Help a fellow cross a road in The Quest Keeper

In the "tradition" of games like Crossy Road, another randomly-generated dungeon crawler with boxel characters will try to make its way to your fingers and your mobile device. The Quest Keeper sounds like an RPG with outstanding graphics and a complicated storyline, but really, it's much simpler (and to be honest, sounds more fun) than that. The objective is to get your little character across several roads, but it sounds a little harder than that.

The endless dungeon runner allows you to change your character's direction by swiping your finger to where you want him to go. You can even make him go back if he becomes trapped. But of course there are a lot of obstacles that you need to avoid along the way, like spikes, spiders, lasers, bottomless drops, etc. You can also collect coins, treasure chests, and artefacts to help you get points and to get your character to wherever it is he's going.

The game has 10 unique and challenging quests and a lot of upgrades and items that you can collect. There are also procedural dungeon designs so that it's easier to replay as the game randomly generates your next sequence. In case your smartphone or tablet is a little older, you can choose the "reduce graphics quality" settings to avoid poor framerate when you play the game.

The Quest Keeper is available as a free download from the Google Play Store. There are several in-app purchases and for such an addictive game like this, better be careful that you don't overspend on IAP items (unless you can afford to do so).

Skype update brings more emojis, speech to text

Most of the messaging apps that are really popular in the market sometimes have more than just the ability to send text messages going for them. In fact, a lot of them do not rely on actual text or words but on little drawings, icons that allow you to express yourself better. Skype is still primariy a communication platform, where you can have both personal and business conversations, serious and fun as well. The newest update brings a bit more emphasis on the fun.

Those drawings and icons we mentioned are of course more popularly known as emojis. Skype has now added support for these cute little things, so you can add it to the app's own emoticons and express yourself even better, all without using much words, or any words at all. And when you use Skype's very own emoticons, it will now have a large animated version, to make it even more interesting. Even the look of your conversation is now different as they have finally adapted the bubble style chat layout that you've probably seen on the dektop version and maybe some other platforms that Skype has.

If your device is connected to the newly-launched Android Auto, then you will be able to use Skype as well because it now supports sending messages through speech to text. You can Skype with someone even while driving (but make sure you're not too distracted okay?) There are other new improvements to the app as well. When new messages come in, it will not automatically bring you to the latest message, so it will be easier to catch up with conversations. If you maintain more than one Skype account, it's also easier now because when you sign out, you'll need to re-enter your username and password again. Now if you just have one account, that could be a hassle though.

Skype version 5.3 is now rolling out to various devices. If you don't have it yet, you can download it from the Google Play Store for free.

SOURCE: Skype

Story Timeline

• Microsoft rolls out Skype for Web, still in beta mode


• Skype update: picture-in-picture support for smartphones


• Skype update: photo sharing even when offline

Viber 5.3 update: group admin, support for Android Wear devices

With the amount of conversations we have going on with other people, mostly in a group context and on various platforms, having a handle on these can sometimes be a pain. If you rely on Viber for a lot of these group conversations, then the latest update to the free messaging app should help you out a little because you now have group admin features. It also brings support for Android Wear so you can now use the app on your smartwatches.

If you feel like you're the one that's the "boss" in any of your active group chats, you can now officially make yourself the admin. You can now manage the ongoing chats, adding and removing members, changing the info, and basically just running the show. You can choose to start a new group conversation, add another person/s to co-manage the group, and even changing how the chat looks by changing the theme, group background, group name, etc.

For the Android Wear support feature, you can now receive Viber messages on your connected Android Wear device. You can even reply right on your smartwatch using Google's speech-to-text options. Even the stickers, photos and doodles can be viewed on your Android Wear, but of course it will be resized to fit the smaller screen. Location messages can also be viewed, but it will be sent in the form of a Google Maps image. Viber also said they are working on the feature that will let you answer calls made through the app as well.

For the Android Wear support to work, your OS should be 4.3 or higher, and of course, the Viber for Android has to be updated to 5.3. This should be rolling out to your device pretty soon, so just be patient if it isn't there yet.

SOURCE: Viber

Story Timeline

• Viber transmits and stores images and videos insecurely


• Viber 5.0 brings video calling to Android devices


• Viber Games to come soon to your Android smartphones

Outlook for Android update: improved contact, calendar, search

Just when you thought that the Outlook for Android email app was already great enough to replace your other email apps, they come up with even more feature and improvements to win you over. The latest update brings much welcome enhancements to the contacts and calendar section of the app as well as in the search functions for the email. Pretty soon, you might even find yourself totally dependent on this app for your communication and even for productivity purposes.

First off, the People section has been turned into a true-blue Address Book and you can now view all your contacts from all the email accounts that are synced with the app. Even the contacts stored locally on your smartphone can be added to the address book. When you choose a contact, you'll be able to see all their details of course, send them an email, call them from your device, or even map your way to where they currently (physically). You'll also be able to see your history with the contact, like past emails, files shared, meetings attended, etc.

The calendar section of the app also now has a three-day view available when in landscape mode, adding to the Agenda and Day modes. Other enhancements in the calendar section include zero-length meetings (scary stuff!), remove from calendar options in case your meeting has been canceled, and better options for the day picker for meetings. Searching through hundreds (maybe thousands) of emails is now easier as your search term is now highlighted in the results window so you'll know if you still need to refine your search.

The app has other minor tweaks like select all for bulk operations, undoing bulk operations in case you made a mistake, and then permanently deleting those in your deleted items folder (if you're sure you didn't make a mistake). The update should be rolling out to various accounts now. And if you still haven't yet discovered the beauty of Outlook for Android, you can download it for free from the Google Play Store.

SOURCE: Microsoft Office

Facebook’s new app Riff lets you collaborate on videos with friends

First it was video sharing apps. Then it became ephemeral video sharing. Now, it looks like collaborative video creation and sharing will be the name of the social media video game. Facebook has released the newest app from their Creative Labs. It's called Riff and its main purpose in life is to get you and your friends to collaborate on interesting and fun videos and then share them with the world.

A few years ago you would need video editing software and for your friends to email or message you their videos, then a few more hours (or even days) for you to stitch them together. But now, you can do all that in just a few minutes (maybe even seconds) with collaborative video apps. Riff makes it even easier as it is connected to your Facebook account so no need to convince other people to join a new social network. It's also pretty easy to use so that birthday greeting or funny video or viral clip that you've always wanted to do is just a few clicks away.

Start a video that you've thought of, put a catchy title that can also serve as the instructions for your friends, and then post them on Riff. Your friends will be able to see it and then add their own take on the topic, and then their friends will also be able to see and add, and so on and so forth. It's like an elaborate but fun video message chain (but without the threats that you will get bad luck if you don't do it). You can also look at what other people are doing, and then add your own clip to theirs.

The folks over at Riff will also be posting some nifty videos which might just inspire and/or challenge you. You can download Riff from the Google Play Store for free.

SOURCE: Facebook

Story Timeline

• Facebook Messenger opens up its platform to developers


• Facebook launches new products, tools to connect family of apps


• Facebook now lets you make digital scrapbooks of your kid's pictures

Office Lens Comes to Android

A year after its initial launch, one of the most popular free apps for Windows phone is coming to Android. Office Lens takes your photos of documents or whiteboards cropping and enhancing them before saving them in one of many formats, essentially giving you a simple scanner wherever you are.

The post Office Lens Comes to Android appeared first on xda-developers.

Amazon offers BYOD sim pack from Cricket pre-paid

Not everyone is crazy about the smartphones that are being offered by the carriers, particularly when it comes to pre-paid accounts. So if you're satisfied with whatever smartphone you're using but you still need a hassle-free prepaid account, then this new deal between online retail giant Amazon and prepaid carrier Cricket might interest you. With the concept of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), you just need to order their prepaid kit and have it delivered straight to your doorstep.

Simply (well, not so simple actually) called the Bring Your Own Device Universal SIM Card Activation Kit, it is exactly as advertised. It comes with a Cricket SIM Card (nano version) and a couple of tray adapters so that whatever device you want to use, whether it uses micro or mini SIM cards, you'll be able to use it. It works with any GSM device and it will be shipped for free (under their two-day shipping program) by Amazon. Instructions are also included on how you'll be able to activate the SIM, so it will save you the hassle of calling customer service or going to a Cricket center.

Of course Amazon may have an "ulterior motive" for this partnership. Since the online retail store has a lot of smartphones and tablets for sale on their site, they might also be hoping that you might as well get a new gadget while you're at it. At least you don't get stuck with the gadgets that carriers offer and you can choose one which ill really suit your needs.

The Cricket BYOD kit is available for just $9.99. But in case you're looking for better prepaid plans, they do offer relatively cheaper ones (compared to others) that start at $35 a month and they even give you credit if you sign up for auto pay.

VIA: SlashGear