Gaming continues to be a growing sector of the mobile industry, with the amount of mobile games available increasing each and every day. A couple of years ago, Google delved into the gaming sector with Google Play Games, the company’s way to create an easy way for users to interact and compete with their friends in mobile games.
The company has continued to grow and improve Google Play Games as time has gone on. Today, Google Play Games is adding support for custom Gamer IDs and avatars, unlinking profiles from Google+, as was required in the past. This enables to create their own unique username and bio, rather than simply importing their (likely bland) profile info from Google+. Users can also choose from over 40 avatars to find one that best expresses them.
In addition to the updated profile experience, Google is improving the sign-in experience. Rather than being prompted to sign in for each game, users will now be prompted to sign in only once for each account, with automatic sign-in for most future games.
The update is rolling out now, so expect to see it within the next few days.
The carriers love to battle it out, with each operator aiming to offer more value to customers than the others. Sprint and T-Mobile have put on the biggest show, but today, Sprint is taking Verizon head-on and offering a nearly identical plan structure, with a key difference: Sprint is offering twice the data for the same price as Verizon.
Sprint’s new Better Choice plans follow the same size-based setup as Verizon, with options ranging from small to extra-extra large. Each plan offers unlimited talk and text, with a shareable amount of data among the users. Here’s how it breaks down with data and pricing:
Small: 3GB for $30
Medium: 6GB for $45
Large: 12GB for $60
XL: 24GB for $80
XXL: 40GB for $100
Once customers reach their data allotment, they don’t face any overage charges, but will be slowed to 2G speeds, unless they choose to pay $15/GB for data after that point.
Additionally, Sprint is also still offering an unlimited data option, which ranges in price based on how many lines are connected. For a limited time, you can get the fourth line free, making it just $150/month for four lines with unlimited talk, text and data.
If you’re a Verizon customer, you may want to take a look at this latest offering from Sprint, as it can offer you much greater bang for your buck. Check out the source link below for the official announcement from Sprint.
Welcome back to Android Gaming Weekly, our weekly recap of new game releases. We still plan to cover upcoming releases and games we’re playing, but this column is dedicated to new games that you can start playing right now. Check out our top picks and let us know in the comments section if you have any suggestions for next week’s post.
Fran Bow
Description: Fran Bow is a creepy adventure game that tells the story of Fran, a young girl struggling with a mental disorder and an unfair destiny.
Description: The reinvention of the spring toy as mobile game! Are you skilled enough to guide your spring down the stairs and unlock new achievements, springs and backgrounds?
Description: Get immersed in a deep Neo-Noir story driven sniper adventure game. You step into the role of a mysterious assassin. His motives – a secret. You did what had to be done to enter the ‘Assembly’, a criminal organization.
Description: Get ready to head back to the East Coast as Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories returns to mobile devices. With shorter, streamlined missions designed with mobile gameplay in mind, this definitive open-world adventure has been remastered for Android with extensive graphic enhancements, rebalanced touch controls and cross platform saves.
Description: Dub Dash is a fast-paced rhythm based action game. The tracks are decomposed into diverging game mode segments. The obstacles, tracks and visual effects are all adjusted to the music and in perfect harmony with each song.
Description:Play as Jason as he explores his brother’s room from a new perspective. After wishing to be small again, to feel closer to his younger brother, Jason finds himself in a strange new world filled with larger than life furniture, troublesome obstacles, and less-than-helpful occupants.
Description: DEUL is a fast paced action packed shooting game that will test your reflexes, accuracy and timing. Try to out-draw opponents across the world as you duel your way through China, London, Russia and Brazil. Each victory will earn you points and increase your score, get a higher score to climb up our leaderboards.
Description: Experience the exhilarating, hypnotic new puzzle game Circlify, available for free in the Play Store now! From the creative minds that brought you Swiperoo and 360 Degree comes this completely unique and somewhat perplexing game that challenges your speed, timing and focus!
Description: “METAL SLUG ATTACK”, the very latest entry in the legendary game series from SNK PLAYMORE, is a tower defense game with simple controls which can be enjoyed by everyone, and 2D dot-pixel characters who move and battle each other smoothly!
The title is no mistake. The Freedom 251 is a smartphone that costs only 251 rupees, or $3.67 USD. It’s an incredible price for a fully functional Android device, and the specs aren’t too shabby either.
The Freedom 251 features a 4-inch qHD IPS display, a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage with support for up to 32GB of microSD storage, a 3.2MP main camera, a 0.3MP front facing camera, and a 1450mAh battery. And of course, it’s running Android 5.1 Lollipop.
Considering the price, the specs are amazing. The inclusion of a fairly modern version of Android is a nice touch too, so it’ll get support for a while. Plus that price is just amazing by itself. It’s great to see India getting another budget phone option, so let’s hope the phone itself lives up to the expectations.
We’ve seen the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S7 a few times so far, but apparently it’s not enough. Devices being kept a secret is something that doesn’t happen much anymore. And this latest leak gives us as clear a look as we can hope for of the soon to be announced Galaxy S7.
Nothing has changed since we last saw it, but we get a clear look at the SIM and microSD card tray, so we know it’ll come with external storage support this time around. There’s also a video showing nothing but the home screen, which isn’t particularly useful but nice nonetheless.
There are also some interesting specs to go along with this leak. The device will feature an IP67 or IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, a 12MP camera with larger pixels for better low light performance, a 2800 mAh battery, and no USB Type-C port. That last one is interesting, as it’s sure to become the standard soon.
While we can’t be sure that the specs are real, the photos seem pretty legit, and the S7 is sure to be a nice-looking device. And if the 12MP camera worries you, Samsung is known for its fantastic flagship cameras, so that should put your mind to rest. Are you excited for the announcement at Mobile World Congress on February 21? Leave a comment!
The Android 6.0 Marshmallow has a lot of improvements as it is. In stock form you get great features like Doze mode, customizable permissions, enhanced volume controls, Google Now on Tap, control over external storage, and much more. It’s a really nice update.
Samsung took the liberty of discussing its own improvements made to Marshmallow for its Galaxy devices. The first is Samsung Internet 4.0, which adds a fingerprint protected “Secret Mode” that allows you to browse the internet and not leave a trace for those without your fingerprint. Saving passwords is done with fingerprints for extra security.
There’s also the addition of Cross App, which allows the use of apps within apps. The Messaging app now has a pop-up gallery that allows you to attach photos without leaving the app. It even has a mini camera to take photos on the fly. This is something Google Messenger has been doing for ages, but Samsung has also added a built-in browser that can be minimized to answer messages.
In the end, the addition of such features benefits Galaxy device owners. When this update will be rolling out to people is a different issue. A few devices are already getting it, but it might be a while before more start receiving the update. What do you guys think of these new features? Leave a comment!
For many of us, Gmail is the best email client out there. And ever since the Gmail app for Android was updated with support for other emails, we could keep track of our old emails that are still linked to some services. But with the latest announcements, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail and Outlook will get Gmail features through the use of the Gmail app.
If you enable new Gmailify feature, using those emails and retaining the original email name will allow you to take advantage of Gmail’s spam protection, categories, and more. You’ll even start getting Google Now cards from info in those emails!
The spam protection and Google Now cards are the best features and really sound like a great addition. The update to Gmail is rolling out today, so you’ll soon be able to link those email accounts to your Gmail account and get these features!
New apps need lovin’ too, right? Every day there are thousands of additions to the Google Play store, but many go unnoticed and never receive the attention they deserve. We’ve shown in the past that this community can discover great apps and propel them to new heights. Our weekly Fresh Meat column highlights new apps with fewer than 100,000 installs. Browse our new Android app picks below and let us know which ones you enjoy.
Everalbum
Description:Everalbum protects your life’s photos so you never have to worry about losing them. Across devices and photo sources, Everalbum automatically backs up your photos and videos so you can access them at any time.
Description: A unique Spotify music player for Android! Built using Google’s material design guidelines. No useless features to slow down or fill your device’s memory, just your playlists at your fingertips!
Description: To match the right content to a specific user Netflix has tons of secret hidden categories that go far beyond the usual ones like Thriller, Comedy, Horror etc. With this list with over 3500 secret sub-categories you can access all current secret categories very fast and simple!
Description: In order to use this watch face you will need to install the Watchmaker Premium v3.6 or higher, application can be downloaded from here: http://goo.gl/FMxUfY
Description: 2 in 1 Blade Watch face for Watchmaker In order to use this watch face you will need to install the Watchmaker Premium v3.6 or higher, application can be downloaded from here: http://goo.gl/FMxUfY
Description: Shopie lets you swipe through items. It learns what you like to show you better stuff each time. Its a fun new way to discover cool stuff, or just pass the time.
Description: This is a preliminary release. Expect updates shortly, with full optimization for touch. View your deployments on the go with the Wolfram Cloud mobile app.
Description: Shuffle features app for making todos. Mark high priority items as Important. Switch the list to important using Switch button on top.Block unwanted people from sending via whatsapp.
Description: It is definitely not among the masses. It emulates the gauges in space crafts and the result is stunning new designs. You could feel a kind of space armour on your wrist.
Description: The Sony Xperia™ Weather app is a simple-to-use weather app that provides you with current weather info. Shows wind, humidity, high and low temperature and wind information for your current location. Shows you the perceived temperature.
Back in October of last year, Spotify finally found support for Chromecast streaming. Now, if you haven’t been able to test out how that works because you aren’t a Premium subscriber to Spotify or don’t own a Chromecast, the music streaming service wants to help you try it out.
Spotify has announced that if you buy three months of Spotify Premium, which retails for $/£ 29.97, you’ll get a free Chromecast out of the deal, too. There are some caveats, though: First, you can’t already be a Premium subscriber to get access to the Chromecast. You can also never have tried out one of Spotify’s trial periods for Premium, either. So if you want the Chromecast for free, you’ll need to be signing up for Premium for the first time.
If you’re in the U.S., you’ll need to visit this site to redeem the offer. And if you’re in the United Kingdom, it’s this site. The deal is only available in the U.S. and U.K., and only for as long as supplies last. The promotion runs from February 17 through February 28.
Wearables are a new category in the market, and there’s no doubt that the sector is growing. That being said, it doesn’t hurt to have a little extra help in growing the category. Motorola is offering that today, with a new promo that aims to put the company’s primary wearable on the wrists of even more of its customers.
Until 10:59 AM CT tomorrow, February 18, Motorola is offering customers a free Moto 360 (1st Gen) when they purchase a 64GB Moto X Pure Edition. The 64GB Moto X Pure Edition starts at $499, and the price can go up a little bit depending on what material you choose to have the device outfitted with.
This is a smart way for Motorola to push its wearable, serving the dual purpose of introducing customers to the category while also helping to clear out inventory. The Moto 360 (1st Gen) may not be quite as sleek as the 2nd Gen model, but it’s still quite functional and is a great perk to have alongside a new smartphone.
Remember, this sale won’t last long, so you’ll want to act sooner rather than later. Follow the source link below to get started now.
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