2013年12月15日星期日

Google celebrates Earth Day 2013 with a cool animated doodle

Google celebrates Earth Day 2013 with a cool animated doodle

Google has always celebrated important dates in its own cool way – with an animated doodle related to the event. This year, Google has a brilliant environment-themed doodle for Earth Day.

Earth Day was celebrated for the first time in the United States in the year 1970 and a whopping 20 million Americans took part and demonstrated in a movement for a healthy, sustainable environment for all the people across their country. Since then, activists have been actively promoting greater environmental awareness on this auspicious day.

Today’s Google doodle shows us nature’s beauty in the cycle of seasons along with the rising and falling of Sun and Moon in a neat animation.

Google has always innovative with its doodles – you check out the other recent ones here.

Source

More photos of the HTC DROID Incredible HD pop up

More photos of the HTC DROID Incredible HD pop up, and so do a few new HTC EVO Shift 4G images

Images of the rumored HTC DROID Incredible HD a.k.a. Mecha first surfaced back in August 2010 and now, 4 months later, we get to meet the upcoming device once again thanks to a whole series of “leaked” photos. And you can also say “Hi” to another still unannounced HTC-made, the HTC EVO Shift 4G.

The Incredible HD is said to be LTE-ready and Verizon-exclusive. The thing should be among the bunch of 4G-capable devices Verizon is expected to announce at next year’s CES.

HTC DROID Incredible HD HTC DROID Incredible HD HTC DROID Incredible HD
HTC DROID Incredible HD for Verizon

And while the rest of the specs sheet is still a mystery, features might start showing up just like those images: one by one, sent to a handful of gadget-loving websites (including Android Central, SlashGear, Engadget and Gizmodo).

Meantime, yet another rumored HTC smartphone, the EVO Shift 4G, made a public appearance. Just like the EVO 4G (and the Incredible HD we’ve just talked about), the EVO Shift 4G will have 4G powers and should be unveiled in a few days, in January 2011.

HTC DROID Incredible HD HTC DROID Incredible HD HTC DROID Incredible HD
HTC EVO Shift 4G for Sprint

Obviously, the EVO Shift 4G will pack a side-slide hardware QWERTY-keyboard and will head for the Sprint stores across the US. Oh, and it is said to come with an 800MHz processor on board.

2013年12月13日星期五

Google updates its Search app for iOS

Google updates its Search app for iOS, makes it even faster

After the total overhaul that the Google Search app for iOS got a couple of months ago, it has become way nicer looking and easier to use. However the feedback that the company has been getting about its performance has obviously been less than flattering.

Well, Google engineers have obviously taken notes and today introduced a new version that addresses the issue. The app has been sped up by up to 20%, which should dramatically improve responsiveness and thus the overall user experience. To achieve this, the company has axed the “Just Talk” by default so if you were using it you would need to activate it manually from the settings.

The new version of the Search app for Android also brings improved look and feel for search results. The developers have increased the font size of the results and have increased the area where you need to press to hit a link, beyond the link itself. This should help usage on the smaller-screen iOS devices – iPod Touch and iPhone.

Google Search app is available for devices running iOS 3.0 and above and you can download it from yours from the App store immediately. Here’s a link immediately.

Source

2013年12月6日星期五

LG announces QuickWindow flip cover for LG G2

LG announces QuickWindow flip cover for LG G2, forgets that the phone isn't official yet

LG is not keeping the G2, its next Android flagship, a secret. The company even started announcing accessories for the phone, with photos and everything. Okay, it’s a flip cover so not much of the phone itself is visible, but LG could have waited a week until August 7 when the G2 will officially be unveiled.

Anyway, back to the accessory – it’s a flip cover with a window called QuickWindow that lets a small part of the screen show notification and controls from several apps (*cough*).

The QuickWindow UX is triggered by a swipe and shows the time (with several watch faces), but you can also check the weather, keep a timer app, set alarms, control the music player and view incoming calls and messages.

The QuickWindow flip cover for LG G2 will be available in seven colors – black, white, pink, purple, blue, mint and yellow – and will launch simultaneously with the phone.

We’ll be covering the G2 launch, so tune in for more details on the phone (which will pack a 5.2″ 1080p screen and a Snapdragon 800 chipset) and any other accessories (we might get a bunch of colorful back covers, if leaked images are to be believed).

2013年12月3日星期二

AT&T said to be 'working with' Apple to add a 4G indicator to the iPhone 4S' status bar

AT&T said to be 'working with' Apple to add a 4G indicator to the iPhone 4S' status bar

US customers have been exposed to the term ’4G’ in marketing material for a while now. The problem is some 4G technologies are more legitimate than others.

With carriers like T-Mobile and AT&T marketing certain devices as 4G from their existing lines and now with AT&T rolling out their LTE infrastucture, confusion is bound to ensue.

Despite such confusion however AT&T show no sign of changing tack with respect to all things 4G. In fact this latest development raises eyebrows and to some extent their latest move almost impresses us. AT&T are apparently ‘working with Apple’ in an attempt to have their version of the upcoming iPhone 4S to display a ’4G’ icon in the status bar.

Apple were more than happy to show off their ‘fastest iPhone yet’ at the Cupertino launch event last week, but working alongside a carrier in such a close manner as this is a more surprising, feat all its own. What is more, the team over at The Verge have received follow up confirmation that these two big names are indeed ��working together�� and that ��customers will get 4G speeds from day one�� regardless.

So, the AT&T flavored iPhone 4S might just have a one up on its fellow 4S’ brethren if this is the case, but we don’t want to give them any real praise until their LTE service is up and running in full force.

Source

2013年11月28日星期四

HTC Desire 600 dual sim comes to our office

HTC Desire 600 dual sim comes to our office, hands-on video inside

Want some of the premium HTC One features, but you can’t afford its premium price tag? Fret not, HTC has got you covered with the Desire 600 dual sim.

The phone combines the front dual-speakers of the HTC One with the BeatsAudio software enhancement and a couple of SIM slots. Okay, it’s made of plastic, but that keeps the price down and it’s also not too bad to the touch either.


HTC Desire 600 dual sim live photos

The HTC Desire 600 dual sim is built around a 4.5″ Super LCD2 display of qHD resolution of 960 x 540 pixels and 245 ppi pixel density. Yes, we would liked a 720p resolution, too, but keeping the price down requires some corners be cut.

HTC has placed the lock/power button at the top right, next to the 3.5mm headphone jack, while, as per company tradition, the volume rocker is on the right.



A tour of the HTC Desire 600 dual sim

Yet another thing borrowed from the HTC One is the capacitive button configuration. The Desire 600 has the back and home capacitive buttons surrounding the company’s logo below the screen. Going plastic means that the Desire 600 dual sim is light, too, and the good news is it measures the very acceptable 134.8 x 67 x 9.3 mm.

As the name suggests, the phone has two SIM card slots and both cards are active at the same time �C you can receive a call on one of them, even if the other is already in use. The phone has 3G with HSDPA connectivity (up to 7.2Mbps down), Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX, Wi-Fi b/g/n, NFC and GPS (plus GLONASS in Russia and the EU).

Right next to the SIM card slots is one for a microSD card and adjacent to them is the 1860mAh battery. In the course of our full review we’ll tell you its endurance rating, but HTC claims a 3G talk time of 11 hours.


The plastic back cover feels solid to the touch • The two SIM card slots, microSD card slot and the battery

Under the hood of the Desire 600 sits the uninspiring Snapdragon 200 chipset consisting of a 1.2GHz dual-core Cortex-A5 CPU, an Adreno 203 GPU and 1GB of RAM. Uninspiring as the combo might sound, it manages to keep Android 4.1.2 coated with the latest Sense 5 UI run pretty decently.

Here’s our unboxing and hands-on video of the HTC Desire 600 dual sim below. It should keep your appetite wet until we finish the full review of the phone.

2013年11月27日星期三

0 for Android released

Skype 2.0 for Android released, brings two-way video calling, SMS and a new UI

The latest version of Skype is finally out for Android and it brings the long-awaited two-way video calling. You can now make video calls to anyone who is on Skype whether they are on a PC, iPhone or a Mac.

Unfortunately, currently only four handsets are officially supported for video calling and the lucky ones are the Samsung Nexus S, HTC Desire S and Sony Ericsson’s Xperia pro and Xperia neo. Presumably, more handsets will join the list soon, but we’ll have to wait a while to see which ones exactly.

The list of improvements also includes a refreshed and better looking user interface and the option to send SMS messages via Skype. For the short period of time we’ve been using Skype 2.0, we’ve noticed that it’s a bit more energy efficient than the older version, but you can check it for yourself by following this download link.

Source

Watch this slow motion video of water captured at 7000 fps

Watch this slow motion video of water captured at 7000 fps

If you slow something down enough, almost everything looks good. But when the subject is water, its results are nothing short of a masterpiece. Co-produced by Romain Glé and Thomas Séon, this music video titled ‘High Hopes’ is simply beautiful.

In case you are wondering, the recording is done by a camera called Photron SA-5 and has been recorded at a jaw-dropping 7000 frames per second. Head past the break to watch the full video.

Source

2013年11月20日星期三

Samsung Galaxy S III and Apple iPhone 5 square off from the inside of a blender

Samsung Galaxy S III and Apple iPhone 5 square off from the inside of a blender

The rivalry between Apple and Samsung just moved to a whole new dimension, people! The popular YouTube series “Will It Blend” featured the Samsung Galaxy S III and the Apple iPhone 5 side by side to determine which one blends better.

For those of you who have followed this particular channel in the past, there is no need to tell you that it is the $500 Blendtec blender which ends up as the winner. I must however note that the Samsung Galaxy S III appeared to hold its ground against the blades much longer than the iPhone 5. See for yourself in the video below.

What do you think? Would the “Will It Blend” outcome determine which smartphone will you pick?

Source

2013年10月19日星期六

'Prince of Persia Classic' for iOS and Android game review

'Prince of Persia Classic' for iOS and Android game review

Prince of Persia Classic is a remake of the original 1989 Prince of Persia that started it all. There have been couple of remakes of this game in the past for mobile, one by Gameloft and the other by Ubisoft but since then they have been removed and replaced with this one.

We decided to give the latest version a try and see how this 23 year old wine tastes from a new bottle.

Title
Prince of Persia Classic
Developer
Ubisoft
Platform
iOS (iPhone / iPad)
Android
Release Date

June 2012
September 2012
Content rating

12+
Medium Maturity
Size
212MB / 195 MB
224MB
Price
$1.99 / $2.99
$2.99 / Free (trial)

Gameplay

In Prince of Persia Classic, you’re a nameless protagonist known only as the Prince, whose job is to save the life of the sultan’s daughter from the evil vizier and take back the kingdom.

The game is still a 2D platformer and you control the movement of the Prince using virtual joystick controls on the left. On the right you have additional controls that can make the price jump, bend/drop down and walk (instead of running by default). During combat, the keys switch to attack, defend and to sheathe the sword.

Alright, now here’s the thing; the game sucks. Yes, you read that right. It’s terrible and that mostly has to do with the controls and everything to do with the way the character generally moves. Prince of Persia Classic is a 2D platforming game, where you will be doing a lot of jumping and climbing, so the movement of the character has to be precise to make the game enjoyable. What you get is the exact opposite of that.

There is no precision in the movement of the character. It will be easier to control an aircraft that has lost both its wings and the engine than the Prince in this game. You can’t make him start running properly, you can’t make him stop when you want to. Half the time he just ends up running over an edge because he didn’t stop where you thought he would.

Climbing up and down is even more frustrating. The Prince’s moves are ridiculously limited, so he can only jump straight up when not moving. You have to line him up perfectly under an edge for him to grab it, not easy when you consider the aforementioned lack of movement accuracy. Climbing down a ledge is similarly frustrating.

But what really annoyed me about the Prince is the slow movement. Every action you do is followed by a slow, deliberate animation that makes you feel as if you’re watching the game in slow motion. There is no urgency in the movement and the animations feel lethargic, robbing the game of the energy and making the fairly short levels seem to drag on and on. You need an incredible amount of patience to play this game and you don’t even get properly rewarded for it.

This slow, dim-witted movement and imprecise controls make it hard not to throw your phone or tablet out of the window while playing. If you read our previous review of Rayman Jungle Run, you’ll remember I mentioned that if you die in that game, it’s because you did something wrong, not because there is something wrong with the game. With Prince of Persia Classic, it’s the opposite.

You’ll die a lot, and I mean a lot in this game, and 9/10 times it’s the game’s fault. The checkpoints are also spaced far apart, so if you die you have to go through a whole lot of trouble to get back to where you were, only to die again. You can choose to respawn instantly but that’s something you have to pay for using in-app purchases.

When you’re not missing gaps and falling to your death as you pull out yet another chunk of hair from your head, you will be fighting against some enemies. The enemy AI is pretty weird. At first, a couple of swings of your sword would kill them. Suddenly, two levels later the Price ends up getting slaughtered like a helpless sheep unless you block every enemy attack and time your attacks properly. This sudden spike in difficulty comes out of nowhere and makes the game even more frustrating.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics received the biggest and the only upgrade over the original game. The game looks decent but the visuals are blurry on the new iPad, suggestion the game is not running at native resolution. This makes the game look only acceptable and nowhere near as great as some of the other 2D games we have seen recently, such as Rayman Jungle Run (also by Ubisoft) or Spirits.

The game levels are split into multiple sections. You have one section on screen and once you reach the end of it a new section appears on screen. This made sense back in the day when the hardware had limited memory and couldn’t load the entire game at once or support continuous side scrolling but there is no excuse to do it now. The switches between sections is jarring and breaks the flow of the game. Also, you often have to make a jump right at the beginning of the next section, something you can’t see in the previous section. So you end up running straight into the pit as the next section appears on the screen.

The story of the game is told through 3D cutscene videos that feature no dialogues and look tacky at best.

There is not much of sound in the game. There is no background music while you’re playing and the only sounds are from the traps and the prince’s grunting as he moves around the place. The only music you hear is in the menus and during the cutscenes, which is passable at best.

Verdict

There is no point mincing words here; Prince of Persia Classic is bad and Ubisoft should feel bad. The developers took what is one of the most loved and remembered game in gaming history and turned it into a clunky mess. I’m not even going to say that you should only get this if you’re a fan of the series. If you’re a fan, you should especially stay away from this game as it would only sour the memory of the original.

Rating: 1/5
Pros: Pretty much nothing.
Cons: Pretty much everything.

Note: There are two versions of this game on either platforms. iOS has a version for iPhone and iPod touch and a separate HD version for the iPad. On Android, you have a standard version and a free trial version. The Android version has DRM check that happens every time you start the game where it checks the game data to see if it is genuine.

Download:

iPhone / iPod touch
iPad
Android
Android (free)

2013年10月16日星期三

FaceTime won't work even on new iPad's fast LTE connection

FaceTime won't work even on new iPad's fast LTE connection

FaceTime caused a lot of “oohs” and “aahs” but there are still problems with it – like needing a Wi-Fi connection for it to work. Even if you have blazing fast LTE connection on your shiny new iPad, you still can’t do a FaceTime call.

It has already been pointed out that using the iPad as a Wi-Fi hotspot and connecting an iPhone 4/4S to it to do a FaceTime is one way to get around this restriction, but that’s hardly an ideal solution and it certainly won’t work for everyone.

It’s unclear if it’s Apple who prefers to keep FaceTime away from mobile Internet for performance reasons, or if it’s the carriers that are afraid of the increased traffic. The carriers that like to brag so much about how fast their “unlimited” data plans are (often labeling HSPA+ as “4G”) seem like the more probable culprit, but there’s no official word on the matter, so we can’t know for sure.

So, do you want to use FaceTime when you’re away from home and not in a caf�� or a restaurant? Do you use FaceTime at all?

Source

2013年10月15日星期二

Check out the new Puppet Warp feature of Photoshop CS5

Check out the new Puppet Warp feature of Photoshop CS5, prepare to be amazed

Adobe recently posted a new video demo of the upcoming Photoshop CS5. Remember – the new version (along with the rest of the Creative Suite 5) should be unveiled next Monday. The new video clip shows another ground-breaking new feature and I really enjoyed being amazed by the thing. I certainly hope you will too.

The new feature is rather funnily called Puppet Warp and it allows you to move parts of still objects as if they are physically in front of you. Well, it’s got more mundane applications as well – such as fixing distortion in photos. But heck, photo distortion is boring – see the Puppet dance for you.

Nice, isn’t it? The next new feature is probably Time Warp – it will quickly allow you to fix wrinkles and other age-related imperfections.

Camera Raw 5.7 RC and Lightroom 2.7 RC

In other news, Adobe just released Lightroom 2.7 Release Candidate plus the Release Candidate of Camera Raw 5.7 for Photoshop CS4. I already told you of the improved RAW processor that was introduced in the beta of Lightroom 2.7. Now you can give it a try on Camera RAW in good old Photoshop just as easily.

2013年10月13日星期日

ZTE to bring their first Windows Phone device to market by mid-February

ZTE to bring their first Windows Phone device to market by mid-February

Chinese manufacturer ZTE have grown to become the 4th largest mobile vendor in the world, thanks in part to the plethora of Android devices under their belt, but in September last year they unveiled that their first Windows Phone device was joining the lineup.

ZTE's new Windows Phone device, tania

Following their acceptance as an official Windows Phone OEM partner, ZTE have wasted no time in creating the ZTE Tania which is expected to come to the UK market in mid February, later this year.

The ZTE Tania, which comes in white, uses a 1GHz CPU, twinned with an Adreno 205 GPU, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of in built storage. On the front, there’s a 4.3″ WVGA TFT capacitive touchscreen and on the back a 5MP camera, capable of 720p HD video at 30fps.

It looks like the Tania has its sights set on the same target audience as the HTC Radar, so it might have a fight on its hands. We’ll have to wait and see whether consumers go for a more established brand or a cheaper device, who knows?

Source

2013年10月10日星期四

Plants vs

Plants vs. Zombies for iOS is free for a week

In case you’ve never heard about Plants vs. Zombies or you’ve never thought it’s worth paying for, I have some good news.

The highly popular game is now free in the Apple’s App Store for both the iPhone and iPad.

This happens for the first time in the title’s history and the promo will continue for a week up until February 28.

Plants vs. Zombies (for iPhone)
Plants vs. Zombies HD (for iPad)

BatteryGuru app by Qualcomm goes out of beta

BatteryGuru app by Qualcomm goes out of beta, promises clever battery savings

Qualcomm has a special app called BatteryGuru that optimizes power usage on phones with Snapdragon chipsets and it just graduated out of beta. It’s an easy to use app as it does its own thing – it spends a couple of days in the background learning your usage habits and then gets in control of things like Wi-Fi, which apps are allowed to run in the background, and so forth.

BatteryGuru learns the locations of the Wi-Fi networks you use and powers off Wi-Fi connectivity when you’re away from them.

Controlling app behavior is a little more complicated. Each app that connects to the Internet to refresh data (and drain the battery in the process) can be set to one of three modes. The first mode lets apps refresh only “when you need it” based on what BatteryGuru has learned of how you use the app.

The other two modes are simpler – let the app handle its own refresh schedule or only let the app refresh when you open it. You can set the mode for each app manually, so you can be sure critical apps deliver notifications on time while rarely used apps don’t drain the battery unnecessarily.

BatteryGuru can also disable mobile data if it detects it has been idle for a while. Of course, you can disable any of the features of the app if you prefer to manage that particular setting manually.

The app has over 100,000 downloads and a rating of 4 out of 5 stars at the moment, so the response is relatively positive – even though it was only available with a beta status so far. You can download it on most Snapdragon-powered phone (it requires Android 4.0) and Qualcomm promises to add support for more devices. If you’re not sure about the chipset on your device, you can check with our specs database.

Source | Via

2013年10月9日星期三

Mass Effect 3 demo now available on Xbox Live

Mass Effect 3 demo now available on Xbox Live

It’s Valentine’s Day. It’s UEFA Champions League Day. It’s Mass Effect 3 Demo Day. The order might be wrong (for some), but it is an exciting day whatever you put it.

So, the Mass Effect 3 demo is now available in the Xbox Marketplace.

The demo version, exclusively available only on Xbox 360, offers the introductory mission and another mid-game assignment. The intro mission will take about 20-30 minutes of your time and takes place on Earth at the time the Reapers finally attack. Commander Sheppard is grounded for its actions in the Mass Effect 2′s DLC Arrival, but he gets reinstated in a flash.

The demo also offers multi-player preview but it will unlock on February 17 for the regular Gold users. Those who have purchased Battlefield 3 have early access to the multi-player though and can start playing right now.

Anyway, the demo weighs 1.76GB and will tease you a lot. It contains lots of spoilers, but the worst part is that it will make the fans of the series (like me) even more impatient. In cases you don’t own an Xbox 360 or you don’t want to spoil something besides the game’s intro, you can check the Eurogamer’s “The First 20 Minutes” video, revealing only the intro part of the game.

Mass Effect 3 is coming to PC, X360 and PS3. It will hit the Nordic region on March 6 and the rest of the world on March 9. The third installment ends the Shepard/Reapers story, but BioWare promises other games in the same game universe. This is my favorite game and the wait is killing me!

Source

2013年10月8日星期二

10-inch BlackBerry PlayBook photographed next to a PlayBook 4G in Vietnam

10-inch BlackBerry PlayBook photographed next to a PlayBook 4G in Vietnam

The BlackBerry PlayBook never gained the popularity that RIM was hoping for and rumors of a bigger 10″ version fizzled out. Vietnamese blog Tinhte however, received photos of just that – a 10″ PlayBook – right next to a PlayBook 4G (Sprint had plans to offer these but then canceled).

Interested to see what could have been? There are a few more shots after the break.

The 10″ BlackBerry PlayBook looks just like an upscaled version of the 7″ version with its rectangular looks and black bezel. The screen aspect ratio is different though – it looks closer to the aspect ratio of the iPad (4:3).


BlackBerry PlayBook 10-inch

The 10″ PlayBook looks as slim as its smaller sibling (so around 10mm) and has a 7250mAh battery in it.

The PlayBook 4G looks identical to the current 7″ model – same size and everything, except for the SIM card slot, the added LED flash for the camera, and the “BlackBerry 4G PlayBook” label (though it’s not clear if it’s the HSPA+ or the LTE model).


BlackBerry PlayBook 4G (7-inch)

What we’re seeing here is most likely left over prototypes. The PlayBook 4G never made it to Sprint but the model might still materialize as there are rumors that Bell Canada will be launching that model tomorrow. The fate of the 10-inch model is even more uncertain.

Source (in Vietnamese)

15-inch MacBook Air coming next month

15-inch MacBook Air coming next month?

Here’s a particularly exciting rumor for the ultrabook fans out there. The MacBook Air, which is where the whole ultra-light laptop revolution started, might be getting a 15″ version next month.

The spicy info comes from an unnamed vendor, who demonstrated his inability to keep a secret at a UK accessories expo held in London on Tuesday. Normally, we wouldn’t advise you to believe such sources, but the rumor aligns nicely with previous mentions of a 15″ MacBook Air from November.

And if you think about it, a 15″ MacBook Air makes plenty of sense too. The ultrabooks already covered that size (and some particularly well, at that), so it would only be logical for Apple to do something about it.

Source | Via

'Puddle THD' for Android game review

'Puddle THD' for Android game review

Most mobile games are either available on both iOS as well as Android or are iOS exclusive. But turns out, there are a few games exclusive to Android as well.

One such game is Puddle THD. In fact, this game is so exclusive, that it only works on the devices running on the NVIDIA Tegra 3 hardware. We decided to take a look and see if it is worth five bucks.

Title
Puddle THD
Platform
Android
Developer
Neko Entertainment
Release Date
June, 2012
Content Rating
Everyone
Size
156MB
Price
$4.99

Gameplay

The gameplay in Puddle involves guiding various liquids through obstacles towards the goal at the end of the level. The controlling can be done using either the accelerometer, on screen controls or even a gamepad.

You control various types of liquids in the game and each liquid has different properties. Water tends to evaporate when it comes in contact with fire. Hydrocarbon burns instantly. Oil catches fire but burns slowly, giving you time to control. Weed killer dissolves when it comes in contact with sundews but melts through weeds and branches. Fertilizer causes some plants to grow. The liquids are level specific and not all liquids can be found in every environment.

You have to control these liquids through various environments and guide them towards the goal. At times you use the liquids themselves to control certain aspects of the environments, such as pressing buttons to open gates, etc. Depending upon how much liquid is left at the end and the time you took, you get a gold, silver or bronze badge. If all the liquid is spent before the end of the level, either by evaporating, catching fire, dissolving or by some other means, the level ends and you have to start again.

As mentioned before, the controlling is done using the accelerometer and depending upon how much you turn you control the angle of the environment, which in turn controls the liquid. The accelerometer controls are fine but the on-screen controls are imprecise. You can’t control the how much turn to dial in and pressing the left or right side of the screen simply tilts the environments completely. It’s like playing a racing game with a keyboard. This game is best played with the accelerometer, unless you have a controller that you can connect to your Android device, in which case you may get a better experience.

Controlling the liquids through the obstacles proves to be a fairly challenging experience. The difficulty level is well balanced so they levels never feel too easy or too difficult. Some of the levels are slightly more challenging than others, which means you will be playing them more than once to get through but it never gets frustrating. The levels are also short, so it takes about a minute or two to get through them, ideal for a quick game session while waiting for something or someone (although you’ll look silly moving your phone around in public).

If at all you do get stuck on a level, Puddle has what the developers call ‘Whine’, which basically allows you to skip a level. You get four of these and every time you run out of your liquid before a level ends, the game tells you to that you can “go to the next level by whining”.

Graphics and sound

The gameplay in Puddle is ably assisted by the beautiful visuals and sound. The game uses 2D graphics but makes good uses of physics processing for rendering the liquids on screen. I do have a complaint with the liquids though. In a game where the liquid physics is such an important aspect, Puddle makes the blunder of rendering all the liquids equally. All the liquids have the same viscosity and exhibit the same behavior under motion. In real life, oil and water have significantly different viscosities but in the game they have a similar, jelly-like form. Had it not been for the different color there would have been no way to tell them apart. The water in ‘Where’s My Water?’, for example, looks and behaves much more like its real life counterpart.

Other than the liquids, though, the rest of the game looks great. All the objects have great design and animations and look especially fantastic on the HD displays of high-end Android devices that usually run on Tegra 3. There were some minor performance issues, though, and on some levels the game would definitely stutter, which is odd for something that has been designed and optimized for one particular set of hardware.

I also had issue with the on-screen options that uses tiny text. It looks like the UI was designed for tablets but is not very user friendly on smartphone displays, even if the display in question is 4.7-inch in size.

The sound in the game is also very nice. From the soothing background music (that reminds me of the music from Osmos) to the sound of the environments around you, it all sounds great.

Conclusion

At $4.99, Puddle THD is a bit pricey. Since the game is only available on Tegra 3 devices, which are usually all high-end, the developers probably thought they could get away with this pricing. Fortunately, the game itself is worth it. There are plenty of challenging levels to play though and even after you complete them you’d want to play through them again to better your score. It also helps that the game looks and sounds great.

If you just bought a brand new One X or Nexus 7, this can be a great game to show off the hardware and display on your device. If you think the price is too high, there is a demo that you can try that will definitely convince you to purchase this game.

Rating: 4/5
Pros: Fun and challenging gameplay, beautiful visuals and sound
Cons: Bit expensive, liquid physics could have been more realistic, occasional performance hiccups, tiny UI buttons

Download: Full version | Demo Version

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