Super Mario Run on Android: What we know so far

Here we go! (not quite yet for Android users, though…)

Super Mario Run is finally here, seeing a release in over 150 countries through the iOS App Store.

Super Mario Run was first announced by Shigeru Miyamoto, the man behind the most iconic character in video games history, at Apple’s event back in September, where the game was revealed as an iOS exclusive at launch and demoed live on stage.

What’s it all about? What’s this I hear about it requiring constant online connection? How much does it cost? When’s it coming to Android?

You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers! Here’s what we know so far.

What is Super Mario Run?

Super Mario Run marks everyone’s favorite turtle-stomping plumber’s first appearance on a mobile device — aside from the Game Boy, of course.

It features everything that makes Super Mario so great — the fast-paced and skillful gameplay, the coin collecting, the familiar enemies — with a control scheme that’s optimized for smartphones so that you can play it with one hand. As the name implies, Mario runs automatically, but you’ll need your wits about you to time your jumps right to stomp enemies, avoid obstacles, and collect more coins and collectables than you can shake a stick at. It’s currently exclusive to iOS, so if you want to learn more check out the excellent coverage from our pals over at iMore.

Man, I love Mario! Is it just like the games I played as a kid?

Mmm, yes and no. I guess it depends which Mario games you played as a kid. All the classic enemies and characters are here, and the graphics and game physics are styled after the New Super Mario games for the Nintendo Wii and DS systems so expect to use plenty of wall and spin jumps. It all makes for a good balance of the classic side-scrolling Mario fun you know and love, with a bunch of newly-added features to increase replayability. There are three modes of gameplay: World Tour, Toad Rally, and kingdom building.

World Tour is the single player mode, featuring 24 levels spread out over six worlds, with each world featuring a boss battle at the end. Each level features challenge coins, powerups and secrets that require you to experiment and take chances to explore.

Toad Rally is the multiplayer aspect of the game, where you challenge real-life opponents to races through levels, where a combination of speed, accuracy, and collecting coins is required to secure victory. Win and you’ll impress toads who will come chill at your Mushroom Kingdom. Lose, and toads will leave your kingdom for greener pastures.

Which brings us to the the final aspect of the game: kingdom building. What’s the point of collecting coins if you can’t spend it on anything cool? You’ll need to stock up on coins as well as keep a steady stable of toads around to be able to upgrade and decorate your kingdom. There’s a lot to unpack here, with some buildings unlocking special mini-games, while others attract characters such as Luigi, Yoshi, and Princess Peach to your kingdom, unlocking them as playable characters with their own unique special abilities.

All together, it seems like Nintendo has done its homework to create a smartphone game that rewards repeat playing, offers some level of multiplayer fun, and includes world building features to keep us coming back for more. All that, wrapped in the cozy nostalgia of everything that makes Mario great!

Ok, that’s all good, but how much does it cost?

Super Mario Run is a free download for iOS, but you only get to play through the first world before you’re required to pay US$9.99 to unlock the rest of the game. We’re expecting to see a similar price point when the game is eventually released on the Google Play Store.

When will it be available for Android?

This is not yet known. The specific details of this exclusivity deal between Apple and Nintendo have not been made public, so as is often the case we’ll just have to wait until Nintendo decides to port the game over to Android.

Complicating things somewhat is Nintendo’s concern over security and piracy. As we mentioned, this is the first time Nintendo has developed a game of this scale for a third-party platform, and this has given the company pause. Super Mario Run requires an always-on internet connection to play, meaning if you’re away from Wi-Fi or out of your coverage range, no Mario for you.

In a great interview with Mashable, Miyamoto explained Nintendo’s justification for the always-on connection, which also touched on the reasoning of launching for iOS before tackling an Android release:

For us, we view our software as being a very important asset for us. And also for consumers who are purchasing the game, we want to make sure that we’re able to offer it to them in a way that the software is secure, and that they’re able to play it in a stable environment.

We wanted to be able to leverage that network connection with all three of the Super Mario Run modes to keep all of the modes functioning together and offering the game in a way that keeps the software secure. This is something that we want to continue to work on as we continue to develop the game.

But actually, the security element is one of the reasons that we decided to go with iPhone and iOS first. So this is just — based on the current development environment — a requirement that’s been built into the game to support security and the fact that the three different modes are connecting to the network and interacting with one another.

These comments point out a few things we already know — that many developers find it easier to develop titles for iOS first, partially because of the diversity of devices running Android which can cause security and device compatibility headaches, but also because Apple’s closed app ecosystem provides much more control over piracy concerns.

Considering again that this is Nintendo’s real first foray into mobile gaming (besides Miitomo, which isn’t really a game), they’re going to take their time to make sure they do a proper release for Android the right way the first time.

Well, what if I just try and sideload the app from an unofficial source?

We strongly recommend waiting until Nintendo officially releases Super Mario Run for Android. This game is projected to become the most popular mobile game of 2016 — perhaps even surpassing Pokemon Go — which means it’s ripe for hackers and scammers to get crafty and try and trick folks into downloading malicious or compromised apps for their own nefarious purposes.

We know it’s hard to be patient, but it’s probably not worth compromising the security of your device for Super Mario’s sake.

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Amazon Fire TV gets swanky new user interface: Here’s what your box does now

Amazon has rolled out a new user interface for its 4K Fire TV set-top-box and will introduce the new design to the Fire TV Stick and first-generation Fire TV early in the new year.

The new UI comes with a cleaner, fresher look that makes it more simple to get to the content and apps you use most. There are also new features and content detail pages.

We’ve got the US version of a couple of screen grabs for you to give you an idea of the new style, although some of the content might not be available in the UK (such as HBO Go). They certainly show a fresher, simpler design, however.

Amazon

Enhancements that arrive with the update include:

• New home screen: The top of the screen now features a cinematic feature rotator. That basically shows popular and selected content front and centre, including content trailers from Amazon Video, Netflix, BBC iPlayer and other supported services.
• New content detail pages: When you click through to a show or movie, you will now see all the relevant details about the content in a cleaner interface. In addition, it will give you the options of where to view, rent or buy the TV show or film, no matter in which app it appears.
• Customisable apps: You can now customise your app rows to show the main applications you want to access. Simply pin content to a new “My Apps & Games” row on the home page.
• Universal search: Voice search now works with Netflix as well as Amazon’s own services. It is a cross app service so you only need to ask for the content and it will find it, regardless of whether it is on Amazon or Netflix. Other streaming services will be added soon.
• Other enhancements: There are some accessibility enhancements, with the VoiceView screen reader function now able to be altered to change reading speed and speech volume, to aid those with hearing or visual impairments. VoiceView will speak details about selected items, such as rating, length and description.

Amazon

The new Fire TV UI is rolling out to the Ultra HD version of the box now.

Parrot Swing drone review: Tiny, smart and lots of fun

Parrot has been building quadcopters for years, hence it long been regarded as one of the go-to drone makers in the market. That’s especially true for consumers on smaller budgets.

Recently, the company announced its first huge fixed-wing drone. But it is also focused on the opposite end of the market and has also updated its range of smaller, indoor friendly drones. One of which is the X-Wing-esque Parrot Swing.

Parrot Swing review: Design

• 160 x 78 x 9.8mm, 295g
• Polystyrene wings
• Plastic centre shell

Parrot tried something a bit different with its latest small drone. Rather than go with a standard four-arm quadcopter that can only face one way, the Swing can fly with its propellers pointing upwards or forward. In other words, it can either look like a regular quad-copter, or more like an X-Wing Fighter. 

To keep it light, the Swing’s arms are built from a type of polystyrene. These big blade-like wings are slim but wide in order to maximise surface area. This design means they can act as wings when the Swing flips 90 degrees to fly in its plane mode.

It goes without saying that these slanting arms (or wings) make up the most of the drone’s surface area. They’re attached by a slim plastic skeleton to the brain of the drone, which sits inside a small, shuttle-like chassis to the centre. 

The front of this plastic shuttle has a face, or rather, two eye-like LED lights. These flash different colours to notify you of the drone’s status. For instance, they’re solid green when connected to the controller, or red when the battery can’t keep it flying any longer.

Pocket-lint

There’s a camera, micro USB and pressure sensor on the opposite end to the shuttle, while the underside is a mostly hollow rounded plastic case. 

Parrot Swing review: The tech

• Ultrasound sensor to measure altitude
• 550mAh removable battery
• 0.3-megapixel camera

For what is essentially a Christmas gift kind of toy, there’s some impressive tech inside Parrot’s mini drone. A collection of sensors can measure altitude and ensure the Swing stays in the air.

Inside, there’s a 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope to measure its speed, tilt, and how hard it’s hit an obstacle. There’s also an ultrasound sensor underneath which can measure how far away the ground is, as long as you don’t fly it above four metres.

Pocket-lint

As you’d expect, you don’t get the same high-tech obstacle avoidance or wind resistance you’d find in a more professional drone, which limits where and how you can fly the Swing.

Parrot Swing review: Control

• Included flypad controller
• Up to 60m range
• Android or iPhone app (20m range)

There are two ways to control the Swing. You can either use your smartphone by downloading the control app, or use the included Parrot Flypad controller. The advantage of the Flypad is that you get up to 60 metres range, whereas your smartphone’s connection will likely max out at 20 metres.

Using the included control pad is about as easy as you could hope for. There’s a dedicated physical take-off and landing button, which takes the Swing drone up a couple of feet from the ground where it hovers steadily.

Pocket-lint

Once airborne, the pad’s left joystick controls the height and rotation of the drone. The right joystick controls the directional movements.

There are other buttons too. The 1, 2, B and A buttons are all pre-programmed patterns that take the drone on a preset path. R1 takes a photo, while L1 performs a U-turn. Pressing-and-holding R2 or L2 will switch the drone to its plane mode, with its propellers and nose facing forwards for fly speeds up to 18.4mph.

While you only get one third of the potential range using your phone, the downloadable app is very easy to use, with a setup that’s almost as easy as using the included controller. Launch the app then pair automatically via Bluetooth – as long as the drone is on, your phone should pick it up for pairing.

In addition to the two huge virtual joysticks on screen, there’s an automatic take-off and landing button, alongside a number of settings for changing elements like maximum height and speed.

Parrot Swing: Easy flying

• Automatic take-off and landing
• Battery lasts a few minutes
• Second battery included
• 30-minute recharge time

While the Swing is not explicitly designed for exclusive indoor use, its size and weight mean it’s much easier to fly indoors than a “proper” drone. It’s also so small and light that any wind outdoors will easily send it off course, into a tree, shed, or person. 

Pocket-lint

Being so small and light means it’s very responsive though. For the most part, that’s what you want in a drone. You want to know that your joystick control results in a swift, fast movement. But in a confined space, that’s not always a good thing: we crashed into a few windows, door frames and ceilings by generally trying to be a bit too clever.

When the Swing drone detects impact it tends to shut off the propellers and go in to freefall, which sounds a lot worse than it is. Its size and weight mean that when it does fall, there’s no real damage upon impact with the ground. It’s not really heavy enough to break; it generally just falls like a feather and lands on its side.

The biggest negative about flying the drone is that while you’re getting to grips with the controller and drone response, the battery dies. Fortunately there’s a second spare one in the box, but it’s still not quite enough.

Pocket-lint

Parrot claims the battery can last up to seven minutes in regular quad-copter flight mode, or eight and a half minutes in plane mode. But we found it didn’t come close. Indeed, most of the time, five minutes was the average, if not less. And with a 30-minute recharge per battery there’s some waiting around to be done after just 10 minutes of fun!

Verdict

On the whole, the Parrot Swing is a fun toy. At its £120 asking price it’s not hideously expensive as drones go – certainly a fraction of what you’d pay for a high-end model.

For that money there are plenty of features: it can take (really bad) photos, it can take off and land on its own, it’s very easy to fly, and the plane mode is a hoot.

If you’re looking at drones as a serious investment and want to get to grips with something small and light before ponying up the cash for a DJI Phantom Pro or Mavic Pro, it’s a sensible starter option.

Or if you just want something to fly around your house or back yard, it’s a fun option. Just get used to the idea that you’ll be swapping the battery out every few minutes and waiting for recharges and you’ll be fine.

Sky handing out Christmas gifts to all customers, free Box Sets subscriptions and movie rentals

Sky has turned Santa this Christmas with freebies for all of its customers.

Sky users without a Box Sets subscription already will each get three month’s access to the provider’s on demand service for free. Those who already have a Box Sets package will get a voucher for a free Sky Store Buy & Keep movie.

Box Sets access will be automatically turned on for everyone with Sky Q or Sky+ boxes from Christmas Eve, 24 December 2016, as long as they are connected to broadband. So if you haven’t connected yours yet, it’s about time you did.

All free Box Sets downloads will be available in standard definition (SD) and available to customers until 23 March 2017. After that time, any downloaded content will automatically remove itself from the box.

• What is Sky Q, how much does it cost and how can I get it?
• Sky Q review: 4K, multi-room support, apps and more

Box Sets covers a wide range of entire TV series, including DC TV shows, such as The Flash and Supergirl, Sky’s own content, like Fortitude and Mad Dogs, and big US dramas, including Mad Men. You can binge out on television as much as you like.

Customers with a Box Sets subscription already will need to redeem their Sky Store voucher by 31 December 2016. It can be used for any of the films in the Buy & Keep range, including new titles like Finding Dory and Suicide Squad.

Buy & Keep provides a digital copy of the movie that will be added to your Sky account and viewed through any compatible device. You will also receive a DVD copy in the post.

Your voucher code will either be emailed or sent to you in the post in the next week if you haven’t had one yet.

Ho ho ho.

Apple Allowed to Sell iPhone 7 in Indonesia After $44 Million R&D Investment Pledge

A $44 million investment pledge in an Indonesian R&D center has paved the way for Apple to be able to sell the iPhone 7 in the country, according to one of the country’s senior government officials.

A director-general overseeing electronics told Reuters that as a result of the three-year investment commitment, Apple had received a “local content certification” last month which would allow it to sell iPhones throughout Indonesia.

Jakarta, Indonesia

“Apple has committed around $44 million to invest in R&D over three years,” I Gusti Putu Suryawirawan said in a text message. “Therefore, they can distribute devices priced 6 million rupiah ($448) and above. That means all iPhones can be distributed.”

Starting from 2017, Indonesia will introduce a telecommunications policy which stipulates that all 4G handsets sold in the country must have “local content” of at least 30 percent, whether that be in terms of hardware, software or an investment commitment.

Asked by Reuters to comment on the investment figure, Apple merely pointed to an announcement last year that it had committed to building an iOS App Development Center in the country.

Such an R&D investment apparently fulfills the government’s “local content” requirement and will help Apple make significant inroads in the Indonesian market, which is home to 250 million people and a young, tech-savvy demographic that Apple has yet to crack. In 2011, Apple was forced to shut down its online store in Indonesia because of shipping issues, and had to re-apply for permission to launch it again as part of its application to open its first retail store in the country.

According to research firm IDC, Samsung commanded a 26 percent share of Indonesia’s smartphone market by sales volume in the second quarter of 2016, trailing Oppo with 19 percent. Both own factories in the country.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
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Xiaomi Mi Note 2 first impressions: Not just a Note 7 clone

The Mi Note 2 is Xiaomi’s most refined phone yet.

After introducing the Mi 5 and the Mi 5s, Xiaomi followed up with the launch of the Mi Note 2 in October. The phone is the first from Xiaomi to feature a dual curved screen, and also the first to offer global LTE bands. With Xiaomi losing out to fellow competitors OPPO and Vivo in its home country this year, the company is counting on devices like the Mi Note 2 to claw back market share.

At a first glance, it’s easy to dismiss the Mi Note 2 as a Note 7 lookalike on account of the dual curved display, symmetric design, and the glass back, but it’s important to know that the design is an evolution of what we’ve seen last year with the Mi Note.

The Mi Note featured 3D curved glass at the back, allowing the phone to easily nestle in your palm. With its successor, Xiaomi is adopting curved glass along the front of the device as well. The curves aren’t as prominent as those on the S7 edge, but are more subdued, like that on the now-defunct Note 7. The overall result is that the Mi Note 2 shares a striking resemblance to the Note 7. But the device has so much more going for it.

The build quality of the Mi Note 2 is top-notch, and the design is Xiaomi’s most refined to date. I used every phone Xiaomi released this year, and this is by far the best of the lot. The curves at the front and back, combined with the glass back, and the slender metal frame culminate to form a device that’s downright gorgeous. The only problem with the design of the Mi Note 2 is the same as any phone that has a glass back — it is a fingerprint magnet. You’ll either have to live with the smudges, or carry a cloth to clean the back every five seconds.

The build quality of the Mi Note 2 is top-notch, and the design is Xiaomi’s most refined to date.

Although the Mi Note 2 sports a dual curved OLED display (with LG providing the panel), the Full HD resolution is a letdown. The 386ppi pixel density is still decent enough, but when compared to the likes of the Galaxy S7 edge or the Pixel, the screen on the Mi Note 2 comes up short.

That’s the only downside in an otherwise feature-rich phone that offers a Snapdragon 821 clocked at 2.35GHz, 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage (there’s a global variant that comes with 6GB RAM and 128Gb storage), 22.5MP camera, 8MP front camera, NFC, Wi-Fi ac, and even an IR blaster. The global variant of the phone is particularly interesting, as it offers 37 LTE bands for global connectivity.

Even with heavy usage, the Mi Note 2 should easily last a day without any problems.

In spite of being just 7.6mm thick, the Mi Note 2 offers a 4070mAh battery. I’ve been using the phone for just three days, and in that time I charged the phone just once. Even with heavy usage, the Mi Note 2 should easily last a day without any problems.

The Mi Note 2 features a 22.5MP camera (Sony IMX318) with f/2.0 lens, dual-LED flash, and PDAF. The camera takes great images in daylight, but the 1.0µm pixel size of the sensor makes it challenging to take decent photos in low-light conditions.

On the software front, the Mi Note 2 comes with MIUI 8 atop Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. MIUI 8 is cleaner and feels less bloated when compared to its predecessor. While the notification shade has picked up a much-needed overhaul, the multitasking pane remains unchanged, and like most Chinese ROMs, you’re not going to find an app drawer.

There are a slew of new features in MIUI 8 that I’ll highlight in the review, but the one that will undoubtedly appeal to Asian customers the most is Dual Apps. With Dual Apps, you’ll be able to run two instances of the same app. For instance, you can have two WhatsApp accounts on the same device.

Overall, the Mi Note 2 is a great 5.7-inch phone from Xiaomi. The design is sure to turn heads, and while the display resolution isn’t ideal, colors are accurate and dense. Performance is in line with what you’d expect from a device running the Snapdragon 821, and I’m yet to see any slowdowns.

The phone isn’t going to be sold outside China, but if you’re interested in picking one up, you can get one from reseller sites for $597. Just be sure you know what you’re getting into if you import the phone.

The latest Xbox One update will increase download speeds up to 80 percent

Microsoft has just released another one of its regular updates for the Xbox One consoles, which this time will be beneficial for every single user.

• Xbox One S review: Great console and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player, what else?

The time it takes to download game updates, app updates, games from the Xbox Store and so on can sometimes be a burden. The latest Xbox One update is set to change that, as users with an internet connection 100Mbps or faster should be able to download content up to 80 percent faster than before.

Anyone with an internet connection slower than 100Mbps should also get a speed increase, but only by up to 40 percent, as well as “more consistent performance”.

Of course, Microsoft does say actual real world figures will vary based on your home network and at ISP level, and downloads taking place in the background while you’re playing a game will also be a bit slower as the Xbox prioritises gameplay.

Other improvements as part of the update include a performance update to the wireless controller, better performance when streaming background music across different apps, and the usual array of stability updates.

• Xbox One S vs Xbox One: What’s the difference?

The latest Xbox One update is available now, so if you haven’t already received a notification, head to the software update section in the settings menu of your Xbox One to install it.