Playbox’s Bang Bang Racing Coming To Android Device Near You

Bang Bang Racing looks like a super-awesome (and tiny) way to burn up the track, thanks to the dynamic environments and sharp graphics. It utilizes NVIDIA’s PhysX technology to provide such a rich experience – just take a look:

The game will be available in the Market to Tegra-powered devices and showcased in NVIDIA’ Tegra Zone sapp. There is no word on the release date just yet, but it should be "coming soon."

Liverpool, England, 18^th, April 2011 ­– Playbox today announced its expansion into the Android market with a new team focused on developing games for NVIDIA® Tegra^TM-powered super phones and tablets. The company also announced a Tegra-optimized version of their PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 hit title, Bang Bang Racing, under license from Digital Reality.

Since being founded in 2005, Liverpool-based Playbox has been focused on producing traditional console and handheld titles. Most recently it finished development of Bang Bang Racing for Digital Reality. Now Playbox is bringing its expertise and creativity to the Android space, focusing on games for Tegra-powered devices, such as Bang Bang Racing.

Bang Bang Racing is a fun, action-packed racing game that has cool visuals and pumped-up sports cars. But underneath its playful exterior, Bang Bang Racing has the pumping heart of a true racing game. The Tegra-optimized version offers a home console racing experience designed and optimized for Tegra-powered devices, and utilizes NVIDIA PhysX technology. Real-time dynamic physics allow for finesse and control – drifting through corners and clipping every apex delivers huge player satisfaction. The game also features a unique control system allowing consumers to simply point where they want the car to go, as if they’re drawing a racing line for the car to follow.

Bang Bang Racing will soon be available on Tegra Zone, a free app on the Android Market that provides a one-stop destination for the richest games for Tegra-powered super phones or tablets.

Gary Nichols, Managing Director of Playbox, commented, “Having seen the huge surge in Android devices, and after our early talks with NVIDIA about Tegra, we knew this was a market about to explode. As a result, we realigned our studio to be one of the first companies to go to market with a Tegra-powered game title. Recent announcements from the likes of LG, Motorola and Samsung indicate that the tablet market is only going to keep growing, and it’s important for us to be one of the early adopters.”

Mike Clarke, Technical Director of Playbox, added, “When we first started working on our technology, not many companies really understood what Tegra is or how it will change the market. But at my recent mobile gaming session at the Game Developers’ Conference (GDC), I was amazed at the interest that Tegra received, and it’s clear more developers are looking into Android and Tegra.”

Ashu Rege, Vice President of Content and Technology at NVIDIA, added: “Our top priority is bringing the best console-quality games and content to Android devices. Playbox brings a wealth of creativity and experience to game development, and they’ve brought a PlayStation 3-quality title to Tegra-powered super phones and tablets in record time.”

Playbox is currently working on a number of exciting new titles for Tegra and is actively looking for new partners to work with to develop new IP and to bring existing IP to the Tegra platform.

About Playbox

Playbox is a digital entertainment company, creating original games for home entertainment systems, mobile devices and social networks. Established in 2005, our mission is to create fresh and original games that are fun to play and that can be enjoyed by the whole family. For more information, please visit http://playboxgames.com.

Android phones now face 70 types of malware, Kaspersky reports

Open-source Android OS is potentially vulnerable to malicious apps, sounds like common sense. According to 

Kaspersky though, the mobile OS is currently invaded by no less than 70 types of malware apps and there will be a lot more very quickly.

Google has banned from the Market and remotely deactivated some potentially harmful apps already. Android was and currently is vulnerable to various malware but there was no official statistic data until now.

According to Kaspersky Google’ OS is at risk of 70 different types of malware (as of this March) and the number keeps growing. It seems Google is still unable to take care of the problem. It is soon going to have the largest smartphone share and needs to work hard in that direction.

It seems the Android Market needs better control with regards to the process of app approval (may be something like the Apple’s AppStore). Otherwise this might turn into a really big issue for Google, shake the foundations of Android as a competitive OS and push back a lot of potential users.

Qik Video app unites Android and iOS

Skype-owned video chat outfit Qik has updated its iPhone and Android apps to allow cross-platform video calls.

It's not clear whether the announcement will herald a new era of entente cordiale between fans of the competing mobile operating systems, but we suspect it might just provide another stick with which opposing fans can beat each other.

We expect to see lots of "our Qik app is better then your Qik app" discussions taking place in various Google and Apple forums any day now.

The free-to-download app is available to anyone using Android 2.1 or later, and also works on any Apple iDevice equipped with a camera.

Video calls are made using the Qik Video Connect app on 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi networks and the company says it has also improved video quality and improved battery life over previous versions.

Qik originally stated that it wanted to include support for Apple's FaceTime video chat protocol but the Cupertino company has been dragging its heels on releasing the relevant APIs, forcing Qik to stride out on its own.

Amazon pushing its AppStore

hose USA based users, who are searching for a new Android tablet and choose to buy one through Amazon, are poised to get a pleasant surprise. Amazon will be giving the users $25 credit to buy apps from the Amazon AppStore, which has about 7,500 apps by now. The promotion will run for a week.

This new offer of Amazon Appstore can be linked to its tablet strategy.

The importance attached to Google's Android platform by Amazon is unmistakable. It has some time back came out with advertisement backed subsidised Kindle offer. In addition, Amazon has launched a cloud based music service for Android users as well.

The smaller number of apps in the Amazon AppStore, which was launched on March 22, is not limiting the company from being creative in promoting its AppStore.

Amazon realises that incentives are necessary to get more users for the AppStore as users need to go through several steps to download it unlike other application stores which come pre-installed on the phones.

Amazon very well understands it is slightly behind the game compared to other bigger app stores, which is why it is betting big on promotions such as 'free app of the day' and flexible pricing. The content and the content delivery system are all in place, and the company must be moving quickly towards the next logical step.

The Amazon AppStore has also released a minor update which includes some small bug fixes and improvements. Those who don't know which version they have need to check it in the settings page of their app. To install the update, users just need to go to the AppStore icon in the notification bar, whenever it appears there.

Google To Add Gmail Video Calling To Android ?

The latest online rumours suggest that Google may be adding video calling to Android.

Now you may be thinking that this already exists, which is true because you can currently call other Android mobiles using the Gingerbread operating system. However, this new feature will add video calling to Gmail.

This new feature would enable Android users to have video calls with Desktop PC users running Gmail, as well other mobiles with Gmail installed. Apparently, the new feature will be unveiled at Google I/O which takes place on May 10th in San Francisco.

The information comes via a guy who works for Samsung posting he just made a video call  over Gmail on his Nexus S. Admittedly the information is quite vague and could prove false but we'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

Fresh Android Apps for Apr. 26: SugarSync, SkyFire Web Browser 4.0

SugarSync (Free)

Need access to your stuff? Get synced with SugarSync!

This highly-rated service syncs your files across your computers, devices, and phones. You can store files, photos, and music and access them from anywhere. With Android photos, SugarSync will instantly back them up to your PC. You can also stream your music while using other apps.

A free account will get your 5GB of storage in the SugarSync cloud.

SkyFire Web Browser 4.0 (Free)

This new update of the SkyFire browser includes eight major features.

Get new Twitter, Groupon, and Google Reader support for keeping in touch, finding deals, and staying current. New UI features include a customizable and scrollable navigation bar.

For a one-time fee of $2.99 (unless you're a Verizon customer in which case it’s free), you get premium access to their video optimization tool which increases battery life and reduces data usage.

Android 2.3.4 Coming to Google I/O Conference with Video Chat?

Android may soon get its own native video chat that integrates with Google Talk and Gmail according to a Twitter message. The feature may be announced come early May at Google’s I/O conference.

The Twitter message was posted by a user who allegedly works with Samsung.

Fortunately, though, the video chat feature will be part of Android Gingerbread, which means that you don’t need Android 3.0 Honeycomb to enjoy video chat. Video chat will be part of Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread, so hopefully Android smartphones with Gingerbread will be blessed with the update to receive native video chat in the future after the announcement will be made if the rumor proves correct.

Currently, Android users do not have a seamless way to video chat and must rely on third-party chat services like Fring, Tango, or Skype. Unfortunately, while Skype is available, the video chat service still hasn’t launched yet and the company has not yet indicated if it will roll out its video chat service to non-Verizon devices in the near future due to a deal with Verizon Wireless in the U.S.

On iOS, Apple’s own FaceTime service has been extremely popular as it is seamless, simple, and easy to use. The service requires no additional log-in, no account creation–all you need to do is make a call to an iOS or Mac OS X user as if you’re making a regular phone call.

Equifax Mobile app available now on Android Market

At times, it becomes pretty difficult to maintain seamless control over credit card transactions or shielding personal identity information, especially while traveling on a frequent basis. Keeping this into consideration, Equifax recently launched the latest version of its Equifax Mobile app for Android-based handset owners.
With Equifax Mobile app, users can conveniently benefit from features like Equifax Places that utilizes GPS location to display fraud index and credit rankings. The former one provides frequency of identity fraud based on gender, age, income and credit score, while the latter measures averages such as total debt and late payments. It proffers users the ability to easily lock or unlock their Equifax Credit Report as well as access credit file in real-time.
The app also relays alerts pertaining to primary changes made in credit file like activity on inactive accounts, new account openings or account balance modifications. The included Equifax Web Detect attribute allows owners to find if any vital personal data is put up on suspected Internet trading websites. It is compatible with Android phones running on 2.1 or later versions.
The free Equifax Mobile app is available for download via the Android Market.

CloudTalk social messaging App steps in for iPhone, Android

Companies and developers are indeed coming up with interesting and innovativeapplications to uplift users’ overall mobile experience.Extending its effort, CloudTalk has released its new application for Apple’s gorgeous iPhone and Android.



This updated version boasts of superior social and multimedia features along with an advanceduser interface. Owners can leverage their group messaging conversations simply by including new participants, naming their conversation threads by topic or by groups of individuals involved and by liking and commenting on conversations, pictures and videos.
“The friction caused by phone calls when we can’t take them, and voice mail that feels like a dead end, is making it harder to use our voice in daily communications with our social circle. CloudTalk stands out as the only platform to put the power and convenience of voice at the center of the social communications experience,” commented David Hayden, chairman and CEO of CloudTalk. “And CloudTalk makes talking as easy as texting, so we can freely use our voices to convey emotion, avoid misconstrued tone and get a message across far more quickly and powerfully than text alone.”
Users can add images and videos to their messages without any glitches as well as send group messages. Besides Facebook and Twitter integration, the app helps users request their loved ones to join them on CloudTalk through SMS or e-mail. The app organizes news feeds and provides users with voice messaging, text messaging and more.
The CloudTalk app can now be downloaded via the iTunes App Store or Android Market.

Sony to launch Android tablets this year

A year after Apple Inc. launched the iPad, Sony Corp. said Tuesday it plans to enter the tablet computer segment later this year with two models running Google Inc.’s Android operating system. 

Sony's two tablets--code-named S1 and S2--will be released sometime after the fall. The S1 is a slate-style tablet computer with a 9.4-inch touch-screen display that is thick on one end and tapers. The S2 is a shell-shaped device that opens and closes, with two 5.5-inch touch-screen displays. 

The two devices may not debut in a simultaneous global launch, Sony said, and may instead launch at different times in different markets. 

The company said the two devices will also come with wireless connectivity through Wi-Fi or 3G/4G services. Sony did not specify what mobile carriers it plans to work with, and offered no details on pricing or sales targets. 

Sony faces an uphill climb in the tablet computer market, already dominated by Apple's iPad. While demand for tablets is strong, the field is also crowded with nearly every electronics and PC maker unveiling offerings of their own. Sony has said it aims to establish itself as the number-two tablet maker after Apple in 2012. 

Tokyo-based Sony said it will run the Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” operating system, which was created specifically for tablet computers. The company showed how the tablet would enable faster Web browsing and would be capable of playing PlayStation-quality videogames. Both devices will run NVIDIA Inc.’s Tegra 2 processors.