App of the Week: RipTide GP2 for Android

It's been a while, but in attempt to get the ball rolling again; we are back with a new 'App of the Week' and this week that app is 'RipTide GP2' for Android mobile devices.  First off, let me say that this game is simply amazing.  It is more of the same but with new tracks, a much larger career mode, upgradable 'Hydro Jets'; if you played it's predecessor you will have a general idea about what the sequel will have in store for you.  However, this time around VectorUnit has given us Online Multiplayer.  Let's cover what this game is all about.

The Deal:

As this game is about pure speed and thrilling tricks, there is no story.  The premise is you are a Hydro Jet racer in futuristic Hydro Jet Races.  Think of a Hydro Jet as a futuristic Jet Ski.  As you progress through the race circuits you will encounter not just standard 8 man races, but you will be faced with 'Hot Lap' and 'FreeStyle' races as well.  More on those below.  Regardless what mode or race type you play, I promise you it will become addictive fun that will be hard to put down.

Ready... Set... Go!

Race Types You Will Encounter:

You will of course play through the standard race that includes 8 NPC's all racing each other to the finish line.  The amount of laps and duration of the race will depend on what circuit you are playing.  The end goal is of course to be the first to cross the finish line.

Elimination mode will pit you against 8 NPC's and every few seconds (determined by the circuit you are playing) a player will be eliminated without prejudice.  The goal is to stay ahead of the pack and let everyone else get eliminated.  The only way to ensure victory is to be the race leader and outlast everyone else.

Hot Lap is basically a time-trial race.  Each time trial has set times that you need to complete the lap under in order to win.  Some tracks it's 1:07, some tracks it's 00:59 or a little less.  You will need to upgrade your Hydro Jet and make sure you have a speed demon to ensure victory in these races.

The level's are absolutely stunning!

Finally, you will bump into 'Free Style' races.  These races feature only your racer on a track filled with Ramps to trick off of.  Each 'Free Style' race will have a set score you have to hit to place in the top 3.  Earn points by popping tricks off of large waves of water and ramps.  You will have to unlock higher tier tricks to place high in the more advanced circuits.  More on that below.

Controls:

Controlling your Hydro Jet is as simple as tilting your mobile device in the direction you'd like to navigate.  Popping tricks is handled by swiping your thumbs in a particular order on the screen while your racer is airborne.  Each trick has a unique swipe, with the more advanced tricks requiring a slightly more difficult swipe pattern.  Sounds a little strange, but trust me... It works great.

Skills and Upgrades:

There are several different Hydro Jets that you can unlock with cash earned from your races.  Along with purchasing new Hydro Jets, you can also purchase upgrades to your Hydro Jet's abilities.  These abilities are split into several categories: 

- Acceleration

- Top Speed

- Handling

- Boost

Busting a Move!

Each category does exactly what it's name applies.  As you upgrade, the next upgrade level becomes more expensive requiring you to play more to earn more in-game cash to upgrade your ride.  You can also change the color-scheme (or 'paint job') of your Hydro Jet and your racer's uniform.

It doesn't stop there either.  As you play and race you will earn XP that will help you level up.  As you level up you get extra in-game cash and SP points that you will redeem for things like new tricks and increased agility and increased boost time.  Later in the game you will discover some future tricks are compounding.  So they require a trick from a lower skill level before they can be unlocked.  All in all the leveling system is pretty deep for a mobile racing game.

Music:

The soundtrack is pretty similar to the first RipTide GP.  Mixing techno beats with what sounds like spots of dub-step in spots.  All in all, it's pretty catchy and helps keep the energy moving during gameplay.

Online Mulitplayer

The online multiplayer is what I like to play.  I have ran several online matches against others and I have had a lot of fun.  Basically you pick 'Quick Match' and let the game match you up.  If you have signed in with your Google+ account, you can send invites and play with your friends as well.

Circuit Listing

Final Comments:

All in all, RipTide GP2 is an amazing game.  We are finally at the point where the division between mobile games and console quality games is started to fade.  The effects and overall experience are simply amazing.  In my opinion this game is well worth the $2.99 price tag.  Per their website, the game is also on it's way to the Apple iTunes App Store as well.

To Checkout RipTide GP2 visit the Google Play Store: http://bit.ly/15CFQxm

App Cost: $2.99

Rating: 5/5 Stars

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Copy: Free Cloud Storage for a Limited Time

Checkout Copy... And do it now.  Copy is awesome.  Sure, it isn't a new concept.  Sites like Dropbox have been around for a while.  But if you want 5GB of free storage, why not take it right?   They have a working client for Android, iOS, and PC (Linux, Mac, & Windows).  And seeing as how I use Android, Linux, and Windows this is a very tempting offer.

But for a limited time, 5GB isn't the only free storage you can get from Copy.  If you sign up for copy using this link: https://copy.com?r=UfAoUE

You will get your 5GB of free storage for signing up (which everyone gets).  But once you sign in to any of the client apps (Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android) you will get an extra 5GB of storage.  That's a total of 10GB of storage for doing nothing more than signing up and installing the app.

So far, I have used the app to sync pictures from my Android phone and my Nexus 7 tablet.  And once I installed the Windows client, any data within selected folders "automagically" syncs to my laptop too.  That means no more hooking my phone up to a USB cable to transfer pictures or data to/from my mobile devices.

The sign up process is extremely simple.  Basically, just your name, email address, and a password.  It takes less than a minute to sign up, a few moments to install the app and sign in.  That's less than 2 or 3 minutes for 10GB of free cloud storage.  It doesn't get any easier than that.

How sweet is that?

So drop by Copy using: https://copy.com?r=UfAoUE
Sign up and use the mobile app.  Worse case scenario, you get 10GB of free storage for future use.  Not too shaby!

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App of The Week: Shadowgun Deadzone

Our App of the Week for the week of March 1nd, 2013 is: Shadowgun: Deadzone.  As always, we always try to highlight apps that are cheap and/or free in most cases.  There are exceptions where an app is just so awesome, that paying more than $4 or $5 dollars shouldn't be a problem.  But keeping true to our idea that most of us are on a budget (and or just cheapskates like me), ShadowGun: Deadzone is a FREE app.  And unlike our usual App of Week pick, this game is cross platform on both iOS device and Android devices.  So let's jump into what really makes this game standout.

What is it?

Shadowgun: Deadzone is an online multiplayer, third person shooter title.  It follows the release of the original Shadowgun game for iOS and Android created by MadFinger Games.  This game is absolutely gorgeous.

The Story

As mentioned above, Shadowgun: Deadzone is an online multiplayer game that throws the player into either a deathmatch style game or a capture point style game.  There is very little by way of story for this app.  It ideally picks up after the events of the original Shadowgun title.  If you missed the original, a "Shadowgun" is basically a professional bounty hunter.  In the original game, you played as John Slade and your mission was to stop a mad scientist from making a mutated army.  So in Deadzone, your character is either a mutant soldier or one of several Shadowgun skins.

Gameplay

The game plays pretty much just like the original Shadowgun title.  It is basically a covered based shooter much like the Gears of War franchise on the Xbox 360.  Meaning, you run and gun and use objects that are scattered around the map to hide behind when you need to get out of the line of fire.  When hiding behind a barrier or your back is pressed against a corner wall, the camera shifts a little providing a view of the action in front of you.  You can then fire from behind cover, which is really handy in a heavy firefight.

The controls are fairly straight forward as well.  On the left side of the screen is a virtual joystick which controls movement.  You aim by sliding your right thumb around the screen.  In the bottom right we have several icons that include aiming/firing, reloading, and sprinting.  In the upper right corner of the screen we have your weapon selection icon, your sprinting meter, and a couple empty inventory spots for certain perks or power ups that you unlock as you play.  These perks can include the ability to drop ammo or health recharge packs, use motion radars, and grenades to name just a few.  Unlike a lot of games that utilize a touch based, onscreen button layout; this one works extremely well with a very low learning curve.

Other Features

What would a game that only offers online multiplayer be without a system for leveling your character?  And Shadowgun: Deadzone offers exactly that.  As you play matches you gain experience points and cash.  Both of these add up over time.  Your cash is used to upgrade weapons and unlock new power up.  Meanwhile, you're experience points builds up your character's level as you play as well.  Here is the important thing, a higher level doesn't necessarily mean a "stronger" character.  It does mean, that someone with a higher level than you, has access to different weapons which in turn may be stronger than those who run lower level characters.  But this is a fair trade off.  As I have been in matches with people who are much higher levels, and still been able to more than hold my own against them.

Character Loadout Screen

There is also a "Casino" feature built into the games main menu.  Each day your account will be given a token (or 2 or 3 depending) and you can use these tokens to take a spin on the Slot Machine.  The reward for playing the Slot Machine is in game gold.  This gold can be used to buy cosmetic items such as skins, hats, etc. for your character.  As the tokens are given to your account, you do not have to pay "real-world" money for these.

There is also a buddy list, you can log in with your Facebook account, and you can chat (and voicechat if you have a premium account).

Game Modes

Currently there are only two game modes: Deathmatch and Zone Control.  Deathmatch is your traditional free-for-all game mode.  Where every player loads out into the map and spends the matches time limit trying to frag each other.  He who has the highest killscore wins the match.  Meanwhile, Zone Control is a little more tactical.  Each map is contains a series of "Control Points" which also acts as spawn points.  Two teams (red and blue) each fight for the duration of the match to gain control of more points than the other team.  Eventually this leads to some pretty epic battles over points in the middle of a map.  I spend a lot of time playing Zone Control as the strategy aspect of this game mode is a lot of fun.

Premium Features?

So at this point you may be saying, "Wait a minute? A game with these features, and it's free?".  That's right, it is free to download and free to play.  There are a couple ad screens you will see while playing, but the ads are for Shadowgun: Deadzone itself.  Players have the option to upgrade to a "Premium Account" if they choose.

Premium accounts get the following:

-50% more Money and Gold for Playing Matches

-Increased Experience Points for Matches Played

-Access to Premium Servers

-Voice Chat

Premium features can be purchased using your in-game gold or you can drop some "real-world" money for it as a microtransaction.  Premium accounts can be:

-1 day 

-3 days ($00.99)

-1 week ($00.99 USD)

-1 month ($2.99 USD)

-3 months ($9.99 USD)

For example, I ran the month of January as a premium account.  And the immediate advantage is being able to change between more than just the original 2 character skins.  For me the cost is very little and if it counts towards helping the developers build updates for the game; then I am happy to support it.  The Premium cost is a one time charge and no recurring.  So when it runs out, you are dropped back down to a "Free Play" account status.  Which means you receive less money and experience points.

Overall

This game should be considered a AAA title.  It offers gameplay that I have yet to find in any other mobile game.  And it feels like a big-console experience that you can hold in your hand.  With great controls and graphics and an online experience like no other on a mobile device.  I highly recommend this game.  With a limited selection of maps and only two game modes, I would love to see this game grow to offer more as time goes on.  But even with those limitations, I still give this game 5 Stars.

To play it, you will need a device that has at least 512MB of RAM.  For iOS device users this includes: iPhone 4 (and newer), iPod Touch 5th Generation, and iPad 2 (and newer).  For Android users a modern device with at least 512MB of RAM and running Android Honeycomb and newer.

I have been playing this on both my Samsung Galaxy S2 and my Google Nexus 7 and it plays smooth and fluidly on both devices.

Check it out:

Madfinger Games 

Google Play Store- Shadowgun: Deazone  (FREE)

Apple's App Store- Shadowgun: Deadzone (FREE)

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Falcon Pro is Still Kicking

As reported in a post yesterday, one of the best Twitter clients on the Google Play Store was having some issues with Twitter's Access Token limits.  For the time being, things seem to have been worked out.  No Twitter didn't recant on their stand of not increasing Falcon Pro's token limitations.

Instead, looks like the tokens were reset.  Thus freeing up used tokens.  The only catch is that if you are still a user of the app, when you download the latest update, you will be required to log back into Twitter via the app.  Not a big deal whatsoever.

This is great news, as now the app can once again be purchased.  It is unfortunate that Twitter is still sticking to their position as well.  Especially since it is inevitable that the app will hit the 100k token limit again at some point.  In the meantime, the developer has set the price back to a "purchasable" cost at $1.96.  For more information be sure to checkout the Falcon Pro page on the Google Play Store.

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Twitter's Token Limits vs Falcon Pro

I was considering featuring the Falcon Pro Twitter app for Android devices as one of our weekly app picks.  However, I am kind of glad that I didn't.  But not for the reason you may first think of. The app is an outstanding Twitter client for Android devices.  It is very fluid and offers a smooth user experience when using Twitter.  In my opinion, it is just much sleeker and useful than most other Twitter clients I have used (including the official Twitter client for Android).

So what is the problem?

You may be thinking that the developer might have nerfed some features or did some funky new thing with an update.  But none of that is true either.  The issue appears to be on Twitter's end.  How can this be?  Are they trying to choke out "3rd party" developers?  Don't they want people to use their service?

How: Twitter's API grants access to their service via "access tokens".  If you have ever used a Facebook or Twitter app that allows you to login using your account for a social media service instead of just setting up yet another account; then you have used access tokens too.  This is a popular way to sign into sites and services using mobile devices as well.  So, an access token is delivered to your app or device when you access your account for a particular service using one of these "other" client type apps.  Simple enough.  On the end user side, this makes it easy to use other services and clients without managing multiple logins.  There are some other challenges on the service side, such as token limitations.

For example, Twitter's access token limitation is 100k for a 3rd party type app or service.  Once you hit the 100,000 token limit.  That is it, new user's are no longer able to authenticate their app on Twitter.  Meaning if you buy a Twitter client app on the Google Play Store, and it can't authenticate on Twitter, you have useless app (at least from the purchaser's point of view).

This is exactly what happened to Joaquim Verges who is the developer of the acclaimed Falcon Pro app.  His app hit the 100k wall in less than 3 months, and that is "all she wrote".  Mr. Verges has since started a petition to try and get the community feedback to help encourage Twitter to raise this limit, but per the Falcon Pro Twitter account (@falcon_android) he has already received a correspondence from Twitter stating:

So let me get this straight, does this mean that Twitter won't raise the token limit at all?  Or if Falcon Pro offered some feature that Twitter's "official" client didn't have, it would then raise the limit?  The later is how I read it.  I know that Twitter controls what, who, how, and when can utilize their service.  I completely understand that.

But at the same time is it right of Twitter to slam a door in the face of a successful app developer?

It doesn't take a person long to realize this app has a pretty good user base by looking at the apps reviews on Google Play Store.

So what happens now?

Well, for Mr. Verges he has done only what one could sensibly do.  He has reached out to the community for participation in a petition and has contacted Twitter with his request.  At this point, Twitter has shot down his request; and I honestly don't know how much a petition would really help at this point.  In the meantime, Mr. Verges has placed a disclaimer on the app's Google Play Store page informing user's and potential buyers not to purchase the app due to the token limit from Twitter. He has also marked up the app price to $132.13 USD.  Not sure how he came to pick this price, but that's how much it costs now in attempt to discourage future user's from purchasing the app thus restricting it's growing user base without being forced to just shut down.

And that is not all.  The app's store page also requests that any user who is no longer using the app to please release the token from their app.  That will free up a token so other people can use the app would essentially drop the count below 100,000 tokens (at least until it is used by someone else).

My advice?

I am not an app developer (or much of a programmer either for that matter); but if I were Mr. Verges my next step would be to prove to Twitter how awesome my app was.  I would drop back and punt for lack of better puns.  Go through the official Twitter app and try to work up a feature or two that the official Twitter app doesn't offer.  And build on it.  Then see what Twitter's excuse is for not raising the cap.  My guess would be they will probably still shoot the request down, and probably add a couple new aforementioned features as well.

To Twitter...

As a company offering a social networking service to the internet community, I understand you're limitations concerning 3rd party developers, apps, and even services.  However, for Falcon Pro to hit this benchmark means that there is definitely something great about this app. Why not make Mr. Verges an offer to help with the current development of the official Twitter app?  Instead of choking out these smaller developers who make awesome apps, why not bring them on board and help build what you currently have going?  Just makes sense to me.

What happens now?

Well, Mr. Verges has tweeted out that he will continue to update the app and support it for current user's as he uses the client himself, and refuses to use an app that is outdated.  For which, I cannot blame him.  And personally, I will continue to use the app as well.  And in the meantime will continue to follow the progress on this and will report back if anything changes.

Ways to get involved:

It may seem somewhat ironic, but why not show Mr. Verges some support over on the Falcon Pro Twitter Account.

Go sign the petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/extend-falcon-pro

After all, Mr. Verges isn't the first and probably won't be the last that this type of thing happens to. Unfortunately, if we as the community don't get involved then this will continue to happen to other apps even across other services.

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App of The Week: Temple Run 2 for Android

As the title mentions, our App of The Week for the Week of February 23rd, 2013 is Temple Run 2.  Let's be honest, if you have a Android or an iPhone, then you have probably at least heard of or even seen the original Temple Run.  The original Temple Run became somewhat of a staple of mobile gaming.  Along with the likes of Angry Birds, Jetpack Joyride, and numerous others.  Either way, the original was an awesome game (albeit, rather frustrating at times; but still awesome).

If you happened to have played the original Temple Run then you pretty much know the ropes of the gameplay.  Basic controls involve swiping the screen in order to make your runner avoid obstacles or make turns all while you are running from the likes of a crazed monkey.  As the game opens, you see a nice 3D fly in of the ornate opening of a cave where an idol hovers in the cave's opening.  You tap the screen to play, and that is when we are introduced to our runner.  Who comes running out of the cave's opening and picks up the idol and starts running.  You catch a shot of the giant monkey that is pursuing your runner.  From there the game's camera positions itself behind your runner and you start out on your high speed adventure.

What's new in Temple Run 2?

Temple Run 2 brings several new elements to the game.  All of which makes the game much more involved and in my opinion, brings a welcomed new environment to the Temple Run series.  The environments from the original game were somewhat dark and gloomy looking; which, don't get me wrong served, to set the mood of the game.  But still the newer, brighter environments just look awesome.

The environments aren't the only improvements that Imangi Studios brought to the table though.  Where the original game succeeded in guiding players through a running, jumping, and sliding crazed run while collecting coins and power-ups; the sequel also throws in zip-lines, mine cart rides, and a much larger monkey.

I have been playing the game on my Nexus 7 tablet and my Samsung Galaxy S2 phone.  And it runs so smooth it's almost ridiculous.  I have experienced virtually no lag while running this game on either of my devices.

What is the point of the game?

Run fast, and run far.  All the while, collecting coins and various power-ups that grant your runner abilites like being invincible, attracting all of the nearby coins as you run past them, or a green bubble of protection.  And at the end of the run, try to beat your high score.  There are also achievements built into the game that change as you level up

Is it worth the download?

Most certainly.  And the price is perfect: FREE.  That's right.  It doesn't cost you a dime to pick up this awesome game.  You can spend your real world cash for jewels in-game.  But spending real world money doesn't help you progress through the game.  As each level starts fresh, and each run is different.  So forget about trying to memorize the pattern as you run through the level.  But overall, this game is lush and beautiful, and is a lot of stylized fun.

Sure, the game can be downright frustrating at times.  But if there has ever been a game that makes it fun to be frustrated; then this is it.  So in short, if you are looking for a fun (and free) game to pick up then this is the app for you.

Rating: 

Visit the Google Play Store: Temple Run 2

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Nexus 7 Rooted via the Nexus 7 Toolkit

Last night I did something brave.  Something I swore I wouldn't do for a while after I purchased my Nexus 7.  Apparently, I lied to myself.  As I a little better than a month out of my ownership of my Nexus 7, and today it is rooted.  This isn't a definitive walkthrough.  But it will hit the high spots.  And we can do it in about 4 steps that make the rooting process so easy it's almost ridiculous.  Be warned, the rooting process does perform a factory reset during the process which means all of your user data and apps will be erased from the device.  Please backup any information or data you may need before starting the rooting process.  Read below.

Step 1: Drivers

First thing first, you need the ADB drivers for your Nexus 7.  This can be accomplished one of a couple of ways.  Way #1: download the Nexus 7 Toolkit and let it install the correct drivers for you.  I attempted this, and it didn't work for me.  I am using Windows 8, and I had read there were some funny issues about Nexus 7 driver installation under Windows 8.  So I had to go to Way #2.

Way #2 is manually downloading the drivers from the ASUS site (click here).  This will download the USB Driver Package to your PC.  Simply unzip this file to a folder you can easily find.  Then open Windows Explorer, right click Computer and click on Properties.  Look for the link in the properties box that says "Device Manager".  Look for an entry that had a yellow caution sign beside it that reads "Nexus 7".

Right Click the "unknown" Nexus 7 device and select to Update the driver.  Follow the wizard and point it to the USB Driver that you downloaded and unzipped.  This should fix the driver issue.

Step 2: USB Debugging has to be Enabled

On the Nexus 7 the "Developer Options" menu has been hidden.  To access is, open the "Settings" app on your Nexus 7, tap on "About Tablet".  Find "Build Number" and tap 7 times.  You will see a prompt counting down how many taps until you become a "developer".  This unlocks the "Developer Options Menu".  Now tap your back button to return to the "Settings" menu and then tap into the "Developer Options" menu.  Locate "USB Debugging" and enable it.

Step 3: Download and Install the Nexus 7 Toolkit

This is where the magic is going to happen but you have to be running this from a Windows PC with the drivers mentioned above (unless you let the toolkit install drivers for you).  Visit XDA Developer's Nexus 7 section and download the Nexus 7 Toolkit.  There is a lot of good information on this page, and if you have any desire to root and load custom ROMs on your device then please frequent XDA.  XDA is a great community for this kind of thing.  Anyways, click here to visit the thread about the Nexus 7 Toolkit and download it.  Once you have downloaded it, install it.  It will place a shortcut on your desktop for future use.

Step 4: Hook it all up!

Hook your Nexus 7 up to a USB Cable and your PC.  Launch the newly installed Nexus 7 Toolkit.  And you'll be greeted with a window that has a black background and green text asking if you want to check for an update to the toolkit (select No).  Then select your build of Android (if you aren't sure go back into your Nexus 7 settings and click on "About Tablet" it will tell you Android 4.2 or 4.2.1 or other).  Back in the ToolKit enter the number option that matches your version of Android.  For example, mine was 4 for Android 4.2.1.

If the Toolkit see's your tablet, your tablet's serial number will be just bove the main menu.  If you see it there, you're in good shape (see the pic below).  I selected #8 from the menu for "1-CLICK for ALL...".  Essentially, it will go through an automated process of unlocking the bootloader, rooting, renaming the recovery, installing custom recovery and busybox.  The whole process takes less than 10 minutes to finish.  It is prompted.  So just follow the instructions as the program prompts you.  The Toolkit will handle all rebooting of the Nexus 7 and installation of all software as needed during the process.  So basically sit back, answer a few prompts and let it ride until it is done.  Once the process is finished your Nexus 7 will reboot and the program will prompt that the rooting was successful.

If you are curious that it infact worked, download one of the many Root Checker apps from the Google Play Store and check.  Now you can flash custom ROMs and run apps that require root access.  One of my reasons for rooting was to use my PS3 controller for some of my tablet's games.  But we'll cover that in another post.

Links used:

Nexus 7 Toolkit from XDA-Developers (does not require site registration)

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Nexus 7 Review

Shortly after Christmas, I found myself purchasing a Nexus 7 tablet.  And believe me when I say they were few and far between in our local brick and mortar stores.  In early December I saw them on sale at a two of our local Walmart stores.  But apparently they were a pretty hot item this year.  I ended up finding one at a Gamestop about 30 miles away.

Needless to say, it was well worth the near 60 mile round trip.  So here is my quick review.

First up, like most tablets or mobile devices; there are several different versions of the device.  The Nexus 7 was made by Asus for Google (as Google doesn't produce hardware themselves).  The Nexus 7 is a 7 inch, Tegra 3 tablet and it comes in three flavors.
- 16GB Wifi only                               (MSRP: $199.00)
- 32GB Wifi only                               (MSRP: $249.00)
- 32GB Wifi & 3G (3G via AT&T)     (MSRP: $299.00)

Most of the local brick & mortar stores around here carry the 32GB WiFi only model for $249.  At first, $249 may sound a little steep.  But when compared to the price of devices like the Kindle Fire HD or the Nook HD it's still pretty much in the same price range.  And from the software perspective, the Nexus 7 is quite a bit more open (out of the box) than either Amazon or Barnes & Noble's offerings.

The market definitely has no shortage of tablets and mobile computing devices, so what makes the Nexus 7 stand out?  For me, it's the software that jumps out at me.  The Nexus 7 runs Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) out of the box.  So big deal, it runs the latest version of Android... Who cares?  Well, most Android based devices include apps that aren't used of wanted.  Smartphone's are the same way.  My Galaxy S2 from Sprint came preloaded with Sprint branded apps and even a couple games that I didn't really care to have on my device without my choice.

This doesn't happen with the Nexus 7, reason being it runs pure Android without any vendor UI overlay or without any Vendor specific apps preloaded.  What you do get preinstalled on the devices are the apps from Google that are run of the mill on Android devices:
-Google Play Store (and associated apps)

So what about the specs:
- Tegra 3 Quad-Core Processor
-1GB of RAM
-Storage Capacity: 16GB or 32GB
-WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
-Bluetooth
-NFC
-3G only available is the 3G model
-Front Facing 1.2MP camera
-4325 mAh Battery (rated at approximately 8 hours of battery life)
Screen Specs:
-7 inch (1280 x 800) at 216ppi
-Back-lit IPS display

Other Features:
-Microhone
-Accelerometer
-Magnetometer
-GPS
-Gyroscope

You may have read through those specs and said: "What a minute, where is the SD Card slot or the rear facing camera?!".  And you'd be right, the Nexus 7 does not sport either of those.  And to be honest with you, I haven't even missed them.  Here's why.  My phone has a 8MP camera on it.  The majority of my pictures are taken while I am out and about in the world on a daily basis.  I have a 10 inch Android Tablet that sports both of the Nexus 7's missing features and I rarely use them.  I have taken less than 10 pictures with my 10 inch tablet's rear camera.  I use the SD card slot only to load a small collection of ROM's to play.  That's it.  So not having these two features didn't hinder me from picking up the Nexus 7.

And if these missing features might deter you from checking out the Nexus 7, then don't let it.  Because there is a work around for the missing SD Card slot.  You can pick up what is called an "On the Go" USB adapter.  There are a couple types of these available on Amazon.  The popular one basically splits the micro-USB connector on the bottom of the device into two USB ports that allows you to connect Flash Drives for extra storage of file transfers (although some of the file transfer features will require ROOT access).  That means it is still possible to swap files on the fly.  Albeit, with an extra cable.  The good news is that most of these adapters are really dirt cheap.  And there is even one that has a card reader/USB/HDMI Output on it as well.

So enough about the specs, how does it perform?  So far I have read books on the Nexus 7, watched quite a bit of Netflix programming on it, surfed the web and social networks, and yes; I have indulged in quite a few games as well.  Everything works just as smooth as silk.  The games I have played so far include:
-Need for Speed Most Wanted
-Dark Meadow: The Pact
-Sonic 4 Episode II THD
-Beach Buggy Blitz
-Marvel's Avengers Initiative

And every game has been fast, no lag, responsive and an overall fantastic experience. I am excited to load up the multiplayer version of Shadowgun to see it in all it's glory.  One of the common complaints tends to be more with the apps from Google Play; as not all of them are designed to work on a 7 inch display.  What I mean is the Facebook app downloaded from Google Play is essentially the same as the phone version of the app.  This has been an issue with Android pretty much since Day 1.  They call that "fragmentation" and is one of the large reason's Apple fans slam Android fanboys.  For me, there are so many other awesome apps out there, I can't let the quirks with just a couple hinder my overall experience on something that really isn't the tablet's issue in the first place.

The 7 inch screen size is perfect for reading books, as it feels like using a paperback sized book.  And the tablet is pretty light (weighing in at 340g) so you can easily hold it with one hand and not tired of holding it.  And when paired with books from Google Play (or as I prefer to use Aldiko), it really feels great kicking back on the couch with a good book on the Nexus 7.

Battery Life
Sure, it's got great specs with a great screen size and can run movies and games without a problem.  The battery life must be terrible, right?  Nope.  In fact, the battery life is the best I have seen on an Android device this size.  For example, over the weekend I pretty much carried the Nexus 7 with me everywhere I went.  I haven't altered any of the display or power settings from their default settings.  At the end of the day Saturday, I looked at the Battery usage and it had been off of the charger for a little better than 9.5 hours and I was still showing around 32% battery left.  My usage that day was connecting to three different WiFi connections, web surfing/Facebooking for a while on each.  Did some lite reading, used the web surfing to find resources and information on PC repair for a friend, watching YouTube, playing Need for Speed Most Wanted, and later that evening watching an episode of "Sons of Anarchy" on Netflix.

That is way more activity than my phone could handle without begging for a charge midway through the day. So you shouldn't have to worry about battery life.  If you can charge it up before bed, you'll not have much to worry about.  The only issue I can forsee is that the battery is enclosed (much like the iPad devices).  So you can't replace it when it's charge cycles are used up.  Hopefully, by the time that happens; it'll be time to upgrade devices anyway.

Cons
The Nexus 7 only has one downside that I have found thus far and I wanted to save it for last.  And really, it isn't that big of a deal (it can be resolved); but out of the box it may be an issue for some people.  The Nexus 7 has one speaker bar in the bottom of the back of the device.  Out of the box with the volume turned all the way up, it is still somewhat difficult to hear the audio anywhere but in a semi-quiet room.  You can however download a Speaker Booster app from Google Play that will fix this.  So not a serious issue by any means.

Overall Verdict: Must Buy!
Today marks 1 week spent with the Nexus 7, and I haven't regretted purchasing it yet.  It is a great device, offering the latest and greatest that Google has to offer on the software side.  And the awesome specs that Asus slammed into the Nexus 7's casing.  I honestly gave thought to initially purchasing the iPad Mini.  But with it's price point higher than the Nexus 7's, and the fact I really didn't like the idea of having to use iTunes again.  So I veered away from Apple's offering.  And honestly, I'm glad that I did.

For more information on the Nexus 7 please visit:
Google Play's Nexus 7 Product Page

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Finally! I made an Android App!!

Ok, so I know it's a small accomplishment but tonight I made my first Android app!  I haven't programmed anything since 2003, so I'm relearning all over again.  Using help from YouTube (Checkout Lecture Snippets on YouTube).  He has some pretty awesome videos on his channel.

Basically, it is one screen with some basic text, a button, and an empty text box.  When the button is clicked, the text box is filled with a canned message.  Like I said, it isn't much but it's a start!

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"The Cloud" + Gaming = Can it work?

So this afternoon I read a story concerning a new development in "Cloud Gaming".  Yep, that's right "Cloud Gaming".  If you don't know exactly what that is, let me briefly explain.  A "Cloud Gaming Service" has a bunch of servers that they have their games installed on.  Much like user's stream movies via Netflix, a cloud gaming provider's servers would run the gaming locally on the server side and stream the video output from the game through the internet (aka "The Cloud") to it's customers.

This type of gaming solution gives players access to games without having to be concerned with upgrading their computer's hardware (namely RAM, video card/chipset, and processor) nor purchasing expensive video game consoles that try to be your "entertainment hub" in the living.  Since all the customer is coming into contact with is the video feed and sending back the controls being input back upstream to the game's server.  Sounds pretty awesome, doesn't it?

That's because it is, in theory.  Some time back I wrote a post about OnLive, and I still stand by my original thoughts that they were "before their time".  And that hopefully they could pave the way for a larger market for this type of service.  If you haven't followed the situation with OnLive, there have been reports/rumors of mass layoffs within the company.  And an ill fated financial future doesn't look good for them.

But there may be hope that OnLive can pull through with the help of Vizio & Google who seem to see value in the service as the latest run of Google TV boxes will support the OnLive service.  On top of that, if you have followed the KickStarter project OUYA, which touts to be an Android based game console, it will support OnLive as well.  So all may not be lost with OnLive.

I haven't personally played the OnLive console.  But I have played around with a couple demo's via the Android tablet app on my Acer Iconia a500 tablet.  I have attempted to the same with the Windows client.  But this is where these services enter some murky waters: bandwidth.  Yep, in order to use the mobile app with much success you need a very decent/stable broadband connection.  My network speed is among one of the upper tiers for my area; yet it is a little slower than a national average.  For me, the mobile app worked but it looked a little fuzzy.  Whereas, the Windows client would only kick up an error that I didn't have enough bandwidth to run their service.  My network speed isn't the greatest, but it handles everything I through at it with ease; with the exception of OnLive.  Even Netflix streams to my 40 inch HD television and looks good.  So why not OnLive?

For a service like this to succeed, it needs to be accessable to lower network speeds.  However, this too is a double edged sword, because bandwidth will also limit the video quality of the stream coming downstream to the client.  Meanwhile maintaining a low latency for quick response via the network.  Although I still believe this type of service could flourish.  I still think it is a little before it's time.

With all of the said (and most of it just my opinions); AMD has invested in a company similar to OnLive by the name of CiiNow.  What do you think?  Will  OnLive's tumultuous past and uncertain future mean a bumpy take off for an AMD backed solution?  Or can AMD help CiiNow take off and flourish?  CiiNow is a little different than OnLive as it is designed to be a turnkey solutions for service providers.  Meaning that more than likely you'll not become a "CiiNow Customer".  But say your ISP could become a service provider and offer a game streaming service to you as part of a bundle or package, etc. while utilizing this technology service as a foundation for that particular service offering.

Whereas, OnLive is much like Netflix. It sells the service to the end user directly.

Time will tell if the world is ready for this type of service.

What do you think?  Drop us a line at the bottom of this post and let us know!

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Apple vs Samsung = $1 Billion Bruise for Samsung

Before jumping into this, let me first and foremost say that I love my Samsung Galaxy S2.  It is an amazing device, and probably the best phone I have ever owned (and yes, I have used Apple products before).  If you have read any of my posts, you'll know that I am a proponent for Android (mostly because it will built ontop of Linux).  And yes, I will admit that there are striking resemblances between my Galaxy S2 and my wife's Apple iPhone 4S (mostly in terms of interface design).

If you have kept up with any of the news surrounding the Apple/Samsung patent lawsuits you'll know that Apple was recently awarded $1 billion big one's for basically admitting that they copied the iPhone design.  So, I'll have to say I kind of saw this one coming.  And knowing that Samsung is getting hit in the pocketbook for their admitted plagiarism of Apple's hardware, it was no surprise that the patents will be upheld and we will probably be seeing some big changes to some of the basics of even how Android works across the board.

So what is affected by the results of this lawsuit?  For starters, this lawsuit will not just affect Samsung products, but in the end will affect Android at the OS level as well.  As obviously, Google will try to steer clear of Apple patented design traits.  No more dedicated home buttons on Samsung hardware (they were notorious on some of their phones to have a rectangular home button).  Things like app icon design will more than likely change as well just for beginners.  But things like the "swipe to unlock" bars, various multitouch gestures, etc.  This is a big deal people.

So it sounds pretty bad doesn't it?  Let's look at it from a different angle.  Maybe this is a good thing.  Maybe this lawsuit is what it took to get some innovation back into our mobile devices.  Let's admit it, for the last several years the world has laid in wait to see what latest gimmicks Apple's latest phone gives us.  And then you start to see similar things show up in other places.  So we have let Apple be the innovation leader in the mobile device market.  Maybe now is when our mobile devices meet a "theoretical" fork-in-the-road where new interface designs, new product features, and new phone designs in general could pop-up and even succeed.  Let's face it.  A lot of Android user's like and use Android because it is different than Apple.  And because it isn't an Apple product, point blank.  Yet, our devices are starting to look more and more like Apple devices anyways.  Maybe it is a well warranted time for a change.

Personally, I feel the growing pains and changes may suck initially.  Hopefully, Samsung won't outright nerf many features; simply reworking them with Google's assistance in a Jelly Bean update would be nice. Being realistic and knowing how the whole Android development/release cycle works, I think I may be living in a dream.  But eventually, we may be seeing the start of an Android rebirth that can once again make us stand back and say "That phone can do that! Amazing!" instead of the now common "Cool Phone!" posts we see on forums today.

Either way, it looks to be an exciting time for Android users.  Whether that exciting is positive or negative remains to be seen.

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Effects of Tech: Assimilated As An Introvert

Today while I was eating lunch, I took a moment to glance around the restaurant and I noticed something that felt kind of concerning.  Out of the few people that were sitting scattered across the room, all of us were eating and staring at our cell phones.  A guy in the far corner must have been watching a video clip of something hilarious that caused the rest of us to wonder what he was cackling about.  Another guy sat with his head pointed strait down at the table probably reading the news headlines or an email.  Another person sat near the drink machine messing with his phone and was completely oblivious to the girl at the counter letting him know his order was ready.

Seeing this sight caused me to glance back at my table where I sat with my sandwich in my right hand and my phone in my left hand where I had a work email up on the screen.  And then I realize that I had been subconsciously assimilated into the group of introverted bubble people.  And for the first time, I simply turned off my phone's screen and laid it down on the table.  And I actually enjoyed a lunch without the need or the urge to Facebook or Tweet about my day or my meal.  For once, I did what people used to do at lunchtime.  I just sat there and ate my meal.  No cares with what digital happenings were going on with the silicone confines of my Samsung Galaxy S2 taking it's slumber on the table.

And it felt great.

So this started the thought train while I enjoyed my Cheeseburger and fries.  We have all seen those talk shows where they bring in an expert who in turn picks out a handful of strangers and takes them to lunch.  During the course of lunch they hire several people to walk through the room where specific clothes or colors.  After the meal they sit the people down and ask them specific questions about the people who were in the room while they ate.  And they basically take a poll as to what people actually paid attention to when out and about in the everyday world.  In a very real world possibility, what if someone was attacked or robbed during my lunch hour in the place I ate.  Would I be able to help the authorities with a description of either the victim or the bad guy?

And I realized that I wouldn't have a clue.  And that the half a dozen other people in the room would be just as clueless as I was.  Not to say that we have to walk around suspicious of everybody.  But my point is that we should be aware of our surroundings.  And yet, with my nose stuck in the screen of my phone, I am not very aware.

The second thought than ran through my head was that I was loosing time.  Precious time that I could never regain.  Seconds which turn into minutes of phone usage at a time.  Sure, I may be learning something from a news article to finishing up that last work email as my sandwich is being made.  But those seconds fall into the bottom bucket of lost time that we will never regain.  And I know I would be amazed at just how much time I use everyday working/playing on my phone.

And the last thought that ran through my head was about how much my technology has turned me into an introvert.  By nature, I am an outgoing person who likes to interact with people.  But I am increasingly finding myself drawn into Twitter and Facebook.  And before you jump to conclusions and say how these are "social" networks, let me explain myself.  When I use both Twitter and Facebook, I find myself browsing other people's posts more than what I spend in time making my own posts.  Therefore, I'm just being nosey and not really interacting with anybody.  As interacting is defined as "Act in such a way as to have an effect on another; act reciprocally" (from the Meriam-Webster Dictionary).  And just by looking around, I am not directly effecting anybody of anything to encourage someone to reciprocate and cause an "interaction".

So before I wrap up this post on my rambling musings, let me ask: "Is our technology turning us into introverts? I completely understand that there are introverted people by nature.  And have absolutely nothing against these folks.  But in general, how is the technology we deal with on a daily basis affecting our socialization with others in our society?

In other words, put the phone down at lunch.  You'll be amazed at how liberated you feel.  And on that note, it is almost time for me to unplug for a week and go on vacation in the Western Carribean!  See you when I get back!

¡Via Con Dios!

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App Review: Dark Legends by SpaceTime Studios

Last week we mentioned that SpaceTime Studios has rolled out their newest title in the line of their "Legends" mobile games.  The significant point to be made with this game is that this marks the first time an MMO has been simultaneously released for both Mobile Devices and the Desktop Computer.  Pretty cool!

If you are familiar with SpaceTime Studio's other games (Star Legends and Pocket Legends) you kind of know what to expect as far as character design is concerned.  But let me go on the record to say that this game is nothing like it's previous two namesakes.  For one, this title is a great deal more violent than their previous titles.  Sure, Pocket Legends and Star Legends involve a great deal of fighting and combat.  But neither of them dump buckets of blood during a session of gameplay.  This title does.  Enough with the intro, let's jump in and see how this game stacks up.

Story:
Your character is a newly sired vampire in a world where people are aware that vampires exist thanks to innovation in technology.  Now the humans are hunting the Vampire Nation using said technology and the Dark Arts (hence the appearance of all the monsters in the game).  And it is your job as a new member of the Vampire Nation to take up arms and fight.

Honestly, this is a new take on the whole Vampire legend as far as I know it.  It is a somewhat simple storyline but it's great because that is all you need to know to understand what goes on in the game.  No further explanation is needed.

Graphics & Sound:
As mentioned above, the character designs are the cartoony and fun designs that we have come to expect from SpaceTime Studios.  Unlike SpaceTime's previous two games that we full of color, Dark Legends is much darker.  Given it's source material it has be portrayed this way.  And I can honestly say the atmosphere in the game is great.  It's that dark, but not too creepy dark.  The levels are designed in a way that rewards short bursts of fast gameplay, which we will get too shortly.

Sounds is pretty good.  You get all the fanfare you would expect from hearing the sounds of the onscreen baddies to your attacks doing their job.

Gameplay:
The gameplay is pretty good overall.  The action during the combat missions is great and a blast to play through.  You will find yourself running around slicing and dicing evil fiends very quickly as this game has a pretty small learning curve and does pretty well to get you playing pretty quick.  The earlier "training" type missions are solo missions.  So they are pretty easy.  After you complete that handful of early missions you'll be able to play with other people as you run through the combat missions.  Playing with others is a lot more fun as it gives you a sense of being a "team player".

My only complaint (and it may be I just overlooked this) is that the interface feels a little cluttered and right out of the gates there was a little confusion about what certain icons were telling me.  Although it is easy enough to figure it out as you play through the earlier levels.

The game is made up of basically two types of missions: combat and search type missions.  The combat missions are pretty straight forward.  Run through a map either solo or with others and kill pretty much anything that moves.  Most of the area's have a type of boss character at the end that may take some work to kill earlier on.  But as you progress and your character gets stronger, even these enemies go down fairly quick.

The search missions aren't actually playable missions at all.  Instead you simply tap the mission icon on the map and watch an animation (or cutscene) to see what happens.  Personally, this was a little off putting the first couple of times I played through these particular missions.  Some missions involve watching your character "Glamour" an NPC to charm information from them.  While others involve watching your character look through a pile of rubble or even breaking into a tomb of vampire's lair.  Personally, I feel like the search missions could have been a little more.  Maybe something like a puzzle of mini-game to break up the monotony of fighting through every mission.  But nonetheless, these missions serve the purpose of furthering the story more than gameplay.  After playing through a few levels you get used to them and it makes you look forward to the combat missions all the more.

Energy is one of the hot topics among the players of this game.  Some like it, some don't. Here's the deal, you essentially have a limited amount of energy.  From what I gather, each mission requires a certain amount of energy points in order to play it.  Not enough energy?  Simply redeem your in game platinum for more or step away from the game for a little while and let your energy build back up for free.  Personally, I like this feature as it forces me not to burn up all afternoon playing the game.  This does prevent marathon play for those who like to play that way.  But for me, not a big deal.

Skills:
As the game thus far that I have played it plays fairly linear you level up and acquire new skills automatically as you play.  One of the nice things about the game is that there is very little emphasis on customizing stats.  A lot of people tend to get lost when it boils down to getting a better character because you have juggled stats and numbers to do so.  This free's up the player to do more playing and earn new costumes for you character as you play.

Multiplayer:
As mentioned above, the early missions force you to play solo in order to learn the game.  After those missions you can jump into playing with other people.  And that is where this game shines.  There is no bloat or crap to deal with.  You simply jump in and run the mission assisting others.  Which turns out to be a lot of fun.  This game boasts to be an MMO but it feels more like a hack & slash co-op title to me.  With that being said, there is a PvP aspect to the game as well; however, I haven't actually tried it out yet.

Overall:
If you are looking for a fun coop style game to play on either your mobile device or in your web browser.  Than Dark Legends is a must have.  It is free to play.  Although there are plenty of opportunities to swap real world cash for in-game items if you so choose.  But it is not forced to shell out your hard earned cash, which is nice.  Also, a lot of free to play games (especially on mobile devices) are riddled full of advertisements that get in the way.  And so far, nothing like that has popped up for me.

If you don't mind having limited access to energy points to delegate you play (which I don't mind at all) you should have a blast in this game.  So far I have, and I am not that big a fan of vampire related games.  But this one does it right.

One side note that I'd like to make is just some simple advice.  I would recommend this title to the older crowd as some of the source material is a little too mature for children.  With this being said the Google Play Market page for the game shows "High Maturity" for the Content Rating.

Rating:  4 out of 5 stars!




Pro's:
-Fun multiplayer
-Great gameplay
-Easy to find people to play with.
-PvP is available
-Character customization is basically equipping crystals and costumes.
-It's Free to Play!

Con's:
-There are missions that are only for progressing story involving no gameplay whatsoever.

Get it at:
Google Play: http://bit.ly/IyXeVO
Chrome Web Store: http://bit.ly/HMLHJg
Apple's App Store: Not available yet, according to their forums the game is pending Apple's approval and should be available in a few weeks.

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Dark Legends is Out!

For all of you mobile gamers out there, a new title has hit the web from the likes of SpaceTime Studios.  That's right, they are the great folks behind the much loved "Pocket Legends" and the newer "Star Legends" titles.  Their newest title is called "Dark Legends".  And after having some hands-on time last night with the game, I can say it is definitely a lot grittier than their two previous games.

Here is the deal, you play a newly sired vampire in a gothic/urban city setting where normal humans are aware of the vampire's existence.  You have to fight to survive.  And you are fitting off all kinds of creatures from zombies to demons, it's the full gamut.  It has the feeling of a SpaceTime Studios game in the character design.  It has a cute but dark feeling about it.  And at times it feels a lot like a cooperative hack-&-slash game.  Which is pretty cool.

One of the big deals about this game is that it is the first MMO title that was released simultaneously for mobile and desktop play via Google Play for mobile devices and the Chrome Web Store for desktops.  And the game is a free to play title.  So don't hesitate to jump in and have fun.

Look for a review next week!

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