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david.dakota

The Android Thread

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Need for speed shift was 63p a while ago looks great on the SGS.

 

Dungeon Defenders will probably be the only game that can push your phone's hardware at the moment.

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I have no idea how good it is, but Squeenix have put Crystal Defenders on the marketplace for £4.60ish.

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I know I know I know I've asked this before but I have finally downloaded the Froyo update for my Android. Not got enough battery to install it now so will do tomorrow but it doesn't wipe everything does it? I don't want that faff again.

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Varies from device but with my desire I never backed anything up and all was fine.

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Gameloft seem to be doing some quality looking games by the way, but seems that they're so money hungry to the point where NONE of them are available on the market as to avoid Google's 30% sales cut or whatever it is. Bloody ridiculous and very unsporting if you ask me. Especially as they're charging $5 a pop, so their loss is rather insignificant.

 

A 30% loss is hugely significant. Instantly giving away 30% of your sale is a big thing to do.

 

However I don't think that's the reason that Gamelofts games aren't going to Android as Apples App Store works in the same way, 70/30 split with profits. Is more likely to do that on the App Store there is just one device to develop for (albeit there are a frw variations on that device but on the whole nothing major). On the Android Market all the phones are incredibly different, some are touch screen, some aren't. Different phones have different resolutions, different phones have different OS' and arent compatible with updates etc.

 

It doesn't make it an attractive to develop for Android when there are so many factors to take into account. For the iPhone it is far easier and simpler.

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Well actually when creating your app and submitting it to the market you can set certain requirements such as screen must be size x, must have x hardware etc, which is why for some devices certain popular apps won't show in the market place for them.

 

The real reason GL doesn't want to be in the market is the fact that you can download unlimited times for whatever device you have:

 

“About the handset, our policy is: according to our refund policy, once the game is successfully installed, we cannot resend it for any reason, unless you buy it again. One purchase entitles you to one download of the game to one phone number and on one phone model only. If you delete or otherwise remove the game from your phone, or change your handset, you will have to buy it again.”

 

Roman Garmash - Gameloft customer care

 

They have also said:

 

he Android platform is still rather new, (so) we are trying out different methods of distribution to see what works best.”

 

EA have been release a number of their titles in the market as of late and have been benefiting from it. However they have also landed in hot water for a somewhat related reason.

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However I don't think that's the reason that Gamelofts games aren't going to Android

 

Loads of Gameloft games are available for Android, they're just not on the Marketplace (games/apps on Android can be installed from phone memory/SD card). You have to buy them through the website.

 

What Gameloft need to do is to create a games store that is easily available from their website. This is likely what Sony will do with the PlayStation Suite.

 

One thing that really annoys me about games on the Marketplace is when you can't download the extra game files before you buy the game. I would certainly try out more games if this was the case - that way I could give them a short test and get a refund if don't work/are awful.

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Honeycomb really does look good. Really good. The Galaxy Tab (2.2) is pretty good, and kudos to Samsung for getting it out so quickly after the iPad but it lacks the impact iPad and now Honeycomb have; for me Honeycomb has the edge, the interactivity with widgets just blows me away, far, far superior to iPads stagnant - and actually rather bland - iOS.

 

Personally, I'd like some phone-type solutions to the tablets though - Bluetooth headset support for and SMS too. It seems, according to Google, it may be some time before we something like the Galaxy Tab running Honeycome though.

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Well actually when creating your app and submitting it to the market you can set certain requirements such as screen must be size x, must have x hardware etc, which is why for some devices certain popular apps won't show in the market place for them.

 

But that means still means its less attractive for a company to make an app for Android than it is for iPhone. With the iPhone you know exactly how many people are in the market; with Android you don't.

 

Loads of Gameloft games are available for Android, they're just not on the Marketplace (games/apps on Android can be installed from phone memory/SD card). You have to buy them through the website.

 

Fair point, I wasn't actually referring to Gameloft, jsut mentioned there name as that is what the discussion was about.

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I got my HTC Desire yesterday. I love it. My first foray in to the world of smartphones!

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But that means still means its less attractive for a company to make an app for Android than it is for iPhone. With the iPhone you know exactly how many people are in the market; with Android you don't.

 

That's not necessarily true. Market share / number of sales isn't equivalent to guaranteed app sales. Just because for example there have been 10 million iPhones sold that doesn't mean I'll sell ten million apps. You also need to keep in mind that there are iPhone owners who never download apps and also those who would never pay for them.

 

I will agree that it is easier for a developer to develop for iOS considering the relatively small differences across hardware. But many iOS developers have ported to android and many that develop for both simultaneously. There are some pretty good frameworks that allow this.

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I'm looking at getting the Desire Z.

 

Need to check whether its slide out keyboard is flimsy/ makes the phone too heavy though.

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Need to check whether its slide out keyboard is flimsy/ makes the phone too heavy though.

 

From a Techradar review:

 

The slide out keyboard has a lovely motion too, as it doesn't glide out; instead, it folds out on itself, lifting and dropping into place. The QWERTY keys themselves are large and easy enough to hit, but not raised enough nor have enough travel to really allow super-fast typing in our opinion.

 

The keyboard also packs another problem: the hinge is really loose, and the screen wobbles under touch input when the keyboard is stowed away.

 

And when open and held vertically, a few shakes can see the screen rock back easily onto your thumbs, which is really not what we'd expect from a device of this class.

 

Sure, it's not going to happen that often, but we'd certainly expected more from the build quality on a device designed by HTC.

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I'm looking at getting the Desire Z.

 

Need to check whether its slide out keyboard is flimsy/ makes the phone too heavy though.

 

Had one since November. It rocks and I use it alot! Keyboard not as good as a Blackberry but still superior to touchscreen typing. The only downside is battery life since I use it so much.

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I'd wait on mobile world congress to be over before making any decisions on phones.

 

Especially with a rumoured 1.2GHZ dual core device coming from HTC doing the rounds. Also:

 

HTC-Desire-2110204123303.jpg

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I'd wait on mobile world congress to be over before making any decisions on phones.

 

Especially with a rumoured 1.2GHZ dual core device coming from HTC doing the rounds. Also:

 

HTC-Desire-2110204123303.jpg

Well I need to get a new phone by 18th Feb so time is not on my side :p

 

So Dark you'd really recommend it? It isn't too heavy and the slide out isn't too flimsy?

 

I know it won't quite be like a normal button but I think I'll prefer it to using touch screen to type out long messages. I have a touch screen phone at the moment but it looks good and something different.

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Finally had a little go of the Desire Z it isn't for me. The keyboard I would break and kept trapping my thumb in it!

 

I've decided to go for the Nexus S with Android 2.3!

 

500minutes, unlimited texts, 500mb- £30

 

Seems alreet.

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Last.fm going subscription of £3 a month for mobile devices. Not happy about this. First spotify now last.fm. :(

 

Due to being an early user of last.fm they have given me 3 months free. I'm sure everyone else has got that though.

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What does laft.fm mobile do? If it's anything like the website/Xbox Live ones (i.e. you choose one song and it plays utterly random music after it) then why would anyone even use the free one?

 

I got 6 months Spotify with my Desire HD and it's awesome.

 

Speaking of Android, it'll be interesting to see how well the LG Optimus 3D does. It has a touch-screen version of the 3DS screen.

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It recommends music to you that you may like from learning from your own collection. I've found many a new band through last.fm. Pretty much the same as a pc version really. You can select a band and play their radio which will play songs from similar bands. I really love that idea, I can't see why you wouldn't? Find some good new music. But yes as for paying for it goes, there is no point. You may aswell pay for spotify. That's why I'm annoyed as I really do like last.fm.

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I've been a long time user of last fm too. And it saddens me that it's come to this also. I used to be a subscriber for the loved tracks radio but when that went there was no point for me to continue. Now that they want me to subscribe to use an app I rarely uses these days it's not worth it.

 

I'll probably miss being able to see my listening habits. Knowing that I've played a particular artist x number of times and seeing their stats going up and down is pretty interesting.

 

Need to find a good alternative, spotify doesn't quite cut it for me, and pandora is US only.

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