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Epic Dragons turns the table, makes players defend dragons

Crescent Moon Games, who has given Android titles such as Ravensword Shadowlands and Aralon Sword and Shadow, are back with another game called Epic Dragons. Mighty and epic as that may sound, this game is anything but. The dragons are not ferocious beasts but cute cel-shaded ones. And the gameplay isn't entirely epic but a tower defense with a slight twist. In this game, you get to be the one that plans out how these dragons will defend themselves against pitiful humans that want to hunt them down.



We've seen this reversal of roles before, particularly in the last installation of the popular Anomaly series, Anomaly Defenders, except Epic Dragons takes out the gore and brings in the cuteness. Well, depending on your definition of cute. Does a Chinese stone dragon qualify? As the unnamed master of dragons, you get to choose out of 9 dragons with 6 abilities to decimate the human invaders. The game plays out over 60 levels spanning 3 worlds, but don't let those numbers deceive you, because Epic Dragons expands to something so much more with a feature that could potentially put it on top of other tower defense games.


Crescent Moon Games ingeniously ships a World Creator with the game itself, allowing players to create their own twisted levels to not only challenge themselves but also to challenge their friends. They can put up those maps online for other players to also enjoy or hate. The higher ratings your maps get, the more in-game rewards you reap, which you can, of course, trade in for in-game goods. This is not only good for replayability, it is also great for saving real-world money.




With those features, it's almost a surprise, but a welcome one nonetheless, that Epic Dragons is free to play from Google Play Store. Of course, it has in-app purchases, ranging form $0.99 to $29.99, but you may not need that given the barter system mentioned before. With cel-shaded graphics that aren't bad, Epic Dragons looks like a promising game that will appeal not only to players but also to creators. Now to wait and see if it will be able to deliver.


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Download: Epic Dragons on Google Play Store


Pixel People lets you build a community in Utopia

Ah Utopia. We would like to live in such a society, but some say it is impossible to ever achieve something like it. But a new Android game will allow you to build a society in it, albeit only digitally and pixel-wise. The city building game is called Pixel People and if you liked Tiny Tower and all its iterations, then you'll enjoy this game which lets you simply build a community in a place called, you guessed it, Utopia. Oh, and you need to be okay with the idea of cloning.



Yes, we do mean cloning, since you need to splice together the genes of different kinds of pixel people in order to create your own ideal, thriving society. You will be able to create as many as 280 different kinds of people to populate your Utopia and more than 100 buildings of different businesses and industries to help your city earn money. And of course, pixel people are just like any other people in that they "fall in love" and this will benefit you as you earn bonuses for every 11 "love hearts" that you are able to collect.


To be able to sustain your city, you need money of course (the virtual kind). Just like in Tiny Tower, you earn money by placing residents in buildings that you build. You can even build a "Google Tech Park" that is exclusive for Android mayors. Just like with any society, Utopia has its "secrets" and its up to you to unlock these and get surprised. Oh, and yes, there are also animals hidden around the city for you to discover (but not to clone unfortunately).


Pixel People is free to download from the Google Play Store. However, there are in-app purchases within the game for as high as $24.99, so be careful if you have a "I need to buy this item to get ahead of this game" problem.




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Samsung Galaxy S5 Plus now available in the Netherlands

No loud announcement this time, Samsung released the Galaxy S5 Plus in Netherlands. This year’s flagship Android phone is now available in the country complete with a 2.5 GHz Snapdragon 805 processor. This isn’t the first time Samsung is rolling out the S5 Plus as it was also launched in Singapore but under a different name: Galaxy S5 4G+.



The only difference between the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S5 Plus is the processor used. The S5 Plus version also has the same 5.1-inch Super-AMOLED display, 16MP ISO-CELL rear camera, 2GB RAM, microSD card slot, 1080p resolution, and a 2800mAh removable battery. The Android phone also boasts of an IP67 rating so it’s one tough device. The Snapdragon 805 chip allows the Galaxy S5 Plus to support up to 300Mbps LTE speed. Other specs include the following: 3G, 4G/LTE, NFC, DLNA support, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, and of course, a heart sensor.


As with the regular Galaxy S5, the S5 Plus will be offered in Blue, Silver, Black, and White. No information on pricing yet.


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Note that Samsung also released a similar Galaxy S5 LTE-A in South Korea with the same Snapdragon 805 processor and most of the specs except this one has 3GB RAM instead of 2GB.


VIA: Android Beat





Samsung Galaxy Note 4 teased with Android 5.0 Lollipop

Samsung just teased the new Galaxy Note 4 bearing some more sweetness via Twitter. No more chocolatey goodness of KitKat, only sweeter this time with the Android Lollipop.



The Android 5.0 will soon come to the new phablet from the South Korean giant. Neither Samsung nor Google have announced the exact release of update but we’re guessing before the year ends. The Android L we’ve been anticipating is almost ready and is expected to roll out in several Android phones and tablets in the coming months.


Only the Android 5.0 Lollipop SDK was released for the developers to test and develop apps for the new version of the mobile platform. First handsets to sport Lollilop are the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9.


So when can we get our hands on the Android Lollilop? Nothing is certain yet but rumor has it that the HTC One M7 and HTC One M8 will be the first two to get the update in late November or early December. HTC Sense devices and models HTC Desire EYE, HTC One M8 dual SIM, One M7 dual SIM, One E8, One E8 dual SIM, and Butterfly 2 will receive theirs on January or February. Other models like the HTC One Mini 2, Desire 816, HTC One Max, One Mini, and Butterfly S will get the update later in March to May.


Motorola confirmed that it would release Android 5.0 Lollipop to the Moto X (1st Gen. & 2nd Gen.), Moto G (1st Gen. & 2nd Gen.), Moto G with 4G LTE, Moto E, Droid Ultra, Droid Maxx, and Droid Mini. No information on schedule yet.


We also learned NVIDIA SHIELD tablet will be getting a taste of the Lollipop. We heard the rumor that the Galaxy S5 Google Play Edition might arrive with Android Lollipop too. As for the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, we have no idea. We just know it will get a taste of the sweet Android Lollipop.


SOURCE: Samsung Mobile





Excited for Android TV? Try it unofficially on the OUYA

The promise of Android on TVs has been a long and almost unreachable dream but that journey may now be at an end with Google's formal Android TV push. But while we are still waiting for the Nexus Player, the first Android TV device that isn't actually a TV, to ship, many are excited, if not curious, what this new "lean back" living room experience offers on the table. If you have an OUYA gaming console, however, you might not need to wait that long, provided you're willing to jump through hoops to get to your destination.



The OUYA is somewhat a bittersweet piece of Android gaming history. It started with a high-profile and successful Kickstarter that was followed by multiple delays. It eventually arrived with much fanfare and support from both indie developers and big publishers alike, but its reputation was marred by one controversy after another. Now there is even talk of the startup seeking buyers to pick it up. Some who might have outgrown or even stopped believing in the OUYA promise can now put it to another use, this time by replacing the stock firmware with what Google has in mind for the future of Android in TVs and in gaming.


That said, getting Android TV on the console isn't an easy process. It all starts with first wiping out the OUYA-based system and then installing CyanogenMod 11 over it. Once done, users will then have to flash the special Android TV ZIP on top of it. But even if that proves to be successful, not everything is working yet. LAN, WiFi, and Bluetooth are working and so is Display. Sound, however, is noted to be only partially working, with some stuttering in both audio and video to be expected. Some services and apps, which aren't named, don't even work at all. It is, however, in its initial release and clearly a work in progress, with some hope that things get ironed out soon.


Those who don't have an OUYA or with money to spare might, however, just wait for the Nexus Player to ship. It has beefier specs and, in theory, a more vanilla Android experience. And being a Nexus device, there is an implied promise of regular and timely support and updates from Google, at least for two years. But like the OUYA, this is still a risky investment into a domain that Android is yet to penetrate (remember the Nexus Q?). Then again, those who would want to install Android TV on the OUYA are the ones who aren't averse to make that jump anyway.


VIA: SlashGear, XDA





Minuum keyboard update: better language switching, more languages

A new update from Minuum virtual keyboard sees several improvements in the way you will use it, including a better language switching feature for those who are apt to be bilingual or even multi-lingual when typing on your mobile device. And speaking of being multi-lingual, version 2.14 has added even more languages to make it more efficient for non native English speakers. Of course several necessary bug fixes are also part of the latest update that rolled out over the weekend.



The "revolutionary" virtual keyboard has added five more languages to its growing roster of options other than English. It now supports Swedish, Czech, Polish, Portugese (Portugal, as the Brazil version is already previously avaialble) and Turkish to bring the total now to 13. They have also improved on the autocorrect options when using the full keyboard. They have changed from the ground up how to add suggestions while you're typing in order to avoid any embarrassing auto-correct fails.


Another major update for version 2.14 is that it's now easier to switch between languages. After your first boot when you've installed or updated the app, it already "catches" all the language data so that when you want to switch your keyboard from English to, for example, French, you just need to long press the spacebar to do so. You need to enable this shortcut by setting it up manually through the settings. This means also that the app uses less RAM since they've removed the "turbo mode" from the experimental settings.


The Minuum update should have rolled to your devices by this time, but if still has not, you can manually update it through the Google Play Store. If you haven't downloaded the app yet, you can get a free version and a paid version for only $1.99.


SOURCE: Minuum





Songza’s concierge feature added to Google Music

It's official: Songza has finally joined Google. The Google Music has acquired the company some time ago but it's only now that its presence is being felt.



Songza brings its "concierge" feature to the Google Music app. It tells you what music is best to listen to at a specific time of the day. It's like having your personal assistant telling you it's time to listen to your lullabies because it's almost bedtime.


The Google Music app will always give suggestions for what songs to play. This is ideal for music lovers and audiophiles who always want to know what's new in the music industry. Google said that playlists being given as suggestions are prepared by music experts that include "dozens of DJs, musicians, music critics, and ethnomusicologists".


Google Music will be showing different stations or playlists that have been crafted by real humans. Every song in the list is chosen by an audiophile who has the same taste as the listener.


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Google has officially rolled out the Google Music update in the US and Canada for major platforms like Android, iOS, and other web consoles. Also included in the update is a redesigned "Listen Now" page. Cards of recently played songs and suggestions for radio stations and news are now viewable. The design of the app itself has been updated showing slicker transitions, bolder colors, and bigger images.


This is Google's first integration with Songza. According to Google, expect "expert curated music stations" to listen to all day long.


VIA: Slashgear


SOURCE: Android Official Blog





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