Droid my Drug

HTC Hima details leak hinting at March launch

Some details of a new smartphone from HTC have leaked and the device is the HTC Hima. The Hima is believed to be the replacement for the HTC One and the leaked details come from a leaker called Upleaks. It’s worth noting that Upleaks is notoriously accurate with the information offered.

That means as far as leaks go this information is as good as it gets. According to Upleaks, the Hima will launch in March 2015 either right before or during MWC. Hima is said to be the codename for the smartphone, not the final name.

The specs are said to include a 5-inch 1080 x 1920 resolution screen. The processor is tipped as a Snapdragon 810 64-bit running at 2GHz paired with 3GB of RAM. Internal storage is expected to be 32GB. A 20.7MP rear camera and 13MP or 4-UltraPixel front camera are tipped.

The operating system will be Android 5.0, likely with Sense 7.0 over the top. Connectivity will be via VoLTE/CA/LTE CAT 6. Power comes from a 2840 mAh internal battery. We are on the lookout for more details.

SOURCE: SlashGear

Games Roundup: Godfire, Shadowrun Dragonfall, Dragon Quest III, and more

It's Friday again, which means weekend, which means games! At least for the gamers and would be gamers in the crowd. And just our luck, quite a number of new titles, some of them quite high profile, have descended upon us just today to delight, frustrate, and hopefully entertain us. Welcome to Android Community's Games Roundup for December 5, 2014.

Godfire: Rise of Prometheus (Free, with IAP)

While we love Android to death, there are only a few games that gives that "wow!" feeling, especially when it comes to graphics. For iOS, that game was Infinity Blade and its luscious graphics. For Android, Godfire: Rise of Prometheus might just be it. Delivering almost console-level graphics, the game doesn't skimp on using your device's resources, so you better have some beefy specs in your hand to enjoy this treat. It has a theme reminiscent of God of War, and the amount of action and gore can be likened to it as well. Of course, unlike God of War, you are left with only a touchscreen and no controller support, though that one is coming, they say. Attacks are all tap-based and there are some timed attacks that you need to make during those dreaded quick time events.

Godfire: Rise of Prometheus is surprisingly free on Android, considering it has a $2.99 price tag on iOS. There are, however, in-app purchases, so be on the look out for those.

Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut ($6.99, no IAP)

This is the standalone sequel to Shadowrun Returns, a successful kickstarter game that was released for desktop and mobile gaming. If you're tired of the age-old fantasy tropes but don't want to go all out into sci-fi, you might fancy a visit to the world of Shadowrun, originally a pen & paper RPG, where elves might wield laser rifles and orcs can be hackers. The game isn't exactly graphics heavy but depth of content is where it's at. This cyberpunk-meets-fantasy game lets you build your dream team of fighters, shamans, hackers, and well, shadowrunners. Combat is turn-based, in case you need a well-deserved rest from twitch-based games.

Shadowrun: Dragonfall does carry a rather high price tag for a mobile game, but that is quite the norm nowadays for high-quality games. And RPG fans on mobile devices might very well be starving for a refreshing change in pace, quality, and content.

Dragon Quest III ($9.99, no IAP)

And speaking of quality RPGs, some say there is no school like old school and when it comes to old school, Dragon Quest is definitely one of those that take the cake. Continuing Square Enix's expansion into mobile, the third installment of the JRPG franchise arrives on Android. Don't go looking for 3D graphics though, as this game is squarely set in square pixels, which is admittedly part of the appeal. Like the other DQ games on mobile, DQ III's controls are designed for a natural "smartphone" handling, portrait mode, in short.

Unfortunately, like the other DQ games, this one carries Square Enix's usual high price tag, $9.99 to be exact. That's the price to pay to have a piece of gaming history on your smartphone these days.

King of Fighters-A 2012 (Free, no IAP)

No gaming history will be complete without arcade-style fighting games, and while not exactly up there with the likes of Street Fighter, King of Fighters definitely shares a good piece of that pie. Celebrating 20 years of the franchise, developers SNK Playmore is releasing King of Fighters-A 2012 for free on Android. And without in-app purchases attached! There is a ton of new content available for this mobile version, and luckily you don't need to make any purchase to get them. Just play through the game to gain points to unlock those content.

That said, fighting game plus mobile, you know what to expect in terms of controls. But if fighting games are your kind of thing, this is definitely one title worth having on your shelf.

Astro Boy Siege: Alien Attack (Free, with IAP), Astro Boy: Flight (Coming Soon)

For some light-hearted but still somewhat intense gaming fun, Animoca is bringing the robot boy wonder back to Android. Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy is flying through Android in not one but two titles. Already available now is Astro Boy Siege: Alien Attack, where Astro Boy must team up with other robots, like his robot sister Uran, to ward off an alien attack. But more than just alien thrashing, the game requires a bit of strategic thinking in getting the right robot parts for Astro Boy and his team.

Coming soon is Astro Boy: Flight, a shoot 'em up game with Astro Boy front and center. This time, evil robots are the villains and players must not only shoot them down but also avoid enemy fire in the process. Both games are free to play, but as you know, offer in-app advantages.

Thank for the tip, Matt!

These are just the new games launched this weekend but many more have landed on Android this week. Be sure to check out our Gaming portal to see our wild and varied collection of games for all types of gamers.

Win Your Dream Device, Choose Your Own Android Giveaway

There are so many high-powered Android devices on the market these days, it can be hard to choose which one you want. Well, get ready for a tough decision, because we’re giving away a brand new Android device and we’re letting you choose from six top devices! The winner will be chosen on 12/8, so don’t wait to enter the giveaway at Android Community Deals!

If you win you’ll get your choice of the following devices:

• Galaxy Note 4

• Moto X

• HTC One M8

• LG G3

• Galaxy Note Edge

• Nexus 6

To enter, you just need to sign up for an account on Android Community Deals. You’ll get extra entries for following us on Twitter and G+ (via the contest widget only). You also get 5 extra entries for each person you refer to the giveaway, so make sure to share your customized link on your own social accounts to maximize your chance of winning.

Click HERE to enter the giveaway and give yourself a chance to win a brand new Android phone. Again, all entries must be submitted by 11:59PM PST on December 8 - don’t miss out!

Android Community Deals is brought to you in cooperation with StackSocial. Generated revenue helps fund this site. Deals are curated by StackSocial and are not representative of the opinions of the Android Community staff.

Android Lollipop finally (really) arrives for HTC One M7 and M8 GPE

It took its sweet time but weeks after they announced it originally, Android Lollipop is coming to the lucky owners of HTC One M7 and M8, but just the Google Play Editions. There were some delays due to a "re-spin" of the final build, although the OEM did not fully explain what that retooling was, but the important thing now is that users will finally get their gadgets Lollipop-ized.

HTC Product VP Mo Versi announced on his Twitter account that they have finally received the technical approval from Google to start rolling out the latest major update for Android to the HTC One M7 and M8 GPE. Originally, the updates were supposed to have arrived two weeks ago, at least for the HTC One M8 GPE. But they needed to either fix or alter or patch up some aspects, and so they failed to receive Google's approval for the rollout.

But this time around, it's the real deal. Android Lollipop brings to the devices a design overhaul with its Material Design, notifications on locked screens, and other changes that might make you feel like you have a new smartphone. The Google Apps have also received major refreshes, although some are already seen in their current updates. Under the hood, there are also many changes that end users will not see. Developers will get to play with more than 5,000 new APIs for their apps.

The rollouts start on Friday, December 5, but it will take some time to reach all users of course. But if you're impatient and would like the update now, you can do the OTA way for both the HTC One M7 and the HTC One M8. For carrier-operated versions of the two models, there is no news yet as to when you will get yours.

SOURCE: Twitter

Get crazy with OverVolt slot cars

You’ll never go bored with any racing game and there are probably thousands of racing apps available for Android. Try the new OverVolt. This simple racing game is different in many exciting ways. No, you won’t be driving real-like cars but just miniature slot cars.

Racers are given power-UPs to help them finish the forty cool tracks and six scenarios. Goal is to be the best in the neighborhood and challenge whoever is leading. You can play this game in single mode but it’s more fun in multiplayer mode.

Of course, as with any racing game, you need to control the miniature car without going out of the track. Stay in your lane and show off your personalized miniature car. There’s a store where you can get all the power-ups for all the races. You can also choose one from the more than 30 cars available in the store. Customize it with your own style before challenging your friends to a racing game.

OverVolt is a free-to-play Android game. It includes three scenarios, 30 single player levels, and three multiplayer matches each day. Real life car customization features are also available, as well as, unlimited multiplayer, free saving of personalized car textures, and +5000 credits for the special package.

Download OverVolt from the Google Play Store

Cannibal Open Touch joins custom recoveries roster

When we speak of custom recoveries, the two that probably come to mind are ClockworkMod (CWM) and TWRP, though there are quite a few based on these two as well. Of course, that doesn't mean there's no place for other players and there is definitely still some wiggle room for improvements. Despite its name, Cannibal Open Touch won't eat your device. Instead, it will open it up to a world of possibilities that only a custom Android recovery can.

To be clear, Cannibal is actually based on CWM's source code, so there is still that lineage. It does, however, improve on some of the shortcomings of the venerable recovery. In particular, Cannibal Open Touch (should we call it COT?) adds a full touch interface, one of the biggest criticisms of the vanilla CWM experience. In addition to that there is also complete support for themes and even has an app for downloading and selecting themes.

Of course, appearance isn't the only thing going for Cannibal. It can do on-device backup and restore as well as via ADB. That last part is a bit important. Power users familiar with nandroid backups might discover that it's missing. Cannibal developers claims that the ADB solution offers a more robust backup option than nandroid, even if it does require some command line interaction.

cannibal-open-touch-2

For now, the list of officially supported devices are a bit small, consisting of the Nexus lineup, the OnePlus One, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. The recovery is also still in Alpha, so do expect a bumpy ride.

VIA: XDA

Updated Slingshot app wants you to share life as it happens

The Facebook-owned Slingshot photo-sharing app went international back in June and now we’ve some good news that a new version has just been released. Slingshot 2.0 wants people to share life as it happens, sharing real and raw moments with family and friends right away.

The Slingshot developers didn’t add much to the app but rather removed some clutter. They believe that enhancing a product is about deleting what is unnecessary and leaving only what is important. The new Slingshot is said to be cleaner, simpler, and of course, more fun.

The updated Slingshot app now allows two taps on the screen to share looping videos and fullscreen photos. Five new photo filters have been added too. Drawings and captions are also included so you can add a special message.

You’ll be able to see the latest photos from the people you follow in Slingshot. Shots are displayed for 24 hours and then deleted. The tab has been redesigned too. It’s now swipeable so moving between photos, people, and the cam is easier.

You can now reply to a Slingshot post with a private photo or video reaction—which you can also draw on, filter, and add caption on. Of course, you can preview these reactions before sending them.

With Slingshot,you can keep in touch with friends and follow some of the coolest creators from around the world. Instant notifications can be activated if you want to be notified whenever a contact posts something new. And as with any other photo-sharing and social app, you can also share your shots out to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.