5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week! – Android Apps Weekly
Sponsored by: Speed Heat
[Price: Free]
Speed Heat is an infinite runner game where you collect cars, unlock tracks, and keep racing until you’re ready ready to stop. It includes Facebook leaderboards, plenty of awesome cars to unlock, and simple controls that anyone can learn quickly. It’s inoffensive nature makes it great for kids or adults and its simple premise and quick game play make it a great time waster when you need to kill a few minutes. We’d like to thank Speed Heat for supporting the Android Apps Weekly show.
Welcome back to Android Apps Weekly! Here are your top headlines this week:
- Rumor around the water cooler is that Gmail and Inbox will soon let you pay bills directly from your email. Reports are that the service will start around Q4 of 2015 and will let you share bills with other people.
- Amazon is tinkering with an idea of starting a service called Amazon Unlocked which will give users paid apps, including in-app purchases, for free. Tech Crunch described it as the Amazon Prime but for apps and it may just help give Amazon that bump its app store sorely needs.
- This week Google announced the Safe Browsing API which will give developers access to the same malware blocking technology that Google uses in Google Chrome. You can likely expect apps with built-in web browsers to incorporate this technology eventually.
- Facebook has debuted its new Messenger Platform that allows third party applications to be integrated directly with Facebook Messenger. This will open up the chat platform to third party apps and allow for more functionality such as built-in support for Imgur or Giphy.
- Google is working on a platform called YouTube Live which will be a live streaming service for games and e-sports. The idea is to give Twitch some competition. Reportedly, Google has hired 50 engineers to help make this happen and they’ll have to do some awesome stuff to compete with Twitch.
For more Android apps news, updates, and releases, don’t forget to check out this week’s Android Apps Weekly newsletter. We’ll have a full list of the news, updates, and releases that took Android by storm over the course of the previous week. If you want, you can even subscribe using your email address and we’ll shoot it directly to your inbox every Friday.
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Game of Thrones and Tales from the Borderlands
[Price: $4.99 each with in app purchases]
Telltale Games has been busy this last week as they have released new episodes for purchase for both Tales from the Borderlands and Game of Thrones. Tales from the Borderlands is getting the long awaited episode 2 entitled Atlas Mugged as an in-app purchase that’ll set you back $4.99. Game of Thrones is getting episode 3 of its game, also for $4.99. Both games are great action-adventure games that bring new depth to their respective properties and Telltale Games fans have likely already purchased the new content.
Google Keep
[Price: Free]
Google Keep received a substantial update this last week that includes recurring reminders and label support. This means you can set up a note that will appear on a recurring schedule to include daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly and there are custom reminders available. At this point, Google might as well make this a task management app because it’s halfway there already. Label support helps users to organize their notes more efficiently. The update is rolling out right now so if you don’t have it yet, patience because it’s coming.
Fotonica
[Price: $0.99]
Fotonica is a unique endless runner game where you run through abstract levels at wicked high speeds. It’s definitely a different kind of take on the infinite runner genre and includes eight levels, three endless levels, local multiplayer, online rankings, and best of all, no in-app purchases or advertising. It’s on sale for $0.99 so you can pick it up for cheap right now. It’s an excellent time waster with a fun design and it’s definitely worth checking out.
TomTom GPS Navigation
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
TomTom GPS Navigation is a new navigation and maps app from TomTom, the well known mapping and navigation company. It features offline map storage, 3D views, speed camera warnings, real-time traffic updates, and more. You can use it for free for 50 miles each month or upgrade to a premium subscription which runs for about $20 per year. It has some release day bugs but nothing overly serious yet.
Final Fantasy Record Keeper
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
The long awaited Final Fantasy mashup game between Square Enix and DeNA launched this week. It features characters from a number of Final Fantasy games as they duke it out in epic moments from prior titles in the series. Think of it like a greatest hits compilation. The game uses 8-bit recreations of all the characters and according to user reviews, the in-app purchase strategy isn’t all that bad but that is, of course, up to individual interpretation. It’s currently free and Final Fantasy fans have already left to go download it.
Wrap up
If we missed any great Android apps or games news this week, tell us about it in the comments!
The newest HTC One M9 commercial still doesn’t show what makes the device stand out
HTC has just released its newest advertisement for the One M9, showing off the device in some mildly active scenarios. While the new ad isn’t nearly as interesting as the Robert Downey Jr. clips we saw a few days ago, it does show off some of the M9’s features.
In the commercial, the device is used by some students running through a museum, snapping pictures along the way. The ad then cuts to a clip of a stylish man rollerskating through a crowd of people complete with the tagline “let them stare”. The clip ends with a girl saving the party she’s attending with her trusty One M9 when the power goes out.
HTC has never really been the type of company to focus it’s advertisements on why the M9 stands out from the crowd, though it does still make for some entertaining ads, to say the least. Do you think a focus on features and specifications in these advertisements would be better for the company? Or is showing off the device in real world situations a better route?
Sony’s augmented reality glasses are now available for $840
Sony’s Google Glass-like head unit, dubbed SmartEyeglass, is now officially available for purchase in ten different countries. Similar to Google Glass, Sony’s SmartEyeglass (SED-E1) developer edition lets you interact with your surroundings by letting you take photos, send text messages and much more. It’s compatible with any Android device running 4.4 KitKat or higher, and can be paired with the SmartEyeglass app in the Play Store. Unlike Google’s product, SmartEyeglass is controlled by a wired remote that stays connected to the device at all times. The controller houses the battery, microphone and speaker, though Sony is quoting the battery will only last around 150 minutes of continuous use.
For those interested in trying out the first generation product, SmartEyeglass is now available in the United States, Germany, the U.K. and Japan for $840. The company will also sell the head unit exclusively to business customers in Belgium, France, Spain, Netherlands, Italy and Sweden.
If you’d like a more detailed look at SmartEyeglass, head to the source link below for a list of specifications and additional features. The company plans to have these units available for the general public sometime in 2016, though an exact timeframe has yet to be mentioned.
The OnePlus DR-1 drone will allegedly be OnePlus’ “game changer”
The other day we mentioned that Chinese device manufacturer OnePlus has been teasing a “game changer” device since MWC. We postulated that it could have been some kind of gaming-centric device, perhaps a game controller, but the answer may be a little more left field than that, especially for a company that currently only makes mobile-related […]
The post The OnePlus DR-1 drone will allegedly be OnePlus’ “game changer” appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Something with Red Leather headed our way from Motorola
Tease they must. Those device manufacturers certainly have a way to poke the bear when it comes to a good tease. Samsung does a decent job with images and videos prior to a device announcement. HTC isn’t very good at it yet. Motorola, they tend to get us all talking. Mainly because their teases can […]
The post Something with Red Leather headed our way from Motorola appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Which do you prefer: Android KitKat or Android Lollipop soft keys?
Over a month ago, I wrote a post saying that the Android Lollipop soft keys had finally arrived on the LG G3 and was quite happy that these had caught up with the software running on the device. However, it appears from the torrent of comments that I was perhaps alone in this regard as […]
The post Which do you prefer: Android KitKat or Android Lollipop soft keys? appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Google Now cards on their way to Chrome Launcher 2.0
Owners of Chromebooks running the Chrome OS should expect to see a feature from the Android platform make its way over to their devices before much longer. Google has added support for Google search, including Google Now cards, to the next version of their Chrome Launcher 2.0. Testing of the new launcher is rolling out within the next week for users who are on the Chrome OS Beta Channel.
The Chrome Launcher on Chrome OS probably plays a bigger role for users than it might on other platforms, so the team working on the next update to the launcher wanted to make sure it would be “the best way to start new activities on Chrome OS, like performing a Google search or launching apps.”
Users who receive the updated launcher will see that it is much roomier so that more features could be packed into it, like the presence of Google Now cards. Google says the new format will also provide a better platform for managing apps. Enhanced search results and improved voice search integration are also being added to the new launcher.
While it may be a few more days before the Chrome Launcher 2.0 update starts to appear in beta testers’ Chrome OS, there are some other new Beta Channel features that are available now. One of these is the introduction of Material Design to the File Manager. Users will also find the system now supports unpacking password-protected ZIP archives and the system will now use the detected location of a Chrome OS powered device to automatically update the timezone.
source: Google Product Forums
via: OMG!Chrome!
Come comment on this article: Google Now cards on their way to Chrome Launcher 2.0
Chrome scrolling is about to get much smoother thanks to a new API
It looks like scrolling is about to get a tad smoother in Chrome. Google said it will soon integrate Microsoft’s Pointer Events API into the browser.
While there’s no timeline for when the API will be implemented, the end result should be less jank when scrolling through a website in Chrome.
‘Wunderlist’ for Apple Watch Brings To-Do Lists, Agendas and Reminders to Your Wrist
Wunderlist has provided a closer look at its Apple Watch companion app, which appeared on the App Store on Thursday ahead of the device’s launch next month. The app is designed with a unique Home View that provides access to your most important items first, with four buttons that display a bird’s eye view of your to-do lists, agenda and reminders on your wrist.
Wunderlist for Apple Watch delivers a hand-free experience in situations where you might normally use your iPhone, such as while shopping at a supermarket and checking items off your grocery list, or when using smart voice input to add to-dos for an upcoming meeting. The combination of Glances and real-time notifications ensure that you will stay up to date with important things during your day, be it during your morning commute, at the office or at home.
“As you move through the day, you won’t even have to open Wunderlist on your Watch to get stuff done. Just take a look at our Glance during breakfast to review your most important to-dos for the day. Thanks to Wunderlist’s real-time notifications, a subtle tap on your wrist will let you know what your colleagues are working on during your morning commute, and remind you to pick up the milk on your way home from work.”
Wunderlist for Apple Watch features custom animations for interacting with the app, and its developers have carefully considered which font sizes, layouts and interactions would work best with limited screen real estate. The result is a design that was inspired by Wunderlist’s brand-new colorful sidebar icons, with the majority of the user interface consisting of white text on a black background.
Ultimately, the developers behind Wunderlist for Apple Watch wanted to create software that gets out of your way, all the while providing multipurpose functionality for managing your day-to-day life. Apple Watch, and by extension the wrist, provides a more natural setting for to-do apps such as Wunderlist and Todoist, so it will be interesting to see how developers build upon these apps in the future.
Wunderlist [Direct Link] is free on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
Google relents and adopts a Microsoft API to improve scrolling in Chrome
Google has relented in its efforts to improve its own scrolling APIs for Chrome and has instead stated that it will adopt Microsoft’s Pointer Events API used in Internet Explorer.
While there’s no timeline on when the API will be implemented, this does represent a small feather in the hat for Microsoft as the two companies have historically been at odds with one another over browser standards.
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