blog Page 904

Paper Wings is high-flying fun!

AndroidGuys
-
1

Overview:

Paper Wings is a fast-paced arcade game about controlling a papercraft bird to collect coins in an endless run until you miss a coin or die to an obstacle. The difficulty ramps up quickly and the game is fun and has a nice conservationist message built in.

Developer: Fil Games

Cost: Free (with ads)

Impressions:

Paper Wings is a very simple concept on paper (pun intended), with only two buttons that turn your bird left and right to slide it about the screen. You need to rock up and down to facilitate speed and maintain altitude since the bird acts like a paper airplane. The difficulty comes mostly from the lack of control you have over your bird, with the only turning coming from looping around as you’re limited to moving in two directions. To further increase the difficulty, there are also hazards like tracking bombs that are fast and can almost be mistaken for coins.

You have the choice between a large number of real life birds from all over the world to play with, and each one has unique characteristics that change up the gameplay, such as magnets to pull coins or increased power-up times. The different birds all have little biographies about them and where they come from. The game also features a donate option to help support the American Bird Conservancy with donations, which is awesome in its own right.

Conclusion:

I really like Paper Wings, from its cute papercraft visuals to its simple yet challenging gameplay. Its one of the few games I will probably keep on my phone, as I usually delete most of the games I review after I am finished with them. It’s the right mix of short burst play, fun, and polish that makes a mobile game worth playing for me. It’s a

Download Paper Wings on the Google Play Store

What’s the difference: HTC U Ultra vs HTC U11

Alexandra Arici
-
2

Last week HTC took the wraps off its second flagship for 2017, the U11. The phone comes only five months after the HTC U Ultra was announced, which has been received with lackluster interest by the Android community.

Will the HTC U11 be able to do better? It might, as it does have some aces up its sleeve. In what follows we’ll compare HTC’s two flagships and highlight the biggest differences between the two, so you can get a better idea of what the products are all about.

Display & Design

5.7-inch with 1440 x 2560 res vs 5.5-inch with 1440 x 2560 res

513ppi vs 534ppi

The HTC U Ultra is one of the few phones out there that comes with an additional ticker display. In the case of the HTC phone, it’s a 2.05-inch on with 160 x 1040 resolution. It lives on top and its purpose is to relay notification and give quick access to most used apps. Its presence explains why the HTC U Ultra is a bit larger than the HTC U11 which features a 5.5-inch panel just like the Pixel XL. Both feature an advanced QHD resolution.

HTC U11 continues the legacy of the HTC U Ultra by boasting the same glossy, premium look. The camera on the back features a circular form, while the one on the HTC U Ultra was square-ish.

Performance

Snapdragon 821 vs Snapdragon 835

4GB of RAM vs 4GB/6GB of RAM

64GB/128GB vs 64GB/128GB of internal storage

HTC could only manage to secure the Snapdragon 821 for its first 2017 flagship, the U Ultra. But fast forward three months later and the HTC U11 comes with a newer, faster and more efficient Snapdragon 835 processor under the hood.

While the HTC U Ultra comes only in 4GB of RAM configuration, the HTC U11 will be offered with 6GB/128GB storage in Asian markets. The 4GB of RAM and 64GB built-in storage variant is reserved for the US and UK markets.

Both handsets feature microSD card slots to enable users who need more storage to expand up to 256GB.

Cameras

Main Camera: 12-megapixel vs 12-megapixel

Secondary Camera: 16-megapixel vs 16-megapixel

In the photography department, the two phones are quite similar. Both take advantage of a main snapper with phase-detection autofocus, optical image stabilization, and dual-LED flash. Although the HTC U Ultra also has laser autofocus and a f/1.8 aperture, as opposed to f/1.7 on the HTC U11.

In the selfie department, the two HTC flagships employ the power of a powerful 16-megapixel camera with auto HDR and fullHD recording.

Special features

The HTC U Ultra’s standout feature is the secondary display, but the HTC U11 comes with something dubbed Edge Sense. Basically, HTC has embedded a bunch of sensors in the phone’s frame and thus introduced a whole new way for users to interact with their phone by virtue of squeezing. For example, users will be able to squeeze their phone to launch a certain app or snap a selfie.

Virtual assistants are everywhere these days and HTC wants to make sure you’re more than covered in this department, so it has equipped the U11 with three virtual assistant options including its own Sense Companion (also present on the HTC U Ultra), the Google Assistant and the Amazon Alexa.

The HTC U11 also benefits from Boom Sound Hi-Fi technology, something which the HTC U Ultra leaves out.

For both phones, the 3.5mm headphone jack is a thing of the past, but the HTC U11 comes with a Type-C to 3.5mm adapter with built-in DAC.

Software

Android 7.0 Nougat vs Android 7.1 Nougat

Being launched five months later, the HTC U11 comes with the newer Android 7.1 Nougat version onboard, while the HTC U Ultra runs Android 7.0 Nougat with the company’s Sense UI out of the box.

Battery

3,000 mAh vs 3,000 mAh

Like in the case of the HTC U Ultra, the HTC U11 features the same 3,000 mAh battery. Given that both phones feature QHD panels and demanding processors, we don’t expect either of them to be a battery champ. Although a 3,000 mAh juice pack should be able to last up to a day with moderate use.

Pricing

$649 vs $749

Customers can pre-order the HTC U11 for $649 a pop. The HTC U Ultra on the other hand is already available for purchase for $749. But with the HTC U11 offering a better processor, the new Edge Sense frame, more virtual assistants and BoomSound technology, we can’t really think why anyone would choose to pay more for the HTC U Ultra. Unless they are super fans of secondary thicker displays.

Red Sony Xperia XZ Premium smiles for the camera

Alexandra Arici
-
0

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium was the first Snapdragon 835 smartphone to be announced, although the Samsung Galaxy S8 was actually the first to go on sale.

When introduced back at MWC 2017, Sony said the phone will available in Luminous Chrome, Deepsea Black and later added a Bronze Pink option. Well now it seems a fourth color variant will be added soon enough.

The folks at the Android Soul revealed that a Red variant of the Sony Xperia XZ Premium is in the pipeline. The fiery version is probably destined for the Japanese market, but we’re told it will be launched on the international market as well.

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium is a super powerful smartphone coming with a high-end 5.5-inch 4K display, a Snapdragon 835 processor and 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.

The phone boasts an impressive 19-megapixel Motion Eye main snapper which offers the possibility of shooting video in slow motion at 960fps. The camera also includes predictive phase detection, laser autofocus and LED flash. Sony also includes a 13-megapixel selfie snapper with the flagship.

Back in February, Sony said the Xperia XZ Premium is coming to the US late spring. However, the phone’s launch was delayed a little bit. We now expect to see the 4K smartphone land on the market around June, hopefully in the US as well. No word related to the availability of the red Xperia XZ Premium.

Google’s new Family Groups lets family members share content more easily

Alexandra Arici
-
0

Google is encouraging users to share more with their families. The search giant just announced “Family Groups” – an initiative meant to promote easy sharing between family members.

Family groups allows users to easily share via services like YouTube TV, Photos, Calendar and Keep. What this means basically is that these services will get links that will allow you to share content with all members in your Family Group.

Google also said up to six household members will be able to get their own cloud DVR for $35/month. Users will be able to stream live TV from many popular cable networks including ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC.

From now on Family Group will be included into Google Calendar, so family members will have access to a joint family calendars which in turn will allow them to easily keep track of group activities.

With Google Keep, families will be able to share reminders, lists and notes with other members. Google Photos also plays a role in Google’s new family oriented tool, by setting the stage for families to easily send photos and videos.

To set up a family group, you’ll need to head on to the Google family page. If you used YouTube TV or Google Play Family Library previously you might have a family set up already.

The Family Group feature will be available in all the Google services mentioned above starting this week. It’s available in the US and UK, as well as Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia and Spain.

Instagram introduces Location and Hashtag Stories in Explore section

Alexandra Arici
-
0

Another week, another batch of new Instagram features. Now the Facebook-owned social media announced two new tools that will allow users to find out what’s going on around them. Enter the new Location and Hashtag Stories which will soon be live under the Explore section.

Now when you access the Explore tab, you should be able to spot a new Story ring at the top showcasing the things that are happening near you aka posts created by people who used location stickers. Users can also search for a certain location in the world and find out what’s going on in that’s spot by checking the Story ring. The new feature will prove extremely useful for frequent travelers who find themselves in a different location each week and looking for something cool to do.

The second feature, Hashtag Stories allow Instagram users to easily find Stories that are related to their interests. Now when you search for a particular hashtag, the Story ring should appear at the top of the page filled with Stories that include that particular hashtag. In order to create posts that will show in Story, you’ll need to include location hashtags with your Stories.

For those who are interested in privacy and don’t want their Story to appear in the Explore, all you need to do is tap the X in the Stories viewer list.

Location Stories in Explore is currently rolling out to all users through Instagram version 10.22 which is available via the Google Play Store (and iTunes App Store for that matter). As for Hashtag Stories, it will be landing in the upcoming weeks.

Moto G5S Plus leaks shortly after Moto G5S reveals itself

Dan Bartram
-
0

Following the leak of the Moto G5S, its bigger brother has also joined the leak party with a new reveal that shows all the details about the  upcoming Moto G5S Plus.

According to sources, the devices have been confirmed to be called the Moto G5S and Moto G5S Plus, which we kinda already knew. More importantly is some of the specs of the bigger device have leaked.

The Moto G5S Plus will run Android 7.0 Nougat and be powered by an octa-core 64 bit processor. The device will have a 5.5-inch screen running at 1080p resolution on an IPS LCD display. Of most interest seems to be the dual-camera setup on the rear of the device that will be accompanied with a dual-LED flash which is presumably for some depth of field features. There’s a single front-facing camera and single LED flash.

There isn’t much different over the smaller G5S as specs like battery capacity and RAM haven’t yet been leaked, but expect the battery of the G5S Plus to be a higher capacity given the extra space available in the chassis of the 5.5-inch screen device.

Be sure to stay tuned for further details of the Moto G5S and Moto G5S Plus as they emerge.

App Highlight: ZHED

Dan Bartram
-
0

The App

Developed by Ground Control Solutions, ZHED is a new app with only 1000 installs. Having been updated on May 14, 2017, the developer is constantly fixing various bugs with the latest being some gesture fixes. The game is a brain-teaser puzzle that will be sure to challenge you intellectually.

What it does

With no timers, no stars, no clocks, ZHED is a brain-teaser in its purest form. With a simple mechanic, the puzzle game builds into increasingly complex levels that aim to provide a continued challenge. 

Playing ZHED is simple. Tap a square and select a direction (upwards, downwards, to the left and to the right). See how the square reacts when they intersect with each other, and build a path to fill the goal square. When you finished, the next level will show up! You can undo moves or restart levels as much as you want.

Why we like it

As someone who travels a lot I often find myself with periods of no connectivity and puzzle games are a great way to pass the time. ZHED is one of those puzzle games that you’ll always come back to as the concept never gets old and is very challenging. What’s more is you can play it completely free without the need to pay to progress. For those who like a mental challenge, ZHED is definitely one to try out.

How to get it

ZHED is available for free from the Google Play Store. You can download it right here.

How to install the newest Android O beta on your Nexus or Pixel phone the easy way

AndroidGuys
-
2

As many of you likely know, Google is in the midst of releasing its next version of Android to the public. Known only as the “O” release today, it’s currently offered as a beta update to users who own select models of smartphones.

Those of you who like to be up on things as soon as possible may want to install and test out the forthcoming release of Android. Heck, we’re willing to bet that the earliest of adopters have already done so.

Google makes it relatively easy to sign up for, and install, the new build of Android. All you need is the right handset and a few minutes of your time. As of today, there are only a few models with support for Android O: Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Pixel, and Pixel XL. It’s also possible to install on the Nexus Player (set top box) and Pixel C (tablet).

Get Started Right Away

If you’ve got one of those phones and want to install Android O, head over to Google’s Android O Beta Program website. Once there, simply log in with your Google account after which you will learn what the program is about and how it works. It’s also here that we suggest you backup any files or media that you don’t want to lose.

Do note that any time you work with beta releases of software that you can, and may likely, run into the occasional bug or error. These are not final versions of apps or programs; perfecting entire platforms, such as Android, can be troublesome or difficult. This is often why things like this are limited to such a small smattering of models.

Once you are ready to install Android O beta, enroll your device by selecting the proper one from the list. You’ll get a disclaimer that spells out how things will work and what to expect. Agree to it, select “Join beta” and you’re ready to roll.

If there is a beta release to install, it will show up for you under “Check for Update”. If a new beta release is later pushed out by Google, you will receive a notification in your device at which point you can install it.  You can also navigate to the Settings > About > System updates in your phone to manually check for updates, too.

Note that security updates will be processed the same way as before.  Also, once an official, public version is made available, you can install that on your device.

If you’re the type of user who likes to flash ROMs and different builds on your phone, you’ll want to go with the more manual route. We’ve detailed that here before, but it requires you to visit the Google Developer site and download public beta images for flashing.

The updates that you’ll receive as a part of this program are pre-release versions, and may contain errors and defects that can affect normal functioning of your device. The feedback you provide on the Beta will help us identify and fix issues, and make the platform even better.

Do Your Part

One of the main reasons for offering beta versions to the public is to test for problems or recurring issues. Should you see something that doesn’t quite work as expected, let Google know about it.

Send feedback directly from your device through the Android O Quick Settings tile or through Settings > About > Send feedback about this device. Don’t just install something that’s half broken and expect others to notify those in charge. Assume nobody sees the same thing as you and that you’re the first to encounter the problem. You may wish to join the Android Beta Program Google+ community to interact with others and share your feedback.

Go Back

If you get to where you don’t like the beta release or have issues with the build, you can always downgrade to the stable, public stuff. Just like Google does with Chrome, it’s easy to switch builds. For Android beta, you can log in and “Unenroll” your device. Doing so will have Google push the latest general release to your phone or device. Just remember to back things up before starting!

Sky Dancer: A Temple Run-style game for all the dreamers out there (Review)

Alexandra Arici
-
0

Overview

Endless runner-style games aren’t a novelty, but the poetically named Sky Dancer manages to distinguish itself from the slew of Temple Run alternatives out there.

Not only does Sky Dancer provide gamers with challenging gameplay, but it also creates a unique atmosphere thanks to its beautiful graphics and immersive music. Did I get your attention? Keep reading below to find out more.

Developer: Pine Entertainment

Price: Free

Impressions

If you’ve been playing Temple Run before, you’ll have no problem navigating the word of Sky Dancer. At first you play a character called Tharbadis, a martial arts experts of sorts, whose objective is to jump down platform, avoid obstacles and collect as many coins as possible.

There are actually 10 different Sky Dancers characters available and more will be coming with future updates. However, you’ll need to collect orbs of light and coins to unlock additional characters.

Game controls are quite simple. You keep running automatically and tapping on both sides of the display will make your character jump over an obstacle or from one platform to another. Tap left or right to control the direction of your character. In theory it sounds quite simple, but in reality it proves quite challenging.

Navigating through the air towards the next platform is probably what makes this game so hard to master. My strategy, after numerous failures – mind you, involves moving in the general direction of the platform while in the air, and making some last minute adjustments as the character reaches the platform.

At first, when you make the plunge it’s quite complicated to approximate the location of the platform and sometimes you end up moving the character too far to the left or right, only to see it get swallowed up by the void.  But after numerous trials, I finally managed to get the gist.

Gamers can gain more points by completing Challenges like Dive across a chasm or Survive for 30 seconds and Perform a precise jump right after a perfect landing. The majority of missions are accumulative and can be completed after multiple attempts.

But to be frank, it’s not the game play that drew me to the game, but its almost-dreamlike atmosphere. You see, the game is dominated by an eerie sentiment, as the world of Sky Dancer seems remotely distant from our own with its peculiar geography and spectacular sunsets and exponentially large moon. Atmospheric effects allow you to start the game at sunrise or sundown and as to advance through the levels watch the moon rise in the distance.

There’s not much of a story to backup game play in Sky Dancer, but for me this proved to be a positive feature, as it allowed me to create my own narrative – one involving an alien race descendant from humans, fighting for survival on a distant planet.

While the app is free to download and play, but you should be aware there are in-game purchases that can get you coins or new characters. The game is also ad-supported, so expect a few annoying ads to pop up while  you’re navigating the game’s settings or such.

Video ads are also present – but the good news is that they are hidden behind an optional button that appears when you die. Even so, the ads do not disturb game play in any way, so you can expect a seamless game experience.

I couldn’t finish off this review without mentioning the game should run fluidly on most devices. I didn’t have a problem playing it on my average-specced Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016) – no random freezes or slowing down of game play involved.

Conclusion

The game’s developers freely admit they have created Sky Dancer out of their passionate love for Temple Run. Still Pine Entertainment took things to the next level with Sky Dancer by placing the gamer within unearthly world full of mystery and wonder. The simple controls and engaging playing style also contribute to the unforgettable experience that is Sky Dancer.

Download Sky Dancer from the Google Play Store

From slow data speeds to space issues, these ‘Lite’ apps are a must-try (Sponsored)

AndroidGuys
-
0

With the advent of smart phones everything is available at the download of an app. There are some services which are even available exclusively via app. Rich apps do provide the best service but they also take up a lot of memory space and tend to slow down the phone. The market is flooding with phones which do not have an expandable memory and in this scenario, it becomes difficult to manage all the necessary apps and yet have enough space for pictures, messages etc. Moreover, if you are on a slow speed Internet plan or travelling somewhere with bad Internet, it is impossible to access your apps. But there is a wise solution to this issue. You can download these Lite app alternatives for most of the essential things you do on the Internet.

Note that not all of these titles may be available in your market or for your device.

Facebook Lite

There is barely anyone who doesn’t check their Facebook from their phone. But it does take up a lot of RAM, making your phone run slower and even hang from time to time. Hence, a number of people even install the Facebook app to browse it. But being quite a large app. It takes up precious memory space. Instead, install the Facebook Lite app, which uses less than 1 MB of your device space, and browse at super fast speed.

Suggest: Facebook Lite (Official) | Swipe for Facebook

Messenger Lite

Do you like to stay connected all the time? If you want to receive every single message, wherever you go, irrespective of Internet speed or memory space, install this excellent app and never miss another message again. Light and user friendly, this is the best way to browse through your messages, reply or delete them in a jiffy. Although it lacks camera features right now, it is extremely useful for your basic messaging needs. Moreover, with the latest developments, you can expect all the features soon.

Messenger Lite (Official) | Lite Messenger for Facebook

Twitter Lite

Isn’t it incredibly frustrating when you have just thought of a witty one liner or a fiery political tweet but Twitter simply wouldn’t load or worse, your phone hangs! Put your woes to rest with this amazing Twitter Lite app which is super fast, efficient and has all the features of your desktop site, right on the phone. It is a Progressive Web App and even comes with a data saving mode for those times when you are low on money as well as data.

Twitter Lite (Official) | Fast Lite

“Instagram Lite”

One of the most annoying situations is when you are looking great or hanging out with your friends but cannot take a picture because you have run out of memory space on your phone. With this Instagram Lite app, save up your precious memory for all those amazing pictures.

Lite for Facebook and Instagram

MobiKwik Lite

With this Lite app, you can make your payments with much ease instead of worrying about payment failure or slowing down your phone. It is high speed and super efficient as well.

Mobikwik Lite (Official)

Opera Lite

Popular browser like Chrome or Firefox are notorious for their consumption of RAM. Instead of that, give Opera Mini a try. It is an incredibly fast, neat browser with the most advanced features that you will need. Want to book a table at the newest restaurant or check out the features of the latest laptop reviews to find the best of stunning designs, display, performance and connectivity and support? Why not use Opera Mini instead of your regular browser! Give this a try and you will be wowed by how easy and fast it is!

Opera Mini

These Lite apps are available for most of your essentials apps. These save space and work even on slow Internet as well. Being small in size, they do not consume too much RAM and hence, can function smoothly even on older models. With all the saved space, you can take pictures with your friends or your kitten’s videos without have to worry about space. So, go out and make memories instead of burdening your phone with a heavy app!

1...903904905...1,315Page 904 of 1,315