Once more the weekend has come around faster than Jessica Ennis in the Large Hadron Collider and the weekend lies before us like a 48-hour expanse of excessive lounging leisure. With the sun set to shine, BBQs bound to burn and, subsequently, Salmonella suspected to spread, it’s time to take a moment to reflect on the working week in the Life of Android – five days of technological tremors and trendsetting, thick with smartphone fact and overflowing with one man’s, often questionable, app opinions.
Want to know more? Of course you do, you’re the curious type. Then head this way…
THE APPS
We looked at one for the kids on Monday (or the young at heart/weak of mind) as that prolific producer of app excellence, Gameloft, rolled out the latest addition to its app assemblage: Monster Life. Set against a stunning origami-esque backdrop on the islands on Numi, here it’s your task to hatch and raise cutesy ‘monsters’ before training them to battle ferociously in readiness to meet the oncoming agents of Chaos. Yep, from light to dark just like that. Engaging, compelling, and addictive to a whopping 7.5 on the Doherty scale, get the full inside dope here.
Pathological hatred of balloons and, perhaps, an almost unnatural love of monkeys? Yeah, same here. Then did Thursday throw up a treat for both us and you (hypothetical question, please do not write in) in the simian shape of Bloons TD4! Test your tactics on a pre-determined track, blocking, bursting and blowing away the balloons before they have chance to breeze past your ape-army, tack-touting towers and various tricks and traps. Colourful, challenging and chimply the best way to kill time this weekend, checkout the review here and then go have a pop.
Despite the misspelt name being horribly reminiscent of countless badly captioned images of cats on the internet, Trainz Driver is actually a rather sophisticated station-to-station simulator for engine-driving enthusiasts. Neatly designed and riddled with rail routes to ride and guide your carriages and cargo around, the subject matter may be deemed to be somewhat on the nerdish side, but then you’re reading an OS obsessed website, so being deemed nerdish shouldn’t really matter to people like us. Buy your ticket and take the ride for the full review here.
THE NEWS
BMW App Automates Your Automobile
Using a little bit of poetic licence in the title, My BMW Remote not so much ‘automates’ your Beemer as turns it into the ultimate adult toy – a life-sized remote control car. Compatible with a myriad of models, once working in conjunction with your on-board computer you can use your Android to locate and unlock, set the climate controls and even set navigation and entertainment systems before you even get behind the wheel.
New Newspaper App Provides ‘Fact’ For Your Phone
Need the news literally in the palm of your hand no matter where you happen to be? Can’t get through the day without the latest diatribe from the Daily Wail, scorching celeb scoops in the Current Bun or teeming typos in the Grauniad? Then PressReader is the app for you! Offering full, instant access to over 2100 newspapers, along with a wealth of magazines, all displayed in high definition and with story sharing over social networks, never go fact-free again.
Wheely Green Cab Company Comes To Town
Combating CO2 and providing free Wi-Fi for the wile cab caller, London-based Wheely’s minicab app cuts both taxi emissions and fares by up to 40% whilst providing a service second to none with fixed quotes, booking confirmation, tracking and notification of arrival all arranged via your Android. Available all across the Capital, not only is it good for the planet, it’s one less thing for Landaners to moan about.
Android Takes Gold in OS Olympics
Milking the Olympic Games links like it was the last cow on Earth, on Thursday we learnt that everyone’s favourite OS really was everyone’s favourite OS with research in from global intelligence marketing firm IDC showing that Android had claimed a colossal 68% of worldwide smartphone sales market share during the second quarter of the year. Naturally we celebrated the news by doing the Usain Bolt pointy thing and even contemplated a lap of honour before feeling dizzy and needing to sit down.
appBlaster Annihilates Augmented Aliens
Finally for Friday we gratefully received delivery of the all-new appBlaster v.2 courtesy of the good gadget gurus at RED5, a dual-trigger, gun-shaped device dock which, when paired up with the free apptoyz Alien Attack app, lets you loose in augmented reality, under attack from all angles in your home, office or even on public transport (that may be pushing it) from the Martian menace. More fun than a clown on fire and with further apps set for release soon, dock, lock and load.
AND FINALLY…
That’s your lot for this week, we’re off now to see what the chemical reaction is when you mix gin, tonic, ice, lime and this new thing they’re calling ‘sunshine’, but please regard this as your personal invitation to join us again here on Monday. Yes, you; we like your face…
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