Monday, July 25, 2011

Trainz for Android


Trainz Simulator Android
N3V Games has released Trainz for Android and announced its involvement with the charity Buy1Give1.

Trainz, the best selling PC train simulation series, makes its way on to the Android with Trainz Simulator Android. NVidia will be featuring the game in TegraZone, and the app is on sale now for AUD$4.99.

Paul Olsen, Studio head of N3V games, said: "Tegra 2 has given us more power for advanced features like weather effects, fog, more advanced lighting, beautiful water, higher detailed locos and addition Trainz content."

N3V has also sent word that it has joined the Buy1Give1 charity, where each game purchased from a selected few each month will feed a child a meal, and Vitality For Gamers, where the gamer who can create the most vitality in their lives are given N3V Games online store credits.

Graham Edelsten, CEO of N3V Games, told MCV: "N3V Games wants to create good will and support causes around the world with the assistance of our gaming community. We are proud to be part of this initiative and hope this act of giving will spread."

Virgin Mobile Canada’s HTC Sensation getting an OTA update today and Samsung Galaxy S in August

HTC SensationVirgin Mobile Canada is issuing an over-the-air update for the HTC Sensation. As far as we know, HTC’s superphone is shipping with the Gingerbread on board, so this gotta be some bug fixing update. It’s not clear what exactly is included in the package, but it’s safe to bet the latest software will make your Sensation run more smoothly than before.
In related news, the carrier also said that the update for its Samsung Galaxy S is on the way, too. However, they haven’t mentioned the exact launch day, only saying it will come “in august.”

Software Update Available For Sidekick 4G Owners, Bug Fixes Within

Read Magazines on Android Tablets with Zinio


One of the benefits of tablets such as the iPad and the Android Honeycomb devices (think of the Motorola Xoom or HTC Flyer, for instance) is that they are perfectly positioned in terms of size and the quality of the displays to replace magazines and books.
Of course, without the right software apps to provide these types of content no reading can take place. Ebook software such as Kindle makes it possible to enjoy free and premium books, ComiXology is great for buying and reading comics, but what is available for buying and reading magazines?
The app you should probably check out first is ZInio, a free tool from the AndroidMarket that is also suitable for Android mobiles. Using this app you can quickly signup, browse, purchase and download magazines to read at your leisure on your Android tab!
Read Magazines on Android Tablets with Zinio

Installing and Signing Up

You should find ZInio in the Android Market, listed as free to download. If you’re using search, the term “zinio” should be enough to find it; the full title is Zinio Magazine Reader. The download is just 5.72 MB and the app will take up 8 MB of space; currently App2SD isn’t an option so you may need to check if you have enough space and free this up.
Once installed and running, you have the option of signing up or logging in. If you already have an account then of course you will choose the existing users option, but newcomers will need to sign-up, providing a name, email account and password.
After you have joined Zinio, a list of magazines will be displayed, which can be sorted by date or title thanks to a selection of buttons at the top of the screen.

Browsing and Buying Magazines with Zinio

When ZInio opens you will be presented with a selection of free magazines that can be instantly downloaded to your device and read. There is a nice spread of options here, from craft to computer with plenty of outdoor and sports related options thrown in. These are all provided to demonstrate the strength of the Zinio platform.
Reading a magazine on Zinio is made extremely easy, and you can use these free demo titles to try it out. Basically, you can scroll left and right through the pages, and use the contents page to jump through the magazine to the item you wish to read!
To view the full list of available titles, however, you will need to tap the shopping basket icon, then expand the list as required; for instance, Android Magazine is listed in Science & tech > Electronics.
(By default, Zinio will display magazines that are available in your territory, and this can be altered via the International Stores button in the menu.)
When you tap on the magazine that interests you, you will have two options: subscribe or purchase. Different pricing choices might sway your choice here, but there is no compulsion to purchase more than one title.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

New Dolphin Browser for Android

The Dolphin Browser got a major update today, bringing gesture commands to the popular third-party browser. Users of the Dolphin Browser can now draw symbols on their screen to navigate around the web. For instance you could draw an "F" and have your phone load Facebook, or draw a circle to reload a page.
Much like Firefox, the Dolphin Browser will also support add-ons such as ad blockers or Google Translate. You can also customize the browser with different themes in case you get bored of the default look.
dolphin webzineWebzine version of PCWorld
But, probably the coolest feature that the new update brings is the Dolphin Webzine. If you've ever used the Google Reader app for Android, you will feel right at home with the Dolphin Webzine. You can create "webzines" using a website's RSS feed. Dolphin Webzine will simplify the website down so that it is easier to read on mobile devices. It's a much cleaner way of staying up to date with your favorite websites, rather than fussing about with a mobile webpage (which are often not very well done).
The Dolphin Browser is free in the Android Market and makes a pretty good alternative to the stock Android Browser. It's worth giving it a try, if only for the ability to make "webzines" out of your favorite websites.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Zaarly a new kind of market for Android

Zaarly, Craigslist's bizarro twin, yesterday released it's native app for Android. If you're unfamiliar with the strangely-named service, it's a bit like a digital bulletin board where you can post requests for goods or services (that you're willing to pay for) in hopes of finding a nearby user to oblige. It launched to the public this past May, and it's backed by some big name tech investors including Twitter-darling Ashton Kutcher.
Here's how the app works. Log into Zaarly, post something you want, how much you're willing to pay for it, and when you need it by. Nearby users will see your posting, and if they've got the goods, or they're willing to provide the services, they can ask the app to connect the two of you straight away. The app conceals your phone number with an anonymous one, so you don't have to worry about getting any creepy calls in the future.
We think Zaarly is a rather brilliantly-conceived idea for meeting what can only be described as "very specific" needs. Just to give you an idea, Zaarly users are looking for everything from used furniture to yard work to burgers hand-delivered to a downtown office building by 7 PM. Once you start to consider what people are actually willing to pay for, the possibilities seem endless. Imagine camping out for some new gadget being released and thinking to yourself, "I'd pay money to get in the front of the line." Well, with Zaarly, you can actually post a request and see if anyone in your immediate vicinity will take you up on your offer.
The new Zaarly app is now available for free download in the Android Market. It's also available for iPhone and on the web at Zaarly.com.

PayPal unveils NFC Android-to-Android payments


PayPal today unveiled a new peer-to-peer payment functionality that allows Android users to pay each other by tapping two near field communication (NFC)-enabled devices together. The feature, which follows an earlier contactless PayPal payment tool using Bump Technologies, shows how PayPal is gearing up for NFC as part of its larger push on mobile payments.
The payments work through a PayPal widget that allows a user to request or send money. A user enters the transaction information and then taps their phone up against another phone also equipped with the same app. After the phones buzz together, the recipient can decide to send or receive money by entering a PIN number.
PayPal’s new mobile payment service will only work currently in the U.S. with the Samsung Nexus S from Sprint and T-Mobile but will expand to other Android phones that include NFC functionality in the future. The transactions utilize an encrypted token and don’t access the secure element inside the NFC chip, where payment credentials reside. It appears this is set up for just peer-t0-peer transfers, which is still a big part of PayPal’s mobile payments business.
The company said it is now on pace to do $3 billion in mobile payments this year though much of that is person-to-person transfers using the PayPal app, which don’t yield much revenue for PayPal. Users do not have to pay a transaction fee when payments pull from bank accounts or an existing PayPal balance.
In many ways, this is similar to personal transfers PayPal has previously enabled through its mobile app using Bump Technologies. Users are able to send money back and forth by bumping their phones together, a solution that doesn’t rely on NFC. It’s unclear how much of that may have happened through bump payments, so I don’t know how significant person-to-person NFC payments will be. It’s nice to be able to make a payment to someone by just touching phones but, again, it’s not like many PayPal users don’t have that ability now.
Shimone Samuel, Product Experience Manager for PayPal Mobile, however, said the NFC solution has fewer steps than bump payments and can be activated even when only one person has launched their widget. Bump payments require both people to have their PayPal mobile app open. He said PayPal turned to NFC because it simplifies P2P payments.
“What I’m looking for is what is simplest and easiest for customers and NFC is the simplest way to request money,” he said.
The bigger opportunity is in enabling real-world payments as retail and local merchants, something PayPal is still set to unveil later this year. That will be a much bigger deal because it will signal how PayPal will counter moves by Google and its NFC payments initiative, as well as other challengers like Square and the carrier consortium, Isis project. Samuel declined to comment on how PayPal will use NFC specifically at point of sale but he said the company takes every opportunity to learn from its products.
PayPal needs to figure out how to tap that market for offline purchases, which is much bigger than than pure online transactions where it’s excelled. So it’s nice that PayPal has enabled some P2P NFC payments, and it’s showing that it’s getting up to speed on NFC. But we’re still waiting to see the real fireworks.

Android 3.2 rolling out on Xoom

Motorola is now rolling out Android Honeycomb 3.2 for its Xoom tablet.
Motorola is beginning to roll out Android Honeycomb 3.2 for its Xoom tablet. The Google update includes a couple of key enhancements that will also roll out to other Android tablets in the near future.
"Google has started rolling out Android 3.2, in phases, to Motorola Xoom users," a Motorola representative confirmed for CNET today.
The new zoom-to-fill option for Android Honeycomb.The update will introduce a new viewing mode, referred to as "zoom to fill," and fully enable SD card slots. Motorola will be the first tablet vendor to get this update, according to Richard Shim, an analyst at DisplaySearch.
"Imagine viewing your app at the size of a phone screen then zooming in about 200 percent," says the Android Developers blog. Stretch-to-fill is the standard layout resizing, while zoom-to-fill screen is the new screen compatibility mode, according to the blog.
The new zoom-to-fill option for Android Honeycomb.
(Credit: Android Developers Blog)
Other improvements include optimizations for 7-inch designs, such as Huawei's 7-inch MediaPad, and support for Qualcomm chips--not just those from Nvidia, which have been the standard so far for tablets like the Xoom, Acer's Iconia Tab 500, Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1, and Toshiba's Thrive. Huawei's tablet, for instance, uses a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.
A bunch of other tweaks and improvements are also expected, which may include performance optimizations, according to reports.
In related news, refurbished Xooms (32GB, Wi-Fi) are now being offered for $399.

Google's Android Market gets new look, movies and books

NewAndroidMarket
Google began rolling out an update to the Android Market on Android phones that gives the app storefront a new look and adds movies and books.
The new user interface should make it easier for users to find relevant content with more lists of available apps, games, movies and books that are country-specific -- such as new releases, top paid, top free, top grossing and other options in sorting what's for sale.
To view different lists, all a user has to do in any section of the Android Market is flick a finger left or right, making navigation easy and fairly intuitive.
Google has also added more information to the detail pages for each app sold, with an app's name and price along the top of a listing; a side-scrolling row of screen shots below that; and an app's description and reviews further below.
The page will also feature a thumbnail to a product video for apps or other content that offer such a preview.
Google began updating the Android Market on phones Tuesday for those running Android 2.2 (also known as Android Froyo) and newer, and "the update should reach all users worldwide in the coming weeks," the company said in a post on the Android Developer's website


Android App Video Review: Diversion


Diversion is a new running game by Ezone.com. It offers a ton of content and fun, if sometimes repetitive, game play; all in a simplistic and charming 3D art style, entirely for free. This is definitely one to give a look.
The game play is simple. You automatically run to the right and tap the screen to jump, much like Robot Unicorn Attack but without any dashing or LSD. The goal is just to reach the end of a level without falling or otherwise dying, collecting gems and stars along the way. There are three stars to collect in each level, which make up your final rating. The game would get insanely repetitive if not for the sheer amount of new mechanics that are constantly being introduced. Zip-lines, moving platforms, pools, fans that launch you in the air, spiked balls, bouncy bombs, and even the ability to fly. Every single level that I played added a new mechanic to the mix, though I didn’t even get all that far. There are three worlds with different environments, and I haven’t even been past the first world. There are 100 levels in the game.
As you play, you will unlock new characters to play as. You can also buy tons of characters with the gems you collect in each level. New characters are strictly a cosmetic change and don’t offer any new abilities, but every level has one character and only one that will receive double the points when used in said level. There are even more characters and costumes than there are levels, and they’re all colorful and fun, even if their faces are a bit disturbing. There is a ton of variety to the characters, from disco dancers to nerds to vampires to aliens. I like the simple art style of the game, though it could use some more prominent music. I barely even knew there was music in the game. Also, the game really needs some mid-level checkpoints. Dying near the end of the run only to do it all over again will nearly kill the game for you. This game is definitely meant to be played in short bursts. The advertisements aren’t very troublesome at all, due to the brilliant top-left corner placement. Your eyes will always be drawn to the right of the screen, at what’s coming ahead, so you barely even notice the ads. This game offers a ton of content for a completely free game. Definitely check it out.

Google Maps Data Now Available to Android Users Offline

Google Maps offline via Android OS device
Google has added the option to access Google Maps offline via Android OS devices, available via “download map area,” an experimental feature provided by Google Labs. “You’ll never need to carry a paper map again,” the company claims via its official blog.
Using Android 2.1 OS gadgets including smartphones and tablet PCs and the latest version of Google Maps, you can download maps with a 10-mile radius via WiFi or wireless broadband connection. Once retrieved, maps can be pulled up and browsed without an Internet connection, unlike in previous editions.
Initial downloads, which can process in as little as a couple minutes, provide base map tiles and overviews of major landmarks. An active data view will still be necessary to retrieve satellite views, 3D buildings or search for places and directions, although the added offline details provided should proven a boon to befuddled tourists.
“You can open up any Places page in the world, click “More” to get the Place page menu and download Google’s maps,” says director of product management Chikai Ohazama. “All your downloaded map areas can be managed in your Google Maps cache settings so you can delete maps you no longer need. After 30 days, all downloaded map areas will be removed from your cache; they can be re-downloaded any time. We hope the level of detail available will help you find your way.”
How the feature fits with Google’s vision of constant connectivity, as exemplified by the online focused Chrome operating system and supporting Chromebook devices, presently remains unclear.

Gingerbread now available for Droid Incredible 2

Marking its second Android software update in as many days, Verizon Wireless is now offering Gingerbread to owners of the Droid Incredible 2. Customers who have the HTC handset can manually search for and download the Android 2.3 update, which also addresses random reboots and freezing applications.
As is the case with other recent updates, the Droid Incredible 2 will have enhanced application management, improved copy and paste, and a new desktop docking app. For a deeper dive of Gingergread's features, please see our Samsung Nexus S review.
The full list of details for the Droid Incredible 2 update can be found on Verizon's Web site accompanied by a basic set of instructions. According to Verizon, the 116MB file takes roughly 15 to 20 minutes to download and install.


More malware apps found in the Android Market


The names of the malware app are Quick FallDown, Scientific Calculator, Bubble Buster and Best Compass and Leveler.

For the Android users, some more trouble seems to be headed their way as it has been reported that more malware has been detected in the Android Market. The news is definitely not a bolt from the blue since only some time ago infected apps were pulled out from the Android Market and remotely wiped from the Android handsets by Google.
It would be great if Google could become more proactive about detecting these apps since so far it has only reacted to outside reports about the presence of malware in the Android Market. The malware appears to be an iteration of DroidDream Light and is present in apps which seem to have legitimate or similar names. The names of the malware app are Quick FallDown, Scientific Calculator, Bubble Buster and Best Compass & Leveler.
Around 1000 to 5000 such malware apps have been reportedly downloaded so far. The numbers seem to be controlled because the malware was not available in the Android Market for a long time. The malware makes the handsets visit certain web addresses, which are likely to be malicious and would be able to begin downloads as well.
These malware apps in the Android Market have been detected by Lookout Mobile Security which says the infected apps have come from mobile developer "MobNet".
The Lookout Mobile Security says in a blog post: "With the discovery of this new malware, it is more important than ever to pay attention to what you're downloading. Stay alert and ensure that you trust every app you download. As we uncover more details about DroidDream Light and related malware we'll keep you updated."
Couple of months back, Kaspersky had also come out with a report stating the problem of malware for Android was big since there were numerous Android devices which run outdated operating system versions and were vulnerable to malware apps.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Polkast lets you access files on your PC from Android

Polkast is a new app that lets you access files on your PC from a mobile device. First you need to install a desktop app on your PC, and then you can grab the Android app from the Android Marketor follow the company’s instructions to get early access to an iOS app. It’s not yet available from the App Store.
I took Polkast for a spin this morning and there are a few things that I really like about the service — and a couple that I don’t.
The desktop app does a great job of instantly scanning your My Documents folder to identify music, pictures, videos, and documents on your PC. You can also add folders if you keep your media in other directories on your desktop. The software has an attractive user interface and you can use the built-in media player to view videos or listen to music.
But as soon as you click on another tab the music or video will stop playing.
When you run the desktop app for the first time it will ask you to create a username and password. All you need to do to access your files on your mobile device is enter the same login information.
The mobile app also has an attractive launch screen. But things get a bit rougher around the edges once you delve into the difference categories.
The music and video lists, for example, don’t feature album art of thumbnail photos. You just get lists of media stored on your PC. You can sort music by album, artist, or song though, while videos are arranged alphabetically by name.
A bigger problem is that you can’t actually stream multimedia content to your mobile device. Instead you have to download a song or video before you can play it. Fortunately you can queue up media to download in the background.
Once you’ve downloaded a media file you can use the app’s built-in player to watch or listen. But if you click the back button to go to another tab, the music stops. There’s also no support for playing music in the background while you’re using another app.
I had a little more luck with the Pictures section, where thumbnail icons for all the photos on my PC showed up quickly. You can also view images without first downloading them to your phone or tablet.
If you want to view Office, text, or other documents though, you’ll need to download those first.
The best think Polkast has going for it is probably the search function which lets you quickly find all the files,  photos, videos, pictures, or documents matching a certain search term almost instantly. Unfortunately if you want to do anything other than view a picture you’ll need to download it to your device first.
Overall Polkast has the makings of a truly useful app, and if all you want to do is download your files to your mobile device I can see how it could come in handy. But when you first install the desktop app it suggests you prevent your computer from going to sleep since you won’t be able to access your files when your computer is off.
Since all the app really does is let you download your files on the go, I don’t see much reason to leave your computer on and use Polkast rather than simply copying the files you want to your mobile device before turning off your computer and leaving the house. You’ll save a lot more on your electricity bill that way.

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