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Showing posts with label Software and Applications. Show all posts

Are you a JRPG fan on an Android?


If you are, you should check out KEMCO's selection of titles on Google Play, as for the next three days or so, everything is on sale for US$1. While the graphics are a bit dated, I think Symphony of Eternity is a must have for the true JRPG aficionado. Symphony of the Origin with its more modern graphics and faster gameplay will appeal to the hardcore RPG fan and casual gamer. I decided to pick-up Silver Nornir, my fourth KEMCO title.


Square Enix's Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III are also available at half the regular price, I am not sure if this is a sale or a permanent price drop. In any event, I picked up Final Fantasy III.

After having given up gaming a decade ago, I have picked up seven JRPG's in the past year.  It has become a nice stress reliving 30-minute a day habit.
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Around the Web: Android Activations and Amazon International

Android activations have reached 1.5 million per day. This is up from 700,000 per day sixteen months ago on December 2011, and 400,000 per day in May 2011. 



Amazon looks to get a bigger piece of this pie. Phone Arena reports that the Amazon Android App store is about to launch internationally. More importantly, that means that the Kindle Fire line of Amazon tablets will probably be made available in more countries too.

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All day surfing for Php15 from Smart Opera Unlisurf 15

Smart has a new service which will allow you to surf the web all day using the Opera Mini browser.


The Opera Mini is available for both smartphones and feature phones, so most everybody can avail of this service.

Opera Mini fetches all content through a proxy server which compresses date and reformats web pages into a format more suitable for a small screens. The compressed page is delivered to the phone in a Opera Binary Markup Language, which Opera Mini can interpret. The data compression can reduce the size of webpages, sometimes up to 70-80% making for faster download times and easier to handle it for low powered devices

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Final Fantasy Dimensions

I have always found the Square Enix titles on Google Play a bit expensive. Last December, I picked up Chaos Rings at 50% off, and was pleased with my purchase. A bit of a spoiler, Chaos Rings has four parellel story lines, so it has a lot of playing time. But after finishing two parallel story lines,  I kind of figured the whole thing out and did not feel like completing the last two. Gameplay gets a bit repetitive. 

Last March, I picked up another Square Enix title, Final Fantasy Dimensions again at 50% off. It does not have the nice 3D graphics of Chaos Rings or even something like KEMCO's excellent Symphony of the Origin. Final Fantasy Dimensions is a 2D game. One with a bit of a learning curve. But once you get into the fairly intricate job system, it is really makes for interesting gameplay. The storyline itself, in my opinion is top notch. You do have to be careful to follow it closely, but if you do, it is an interesting enough story to merit your attention.


Having close to thirty (30) hours playing time in the past thirty days, that is twice as many  hours than I usually devote to gaming in a month. Needless to say, it has certainly kept me interested. I just started the third chapter, so about halfway. Given that it is likely to ramp up in difficult as I go along, this game should give a good 60-70 hours gaming time. An I am likely to replay it, to explore the jobs system more (I did not do a great job of selecting "jobs" in my first run). 

Now, Final Fantasy Dimensions is not a cheap app. It's US$13.99 (if you buy it as a set, but you can buy it by chapter) on iTunes and US$19.99 on Google Play. While I got it for 50% off, I realize now that it is worth the full price. As soon as I am done, I will be getting Final Fantasy III and  IV, whether or not they are on discount, once I am done with Final Fantasy Dimensions.
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Facebook Home


Mark Zuckerburg was right, Facebook does not need a Facebook phone. Facebook can make millions of existing Android phones Facebook phones. 

Facebook announced a new Facebook app for Android, Facebook Home. Facebook Home will  be available for the Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy Note IIHTC One X and HTC One X+,  by April 12, 2013 from Google Play. It will work on the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One once they hit the market. HTC is also releasing a phone, the HTC First, with Facebook Home as its default launcher.

Facebook Home partners include AT&T, Orange, Qualcomm, HTC, Samsung, Huawei, Sony, EE, ZTE, Lenovo, and Alcatel. So expect Facebook Home to come, or be compatible with more handsets in the near future.

I really cannot comment on the new app right now, except to say it is a launcher that which places Facebook in you lock-screen and home screen. Sascha Sagan over at PCMag has a excellent article on Facebook Home at this link

The reaction from Android users is varied, but I see it as a good development for Android. It's a free app, so if you are a Facebook user on a compatible device, I see no reason not to give it a look. 

This is an Android exclusive app. Something like this cannot run on iOS, Blackberry or Windows Phone. For Facebook users, it could become the Android killer app. In a strange way, rivals Google and Facebook 

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Goggle Play Anniversary Deals: 50% Off On Final Fantasy Dimensions

It is one year to the day when the Android Market was renamed to Google Play, which also saw the expansion of Google Play services. Since the new services offered are not yet available in the Philippines, for us, the change from Android Market to Google Play, was just a matter of nomenclature.


You can expect some good deals on Google Play on the event of its anniversary. So far I noticed this one from my Wish List. Final Fantasy Dimensions is being offered at 50% off, at just a bit over Php370. I delayed picking up this title because of its high price. With the 50% discount, this JRPG is going from my Wish List to my App List. 

Please post any other Google Play Anniversary offers that you see.
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SwiftKey adds Flow: The best keyboard for your Android just got better



SwiftKey has released a new version of its popular keyboard on the Google Play Store. The updated version of SwiftKey includes the new Flow feature which has been available as a beta for several months now. SwiftKey Flow allows you enter words by swiping your finger across the screen, like many other similar keyboards. What makes Swiftkey Flow different from the rest is that you can also string together several words or even a complete sentence without lifting your finger.

If you already bought a previous version of SwiftKey, and update to the latest version is free. The update is available for both the smartphone and tablet versions.

If you have not yet bought SwiftKey, you can get it for about Php94, depending on the exchange rate for the day. You can also try a demo.


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Cherry Mobile Releases a Software Update for its Flare


Cherry Mobile has released a software update for its popular 4-inch Android powered Flare. The main purpose of the update is to correct some accelerometer issues and will allow the stock SMS app to be used in landscape mode.

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Symphony of the Origin

It's been over a decade since I called myself a gamer, but in the past four months I have been adventuring through one role playing game or another. Collectively, I have put about 90 hours in the past four months exploring dungeons in Symphony of Eternity (KEMCO), dueling to the death in Chaos Rings (Square Enix) and going on a quest to stop a robopocalypse in Eve of Genesis (KEMCO).  Having just completed the third final battle in Eve of Genesis, and still considering Symphony of Eternity the Gold Standard of classic JRPG's, I could not resist picking up KEMCO's latest release, Symphony of the Origin



Symphony of the Origin is KEMCO's first game made specifically for modern smartphones. Symphony or Eternity and Eve of Genesis were ports from handheld gaming platforms. While being excellent ports, Symphony of the Origin is a step up in terms of interface and graphics quality.

While the gameplay overcame the retro style graphics of Symphony or Eternity and Eve of Genesis, I don't think anyone will be disappointed with graphics of Symphony of the Origin. It is current looking enough, but not so heavy as to require state of the art hardware. This game runs smoothly on my circa 2010 HTC Desire HD.

Having gone through the early part of the game, I am very satisfied with my purchase. The gameplay follows the elements of Symphony or Eternity, mixing in the faster battle system of Eve and changes the system of mana points and upgrades.

According to feedback at Google Play, the game has about US$5 of optional in-app purchases. Two hours into the game I still have not encountered any.

Symphony of the Origin is only available for Android right now, but it is coming soon to iOS.

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A Unfortunate Journey

Before I got my Android phone it had been almost decade since I actually bought a game. When I first got my Android phone, of course I tried Angry Birds. I have spent several hours with Angy Birds, playing a few minutes here are there. Still, I am far from an Angry Birds addict. Flinging birds is fun, but something I like to do for 5-10 minutes every two or three days. To date, I still not having completed the original one, and it has been a year since I fired it up.

It took a few months after I got my first Android Phone for paid apps to be available in the Philippines. When paid apps became available, I browsed the market and found X-Plane 9 (now a free app, with paid add-ons).  So I decided to give it a go. Having been in PC Flight Sims before "retiring" from gaming altogether, I decided to give it a go. I only used it for a few hours, but the US$4.99 I paid for it is really just the price of two Mocha's a Starbucks. Nothing wrong with X-Plane. I just realized I was not going to enjoying reliving my Falcon IV and Fly! glory days without a large display, joystick and throttle. 

Still impressed with what gaming on a mobile was like, I decided to pick a market favorite and give it a go: Robo Defense. This one kept interested for months. Over a period of five months, I was able to go as far beating Level 500.

During the 10 cent Android Market sale back in 2011, I picked up two more games, Sentinel 3 and SIM City. SIM City, well that is probably something I will try again if I ever buy a tablet. It is too complex a game for a 4.3-inch display. Sentinel III is a fine game, but I guess, one tower defense game was more than enough for me. Despite my five month addiction to  Robo Defense, I guess I am not really the tower defense type, so after a few hours on it, I left without finishing all the campaigns. Still it was well worth the money, and played it a lot while waiting in stores for Christmas gifts to be wrapped.  I an way I was glad to spend less time on my phone gaming.

Early in 2012, I found Dead Space at 50 cents off, so I decided to give it a go. It is one amazing piece of work. But three hours into the game, I realized my eyes were too old and too tired, to have to plays a first persons shooter on a small display. It is just too engaging. I found myself laying off Android gaming for a few months after that.


In July of 2012, Sasha Sagan over a PCMag wrote this article, The Quest For a Great Android RPG. And that was where my problem started. Role Playing Games, was something from even longer in my past. I played them before the PC age, when we used pencils, paper, dice and a lot of imagination. The author recommended Symphony of Eternity, and over several weeks I managed to complete the main story line after a satisfying 24 hours of Gameplay, after which keeping my characters "leveled up" skills I went through the campaign again, in "demi-god" mode and completed it in 7 hours. I figure, after a year or two I will revisit this game again.


Problem now is I was hooked, so I followed up Symphony of Eternity with another KEMCO title, Eve of Genesis. Eve of Genesis has a shorter campaign and less play time than Symphony of Eternity but it well worth the asking price. Enough to make me decide to try Knight of the Earthends as my next RPG. Before I picked up Knight of Earthends, Google Play had another sale, and I decided to try Square Enix Chaos Ring.

So after four paid Android games over a span of twelve months, only of which I consider a hit, I am now up to a new game every two months, all from the same genre and I all of which I have finished or am finishing. This has the makings of a small addiction.

I have a short hit list once I am done with Chaos Ring:



What can I say, I am hooked. Oh no.
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Transitioning to Google Documents was Easier than Expected

This year I transitioned my small office to Google Documents, now called Google Drive. I did not make a move from Microsoft Office to Google Documents, that ship sailed a decade ago. I made the move from LibreOffice. The main reason for the shift, was Google Documents online collaboration features.


I waited for Google Documents offline client, and the slow after Christmas period to make the transition. I realized there was not much need to wait for the offline client. In the week since we made the move, well no one has used it. I guess we are never offline anymore these days. As for issues, Google Documents does not support hiding tables, so some of our templates had to be modified. We also encountered some printing issues. Since printing in our office is centralized with a secretary taking care of this task, we still print using LibreOffice. A friend of mine on Google+ told me another workaround is to convert files to PDF before printing. I have not tried this yet.

Why make the move? First is online collaboration. LibreOffice still does not have it. Second, it cost considerations, while LibreOffice id free hardware is not. The hardware in my office is aging. Our newest laptops are over two years old, and out oldest once, are on their fifth year. The transition to Google Documents, should also facilitate a shift to Google Chromo OS powered laptops, or Chromebooks over the next two years. Google Chromebooks are inexpensive and virtually eliminate software maintenance. Right now, there are no Chromebooks for sale in the Philippines, but I suspect they should get here sooner, rather than later. 

Finally, the interface of Google Documents is simpler, cleaner and more intuitive than LibreOffice. Sharing files is also integrated into the Cloud based office suite. With new staff coming in, I felt they would have an easier time learning how to use Google Documents. 

All in all, the transition was uneventful. Which is a good thing.
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Enable Smart Rotate and Smart Stay on any Android

When Samsung launched its Galaxy S3 last summer it included a lot of new features to the Android operating system on its new flagship. The two most impressive feature, in my opinion was Smart Stay. 

Android phones turn off the screen after a period of inactivity, usually a period of 30 to 2 minutes, which can be set in the settings. The shorter the period you set, the more you conserve battery life. When you are reading a web page or ebook, the screen turn off because you do not interact with the phone often enough.

Smart Stay improves on this system by using the front camera to detect whether you are looking at the phone or not. For so long as it detects that your eyes are still looking at the display, it keeps the display lit. Once it detects that you are no longer looking at the screen, it turns the display off. 

When Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 2, it added a new Smart feature, Smart Rotate. Smart Rotate uses the front camera instead of the accelerometer to rotate the screen. This is useful when using your smartphone while laying down on a bed or sofa. Turn sideways, and the screen rotates putting whatever you were reading is at 90 degrees from where it needs to be. 


Smart Rotate uses the front camera to decide when to rotate by looking at the orientation your face and than and then match the orientation of the screen accordingly, instead of relying on gravity.


Good Mood Droid brings these two features to less fortunate smartphones. The GMD Smart Rotate app is available free on Google Play and will bring Samsung Smart Rotate functionality to any Android phone with a front facing camera. A paid version unlocks the ability to use Smart Stay for just US$1.99.

GMD Smart Rotate adds some cool functionality too, allowing you force apps that normally do not rotate to do so, and set per app rotation preferences. 

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Google Ten Best Apps of the Year - One more should be added to the list

Google had named its ten best apps of the year. You will find the list at this link (will take you to Google Play). There is one app I think should be on the list, Tasks by Team Tasks. 


Ironically, Android does not have a native app for its tasks list which is part of Google Calendar. I use tasks a lot, and when I got an Android the first thing I tried to do was find a great tasks app, which synced with Google Tasks. After over a year of jumping from one app to another, most of which I found too busy, I found Tasks by Team Tasks. It is a well designed app that does not overcomplicate the function of maintaining a task lists and really feels like a native Android app.  It brings 100% of the functionality of Google Tasks to your phone with a a nice Holo themed user interface. It even has a option for a tablet optimized interface. I think Google should have placed this on their best ten apps list.


Anyway, give it a look yourself. Tasks by Team Task has a ten day demo, and the full version costs just a bit more than a dollar. Task users have give this app a 4.7 out of 5 rating.
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Chaos Rings, Chrono Trigger, Crystal Defenders and Final Fantasy on sale at Google Play

Chaos Rings
Square Enix is offering its three of its games at up to 70% off until January 3, 2013.

Chaos Rings - From US$12.99 to US$3.99
Chaos Rings Q - From US$12.99 to US$3.99
Chrono Trigger - US$9.99 to US$6.99
Crystal Defenders - US$7.63 to US$3.99
Final Fantasy - US$6.99 to US$4.99

At these prices Chaos Rings and Chaos Rings are must buys for the RPG gamer. 

Chaos Rings Q

Unfortunately, Final Fantasy III is not being offered as part of the Square Enix sale.
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Google Maps for iOS


A bit late posting this with all that was going on yesterday, but Google Maps is now available for iOS. Google Maps used to be a native service on iOS, until Apple removed it and launched their own maps application, which was a unmitigated disaster. 

You can put the Apple Maps nightmare behind you and download Google Maps from the app store. The App works with iOS 5.1 or better.
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Baldur's Gate for the iPad now available


It has been a long time since I played computer games. After almost a decade of  I did some gaming again when I got my first Android Phone. Still in two years, I have downloaded all of 11 games, 7 of which were purchases. Of these 11, I only played one this year. 

 Most games I have installed have seen less than five hours of use. Only Angry Birds, Robo Defense and Symphony of Eternity have seen countless hours of use. Symphony of Eternity was the last game I bought, and I have been contemplating buying another title from KEMCO GAMES.

But there is one game, even a long time retired gamer like me is looking forward too: Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition. I played Baldurs Gate, Icewind and Neverwinters Nights a decade ago. Neverwinter Nights, and its expansion packs, being the last PC Game I played. 


Baldurs Gate was awesome. It is the best Dungeons & Dragons franchise translation to the PC, and if I could have one PC Game brought back today, it would be the one. Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition contains the original Baldur's Gate campaign and the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion. 


The game now available for iPad now, with an Android version promised but no updated ETA announced. The game costs a reasonable US$9.99 and is a 1.7 GB download.


It does not look like the it will ported to phones. Given the UI design on the iPad, it would seem to be a tablet only game. Might make the purchase of an iPad mini really worthwhile.

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Google Play Turkey Day Sale

Google Play is having an app sale in celebration of Thanksgiving Day. RedmondTheRobot is compiling a list of apps on sale. This is what he has so far.


Quickoffice Pro - $0.99 (was $14.99)
The Adventures of Tin Tin - $0.99 (was $6.99)
The Amazing Spider-Man - $0.99 (was $6.99)
BackStab - $0.99 (was $6.99)
Gangstar Rio: City of Saints - $0.99 (was $6.99)
Virtua Tennis Challenge - $1.99 (was $4.99)
Sonic 4: Episode II - $2.99 (was $6.99)
BlackList Pro - $1.27 (was $3.49)
Majesty: Fantasy Kingdom Sim - $0.99 (was $2.99)
Sparkle - $1.29 (was $2.39)
Azkend - $0.99 (was $2.39)
Need for Speed: Most Wanted - $4.99 (was $6.99)
Wordplay Adfree - $2.56 (was $3.99)
Update 1:
franco.Kernel Updater - $3.19 (was ?) - thanks to IAmAN00bie
AccuWeather Platinum - $0.99 (was $2.99)
90Droid ExtremeFitness Tracker - $0.99 (was $3.49)
My Backup Pro - $2.99 (was $4.99)
Moodagent - $0.99 (was $5.20)
Droid Scan Pro PDF - $2.25 (was $4.49)
Glowfly - $0.99 (was ?)
Update 2:
EnbornX - $0.99 (was $1.93)
Furah added a nice addition to the sale if you want to check that out.
We also have the GoneMAD Music Player thanks to gonemad16.
Kabloink has also posted a few photo/camera app sales!
Update 3:
SwiftKey 3 Keyboard - $1.99 (was $3.99)
Neuroshima Hex - $0.99 (was $2.99)
Startup Manager - $1.49 (was $2.99)
SplashID Safe - $4.99 (was $9.99)
Wisp - $0.99 (was $2.84)
Smart RAM Booster Pro - $1.27 (was $2.56)
Memory Booster - $1.49 (was $2.99)
Kabloink has also given us a couple more here.
CypherQuotes is also on sale now thanks to zoomthinge.
Update 4:
Spirit HD - $1.49 (was $2.99)
TileStorm HD - $1.99 (was $3.99)
Aftermath XHD - $2.99 (was $5.99)
Jump Desktop (RDP & VNC) - $4.99 (was $9.99)
RoByte - Remote for Roku - $0.99 (was $2.99)
DocumentsToGo - $8.95 (was $14.95)
Goodnight Moon - $0.99 (was $4.99) - thanks to raygun01
Reddit Sync Pro - $1.00 (was $1.99) - thanks to ljdawson
Update 5:
Ground Effect Pro HD - $1.99 (was $3.99)
Hard Lines HD - $1.49 (was $2.99)
Navigon USA - $24.95 (was $49.95)
To get the most updated list, be sure to check out the original post at this link.
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Gameloft Sale at Google Play


From today, till Sunday, November 25, 2012, Gameloft is offering four of its titles for sale on Google Play at a discounted price of US$0.99 (or Php40.73 at the time of this writing. The four titles are:

The Amazing Spider Man
Gangstar Rio: City of Saints 
Backstab
The Adventures of Tintin


These four games have a regular price of US$4.99.
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A Look at Windows 8 Part 4: The tip of the iceberg

Summing up the first three post, Microsoft can afford to experiment with Windows 8, it has time. It can mess things a bit but really there are not all that many options out there. The hardware we have seen locally, traditional laptop designs don't seem to be all that compelling and the newer devices designed around Windows 8 we looked at in part 3 of this post, are looking a bit expensive.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. You are looking at Windows 8 with traditional software designed for a mouse or trackpad, and phone apps migrated to a laptop or desktop. But once touchscreen on the laptop becomes the standard, than you will see a whole new line of interesting software designed around the new interface. Your word processor and spreadsheet will still look the same, but the way you manipulate powerpoint will change. Instructional software with 3D models will allow you to interact with virtually rendered devices more like the way you interact with objects in the real world. Game developers will be able to build around the touchscreen. The touchscreen is nothing new, but it has never been coupled with this much processing and graphics power before.


That will take some time as software developers wont start optimizing their applications until there are a substantial number of these new touch personal computers out there, but once there are, software developers will find a way to make use of the new interface. Venture Beat covered Ubisoft's R.U.S.E., which gives you an idea the potential of this kind of technology.

So, its not all gloom and doom for Microsoft. While the need for Windows 8 and hardware designed around it looks questionable right now, change brings innovation, and whether Windows 8 will be a success or not, it is the first step in a different direction. This is never a bad thing.
    
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Sony Xperia S, Xperia acro S, Xperia ion, Xperia P, Xperia go Confirmed for Jelly Bean


Sony has confirmed that its Xperia T and Xperia TX  and Xperia V will begin to receive the upgrade to Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) from mid-Q1 2013. These models are not yet available in the Philippines.

The more significant announcement for Philippine buyers is that the global versions of Xperia S, Xperia acro S, Xperia ion, Xperia P, Xperia go will be also be upgraded to Android 4.1. The Xperia J was also confirmed for a 

2011 Sony Xperia's will not be upgraded beyond Ice Cream Sandwich.
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