New Fallout Shelter game launches on iOS today, Android probably next!
Are you a fan of the Fallout franchise? If so, you were probably paying close attention to your news feed as Bethesda took the stage at E3 2015. They gave us some details on Fallout 4, which is really what everyone was expecting, but they also gave mobile fans some love.
Bethesda has been working on this since back in 2007, when they said they felt this game “would be perfect on a touch screen, and it would be no better anywhere else.” The game is called Fallout Shelter, and it pretty much puts control of a vault right at your fingertips.
And no, this is not your typical Fallout title, full of action-packed shootings and intense scenarios. It also is not a port, like when Fallout landed on the LG G Watch last year. Think of it as… a much cooler version of The Sims. You would be controlling the vault and its residents, making sure all operations are running to a tee.
You can level up your characters, by making new quarters in the premises. Bars give you more charisma, gyms make you stronger, classrooms build intelligence, etc. Oh, and there is a bit of sexual playfulness in the game. Couples can “go into a room” and when they come out they are happier… and the female is pregnant. Yes, your characters can reproduce!
You are pretty much managing their lives, and we all know life is full of unexpected events. In Fallout Shelter there can be fires, infestations and raider attacks.
The game may not be what we expect from a Fallout title, but it sure is awesome! Want in on it? The game is available for iOS devices only now, but we can’t see it not coming to Android. We just have to play the waiting game for a bit.
You can go ahead and download it if you have an iOS device lying around, though. It’s also free to play. And not in the silly limited way other games are. Bethesda is putting no cool down timers on this game, and there is no need for a data connection to continue playing. Just pure fun!
Amazon wants you to unlock your phone with your ear – does that even make sense?
Keeping smartphones secure has been a key concern since mobile devices became more than just calling and texting machines. These pieces of technology now hold information that could literally ruin our lives if they fall on the wrong hands.
This is why we have all kinds of techniques for keeping our data private. There’s usual patterns, PIN numbers and passwords, but things have been getting a bit more complex. Just as the industry keeps making technology more powerful and convenient, they are also adopting more advanced ways of keeping your private data secure.
These methods include bio-metric techniques like finger-print reading, voice recognition and even eye reading (as we have seen on the ZTE Blade S6). Now we are finding out Amazon is also getting creative and just got granted a patent for ear scanning technology.
The idea is that our ears are just as unique as our fingerprints, so allowing your smartphone to take a picture of this body part (or at least part of it) would help it identify whether it is being handled by its owner or not. The phone could then unlock and allow you to answer your calls.
Does this even make sense?!
So, like all other gimmicks, this sounds like one very cool feature you could really show off at parties. It even seems convenient for a minute, but the hype dies down after you start thinking of possible use case scenarios. Then you realize it doesn’t even make sense!
We can all agree the best use for this would be to allow users to unlock their phones while answering a call, right? I mean, it’s the only reason why you would ever put your phone anywhere close to your ear.
My main issue is that there is no real reason why you would want to unlock your phone when answering a call. Voice calls are pretty much the only function that bypasses security in all phones… as it should be. You don’t want to have to unlock your phone every single time you answer a call! By the time you unlock your device, the other person may have hung up already.
Now, there is one function that could be useful about this technology. It could identify the distance between the speaker and your ear, allowing the device to adjust volume accordingly. Aside from that, it’s pretty much for people who REALLY don’t want others answering their calls.
Will Amazon do anything with this technology?
Now, the real question: will we ever see this technology coming to the market? Regardless of whether it’s a good idea or not, we are not sure Amazon will ever use this patent. The patent was just passed, but Amazon filed for it back in 2011. The online retailer may very well have slashed whatever plans they had for it by now.
Not to mention, this feature would be for phones. It makes no sense to put it on Amazon tablets (or any tablet, for that matter). The Amazon Fire Phone did horrible, and even though Jeff Bezos swears more iterations are coming, we don’t know how much risk they are willing to take with it.
Amazon has been known to be quite adventurous about these bio-metric features, though. The Amazon Fire Phone did have head tracking technology, after all. I am just not sure it’s what they need in order to bring the Fire Phone brand out of its grave.
They need something game-changing and awesome. While it’s cool, ear reading won’t make me buy an Amazon smartphone. But tell us, guys. What do you think? Maybe I am just being cynical and you would actually love something like this.
Iran bans some officials from using smartphones over spying jitters
As you might gather, Iran is more than a little nervous about people bringing the wrong devices into high-security locations — the last time that happened, its nuclear program went down the tubes. It’s no surprise, then, that the country just said it will ban officials from using smartphones for work if they have access to classified info. Brigadier General Gholamreza Jalali claims that these handsets are a perfect cocktail of security risks. They often back up their data to the cloud, he argues, and it’s at once easy to access that data yet hard to remove it. The move is bound to be a big hassle for staffers who’ll only have basic cellphones while at work, but the Iranian government will likely consider it a worthwhile sacrifice if it prevents other nations from spying on its political maneuvers.
[Image credit: AP Photo/Vahid Salemi]
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile
Source: AFP (Phys.org)
Moto X third generation leaked image surfaces
@upleaks posted via Twitter a supposed leaked image of Motorola’s upcoming 3rd generation Moto X.
The image itself is quite small at about the size of a thumbnail and shows what is believed to be the phone at two three-quarter views, one of the front and the other of the back.
There, of course, has been no confirmation from Motorola about whether this really is the next Moto X. Although, this leak closely follows the release of another we mentioned days ago, so it cannot be refuted (at least for now) that this could be the device.
The post Moto X third generation leaked image surfaces appeared first on AndroidGuys.
11 best poker games for Android
Poker is one of the most popular card games of all time and there are plenty of ways to play it. Most prefer 5-card draw or Texas Holdem but there are other variants as well. There are also a lot of poker games on Android. Let’s take a look at the best ones.
Appeak Poker
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
First up is a game called Appeak Poker and it identifies itself as a poker game without being clunky, pay-to-win, or being heavy on advertising which is pretty much what everyone wants to see in any application. It does feature Texas Holdem poker and boasts 100,000 active players with “up to” 7000 in free chips given out every day. It features various kinds of competitions depending on how serious you take your poker and you can sit at tables for smaller stakes if you’re just starting out or don’t want to waste your chips.
DH Texas Poker
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
DH Texas Poker is a bit more of a run-of-the-mill option that is more than good enough for some players. It features a VIP table that tries to emulate a Las Vegas setting along with private tables to play with just your friends, various game modes, and daily rewards for playing. The only caveat is that you can get free chips by doing those shaky “offers” and, of course, you should be careful if you plan on trying those out.
Full Tilt Poker
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Full Tilt Poker is one of the more popular venues for online poker. The website does allow real money, but due to the policies of Google Play, this version of the mobile app does not deal with real money. However, they do imply that a real-money version does exist somewhere if that’s something you want to try. Even so, you can still engage with sit-and-go tournaments, various game modes, and a solid poker experience. Like most of these poker games, you may find a bug here or there, but overall it’s not bad.
Live Texas Holdem Poker Pro
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Much like its egregiously long name, this game has a lot of stuff. The poker part of the app features live chats, fast tables, tournaments, and various ways to get free stuff to play with every day. It’s a solid poker game and the developer also has a suite of other gambling style games which is nice to see. It’s a solid experience overall even if there are a few issues here and there that you may have to deal with.
Poker Friends
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Poker Friends is another solid poker option. Unlike most, this one focuses on having private tables to get you and your friends playing poker together. Barring that, the app boasts a user base of over 2000000 online opponents that you can play with. There is also a trash talk feature (live chat), a hand-o-meter to gauge your hand’s strength, guest mode to play anonymously, and a slot mechanism that lets you throw away your hand and get new cards.
PokerStars Poker
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
PokerStars Poker boasts to be the largest poker playing website on the Internet which is a big claim. It also boasts hundreds of thousands of daily, active users, live chats, tournaments, lobby filters, and plenty of other features. Some users have complained of connection and table-finding issues but overall, it’s a great app to entertain yourself. Much like Full Tilt Poker, the app description implies that there may be a real-money version of this game out there somewhere.
Texas Holdem Poker Deluxe
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
This one originally started as a Facebook game and has evolved into a mobile game. Like most, you get free daily gifts, online play, and a bunch of different tables. The game also boasts 5-9 person tables, various tournaments, personalized profiles, and live chats. The interface is decent. It is obviously a poker game. Some users have complained about connection issues but otherwise this is one of the higher user-rated poker games on Google Play.
Texas Holdem Poker Offline
[Price: Free with in-app purcahses]
This one is a bit unique. It is a poker game and you must play poker. However, this game adds a campaign mode and can be played offline. Here’s how it works. You have to play poker to win chips in order to buy houses and, eventually, Texas. This is a great poker game for people who want to play alone or want a different kind of poker experience. It’s also great for beginners and features a progressive difficulty so it starts out easy at first.
Texas Poker
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Texas Poker is another online poker game that focuses on Facebook integration. Unfortunately, that means this is one of those games you may eventually get annoying invites for but thankfully Facebook has made it easier than ever to ignore them. Aside from the potentially annoying social aspect, this is a solid poker game. It focuses on ease-of-use and boasts thousands of daily online players. There are also live chats, sit-n-go tournaments, and tutorials if you happen to be new.
Zynga Poker
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Zynga Poker is an easy recommendation because Zynga is such a recognizable name. Much likes others, you can play Zynga Poker on a mobile device and switch to the web version and back again which is kind of nice. They put a little more effort into the game looks and animations which is also nice. It has the long list of features and pretty much everything you need to play poker. As you can imagine, there are some bugs and issues here and there but that could be said for literally all of these games. It’s worth a shot.
World Series of Poker
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
The official World Series of Poker game not only gets the name drop, but it’s also a fairly solid application. It comes with the standard stuff like live chats, guest mode, and plenty of online poker. However, you can look up game stats to help improve your game which is actually unique to any game on this list. There isn’t much else to say, it’s a solid online poker game.
Wrap up
If we missed any great poker games for Android (and we likely did), tell us about them in the comments! If you want to stay up to date on the latest in apps and games news, check out the Android Apps Weekly newsletter below. Please note, if you go searching for the real-money versions of these apps and lose a bunch of money, that’s all on you, not us!
To see our complete list of Android apps and games lists, click here!
‘The Elder Scrolls: Legends’ is Bethesda’s new strategy card game
The Elder Scrolls: Legends is a strategy card game (a la Hearthstone) heading to PC and iPad later this year. Bethesda announced Legends during its pre-E3 press conference and showed off a non-gameplay trailer showcasing the epic-ness involved in the Elder Scrolls universe.
Announcing our new Card Game for Desktop/Mobile: The Elder Scrolls Legends! pic.twitter.com/kMOjO46F5n
– Bethesda Softworks (@Bethblog) June 15, 2015
‘Dishonored 2’ doesn’t hit this year, but a remake of first game does
We’ve barely begun E3 2015 and the worst kept secret of the show might go to Dishonored 2. Regardless, Bethesda and developer Arkane Studios made it internet official tonight at their media briefing and announced that there are two playable characters (including Corvo from the first game) and a few other bits. A release date wasn’t announced, but a fancied-up version of the first Dishonored hits PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this August. You now, so you can get caught up on the story so far. For a peek at Dishonored 2, check out the trailer below.
… announcing #Dishonored 2!!! Watch the trailer again on https://t.co/Zuv4yZnf4m pic.twitter.com/qT4s4zfD1L
– Bethesda Softworks (@Bethblog) June 15, 2015
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
‘Fallout 4’ hits PS4, Xbox One and PC on November 10th
Fallout 4 is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on November 10th.
Bethesda revealed Fallout 4 earlier this month with a teaser site and a trailer full of brighter colors and a friendly dog companion. Plus: The robot butler of your dreams. The Fallout team has been working on 4 since the launch of Fallout 3 in 2009, Bethesda announced on-stage today. Fallout 4 includes the series’ most in-depth character-customization process and it showcases a dynamic dialogue system that lets you “walk away at any point.” Also new in Fallout 4, there’s a crafting system. Players can create their own settlements — build power stations to run turrets and other fancy, electrical fortress elements. Also, the weapon-modding system is robust, with 50 base weapons and more than 700 modifications, plus a separate UI for the power armor.
Every item is a resource in #Fallout4. Build anything you can imagine. #Fallout4 #BE3 pic.twitter.com/hhdRFhGGDn
– Bethesda Softworks (@Bethblog) June 15, 2015
Over 50 base weapons and over 700 mods. You can even modify your own power armor. #Fallout4 #BE3 pic.twitter.com/Pveaii94on
– Bethesda Softworks (@Bethblog) June 15, 2015
11.10.15 #WelcomeHome #Fallout4 pic.twitter.com/JOYH42uEHS
– Bethesda Softworks (@Bethblog) June 15, 2015
‘Fallout 4’ special edition comes with a Pip-Boy for your phone
I don’t know about you, but I’ve wanted a Pip-Boy of my own since I first played Fallout 3. With the Pip-Boy Edition of Fallout 4, I’ll finally be able to make that happen with a real-life wrist-bound stat-tracker and menu system. The wearable (I use that term lightly) comes with a companion app that’ll be available on Android and iOS, too. The mobile love doesn’t stop there either, because tonight Bethesda is releasing Fallout Shelter, an app that lets you design your own shelter in the game, tonight on iOS. Are your bathroom breaks ready?
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile
North Korea turns off foreigners’ mobile internet access
You probably aren’t planning a trip to North Korea any time soon, but if you are… well, don’t expect to post your Instagram photos while you’re there. The country’s only cellphone provider, Koryolink, has turned off its 3G network access for foreigners due to a “service outage” from a “local internet provider.” It’s not clear what happened or when service will be back online. However, the shutoff followed just a day after Pyongyang’s Koryo Hotel caught fire. While it’s possible that this is a genuine outage unconnected to the blaze, officials also arrested outsiders trying to take photos of the incident — this may be a convenient way of preventing embarrassing photos from reaching the rest of the world.
[Image credit: Getty Images]
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile
Source: Reuters (1), (2)
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