888casino App - Android App Review

  888casino App - Android App Review

The 888casino app for Android smartphones and tablets makes it easy for players to enjoy practice play and real-money casino games on the go. Taking things the mobile way, the player can enjoy a huge variety of top-quality online casino games right there on the player's smartphone. And isn't this why smartphones were invented in the first place? The 888casino App for Android smartphones and tablets is a must-have for all casino enthusiasts. The app is powered by industry-leading casino giant – 888.com – and it features an impressive range of online casino games for players to enjoy. At last count there were an estimated 100+ casino games across all major gaming categories. These include slots, card, table and other games. Better yet, players can enjoy these mobile casino games on their Android gaming devices for free or for real. The 888casino app for Android can be downloaded at the AppStore or on-site at 888casino. It’s 100% free to download and install and it offers an authentic Vegas-style mobile casino experience. The mobile app from 888casino is offered in regulated markets and players of legal gambling age are permitted to enjoy it. 

The 888casino app is packed full of nifty features. These include the option to practice for free before you play for real. While this is certainly available with many other high-quality casino apps, it’s unavailable at land-based casinos. This makes it really easy for you to get to understand each of the casino games you’re playing before you wager for real. Top slots titles like Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Starburst, Jack Hammer, City Life, A Nightmare on Elm Street and even Gonzo’s Quest are available. When it comes to casino table games, roulette is plenty popular. Players can enjoy American Roulette with its signature 00, French Roulette or European Roulette at 888casino. One of the hottest new attractions with the 888casino app is the inclusion of live dealer casino games. With this option, you can enjoy real-money casino games with real dealers via streaming webcam. This feature has only recently been added to the mobile gaming realm and it has been embraced by players everywhere.



As with all Android apps, the features must be complemented by functionality and appearance. The 888casino app is sleek and functional. It mirrors the standard desktop client and offers on-the-go entertainment with maximum user-friendliness. The quick-play options make it easy to login, logout, select your favourite games and switch between real-money mode and practice play mode. The multi-language support (16 languages) really bolsters the universal appeal of the app and players have access to an impressive range of tried and trusted payments processing options too. Among others, real-money players can enjoy Visa, MasterCard, Skrill, Neteller and Ukash to safely transfer funds. 

Our testers have found the 888casino app to be reliable and functional. The games definitely offer a great degree of realism and the option to practice first will certainly be appreciated by casino players. With over 100 mobile casino games already available, players are spoilt for choice across skill-based gaming categories and chance-based gaming categories. 

The Bottom Line
In terms of cutting-edge technology, the 888casino app is best in class. The tech gurus at 888casino continually test the waters with new developments, new games and new features. The end result is a top gaming app that rivals the best in the business. The Android app is compatible with scores of smartphones and tablets and it’s quick and easy to download and install. It’s a winner; hopefully you will be too!

• Score: An almost perfect 5. The app is almost bug free, powerful and very sleek looking.
• Description: A casino app offering free trail and real money casino games.
• Good Points: Simple interface. Good, interesting (and funny) results.
• Bad Points: Not really. The app is really impressive on all accounts.
• Experience: The time from installing to first successful use is very short - everyone learnt to use it pretty fast and then everyone selected his favorite game offered by the app.
• Longevity: Quite long, as the huge selection of games made people always return for more.
• Direct download by QR from 888casino.com (just remember to turn on downloads from third parties on your Android). 

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Android App Review - Find My Phone by Family Safety Production

Android App Review -  Find My Phone by Family Safety Production

Find My Phone by Family Safety Production. A very interesting app with very interesting applications, this app allows you to track with varying degrees of accuracy a smartphone, your own or of a family member who previously acknowledged the app's request to track. After that, you can easily track on a map the smartphone's location. Even when Google offers a similar service, this app is much more user friendly and more useful, showing the locations of your family members or spouse, for instance.

The most important thing to remember is that locations are mainly derived from cellular antenna triangulation, which means accuracy is not always that great.

In addition, testers outside of the continental USA reported significant location shifting when using this app. Some testers complained that the long update times between position updating was very irritating. In addition, other testers reported sometimes some of the family member's phones can't be tracked part of the time ...

The uses of this app range from keeping track of family members during trips, to locating lost smartphones to locating stolen smartphones, not to mention those that use it to find cheating spouses or find out when it is safe to cheat ...

• Score: A 4.5 out of 5. This app really works, but everyone must check for himself or herself if it works for his or her specific configuration with enough accuracy.
• Description: A location finding app that can locate a previously registered smartphone on a map and the user of the app can navigate to it.
• Good Points: Naturally, keeping track of family members and our own smartphone's location. A good UI with map and address in the USA to show the tracked smartphone's connection.
• Bad Points: Some problems reported mainly outside the continental USA. Locations updates are sometimes slower than needed. We understand this is to conserve battery power but maybe the user should be given a setting to adjust this period of time. In addition, sometimes locations can vary greatly or even jump, which makes tracking the smarpthone difficult.
• Experience: The testers all reported that installing the app and registering the smartphones to be tracked was fairly easy, as was understanding what to do. However, a few testers reported that some of the smartphones could not be tracked at times, with no obvious reason but on other times they could be tracked.
• Longevity: Medium. For those testers, mainly in the USA whose app worked perfectly, it became an everyday tool to find out where family members where. Those who had problems with it usually uninstalled it fairly quickly.
• Google Play Link -  Find My Phone by Family Safety Production
• Google Play Score: 4.4

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Android App Review - Camera360 Ultimate by PinGuo Inc

Android App Review - Camera360 Ultimate by PinGuo Inc

 

Camera360 Ultimate by PinGuo Inc. This is arguably one of the best, the most popular and one of the most feature rich and stable camera and photo editing app out there on Google Play, and it's free, on top of everything. With tons of features, filters, magic colors, collage building and cloud storing, this is really an astounding app that really has almost everything needed for a comprehensive smartphone camera app.

With a clean and neat interface, the user can access almost every conceivable photography and photo editing parameter, from contrast to sharpness to saturation to magic color to exposure time to zoom. 

Additional effect such as scene pictures where a downloaded scene will the the background for a picture you take. Cool features include batch operations for doing the same thing for a group of pictures, say pictures taken on a single day. 

Camera 360 allows to apply effects to a picture during its taking and also afterwards, which really turns into a fast and effective photo editing app. Pictures enhanced with effects can be quite stunning, citing Magic Color, Black and White, LOMO, RETRO, HDR and ENHANCE. Of course, several modes of shooting pictures exist, from self portrait to quick shoot to special effects mode.

Camera 360 Cloud is another great option for saving those albums for those afraid to lose their smartphone during a trip or just running out of place on their SD cards. Naturally, it's also a great sharing feature.

Unfortunately, apparently an app of such complexity must contain bugs and problems. We've had several testers reporting of crashes and freezes, and even some problems with pic management - old pictures stuck inside the Camera 360 folders and the app can't remove them and even rarely, an old picture will appear to be edited instead of the picture that had been selected. We've also had issues with too bright scenes - the Camera 360 light meters seems to take a long time to recover.

• Score:4.5 out of 5. It would have been a perfect 5 if not for the few bugs and problems, rare but irritating. We hope a future update will make us give this Camera 360 a well earned 5 out of 5.
• Description: A camera and photo editing app which lets you pick a filter, camera mode and edit the photo during or after taking it, creating collages, pictures in preloaded scenes or adding special photo effects.
• Good Points:One of the best camera and photo editing apps, rich with features such as camera modes (we liked quick shot in particular), special effects (magic color is another favorite), filters and a useful cloud option.
• Bad Points: A few rare but irritating bugs. Old pics that cannot be erased or that pop up when you want to edit a newer pictures. Several crashes. Adjusting to a too bright scene seems to take too long. Auto save feature that disappeared during the last update.
• Experience:Every tester could use the app within moments after installing, which in our book makes for a good app. The special filters and effects were also very easy to use and even the testers with the least understanding in photography managed to produce outstanding pictures, which explains why this app is so good and why is it so popular.
• Longevity:Excellent. Most if not all of our testers continued using this app, for the filters and special effects if not for the camera modes. Almost none uninstalled it.
• Google Play Link - Camera360 Ultimate by PinGuo Inc
• Google Play Score: 4.4

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Android App Review - Speedtest.net by Ookla

Android App Review - Hotels.com – Hotel Reservation

 

Speedtest.net by Ookla. A small and efficient app that measures a smartphone's cellular connection speed, including upload and download speed. In addition, it display a graph showing real time changes and saves results for comparison of tests performed on different times.

The app does what it\s supposed to do and our testers didn't really find any major problems. The graphics don't look too good and high resolution tablets and analyzing past results can be a little difficult, but for a free app, Speedtest.net does exactly what it said it would. In addition, the speeds it shows are sometimes very vary greatly, which makes it difficult to understand real connection speeds.

To begin the test, you pick a server and then the app sends and receives information from it. Of course, if there is no server close by, the testing results may vary because of real time conditions in the cellular network itself and not something that is connected to the smartphone or the Speedtest.net app.
 

• Score: A 4.5 out of 5, because it does what it's supposed to do but with outdates graphics and results that are sometimes too varied.
• Description: A cellular connection testing app that checks and shows the smartphone's or tablet's download and upload speeds over the cellular connection.
• Good Points: Simple and intuitive, the app does exactly what it's supposed to do.
• Bad Points: We would have liked better graphics and constant speed measurements.  As it is, the app sometimes reports greatly varied speeds. This may be to the cellular network balance issues but the end result is you sometimes can't know what speed you're working with.
• Experience: Our testers found out this app works on almost every device, though on high resolution tablets the graphics are choppy and Ookla needs to update Speedtest.net's interface a bit.
• Longevity: Medium.
• Google Play Link -  Speedtest.net by Ookla
• Google Play Score: 4.5

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Android App Review - Photo Grid - Collage Maker by RoidApp

Android App Review - Photo Grid - Collage Maker by RoidApp

Photo Grid - Collage Maker by RoidApp. This is one of the best collage maker apps we had the pleasure of testing. Simple, intuitive, and fast - this app lets you pick your images, arrange them in one of a huge series of collages, crop and resize as you see fit (though the app now automatically crops the images to square shape for Instagram) and the you can go right ahead and post them wherever your like.

Most of our testers were very fond of this collage making app. Even the less tech oriented had no problem working with the many features of Photo Grid, mainly because of the simple and intuitive interface.   

Of course, shaking the smartphone to re-arrange the photos in the collage was reported as one of the most fun features of the app ... Kudos to Roidapp for this feature.   

We found we had almost everything we needed in this app. Picking the pics we wanted, editing them for the collage, picking the collage template we wanted out of a large variety and adding text, emoticons and everything else we wanted. Of course, sharing the collage through Instagram, Facebook and wherever else you want.

However, our testers did express a desire for a little larger variety of collage frames, stickers and backgrounds. There were now and then problems in logging in to Instragram and one tester reported that his hand shook, sometimes ruining a painstakingly arranged collage by mixing the pics again ...

• Score: A 5 out of 5, because of its simplicity, great interface, shaking feature and the quick way it lets us produce a collage. It still needs some more collage frames and stickers but we're confident future updates will fix that.
• Description: A collage making app with a simple interface that lets you quickly pick the images you want, arrange them on one of a predefined set of collage frames, edit and crop the images and then post the collage on Instagram etc.
• Good Points: Very simple and intuitive interface lets everyone produce the collages they want very quickly. A shaking the smartphone feature that re-arranges the photos on a collage frame. Editing and cropping features for the images themselves.
• Bad Points: Our testers reported several issues with logging on to Instagram and Facebook. Though rare, these instances were very annoying. In addition, Photo Grid needs more collage frames, backgrounds and stickers to successfully compete with the other collage makers on Google Play.
• Experience: What we liked about this app is its simplicity. Everyone managed to produce a lovely collage within moments of downloading Photo Grid, even those testers who need to have everything explained to them in detail ...
• Longevity: Excellent. Almost every tester kept this app installed, except those very few who HAD to have more collage frames NOW.
• Google Play Link - Photo Grid - Collage Maker by RoidApp
• Google Play Score: 4.6

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Android App Review - Moovit- Real-time Transit Info by Moovit

Android App Review - Moovit- Real-time Transit Info by Moovit

 

Moovit- Real-time Transit Info by Moovit app. A very interesting app, one that has two aims. The first is to help commuters get to their destinations using public transportation, buses and trains in particular. The second is using real time data from commuters who travel among the various public transportation lines to update real time information such as arrival times.

As Moovit ads more places to its growing databases of cities, it is a becoming an invaluable tool for the public transportation commuter.

The app itself is fairly simple and has features for searching transportation lines for various destinations, shows estimated times of arrival and displays alternate routes for reaching desired destinations. In addition, the app displays walking segments, if any, that are neccessary for reaching our destinations and shows final destination times.  

One of the most interesting and useful things the app shows is the time the next bus or train reaches the stations, something which is also useful and also relaxing, int its way, since you know how much more time you have to wait. The routes the app displays are on detailed maps, along with lists of stops and schedules.

 Our testers liked this app a lot. Finding out how to reach a destination from a certain starting point in a busy and complex metropolitan is a heavy task in itself, a task Moovit handles well, and the fact the app shows the bus or train arrival times in their stations makes the whole commuting experience much nicer.  

There are a few problems, though. Terminology is not compatible with all countries, for now, though we're sure it will be fixed soon. A few rare freezes also happened. Very few testers thought the interface was a bit complicated but they were really a minority.

However, what we would have liked is an option that when commuting, the app would turn on and off the GPS automatically every few minutes to save battery life instead of leaving it on to drain the smartphone's power ...

Don't get us wrong, though. We really think this is a great that does something very important - makes life easier for us.

• Score: A strong 4.5 out of 5. It's almost perfect, but some little issues took out half a star.
• Description: A public transportation navigation app with real time arrival updates. With the Moovit app, one can find public transportation routes from any source to any destination in the supported metropolitans (check Google Play for the complete list) and receive real time updates about buses and trains arrival time at their respective stops.
• Good Points: It takes care of a commuter public transportation needs completely - from discovering what buses go where and even planning walking segments, if they exist. It has real time updates of arrival times of buses and trains, which makes planning easier and waiting more bearable.
• Bad Points: A few of the testers reported a very few instanced where the walking segments proved too long, though we suspect this was a user error and not a bug in the app. In addition, some people thought the interface was a little too complicated - maybe putting in more explanations and help may help solve things. Finally, we really think that if a mechanism can be found where the app turns on the GPS for a few seconds once every few minutes to conserve the smartphone's battery - then the real time updates will be more numerous since more people would leave the app running and not afraid it will drain their batteries.
• Experience: All the testers (who commute by public transportation, that is) thought the idea behind the app was great. A few experienced some problems who mostly disappeared after a period of use.
• Longevity:For testers who commute by public transportation - excellent. All those testers said they will keep the app to find the most convenient public transportation route if not the real time arrival time estimates.
• Google Play Link - Moovit- Real-time Transit Info by Moovit
• Google Play Score: 4.2

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Android App Review - Jotre Calendar by Jotre Inc.

Android App - Jotre Calendar by Jotre Inc.

Jotre Calendar by Jotre Inc. A simple yet feature rich calendar and task manager. With colorful graphics and icons, great widgets to show you upcoming events in the near future and synchronization with Google Calendar, Jotre Calendar app has almost everything a calendar should have. An instant favorite among our testers, the great majority have kept it even after the testing period was over.

The testers have generally loved this app. It's simple and effective and its widgets allow every user to select the area they want on their home screen Jotre is to occupy, thus one look at the home screen provides the user with instant information about upcoming events.

You can configure almost everything on Jotre Calendar. The color of the cells, the text, the icons, whether the language and the time changes when you go abroad, literarly hundreds of different options. 

Some of our testers have actually turned Jotre into their main event and task manager app, using it to synchronize everything in their lives. The sync option with Google Calendar insures that all your events will be saved on a major company's hard drives and you can access them easily from you PC, or sync it with Microsoft Outlook, if your tastes take you there.

The only things our testers found difficult was setting up the app, since the bewildering amount of options confused some of our users, as some of them even had trouble understanding the different widgets and how to place them on the home screen. We understand these are less tech savvy people, but still ...
Yet, this is a great app and rightfully deserves our max score.

• Score:5 out of 5. Even though some small problems exists, this is one of the best apps that we reviewed here on Android App Review Center.
• Description: This is a calendar app that allows you  to place, see and manage your calendar, including tasks and appointments in a visual way. One of the things which makes this app special is its widgets which allows the user to see a week, or two weeks or almost any time frame ahead right on your home screen and see what appointments are due and when. Another great thing is the ability to sync with Google Calendar, which brings the old dream a step closer to reality - the ability to sync your appointments and tasks from your desktop Outlook to Google Calendar to your smartphone. In addition, the usual Google Calendar notification pops up whenever an appointment is over due.
• Good Points: The ability to sync tasks and appointments with Google Calendar, The widgets you can place on your home screen to see right away what appointments lurk in the near future, Almost fully customizable look, You can set a default for the appointment reminder that will be used for all the reminders of the appointments you set.
• Bad Points: There is no way to customize the size of the text fonts on the widget which sometimes makes reading and finding out what appointments you have today a bit tough, From experience, some people find it difficult the understand how to install the widgets on the home screen, the Google Calendar notification is a little ugly - we would have preferred a Jotre specific notification instead.
• Experience: We've been working with this app for almost a month now and have no intention of uninstalling it. It really is a very good interface for Google Calendar and it makes managing appointments and tasks easy and simple. We're certainly going to stay with this app for the foreseeable future.
• Longevity: Excellent. This is one to keep and even convince the odd friend here and there to install it.
• Google Play Link - Jotre Calendar by Jotre Inc.
• Google Play Score: 4.4

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Android App Review - TripAdvisor Hotels Flights

Android App Review - TripAdvisor Hotels Flights

 

TripAdvisor Hotels Flights app. TripAdvisor Hotels Flights by TripAdvisor. A hotels, restaurants, entertainment and flights traveling app, TripAdvisor contains an incredible wealth of information about any, every and all things needed for a trip. Plan your trip, find the necessary flights, inquire about hotels' room availability, locate nearby restaurants, consult forums for specific questions and, last but not least, find attractions and things to do in the locations and dates of your trip.

Our testers turned this app into a must have, a veritable inexhaustible wealth of information to any and every trip.

However, this app is missing some things to make it our testers' sole trip app.

TripAdvisor allows the user to find hotels, near the smartphone's location if location services are enabled or near a specific location. The results are presented in a list or on a map of the area and a huge wealth of information about every hotel is presented, from reviews to tips to images of the hotel or accommodation rooms.

TripAdvisor also holds a vast database of attractions, restaurants and things to do, all sorted according to the type of establishment.

From TripAdvisor, after selected a desired attraction or accommodation, you are directed to sending an inquiry through phone or email.

Like we mentioned before, our testers liked this app a lot, as it has everything one needs for planning a trip. However, what would have made it really perfect is the ability to reserve hotels and other types of things right from the app. As it is, the app either sends an email, directs you to call by phone to make your inquiry or sends you to a third part reservation app, such as Expedia for Swiss Air reservations, for example.

• Score: 4.5 out 5. Almost perfect, just lacking the ability to reserve and manage reservations directly from the app.
• Description: A database of hotels, accommodation, restaurants, attractions, flights and forums accessible right from the app, complete with pics, reviews, tips and contact points for inquiries.
• Good Points: TripAdvisor has everything needed to plan a trip, an almost complete set of restaurants, hotels, flights and attractions. In principle, a user needs only this app in order to find flights on the desired dates, hotels rooms, places to dine and attractions.
• Bad Points: The app lacks the ability to reserve and manage reservations from the app itself. That would have made it almost perfect. A few testers will older smartphones complained it was a little slow. In some cases the distances were off, directing testers to nearby attractions or restaurants dozens of miles away from their hotels. In addition, there's no way to save things on the smartphone so you have to buy a local sim or use the app only when you have WiFi connection.
• Experience: In general, in almost all cases, once a tester installed this app, it stayed on his or smartphone for good. Even if the particular tester had no need of hotels or restaurant information, the attraction section or the forums or the flight section proved very useful.
• Longevity: Almost all the testers kept the TripAdvisr app installed, except for a very few with older and weaker smartphones who uninstalled it, regretfully,
• Google Play Link - TripAdvisor Hotels Flights
• Google Play Score: 4.5

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Android Game App Review - Defender by DroidHen

Android Game App Review -  Defender by DroidHen

 

Defender by DroidHen is a tower defense game, where you have to protect your tower from waves of attacking monsters, aiming your trusty tower crossbow and throwing spells of three different kinds on your enemies who range from lowly trolls who bash your tower walls with clubs to dragons who breathe lethal fire over your fortifications.

The game is fun, easy to learn and certainly addictive, the graphics are fun and colorful and the creatures, especially the boss creatures are interesting but in the experience of all but a few our testers, you can't advance beyond a certain level, namely circa 100, without spending real money to buy crystals for upgrades and powering spells.

Now, spending money on app is not a bad idea but spending money to advance in levels - this is something we frown on.

Don't get us wrong. The game is certainly fun. Throwing fireballs, freezing monsters solid and fighting hordes of enemies with different configurations of crossbows (selecting a different upgrade to see which works the best) is very fun and certain strategies work best, aiming for increasing shooting frequency, strengthening the ice spell to freeze monsters for a longer time, having a strong fire spell for damage and even a week lightning spell helps to fight monsters while the stronger, main spells recharge.

The main problem, however, is with the boss fights. Once about every few dozens of levels a big boss fight comes up, with trolls, giants and dragons. The only way to beat them is by a massive usage of spells but blue crystals, mana, are used to cast spells and purchase upgrades, such as stronger spells, vital for survival. The end result is you reach the boss fights with too few crystals to win them, ever. 

So, in order to win the boss fights you have to shell out a few bucks and buy enough crystals to survive the boss fight and purchase the needed upgrades later. This means once in a number of levels the gamer must buy mana with real world money.

The opinions among our testers were mixed, but most didn't like this arrangement. Testers said it was very frustrating to work your way through the levels and find out you can only advance by paying money ...

To sum things up, our testers liked this game. It's a standard Tower Defense game with nice graphics and interesting spells and effects. The way DroidHen charges money for upgrades, like buy more mana, and makes it necessary for gamers to buy it in order to pass some boss battles made quite a lot of our testers to eventually stop playing and uninstall the game

• Score: 4 out 5. A fun and addictive game, but the way it forces the gamers to buy upgrades and mana with real money was a turn off for many of our testers.
• Description: A standard Tower Defense game where the gamer protects his tower against hordes of invading monsters, from trolls to giants to other creatures, using an upgradable crossbow and three types of magic spells. During hundreds of levels the monsters become increasingly harder and tougher.
• Good Points: A very fun and addictive game. An advancement table both for the crossbow and the magic, to get more powerful weapons and spells with increasing power and duration. Interesting boss creatures, some even flying ...
• Bad Points: Actually, our testers pointed out one major bad point. In order to pass certain boss levels you have to shell out real world money to buy mana, otherwise passing those levels is next to impossible.
• Experience: All our testers reported great enthusiasm at first, some even playing hours playing the game, rising up through the levels, amassing weapon and spell advancement, Then, when the tougher boss battles come, and when the stockpiles of hard eared mana are all used up to win the battle, most testers became discouraged.
• Longevity: Medium. Since higher levels almost always require real money to pass the tougher boss battles. quite a lot of our testers stopped playing and uninstalled the game. Only some die hard fans kept playing the game. 
• Google Play Link -  Defender by DroidHen
• Google Play Score: 4.6

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Android Game App Review - Robo Defense by Lupis Lab Software

Android Game App Review - Robo Defense by Lupis Lab Software

 

Robo Defense by Lupis Lab Software. Robo defense is a Tower Defense game with a twist. On several levels with different architecture, you have to stop a veritable horde of robotic enemies from escaping the level while they travel from their entrance point to the exit, marching in endless lines of robots, armored robots, armored cars, tanks and several types of aircraft.

You have to practice your defensive architecture by placing defensive towers in strategic locations. Machine guns, mortars, rocket towers, mines and more all serve to try to halt the endless robot stream in an explosion and action filled game.

We liked this game a lot. An addictive game that requires strategic thinking at the same time, the game appealed to the martial side of the of our testers as did the basic game design that didn't force you to touch the screen like crazy but plan and plant your towers carefully and then watch the mayhem they wreck on the tiny stream of machines.

The game has various upgrades you reach as you amass money by killing the robots, upgrades which allow you strengthen the power of your weapons or open up new possibilities like teleport mines.

The game is not free beyond several sample levels but after buying it you don't have to spend money on any upgrades or things like that.

Bottom line, this game, though not strictly free, nevertheless was an instant favorite among our testers.

• Score: 5 out of 5, by an almost unanimous vote.
• Description:A tower defense game where you have to strategically place different kinds of weapon towers to spot endless streams of robots, wheeled machines and aircraft as they try to cross the level and flee. Select rocket towers, artillery, flamers and other weapons to mow down the enemy hordes. Several available levels with increasing difficulty levels, you can play the same level again on a much harder enemy difficulty setting or even set up random levels.
• Good Points: Catching and attractive graphics, nice to look at while not too flamboyant. A great selection of interesting weapons allow different strategies for different level architecture and affect different types of enemies differently. Thought provoking and addictive game play though not too repetitive. After buying the game, you don't have to spend another cent to finish the hardest levels.
• Bad Points: Our testers didn't actually report any significant issues. A very rare crash. A few would have wanted a little more diversity in the levels.
• Experience: Actually, quite a lot of our testers reported that after playing the free game they shelled out the few bucks needed for the full version. Then, with differing amount of enthusiasm among the testers, they went on playing the game for a long time, years in some cases. In short, most of our testers liked this game a lot.
• Longevity: Excellent. Most of our testers keep this game installed, some for years already. 
• Google Play Link - Robo Defense by Lupis Lab Software
• Google Play Score: 4.6

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Android App Manual and Help - 9 Essential Apps for Every Smartphone

Android App Manual and Help - 9 Essential Apps for Every Smartphone

 

Android App Manual and Help - 9 Essential Apps for Every Smartphone. This is a quick manual that grouped together all those apps that everyone needs installed on their smartphone to make it really a useful tool and take advantage of the great app and smartphone revolution of the twenty first century.

Gathered here are the free apps no one can do without - Navigation, messenger, data plan watcher, camera and photo editing, calendar and schedule management, booking and accommodations, flashlight, free calls over the Internet and one game.

These are the essential. After installing those, go look for other apps ...

• Navigation App - Waze Social GPS Maps & Traffic
• Messenger App, Chat and Voice Messages - WhatsApp Messenger
• Data Plan Watcher App - 3G Watchdog by Richard Gruet 
• Camera and Photo Editing App - LINE camera by LINE Corporation 
• Calendar App - Business Calendar Free by Appgenix Software
• Booking, accommodations and travel App - Booking.com - 330,000+ hotels 
• Flashlight App - Tiny Flashlight + LED 
• Free Calls App - LINE: Free Calls & Messages by Line Corporation 
• Game (For those idle times ...) App - Destroy Gunners ZZ by GREE

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Android App News - A New Google Service for lost Android Smartphones or Tablets

Android App News -  A New Google Service for lost Android Smartphones or Tablets

Not strictly a new app, Google has now unveiled a new service designed to help locate lost Android devices of any kind, with the added bonus of being able to make the device ring even if it's silienced and even erase it from afar. But, is this service really useful ?

Naturally, we gave it a try. As of now, the service failed to locate our smartphone, though it was working normally at the time.

We tried to make it ring, and it worked, though it took several tries for the smartphone to make one ring. We didn't try silencing the smartphone or turning it off and see what will happen.  

And we very definitely did not try erasing our device. We do not have that many smartphones to spare, though we see no reason if the ring works why erasing the device from the service wouldn't work, on the condition we enabled factory reset on the device in advance. 
 
So, is it useful? That depends. For finding lost silenced smartphones (a well known problem), it sure is useful. But, when your smartphone's lost. there are better apps on Google Play, apps that know to picture the thief and send you other information, more helpful in retrieving your lost smartphone.

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Android App News - WhatsApp adds a New Voice Message Option

Android App News - WhatsApp adds a New Voice Message Option

 

WhatsApp adds a New Voice Message Option. Today WhatsApp adds a new voice message option to its popular messenger app. Instead of writing or recording a message and then adding it to a conversation, the user can just push the button, record his message and when the button is released, the message is sent automatically to the recipient contact.

We tried it and it works, naturally. We had to remember to wait a second after pushing the button before starting to talk, otherwise the start of the message will be cut. In addition, on several cases it took several minutes for the message to reach its contact while other times it arrived almost immediately.

We might add that this upgrade will appear automatically, though it seems different users get it on different times.
 

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Android App Review - Booking.com - 330,000+ hotels

Android App Review - Booking.com - 330,000+ hotels

 

Booking.com - 330,000+ hotels app. The booking and reservation app from what is probably the biggest booking site on the world with arguably the largest hotel, hostel, apartment and even more kinds of accommodation, this app has almost everything that one needs to make a reservation quickly, even while on the move, and manage it including check in and notification, everything done simply with the Booking.com app.

The app itself aims for simplicity, with as few buttons as possible, just the searching button, filtering and sorting and then going over the hotels themselves, seeing their reviews, photos and scores. Everything you need to make an educated accommodation choice. 

The booking.com account allows you to sync and manage your reservations on the Booking.com app, on a desktop and on the website itself, complete with checkin and notifications.

Naturally, we did have some small issues with some things. It seems Hotels.com has more last minute deals and promotions, though at this time we have yet to perform a comparison between the major booking apps. We would have liked to be able to review the hotel we're staying in right from the app. 

After the last update one of our testers could not open the app and he had to uninstall it and then download it again from Google Play. Another made a reservation that turned to not exist - to this day we're not sure if the problem was in the hotel, Booking.com app or the tester himself made a mistake.

• Score: A 5 out of 5, because of all of our testers found it easy to use, liked the map and it delivered exactly what it offered.
• Description: A hotel booking and reservation app that builds on Booking.com extensive hotel network to provide the users a huge amount of hotels and other kinds of accommodations to select from. Including notifications, searching and filtering, map orientation and reservation managing, this is one of the best booking apps on Google Play today.
• Good Points: Our testers liked the map, seeing all the hotels relative to their location. We also liked the simple interface, the amount of hotels available and the reservation notifications, which were very useful. Of course, seeing so many pics of the hotels to select was also great.
• Bad Points: We didn't like the fact you cannot review a hotel from the app. Since you book it from the app, and you carry your smartphone with you all the time, why not let the user write a review right there on the spot? And as is the case with so many apps, we did encounter some problems after the last update.
• Experience: Again, disregarding the update, the app worked almost flawlessly on almost every smartphone. Our testers found it easy to use and liked the ability to flick through images of the hotel they were interested in, including pics of the rooms. All in all, all agreed this is a superb booking app.
• Longevity: People are keeping this app on their smartphones, no question about it, even if some have other app as well, such as TripAdvisor and Hotels.com
• Google Play Link - Booking.com - 330,000+ hotels
• Google Play Score: 4.6

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Android App Review - Hotels.com – Hotel Reservation

Android App Review - Hotels.com – Hotel Reservation

 

Hotels.com – Hotel Reservation app. One of the most popular and liked hotel reservation app, this app uses Hotels.com website extensive network of hundreds of thousands of hotels to help you find the hotel you need, right now. The app shows you the best local hotels in your area or in a designated area, and you can choose the hotel you want, sorted by price, brand, reviews and score.

The app itself is simple and you reach any hotel you want in a manner of seconds, see a picture of it, prices and even deals.

The deals deserve special mention here, because they offer real money saving. The Hotels.com app shows you the local deals available, and has an extensive discount and special offers sections, for promotions, last minute booking and deals that can save you quite a lot of money.

Hotels.com is no doubt one of the best booking and hotel reservation app today and almost our testers reported a very positive experience with it, especially concerning last minute deals and real money saving. The testers liked the simple interface which gets you the information quickly and clearly, but some expressed the need to be able to post a hotel review through the app, which you currently can't. It would have been nice to enter an exact address for hotel searches as well.

• Score: A 5 out of 5, because of its usability, simple interface, deals and other money saving promotions and extensive hotel network available almost everywhere.
• Description: A hotel booking and reservation app that lets you find a hotel, deal or promotion near to you and allows you to book a room almost any place you are, any place you get there. You can also manage all your current and future reservations and collect WelcomeRewards for savings ...
• Good Points: All of our testers liked the simple and informative interface. A few clicks and you can find, sort and filter to get the hotel you want. Good rates, last minute deals and managing reservations make for a great booking experience.
• Bad Points: Our testers didn't really find a major problem with the app. One tester remarked he would have liked to be able to review a hotel straight from the app while another remarked that on two occasions hotels that were available on the Hotels.com website weren't available on the app. Very few crashes were reported. 
• Experience: On almost every smartphone for every tester the app worked without a hinge, though some very rare random crashes and failures to search did occur. Some of our testers who tend to travel more reported that they started to use the app during their trips and it allowed them to preplan a lot less and pay less money for accommodation. All in all, all our testers recommend this app whole heartily.
• Longevity: Almost all of our testers are keeping this app installed, though a very few use the Booking.com app the compare prices and availability between the apps.
• Google Play Link - Hotels.com – Hotel Reservation
• Google Play Score: 4.3

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Android App Review - Business Calendar Free by Appgenix Software

Android App Review - Business Calendar Free by Appgenix Software

 

Business Calendar Free by Appgenix Software. A color full, very professional looking calendar application that has every feature a busy person might need. Starting with the ability to sync with Google Calendar, color coded display, configurable days, weeks and months display, recurring events and a very useful search option.

We found this app very useful, configurable and generally our testers were impressed with its quality and professional looking interface. The Google Calendar notifications of events are not that bad, though the pro version of the Business Calendar adds notifications of its own. There are a ton of options such as the ability to send emails to participants of events and much more.

Rare problems were found when updating (one of the testers lost her events and was very pissed) and it seems it does drain the battery more than people would have liked. In addition, several of our testers did not have Google Calendar notifications turn on and did not receive notifications for their events. The adds appear in an unobtrusive way.

In conclusion, a very profession calendar app for time management with lots of options and abilities and it is highly recommended. We believe the rare bugs will be solved in upcoming updates.

• Score: We gave it 4.5 out of 5 because of the battery drain problem and the rare buy annoying deletion of events.
• Description: A very feature rich calendar app that takes time management to the next level ... Fully configurable with widgets, colorful events and more, this app allows you to keep track of your appointments, send emails to meeting participants and turn your smartphone into a mobile office ...
• Good Points: Very feature rich and colorful, this calendar app has almost everything one could wish for. Widgets for the home screen, colors, and slick interface make this a very professional looking app. Searching is another very useful feature.
• Bad Points: The relevant opinion here among our testers has been that Appgenix Software gave its full attention to features and testing was demoted to a less critical role in development. There are a few bugs here and there, from events that refuse to be created to events deleted when the app is being uninstalled. Rare, but still annoying. Add a too large battery consumption problem ...
• Experience: There were a few problems in installing and uninstalling, mostly the bugs were quickly solved. Our testers loved the many features of the Business Calendar app, especially the email option.
• Longevity: Most testers stayed with this app for a good while, but some preferred the Jotre Calendar which is simpler but with less bugs, at least for now.
• Google Play Link - Business Calendar Free by Appgenix Software
• Google Play Score: 4.5

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Android Game App Review - Scrap Metal Mech ( 3D PvP ) by Wolf Mobile Design

Android Game App Review - Scrap Metal Mech ( 3D PvP ) by Wolf Mobile Design

 

Scrap Metal Mech ( 3D PvP ) by Wolf Mobile Design. Well, it is a game but it's not complete, yet. But it is really worth downloading and it would really be a shame if Wolf Mobile Design won't complete the marvelous work they started here.

This is a gladiator like game where the players pit their mechs one against the other. You can pick weapons and types of mechs (the higher level they are, the tougher and stronger they are) and go on to fight other players in one on one spectacular battles. 

Of course, some players choose to spend a few real bucks to buy some decent equipment at first and then go online to fight others. We usually frown on this practice but if this will help ensure the game gets finished and fleshed out, it's worth it.

So, for a quick tournament of mech metal, of rockets against shields and online mech on mech, this is your game. We'll just have to wait and see when improvements and updates arrive.

• Score: 4.5 out of 5. The game is great as it is, it only needs fleshing out - Single player missions and campaign and so on. Hope this arrives soon ...
• Description: A gladiatorial mech game where giant robots fight each other in a player vs player online mode, which is the only mode. Game earned cash (and real world cash!) will buy you upgrades, in higher level mechs who are tougher and better.
• Good Points: Great play with good graphics and non stop player vs player action. A lot of upgrades to mechs, from speed to weapons to better mechs. 
• Bad Points: Aside from very rare cases of crashes and freezes, there really aren't that many bad points to report. At the beginning it may be a little difficult making kills and purchasing more advanced weaponry. In addition, the very nature of the game as it is annoyed a few of our testers who would have preferred to practice in solo mission in one player campaign mode.  
• Experience: Most if not all of our testers loved this game, even those who weren't mechwarrior fans before. It may be still difficult at times to find players to play against but we hope more people download the game. In addition, at the start of the game it is a bit hard to advance  but all of our testers eventually managed to advance, even without paying.
• Longevity: Most players will keep this game installed, except some die hard Candy Crush Sage fans.
• Google Play Link - Scrap Metal Mech ( 3D PvP ) by Wolf Mobile Design
• Google Play Score: 4.2

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Android Game App Review - DROID COMBAT - MISSION ALPHA by MunkyFun

Android Game App Review - DROID COMBAT - MISSION ALPHA by MunkyFun

 

Android Game App Review - DROID COMBAT - MISSION ALPHA by MunkyFun. Quite a fun and addictive game, you get to fly a droid in various combat situations (mostly space but atmospheric combat also exists) against another drone. You and the enemy fire missiles at each other and you use lasers to detonate the enemy's mech missiles from reaching you and fire missiles of your own at the enemy.

Now, the trick here is to time your strikes and your defenses. You can plot a course for the missile to prolong its flight time (and thus, create longer courses for the missiles you fire first, shorter and more direct courses to the missiles you fire after) and fire several missiles to overwhelm the enemy's droid or robot defenses.

The game is fun, has great graphics, a sizable amount of upgrades and equipment and even a multiplayer mode. The space combat backgrounds are really breathtaking, as is the in mission graphics.

But, as is almost always the case, there were things we didn't like. Droid Combat's missions become repetitive in time with little variation, even though you get to use different missiles and lasers. In addition, it costs money or a lot of time to be able to purchase the various upgrades. Last but not least is the fact you get a notification if you don't play for more than a day or so, which almost all of our testers found annoying. Notification bar is for smartphone notifications and not telling you you haven't played for over twenty four hours!

In conclusion, a fun an addictive game that lasts for a month or two, tops. We can hardly wait for the next versions, with more missions and diverse scenarios!

• Score: 4.5 out of 5. Great graphics and an interesting general concept but a repetitive and restrictive game play.
• Description: A 3D mech combat game where you play against another mech in fligt, firing missiles and lasers to intercept the missiles. In time, you earn enough money to upgrade your weapons and even buy new mechs.
• Good Points: A simple game interface easy to learn with a hidden depth for planning missile courses for optimal results. Short missions ideal for quick smartphone game pauses at work ...
• Bad Points: Repetitive game play that becomes a little boring in time. A messege in the notification bar (!!!) if you don't play for more than twenty four hours. 
• Experience: The game is quite large but installs with no problem. We encountered very few crashes and freeze-ups of the game. Multiplayer was a problem though because too few people play the game, yet.
• Longevity: Most of our testers enjoyed playing Droid Combat for a month or two and then uninstalled it (this is quite the normal time for Android games). A few die-hard mech combat fans kept the game installed.
• Google Play. Google Play Link - DROID COMBAT - MISSION ALPHA by MunkyFun 
• Google Play Score: 4.3

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