Zombie Tycoon 2 Hits Google Play for $9.99, Made Specifically for Nvidia Shield

Zombie games are more played out than Star Wars at this point, but combining them with new and interesting genres is a way to get my attention. Thus we have Zombie Tycoon 2, the latest game to jump from the PlayStation 3/Vita to Android. But this one is unique: in keeping with its console gaming roots, Zombie Tycoon 2 requires a controller to play. That officially makes this the first SHIELD-exclusive title for the time being. We will likely see it come to other Tegra 4-powered devices eventually, but it'll still require the use of a controller – just something to keep in mind.

In this recently released real-time strategy game called Zombie Tycoon 2, which was directly ported from the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita, you must choose your side in the zombie apocalypse. There is the “apprentice-gone-rogue Orville Tycoon and his army of heavy-duty zombies – or – his revenge-hungry mentor, Professor Brainhov, and his rioting mass of twitchy brain-munchers.” Whichever side you do choose, you can bet that there will be plenty of brain eating going on. 

Given that this is a straight port from the PS Vita and PlayStation 3, only the NVIDIA SHIELD and other Android devices with a builtin controller will be able to play it. So, we’re sorry about that. Maybe that will change down the road.

If you own a SHIELD, go check it out!

Play Link ($9.99)

Read More

You Can Now “Ok Google” Your Chromebook

Chromebook owners can enable this little hidden gem, allowing them to use the “Ok Google” command that Android users have been toying with for a while now. The command will allow users to open up their app launcher, and from there, open apps and complete limited tasks. 

According to the Googler that outed the feature, the “possibilities are endless” and we could see much further integration with the command going forward in ChromeOS. As a bonus, there is a voice recognizer plugin, allowing the feature to work while not connected to the web.

How to enable it:

If you’re on the Dev Channel now and have previously enabled the App Launcher Start Page hidden behind the experimental chrome://flags/#enable-app-launcher-start-page flag, it should work out the box. Just say “Ok Google” and search for something by saying it.

I’ll say it, Chromebooks are pretty sweet.

Via: Chrome Story 

Read More

The Physical Google Wallet Card Is Real, And You Can Order One Now

the physical Google Wallet card showed up in some APK teardowns only to be removed without a word from Google? Well, it's back and you can place an order for it right now. Google says the card should be delivered to interested parties in 10-12 days.

The Wallet card will let you pay for items at any retailer, even those that don't have the little NFC kiosks Wallet has thus far relied upon. The charge should be relayed to your Wallet account just like you had used an NFC phone. It's unclear if that's just the Wallet balance, or if cards are included too. This fits nicely with Google's strategy of uncoupling the NFC payments in KitKat from the hardware secure element. Google is really making Wallet easier to use on multiple fronts.

 Here's a statement from the Wallet team clarifying a few things

Thank you for calling us about your interest in using Google Wallet Card as a replacement for your credit and debit cards.

The Google Wallet Card is a plastic MasterCard debit card, funded by your Google Wallet Balance. Each Google Wallet user may have one Google Wallet Card to help spend his or her Wallet Balance in even more places.

As of now, your credit/debit card is not directly linked to your Google Wallet Card; however, you can use your credit/debit card to add funds to your Google Wallet Balance.

You can also add money to your Google Wallet Balance from your payment methods in your Google Wallet (for example, a credit card or checking account) and also by receiving money sent via Gmail or the Google Wallet app. You can spend your Google Wallet Balance directly online or through the app, or you can spend it through your Google Wallet Card anywhere — online and off — that MasterCard debit cards are accepted, including ATMs. (For ATMs, fees apply.)

If your Wallet Balance won't cover a specific Wallet Card purchase, it will be declined. You can either add money to your Wallet Balance to cover the purchase, or you can "split tender," which means asking the cashier to take part of the total purchase amount from your Wallet Card and the rest from another payment method that you provide — for example, cash or another card.

(Please note that while the Google Wallet Card will let you spend your Wallet Balance wherever debit cards are accepted, it won't automatically apply your loyalty cards or Google Offers in the background, without your knowing. You'll choose exactly when you want to use those by displaying them separately to the cashier.)

If you have any more questions, please reply to this email and I'm happy to help.

Thanks!

April
The Google Wallet Team

 

If you want your very own physical Google Wallet card, just log into the Wallet site, and there should be a banner at the top to place an order. Just make sure your info is right, and it will reach you in a week or two. Then activate it and you're good to go. Keep in mind, this is probably US-only. Update: It sounds like this is basically a Wallet-based debit card for now, not a way to connect your credit cards to Wallet.

Here's the new Wallet card-aware Wallet APK v2.0-R141 (thanks, Landon Abney!). It also contains some updated assets, such as these pretty banners in My offers and My loyalty programs: :

  

[Google Wallet, +Google Wallet, Google Commerce Blog ]

Source:AndroidPolice

Read More

Watching An Advertisement On Phone Will Give You Free Talk Time

Telecom Company Tata Docomo has come with an all new strategy to pump advertisements on its network. The company has launched a new service called “Get-Easy-Talk time” (GET) offering customers free talk time in exchange of watching advertisements. The company has brought this service in co-ordination with mAdcall under which user get 1min of talk time for every ad that the user watches.

This strategy is one its kind in the market, a campaign of this sort is never seen in India. With this service the company will be able to trace down outcome of the advertisement and the impact that it has on the target audience. Moreover, docomo will able to choose different ads for different target audiences depending upon the need.

To get benefits from this service all a Docomo user has to do is type “GET” in text message and send it to 52323, or one can choose to give a missed call to 52323. People with Androids and iPhones handy can download an application called GET from App Store or play store to avail this benefit, viewing the add will deduct internet usage charges if you do not have free internet on your phone. Users can also view the advert using WiFi, it will not incur any charges.

Read More

Quick Look: Official Nexus Wireless Charger for Nexus 5, 7, and 4

Did you pick up the official Nexus Wireless Charger that went on sale through Google Play yesterday? I can imagine that the $49.99 price tag made some of you hesitate on pulling on the trigger, so as always, we picked one (or two) up to give it a quick spin and share our thoughts. For those not familiar, the Nexus Wireless Charger (NWC) is officially supported by the Nexus 5, Nexus 7 (2013), and Nexus 4, since each has wireless charging built-in. 

In terms of wireless charging, the NWC seems to work really well with our Nexus 5. It sports a glass-like top that is a fingerprint magnet, soft-touch sides, and a super sticky bottom that helps it adhere to your desk. This is a charger that most definitely will not slip around once you give it a firm press. There appear to be magnets built in to help your phone latch onto it as well, we just found it a bit tricky to find the sweet spot to get it to actually charge anything.

Other than that, it’s a wireless charger. It doesn’t do anything else but wirelessly charge your phone should it support wireless charging. Google did throw in a premium “Nexus” branded charger, though, if that’s something that gets you going. It also carries a significant amount of weight that makes it feel premium and sturdy in hand. Overall, it’s a solid little wireless charger that runs $49.99.

Read More

Apex Launcher 2.2 Beta Enables Navigation And Notification Transparency On KitKat

As You Know Android KitKat 4.4 introduces a lot of much-needed features into Android, like better support for low-memory devices, a new storage framework, SMS integration with BLAH BLAH BLAH. We all know what the people want: transparent user interface elements! 

Following Nova Launcher's update to better visually match the KitKat launcher on the Nexus 5, popular alternative Apex Launcher now has a beta version that does much the same thing.

The beta version was released to the Apex Launcher Beta Google Group, which you can find here. Then click this link and follow the instructions to download the APK itself (it won't let you through if you're not a member). There don't appear to be many other substantive changes in version 2.2, though the developer has tweaked the default home screen icons and other visuals to match the homescreen in Android 4.4.

As with Nova, you won't get the nifty integration with Google Now found on Google's launcher, but for picky users (like yours truly) the bevy of customization and visual options that come from the third-party launcher more than make up for that. The developer hasn't said when these changes will make it to the general Play Store version, but I'd expect it will be sooner rather than later. 

Source: Apex Launcher Google Group 

Read More