Four Fabulous Apps For a New Android

This time on "Glorious Time Wasters" -- 4 Incredibly Useful Apps for a new Christmas Android device!

Tis the season to be giving -- and getting -- and the best thing to get right now is a new Android device.  They come pretty fully featured, and a lot of them come with pre-loaded software (some of which I'd actually recommend).  But whether yours is a humble device that only connects via a nearby wireless hotspot or whether you've got the latest high-end Android with lots of bandwidth and cellular transmission, there's ten types of applications that EVERYONE really should have.  I'm staying out of some of the more interesting ones (like rootkits and so forth.)  This list is a "really should have this" list for anyone getting (or giving) a new Android device.

...and you KNOW how much fun it is to hop off to Marketplace and show someone how to get goodies, right?  So get them started right with these apps!

#1 -- Google Maps.  Why do I have THAT on the list?  One word -- traffic reports.  In the case of Dallas, it gets its info from TXDOT, so it's not "up to the second" reliable, but it's free.  And it gives you "good enough" warning about problems.

#2 -- Dropbox, the file mover of choice.  Some of us can do it via Bluetooth, but for a lot of people, "Bluetooth" indicates someone with really bad dental hygene (come to think of it, there's times when I'm trying to get Bluetooth devices to talk to each other when I think it would be easier to go in for major dental surgery.)  If you love Bluetooth and it works for you, stay with it.  For the rest of us, there's "Dropbox."  Dropbox is basically free web storage for your files.  You take whatever it is you want, upload it to your Dropbox, and it's now available for every Android device that you've got. It will automatically load anything you put up there to your regular computer.  It's great for backups and less of a hassle than Google can be.



In this day of "you can totally lose track of your life if you lose your phone, computer, blackberry, etc, backups are a gooooood idea!  Listen to the geek, folks.

#3 -- Astro File Manager -- a better file handler than the one that comes on most devices.   There's no real consistent scheme out there -- and some of the ones that come with the Androids are full of Mystery Meat Navigation (do I double tap to move?  Where's that file located?  Why does it pretend I've got 2 SD cards?)    Astro File manager's interface makes sense, and it's fairly intuitive to move files between directories.  It also accesses the top level directories, something that some apps don't let you do.

#4 -- Flashlight and Candle.  Okay, that's two apps rather than one.  But our phones and Androids are becoming extremely versatile devices and there's lots of times when having a small amount of light really helps.  I like Candle Free if I'm just wanting to find my way through the dark house to the bedroom without tripping over the cat.  Flashlight Free is for when... well... ya need that extra light.  We also use Candle Free for birthday parties (yes, you can blow out the candles), and yes my family is in the Entirely Too Geeky To Live In The Real World category.

If you don't have these apps on your devices, you might like them.  If you do, don't forget to suggest them to everyone around you.  You'll look awesomely uber-geeky when you show them how to avoid the shopping traffic when they head out to buy your gift for Christmas.

Android Game Review: Magma Mobile -- Pinball! -- another glorious waste of time!

Android Game Review:  Magma Mobile -- Pinball! -- another glorious waste of time!

Initial review:  Five stars -- trip down Nostalgia Lane
Game category:  Physics games
Game type: Arcade
Recommended device size:  any device
Who'd enjoy it?  For everyone, really.
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-nix-game-pinball-free-zptm.aspx

I confess that I like Magma Mobile's games -- they're clean, visually appealing, and there's even help screens that explain how to play, something that's rather unusual in many Android games.  But there's a zillion pinball games out there -- so why THIS pinball over others?

It's all about the graphics.

I played Pinball back in the late 1960's and early 1970's, when it was on the cusp of a revolution.  Advances in electronics were just about to hit the pinball world and add digital scoring and digital displays would be added in a few years.  Eight years later, Pac Man and Pong would be regular offerings in the arcades and it was You Versus The Machine.  But in 1970, it was still all about the physics -- just you, a large table, and flipper buttons that you hit madly.  And if you got just the right tap at the right angle, the gods of physics smiled at you and you could get free games.  Particularly if you just happened to "bump" the table at JUST the right time.

Pinball was art.  Pinball was physics.  Pinball was hours of fun for a few quarters.

This version of Pinball for the Android has the "feel" of some of the older pinball machines that I've played -- they're simple, they're clean, and it relys on the right hit at the right angle and the right velocity.  Some of the others take advantage of the fact that computers are very very fast compared to humans, and the balls seem to move at speeds not entirely consistent with the way the balls felt back in the days when it was just you and gravity.

I also tried Pinball Deluxe, but the screens (tables) weren't quite as charming as Magma Mobile's table.  Maybe it's just me and my Old School ways, but the Magma Mobile game sure brings back fond memories of quiet bars and the music of my friend, Freddy Argir's band. http://www.fredyargir.com/music.html 

Android games: "Alchemy" -- a glorious waste of time

Android Game Review: Alchemy
Android Market link: https://market.android.com/details?id=me.zed_0xff.android.alchemy&hl=en
Android games: "Alchemy" -- a glorious waste of time
Game category: Puzzle game
Game type: Similar to ...alchemy, actually
Initial review: Five stars
Recommended device size: Any
Who'd enjoy it?:   Most ages

Andrey 'Zed' Zaikin's lovely time-wasting Alchemy game is one of the classics of the free game market -- and if you haven't tried it yet, you really should.  It's sort of a twist on the Greek view of the Universe -- that there were four elements that made up everything in the universe.  You start with fire, earth, air, and water and drag them on top of things to make new items.  So, fire plus water equals steam.  That was easy!  You can take elements you've already made (steam) and add it to something else (air) and make something new: a cloud!

But it gets weird after that.  "Ash tray" = ash + glass.  "Grape" = earth + wood.  "wolf" = werewolf + moon.  "Star" = sun + scientist (I like that!)

The final list of elements?  Well, the app maker updates it occasionally, and there's always new combos.  I had this on another device and downloaded it to my new Samsung Galaxy and was very surprised to find out that some combinations were for countries.  The "Kama Sutra" combination also surprised me.

Items with a tiny red dot on the picture are "final products" and can't be combined in other ways.

The first fifty or so are easy... for the rest, there's hints and cheat sheets. 

It's a real classic time-waster!

Android games: "Crystal Portal" -- a glorious waste of time

Android Game Review:  The Mystery of the Crystal Portal
Initial review:  Four stars
Game category:  Puzzle game
Game type: Similar to Paradise
Recommended device size:  Tablets
Who'd enjoy it?:  Teens/adults who like puzzle story games. 
Android Market link: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.g5e.crystalportal&hl=en



I'd tried and got frustrated with other puzzle stories before, so I was a little wary of this one.  There's no real action in these (the art is stunning, however) -- if you're not familiar with this type of game, it's "sort of" like the old "choose your own adventure" book.  The protagonist is a journalist named Nicole Rankwist, who arrives home to find her archaeologist father missing.  Anyone who knows us anthropologist/archaeologist types knows we're a LOT of trouble.  Like all other missing archaeologists, he's just made a discovery that "could change the course of humanity."  But he departed (voluntarily?) for parts unknown, leaving a journal that directs her to go to Japan.


The graphics are delightful -- intricate, colorful, and eye-catching.  Game play is smooth, with a very useful help and hint function (this is a pet peeve of mine -- bad help screens.

The screens unlock after you find the right pieces to group together (a key, a fan, a statue, a frog -- which may not be related to each other or to the container you put them in.)  The game is more or less a "prequel", where you get the first chapter for free.  It's a nice little game, and if you've got a boring jury duty call, this is a perfect little time-passer to take with you while you wait.

The only reason for four stars is that the play isn't random.  Once you've solved the riddle, that's it.  You can go back and re-solve it, but you know how to do it now.

Android Game Review: "Zenonia 3" -- another glorious waste of time!

Android Game Review:  "Zenonia 3" -- another glorious waste of time!

Initial review:  Two stars -- good, but just not my cuppa tea
Game category:  Manga-type
Game type: RPG
Recommended device size:  any device
Who'd enjoy it?:  Teens/adults who like story chain quest games. 

Zenonia-3 is GameEvil's latest release of the RPG Zenonia.  For this episode, you play the role of Chael, the adopted son of the first Zenonia game's protagonist Regret.  This won't make much sense to you unless you've played the first game.  The overall theme is that Chael has to find his way home from a place called Midgard (which looks nothing like the Norse Midgard.)  Chael can be one of four different classes (Sword Knight, Shadow Hunter, Mechanic Launcher and Nature Shaman) for the quest.

Glorious time Wasters -- Match Up: People Edition

Match Up -- People Edition

From the Magma Mobile folks who created the nice little "Memory Match" game for the Android operating system comes a new twist on the classic "Match" game  -- the "People edition."  This version of the game uses pictures of people whose biographies you can find on Wikipedia (if that statement sounds a bit dodgy, it's because I don't watch movies or tv much, can't identify most actors or singers (other than the Beatles) or athletes, and have no idea what various entrepreneurs look like).  If you're bad at recognizing faces, this is a good game for you.  Make that a GREAT game.

It's the standard type of game play -- touch the cards to flip them.  Cards that you haven't looked at have a question mark on the back.  This particular version allows you to pick how many cards you want in your grid -- 4 cards (yes, 4), 16, 30, 36, 64, 72, 90, and 100 card versions.   The images are a mix of black and white and color pictures.  This is a good deal for those of us who are very bad at recognizing faces, because you can cue off hairstyles and colors. 

Memory match games are mind-numbing amusement (not a thrill a minute) and at the 64+ card level, a good quick brain workout.  Now if there was only an option for you to insert photos of your relatives or folks you meet in social situations.  That'd be a great review for those Awkward Social Situations we all seem to fall into.

Glorious time wasters -- "Clouds & Sheep" for Android

Android Game Review:  "Clouds and Sheep" -- another glorious waste of time!

Initial review:  Four stars -- amusing but slightly sadistic
Game category:  Vikings type game
Game type: Arcade
Recommended device size:  any device
Who'd enjoy it?  Anyone not troubled by some mildly sadistic acts like sheep tossing.

This is another game from Handy Games and as usual features rather charming graphics and an easy to use interface.   The object is to keep your sheep happy and finish a series of very amusing quests -- like do the sheep toss.   PETA would not approve of the sheep treatment, but they seem to like it.

The designers also allow you to save games so that you could either start at the level you left, restart an earlier version, or begin a new game and take the "best" scores.  One of the biggest tips for this would be "don't have too many sheep."  They breed like... well... sheep, I guess.  It's hard to keep them all occupied.

So there you are, planting flowers to make sheep amorous and planting grass to feed them and handing them refreshing cool drinks or coffee -- and you also get to control the weather.  Piled up clouds make a nice rainstorm -- and combined rainstorms make a nice thundercloud.  "Sheep coffee" costs stars, but a lovely thunderbolt is free and wakes the sheep up just as effectively (so does bouncing them, but the thunderbolt's a lot of fun, frankly.)

A good time-waster, quick to learn, quick to play, easy to set down and pick back up again.

Android Games -- Pretty Pet Tycoon

Sim type games have been around for awhile and seem to be very popular for phones and other small devices.  So, when I checked in the Android market to see which games were popular, and "Pretty Pet Tycoon" came up as a high rated, highly downloaded one.  So I decided to take the Halloween Edition out for a test drive.

The idea for this episode of Pretty Pet Tycoon is that you're helping a cartoon pig (Piglina, who has moved to a farm in the countryside) set up a business that grows and sells fruit -- as well as (if you choose to go there) running a juice bar.  Later levels unlock the candy factory section as well along with a mysterious competitor who seems bent on driving her out of business.

The instructions are... well... hard to find.  I figured it out after a bit, but it took some doing. 

The scene begins with Piglina on her farm and boxes of vegetable seeds coming down a conveyor belt.  You use the touch-and-drag method to pull these plants to a certain box (red or blue... the plant will have a red or a blue box around it.)  Then you tap the planting box and Piglina comes over to tend the crop.  A few seconds later it's ready to be harvested, so you you drag it to the scale and tap the scale icon.  Piglina trots over and boxes it.  You drag it onto the truck and tap the truck.  Piglina starts the truck and it heads off to Pretty Pet Tycoon Town and sells her merchandise.

As the days go on, the seeds come down the conveyor belt faster, and if you don't get them planted quickly enough they will go bad.  If you don't harvest the crops quickly enough, they'll go bad.  If you leave the packages sitting on the scale too long, they'll go bad and she'll lose money.  My early mistake was buying plots of land rather than hiring workers -- as it turns out, workers are only hire-able with "Pet Points"... an in-game currency.  You start out with zero pet points, by the way.





I played this one to level 8, but found that I could only hire one worker for Piglina with the money she had.  There is the option to buy enough Pet Points for workers and automatic machines with Paypal, but I really don't care for games that rope you into paying for extras.  The quick pace of the gameplay wasn't enough to hold my interest -- frankly, it was a bit too much like some jobs I've had.

For people who've played this style of game (Soda Shop, Waitress, Hair Salon), this one will have a lot of charm.  The graphics are clean, and visuals are decent on an Android phone.

As for me, I deleted it and went back to "Dragon, Fly!"  I've almost mastered swooping now.

Glorious Time-wasters --"Fly, Dragon!" Android Game

(Review of free game, "Fly, Dragon" found in Android Marketplace)

Initial review:  Five stars!  Fun!

Game category:  Angry Birds type game
Game type: Arcade
Recommended device size:  any device
Who'd enjoy it?  Anyone.  Good for distracting kids, whiling away time in the dentist office, de-stressing after a nasty morning, etc.

This one's got a really cute premise -- you're a baby dragon who can't fly yet but CAN glide... and you're hopping out of the nest to have an adventure, gliding through the sky.  You have a ten second head start before Mom notices you're gone and comes to take you home.  Along the way you can pick up speed boosting potions, invisibility potions (to sneak past her) and so forth.  Game levels add complexity to the setup.

You start out by sliding downhill -- the trick is to let your finger represent gravity -- so you touch the screen when dragonlet is headed downward, but lift the finger off just before dragonlet gets to the ground.  Don't touch the screen when dragonlet is headed upwards -- unless there's a line of potions over the hilltop that you can collect on the way down.  If you get the right kind of glide (a 'swoosh') three times in a row, the dragonlet will breathe fire.  But Mom's right behind you (there's a distance indicator on the lower left that shows how far back she is) and if you slow down too much, Mom's gonna get you and take you back to the nest.

It's an easy game to learn (so it's good to share with the kids) -- and the scenery changes to different "lands" as you get farther away from Mom.  Different levels have different challenges that you can accept... or you can just have silly fun letting your dragonlet fly all over the place.  The screen is colorful and uncluttered (so it's easy to handle, even on a small screen)

It's ad-supported, so expect ads on the bottom of the screen -- but it's free!

A partial Aqua Pets Fish and food list

I'm still trying to work out the algorithm on what fish are being fed and how much they drop.  I've had two pearls drop, but not on a reliable basis where you could say "feed this fish this particular food and 20% of the time you get a pearl."  There's a lot of fish in Aqua Pets to work through, and I'm trying several foods each day, which means it's kind of slow to get a real list.  I'm not keeping everything (I generally get rid of shrimp and crabs) -- tonight I'm trying out an "organic morsels" tank.

I'm not sure if Bionic Panda's actually figuring a weighted "rareness" factor on the food because it seems as if rare fish and common fish drop similar amounts of coinage. 

Here's the list so far of what food the Aqua Pets animals that I've fished up prefer: