Daily News Courier

Epic Citadel now available for Android

Epic Citadel, Epic Games' Infinity Blade-themed tech demo app, is now available for Android. Epic sends word that 'Citadel has launched on Google Play and the Amazon Appstore, where it can be downloaded for free. The app serves as a technology demo for Epic's Unreal Engine 3 on mobile.

Epic Citadel allows players to explore a medieval-themed village, complete with cobbled streets, rolling terrain and a towering citadel. Players can choose between high performance and high quality modes to attain the best balance between visuals and speed. There's also a resolution scaling option, which may be useful for high-res devices that lack the horsepower to push Epic Citadel at full resolution. Touch controls allow players to navigate around town, but there's also a guided tour mode if you just want to admire the scenery, and a benchmark mode if you want to test your device's mettle.

The title first launched on iOS back in 2010, ahead of the original Infinity Blade's release. And while there's no suggestion of that title coming to Android, it's great to see a big-name developer like Epic getting behind Android in a more official capacity. (Readers with long memories might remember seeing a version of Epic Citadel running on an Optimus 2X almost two years ago.)

Epic Citadel is available from Google Play at the link above, and supports a wide range of Android phones and tablets. We've got more screenshots after the break, along with today's press release.

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Samsung announces the Exynos 4 Quad, coming to the ‘next Galaxy’

Samsung couldn't contain the excitement, and just had to let us know the details about the chip powering the "Next Galaxy" that's coming on May 3.  It's called the Exynos 4 Quad, and it looks impressive. What, exactly, makes it so special?  It's built on a 32nm HKMG process, which is geek talk for high-performance with low power consumption. How good is the performance? Samsung claims it's twice as fast as it's predecessor, the 45nm Exynos 4 Dual, while consuming 20 percent less power. To further help power consumption, each core can be turned off when it's not needed, and the ones that are running can adjust their clock speed to match the demands of what you're doing.

Each core will be running at 1.4 HGHz, and are based on the Cortex A9 architecture. It has the other essentials as well, with support for 1080p/30fps recording, boasts an embedded image signal processor, and has support for HDMI 1.4 output. They didn't give any specifics as to what GPU they are pairing it with, though, but it's sure to be impressive. Excited yet? I know some of you are.

Source: Samsung

OnLive Destop arrives in the Android Market, aims to bring the power of a PC to your Android tablet

For a lot of folks, tablets are a great alternative to PC's but for some — it's hard to complete some of the same actions as a PC on one. Looking to bridge that gap is OnLive with their new OnLive Desktop application. Using a cloud based PC you can connect to, you can now complete some of those tasks.

Features:

• Instantly view, edit and create documents using actual Microsoft® Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Easily transfer files between OnLive Desktop and other devices
• Experience high-performance, instant-response PC applications
• Interact with lag-free animation and video
• Works with most Bluetooth keyboards and mice (left-click only)

The OnLive Desktop app is available for free with the basic offerings or you can jump up to the paid OnLive Desktop Plus services for $4.99/mnth which allows for some advanced features such as accelerated browsing, full flash support and additional cloud storage for your files.

Something to note however, is the compatible devices. OnLive notes support for the Acer Iconia Tab A500, ASUS Eee TF101, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1, and HTC Jetstream but I've had no luck getting it installed on my Mototola Xoom. You can try it yourself though, just jump past the break for the download link.

Source: OnLive

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HTC sales uncharacteristically down, Samsung phone sales way up

HTC has ended its two-year long streak of growth, reporting a dip in sales that for the first time since the company’s Android-powered phones propelled high profits. In the fourth quarter of 2011, HTC had NT$101,419 million, a decrease of 2.49% in comparison to the same period last year.

Since 2008, HTC has seen several quarters with record sales thanks to the company’s pole position among Android manufacturers. But the popularity of the iPhone 4S and increased competition from Samsung and other Android phone makers led to a decline in sales in the latter half of 2011.

Samsung had more reason to smile in its latest financial reports. The Korean manufacturer declared that its smartphone sales reached 35 million in Q4 2011, up from 28 million in Q3 2011. The record high performance pushed Samsung contribute to making Samsung the top smartphone maker in terms of volume, at least according to estimates published in Reuters.

So what explains these numbers? In HTC’s case, the company released some duds this year (Salsa in particular) and had a large, incredibly diverse line of products. But it lacked a massive global seller like Samsung’s range of Galaxy S II phones. Both companies produce devices running other operating systems – HTC on Windows Phone 7, Samsung on Bada – but they live and die by how well their Android phones perform.

HTC will look to re-spark its momentum by focusing on key high-end products that will better compete with Apple and Samsung. In November of 2011, CFO Winston Yung had this to say about the company’s upcoming plans:

“We will focus on the product next year, better and more competitive. Other than new LTE phones for the U.S. market, we have phones for the global market. We will launch some worldwide flagship products. We’re confident in them.”

 

Comments

• [...] of around 22 percent, while Apple is set to be second, … by Smartphone shipments to reach 614 million units globally in 2012, according to new projections | Nexus Mate
• I believe people are being sucked in by pretty lights. The … by shane
• iPhone 4S was a huge seller and the decline came around the … by AndrewKam
• How does an iPhone 4s even factor into this? Looking at the … by Bugs
• [...] Comments [...] by HTC sales uncharacteristically down, Samsung phone sales way up « Android flash

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User agents, Email sync [From the Forums]

Tablets, bootloaders, ICS — Oh, my. Even though it's only Tuesday, this week appears to be flying by with all the news that is happening. If you missed out on anything thus far, jump back a page and get yourself caught up or, make your presence known in the Android Central forums where you can find plenty of help, tips and tricks and much more:

• Rumored Devices - A Sony Nexus, thoughts?
• HTC Rezound Forums - High performance vs. Normal vs. Economy
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus Forums - Desktop user agent default for browser
• HTC Thunderbolt Forums - Email auto syncing randomly
• Transformer Prime Forums - ….. and we have root!

If you're not already a member of the Android Central forums, you can register your account today.

Beginning Android Games

Product Description
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The potential user base and the wide array of available high-performance devices makes Android an attractive targ… More >>

Beginning Android Games

Stereo Headset /w Microphone for Apple iPhone 3G

• Light Weight, compact, stylish, convenience.
• No need to use any adapters.
• The microphone capsule also serves as a Send/End button.
• The microphone capsule also serves answering and ending of iPhone calls.

Product Description
Lightweight and comfortable, this Apple iPhone 3G Hands-Free Stereo Headset enables you to carry on conversations while you continue to do other things including listening to your favorite music.
Modeled after the acclaimed new Apple Earphones, the iPhone Stereo Headset provide superior comfort, fit, and sound quality. The 3.5mm Stereo Headset also features a high performance microphone
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Stereo Headset /w Microphone for Apple iPhone 3G

Split Chip Architecture Could Lead to Smarter Smart Phones

The new design features two processors—one for high performance, one for high efficiency.

U.K. chip manufacturer ARM last week unveiled a chip architecture that could simultaneously bring down the cost of smart phones while extending their battery life.

Split Chip Architecture Could Lead to Smarter Smartphones

The new design features two processors—one for high performance, one for high efficiency.

U.K. chip manufacturer ARM last week unveiled a chip architecture that could simultaneously bring down the cost of smart phones while extending their battery life.

Congratulations to our SpeedX 3D contest winners!

Last week we gave you the chance to win a 3D phone of your choice, in conjunction with HyperBees and their excellent SpeedX 3D game. We challenged players to make the longest run possible in SpeedX 3D, and now, as promised, we’re pleased to announce the winners… (drum roll)

1. Grand Prize Winner: HomerSp, 146,953 points

Congratulations to our first-place winner, HomerSp, who chose the HTC EVO 3D, HTC’s latest high-performance smartphone with a 3D display and 3D recording capabilities.

2. filip8429, 132,356 points
3. hamatro, 125,179 points
4. Vec1nu, 89,924 points
5. mbigby, 89,833 points

Our second through fifth place runners-up will receive Zeemote mobile gaming controllers. Also second and third place entrants filip8429 and hamatro will each receive an exclusive SpeedX t-shirt for their efforts. Congratulations!

In announcing the winners’ names, HyperBees added –

With more than 10,000 participants, the contest mode was played over 180,000 times. These are spectacular results. A big thank you to all who took part! The players demonstrated great gaming spirit throughout, and the final hours were especially exciting.

Thanks to everyone that participated. Keep watching AC in the coming weeks for more awesome contests like this.