Amazon Games Studio Announces Three new Upcoming Games
Amazon’s Games Studio has a mantra of quality over quality; releasing few games, but keeping them superb. Today it announced three more games it’s been working on that will be released onto the market soon.
The three games all have 3D visuals and offer an immersive, exciting gaming experience. “Till Morning’s Light,” available for the Fire Phone, is a spooky game set in a Haunted Mansion with a 200 year curse. Erica, the protagonist in the game, is locked in the house and has to break the curse in order to escape alive in the morning. Players will have to use their wits to explore, solve puzzles, and defeat dangerous creatures.
Click here to view the embedded video.
CreepStorm will be available for Fire Tablets and will feature a team of vampire slayers hoping to vanquish the the world’s most powerful vampire, all the while striking down hordes of the evil undead. The gameplay is like a modified tower defense, where you upgrade your characters and weapons and maneuver them in order to defeat the enemy.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Tales from Deep Space is a comic adventure where you help E the traveling salesman work with his drone CASI escape the Big Moon after it is put in lockdown. The game is both single player with switching between characters or co-op where both players are played simultaneously.
The titles will be exclusively available for Amazon’s devices like the Fire Phone or Fire Tablet, so unless you can find the apks for these apps, you’ll have to have an Amazon product to be able to play.
Source: Droid Gamers
Come comment on this article: Amazon Games Studio Announces Three new Upcoming Games
Old Navy’s machine turns your selfies into giant balloon art
Want to do more with your selfies than post them on Instagram for the umpteenth time? Old Navy might have a way to make them stand out… if just for a brief, glorious moment. The clothing shop is kicking off its 20th birthday by creating the Selfiebration machine, a 15 foot tall behemoth that converts Twitter photos into balloon art. All you do is tweet a photo to Old Navy with the #selfiebration hashtag — after that, the device (co-designed by Deeplocal) rasterizes your self-portrait and displays it on a grid of nearly 1,000 balloons that inflate to different sizes.
The campaign runs between October 16th and 25th, and public machines will generate pop-up pics in New York City’s Times Square (starting October 22nd) and Los Angeles’ Hollywood & Highland Center (October 25th). However, you probably won’t want to get too attached to any physical manifestations of your ego. The balloon stations will cycle through photos every 30 seconds, and you’ll only see the fully inflated picture for about 10 seconds; you’ll likely get more entertainment out of the GIF animation that Old Navy will send as a keepsake. Nonetheless, this might be your best chance at getting a picture of yourself that truly stands out. If you manage to get one, let us know what it looks like in the comments.
http://www.engadget.com/embed-5min/?sid=577&playList=518464737&responsive=false
Source: Old Navy
Google Fiber hits Austin this December
It looks like AT&T’s gigabit internet is going to get some new company in Austin come December: Google Fiber. At a recent planning meeting in the Weird City, Mountain View detailed how it’ll at long last roll the service out, and, as Gigaom notes, it seems similar to what’s been in place in the Kansas City, Missouri area. Just like before, individual neighborhoods will have to commit to using the service for Google to consider putting Fiber there. If your area’s selected, you’ll have to pay a $300 “construction fee” to access the pipeline but, aside from a free 5mbps package, other pricing details haven’t been announced. Itching to sign-up and get yourself on the map? You’ll have to wait until the last month of the year for that. It feels like a lifetime ago since we first caught wind of Fiber’s Austin appearance, but surely you’ve used those 18 months to plan your first blazing-fast download, right?
[Image credit: StuSeeger/Flickr]
Source: Gigaom
TalkAndroid Daily Dose for October 15, 2014
With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!
Reviews
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 review: The best Samsung smartphone ever
Android TV
Google’s Nexus Player is Google’s first Android TV device
Plex announces its support for Android TV and the upcoming Nexus Player
AOL jumps on the Android TV bandwagon
Apps
Androidify update overhauls with new design, GIFs, and new items
Messenger application will not replace Hangouts on Nexus 6
HTC Dot View app gets third-party notifications, music controls, and holiday surprises
Carriers
Nexus 6 to be available on all major U.S. carriers
The ASUS PadFone X mini is coming to AT&T on Oct. 24, $199 contract free on GoPhone
Google Play Store downloads beat out iOS App Store downloads in volume by 60%
Android 5.0 Lollipop is official, includes full Material Design overhaul and tons of new features
Google posts video showing how Lollipop name was decided on
Android 5.0 Lollipop statue arrives at Google headquarters in Mountain View
Google posts Android Lollipop Statue Unwrapped video
Android Lollipop features “Factory Reset Protection” to stop thieves from wiping stolen phones
Hardware
Samsung SDI develops new batteries that are both flexible and rollable
Phones
The ASUS PadFone X mini is coming to AT&T on Oct. 24, $199 contract free on GoPhone
HTC reaffirms promise of Lollipop to the M7 and M8 in 90 days
LG aims to improve camera in next flagship device
Motorola announces which devices will get Android 5.0
Nexus 6 with Android Lollipop officially unveiled, pre-orders start late October for $649
Nexus 6 to be available on all major U.S. carriers
Google shows us what the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 have to offer in a couple of new promotional videos
Nexus 6 poses with the iPhone 6 Plus
Oppo N3 smart rotating camera gets a demo video
Samsung announces its latest “Galaxy Gifts” campaign for the Note 4 & Note Edge
Tablets
The ASUS PadFone X mini is coming to AT&T on Oct. 24, $199 contract free on GoPhone
HTC’s Nexus 9 is official, complete with brushed metal design and BoomSound speakers
Google shows us what the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 have to offer in a couple of new promotional videos
Updates
Android 5.0 Lollipop is official, includes full Material Design overhaul and tons of new features
Developers will be able to grab the Android 5.0 SDK on October 17
Android Lollipop features “Factory Reset Protection” to stop thieves from wiping stolen phones
Motorola announces which devices will get Android 5.0
HTC reaffirms promise of Lollipop to the M7 and M8 in 90 days
Miscellaneous
Standalone streaming service from HBO coming in 2015
Come comment on this article: TalkAndroid Daily Dose for October 15, 2014
Printer for self-destructing photos brings Snapchat to real life
Normally, you print things out to get a permanent copy. Not with Diego Trujillo Pisanty’s new printer, however. His This Tape Will Self-Destruct art project coats its printouts (in this case, Cold War pictures) with glycerol and potassium salt, triggering an exothermic reaction that burns the paper within moments after you read them. Think of it as a real-world Snapchat where photos literally disappear in a puff of smoke.
This machine doesn’t just exist for the pyrotechnics, of course. As Diego explains, it’s a commentary on how decades-old spy fiction is suddenly relevant in an era when people are determined to keep their information away from the NSA and other nosy surveillance agencies. Don’t expect to pick up this technological political statement at your local store, then. All the same, it’s easy to imagine the printer being genuinely useful to secret agents and anyone else who doesn’t want to leave a trail of evidence — digital or physical.
Filed under: Peripherals
Via: Gizmodo, We Make Money Not Art, GearFuse
Source: Diego Trujillo Pisanty
Moto devices to get Lollipop makeover
Among all the big announcements today was a little update from Motorola talking about updates coming to a number of Moto devices.
Since Motorola and Google partnered on the Nexus 6, Motorola got a head start on prepping Android Lollipop for Moto devices. In their announcement today, they report,
…we are excited to confirm that this latest and greatest Android release will also come to our other devices as part of our ongoing software strategy to provide fast updates to our pure Android experience.
Motorola doesn’t give exact dates as to when the devices will get the update, but they were able to share a list of which Moto devices will get the benefit of Lollipop.
- Moto X (1st Gen. & 2nd Gen.)
- Moto G (1st Gen. & 2nd Gen.)
- Moto G with 4G LTE
- Moto E
- Droid Ultra, Droid Maxx, and Droid Mini
More to come. Stay tuned Moto-heads, and Droid-dudes.
Source [The Official Motorola Blog]
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The post Moto devices to get Lollipop makeover appeared first on AndroidGuys.
The Big Picture: A massive typhoon as seen from orbit
No, a black hole didn’t suddenly open up on the Earth’s surface. That’s Vongfong, a gigantic storm (then a super typhoon) that has been causing chaos in the Asia-Pacific region for much of October. NASA astronaut Reid Weisman posted this dramatic photo as the International Space Station orbited overhead on the morning of October 9th, when Vongfong was getting close to Okinawa. It had been downgraded to “just” a category 4 super typhoon by then, but that still made it both enormous and dangerous — the eye alone was about 30 miles across, and it had sustained winds of nearly 150MPH. As beautiful as this orbital view may be, it’s comforting to know that Vongfong has since weakened to a tropical storm and isn’t posing nearly as much of a threat.
Filed under: Science
Via: NBC News
Source: Reid Wiseman (Twitter), NASA
Verizon’s Edge program changes make you wait longer to upgrade
Eyeing an upgrade to the Droid Turbo? An iPhone 6? Maybe the One M8 for Windows? If you’re on Verizon’s Edge payment program, you’re going to have to be more patient than usual — or at least, open your wallet a little wider. The carrier has confirmed a Droid-Life leak revealing that Big Red is modifying Edge in a way that makes it harder to upgrade quickly. As of October 16th, payments for new devices will normally be distributed over two years, rather than 20 months; if you can’t wait that long to get new gear, you’ll have to pay off 75 percent of the hardware price rather than 60 percent. In practice, that means that you’ll either be waiting at least 18 months to trade up (instead of 12) or else paying more to accelerate the upgrade process.
It’s not strictly a doom-and-gloom scenario, thankfully. More payments should mean lower monthly rates, and Verizon is increasing the per-line discount for lower-cost plans (those with 8GB of data or less) from $10 to $15. You’ll have to wait longer if you dutifully obey the payment schedule, then, but you aren’t necessarily paying more in the long run. The big problem is simply that this now sounds more like a conventional contract rather than the fast track you were probably expecting — it’s just that the math has changed.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Verizon
Via: Electronista
Source: Droid-Life, Ars Technica
Reddit Acquires Popular Reddit-Browsing App ‘Alien Blue’, Makes it Temporarily Free [iOS Blog]
Reddit today acquired Alien Blue, the popular iPhone and iPad app that many iOS users use to browse Reddit on their mobile devices, reports TechCrunch. According to Ellen Pao, Reddit’s head of strategic partnerships, the company will keep the “Alien Blue” name and the app’s developer, Jase Morrissey, will be joining the Reddit team.
“Our whole philosphy has been to give our users choice. We’ve got the reddit AMA app, and alienblue coming out… but we really want users to use whatever they want.” says Ellen Pao, reddit’s head of Strategic Partnerships. “We think Alienblue is great, and it’s the most popular reddit app on iOS. We wanted to be able to offer it as a reddit app, and we wanted to help Jase with additional resources to do everything he wanted to do with it.”
The app will, however, be gaining a new icon, and while Reddit focuses on merging the iPhone and iPad versions of the app into a single universal app, both versions are free. The iPad app normally costs $4 while the iPhone app is free with a $2 “Pro” in-app purchase.
Reddit has plans to get rid of the iPad app, so it is permanently free while work continues on a universal version, but the iPhone’s “Pro” features will also be made available for free for the next week, as all Alien Blue users need to re-download the apps.
To celebrate and ease the move to reddit, everyone can get the Alien Blue Pro upgrade free for one week. The iPad app will also be free until we integrate it with the iPhone app and the two become one universal app.
The “Pro” features in the iPhone version of the app will extend to the iPad when it is transformed into a universal app, so all Alien Blue users should download the new version immediately while the upgraded features are available at no cost.
Reddit’s new official Alien Blue app for the iPhone can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
The iPad version of the app, which will be replaced in the near future, will also be made temporarily free shortly. [Direct Link]
Google Debuts Nexus 6 Phone, Nexus 9 Tablet, and Nexus Media Player
Just a day ahead of Apple’s own iPad event that will see it introducing a range of new products including new iPads and a Retina iMac, Google has unveiled its next version of Android and three new Nexus devices, including the 5.9-inch Nexus 6 smartphone, the 8.9-inch Nexus 9 tablet, and the Nexus Player, an Apple TV-style set-top box that comes equipped with a gamepad (sold separately).
Google’s new Nexus 6 will be one of the biggest “phablets” on the market, and at 5.96-inches, it’s even larger than Apple’s recently introduced iPhone 6 Plus, which measures in at 5.5-inches. The phone features a 493 ppi AMOLED Quad HD display and a 13-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization, a feature Apple offers with its larger iPhone 6 Plus.
It also includes a Quad-Core 2.7Ghz Snapdragon 805 processor, a 2-megapixel front facing camera, dual front facing speakers, and a 3220 mAh battery. The Nexus 6’s battery can be recharged using Motorola’s Turbo Charge technology, which provides up to six hours of battery life from a 15 minute charge. Available in midnight blue or cloud white for $649 unlocked, the phone comes equipped with 32 or 64GB of internal storage.
The Nexus 9 tablet, designed in collaboration with HTC, is Google’s answer to the iPad Air and the Retina iPad mini. Coming in at 8.9-inches, it is sized between Apple’s two tablets and features a thin bezel, brushed aluminum sides, and a nine hour battery life. Like Apple’s iPhones, it comes in black, gold, and white, and it features a 64-bit NVIDIA Tegra K1 2.3Ghz processor.
It comes equipped with front-facing HTC speakers, an 8-megapixel rear camera with a 1.6-megapixel front facing camera, and an optional magnetic keyboard. It has a 6700 mAh battery and front facing HTC speakers.
Both the Nexus 6 smartphone and Nexus 9 tablet will ship with Android 5.0, aka Lollipop. Lollipop includes 5,000 new APIs and features “Material Design,” to provide a consistent experience across a range of different devices. Lollipop lets users mute incoming calls and notifications with a new feature similar to Apple’s built-in “Do Not Disturb” function, and there’s a battery saver feature that can extend battery life by up to 90 minutes. Lollipop also supports multiple user accounts, a popular feature iOS users have hoped that Apple would implement.
Along with the Nexus 6 and the Nexus 9, Google has unveiled a new set-top box, the Nexus Player, which is the first device that runs Android TV. Designed in collaboration with ASUS, the round hockey puck-style Nexus Player is designed to compete with the Apple TV, serving as a streaming media player for movies, music, and videos.
It’s also a gaming device, letting users play Android games on their TVs with a game controller, and it includes both Chromecast support and voice control. Apple too is said to be aiming to introduce an updated Apple TV with gaming capabilities and Siri integration, but it remains unclear when that device might debut.
Google’s Nexus 6 smartphone will be available for preorder beginning on October 29, while the Nexus 9 tablet and the Nexus Player will be available for preorder beginning on October 17. Android 5.0 Lollipop will be available on all three devices and on the Nexus 4, 5, 7, 10, and Google Play edition devices “in the coming weeks.”
AIVAnet 