Bandai Namco releases Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle to the Play Store for all to download
Popular video game publisher Bandai Namco has finally released Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle, its most recent action game in the DBZ franchise, to the Google Play Store. The game has been available for a small subset of users for the past few weeks, but now everyone who’s interested in the game can try it out for themselves.
Dokkan Battle is sort of a hybrid title, mixing board game-style gameplay with team-based battles, which makes for quite the interesting game. You’ll need to form teams with other popular Dragon Ball characters to go up against villains on the battlefield. A portion of the game takes place on a board game, which is how you’ll navigate around and find new battles. When you actually come across a battle, though, the game quickly turns into a puzzle-based brawler, and that’s when all of the fun starts.
Looking at the first two screenshots attached below, you can get a brief look at what the battle scenes look like. The goal here is to attack your opponent by finding a row of similarly-colored Ki Balls. The battles are actually quite fun, especially when you’ve formed a solid team.
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If you’re a fan of the Dragon Ball series, you’ll love this game. But when it comes to actual gameplay there are a few caveats that come with this title. For starters, there’s a ton of dialogue. You can skip through most of it, but this game is heavily based around the storyline, which can actually be quite annoying at times. The game is also free-to-play, so there are a number of in-app purchases available as well.
Overall, though, if you need some more DBZ in your life, this might be the game for you. Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle is now available in the Google Play Store for free.
Google finally acknowledges the Lollipop battery drain associated with mobile radios
Over on the Android Developer Preview portal, Google has acknowledged an issue with battery life on Lollipop.
The problem occurs when a device running either 5.0 or 5.1 uses data. Internet apps will continue to drain the battery by keeping mobile data active unless they are forced to stop. On KitKat, apps stop doing so once they have completed their tasks. According to the user who reported it, this happens on Android M, as well. He or she also adds that the issue has been in the Android Issue Tracker since April, but Google has given it low priority.
A project member responded to the post with this:
Hi,
Thank you for reporting this issue. We have passed this on to the development team and will update this issue with more information as it becomes available.Status: Acknowledged
Owner: dnaga…@google.com
Labels: Defect-22287469
Personally, I’ve experienced this since my LG G3 updated to Lollipop some time ago. Battery life indeed was worse, as the personal anecdotes I had read had mentioned.
Still, Google realizes this complication, and hopefully, this means that Google will raise its priority and work to fix it, especially as Lollipop (and later, Android M) becomes the most used flavor of Android.
The post Google finally acknowledges the Lollipop battery drain associated with mobile radios appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Buyer’s Guide: Discounts on iMac, iPad Air 2, Apple Accessories, BioShock Infinite Bundle and More
It’s the middle of summer and we’re in between holidays, so deals this week are not super impressive, unless you’re looking for an older MacBook Air or Retina MacBook Pro. There are some acceptable discounts on the iPad Air 2, but not as good as we’ve seen in the past, and there are also a few models of the iMac available at reasonable prices.
This week, we’ve teamed up with GameAgent to offer MacRumors readers a complete BioShock Infinite bundle at a 75 percent discount, dropping the price to $10. We’ve also rounded up deals on quite a few Apple accessories, including iTunes gift cards and a discount on AppleCare with an iPad purchased from MacMall. As always, we’ve also rounded up a lengthy list of apps and games that are on sale.
iPad Air 2
Best Buy is selling several models of the 128GB Wi-Fi only iPad Air 2 for $70 off, dropping the price to $629.99. The Silver, Gold, and Space Gray models are all on sale.
B&H Photo is offering a small discount on most of its iPad Air 2 models, dropping prices by $30 to $50. With the discount, 64GB model Wi-Fi only model in Space Gray is priced at $564 and the 128GB model in Gold is priced at $659. Prices vary somewhat by model, but there are slight discounts to be had on quite a few of the site’s iPads.
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Apple Objects to GT Advanced’s Financing Plan Following Mesa Fire
Apple is objecting to GT Advanced Technologies’ financing plan over concerns that it would undermine its existing settlement reached with the bankrupt sapphire crystal supplier last year, reports Re/code. GT Advanced reached a settlement with Apple in October 2014 after failing to produce sapphire crystal of the quality desired by the Cupertino-based company for potential use in future products.
GT Advanced is attempting to restructure by raising $95 million through a loan agreement under the supervision of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for New Hampshire, but the financing plan is contingent upon the company receiving enough insurance money to repair any damage to sapphire furnaces following a fire at its former Mesa, Arizona facility a few months ago.
GT Advanced’s inspection equipment damaged in Mesa facility fire last May
Apple argues that GT Advanced already determined damage at the facility to be minimal, adding that the terms of the loan agreement give lenders too much leverage to foreclose on the sapphire furnaces that GT Advanced is supposed to sell in order to repay Apple. A group of GT Advanced shareholders have also reportedly questioned why the company needs to raise money nine months into bankruptcy.
GT Advanced filed for bankruptcy last October after it became clear the company was spending over one million dollars per day to run its operations, despite being unable to produce sapphire acceptably by Apple’s standards. The company began winding down its sapphire production and decommissioning the furnaces to prepare them for storage and resale through the end of last year.
Many Apple Music Listeners Seeing 503 iCloud Connection Errors
Apple Music appears to be experiencing some issues today, with some users reporting continual 503 errors for the last several hours. When attempting to play an Apple Music song via iTunes, an error message that says “The shared library ‘Cloud Music Library’ is not responding.”
More annoying than debilitating, the error can be dismissed and music will play after another attempt to connect. The error also seems to pop up occasionally when no music is being played. Errors are being reported by MacRumors readers, redditors, and people on Apple’s Support Communities.
Apple’s System Status page is not reporting an outage at this time and the 503 error does not appear to be affecting all users. It is not clear what is causing the issue or when it will be fixed by Apple.
Since its June 30 debut, Apple Music has experienced a few outages, including an hour-long Beats 1 radio outage on launch day.
Tesla’s ‘Ludicrous Mode’ takes the Model S from 0-60 in 2.8 seconds
Today Tesla announced a new “Ludicrous Mode” for its top-of-the-line Model S P85. The new mode reduces the 0-60 MPH time to 2.8 seconds with a quarter mile time of 10.9 seconds. The front engine now has 259 hp while the rear engine is pushing 503 hp. Wow! The new electronics pack that makes Ludicrous Mode possible for the Model S will cost new owners an additional $10,000. Current owners will be able to upgrade their vehicle for $5,000 for the next six months. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the new mode pushes the vehicle to 1.1Gs while accelerating and that it’s “faster than falling.” Musk also introduced a new 90kWh battery pack upgrade for the 85kWh Model S which increases the range five percent for $3,000. The 70 kWh rear-wheel drive Model S also got a price drop to $70,000.
Tesla’s previous Insane Mode pushed the Model S Performance to 0 – 60mph in 3.2 second. Musk said that customers love insane mode and with a chuckle noted that, “no one asked for Ludicrous mode because it’s too ludicrous.” He added that the company figured out how to go beyond Insane Mode and decided, “we should release that.”
Then Tesla teased an entirely new car according to Musk in today’s press release: “There is of course one speed faster than ludicrous, but that is reserved for the next generation Roadster in 4 years: maximum plaid.” Not sure if he’s joking about Maximum Plaid, but a new roadster is exciting news for folks wanting speed in a tiny package.
Model S product call at 11 today. Rocket discussion at noon on Monday.
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 17, 2015
Earlier today Musk announced that in addition to today’s news, there will be a discussion about SpaceX rockets on Monday. A Falcon 9 rocket explosion in June put the company’s launch schedule on hold for a few months. Monday’s will probably be about the Falcon 9 accident and when SpaceX expects to resume it rocket launches.
Filed under: Misc, Transportation
Source: Tesla
Cortana for Android leaks out a bit early
Cortana is here for Android … sort of. Microsoft announced back in May that it would be bringing Cortana to Android, and it was expected to land this month to coincide with the release of Windows 10. But now it looks like an Android beta release of Microsoft’s digital assistant has hit the web early, reports the Finnish mobile site Suomimobiili. We’ve installed the app on an HTC One M9 and it works just like you’d expect. You can ask Cortana about the weather or basic facts; have her call someone on your contact list; or set reminders. Unfortunately, you can’t say “Hey Cortana” to get her attention yet — even when you’ve got the app open. We don’t expect this leaked Cortana copy to stick around for much longer, but it’s a good sign that Microsoft is indeed getting close to an official release.
Filed under: Software, Mobile, Microsoft
Via: The Verge, Unofficial Microsoft News
Source: Suomimobiili
Play horror game ‘The Flock’ before it shuts down forever
The Flock is a competitive horror game attached to a ticking clock. Every player is a monster collectively called the Flock, and they’re all after the Artifact, a light-filled item that transforms whomever holds it into a new creature. The goal is to hold the Artifact for the longest stretch of time, fighting off Flock monsters with the object’s light. Here’s the tick-tock twist: For every player that dies, the Flock’s population number drops by one. When the population hits zero, no new players will be able to purchase the game. Only people who already own The Flock will be able to participate in the “climactic finale,” and once that’s done, the game will go offline permanently. No one will be able to play it again.
“A multiplayer game can take players to incredible heights, but at some point gamers will start to play less, get disinterested and stop playing altogether,” Creative Director Jeroen Van Hasselt says. “In opposition to other multiplayer games, we want The Flock‘s experience to inspire a sense of awe, to keep players eagerly anticipating what is coming next and to end with a memorable climax.”
The Flock is due to hit Steam for PC later this year. It comes from independent Dutch studio Vogelsap (which apparently translates to “bird juice”), a small group of HKU and Utrecht University game program students. It’s already secured a few awards and was featured in the Indie Megabooth at GDC 2015 in San Francisco. The Flock will be playable at the Indie Arena booth at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany from August 6th to 9th. Anyone in the area, play it while you still can.
Cortana for Android leaks out ahead of official launch – download the APK here!
Microsoft announced its plans to bring the Cortana virtual assistant to Android a few months ago, and a beta version of the app was slated to launch sometime this month. An early copy of the app has leaked to the Internet today, and you can download it via the Google Drive link below. Just keep in mind that since this file doesn’t come directly from Microsoft or anyone affiliated with the company, you’ll need to download and install at your own risk.
If you’re at all familiar with Cortana on Windows 10 or Windows Phone, you’ll be right at home here. Once you launch the app for the first time and enter in a few tidbits of information, you can start using Cortana just like you would Google Now or Siri. Microsoft’s voice assistant will help you schedule events, update you on local news, weather, sports and much more.
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This version of the app seems to be stable enough, but this is still a beta version, so there will be many more improvements coming over the next few weeks. As for the app itself, Cortana’s main screen houses your feed, similar to what you’d see on Google Now. There’s a slide out menu on the left side that houses your Notebook and Reminders, as well as the Settings menu.
We’ll go more in-depth with the voice assistant later today, but for now, feel free to download the APK and try it out for yourself!
5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week – Android Apps Weekly
Welcome back to Android Apps Weekly! Let’s jump right into those headlines:
- It’s been found that Google Photos will keep uploading your photos to Google even if you uninstall the app. This is because it’s integrated with the Google Settings app that’s on every Android phone. So if you want to disable it forever, you’ll have to do so using the Google Settings app which is a little weird.
- According to reports, Facebook is working on a virtual assistant called Moneypenny ostensibly named after the James Bond character. Unlike most, Moneypenny is a virtual assistant to help you shop for things and it’ll be integrated into Facebook Messenger. Of course, we’ll provide more information as we get it.
- Late last week, developer Beamdog announced that they’ll be releasing a standalone expansion to Baldur’s Gate called Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear. The game, which is coming later this year, will tell the tale of what happened between Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2.
- Twitter and its third party developers have been at odds for a long time thanks to Twitter’s ridiculous token limit that prevents Twitter apps from becoming super popular. In a recent announcement, Twitter has conceded that they need to make some changes and we hope that leads to more third party Twitter apps.
- After an absence due to some pranking, the Google Map Maker is re-opening its doors sometime in August. The improved version will have a stricter approval process and more moderation to prevent things like that prank where someone added an Android urinating on an Apple logo.
For even more Android apps and games news, updates, and new releases, don’t forget to check out this week’s newsletter! There we have the complete list of all the happenings in the app world including stuff we didn’t have time for here. If you’re so inclined, you can subscribe with your email and get this info beamed to your inbox every Friday!
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Mountain Goat Mountain
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Mountain Goat Mountain is a new game out of Zynga. It features some colorful and enjoyable graphics along with arcade-style game play. The premise is that you must climb mountains while avoiding obstacles. The mechanics are simple tapping and swiping so anyone can get into it. It is a Freemium title which means there are in-app purchases but overall, it’s a fun little time waster and something a little bit different out of Zynga.
WiFiMapper
[Price: Free]
WifiMapper is a new application that helps you find WiFi hotspots. The idea is that you open the app and it shows you a map where you can get access to free WiFi. According to the developers, the app shows over 650 million hotspots that you can access. The information is crowd sourced so you can add more if you find them and it also comes with Foursquare integration. You can also see a history of the hotspots you’ve connected to and how well they worked. It’s a solid app with some decent features and it’s free.
Red Bull Alert
[Price: Free]
Red Bull Alert is a new alarm clock application that aims to get you up and out of bed before hitting the snooze alarm. It does this by integrating a social aspect where you can compete with your friends to see who wakes up the fastest. The app will also track your progress (or lack thereof) so you can see if the app actually does help you wake up faster. It’s a fun premise and it’s free to use.
HERE Maps Public Beta
[Price: Free]
HERE Maps is already a popular offline navigation option but this last week, Nokia released a public beta. It’s a bit convoluted to get as you have to join the beta group, become a beta tester, and then finally download the app. The public beta will have new features, a new UI design, and will be the place where Nokia tests all their new ideas. Do beware because that means there are bugs too. Click the button below for instructions on how to get it!
Traitor – Valkyrie Plan
[Price: Free demo / $1.53]
Last up this week is a new first person shooter called Traitor – Valkyrie Plan. This is an FPS game based on a true story from World War 2 and features decent graphics, plenty of shooting, and you’ll also need a bit of stealth. The mechanics are fairly simple and manages to miss a lot of the pitfalls of other shooters by sticking to a simpler mechanic. Of course, this means that it isn’t as exciting as some shooters. In either case, it’s cheap and fun.
Wrap up
If we missed any great Android apps and games news, tell us about it in the comments! See you all next week on the Android Apps Weekly show!
AIVAnet 