It doesn't take long for a new Android phone or tablet to get cluttered up with rolls of pictures, redundant apps, unused widgets, cached files and the troublingly vague "Misc" data that seems to take up more and more internal storage with each passing week. Take a few minutes to blow the cobwebs out of your device's cupboards and get your streamlined, lean gadget back.
Curved OLEDs are nothing new for Samsung – they have a track record of this in smartphone devices and wearables. But the three-sided AMOLED displays, with three functional sides simultaneously putting out different information is going to be a new thing, if not really groundbreaking technology. If Samsung’s suppliers are to be believed, the South Korean electronics giant has just started manufacturing in small scale three-sided display prototypes.
Samsung is supposedly looking at displays that could wrap around – are at least cover the general area – of three sides of a device. It looks like they’re studying displays that wrap around the left and right sides, and ones that wrap around the top and bottom sides as well.
There have been early prototypes – maybe you’ve seen one or two of those – but it looks like Samsung is a bit more serious these days in trying to bring out something new to break away from the growing pack of Android device manufacturers that have slowly started catching up to their hegemony.
Rumors were that there was a challenge on mass manufacturing materials, and that the current raw materials available would make any device with such features very pricey and premium – much like the Galaxy Round, a premium device with a curved display. If you also remember the rumors, the Galaxy Note 4 was expected to have at least a 2-sided display, but these manufacturing challenges may make it impossible for the technology to be launched this year. In the next generation of Samsung devices – probably next year – these features may come into play.
VIA: GforGames
SOURCE: ZDNet Korea
The NFL is also making the information jump to Android, putting out the “NFL Now” as a kind of one-stop shop for everything NFL – think of a slimmer version of the NBA League Pass. NFL fans will surely welcome the wide array of videos and information available through the app.
It seems like everybody needs to get all their sports information on their mobile phones and devices these days, and NFL Now is one sure way to drown in an avalanche of videos and information about your favorite NFL team, especially as pre-season comes rolling in. So what do you get with the NFL Now app? A LOT.
NFL assures users that this will be the largest NFL video library available to any mobile user, and it is of course personalized to whom your favorite players and teams are. The videos include your basic highlights and clips, including commentary and videos of breaking news taped from NFL’s new studio built just for NFL Now. Depending on what kind of NFL fan you are, there would seem to be something for everybody – you choose your players and teams, and there is a guaranteed 4,800 minutes of video from each team on a weekly basis.
If you want to go for an even deeper dive than that, there will be a paid version of the app – the NFL Now Plus, which will be downloadable for USD$1.99 – where users get instant access to in-game highlights as games from the upcoming season roll in. As for the standard – and free – NFL Now app, we would assume that there are plenty of videos and information in the free app for you to begin with, downloadable via the Google Play Store.
SOURCE: NFL
This is action film director extraordinaire John Woo’s first dig in mobile gaming – he released a rather forgettable console game called Stranglehold – and it is called “Bloodstroke”. If you dig action games, you might want to check this one out, it is now available free (with in-app purchases) via the Google Play Store.
When you play on your mobile, chances are you aren’t looking for a deep and immersive plot to dive into – you’re probably just looking for a casual game to pass the time. This game will most likely tick all those boxes – there is a storyline (more on that later), but it’s really nothing to write home about. It’s the action game design that will probably get you.
The game has you playing as a female bodyguard to a valuable scientist-slash-client. You can probably guess the storyline from there – yes, there are baddies out there wanting to get to your client for what he has in his head, and you get to protect him with your kick-ass John Woo martial arts moves and gun skills.
The gameplay may be a bit repetitive, and the in-app purchase ads a bit annoying, but there is enough novelty here for you to want to pick up this game. The artsy take on blood spillage – red paint with the stroke of a brush, hence “Bloodstroke” (geddit?) – is sure to stand out on devices that have better graphics chips. Get the app from the source link, it will cost you USD$0.99.
SOURCE: Google Play Store
On the wake of US President Barack Obama signing the Unlocking Consumer Act law, T-Mobile seems to have unconsciously complied with speed by coming out with a SIM unlocker app. But hold on to your horses, it’s not going to be the one you’re thinking of, because telcos will be telcos – this one works (currently) for only one device.
The app is called “Device Unlock”, and is downloadable via the Google Play Store. So far it is confirmed that the app only works with T-Mo’s Samsung Galaxy Avant, a low end smartphone on the carrier’s catalog. Before you even ask – yes, we have reports of people using it in other T-Mobile devices such as the Galaxy S5, but the unlocking was (of course) unsuccessful.
There are two options available on the app – the “temporary unlock”, which is reportedly for 30 days. This is nice for people going out of the country and looking to use a local telco’s SIM card while they are in that country. The other option is the “permanent unlock” – and there are bound to be caveats with T-Mobile with that option, we think. There is still no word on whether T-Mobile will be adding more devices supported by the unlocking app.
With the Unlocking Consumer Act a law now, we might be seeing more and more of these kinds of apps coming out from the telcos themselves. One statute of the act is that the mobile carriers should be able to assist those who have no tech savvy in unlocking their phones – provided that ownership of the device is already achieved. An app is surely a hassle-free way to do it.
VIA: Android Central
Another classic JRPG title is hitting Android to entertain old and new generations of gamers. However, as Dragon Quest IV is yet another Square Enix distributed game, more veteran Android gamers will know what to expect when it comes to the price tag. Given this game's pedigree and features, it might be a price well worth paying.
DQ IV is actually a game composed of many games, or rather many chapters. It details the adventures of five main characters in five different chapters: Ragnar the noble knight, Alena the tomboyish princess, Torneko the weapon merchant, mystical sisters Meena and Maya, and finally, you, the chosen one, band together with other chosen ones to, of course, save the world. There is also a bonus extra chapter that can be unlocked after finishing all five. DQ IV boasts of many unique features that you are wont to find in golden age JRPGs, like Party Talk, unique to this mobile version, which lets players talk to any of their in-game friends at any time, or AI battles, which lets players instruct party members to act automatically.
This game might not have the more modern 3D game assets of Dragon Quest VIII, which was released on Android last May, but it still bears the mobile-friendly modifications that Square Enix introduced in that game as well. In other words, you won't be playing this game in landscape orientation but in regular phone side up. Controls and menus have also been retrofitted to make it more touch-friendly, including the large eight-directional virtual circle that debuted in DQ VIII.
Now for the slightly bitter pill to swallow. Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen costs $14.99. Of course, that's without any in-app purchase, as the concept of billing you beyond the purchase of the game wasn't conceived yet back then. Square Enix notes that the game is compatible with Android devices running 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or higher, but warns those on Android 4.4 that the ART runtime might cause some headaches.
Download: Dragon Quest IV on Google Play Store
SOURCE: Square Enix
Google has released new rules regarding Play Music’s device limits and deauthorisation rules and it’s causing quite a bit of confusion (and sometimes anger) among users. The folks over at SlashGear talked to a representative from Google Play to clarify some issues regarding the rules about how many devices can use one Play Music account, a problem that might seem rare, but is actually a real one for users that multiple gadgets to access it.
Nothing much has changed regarding how many devices you can use. You are still allowed to authorise up to ten devices, which include smartphones and tablets, but not desktops since normally you use a web browser to listen to Play Music. What has changed now, implemented since last week, is that your are only allowed to deauthorize up to four devices a year. If you cycle through several ones in a span of a year or if you are a family that’s using one Play Music account, then that would become a problem.
Google Play Music All Access subscribers can listen to unlimited music on up to four mobile devices.
The representative said that the IMEI number on your device is the one used in the authorization process. Even if you do a hard reset or you flash your device’s ROM, this will not change Play Music’s authorization of your phone or tablet. The policy is also retroactive, so meaning even if it was just implemented last week, if you’ve already deauthorized 3 gadgets earlier this year, then you’re left with just one more for the rest of the year.
Maybe it’s not something that will concern you so much, unless you have several devices all at one time. But as with all other policies from apps and services, it’s always good to know what you’re dealing with.
VIA: SlashGear