It's time for our weekly roundup of new and notable
Android apps – those released for the first time this week, or which have been newly ported from smartphones to tablets (or vice versa).
The
roundup includes apps and games, and the pricing in brackets relates to
the initial download – some apps listed as free may include in-app
purchases. The iOS roundup will follow later in the day.
Here's this week's pick of the Google Play store:
The
Beeb has ported its iOS sports app to Android smartphones and tablets,
promising news, live text commentary, fixtures and tables, and a mixture
of live and on-demand video and audio from a range of events. The BBC
is promising more features to be added in the coming months, including
team customisation and homescreen widgets.
I
can't over-stress how obsessed I get with every new simulation game
from Japanese developer KairoSoft, even though they all use a pretty
similar formula. Here, you're managing a racehorse ranch, training up
horses to win prizes, while breeding new colts. Looks like a real
battery-chewer (the game, not the horses – that wouldn't be healthy).
HotelTonight's
same-day hotel bookings app has been available on Android smartphones
for a while, but it's now been redesigned for Google-powered tablets.
Supporting cities in the US and abroad – 16 in Europe including London,
Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham – it
puts the emphasis on photography of hotels, and promises bookings in
less than eight seconds when time's a pressure.
Flipboard,
News360, Zite... Android is spoilt for choice when it comes to news
aggregation/discovery apps. Newscover is the latest, promising to learn
your interests as you read news stories, then serve up more articles it
thinks you'll like. It's available in Spanish and English versions, with
the option to log in using Twitter and Facebook for further
personalisation.
This
app isn't from listings website Craigslist itself, but it IS
"officially licensed" by the company. What's more, it's very slickly
designed – more so than the site by a long chalk. The app helps you
browse listings, including by location, while setting alerts and push
notifications for specific kinds. You can also post your own listings
from within the app.
If
your Android smartphone has one of Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors
inside, this new (beta) app aims to eke out more battery time and
optimise the device – simply by running in the background and adapting
to usage. Very useful, although I wonder how many people who could
benefit won't, because they don't know what chips are inside their
phone.
Retro
treat of the week comes from Team 17 with an Android remake of its
top-down shooter Alien Breed, which came out in 1991 originally. The
game offers a choice of classic and enhanced modes – beefier graphics
and sound in the latter, as well as touch-tweaked controls – as well as
four new levels, and social leaderboards.
There's
some very good buzz around Sidebar, an app to help Android users
multi-task with a sidebar of their most frequently-used apps. "Simply
swipe in from the edge of the screen to gain instant access to the apps
you use most," as the Google Play listing puts it.
The
Sandbox is one of a clutch of pixel-art creation-games to have appeared
in recent months, inspired by Minecraft but with an emphasis on 2D
worlds rather than 3D. The game offers 71 levels to work through, as you
trigger chemical reactions, generate lifeforms and try to build the
Pyramids. Wonderful stuff.
Moment.me
is one of the apps trying to aggregate people's social posts around
specific events and locations. Which sounds like tech-pseudy rubbish, I
know, but there's something to it: the app gathers photos, tweets and
videos from an event and sorts them into collections, with the ability
to cluster friends for this purpose too.
Another
famous game comes to Android: a 3D hardware-accelerated port of
first-person title Hexen, released by developer Kokak. And while it's
probably something for more technical users comfortable with downloading
IWAD files, it's still good to see.
British
retailer B&Q has worked with Grapple Mobile on this app for its
loyalty club, serving up offers and discounts to members, while letting
newcomers sign up from their phones. Competitions and local store
details are also included.
Puzzle
game Sporos wants to stretch your brain, as you light up cells in
patterns using a "sporos" seed, dragging pieces around the screen to the
strains of "soothing electronic music". Hundreds of levels should
provide a decent challenge.
Android
isn't just about retro games this week. Flashout 3D is new, albeit
clearly influenced by Wipeout. It's a futuristic racing game with lots
of ships, tracks and upgrades to explore, and an intriguing-sounding
"interactive equalizer" feature that matches the in-game music to the
on-track visuals.
Available
globally but possibly of most interest to Americans who grew up with
the Berenstain Bears books, this is a storybook app for children that
sees Papa Bear and his cubs trying to get out of helping Mama Bear with
the housework. Expect voice narration, word-highlighting to help young
readers, and (possibly) less rampantly-sexist 4-8 year-olds as a result.
Okay,
Android is quite a lot about retro games this week. Manos: The Hands of
Fate is a new title that looks like an old one: "An homage to the great
games you remember from your childhood... When the streets were filled
with bats, ghosts and Frankenstein monsters".
Another
famous American storybook series – Little Critter – is being digitised
for smartphones and tablets by publisher Oceanhouse Media. This latest
app sees him having a bad dream, with similar voice narration and
reading features to the Berenstain Bears app. This time, the target
audience is 2-5 year-olds.
As the name makes clear, this is an app for rooted Android devices only (if you're not aware of the phenomenon,
Wikipedia is your friend,
by the way). Greenify promises to keep your smartphone running
smoothly, including booting "bad behaving apps into hibernation" if
they're sucking up battery life or hogging the memory.
Who
needs physical cosmetic surgery, when digital face-tweaking is now A
Thing? That's the idea behind Perfect365, in a way: a way to "apply a
natural touch-up or a sizzling makeover" to facial photos on an Android
device, removing blemishes, whitening teeth and even enhancing noses and
lifting cheeks. The results can be shared on social networks, for
friends to stare quizzically at.
"First
they (bankers) took everything and now they want more," explains the
Google Play listing for this topical tower defence game. Not just
ordinary bankers, of course: zombie bankers. Developer La Factoria
d'Imatges says it'll donate a portion of its profits to charity, too.
That's
this week's selection, but what apps are you enjoying on Android this
week? Make your recommendations or comment on the apps listed above in
the Comments section.
We
of SamMobile would like to give you the latest I9300XXUFMB3 – Android
4.2.1 Jelly Bean test firmware for the Galaxy S III. Big Thanks to forum
member Saturn from XDA-Developers who made this possible by giving us the dump files from his device.
