HTC One Google Play edition Android 4.3 kernel source files released

HTC has released the Android 4.3 kernel source code and other goodies for theGoogle Play edition of the One. The files, of which there are two have recently appeared on the HTCdev website. Those files include the Framework Support Files and Stock UI, which are sitting with notes about how these are kernel version 3.4.10.

Otherwise, these are both software version 3.06.1700.10 and sitting at 164MB and 99.7MB in size for the framework support files and stock UI files respectively. Those looking for the Android 4.2 comparison will find the kernel version has remained the same and the software version has increased from 2.14.1700.15.

That said, the disappointing part about all this is the HTC One Google Play edition is still sporting Android 4.2.2. Looking towards the positive side and the appearance of these files does suggest an update should be coming sooner rather than later. If nothing else, this just goes to prove that while stock, these Google Play edition handsets aren’t quite Nexus material.

Not that we suspect this will make many HTC One Google Play edition owners that much happier, but you are currently ahead and will likely remain ahead of those who picked up a carrier branded version of the One. Plus, the Galaxy S 4 Google Play edition handset has also yet to be updated to version 4.3. While we hope updates will arrive for both in the near future, officially speaking we have yet to hear anything from HTC, Samsung or Google.

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Motorola Moto X to also get “Google Play” version soon

There seems to be a new trend of new flaghship phones getting unlocked and pure “Google Play” versions that can be purchased directly from Google. Since such was the case with Samsung’s Galaxy S4 and HTC’s HTC One, people have wondered whether the Moto X, which Motorola just launched today, will be getting a similar treatment, especially considering it is the first Motorola phone created under Google’s supervision. And so it will be that one will be able to buy a Google Play version of the Moto X “soon”.

There are some benefits to purchasing such a version of the phone. For one, units sold from stores of carriers like Verizon come preloaded with tons of apps, a good number of which do not really provide additional value to users and have been derisively called “bloatware”. Secondly, carriers are notoriously slow for providing Android updates, sometimes taking months, or even never. The technical reason for this is that manufacturers and carriers make so much modifications on top of a pure Android system that it takes them a significant amount of time to apply and test those changes on top of new Android releases.

That’s where Google Play versions come in. Same hardware, no bloatware, no modifications. Just pure Android. Of course, if there are features specific to a certain manufacturer that you’ve come to love, you might end up having to give up on those, too. In the case of the Moto X, however, there might not be much to take out as it doesn’t deviate too much from Google’s pure Android experience unlike HTC’s Sense or Samsung’s TouchWiz. Moto X does have some software customizations, and it is unknown whether they will survive in the Google Play edition.

There are also other unknowns, such when the Moto X Google Play edition will be available from the Google Play store and how much it would cost. If prices of other Google Play editions are to go by, we could expect that it would cost a lot more than a unit on contract but slightly less than one off-contract. So far, only AT&T has announced its pricing, offering on-contract prices of $199 for the 16GB version and $249 for the 32GB variant. Off-contract units will be available for $575 and $629 for the 16GB and 32GB models, respectively. It is also unknown whether the Google Play edition will be able to customize color options, something that is so far exclusive to AT&T customers.

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Jelly Bean usage continues to rise, takes 40% of Android distribution chart

Slowly but surely, Gingerbread’s days as the top honcho of Android distribution are being numbered. Taking its place is Jelly Bean, which now comprises 40% of the total Android distribution as of August 1 this year. Not far behind is Ice Cream Sandwich, which is enjoying a good 23% of the pie.

When Gingerbread came out, it easily became the most popular version of Android. It became so popular that manufacturers started putting it on devices that Google didn’t initially design it for, namely, tablets. The popularity of Android on tablets, as well as Gingerbread’s paltry performance on such devices, led Google to hurriedly release Honeycomb. It then immediately released Ice Cream Sandwich to correct Honeycomb’s many mistakes. But even then Gingerbread still ruled the Android valley.

Last June, we already saw the trend, with Gingerbread slowly dropping in favor of Jelly Bean. Since then, Jelly Bean consistently risen to the top, from June’s 33% to August’s 40%. Gingerbread isn’t disappearing any time soon, with a 33% foothold in the market. But with the announcement of Android 4.3, another Jelly Bean release, we might see even more changes as Nexus devices and recently released flagships, like the Moto X, are upgraded to this version.

There are some caveats to Google’s data, however. The data that is collected only comes from units whenever a user visits the Google Play Store, whereas previously it was collected whenever the device connects to Google servers. Although Google claims that this paints a more accurate picture of users who are actively engaging in the Android ecosystem, it does leave out hundreds if not thousands of devices, many of them cheap phones or tablets, that either do not regularly connect to Google Play or do not even have Google Play.

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Super-hotcakes? Chromecast wait now up to 4 weeks

Well, that was quick. The Chromecast disappears from Amazon in mere hours.

Chromecast, Google's new $35 HDMI dongle that seeks to create a bridge between laptops, mobile devices, and televisions or other larger screens, has quickly become the hot item of the day. I'm talking measured-in-Kelvin hot here, folks.

Since being unveiled Wednesday morning at a Google breakfast event and going on sale shortly thereafter, Chromecast is already listed as "temporarily out of stock" on Amazon and on theGoogle Play store, you're now looking at three to four weeks before your dongle will ship. I ordered mine from Best Buy which is still offering relatively speedy service (and free shipping) by promising to ship me a Chromecast in the first week of August.

Helping to drive the rush to snag the already inexpensive gadget is a bonus, limited-time offer of three months of free Netflix streaming with the purchase of a new Chromecast from Amazon, Google or Best Buy. Rather unbelievably, the offer is valid for both new and existing Netflix subscribers. Factor in that deal, and the net cost of your dongle is just $11.This comes after availability and ship dates bounced around shortly after going on sale online, as my colleague Josh Lowensohnreported earlier.

Did you already order a Chromecast? Let us know in the comments when you've been told to expect that yours will ship.

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Google beats Apple to it with streaming music service

Google launched a music streaming service Wednesday, taking its first stab at the growing industry with a new service linked to Google Play for Android.

The All Access service costs $9.99 a month and you get a 30-day free trial. And it's launching Wednesday in U.S., with additional countries coming soon. If you sign up by June 30, you get it for $7.99 a month.

The move puts Google in direct competition with music streaming companies like Pandora and Spotify, and also potentially with Apple, which has been inching in that direction. Just last week, for instance, word came that Apple had reached an iRadio deal with Universal Music, though it still needs deals with the other major labels.

If Google launches an additional YouTube streaming service, the company could take advantage of the video-sharing network's position as a dominant, legal source of music, particularity for teens.

All Access music service for Google Play (pictures)

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Rumors about Google's new All Access subscription streaming service, unveiled at the Google I/O developers' conference in San Francisco, had been swirling around for the last few months.

Previously, Google Play users could stream music they bought from the app, but the new service would let people stream songs they haven't purchased as well. Users can now blend their songs with a catalog with thousands of other tracks available in All Access.

The service provides a never-ending list of related tracks that are also linked to your Google+ account. You can look ahead to what is coming next and if you don't like it, swipe the song away.

"We set out to build a music service that didn't just give us access to great music but to help guide you to it," Google engineering director Chris Yerga said.

Previous reports had Google signing deals with Warner Music and SonyMusic for streaming services on both YouTube and Google Play, according to reports, but it was expected that Google would launch its Android platform first

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Google beats Apple to it with streaming music service

Google launched a music streaming service Wednesday, taking its first stab at the growing industry with a new service linked to Google Play for Android.

The All Access service costs $9.99 a month and you get a 30-day free trial. And it's launching Wednesday in U.S., with additional countries coming soon. If you sign up by June 30, you get it for $7.99 a month.

The move puts Google in direct competition with music streaming companies like Pandora and Spotify, and also potentially with Apple, which has been inching in that direction. Just last week, for instance, word came that Apple had reached an iRadio deal with Universal Music, though it still needs deals with the other major labels.

If Google launches an additional YouTube streaming service, the company could take advantage of the video-sharing network's position as a dominant, legal source of music, particularity for teens.

Rumors about Google's new All Access subscription streaming service, unveiled at the Google I/O developers' conference in San Francisco, had been swirling around for the last few months.

Previously, Google Play users could stream music they bought from the app, but the new service would let people stream songs they haven't purchased as well. Users can now blend their songs with a catalog with thousands of other tracks available in All Access.

The service provides a never-ending list of related tracks that are also linked to your Google+ account. You can look ahead to what is coming next and if you don't like it, swipe the song away.

"We set out to build a music service that didn't just give us access to great music but to help guide you to it," Google engineering director Chris Yerga said.

Previous reports had Google signing deals with Warner Music and SonyMusic for streaming services on both YouTube and Google Play, according to reports, but it was expected that Google would launch its Android platform first.

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Tasker update hits Google Play, features new Holo UI for Android 4.0+ users

Back in January, developer Crafty Apps introduced a new beta to Tasker, bringing with it a whole new look. Now the latest version of the app has left the beta stage and officially hit Google Play with the new theme in tow, at least for those of us with Android 4.0 or newer.

For those of you who have never used Tasker, this app is very useful for setting up and performing actions based on user-defined options like time, date, location and gesture. As an example, when you enter into your office, your phone could automatically turn to vibrate mode and then turn back to normal ringing when you leave work for the day.

With the latest version everything you love about Tasker is still there, though it is now basically being split into two different versions. Devices with Android 1.6 and higher will all receive incremental improvements and bug fixes with this update, but only ICS or higher will actually get the new UI.

Those lucky enough to have Android 4.0 or higher will be greeted by 200 new built-in icons each for Holo light and dark. There are also several new states, events and actions in this latest update. For those that are used to the app already and wondering about learning curve in the new version, you have nothing to be concerned about. The navigation and overall functionality hasn’t changed too much, so there won’t be much different in terms of using the app.

So how about it, what do you think of the new app’s look? Impressed or not?

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Real Racing 3 update coming later this spring, introduces new cars and events

 

Real Racing 3 has certainly received a mixed reception since it first touched down to Google Play last month, with most of the complaints surrounding the series switching to a ‘freemium’ model and its somewhat ridiculous in-app purchase system. Still, the game has solid graphics and quite a few features if you can get past its flaws. Soon it will be getting even better thanks to a new update that is expected to arrive later this spring.

The new update will include 100 new events, cloud save functionality across Amazon, Android and iOS and a better notification system. It also has improved leaderboards and adds the Chevy Cobalt SS and Camaro as automobile choices.

Pocket Gamers managed to grab a few videos that give you a better look at what is coming in the update. The first of these videos talks about a new game mode, called “hunter”. Essentially this mode has you hunt down a car and overtake it in a single lap, with them having a headstart.

The next video talks about the cloud game save feature and what kind of sign-in you will need to make it work, mentioning both Facebook and Gamecenter as options. The last simply shows off the Chevy Camaro in the game.

So how about it, are you excited to get your hands on the latest update or are you completely turned off the series thanks to their decision to switch from paid content to free-to-play with in-app content?

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Google Play movies have now arrived in India and Mexico

Recently Google Play Books arrived to both India and Mexico. Now Google is back at it again, this time bringing Google Play movies to both countries. This is certainly a huge jump in services compared to just a few months ago when India and Mexico only had access to Google Play apps.

With India and Mexico added to the list, Google Play Movies now serves a total of 13 different countries: US, UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, and Spain.

The recent expansion in these two countries is just further evidence that Google is very serious about bringing its expanded Google Play services to as many countries as possible. For those in India, the timing certainly couldn’t have been any better.

Just a few days ago India’s Play Store launched the Nexus 7, and now Google is ensuring that there is plenty of great content available for the newly launched Nexus tablet. Now if only that content also included music, magazines and TV. Perhaps in time it will.

For those of you in Mexico and India, have you checked out the new Google Play Movies section yet? If so, what do you think of the selection?

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The Best Live Wallpapers for Android

 

Simple put, there are a lot of live wallpapers out there. You can find anything from simple wallpapers that just change color to ones that look and do crazy things. You can even find live wallpapers that have functionality. Finding the ones you’re looking for can be tough since there are so many. We’ve decided to help out by providing a best live wallpapers for Android list that you can start your search from. As usual, if you’d rather watch it, then we have posted our video at the bottom.

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Androids Pro! Live Wallpapers

First on our list is Androids Pro! live wallpaper. This is a simplistic wallpaper with a lot of customization options. There are a few shapes to choose from and you can make them pretty much any color you want. You can also change the background color or pattern. Once you have the objects and colors picked out, you can change the physics, size, and speed of the objects to your liking. So it’s possible to have a hundred little objects floating around or one giant Andy the Android floating around.

As far as live wallpapers go, Androids Pro! is pretty typical. The free version is the same as the paid version except a few settings are locked. People seem to really like the paid version, however, and it has already amassed a 4.9 rating in the Google Play Store. So if you like Androids, customization, and live wallpapers that aren’t overly complicated, Androids Pro! is one to check out.

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Christmas Rink Live Wallpapers

Christmas Rink Live Wallpaper is our next app and, admittedly, it’s really only worthy during one time of the year. Due to shopping crazes, that time of year lasts like three months, but who are we to complain? Christmas Rink is a very simple background and one of the more elegant live wallpapers on our list. It features an ice skating rink with a Christmas tree centerpiece that people ice skate around. It’s also interactive, as tapping skaters will make them skate faster.

There aren’t a lot of customizations with this one. You can change the skaters to elves or Santa Claus if you want to. You can also control the snow that falls. However, that’s about it. If you’re not af an of Christmas or if you want something like this year round, the developer of Christmas Rink has a few other live wallpapers depicting other holidays.

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Device Info Ex Live Wallpapers

If you’re a regular watcher and reader of our app lists, then you’ve seen Device Info Ex Live Wallpaper before. It’s a favorite of ours and happens to also be the most functional of the live wallpapers on our list. Instead of just playing some animations and looking pretty, Device Info LWP shows you a variety of stats about your phone. You can view your CPU and RAM usage, storage, temperature, time, and even things like compass and tilt.

You can customize Device Info in a lot of ways. You can change the colors of the background to match whatever theme you’re using. Also, the stat boxes are modular. So you can click and drag them which allows you to arrange the boxes in any order you like. You can also delete categories you don’t want or use. None of the other live wallpapers on this list have the functionality and usefulness of Device Info LWP.

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Gold Future Interface Live Wallpapers

Gold Future Interface Live Wallpaper is a simple app but it looks glorious. It has a Dues Ex kind of flavor and that cyberpunk look is totally awesome. It features a gold color scheme with a clock, some moving spotlights, and some spinning circles that move when you change home screens. It has a lot going on but it really is a simple live wallpaper.

Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of customization options. You can change the position of the clock and the clock itself. Other settings include the speed of the animations and where other graphics are placed. However, unlike most of these live wallpapers, you can’t change the color scheme of Gold Future Interface. So if you don’t like gold, you probably won’t like this.

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Koi Live Wallpapers

Of all the live wallpapers on this list, Koi Live Wallpaper is among the most beautiful. It’s essentially a pond where a bunch of Koi fish are swimming around. When you touch the screen, the water will ripple. When you touch the fish, they’ll get scared and swim away, and if you double tap, it’ll drop little blue flakes that the fish will eat. If you’re a fan of nature, then you’ll just love this wallpaper.

There is nothing in this live wallpaper that can’t be customized. You can change how many fish there are and pick their colors individually. The water ripple effect can be controlled. There is a healthy supply of background images to choose from. So if nature, water scenes, and fish are your thing, this is one of the best live wallpapers on the list for you.

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Snowfall Live Wallpapers

Snowfall Live Wallpaper has been around so long that it can be considered a classic. It was released during the very first waves of live wallpapers when the feature first became available and it’s still among the most popular and highest rated live wallpapers to date. It features a tree line view with falling snow. It’s a calm live wallpaper for those who don’t like a lot of action going on.

It also happens to have a decent amount of customization options. Our favorite is the feature where you can have it switch from night to day based on what time it is. So it’ll be dark at night and bright during the day. You can also control snow fall, the trees swaying, and a number of other variables. If you want some more color, you can even add aurora borealis. If you’re into the Christmas spirit, you set Santa Claus to fly at random intervals across your screen.

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Thunderstorm Live Wallpapers

Like Snowfall, Thunderstorm Live Wallpaper was around back when live wallpapers were a new feature. Also, like Snowfall, it continues to be among the highest rated in the Google Play Store. As the name implies, Thunderstorm shows people a thunderstorm on their devices. It’s complete with rain, moving clouds, and lightning strikes. It’s another one of our favorites on the list.

It has a surprising amount of customization options as well. Really, you can make this do whatever you want. One of our favorites is the ability to set off a lightning strike by touching the screen. You can control the intensity of the lightning strikes as well. Perhaps its most unique feature is the ability to change the color of everything. You can do a black sky with red lightning if you want to. Or green lightning on a purple sky. It really is up to you and makes this among the best live wallpapers on the list.

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Thunderstorm Live Wallpapers

No really, Vortex Galaxy is probably the most beautiful live wallpaper on this list. It’s a space scene. So if you like space scenes, you can appreciate this live wallpaper even more. When you set it up, it fades in with a myriad of beautiful colors and stars. Then it will pulse and rotate and otherwise just sit there and be pretty. There is little to no interaction, though, so people who like slow wallpapers without a lot of action will enjoy this one.

It also has very few customization options. What few options there are will be barely noticeable if you change them. So with Vortex Galaxy, what you see is pretty much what you get. This is no big deal because it looks very good and because it is very colorful, it can go with a plethora of themes already.

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Leaderboard and Wrap Up

If you check out our leader board, you can see how all these apps rank up against one another. We at Android Authority do not have a ranking system. These are simply sorted by how they’re rated in the Google Play Store. So there is no bias by us. This is how the people who use these applications rated them.

Also, an obligatory shout out to the live wallpaper Magic Butts. It didn’t rank high enough to be on the list itself but it was insisted that we include it somewhere. So here is its honorary shout out. If you like jiggling badonkadonks, then you can give Magic Butt a try in the Google Play Store.

Of course, there are hundreds of live wallpapers in the Google Play Store. So it’s very possible that we may have missed one or two. So feel free to leave a comment below with your favorite live wallpapers if you think we missed one. Caring is sharing, is it not?

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Kicked from the Play Store, new Adblock Plus for Android app released

A new version of the Adblock Plus app for Android has been released, but you’ll have to get it straight from the developer’s site in order to get updates from now on, since the app has been removed from the Google Play Store.

The developers of the app have made it available on their website and note that you need so set your Android device to allow the installation of apps from Unknown sources in order to install it. To get the app, just go to the address in the source link and scan the QR code with your smartphone or tablet. If that doesn’t work for some reason, downloading the apk file to your computer and then copying it to your smartphone should do the trick.

The new version includes a few fixes and also makes manual proxy configuration easier – you do have to configure proxy settings yourself, but it’s quite easy. Also, most importantly, the AdBlock updates automatically.

Adblock Plus Android was removed from the Google Play Store on March 14, together with a number of other ad blocking apps, due to the fact that it was breaching the Google Play Developer Program Policies; namely, it was breaching the part about interfering with ads on a third-party application. The removal caused quite a bit of stir at that moment.

Do you use Adblock Plus or another ad-blocking app on your Android device?

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Facebook releases updated Android app to Google Play

A new Facebook update has now hit the Google Play Store, bringing with it the ability to change profile pictures from within the app. Additionally, it is now easier to manage unwanted stories and spam from within the News Feed. Outside of these two changes, Facebook also made improvements that make it easy to start a group message with fewer taps and less hassle.

As you can see, nothing truly ground-breaking was introduced with this update, though Facebook is changing up the way it launches updates. Even though this update is just now hitting Google Play, some users have had it since Friday.

How does that work exactly? Apparently Facebook has a new beta program that is designed to push out updates to beta testers. The method works silently in the background, outside of Google Play. This gives testers a chance to provide feedback before the update hits a wider range of users via Google Play.

According to Facebook, the silent update feature will be used for testers going forward as a way to make sure that new updates work as they should. It is actually seems like a pretty wise move, as it gives a few willing volunteers early access to updates and at the same time means Facebook can discover bugs and other problems before updates launch. Beyond volunteer testers, Facebook doesn’t seem interested in using this silent update method to replace normal Google Play delivery.

What do you think of the idea of the changes in this new update? Additionally, what do you think of the new silent update method for Google Play testers?

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Google Keep note-taking web and Android apps are now official

 

A few days ago a new Google note-taking app called Keep made its way to the net for a brief time, before disappearing again. Now Google Keep is back, and finally official.

So what does the new app bring to the table? Basically it is somewhat like Evernote, allowing you to create, save and share notes, pictures, task lists and other content in an organized manner. The experience goes far beyond your phone or tablet though, as it is integrated into Google Drive and that means that all your notes and data are accessible from any device or computer with access to Drive.

Don’t want to take the time to type in all your notes? No worries, the app is easy to control with your voice as well, and can even automatically transcribe voice memos for you.

While this shouldn’t be a problem for those of us with reasonably new hardware, it is worth mentioning that the app does require Android 4.0 ICS or higher to work. For those with Jelly Bean 4.2, there is also a lock screen widget that makes taking down notes with Keep even easier.

Hit the Google Play link below to grab the app. Additionally, if you want to edit and create notes on the web, head over to http://drive.google.com/keep. What do you think of Google Keep, sound like something you will use regularly or not?

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Google Play Books now available in Mexico

 

Google Play Books opens up a world of great reading content, but unfortunately it is only limited to a few select countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, India and a few others. The good news is that Google continues to expand the list of countries that the service is available in and has now added Mexico to the list.

Besides offering plenty of local titles and Spanish translated favorites, the Google Play Books store also lists everything in pesos and gives Mexico its first real taste of Google Play’s extended services beyond just apps. Now here is to hoping that Play Magazines, Music and the rest of the expanded parts of the store eventually make it to Mexico as well.

For those in Mexico, are you glad to see the Books part of Google Play finally reaching Mexico, or disappointed that you didn’t get some of the other parts of Google Play added as well?

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Sony offers slick new SmartWatch software

Sony's high-tech timepiece offering, the Sony SmartWatch, isn't exactly known for smooth performance. The company's new software update, however, promises to offer a slicker interface and six new watch faces, and to address any lingering stability issues.

Other improvements that Sony touts include a more streamlined way to sift through the approximately 200 SmartWatch apps available for download, previews of notifications and alerts, and better battery level integration.

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Want to experience the new Sony SmartWatch enhancements yourself? Check the Google Play app store for the update or your SmartWatch itself for a relevant heads-up. Hopefully I'll be able to get my hands back on the device as well and report back soon with my assessment.

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The Croods – The full Android app review

 

If you’re unfamiliar with The Croods, it’s a movie that’s due out in theaters on March 22, 2013 from the well known and widely respected animation studio Dreamworks. It features a few big stars, including Nicolas Cage, Cloris Leachman, Emma Stone, and Ryan Reynolds. As a collaborative effort, Dreamworks worked with Rovio Entertainment to turn The Croods into an Android game. Is it work playing? Well read on to find out. If you’re more of a watcher than a reader, our video review is posted at the bottom.

The Croods Game Play

If you’ve played a Facebook flash game in your lifetime, then you can probably play The Croods without a problem. Like Facebook flash games, you are set on a big screen where you can perform a myriad of tasks. In terms of premise, you’ll be capturing wild animals, taming them, raising them, and feeding them. Feeding them will earn you items that you can use to progress through the game and you can also use them to feed other animals.

In addition to that, you will be completing chores assigned to you by Gran, the local old person. These tasks don’t include anything difficult. You’ll be adding or removing scenery like trees, capturing animals, collecting items, and performing other menial tasks. In exchange you’ll get gold coins and experience. If you’re bogged down on items, you can hand them off to Ugga. Ugga will make you soup that you can use to upgrade your animals. It’s also a good way to grind for gold coins.

It doesn’t take nearly as long to explain as it takes to perform. All these things will keep gamers very busy as things tend to move pretty quickly. At least during the beginning of the game. However, if you look closely, there is a pattern to the game. It’s capturing and feeding animals and completing tasks assigned by Gran.

One thing we didn’t like about The Croods is that it’s a freemium game. So there are in app purchases where you can buy more crystal and gold coins. This is fine if you don’t mind spending a few extra bucks. For more serious gamers, this will be irritating as the game intentionally bottlenecks these resources to motivate people to buy them. You can play the game without spending any real money, but after a point there will be copious amounts of grinding for coins and crystals. This is an aspect we were very disappointed in.

The Croods Graphics and Sound

If you were hoping The Croods would impress you in these areas, you can forget it. The soundtrack is uninspired but it does what it’s supposed to, which is fill the silence space in the background. There are sound clips for various tasks and the characters will interact with one another occasionally.

The graphics in The Croods is about on par with most Facebook flash games. This is both good and bad. It’s good because those games are typically played on computers and this is an Android game. It’s bad because those graphics aren’t overly impressive. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good, but they just don’t impress. You will not have any problems identifying characters and associating them with their characters in the movie.

The Croods Overall

The game play for The Croods has a lot of potential to be extremely addictive. While no one likes the tedious grind of collecting items and leveling up, The Croods tries to push the pace on this so there is always something to do. In most cases, they succeed but there are still some tasks that take awhile. A plus to this, though, is that you will receive notifications for the game outside of the game. So when something is done building your animals need fed, you can receive notifications for it. So you don’t actually have to play in the game to still be playing.

At the end of the day, though, it depends on what kind of gamer you are. More serious gamers are not fans of the freemium premise and they won’t appreciate having gold and crystals (the main resources used for building things) bottlenecked to such a degree that they have to grind just to have enough. On the other hand, fans of games like Farmville 2 or Cafe World will feel right at home with The Croods as it features many similar mechanics to those games. By the time we were doing reviewing, we couldn’t really tell if we were playing a Rovio game or a Zynga game.

Wrap Up

If this looks like something you’re interested in, you can click the source link below to download it from the Google Play Store. It’s free to play, even if many of the elements in-game can be bought. We were able to see the charm in the game, especially if you’re excited about seeing the movie. However, we couldn’t get passed the fact that it looks and plays like a Zynga game on Facebook. So, once again, if you’re into that kind of stuff, then The Croods is right up your alley. If you don’t like those kinds of games, you could do your blood pressure a favor and steer clear.

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Google Fiber app launches in the Play Store, compatible with more than just the Nexus 7

 

Kansas City residents with Google Fiber: Google is improving your Fiber experience by offering you its Google Fiber app on more devices than just the Nexus 7 you received with your service package.
As noted in the change log, the app has a “re-designed user interface for simpler browse, search and discover your favorite content”. Google also added better Wi-Fi connectivity to the app and made it compatible with devices running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean or higher. It works with both tablets and phones whereas it only worked on the Nexus 7 tablet previously.
The app turns your phone into a remote allowing you to surf through shows and movies that are currently live, recorded on your  DVR and available on-demand. If you’re one of the few lucky people to have Google Fiber, head on over to the Play Store and give this app a download.

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