Grifta Morphing Gamepad works for consoles and Android gaming

There are plenty of game pads out there for Android gamers who want something other than on screen or tilt controls. A new game pad has debuted called the Grifta Morphing Gamepad that is nothing like the flat game pads that are out there right now.

Grifta reminds me of half a PS2 gamepad and its half a gamepad design claims to be much more ergonomic than a traditional flat gamepad. Grifta can also be customized to more comfortable fit into your hand with small, medium, and large silicone rubber handgrips available.

The company says it is also working on a grip that you can customize to fit the shape of your hand. The controller has shoulder buttons that use capacitive switches making the layout comfortable and easy to use. An 8-way D-pad is fitted along with numerous buttons.

The project is on Kickstarter seeking £65,000 and has raised over £72,000 so far. A pledge of £30 or more will get you a Grifta while early bird units are still available. Shipping is expected to happen in July 2015. There are also colored controllers you can buy if black isn’t your thing.

SOURCE: Kickstarter

A New Way to Promote Your App on Google Play

Posted by Michael Siliski, Product Management Director, Google Play

Google Play now reaches more than 1 billion people on Android devices in more than 190 countries, helping a growing number of developers like you build successful global businesses. In fact, in the past year, we paid more than $7 billion to developers distributing apps and games on Google Play. We remain as committed as ever to making Google Play the best place to find great apps, games and other entertainment.

App discovery plays a critical role in driving your continued success, and over the past year Google has provided best practices to enhance app discovery and engagement, as well as app promotion tools to get the most out of search and display advertising for developers. We are always looking for new ways to help you get your apps in front of potential new users. That’s why, in the next few weeks, we will begin piloting sponsored search results on Google Play, bringing our unique expertise in search ads to the store.

With more than 100 billion searches every month on Google.com, we’ve seen how search ads shown next to organic search results on Google.com can significantly improve content discovery for users and advertisers, both large and small. Search ads on Google Play will enable developers to drive more awareness of their apps and provide consumers new ways to discover apps that they otherwise might have missed.

In the coming weeks, a limited set of users will begin to see ads from a pilot group of advertisers who are already running Google search ads for their apps. We’ll have more to share in the coming months about the expansion of this program as we look at the results and feedback. We believe search ads will be a useful addition to Google Play for users and developers alike, and we hope this will bring even more success to our developer community.

HTC Grip hands-on: making a grab at wearables and fitness

As speculated before, HTC is indeed coming out with a wearable together with its new fitness partner, Under Armor. Here at MWC 2015, we saw on HTC's floor, not at a smartwatch, but at a no-nonsense smart fitness device. The HTC Grip, like the HTC One M9, is a curious beast, simple, somewhat ingenious, and probably too plain, all at the same time. So will the Grip grip active mobile users' hearts? We took a dive to find out just what it is all about.

As a fitness band, the HTC Grip is, admittedly, almost too ordinary. You have a 1.8-inch PMOLED flexible display. While it is sensitive to touch, don't expect it to function like a smartwatch. It has your basic functions of showing you information relevant to your activity as well as calls and messages, and barely little else. That definitely makes it a more focused device that some might prefer over complicated smartwatches. Those hoping HTC would have a smartwatch by now will undoubtedly walk away disappointed.

The Grip's uniqueness, however, can be found in its design. Unlike some fitness trackers that you clasp on your wrist like a watch, the Grip comes together at the ends like those odd USB bracelets. Though that may arouse a bit of worry, the snapping mechanism is quite safe. And if in the rare case that it does unlock, the grippy inner material of the band offers a bit of reassurance that it will stay in place, at least for a while.

That locking mechanism serves a multiple purposes. It connects to a charging cradle, more like a stub really. The "cradle" itself then connects to a micro USB cable for charging. It's definitely more portable and less wieldy than a real cable of charging pad. And lastly, that lock can also connect to an extender. HTC will be offering the Grip in three different sizes, but if you have the misfortune of falling somewhere in between sizes, you at least have an option.

As a first wearable, the HTC Grip might be underwhelming for those expecting a smartwatch. But given its new budding friendship with Under Armor, that wasn't really unexpected. That said, HTC is entering into a market that is even more saturated than the smartwatch market, and as a newcomer, it will definitely have a lot to prove beyond simply being associated with a well known fitness brand.

HTC and Valve get together to bring forth Vive VR headset

That HTC would be unveiling the HTC One M9 is a no-brainer. Even the HTC Grip fitness band was somewhat expected. But imagine our surprise when the smartphone maker revealed at MWC 2015 that it too will be dipping its toes into the virtual reality market, with a high-profile partner no less. The strangely named HTC Vive will be the company's entry into the budding VR arena. And to boost its credentials, it will be working with Valve with its own soon to be revealed Steam VR platform.

Valve itself already revealed that it will be disclosing details about Steam VR at Game Developers Conference or GDC, happening on the same week as MWC. It already demonstrated a prototype headset last year, so little did we expect that this time, it has hooked up with HTC to deliver the physical goods. That said, much like almost everything Valve is doing these days, the platform is open to everyone. HTC just happens to be one of the very first to rally behind it.

Not much yet is known about the Vive headset itself, but HTC assures us that its signature focus on design will be apparent all throughout. Comfort and performance are top priorities, of course. From the looks of it, the headset won't simply be a cradle for fitting in a smartphone, unlike the Samsung Gear VR and the LG G3 Cardboard. Indeed, the headset looks more similar to the Oculus Rift, plus with cables popping out from the top. HTC has been playing around with imaging lately, as evidenced by its RE products. Virtual reality, then, seems like the next, but very big step.

On the platform side, Valve will be the one running things, it seems. Steam VR isn't scheduled to be revealed until later this week, so we'll have to wait for more details. The HTC Vive, however, won't just be limited to games. There will also be TV and video content, though it has yet to be detailed how such content will be created. Proof of that are the special wireless VR controllers that come in pairs and whose use go beyond simple gaming.

The HTC Vive will have a Developer Edition available this spring, while consumer models are expected to launch before the end of the year. If this unexpected HTC venture has you curious for more, be sure to keep tabs on our MWC 2015 coverage for our hands-on of the surprise device.

Sony Xperia M4 Aqua image leaks

With Mobile World Congress just around the corner, smartphone makers are gearing up to roll out a plethora of new devices at the show. We already know that Samsung and HTC have their live stream pages up and counting the days until the unveils start. Sony will also be on hand at MWC to show off its new devices.

Ahead of the official Sony unveil; an image of a new Xperia smartphone has hit the web. The image is said to the of a new Sony Android device that will be unveiled at the show called the Xperia M4 Aqua. No specifications were leaked along with the image of the device.

However, the Aqua in the name suggests that the smartphone will be water resistant. Water resistance would be nothing new, Sony and other smartphone makers have been producing water resistant devices for a while now.

All we can glean from the image right now is that the Xperia M4 Aqua has the signature Sony power button, a dedicated camera button, and a flap that covers the microSD card slot. Rumors claim the device will rock a 5.2-inch screen, 2GB of RAM, 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera, and run Android 5.0.

SOURCE: Xperia Blog

Huawei's Android Wear Watch Is Handsome, But Still Too Bulky

Huawei is launching not one but three wearables this year at Mobile World Congress, and the new Android Wear-powered Huawei Watch is the most interesting of the trio. The Huawei Watch is nice but also, well, just another Android Wear watch, and to me it's as bulky as almost every other smartwatch out there—with a couple interesting ideas scattered along the way.

Read more...

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