Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Gift Shopper Pro

written by: Nick Kosmides


Ring in the holidays with today's free app of the day.  With less than four hours to go on this freebie deal, and less than 4 shopping days before its seasons greetings to all the family knocking at your door (or ringing the door bell if you're one of those rich people).  This app couldn't have been more ill-timed.  Gift Shopper Pro collects all the shopping data you would normally put on paper and makes any gift giving time of year easier to commit to.

Good for birthdays or any other gift giving occasion, Gift Shopper Pro supports your Android device camera to scan items into your recipient's gift list.  For use either before shopping or after you've made the purchase, once an item is entered for that special someone, you can track how much you've spent so as to stay on budget.  Probably the most important feature when you're shopping during Christmas holidays for a ton of family and friends.  You can budget each person and not go totally broke, or at least you will see it coming before the credit card bills arrive in the mail to ring in your debt in 2012.

Download this app today while its free to get your shopping in order before you go overboard.  Though, it may already be too late, then its to the depths in Davy Jones' locker fer yee!

Gift Shopper Pro - $0.99 FREE

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Day 9 - 11 Apps for 10 cents

written by: Nick Kosmides


Ha, funny joke Google.  Throw in a repeat sale for Swiftkey and completely confuse the masses as to why there is 11 apps for sale when there is only supposed to be 10.  I get your joke.  No, actually, I don't.

More games than most can fit on their phone and a couple of those other types of apps.  Check out the full list below.  As always with my posts, check out the Amazon Appstore links as well.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Day 8 - 10 Apps for only 10 cents for 2 More Days

written by: Nick Kosmides


Only two days remain and the Android Market comes to the plate swinging for the fence.  Though there are a few repeats, I guess to allow people who missed out on them the first time to have another crack at them, there are more gems this time around.

A couple to check out would be SlideIt keyboard.  One big thing that differentiates Android phones from iPhone is the ability to customize just about every aspect of the device, including the keyboard.  I love choices and this looks to be another good offering in the Swype category.  Oceanhouse Media brings another Little Critter book to the sale and Disney is offering its mulitplatform liquid success Where's My Water.  Check out the full list of 10 cent apps with Amazon Appstore links below.

One day left after today.  Hopefully Google pulls out all the top shelf apps for the tenth and final day.  I wouldn't be all that surprised if after this sale the Android Market reaches 11 billion downloads!  One billion in one day would be pretty impressive.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Day 7 - 10 More Apps for only 10 cents for 10 Days

written by: Nick Kosmides


Seven days into the 10 days of 10 apps for 10 cents, we can no begin the countdown backgrounds indicating how many days remain.  Only two days remain for Google to showcase some of the best apps they have to offer by such a hefty price reduction.  With today's offerings completely overtaken by games.  Only an Oceanhouse Media e-book, a repeat deal of Beautiful Widgets, and the music recognition app Sound Hound for the non-gaming shoppers. See below for the complete list and notice which ones are also available in the Amazon Appstore for Android.


One trending issue I've noticed with many apps in the Android Market is reviewers complaining about DRM.  Requiring them to be logged in somehow or have a data connection at boot up.  This is extremely frustrating because its usually required every time the app is launched to prove that your copy is not a pirated copy.  The emotion generated when you are being tested as a thief after having paid for a legit title is not far from infuriating.  As always, read the reviews, and now in the web market you can sort the reviews by device to see people's impressions of the app on your device.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Day 6 - 10 More Apps for only 10 cents for 10 Days

written by: Nick Kosmides


What happened to Day 5 you're wondering?  Well, holiday parties and the Sony reunion happened.  Good times, good times.

Now its Day 6 and its looking like a pretty good selection of apps for just $0.10.  More games than previously and a pretty popular exercising app.  Take a look and just buy it all.  Remember to take note as to which games are also available in the Amazon Appstore for Android.  Use those Amazon giftcards on your new Kindle Fire.
I grabbed Endomondo Sports Tracker Pro, Raging Thunder and Just Me and My Mom.  I don't recommend Raging Thunder as its really old and has dated N64 graphics.  Endomondo is ideal if you have friends on Facebook that are all using is as well since the app allows you to pep talk with your peers and compare running or biking stats.  It includes calorie burning, GPS tracing and support of heart rate devices.

What will you download today?

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Kung Fu Panda Holiday

written by: Nick Kosmides


Kung Fu Panda Holiday e-book is free today in the Amazon Appstore for Android.  Having all the features of the e-books from Oceanhouse Media's infamous Dr. Seuss e-books, Zuuka Inc brings us the holiday adventures of Po, Master Shifu and the Furious Five to Android devices.

Almost immediately after downloading anything designed for my four year old, I always quality control them before she gets to see it in action.  Just in case it doesn't work on my phone, or flat out sucks.  I want her to play only the best, so that when she is old enough to get me games for the holidays she will return the favor!

First thing I noticed is that the male voice used to read the stories is very good when compared to the voices I've heard from the Dr. Seuss stories from Oceanhouse Media.  The pace of the story is very good and the pages are movie quality.  Best of all, the original actors read the parts for the characters they played in the movies!  That means Jack Black for Po and Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu, and Angelina Jolie as Tigress.  Yes!

There is quite a bit of text to read, so early readers beware, following along may be tough.  My daughter is pretty good at reading at just 4 and a half years old, but she may have to read this a few times before she becomes confortable.  The text is clear and bold at the bottom of the screen, and becomes highlighted as the words are spoken during the read to me portion.

Grab this app for your little ones while it remains free for today.

Kung Fu Panda Holiday - $2.99 FREE

Friday, December 9, 2011

Day 4 - 10 Apps Only 10 cents for 10 Days (Android Market)

written by: Nick Kosmides


It's day 4 and I must say I'm not a fan of today's choices.  Though other writers are claiming this is a $1.00 spending spree day, I just don't agree.  Take a look at the list to see for yourself and like the days deals prior, many of these titles are also available in the Amazon Appstore for Android.
Game Dev Story will most likely find its way onto my phone, but I have most everything else already thanks to Amazon's Free Paid App of the Day program in the Amazon Appstore for Android.  My favorite for today, if you didn't get it free from Amazon, is Jelly Defense.  Gorgeous visuals just pop off the screen and the game runs smooth as butter on my Fascinate 2.3.5.

Enjoy.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Day 3 - 10 Billion Downloads In The Android Market

written by: Nick Kosmides


Yesterday was a feast of fantastic apps, and today is no picnic, err... just another feast.  Get it?  So, while you're puzzling over that last one I'll run through the list below.

Tetris could easily be the reason people buy today, but don't overlook some of the others.  Kids Learn To Read is an educational app and never come this cheap.  ADWLauncher EX is the full paid version that includes many enhancements over the very popular free version that so many Cyanogen modders are familiar with.  And Reckless Getaway is familiar playground of speed and arcade racing very much akin to the Burnout franchise on consoles.

If you haven't already, the Amazon offerings of Can Knockdown 2 and Tetris are also available for the same price as the Android Market.  Competition is thick, though if you have an Kindle Fire this is currently the only way to get some of the same deals as other Android devices.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

10B Celebration Kicks Off In The Android Market

written by: Nick Kosmides


Though it started yesterday, Google is celebrating the 10 billion Android Market downloads by offering 10 different apps each day for a mere $0.10 each.  Yesterday introduced some really great apps, but today is no different.  Trading one racing game for another, bringing wireless iTunes syncing to Android, and even the Christmas HD live wallpaper.  Check out today's list of ten cent apps below and find out which ones I'm rockin'.
Having downloaded Fruit Ninja almost the day after I got my first Android, I can say without hesitation that this game is worth the price.  Lots of fun, and becoming more popular as I've even seen it in Dave & Busters as a large-screen-four-finger-swiping-ticket-dispensing game, and also on XBOX Kinect.

Anything from Ocean House Media that is on sale is recommended for those with children and the unavoidable desire to hand your most prized and pricey of devices over to the sticky fingered mini you.  As the digital frontier overtakes paper books, apps like this pave the way for children to adopt the technology for their own.  They won't even know about paper packing books by the time they go to school.  Maybe just because there won't be any trees left.

I just downloaded Airsync and can confirm, this thing is sick!  With the iTunes cloning application for Mac/PC on the desktop or laptop, and this fully featured music and movie playing and streaming mega app on my phone, nothing can stop you from enjoying your stuff.  Maybe except for storage space on said devices.  Plus, I can stream music, movies, or pics to my PS3 using this app now.  Easily the best $0.10 I've ever spent.

Reckless Racing and Beautiful Widgets round out today purchases for me.  I have not yet played Reckless Racing though I hear from people and reviewers that its pretty fun.  At least it was a long while ago when it first came out.  Beautiful Widgets is exactly like another app called Fancy Widgets that I've been using for the same thing.  Create great looking clock, weather and battery widgets in all different sizes.  Add the ability to get weather alerts, notifications, tap to launch apps like calendar or alarms, etc and you've got an all-in-one widget to make your home screens a bit easier on the eyes.

What will you enjoy for one-tenth of a dollar charged to your credit card?

Thursday, November 17, 2011

FREE music from new Google Music Store

written by: Nick Kosmides


So, just in case you've been in the dark about all things Google Music today and yesterday, Google Music has been updated.  Both the app and the web store now see 'Music' in addition to everything previously available.  Maybe some Android Market app users haven't been updated yet, but very very soon.

As part of a Free [media] A Day initiative, Google Music swings right into things with free music to entice all to reconsider where you shop for tunes.  While iTunes has also been offering free tracks everyday, Google Music has gone ahead and made an entire album free today.

Today's Free Song of the Day is David Bowie's "Sound and Vision" from the 1977 album "Low".

Larger than that is a new live Pearl Jam album that has been released this month exclusively for Google Music.  Free right now, the Pearl Jam 9.11.11 album was recorded during their live performance at the Air Canada Centre and features 29 tracks.  The last of which is a Neil Young cover with a surprise guitar appearance from the man himself.

Jump into the Android Market and grab all the free stuff you can, starting with this live - free - exclusive Pearl Jam tribute performance to the 10th anniversary of the tragic events that took place during 9/11.

Pearl Jam 9.11.11 - FREE

UPDATE: You can also find a live album from Dave Matthew's Band Irving Plaza, New York, NY March 26th, 1994 for FREE.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Bejeweled 2

written by: Nick Kosmides


Rejoice for the time has come for all Android users to get Bejeweled 2 for free today.  At least most Android users will be able to actually play it as some Droid Bionic owners aren't so lucky.

I can tell you that being on Verizon and having two different but same versions of Bejeweled 2 in the Android Market is not fun and games.  While the one for everyone else would go on sale for $0.99, the Verizon version was never on sale.  Amazon has come to the rescue and while we are exhaustingly appreciative, it still feels like something is missing.

When I started up the game in totally elation I was immediately reduced to feeling cheated.  The music reminded me of the 80s for some reason while the Main Menu reminded me that EA now feels Android users don't know anything about Bejeweled 2 and the fact that it is uber-upgraded on iOS with awesome online enabled Blitz mode.

This short sighted mishap is unacceptable to a majority of users included this one.  So until this game is finally updated AND Bejeweled 3 is finally released, then and only then will me and the rest of the majority smart phone population be satisfied with a little monopoly called Electronic Arts.  Sorry to my friends who work there, we'll have lunch before the holidays.

Bejeweled 2 - $2.99 FREE

Monday, November 14, 2011

Circle Us On Google Plus

written by: Nick Kosmides


Rhymes are definitely my thing.  Google+ Pages has one more going for it, Android News and Views.  Use the link below to find it and circle it to stay up to date on at least a few more Android related news.  Although this is a one-man show, every show needs an audience.

Spread the word.

Google+ Page link...

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Shift

written by: Nick Kosmides


Shift, a puzzle platformer, is available for free today from the Amazon Appstore.  And you can be sure to expect a solid game when you load it up.  One of my current favorite Minis on the PlayStation Minis platform for PS3/PSP, this little Android gem has slick black and white visuals and an addictive level flipping mechanic that may throw you for a loop.

Upon first boot, you will find a shallow menu that makes getting into the game nice and fast.  The first few levels are there to help you understand the mechanics of the game, the usual tutorial fare.  But what really sucks you in is how the game uses all the elements, seemingly so few, but when sandwiched into one level and placed under a time limit things begin to turn upside down.

The visuals, though black and white, are striking with smooth lines.  Platforming trademarks like the run and the jump are all present.  But wait until you meet the spikes.  It'll bring true color to your life, I mean the end of your life.  If you are one of those literal types, I'm talking about your character.

Head over to the Amazon Appstore for Android to grab this most amazing game.  One of my top ten favorite games.

Shift - $1.99 FREE

Friday, November 11, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Let's Bowl Deluxe

written by: Nick Kosmides


Let's Bowl Deluxe can be downloaded free today from the Amazon Appstore for Android.

This app is a great example of why the Amazon Appstore is such a long shot when it comes to actually helping developers with their bottom line.  With reviews on the Android Market for the same Deluxe version averaging a score of 4.4 with most reviewers saying its great or only complaining about the dev not responding for a minute.  Amazon offers only the Deluxe version and no free with ads version as of this writing, its new to the Appstore, and people are ripping into the game expecting it to play like the real thing.

On one hand, you can't blame them since the very first sentence in the description says "Not enough time (or cash) to hit the lanes? No problem... This alley never closes." If that doesn't make you feel like you're downloading an authentic bowling experience then maybe this will. "Just like in real bowling, with this game it's all in the wrist."

The reality is there is no weight to the balls and no spinning the ball.  Line up your shot, then flick up.  You may throw it hard or "granny" style, with harder throws potentially leading to wild shots.  That's about as real as it gets.  But this hasn't stopped peeps on the Android Market from enjoying the game.  Which brings back up another difference between the Android Market and the Amazon Appstore for Android.  The reviewers are much much harsher on Amazon.  Its hard to tell who is being honest though, with Amazon requiring reviews consist of a minimum of 20 characters sort of forcing people to write something meaningful.

More interesting still is the sheer number of other bowling app options in both markets.  Amazon produces at whopping 21 apps when searching for "bowling".  Can you guess what the Android Market shows?  Try 529!  I'm not about to go through all of them to discover the true number of actually bowling games, minus any card games or other miscellaneous stuff.  One of my favorites though is Doodle Bowling for Android 2.2 and above.  Its fun, mind numbing, time killing fun with skinnable lanes!

Let's Bowl Deluxe - $2.99 FREE

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Gem Spinner II

written by: Nick Kosmides


Gem Spinner II is the shiny new free app of the day today.  Hailing from Tiny Bite Games who's first Gem Spinner game had also graced the FAAD position on the Amazon Appstore for Android's front page only a day over two months ago.

While the first game was a solid spin off of many other familiar match-3 gem type games, Gem Spinner II is a more difficult affair.  New gameplay elements were included to make it apparently harder for players to simply play through the puzzler.  Gem matching games should be fast paced and chaotic, but Gem Spinner II spinner loses a bit of steam when you get stuck because you didn't think several moves ahead.

Many modes exist allowing gameplay without a timer, and even modes to make it more of a challenge when a more challenge game is what you're looking for.  Reviewers are reporting more force closes and random hangs/crashes/freezes in this installment.  Though it is a more beautiful game than its predecesor, it may be too much to handle, too cold to hold.  See what I did there?  Because it freezes... never mind.

Hit the link below to nab this gem jamboree before the timer expires.

Gem Spinner II - $2.00 FREE

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Townsmen 6

written by: Nick Kosmides



Townsmen 6 is today's free app from Amazon's Appstore for Android. And might I add that it is a confusing ordeal to get familiar with this little gem.

Handy Games is no stranger to Android, having released some of the most loved (and hated) games on Android. Some of my favorites happen to be Super Dynamite Fishing, Aporkalypse and Guns'n'Glory wasn't too bad either. Yet from their loins is born a software gem that one reviewer describes as "as close to those old [turn-based RPG games on PC] as I've gotten on my phone." While these reviewers are elated to play games of this caliber on a mobile phone, I have higher gaming standards than most no matter the platform its played on. RPGs will always be foreign to me, so its important that they get off on the right foot to keep me playing.

Does this one cut the mustard, or was this deli meat sliced a bit too thinly?

My first impressions were on par with most of the non-5-star reviews on Amazon. The initial walk through of the UI and gameplay was a rough introduction to say the least. Its a period piece set in France. The landscape is rough and yours to manage. Build wells and employ townies. While characters like your pig Poopsy and your Woman (that's her name) will help guide you with cut and dry instructions, there is little to no room for exploration early on.  One easy mistake is not reading the tutorials entirely because it isn't clear the text box actually scrolls down.

While the gameplay curve is standard RPG fare, it shouldn't take very long for even the youngest gamer to figure out. Although, if you think you are a seasoned gamer and decide to skip the tutorials, then you will most likely find yourself posting a negative review on Amazon for this game saying something like "Absolutely terrible interface" or "What am I supposed to do?" You people need to get an iPhone.

Get your town building RPG gameplay fix on free before midnight (or so) tonight by following the link below to the Amazon Appstore for Android.

Townsmen 6 - $0.99 FREE

Friday, October 14, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Kids Paint

written by: Nick Kosmides


Kids Paint is today's free app of the day found within the Amazon Appstore.  With a whopping number of reviews (two) on Amazon, Kids Paint needs all the help it can get.  Amazon shows the app has been available since April 23, 2011 and that the app was originally released on December 31, 2009.  With all the time in between you'd think this app would have evolved a bit further than its current state.

Don't get me wrong, the painting and coloring tools herein are effective and the randomization of the colors and brushes is unique.  But multitouch functionality is ridiculously useless and shallow offering only the creation of line art.  I would have loved to see the ability to just draw and paint with the use of multitouch.  And the irony in the title is that there is nothing in this thing other than psychedelic color randomization that would be targeted towards kids.  No stamps or goofy tools, or controls of any kind.

One thing I was shocked to see and really did appreciate was the fact that there is no main menu.  Shortly after you choose to boot the app, you can draw.  That's really it.  The Menu button soft key has all the bells and whistles tucked away.  You'll find in-app camera access, Gallery import tool, an option to change the color of the background, a Share Picture option supporting all the major players, and Save to Album.  And if you're wondering why the Back button isn't working to exit the app, the dev has included an Exit button.  The Back button is used to clear your last drawing stroke, probably the only way to draw what you want if you don't mind trial and error.

What's bad about this app is nearly everything this app is downloaded to perform.  While the drawing is seamless and responsive, there is absolutely no option to manually control the color or brush being used. Its all random.  And the Set Color option within the menu only randomly changes the background color. The default black background is the best and easiest to work with.  What's worse is the fact that to cycle through all the background variants you must repeatedly press the Menu soft key and tap Set Color.  The background color change takes effect at the same time as the menu retracts.

The verdict: download the app today and save a buck, but don't expect to rely on this app whenever you are feeling creative.  I would classify this under the Utility Time Waster app category.  Click the link to git your random scribble on.

Kids Paint - $0.99 FREE

Sunday, October 2, 2011

iPhone 5: S is for Speculation

written by: Nick Kosmides


This will be easy as there is nearly no fact on the iPhone 5 at this moment.  But it is always fun talking about all the speculation flittering and smothering the interwebs.

Reports now available show a possible placeholder for the iPhone 5 in an online retailer.  Specs show some promising details of which come off my list of demands.  If ever I were to switch back to an iOS device my list of demands would first be met in completion, and no exception could be made.  In fact, an exception would be to concede to Android for creating a market for phone manufacturers to push the envelope by providing everything on this list and then some.

Listing...now:
- 4" or larger screen.  As my Fascinate has a 4" screen I will never go back to a smaller screen.
- Cutting edge processing power.  This is here to make sure the brains of the operation are not compromised to allow the other items of my list to become a reality. Heaven forbid a next gen iPhone with a current gen processor (looking at you iPhone 4).
- Expandable memory.  Okay, this is where Apple will fail.  iOS will not allow expandable memory as it must contain all its eggs in one basket.  Android devices need this expandable memory to expand the memory.  Not all Android phones have 16GB, or even 8GB, of internal memory.  My phone barely has 512MB.  The 16GB MicroSD is a requirement and that is why it came with my phone.  This is not exactly the case with iPhone, 16GB and 32GB options are standard.  But to expand on this is my wish, nay, demand.
- 4G. If the next iPhone comes out without this, it will fail to impress anyone.  4G is the future of wireless data and may even pose to replace 3G in my opinion.
- Removable battery.  To deny its owner the ability to gain access to the battery simply says Apple wants you to know you don't have any power in the matter.  And power is the matter.  A business man on the road constantly must rely on his phone to communicate and sell.  If while commuting without the options to "plug in" and the battery is low, guess what...they pull out the Blackberry.  You will not gain the respect of the corporate IT department if upper execs complain that sales are lost due to iPhone usage for business needs instead of Blackberry's where batteries can be simply changed out.
- Slide Out QWERTY keyboard.  This would simply be awesome if added.  Much like the removable battery and expandable memory, I don't believe this will ever come to iPhone.  Please prove me wrong.

While we wait for October 4th to roll around for the official word from Apple's new CEO Tim Cook, this speculation will come to a boil.  Floating to the top will surface so much anticipation for a device that may or may not pose any real threat to the future of wireless device growth, but instead spark a whole new slew of lawsuits aimed at keeping Apple in the spotlight while they sort out their emotions for a more open Apple hardware and software environment.  Not Android Market open.  Why not somewhere in between.

So as of this writing we can use this speculation to scratch of 4" screen and 4G from the above list.  Outside of thinner device, fixed antennae issue, and ripped off Android features in iOS5, I don't think anymore items will get scratched off.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - MLB.com At Bat 11**

written by: Nick Kosmides


MLB.com At Bat 11 is free today on the Amazon Appstore for Android.  No this is not an EA sports game.  Its not a game at all even though it is dated like a game.  Well, its about a game.

Lets just assume you are a true baseball fan and never miss a game from the comfort of your couch.  If this is you, don't bother with this app.  You already know too much.  Though if you are one with a bad memory of stats, then maybe it is right for you.  If you are the type that works too much or is away from a tv more often than all the Major League games ever played, then you should definitely download this app today.

Not only will you save $7, you will have the power of the internet and MLB.com in a tight and convenient app on your Android.  Sure you could get all this info from the site, but not with live updates of every pitch and play.  Flip through and find the stats of games being played in parallel without losing your place in your home game.  When it comes to multitasking, browsers are only as good as the number of tabs they possess.  Your stock browser can probably only do 4 tabs.  This app gives you instant access to MLB news, standings, videos, your favorite teams, ballparks, and some MLB.tv subscriber-only stuff too.

Video clips moments after the clip occurred can be viewed in app.  Though, if you are an MLB.tv subscriber you can watch entire games.  Not live, but after they have been played.  At the Ballpark brings you detailed maps of the park if you are watching a game live.  How about menus of the concession stands that day?  Check in to the game through the app two hours before showtime to unlock expanded video highlights.

**All this and much more, BUT with a huge caveat. This app is NOT compatible with all Android devices.  Don't let this stop you from adding it to your list of owned apps, but if you don't have one of the devices listed below, you'll have to wait for an update:

  • AT&T Motorola Atrix
  • AT&T HTC Inspire HD
  • Sprint HTC Evo
  • Sprint HTC Evo Shift
  • Sprint HTC Evo 3D
  • Sprint Samsung Galaxy S
  • T-Mobile/AT&T HTC Nexus One
  • T-Mobile HTC Glacier (myTouch 4G)
  • T-Mobile HTC G2
  • T-Mobile Samsung Nexus S
  • Verizon HTC Droid Incredible
  • Verizon HTC Droid Incredible 2
  • Verizon HTC Thunderbolt
  • Verizon Motorola Droid
  • Verizon Motorola Droid 2
  • Verizon Motorola Droid 2 Global
  • Verizon Motorola Droid X
  • Verizon Motorola Droid X2
  • Verizon Motorola Droid Pro
  • Verizon Sony Xperia Play

MLB.com At Bat 11 - $6.99 FREE

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - I Must Run!

written by: Nick Kosmides


I Must Run!, a game that falls in the genre of Running games, is free today on the Amazon Appstore for Android.

Having been free recently for PlayStation Plus members on the PS3, the PS Minis version of the game is what I've had the most hands on time with.  Something about consoles that equates to quality and a certain guarantee that the game will work (in most cases).  Android and iOS mobile platforms are both fragmented meaning not all software works with all hardware iterations.

The object of the game is to run, run, run.  Well, and to jump, slide, and occasionally punch your way to the end of six classically detailed backdrops.  They remind me a lot of the old Batman games and scenery.  Various rooftops and other industrial scenes set the stage for mad hops for the escaping pops.

While I had no problem at all installing the 11MB game and running it on my Samsung Fascinate, its often hit or miss.  Fortunately, I Must Run! is a simple and clean romp through the life of a running man on a mission to punch, slide and jump his way into his wife's arms again.

Jump on over to the Amazon Appstore and slide the cash back into your pocket today.  Now hop to it!

I Must Run! - $1.19 FREE

Friday, September 16, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - PrinterShare Mobile Print

written by: Nick Kosmides


Setting the bar a whole slew of notches higher than ever before, PrinterShare Mobile Print is now the most expensive app Amazon has ever given away free as part of their Free Paid App A Day promotion.

With this app, you will be able to find nearby WiFi or Bluetooth connected printers and print to them from your phone, no PC or Mac needed!  And as this is the premium and fully unlocked version of the app you will also be able to use this app to print to any local area printer without signing into anything or using an app on a PC.  With the most common printer models supported, this opens up a whole new world for business or student users.  Premium allows remote printing over the internet.  All that is required is the PrinterShare software installed on the connected PC or Mac, just sign in on your phone and away you print.

I had to spread the word on this one for its pricey significance.  I will be using this and I know a lot of others who could benefit.  With this app, it puts HP ePrint solutions to shame.

PrinterShare Mobile Print - $12.95 FREE

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Organization in Application: A One Step Process

written by: Nick Kosmides


The Android operating system allows us to do some really amazing things that just aren't currently possible on other smart phone devices.  One of which is organize our apps outside of the normally folder system allowed by the "front end".  In an iOS device, that means dragging and dropping apps onto one another to create a folder, naming it, and adding other apps to that.  On Android, you can do the same thing to your home screen by adding a folder, naming it, and dragging and dropping apps into that folder. But apps can this better.

An app called Application Folder Pro allows you to create folders within itself.  Making these folders within the app, at first, may seem meaningless and can be meaningless if you choose to do nothing with them.  Creating these folders does nothing to your home screen until you add a widget or shortcut.

All the apps within a folder can be accessed from a single icon on your home screen much like a folder, but maintenance is done through the app.  If you ever decide to remove this folder widget or shortcut, you can always just bring it right back.  On iOS or with Android folders, you'd have to drag and drop all those apps into a folder again and again to recreate the folder if it were ever removed.  But folders through Application Folder Pro are just a long press away from being recreated.

On top of that, you can edit the apps order, add apps or remove apps while the widget/shortcut exists.  Everything is changed from the backend to the front end seamlessly.  Furthermore, the appearance of these folders can be customized.  You cannot customize anything about folders on iOS.  Some home replacement apps on Android will change the look and feel of folders but there still is only one kind.  With Application Folder Pro, there are several different looks to how to the folders open.  And they are all really cool and useful.

My favorite feature of Application Folder Pro is the fact that you can use is as a shortcut on your home screen and not just a widget.  If you have Go Launcher EX installed, you can actually add a shortcut (or other cool things) to any icon in your dock by way of a gesture.  A simple swipe of the finger from the icon, up, will open a shortcut.  In this case, if the shortcut is a custom folder created within Application Folder Pro, then you have just eliminated the need for multiple home screens.

Another app with a similar feature set is called Folder Organizer.  The biggest difference between the two is only in the way they look when used on your desktop.  Folder Organizer allows you to create different sized widgets and even allows for scrolling within the widget if you are using a home replacement app like Go Launcher EX.  Where as Application Folder Pro creates simulated folders.

I highly recommend taking a look at these two apps.  It definitely wouldn't hurt to use them both as I have.  Though I've come to like Application Folder Pro much more for its aesthetics and usability, you may see it differently.  They both can be found in the Android Market and Amazon Appstore.

Application Folder Pro:
Android Market     Amazon Appstore

Folder Organizer:
Android Market     Amazon Appstore

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Stellar Escape

written by: Nick Kosmides


The Amazon Appstore brings yet another 'stellar' game in the Running game genre.

A buck off today, this app hits the pavement running with smooth looking graphics that compliment the game's space ship theme nicely.  A slight jarring of the framerate was present in my experience on the Samsung Fascinate running Android 2.2 stock, but this didn't hinder gameplay much.  Though occasionally the jarring effect would occur right during the perfect timing zone before a jump, slide, whatever.

Casually long load times and a repetitive soundtrack create a narcoleptic experience.  Once in game, loading to the next level is next to nothing.  I did notice an issue with difficulty design.  I've done a lot of difficulty testing in my PlayStation testing years and this game does not gradually become harder, or remain simple during the introductory stages where getting comfortable with controls is more important.  I noticed a hike at level 5 making it quite difficult to complete within 5 tries.  No points for trying where I come from.

On a plus note, I can't express enough how Open Feint drives replayability on these small time consuming apps.  Mobile gaming will never replace pocket platforms or home consoles, but Open Feint for its achievement system and friends list can narrow the field of vision between them.  Making the gap appear smaller and defragmenting games is their strong suit.  Thank you for awarding me achievement points for not only completing a level, but also for earning a Perfect score.  And only a good game would do that.

Never said this was the best running game, but its definitely a good one.

Stellar Escape - $0.99 FREE

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - xScope Browser for Web and File

written by: Nick Kosmides


A veritable swiss army knife of a web browser, x-labs LLC brings xScope Browser for Android to the Amazon Appstore.

I'm not quite sure why this browser has so many unrelated functions contained within, but it does.  Giving users of xScope the ability to kill apps as well as transfer files without hitting the Home button once.  And although users having phones running Android 2.2 or higher have repeatedly been reminded of the unnecessary use of task killers, devs still feel the need to capitalize on the idiot populous.  Please people, device memory is meant to be used while your phone is on, and in the off chance an app is abusing the memory, then you can kill it.  Mind you, your phone already has a task killer, and if it doesn't then with xScope Browser it will.

Exploring your phones files with xScope is easy too.  Just tap the down arrow icon on the browser's bottom row control bar.  Tap the folder icon and you're done.  Now you're viewing the contents of the phone with the ability to edit or share just about anything.  One additional really nice feature this app has is an Exit button.

My early speed tests running xScope alongside the stock Android 2.2 browser has falling in favor of the stock browser.  Graphic heavy sites load faster in the stock browser and scroll smoother.  So I cannot with any bit of honesty side with the reviewers saying that xScope is a faster browser.  My connection at home is solid running slightly over 10Mbps on wireless.

If you're into the all-in-one box deals, the xScope browser is right for you.  Launch, kill, share.

xScope Browser - $0.99 FREE

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Overkill

written by: Nick Kosmides


Overkill is free today.

In summary, in very short summary, I did not like this game.  Very drab graphics, though sharp, were uninspiring.  Music is excruciatingly boring.  UI is acceptable.  And worst of all for my experience were the motion controls.  My ship was basically stuck at the top of the screen.  I'm not even interested in the game enough to wanna try the game again with better calibration beforehand.

Next.

Overkill - $1.99 FREE

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Trip Journal

written by: Nick Kosmides


Trip Journal is today's free app of the day from Amazon's famed Appstore.  So long as Apple doesn't get the best of them, we will continue to call it the "Appstore".

At only $0.99, I can't imagine what you couldn't live without with this vacation journal.  Given that you have a GPS signal where you are vacationing, you can use it to track yourself in-app.  While enroute, take pics, video and notes for location specific memories. Maybe your on an expedition and you use an SLR, Red video camera and pen and paper.  Well not anymore my friend! For only $0.99 or free today you can throw all that equipment you wasted about $20,000 on and do everything from your Android phone.

I kid, I only kid.  Seriously, I think thats what this app is telling us.  Maybe for the average Mac user, this is perfect.  Though given that this is an Android app, not sure how many people other than myself have an Android device and use a Mac at home.  Maybe more than I think.  Trip Journal has excellent sharing options including Facebook, Picasa (Google Photos), Flickr, YouTube and Twitter.  I'm not sure why you'd share with Google Earth, but that option is there too.

For the budding adventurer or Indiana Jones wannabe that has the time to snap of photo of his assailant before whipping him into shape, download Trip Journal to make a fancy mobile multimedia memory.

Trip Journal - $0.99 FREE

Monday, August 15, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Everlands

written by: Nick Kosmides


Free today is a game of high quality and stamina.  Everlands, an animal-centric strategy puzzle game with total Facebook integration.  High marks go to its ability to grab so many people who meant only to check if it works on their phone and have them find out they just played for over an hour without knowing.

Colorfully bright hexagonal shapes emboss the screen showcasing tiny animals, each with their own distinct powers and abilities.  Numbers line the edges of the pieces indicating strong and weak sides.  The given strategy is to place the pieces so that the weak numbered sides are not touching an enemy piece at all.  Ideally, the objective is to have more pieces than your enemy to win the game.

Noted at the bottom there are two versions of this game.  An HD and this FAAD SD version.  They are both free today, so do yourself a favor and grab them both so you are prepared for a titillatingly advanced graphical experience so long as your device can handle it.

Everlands - $1.99 FREE

Everlands HD - $1.99 FREE

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Memory Booster Ad-Free

written by: Nick Kosmides


Memory Booster Ad-Free is no charge today on the Amazon Appstore, and I wouldn't jump to get this one folks.

You may hear a familiar tune with yet another task killer of sorts being thrown at an unsuspecting population of frugal Android app shoppers.  If your devices is running Android OS 2.2 or higher then you do not need and should not download any task killers, let alone use them.  The reason for this is simply that your operating system is designed to manage its own memory in a way that optimizes battery consumption while allowing apps to run tiny sized files in the background for various reasons.  These background functions are commonly necessary for your phones day to day functions.

For example, most widgets are active widgets displaying some bits of information that may utilize the internet or GPS to show accurate info.  A clock, the Facebook widget, etc.  They require a small amount of your system RAM to function. If you were to kill all the apps running in the background to free up memory, these widgets would just start up again, and the process of stopping and starting can actually consume more battery than just running all day.

On a rare occasion an app may be behaving badly and is consuming an excess of system RAM and/or battery.  You can manual kill that individual app using your built in system resources.  For my Fascinate, I just long press the Home button to get the recently used apps pop up and hit the Task Manager button.  There I have access to kill active apps, uninstall package files (apps), manage the RAM for killing background or inactive processes, and see and summary of everything running.

Now you must understand that your phones RAM is meant to used.  While it is in your phone, having free RAM isn't necessarily a good thing.  It doesn't make your phone running much faster if RAM is not being taxed, though if you are taxing it and you go to open a big heavy hitting RAM users like a PopCap game or other, then you may experience some unpleasantries due to a lack of memory.  Though remember, Android 2.2 is smart about this and will find a way to give you the RAM you need to run what you choose to run.

Memory Booster is a fine app for what it worth.  It is attractive and simple in design.  This simplicity gets the best of it though as the app shows you ALL process running in the background, even the phone or OS specific programs that are required by the phone.  Killing these apps can cause some serious headaches to your phone potentially ending you up in a place with a non-operational phone.

When you download this app I will automatically put itself into auto-task killing mode.  It calls it Memory Boosting but we all know better.  This app will run in the background killing the same apps all day long because they just keep reopening.  In the end, don't download this app and don't get into the habit of killing apps.

Memory Booster Ad-Free - $2.99 FREEa

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Flick Kick Football

written by: Nick Kosmides


The title may be misleading for most American's because this is not American football, its soccer in fact.  Flick Kick Football is free today on the Amazon Appstore.

Many reviewers are reporting a great game, at least the first time it was loaded.  Upon loading it the second time they were confronted with endless force closes.  Now I've played this thing once so far and am extremely compelled to boot it up again to see about these force close stories.

As for the app itself, it has an arcade style to it that will keep you entertained for minutes to come.  It is not Zenonia, and I've said that before about other apps I know, but there is something about kicking a soccer ball past randomly placed cardboard cutouts of soccer players and moving goalies that keeps me coming back for more.

I've played Flick Kick Field Goal and had an awesome time with it.  Varying up the distance from the field goal and shifting winds brings the same sort of arcade draw to it.  And the one thing that both of these games have that I've said over and over is the major omission in most games, Open Feint for achievements and social gaming.  Love it.

Anways, recommended download but don't be surprised if it doesn't last past the first playthrough.

Flick Kick Football -

Friday, August 12, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - WiFi File Explorer PRO

written by: Nick Kosmides


WiFi File Explorer Pro is free today.  Said by phandroid.com's own Chris Chavez as being one of his favorite apps and a proper solution to file sharing to your Android device from the internet of any PC.

Not sure what actual limitations there are, but since one reviewer mentions using this app to transfer a 250MB movie to his phone from the computer while they are on different floors though on the same WiFi network, I'd say thats pretty cool.  No cables required, no bluetooth pairing, no hassle.  Just use a custom web address to send the files and tada, you've got instant local file sharing.

If this fills a niche or necessity dear to you, hop on over to the Amazon Appstore before midnight tonight to receive your 100% discount.

WiFi File Explorer Pro - $1.49 FREE

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Pinball Ride

written by: Nick Kosmides


Don't know that this gives anyone enough time to jump on a game tonight, but if it does Pinball Ride is a good one to jump to.

Though its just one pinball table and not a collection like most pinball games, even on Android in a game called Pinball Deluxe.  In Pinball Ride's Story Mode you play as a character who does a lot of driving and picking up women.  You can collect contacts by hitting bumps, engage in races with anonymous drivers or gangs.  Ram them off the road by hitting all the lit ramps.  Collect a ton of achievements, but that is where the fun ends.

To ding this game is not fair, because it is a good game.  Very nice graphics, solid controls - a few times the touch controls didn't work and it cost me a ball - and a ripping soundtrack that I'm sure would get old if played too long.  If you're going to bring attention to achievements and put this much time into them, it doesn't seem wise to me to not include Open Feint.  They provide developers with the codes necessary to tap into their well established online network of users, not to mention the achievements that have attracted so many mobile users to all sorts of crap games.  Its XBOX Live or PSN for Android/iOS devices!  Win-win if you ask me.

Anyways, go grab the game before midnight, or don't.  Its now up to you.

Pinball Ride - $0.99 FREE

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - New York Post

written by: Nick Kosmides


Free today, not tomorrow, is the official app of the New York Post.  Amazon Appstore has introduced many new mobile apps, developers and users to their world.  This marks the first time thus far that the app being introduced comes from a place older than most of the dirt we stand on.  Unless you are reading this from New York, then its the same dirt.

Speaking of dirt, the hype reads all about it.  Since 1801, the NYP has delivered the news, and now they are sort of the middle man to the newest source of all information and technology - Android.  Of course, NYP also provides a handy section especially for celebrity gossip.

Reviews are pouring in two at a time.  As of this writing (12:24am) there are exactly two reviews.  Both of which are loosely positive.  Outside of the fancy smancy CNN news app, I can't see where any developer could screw up bringing the news to an app.  It works to bring all facets of news to your device with an aesthetically pleasing UI and plenty of text to read.

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!  ANDROID NEWS AND VIEWS BRINGS NEWS OF AMAZON APPSTORE FOR ANDROID BRINGING NEWS OF AN APP FOR ANDROID BRINGING NEWS OF THE NEW YORK POST BRINGING THE NEWS!

New York Post - $1.99 FREE

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Refraction

written by: Nick Kosmides


Game time people!  Refraction is free today on the Amazon Appstore for Android.

A puzzler involving connecting colored lasers to a matching circle using prisms or mirrors.  Combine colors to form new colors when the solution requires it.  How many mirrors or prisms you are allotted is controlled by the particular level you are attempting to solve.  Have you a red and yellow laser but only an orange circle?  No problem, combine to form orange and voila!

There are 120 levels to beam through.  The game has a screen shot utility that saves to the SD card.  They explain the permissions needed to execute this on Android so that it is clear what the intent is behind the permissions.

Check out the YouTube video review done up by the guys at TheAppInformer.


Refraction - $0.99 FREE

Friday, August 5, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Alarm Clock Xtreme

written by: Nick Kosmides


Alarm Clock Xtreme is free today on the Amazon Appstore.

If you've been unhappy with your stock alarm clock and are curious what the difference would be with a different alarm clock, this is a good way to find out.  Alarm Clock Xtreme has quite a few features, most of which aren't in the stock clock.

How about when your alarm goes off at the crack and you can't find the snooze button?  Alarm Clock Xtreme features a humongous snooze button.  Just smack your screen and snooze away.  Everything within is customizable of course.  Create as many custom alarms as you desire.  No limit.  Set the alarm to use local music files instead of the in-app sound files.

Alarm Clock Xtreme includes the gentle alarm which was highlighted in another free app of the day on Amazon called Gentle Alarm.  It is an alarm that slowly increases the volume so as not to startle you out of your peaceful slumber.  Said to reduce morning stress and help you transition more smoothly from a deep sleep into awareness mode.

Wanna wake up smarter than you were when you went to bed?  Use the apps built in math alarm.  A little like torture if you ask me, the alarm requires that you correctly answer a math problem before it rewards you with snooze.  Since snooze duration and number of snoozes are customizable, you could be either late for work or asking for some serious wake up punishment.

A whole lot of snooze options and automatically dismissing alarms based on your GPS location rounds out this highly customizable and highly appreciated app.  If you missed the freebie window, this may be one of those apps worth paying for.

Alarm Clock Xtreme - $1.49 FREE

Thursday, August 4, 2011

UPDATE: Amazon's Free App of the Day - A Game With Balls

written by: Nick Kosmides


You may be thinking that I didn't put the app title in the blog post title above but I did.  Today's free app is called A Game With Balls.  That's not just an accurate description of the gameplay but the actual title.

Very sharp graphics with unique gameplay sort of reminded me of Bust-A-Move.  The biggest difference is that this game is not a puzzle game as much it is a game of survival.  Shoot small or big balls out of your ball shaped cannon at various sized squares and circles that are falling down toward the bottom of the screen.  The object is to use your balls to redirect the falling objects so they do not collide with your cannon positioned at the bottom center of the screen.

This game gets high marks from me for a beautifully simply UI, sharp graphics, original game design and Open Feint.  Achievements and leaderboards are fully supported with the use of Open Feint, the cross platform social api that all games should be using.  Well, all good games at least.

Please go download this game and let me know how it does with you.

UPDATE: While conducting this review I had the game soaking on the title screen.  Just before I went into Open Feint and looked at the achievements before returning to said Title screen.  It soaked for approximately five minutes and then force closed.  I had to pull the battery to restart my phone.  NOT GOOD.

A Game With Balls - $2.99 FREE

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Amazon's Free App of the Day - iCooking Barbecue

written by: Nick Kosmides


At this point with all the lawsuits out there hosted by Apple, I'm surprised they haven't been suing small app developers who have the prefixed "i" in the title of the app.  iCooking Barbecue is free today from the Amazon Appstore.

The name implies quite alot which is good, but in this case the app doesn't live up to anyone's initial expectations.  No matter the price, I feel we can all agree that when you are on the hunt for a particular app there are a list of demands that must be met.  I would hope we share many bullet points between all our lists, but this developer seems to have missed quite a few.

The user interface (UI) is a bit on the garbage side.  What looks like gorgeous screen grabs is merely shopped images with a extremely poorly conceive interactive interface.  On many screens it is not clear when you are supposed to press, swipe, tap, whatever to get to where you're going.  The intermitted need to hit the phone Menu button is always a confusing pleasure.  Then back to swiping left to right with images.  Call it a hosh posh control scheme barely meeting the terms of the word "scheme".

The content leaves much to be desired.  As other users have pointed out, this so called barbecue app shares no BBQ tips, tricks are methods with its apps or otherwise.  You'd expect to see an entire section based on charcoal vs gas, or how to smoke your meat.  That sounded bad when taken out of context.  All I'm saying is a novice would have a beauty of a time relying solely on this app to get the results as pictured.  Good luck!

This is another cooking app, but unfortunately updates would not cure this meat.  A complete overhaul is what is needed.  Though Food Network has a couple sweet apps in the Android Market, featuring Bobby Flay amongst the staff of top chefs.  Happy grilling!

iCooking Barbecue - $0.99 FREE