With Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday far behind us, it's time to take stock of the spoils of war. This week, we got bombarded with a lot of sales and promos, particularly on the entertainment side of things. A lot of new games have also entered Google Play Store and that is what we're turning our attention to in this latest edition of Android Community's Weekly Digest, covering the period from December 1 to December 7, 2014.
Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right
Android is certainly not lacking in JRPGs, both old school and totally new. Kemco is one of the more popular names when it comes to flooding Google Play Store with new titles, and their latest Revenant Saga puts a slight twist by introducing 3D battles in an otherwise purely 2D game. When it comes to old school though, Square Enix is right up there and it has just bestowed Android with yet another Dragon Quest game, Dragon Quest III. Unfortunately, it comes with the notorious Square Enix price tag. Games of high visual caliber aren't exactly that many on our mobile platform, so when games like Godfire: Rise of Prometheus arrives, we take notice. It's like God of War, but on a smartphone. And without physical controls. On the other hand, button mashing and heavy swiping shouldn't be a problem for Shadowrun: Dragonfall, as its turn-based battles and deep story plot makes this cyberpunk-meets-fantasy RPG a refreshing change.
If you haven't been able to decide on what game you'll want to spend your time on, check out Google's own pick for the top games this year. Be sure to also check out our Gaming tag portal for our own selection of new, updated, and sometimes weird games in the market.
Nexus and Android Lollipop
Google and OEMs continue to roll out Android 5.0 Lollipop to devices around the world, but things hit a bit of a snag this week. Though it doesn't really change the status quo, Google updated its support pages to explicitly mention that they are not to blame for delays in releases. While the Nexus promise of two weeks for Android releases still stand, Google passes the buck to carriers for any delays in rolling those out. Of course, that only applies to Nexus and Google Play Edition devices purchased from carriers, while those sold through Google Play Store remain favored.
This week also saw the surprising appearance of Android 5.0.1, a maintenance release seemingly targeted at Nexus tablets, including the Nexus 9, the 2013 Nexus 7 (WiFi), and the Nexus 10. On the other hand, Android 5.0 has started its descent on the Samsung Galaxy S5, starting in Poland, and finally arrives on the GPE variants of the HTC One (M7) and M8.
Cyanogen, OnePlus, and India
A drama that was unfolding a week ago finally came to ahead this week. After several leaks and rumors, both Cyanogen, Inc. and OnePlus confirmed and announced their respective thrusts to take the Indian market. For Cyanogen, however, this was revealed to be an exclusive deal with local OEM Micromax. Shocked and dismayed, OnePlus announced that they would continue to support the OnePlus One in India, even without Cyanogen's help. Cyanogen later clarified that its exclusive partnership with Micromax doesn't mean that it has abandoned the OnePlus One in India and that owners would continue to receive OTA updates. That said OnePlus' plans to develop a non-Cyanogen Android OS of their own seems to remain still on track.
Apps
This week was not without its interesting apps. Mixing humor with mobile devices, McDonalds Canada released a Fry Defender app that would protect your golden brown sticks from would be thieves. AirDroid releases version 3 of its app that lets you control your smartphone from a desktop or laptop, and with it new standalone Windows and Mac clients that will free AidDroid from the shackles of a browser. Cannibal Open Touch joins the custom Android recovery party by offering a fully touch-optimized and themable tool based on the popular ClockworkMod Recovery. A new app from Digital Turbine called Ignite was discovered to bypass Android's security safeguards and install apps without your knowledge or permission, all for the sake of carrier or OEM bloatware. And last but by no means least, Google releases its selection of the best Android apps for 2014.