Jennifer Lawrence’s new movie Serena arrives on Xbox Video before its U.S. theatrical launch
Serena, starring Jennifer Lawrence, is available to rent on Xbox Video today, a full three weeks before it will be released in theaters. A rental of the film will run you $9.99.
Robert Downey Jr returns in a HTC ad, reminds us that “We’re all One”
Remember the time HTC paid Robert Downey Jr $12 million to feature in their ad campaign? Well, looks like he still owed HTC some work, so is back to advertise HTC’s latest flagship, the HTC One M9. Unlike the first set of ads, Robert Downey Jr returns in a HTC ad titled “HTC Oneness”, narrating a […]
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5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week! – Android Apps Weekly
Welcome back to Android Apps Weekly! Here are your headlines for this week:
- NVIDIA is launching GRID game streaming in May. This will allow you to play PC games on your NVIDIA Shield and Shield Tablet and be like the Netflix for games.
- Tinder Plus is now available for those who want to pay for the dating service. Paid customers extra features but beware, the price will be higher if you’re over 30!
- Waze has been inducted into the Google Mobile Services package which means it is now an official Google app and will likely eventually be pre-installed on devices.
- Mortal Kombat X has been announced for Android and it will be here sometime in April.
- Google Play is celebrating its third birthday with a huge sale of apps, games, music, and movies. Happy birthday Google Play!
If you want to see more headlines, app updates, and app releases, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter! I curate it myself every week and include all of the best Android apps news, updates, and releases. Click the button below if you’re interested.
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BBM
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Blackberry Messenger got a huge update this last week. With it came myriad improvements to channels, photo sending, picture previews, in-chat playback of voice notes, and the ability to customize your PIN if you subscribe. Along with all of that comes Android Wear support which is surprisingly forward thinking for an app that almost became totally irrelevant years ago. The update is out now if you want it.
Zombie Highway 2
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Zombie Highway was a huge success when it first came out a couple of years ago and we expect Zombie Highway 2 to continue that proud tradition. It uses many of the same mechanics as the first game, but includes improved graphics and sound effects, nitro, new cars, new weapons, new zombies, and more. The in app purchases are also surprisingly reasonable. The only downside are the release day bugs so you may need to wait a week or so for everything to get ironed out.
Alphadia Genesis 2
[Price: $9.99 ($4.99 on sale now) with in app purchases]
Alphadia Genesis 2 is the latest game out of Kemco Games who are known as one of the best jRPG studios on Android. This is a jRPG with a decently long story line, better than average graphics, and some unique battle mechanics. It uses a job system for character customization and the company promises that in app purchases are not required to finish the game. There are some release day bugs so do beware of that.
AutoWear
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
AutoWear is a new Android Wear application that allows you to create tasks in Tasker and then use them on your Android Wear devices. Using this app, you can a bunch of fun things with your watch and control it in ways you previously couldn’t. Some of the things you can do is create customized notifications, create interactive screens, utilize improved voice commands, and more. There is a free trial so you can try it before you buy it.
King of Thieves
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Last up this week is King of Thieves. This is a game out of Zeptolabs, known for their hit Cut the Rope franchise. In this platformer style game, you must dodge defenses and steal gold coins from other players, then build your own level to defend your gold against them. You can also join guilds, engage with leaderboards, and some extra stuff like costumes. It’s a different kind of platformer and worth a shot.
Wrap up
If we missed any great Android apps or games news, let us know in the comments!
Deal: Last chance to pay what you want for this Front-End Developer Bundle
If you’re looking to develop for the web without breaking the bank, perhaps the “pay what you want” model is for you. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced developer, the Front-End Developer Bundle will likely have something you can take advantage of. So how can you learn to develop with CSS, HTML, JavaScript, jQuery and many more? Simply beat the average price (currently $6.72) to get access to all seven courses, or even pay more to get the top spot on the leaderboard.
Here are all of the courses you’ll get access to if you beat the average price:
- Creative Web Design Course – Master the Art of Creative Web Design at Your Own Pace w/ Adobe Creative Suite Training
- CSS & HTML Web Design for Beginners – The Only CSS & HTML Primer You’ll Ever Need
- Web Development & Programming Course
- Learning JavaScript Programming Tutorial: A Definitive Guide – Master The Art Of JavaScript Programming
- jQuery Fundamentals Course – Dive Into The World of jQuery
- Learn To Build Beautiful HTML5 & CSS3 Websites In A Month Course – The Fastest Way to Learn HTML5 & CSS3
- Dynamic Website Design: PHP, MySQL & JavaScript Course – Design with PHP, MySQL, AJAX, JavaScript and CSS
You won’t find too many other developer course bundles around the internet for this low price tag. But if you’re interested, you’d better hurry! This deal won’t be available for too much longer. So, head to the link below if you’d like to save some cash!
Pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 Edge on Verizon begin April 1st
Verizon has just announced that pre-orders for both the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge will begin on April 1st. While we now have an official pre-order date, the carrier has yet to mention when the phone will actually become available.
Verizon is one of the first US carriers to reveal any specific dates regarding the handset. Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T (among others) have announced that they’ll eventually carry the devices, but these carriers only allow users to pre-register for them so far. With that said, we couldn’t imagine it will be too much longer until the other carriers hop on-board with pre-orders dates.
Wondering what we’re talking about? At MWC 2015, Samsung recently announced its two newest flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. Both devices feature almost identical specifications, including a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with an impressive resolution of 1440×2560. Also on-board is Samsung’s own Exynos 7420 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32/64/128GB of internal storage and a 16MP rear-facing camera. The S6 Edge has a slight curve to it on each side, and also comes with a slightly larger battery. Both devices also come in a number of different colors. We went hands-on with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge a few days ago, and you can find links to those posts below.
Read more: Samsung Galaxy S6 hands-on and first impressions, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge hands-on and first impressions
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Any Verizon customers out there waiting for the Galaxy S6?
Moto E (2015) is now available on Boost Mobile and Sprint Prepaid for $99
Motorola’s newly-announced budget handset, the Moto E (2015), is now available on both Sprint Prepaid and Boost Mobile for only $99. This is the 4G LTE-capable device we’re talking about here, so it will work on both Sprint and Boost’s 4G networks. If either of those carriers aren’t your style, the new device will also be available on Virgin Mobile beginning Monday, March 9th for the same price.
The second generation Moto E is quite a nice step up from last year’s model. It features a 4.5-inch LCD display, a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor backed by 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage and MicroSD expansion up to 32GB. The rear-facing camera comes in at 5MP, and Motorola has also added a front-facing camera to the handset this time around. The battery has gotten quite a big bump up to 2390mAh, up from only 1980mAh from the first Moto E.
All in all, this seems to be a great device so far. Expandable storage, two cameras and 4G LTE connectivity are arguably the most important features on this device, and at $99, the Moto E (2015) is a great option for anyone looking to save a few bucks.
Corgi for Feedly brings news right to your lock screen
If you’re a fan of RSS readers, odds are you’ve used Feedly. But what if you could get your news an easier way without the need to jump into the app? That’s where Corgi for Feedly comes in. It brings your RSS feeds straight to your Android device’s lock screen, allowing you to quickly swipe through each article without the need to unlock your device.
Once installed, you can either swipe up to read more about the current article presented to you, or you can swipe left to view other articles of interest. If you’d like to unlock your device, swipe right, and you can enter in your passcode or pattern from there. If you aren’t too fond of reading the entire article on your lock screen, you can also jump right into your browser directly from the post you’re currently reading. Additionally, Corgi for Feedly makes it easy to share to other services, like Pocket, Evernote, Facebook, Twitter and many more. And if you haven’t noticed by the screenshots above, the app is designed very well, featuring Google’s Material Design guidelines. Here are all of the features Corgi for Feedly currently offers:
- All news subscriptions are synced with Feedly – if you are already a Feedly user, all of your existing subscriptions will be automatically available on your lock screen.
- Choose your own news resources – .Read the stories that you wan’t, by subscribing to the resources that matter to you. We offer International Search Support.
- Material Design ready – the lock screen has been created following Google’s Material Design language
- Read Later – In a rush and don’t have time to read the article? Save it and read it later. Works with Pocket and Evernote.
- Share with Friends – If you like a story, you can easily share it with your friends via Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and many others.
The developers also note that in a future update, you’ll be able to pick and choose which feeds are presented on your lock screen. So if you’re like me, and have way too many feeds to keep track of, the new update will help out with that potential problem.
If you’re interested in trying out Corgi for Feedly, you can download it for free from the Google Play Store link below.
Get your HTC One M9 fix with two new videos
With all the excitement the new Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge seems to have brought, some people may have forgotten that HTC has unleashed its third generation HTC One on the world. While some feel the M9 is less than worthy of a generational upgrade (those same folks said the same thing about the S3 going to the S4), the phone took what users didn’t like about the M8 and refined it to make it better.
That said, we’re still waiting on the release of the phone, but in the mean time, we have Iron Man aka Robert Downey Jr. narrating a video about the new M9 and another video that’s “out of this world.” We have them for you after the break. Enjoy!
Click here to view the embedded video.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Come comment on this article: Get your HTC One M9 fix with two new videos
‘Reserve Strap’ Plans to Charge the Apple Watch on the Wrist [iOS Blog]
Following an afternoon of discussion on the recharge rate and battery life of the Apple Watch, third-party developers Lane Musgrave and John Arrow today revealed the “Reserve Strap“, which will allow users to charge their Apple Watch while wearing it on their wrist.
The device consists of a silicone band with embedded lithium polymer cells and an inductive charging cradle that will hold the Apple Watch, resulting in a 125 percent battery life increase over the basic life of the Apple Watch, according to the company.
The Reserve Band will charge the Watch “similar to the new MagSafe wall charger for the Apple Watch”, thanks to a few batteries embedded within the device using magnetic inductive charging. Musgrave notes that while they “don’t have hard numbers yet”, their current testing leaves them to believe their claim to a 125 percent increase in battery is close to the mark.
The case looks slickly designed, especially considering the amount of power the two are saying hides within the silicone band, but perhaps the biggest cause for concern lies in the possibility for obstruction of the Apple Watch’s heart rate sensor.
Recent news only underlines the sensor’s extreme importance in making contact with a user’s skin, but Musgrave remains optimistic that their product will meet all the standard expectations when using the Apple Watch in conjunction with their new device.
Since we haven’t been able to test anything on the actual device, it’s really hard to say whether we’ll be able to prevent interference with the sensors on the back. We won’t be able to know for sure until we’re able to test on the real thing but it’s certainly a priority for our product.
Although it’s not yet up and running, a Kickstarter is planned for the Reserve Strap. Those interested in pre-ordering the accessory now can do so for $249.99 from Reserve Strap’s official website, though no official release date has been set. Musgrave and Arrow reiterate on their website that the first shipment of bands will be “extremely limited” due to the funding of the nascent project coming entirely out of their own pockets.
Hold the phone: MWC had more than just handsets
While the term “mobile” has always meant more than just smartphones, this year’s Mobile World Congress really highlighted how diverse the category can be. After all, the star of the show was arguably the HTC Vive, and the only mobile-related thing about it is that it’s made by a company that also makes phones. Indeed, VR headsets were the surprise hits at this year’s Mobile World Congress, as were smartwatches from the likes of LG, Pebble and, yes, even Huawei. Whether it be VR headsets, wearables, tablets or even electric vehicles, it’s clear that we can expect more than just phones from Mobile World Congress from now on. Relive some of our favorite non-phone highlights from MWC in our gallery right here.
Don’t miss out on all the latest news, photos and liveblogs from MWC 2015. Follow along at our events page.
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