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

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

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

Facebook Diehards Launch Anti-Google+ Movement

written by: Nick Kosmides

As it turns out, Google doesn't like it when you figure out a way around their rules.  A group of random Facebook users are determined to prove this can be done from within Facebook.  The challenge for them evidently came from Circles, the Google answer to everything wrong with Facebook.

The problem is when you post something to Facebook, all your friends see it.  The Facebook definition of friends is anyone you allow into your Facebook world.  Outside of Facebook Groups which is not the most user friendly experience like Circles, there is no way of disallowing your boss and coworkers from the posts about most useful sexual position or your awesome frag-fest on Call of Duty until 2am and how you will call in sick to play more.  There is no way to post a clip of your most recent hunting trip without your vegetarian friends from seeing it.

The solution in Google's eyes is called Circles.  Make as many circles of friends as needed and when you post a comment, link, image, whatever on Google+ you can choose which Circles will get the awesome privilege to see it.

The group claiming to have the solution on Facebook has come out in droves to show as many users as possible that they won't make the switch to Google+.  They've kept their solution a mystery until the right time arose, and that time is now.  The group claims their secret weapon trick is to make only post which cover all the demographics of their friends.  If they cannot make this happen, then they say the only solution is to unfriend those that don't fall inline with their views.

When asked for an example, they showed me a picture of a puppy holding a shotgun with a speech bubble that read "Puppies don't kill puppies, guns kill puppies.  Pro-life.  Save Greece.  Fish are friends, not food."  At first I didn't get it.  The puppies kill puppies part was funny and relevant to the image, but the rest was a blur.  The anonymous socialite explained that the picture was altered to include other views shared by nearly all her friends.  So in a way, the post was meant for everyone in her Friends list, and not one group or another.

When asked for further comment she ran away peeing so as to throw off her scent.  It actually made it easier, I found her within 5 minutes behind the counter of the local Starbucks serving lattes.

Is there really a Facebook group claiming to have dissolved the need for Google+?  What would their answer be to the other social features within the Google+ umbrella like Huddle, Sparks or Hangouts?  We may never find out.  My gut tells me this is a smoking gun.  I'll just wait here where its dry while you go run in the rain to get the car.

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Sporcle

written by: Nick Kosmides

Sporcle is free today for all your quiz needs.  Known as a website and iOS app, now available for Android through the Amazon Market.  Previously, Android users could only get their question/answer needs fulfilled through the Android Market, but always for a price.

Amazon has you covered, though for only 15 more minutes.  Why do I bother, simple, because I care.

Read the reviews from other downloaders and you'll see that with slow reflexes or subpar smartphone typing skills, you will not have too much fun with this app.  Its probably best to stick with the site.

Sporcle - $1.99 FREE

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Guitar Hero 5 Mobile

written by: Nick Kosmides

Where shall I begin?  Oh, I'll do this review as if it were a Quentin Tarantino film.

In the near future:

You just uninstalled Guitar Hero 5 Mobile after downloading it for free from the Amazon Appstore for Android.  You really want that five minutes of your life back.  A voice in the back of your head says, "I can't believe you thought it was going to be good.  Man, you got owned by an app.  That thing is making you want to throw my Android out the window and go get the iPhone like a drone."

__________

Back to right now:

If you visit the Amazon Appstore for Android you too can get an amazing deal on an $8 app, because its free, but only for the remainder of today.  Though I should warn you to exercise caution before pelting your screen with excessive thumb smacking in the name of shoddy music games.  By encouraging you to visit the comments made by other dumb asses who've already made the mistake of not only downloading this piece but also playing it.

What is wrong with the game that would merit preventative measures such as reading comments before downloading you might ask.  Three things.

1. The game sucks on many levels.
2. These many levels are vast and cannot be summarized in three steps.
3. You are guaranteed to wanna download this app after having played it the first time.

I will list a few of the most obvious issues then let you go like a puppy no one wants.  When you boot Guitar Hero 5 Mobile you will be asked which language you speak.  This will come up each and every time you boot the app.  You will also be prompted to download the high quality versions of each of the 20 songs.  They aren't much higher in quality in fact.  You will not reach the end of the song.  This is because the songs included in GH5: Mobile do not have the end of the song.  The game only features three out of five of the colored buttons to play the game.  This makes Expert mode a ton easier actually.  There is no multiplayer; thank god!  Drums are so dumb, you press any of the buttons to hit the purple kick.  I missed so many of those looking for a kick button until I figured that out.

The game doesn't work on tablets as you would expect it to.  It also auto-orients itself in case you rotate the device which can cause you to miss notes during gameplay.  Some people are complaining about lag, works with zero lag on my Fascinate with 2.2, btw.  In the end, the game does not come close to resembling Guitar Hero 5.  Its a wonder why they went with that title instead of just calling it Guitar Hero Mobile: Piece of Shit Edition.

With four updates already delivered making this app better, doubtful, lets hope they get the hint and either stop updating or replace it with Rock Band.  Tee hee.

Guitar Hero 5 Mobile - $7.99 FREE

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Car Locator

written by: Nick Kosmides

Car Locator can be downloaded for no cost to you through the Amazon Appstore for Android, exclusive to US customers only.

Today marks the day when all your lost parked car woes are history.  For Car Locator has you covered.  Or at least the GPS module it uses to utilize global positioning so that it can display directions for you to follow sort of like a treasure hunt.  In the end, you'll find your car faster.  That is the theory.

How accurate is the GPS in a modern cellular phone?  Good question, me.  And the answer is, approximately totally depends.  That's right folks.  It depends on a number of things.  Primarily the number of satellites in clear view allowing more precise global positioning with the help of triangulation.  That's fancy for three satellites work better than two or one.  But more than three obviously work even better.  Clear view as I mentioned here, means GPS is not very effective in an in door setting.  The satellites really only work when there are zero visual obstructions from point A (you) to point B (satellite).  This includes anything from a large tree to the lower level parking garage.

Another variable is the actual GPS module in your phone and its relative software.  As with any of today's modern technology, the hardware cannot survive alone without the software.  And as was the case with my Fascinate in its early days of Android 2.1, the GPS software was all sorts of messed up.  Samsung still gets dinged in all forms of their handsets for their common inability to lock on the GPS even in the most ideal settings.

What does all this spell?  Possible failure for apps like Car Locator.  Though the code is sound and the idea is something for nearly everyone that drives or parks cars for a living, there is still the factor we tend to forget and its the GPS signal.

None the less, grab the app, then run some tests.  See if you can mark your car on the Google Map view it provides and try to get lost, then find your car using only the app.

Car Locator - $3.99 FREE

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Golf Frontier GPS

written by: Nick Kosmides

Golf Frontier GPS is free today only from the Amazon Appstore for Android.

Download this app today to get GPS enabled views of over 15,000 downloadable golf courses.  Easily calculate the distance from any position on the course to any other point toward the hole.  And do this and more with a pretty cool skin selector.  Looks like the standard issue coat of pain is white, while they also offer a dark theme and my favorite, monochrome.  Makes it all look like a Gameboy.

Buttons on the UI are big and clear.  GPS functionality is non-obtrusive and customizable.

As the description states, "Does it make the actual shot simple? Hey, for $4.99 its not going to perform miracels, pal."  I guess the spelling error was intention, pal.

Golf Frontier GPS - $4.99 FREE

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Star Chart

written by: Nick Kosmides

Star Chart is exactly what it sounds like.  A chart of the stars.  Free today, it loads your Android Identity Disc with the power to read the stars, constellations, planets and whatever else might be out there in the astral abyss.

It has stellar looks, different from Google Sky because it actually looks like space, the final frontier.  Star Chart also overlaps the view of the constellations with the object they mean to represent.  Take it for a spin for free today.

Star Chart - $2.99 FREE

Amazon's Free App of the Day - Jamie Oliver 20 Minute Meals

written by: Nick Kosmides

An $8 cooking assistant featuring the famed tv chef Jamie Oliver.  Only the second male I've ever known of to carry the name Jamie.

This app features over 60 of chef Oliver's quickest meals, and they better be delicious.  Step by step instructions with full color (welcome to the 20th century) images for the reading impaired.  If its moving pictures you need to be able to cook, then Jamie has you covered there too.  There is an additional 80 MB of video to download to your device.  There are already some 21 videos all featuring Jamie telling us what to do in the kitchen and how he does it better than you.

And what famous chef could live without pushing their "favorite" cooking instruments onto their own loyal and adoring fans?  Not Jamie Oliver, he pushes them all over your face in this app.

As an added bonus to this cooking assistant you'll also have access to a shopping list where you can add needed ingredients and sort by recipe or store aisle.  This is a very nice addition for people who want both of these things.  Plus, its free today.  A huge savings for Android users.

Jamie Oliver 20 Minute Meals - $7.99 FREE