Android Apps


G5 Gives Away Red Crow Mysteries on All Platforms

Last year I reviewed the iOS and Mac versions of Red Crow Mysteries: Legion and found it managed to wrap together solid adventure game elements and a story worth following. More than a few hours of gameplay, plenty of content, varied locations, a great story, and a fun adventure. And now it is FREE … grab it now!


Wellograph, the First Sapphire Crystal Wellness Watch Launches!

Most fitness watches share a common element – not GPS, or heart-rate, or step-tracking, or Bluetooth sync. They are pretty uniformly NOT fashion watches. They might work as ‘Geek Chic’, but no one will mistake them for a designer product. Wellograph hopes to change that, with the first wellness watch with a sapphire crystal display and a gorgeous design.


I Bought a Chromecast and Completely Changed My View

It’s hard to believe it’s been just a little over a year since Google released the cheapest set-top “box” there is, the Chromecast.  Initially, I wasn’t too enthused.  After hearing how my friends liked it, I figured why not make the jump?  It would give me some entertainment when I was on the road as well. Since picking it up, I’ve completely fallen in love.


IOGEAR Wireless Mobile and PC to HDTV With WiDi and Miracast Review

Apple TV lets you access iTunes or view content from a Mac or iOS device on the big screen. The same holds true for Google Chromecast and Amazon Fire TV. Unfortunately, each only works with devices in that company’s ecosystem. Looking for something more platform agnostic? Check out the IOGEAR Wireless Mobile and PC to HDTV With WiDi and Miracast.


What eWallet Needs to Do to Stay on Our Devices

Judie and I were huge fans of eWallet from its earliest days, back when we used Palms; we synced the info on our Palms to the eWallet program on our desktop PCs. Later on we used eWallet on our Pocket PCs. Once the app became available for iOS, we loaded it onto our iPhones and eventually also on our Macs.


Temple Run Series Hits One Billion Downloads

Temple Run was one of those unlikely successes – a simple ‘endless runner’ game that has you continuously running and trying to collect as many coins as possible before dying. It was the simplicity and easy charm that made the game quick to pick up and hard to put down. Now the game has passed 1 BILLION downloads!


Scurvy Scallywags Now Plundering on Android Phones and Tablets

Just about a year ago, I reviewed Scurvy Scallywags for iOS systems, and summed it up as a “great game, great fun, great price”. The game is an innovative Match-3 / RPG Mash-Up designed by game industry veterans Ron Gilbert and Clayton Kauzlaric, and has just released on the Google Play store as a free game with in-app purchases.


Pocket Premium – $44.99 Per Year So Your Content Never Disappears

Online link and content saver Pocket (formerly Read It Later) today unveiled a paid version for $5/mo or $44.99 / year which could be of interest to anyone who frequently saves web content for later review. Unlike the unpaid app version, the  paid edition will automatically download linked pages and create permanent versions of content of links you’ve saved.


Evernote Tops 100 Million Users! #Evernote

Evernote just topped 100 million users; that’s pretty impressive. Even more impressive is the fact that those 100 million users can be found in any of 190 different countries. Taken together, the two numbers speak to the fact that the popular and powerful service meets a truly international need; this milestone reminded me that many of us were early subscribers.


Evernote Is the New Destination for LinkedIn’s CardMunch Users

Are you a CardMunch user? Dan and I were for ages; I liked how CardMunch made it so easy to request a LinkedIn connection after scanning business cards. But as time went on, and I got tired of seeing my scanned cards sitting in purgatory pending, I started using Evernote as my card scanner. Now LinkedIn is using Evernote, too.


Screen Off and Lock: The Cure for Big Phones and Power Buttons

My HTC One M8 is a very tall phone. 90% of the time it doesn’t bother me, but sometimes if I am using it one-handed, hitting the top power button to lock it is a stretch. I resigned myself to just dealing with it, but then I discovered a simple utility, the aptly named Screen Off and Lock!


Fun with the HTC One M8 Camera!

The HTC One M8 camera is actually a twofer-there’s the main lens and then a secondary one, designed to allow for depth of field and other fun editing tricks. The result is that the right photo can go from nice to WOW in just a few clicks!


What Do You Do When Paid-For Android Apps Disappear?

After purchasing my Galaxy Note 3, I did what most people do — I loaded all of my favorite Android apps. One of these was the paid app Weatherbug Elite,  which I had originally bought for the G1. Unfortunately, it is no longer supported or in the Play Store — the only available version is the unpaid (and ad-riddled) version.


FarFaria Children’s Book App Now Available on Android

FarFaria is a children’s book app that has been called “Netflix for Kids.”  It has a ton of awesome features, most of which you can read about in my previous post. Today is an exciting day for FarFaria, as they’ve just announced that FarFaria is now available on the Android platform.  You can download it from Google Play today!  


With Facebook Messenger FB Introduces Next Gen SMS/MMS to the Carriers

Yesterday Facebook announced the conscious uncoupling of their messaging feature from its core app. Some exceptions exist – such as if you use Paper (both of you) or some third world variant of their app. However this announcement started me thinking. Disbanding Facebook Messenger from the Facebook app as a whole is a completely absolutely brilliant move. Here’s why.


You Need to Check Out the Freebie App Smash Hit on iOS/Android

My new favorite iOS game is an auto-runner where you throw pinballs at glass obstacles to see how long you can last before you run out of balls.  In the iOS/Android freebie, Smash Hit, you float through a gorgeously futuristic and ever-changing landscape trying to survive the ever-present threat of obstacles getting in your way while enjoying beautifully synchronized music.


Sonos Delivers New Ways to Control Your Music

I have a wide range of audio devices from which to choose. The one I use most? My Sonos system. (Check out our Setting Up Sonos video here.) Sonos has expanded their speaker offerings but the iOS and Android apps have remains mostly unchanged. Until now. New apps are on the way and they promise more music enjoyment than ever.  



MyTennisCam Helps You Hone Your Court Skills!

If you are a recreational tennis player, chances are you wish you could improve your game but lack the time and/or money to join a club and get a coach. But now with MyTennisCam, you can simply mount a camera, switch it on and start playing! This IndieGoGo project promises to provide feedback and analytics to help you play better. Simply place MyTennisCam on the pole of the net and start playing. Three built in high-speed cameras and sensors track your movement and the trajectory of the ball in real-time. All of the game’s data and your stats are automatically…


Google+ Gets HDR Scape and Zoom Editing

Google’s ubiquitous social network Google+ gets a picture editing update which allows for adding high dynamic range (HDR) effects to a single image, with a single click. HDR Scape is currently available in the Snapseed apps for Android and iOS and today you can use it in Google+ by editing a photo and clicking HDR SCAPE in the right corner.