One of the things that’s always frustrated me about Google Tasks is that it’s mercilessly tethered to other Google services. You cannot access it by itself; it’s either present through Gmail, Google Calendar, iGoogle or throwing https://mail.google.com/tasks/ig into a Chrome application window.

This carries over to Android; while there’s no shortage of apps that support Google Tasks, finding one with polish that has Calendar functionality was pretty difficult. However, Total Agenda is fulfilling my needs beautifully; it’s useful, stylish and has replaced Google Calendar’s default app as the premier organization tool on my phone.  

What sets it apart is its emphasis on streamlining the task creation and editing process; I’m definitely as fan of this, as I prefer to do as little typing on my phone as possible. Tasks can be created quickly by hitting the “add [checkmark] button beside the day you want the task to be associated with. As explained by the middle screenshot above, most of the screens that would be traditionally accessed by a “properties” menu inside an individual task listing are instead shunted to the front. This minimizes the amount of clicking around a user has to do in order to manage their tasks.

The app also has the primary “calendar” functions, such as reminders and repeatable events support. This app is primarily made to be used with Google Calendar, so things sync both ways nicely. My only complaint so far is the unintuitive nature of the time-and-date sliders, as pictured above. It’s very difficult to input a precise time on your first couple tries, and definitely needs patience to work around.

Total Agenda is still in Beta, which makes me cringe a little. However, the developers at least have the decency to release their app for free with no type of advertising involved [update: the newest update has brought some ads]; this gives us a clean product to work with until they finalize everything.

Total Agenda is a free download from the Android Marketplace, and is worth your time if you use your phone’s calendar for any stretch of time.
–
Matt Demers is Droid Life’s app guy, and needs to start using this app a little more rigorously in his daily life. You can follow him on Twitter for more musings.

Review: Total Agenda is a post from: Droid Life

Even though I’ve upgraded my aging Milestone to an Atrix, I still don’t use my phone that often for gaming. Aside from a  few puzzle games, there just seems to be a lack of titles that hold my interest. I’m not the type that likes to play games for long stints – just when I’m waiting for something or need to kill time on the subway.

Usually those games aren’t very graphically-intense, either; this isn’t a bad thing by any means, but I’ve been looking for something that both delights my eyes as well as my synapses. SpeedX happens to do both quite well.  

SpeedX is a game where you are travelling down a long tube and steer by tilting left/right. Your mission is to avoid blocks. You score by simply moving forward, and the game ends when you die. Along the way, the playing field shifts from a tube to a flat plane to an inverted tube and back again, taking your eyeballs along for the ride with it. It’s quite the simple premise.

Click here to view the embedded video.

But then again, DDR had a simple premise. So did Audiosurf. We all know what happens to games we think are simple; they usually surprise us with their ball-busting difficulty. SpeedX is no different; as soon as you get comfortable with the level you’re at, it throws curve balls (like color shifts and gravity wells) into the mix, screwing with your perception and making it all the more difficult to stay out of the way of those blocks.

This isn’t a bad thing. It makes the game extremely fun. It also keeps the game from getting stale; Feint integration takes care of any lingering boredom the user might have otherwise.

What surprised me the most about this game the most is how it kept my attention; by coincidence, I found that playing music overtop of the default soundtrack (not bad in its own right) makes for a whole different experience. I want to beat my high score in SpeedX. I want to unlock the powerups and game modes. I want to burn whoever thought the “install sponsored apps to get in-game currency” model was a good idea (looking at you too, Gun Bros!)

But more importantly, I want to give props to developer HyperBees for making a game that I want to keep on my phone. And it’s not just me: HyperBees’ Twitter is reporting that SpeedX has been played over 15 million times, with 200,000 players each day. If that’s not a sign of success, I don’t know what is.

You can pick up SpeedX on the Android Marketplace for free, or pay $1.40 for an ad-free and unlocked version.
—
Matt Demers is Droid Life’s app review guy, and recommends listening to “Waters of Nazareth” for the full trippy effect. Or just for the Jesus. Wish Matt a Happy Easter by following him on Twitter!

Review: SpeedX on Android is a post from: Droid Life

The Internet’s given us a great many things, including a boatload of Flash games with which to waste our time. Last year, when there seemed to be a bit of a lull with them in favour of Facebook games like Farmville, one glorious product emerged: Robot Unicorn Attack. This game took the Internet by storm, and introduced a whole new generation of gamers to the wonders of 80′s synthpop and its infinite trippiness.

What started off as a Flash game on Adult Swim’s site migrated to the infinitely more profitable markets of Facebook, iOS and now Android. Robot Unicorn Attack comes in at a cool 99 cents (I’m assuming, as it shows as $0.94 due to Canadian price adjustment) and, from what I can tell, it worth just about that. Just-less-than-a-buck seems to be the magic price for a lot of apps, as its not so much that it provokes a huge decision, but not so little to not make any cash.

The game is essentially simple; it’s got a button to jump and a button to dash. Your job is to get as many points as possible in three lives. Throughout the entirety of the app, you’re treated to “Always” by Erasure: YouTube it. You won’t be disappointed.  

With such a simple premise it’s hard to review; I mean, the app does its job and replicated the experience on the Android platform well. However, the only complaint is that until the game starts up, I get the black bars (pictured above) on my Atrix; I’m not sure if this is a resolution problem or if it shows up on other phones. You guys will have to help me out in the comments.

The game offers two control schemes: one with on-screen buttons and one based on gestures. The gesture controls, while a bit interesting, don’t necessarily allow for accurate play at the game gets faster and faster. I’d recommend sticking to the button controls unless you want a challenge after the ticker rolls past 10,000 points.

Feint integration, which I’m usually not a fan of, adds some much-needed replayability to a game with such a simplistic concept. I don’t have many friends on it (feel free to add MattDemers), but score competition could definitely keep this game from getting stale.

You can download Robot Unicorn Attack from the Android Marketplace.

—
Matt Demers is Droid Life’s app guy, and will be stepping up the review production now that school’s over. Follow him on Twitter for more updates!

Review: Robot Unicorn Attack is a post from: Droid Life

You know what guys? I almost made a major faux-pas when I went to type out this post. I mean, after writing an entire column about how “beta” was becoming a shield for developers to hide behind I almost labelled this post a review.

BaconReader is an application for browsing the website Reddit.com; while this may seem counter-intuitive to just using your phone’s browser, the app brings a lot to the table in terms of functionality and usability. It’s the same kind of thing with having a Twitter client or the “Facebook for Android” app on your phone: sure, you could use your mobile browser for that, but sometimes it just doesn’t cut it.  

At the moment, Reddit does have a mobile interface (http://www.reddit.com/.compact), and it’s quite usable. There’s also another app called Reddit is Fun that replicates that functionality with an emphasis on speed.

Click here to view the embedded video.

However, BaconReader adds a lot of polish to its interface, making it look like Reddit paid good money to have it developed. Other features include previews of all shapes and sizes (images, YouTube, article) and management of your Reddit account. With a couple clicks you can manage incoming messages and subreddits, as well as filter the threads you want to see with a hide button.

While these might seem like really elementary features, its been hard to get this experience on a mobile app. I mean, I’ve used Reddit is Fun for awhile now, but I’ve really been converted to BaconReader because it looks like it’s more than something that was cobbled together as a part time project. It looks like it deserves to be in the Marketplace and making money; this extra effort in usability wins it points from me.

But I’m not going to go too much into that, because this isn’t a review. In reality, BaconReader’s just getting into its alpha phase right now; I signed up for initial testing awhile back, but you can register for updates at BaconReader.com.

—
Matt Demers is a Toronto journalist. He writes for Droid Life multiple times a week. Follow him on Twitter or his Tumblr/Portfolio!

Preview: BaconReader Alpha is a post from: Droid Life

A few weeks ago I reviewed a Blackberry Messenger-a-like called Beluga. Within the review, I noted that because Beluga’s features were too similar to RIM’s own Blackberry Messenger, it was not released in the Blackberry Appworld; applications who do try to pass themselves off as an alternative are usually sniped down, like Toronto-developed app Kik.

BBM is a heavy advertising point for RIM, and a reason why a lot of users haven’t abandoned it; rumours of BBM’s transition to a multi-platform software posed the question of whether people would still buy Blackberry hardware if they were able to get the same experience elsewhere.  

While we haven’t heard anything in the rumour mill in the last little while, another app has stepped up as a catch-all solution for the instant messaging conundrum. LiveProfile is an offering that’s available on all platforms and uses many of the standard BBM features, like address book integration and contact sharing by a PIN number.

Users can also pull in contacts from Facebook, which is crucial to its success: upon doing so, you can let your wall know that you’re using LiveProfile, which encourages others to do so, as well. It also does the same with your phone contacts; however, this depends on whether a user has included their phone number in their LiveProfile.

Like Beluga, it looks to be a one-stop shop for instant messaging; the difference between the two is that people actually seem to be using it. The user base has been increasing steadily since launch, prompting server upgrades and some nice stats: even during its downtime, the LiveProfile team is reporting as many as 16,000 people signing up per hour as its reached 5 million users in 5 days. Even if you depend on SMS for a lot of your communication (like I do) there’s a good chance someone you know is using this app.

This is a big deal, as trying to convert users away from any established system is a chore in itself; these numbers are indicative of either a boredom with Blackberry’s current software or very successful marketing as the IM app of the future.

But the question remains: is it worth the download?

I’m going to say yes. Even though I’ve never seen the point of BBM in a practical sense before, the fact that most of my friends are now using this is actually getting me off my butt and chatting. I can imagine this being like the early days of Facebook; most people were on MySpace, and it only took a decent amount of friends using a decent product to sway most people who wouldn’t use it otherwise.

LiveProfile does its job extremely well, despite some hiccups that I’ll go into. It integrates its notifications quite well, and the chat interface works a lot better than some SMS apps out there. It also features media messaging in a simple-to-use package, which is par for the course when compared to BBM. However, group chatting or broadcasting is curiously omitted; this might be something included in new updates.

However, what I’m hearing from a lot of people (and experiencing myself) is that developing for multiple platforms is taking its toll on the development team. There are multiple clear-as-day bugs in the application, such as profile pictures not updating or embedded videos not being viewable.

This might not seem like a big deal – what app doesn’t have bugs, right? – but it might turn out to be a danger for LiveProfile. If too many people believe the application not to be worth the trouble, they will not use it. In turn, the friends of those people won’t have a userbase to interact with and they won’t use it. This danger, coupled with a slow release cycle (due to the management of three different apps) may make things complicated in the long run if LiveProfile wants to be successful.

In order to “kill” BBM, a company would have to provide a free service that makes it easy to share and chat with contacts, and just works. BBM has loyalty because it is a corporate-level software, not a startup – RIM is held accountable for every screwup and hiccup. Being used to this quality might make users unwilling to wait for improvements in quality, and spell LiveProfile’s doom.

We can only really watch and see; for those curious about LiveProfile, it’s a free download on the Android market. Check it out and feel free to share your PINs in the comments below if you want to chat with other Droid Lifers.
–
Matt Demers is Droid Life’s app guy, and writes reviews thrice weekly. If you like his work, you can follow him on Twitter or visit his portfolio; he likes hearing from fans.

Review: LiveProfile looks to take BBM’s IM crown is a post from: Droid Life

It’s not often I tackle two apps in the same review. However, today’s a bit different: the apps I’m looking at, Catch and I Journal, are meant to be used together. Catch is note-capturing tool similar to Evernote, while I Journal is a journaling tool that uses Catch’s engine and tagging system in order to function.

For those who have never used a cloud-based note system, Catch is definitely a great tool for organizing your thoughts. Using its system, you can store text, voice, photo and notifications to a cloud-enabled account, letting you access it from both your browser and your phone. This is obviously a big help if you’re the creative type that has ideas often and doesn’t have the memory to back it up.

The main appeal of Catch is this cloud functionality; it’s a great way to easily share and store photos as well as quick notes. I have a few concerns about it being able to do any heavy lifting, but I’ll get to that later in the review.  

Catch’s partner in this review, I Journal, is based around concepts outlines in a book called “The Happiness Advantage.” I’m not going to shill for the book because I’ve never read it; instead, I’m going to approach the app like I would any other.

I Journal uses Catch as storage for the journal entries it makes; it automatically marks posts created through it with “#Ijournal” and other tags for easy identification. Within the creation process, users can mark whether an entry is one that relates to “Gratitude,” “Exercise,” “Meditation” or “Kindness,” which in turn will add more tags. This allows for easy sorting and reflecting, especially when coupled with a “rate your day out of five stars” query.

I’ve always liked journaling; part of why I write opinion is that I like to open myself up to other people. However, I’m a bit skeptical about Catch as a way to do this. Like my problems with tablets, I take issue with that fact that it’s very unwieldy to enter long-form writing on a mobile screen. I don’t like typing on my Atrix for any extended period of time: I don’t write Droid Life posts on my phone, and don’t see myself journaling with it, either.

However, I could see myself using Catch like I do Evernote – for quick review and offline reading. Since syncing stores an offline copy of notes on your phone, Catch is useful when you absolutely need access to something you’ve stored there; as long as you’ve synced recently, things should be alright.

Catch and I Journal’s usefulness is really dependant on the individual user. They’re very well-implemented systems, but it’s difficult to blanket whether they’re “good” or not based on the fact that I already have apps that do the same job. I mean, I could easily use Evernote to do the exact same things as Catch: however, I Journal’s specific purpose makes it easy for people who are looking for that experience to get into it.

It’s like when I reviewed ActionComplete a couple weeks ago: it’s an app specifically tailored to the Getting Things Done system. I could have easily use Astrid to do the same things that ActionComplete does, but since the latter is specifically tailored to my my needs, I’m obviously going to use it.

Who knows? Maybe these apps are something you, the reader, needs. Both Catch and I Journal are free downloads.
–
Matt Demers is Droid Life’s app guy, and kind of misses journaling. The next best thing is his Twitter and Tumblr, which are updated daily. Check them out!

Review Double Shot: Catch and I Journal is a post from: Droid Life

One of the things I’ve enjoyed about my new Atrix is the ability to play more games at full blast, so to speak. There’s a distinct difference between my overclocked-to-hell-and-back Milestone and this dual-cored beast, and it really shows when you run some apps. Meganoid, however, is a game that works amazingly well no matter what phone you have. A mix of old-school platforming and new-school mechanics, this OrangePixel offering is quite impressive.

The premise is simple: your character “Hero” must traverse a number of increasingly-difficult levels, collect gems and avoid the numerous one-hit-kill hazards that stand between him and the level’s end. As you play through the levels, medals are given at the end of each based on how many gems you collect and whether you beat the level’s timer or not. It’s very similar to games like Super Meat Boy or VVVVVV; simple mechanics, but a difficulty that ramps up quickly to keep you hooked.  

The Hero can double jump and pick up crates to throw at aliens; that seems to be the extent of his skill set. Everything else is left up to the player to see whether he survives or not. This, however, is kept relatively non-frustrating by the slick controls at your disposal. The game has a number of control schemes, including on-screen buttons (my preference) and tilt controls. I haven’t been able to get my hands on a WiiMote to test out its remote controller functionality, but I can imagine it adds a new layer to the “old school” gaming feel. I’ll definitely be trying this out as soon as I can.

While this might seem weird to say, the game feels very complete. The controls work amazingly well, and are easy to pick up. The challenges are laid out well, and feel rewarding to achieve: beating the timer and getting all the gems for a level unlocks the “Sarge” version of that level, where you play as a different sprite but in a drastically more difficult layout. This is similar to the “Dark World” of Super Meat Boy in the sense that gamers who don’t want to play the levels can skip over them entirely, but the masochists in us can try them out if we want. There is also OpenFeint support for those who like those shiny achievements, but I usually skip over them.

I only have a couple complaints about this game, and they’re related to the mechanics. For instance, you only have a three life limit for each play session: if you die three times quickly, it’s back to the main menu for you. For particularly hard levels, this is frustrating; other games that can kill you instantly at least have the courtesy to let you spawn infinitely. Another quirk is that the countdown timer does not reset when you die; if you’re hoping to beat the time on particularly difficult levels, you better hope to get them done on your first try. While this doesn’t seem major, it kind of punishes players who want to meet that goal and die.

Otherwise, I can’t really find a reason to not recommend this game. It plays well and all the parts fit together nicely; it even wins some points from me because there doesn’t seem to be an iOS port. I feel that there isn’t enough Android-exclusive games with polish in the Marketplace, and hopefully Meganoid will inspire some developers to step up in terms of quality.

Meganoid is a free download in the Android Marketplace.
—
Matt Demers is Droid Life’s app guy and is surprised how often he picks this up just to play a level or two. If you like his work, you can find him on Twitter and check out his portfolio.

Review: Meganoid for Android is a post from: Droid Life

Previously, I had a lot of different tools to do what ZDBox does all at once; I’d use 3G Watchdog to keep an eye on bandwidth, Battery Indicator for battery percentage in my notifications bar, Advanced Task Killer if the situation arose, etc etc. While these apps are all great, it’s sometimes good to consolidate, especially if the quality of the replacing app is high enough that it doesn’t bring any problems when it comes to functionality.  

ZDBox is a toolbox that combines many different apps’ purposes into one easy-to use package. Within, one can find a battery meter, task killer, app manager (with batch move-to-SD and uninstall capabilities), 3G traffic monitor, Do Not Disturb timer (for silencing/airplane-moding your phone at certain times) and an App Lock. This last one was a bit interesting, as it sets up a barrier to access an app with a PIN number, but on a per-case basis. Want someone to be able to pick up your phone to play Angry Birds, but not browse your texts? App Lock is the thing to ensure your privacy.

These apps actually work quite well, and I got the feeling that some real effort was put into making sure that they all meshed together into one product. The interface is slick and easy-to-use while not being overly cutesy or complicated. This wins it some major points. However, it’s the ability to make all this information available quickly that really makes this app stand out.

Upon installation, ZDBox adds a notification bar icon while gives you a summary of most of its information when you drag your tray down. This is great, and can be customized to a certain extent: disabling services in the settings menu bumps up the next-running service to the top icon. However, there doesn’t seem to be a way to remove the icon at all; this can be a bit of a deal-breaker for those of us who like to keep their notification trays clean. [Update: you can turn off the notification icon via settings; I'm not sure how I missed this. Thanks, commenters!] I mean, it bugs me enough that I have to plug my phone into my computer in order to take screenshots with my Atrix; those “Connected with USB” icons stick out like a sore thumb.

ZDBox gets a big thumbs up from me because it consolidates a lot of other apps without losing functionality and does it stylishly. Definitely worth the free download from the market.
–
Matt Demers is Droid Life’s app guy, and so happy that he finally has a phone with a bit of oomph to it. Playing games without fearing my phone will explode is a good upgrade. Follow him on Twitter, his personal site or e-mail him.

Review: ZDBox for Android is a post from: Droid Life

This past Friday was pretty confusing for app reviewers; while scoping out new releases to examine, I came across a large number of media outlets reporting that Color, released March 23, was going to be the newest thing in social sharing. It touted a number of features that both amazed and confused me, particularly its main function: photos taken in a geographic proximity to each other (such as at a concert, office or party) would be grouped automatically together for viewing and commenting.

Users would take a picture of themselves to furnish a profile, which, in turn, would be viewable to anyone who happened to be in range. Naturally, since it was reported on heavily, users scrambled to download Color en masse; after all, how much bragging rights would they be entitled to if they were among the first to use such an amazing and revolutionary app?

Color is an interesting concept, and provoked a number of questions, like “What if people didn’t want every photo available they take at a party made public?” “What happens when someone wants something deleted?” and “Do people actually take party pictures with the frequency the FAQ image would suggest?”

It would have been great to answer some of these questions, had the application not been a buggy piece of garbage.

Click here to view the embedded video.

So that’s how it’s supposed to work…

I’m honestly quite disappointed. On paper, Color should have been an interesting take on the Instagr.am “social photo stream” fad: it had received $41 million dollars in pre-release funding from venture capitalists and had taken the time to secure two large domain names (color.com and colour.com, respectively.) That much effort and potential shouldn’t have yielded a bad product. Any company with so much media hype and investor confidence has to be good, right? Sadly, users didn’t see it that way, slamming the app’s market page with harsh review after harsh review.

But were those users right in doing so? I mean, Color applied the “beta” tag to the title. In theory, that should absolve it from fault when it:

• Failed to work at all on any number of phone models.
• Looped force-close after force-close when the user tries to do any number of basic app functions, such as attach a user image, or take photos, period.
• Forgot to teach the user how to use the app in the first place, due to a lack of any FAQs, tutorials or information whatsoever.

I would list more, but that was all I could get Color to do on my Motorola Milestone, which is barely a year old. Not everyone has access to horribly high-end models, and should be able to expect that something as low-fi as a gallery should work quite well. But these flaws in basic operation are alright; I mean, it’s in beta, right?

I would fully expect Color to try to take advantage of that “beta” status to save face, saying that its obvious lack of quality control or testing was all “part of the plan”. After all, it was the glorious users who alerted them to the problems, so the beta must have done its job. It’s a pity that what was once a term that had a valid point in a development cycle of an app is now being used as a licence to ship something completely nonfunctional.

“Beta” used to imply that a piece of software was close to completion, had all its features in a row and just neeed some last minute tweaking by a small group of users who understood that they were getting an unfinished product. While Color hits some of those points, it utterly fails on others: it is nowhere near “feature complete” if, as a social app, it cannot run on a great number of phones.

It is even worse if the control group of users who are testing expect that it is complete, regardless of the label attached. As we’ve seen, the Android userbase is quick to chew up and spit out anything that fails to deliver. Does this mean we, as users, are going to be wary of the beta tag in the future? Will we be more likely to forgive developers who hide behind its shield?

Will we insist that an app actually be worked on until it’s fit for mass consumption, instead of being pushed out to generate and satisfy hype?

These are questions to think about while you’re mashing that “download” button in the Marketplace.
—
Matt Demers is Droid Life’s app guy, and has missed writing these kind of articles. You can follow him on Twitter and through his site, and e-mail him with tips.

Color and the death of “Beta” is a post from: Droid Life

Every once and awhile a skinning experiment goes awry and our phones don’t turn out exactly how we want them to. I know here at Droid Life we can be pretty meticulous about how our Home Screens look, but some people… aren’t. Fugly Android is a Tumblr dedicated to those of us whose home screen fashion might need a little bit of policing.

My friend Amanda pointed this blog out to me yesterday and it’s actually a pretty fun read. If you ever want to feel better about the way your Android looks, look no farther than some of these monstrosities.

Thanks Amanda!
–
Matt Demers is Droid Life’s app guy, and he can’t tell you how many times he’s fiddled around with horrible icons. Contact him via Twitter or e-mail.

Fugly Android: a blog about horrible home screens is a post from: Droid Life

Ah, it seems like it’s been awhile since my last game review. I got knocked on my ass by a pretty serious case of the flu last week, so I apologize that my reviews have been sparse.

This week I bring you Hextacy, an oft-discussed game that’s hit the Android market and making quite a splash. At its core, Hextacy is a very simple tile-matching game; you match hexagons of three or more together in order to eliminate them from the playing field and score points.

Matching is done by dragging your finger along strings of tiles in a row, and the elimination is completed when you release contact. This presents an interesting game mechanic: you can’t go over the same tiles twice. It emphasizes a decision to be made: which tile decision will lead to further combos?

As move options deplete, tiles are replaced until there are literally no moves left; rinse, repeat. It’s puzzling action in a very bite-sized format that I’ve found works best when played in short bursts. Unlike previously-reviewed puzzler Runik, there aren’t many powerups to extend game life; they don’t appear often, and are usually a last resort to get some more tiles to work with.

This forces the player to be strategic, which I enjoy; not only are players rewarded for thinking ahead, that action is needed for their continued survival. I think Runik coddled me a little bit in expecting more ways “out” of bad decisions. With Hextacy, bad choices are just met with a simple “Game over. Try again, sucker.”

I threw together a quick gameplay demo, to those who want to see how the game works.  

Click here to view the embedded video.

I like Hextacy better than Runik because there is simply a way to lose. There has been many times where I sit and try to play Runik, only to be frustrated that I’ve never posted a high score. The game simply gives you too many ways out, which rewards lazy play. Hextacy, on the other hand, smacks you with a hammer if you’re dumb. I commend this.

The game also runs extremely smoothly, even on older phones like my Milestone; this is great, considering the concept doesn’t exactly scream “graphically-intensive.” Definitely give Hextacy a download: its free version is arguably the best (see below) and you won’t really miss on out anything by refusing to pony up.

Its paid version gives you access to the “hardcore” and “pure” game modes, which removes hexagon chains greater than three and powerups, respectively. These aren’t big losses, as the default mode will keep you entertained for a good long while.

Hextacy Lite is a free download on the Android Market.
–
Matt Demers is Droid-Life’s app guy, and is happy to finally have killed the cold. You can contact him on Twitter or via e-mail; he also is taking Paypal donations for an upgrade to his FlipHD camera.

Review: Hextacy on Android is a post from: Droid Life

After what was otherwise a slow weekend, a major bombshell has dropped in American telecom news: AT&T and Deutche Telekom has just entered into an agreement that arranges the purchase of T-Mobile USA for a stunning $39 billion. AT&T’s combined user base will swell to approximately 130 million users after the requisite bureaucracy time, which is estimated to take one year.

Full press release after the break.  

AT&T TO ACQUIRE T-MOBILE USA FROM DEUTSCHE TELEKOM

Provides fast, efficient and certain solution to impending spectrum exhaust challenges facing AT&T and T-Mobile USA in key markets due to explosive demand for mobile broadband

Enhances network capacity, output and quality in near term for both companies’ customers

AT&T commits to expand 4G LTE deployment to an additional 46.5 million Americans, including in rural, smaller communities, for a total of 294 million or 95% of the U.S. population

Provides 4G LTE service for T-Mobile USA’s 34 million subscribers

More than $8 billion in incremental infrastructure spend by a U.S. company over seven years, enabling nation’s high-tech industry, innovation and economic growth

Creates substantial value for AT&T shareholders through large, straightforward synergies

DALLAS, TEXAS AND BONN, GERMANY — March 20, 2011— AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Deutsche Telekom AG (FWB: DTE) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which AT&T will acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom in a cash-and-stock transaction currently valued at approximately $39 billion. The agreement has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies.

AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile USA provides an optimal combination of network assets to add capacity sooner than any alternative, and it provides an opportunity to improve network quality in the near term for both companies’ customers. In addition, it provides a fast, efficient and certain solution to the impending exhaustion of wireless spectrum in some markets, which limits both companies’ ability to meet the ongoing explosive demand for mobile broadband.

With this transaction, AT&T commits to a significant expansion of robust 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) deployment to 95 percent of the U.S. population to reach an additional 46.5 million Americans beyond current plans – including rural communities and small towns. This helps achieve the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and President Obama’s goals to connect “every part of America to the digital age.” T-Mobile USA does not have a clear path to delivering LTE.

“This transaction represents a major commitment to strengthen and expand critical infrastructure for our nation’s future,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T Chairman and CEO. “It will improve network quality, and it will bring advanced LTE capabilities to more than 294 million people. Mobile broadband networks drive economic opportunity everywhere, and they enable the expanding high-tech ecosystem that includes device makers, cloud and content providers, app developers, customers, and more. During the past few years, America’s high-tech industry has delivered innovation at unprecedented speed, and this combination will accelerate its continued growth.”

Stephenson continued, “This transaction delivers significant customer, shareowner and public benefits that are available at this level only from the combination of these two companies with complementary network technologies, spectrum positions and operations. We are confident in our ability to execute a seamless integration, and with additional spectrum and network capabilities, we can better meet our customers’ current demands, build for the future and help achieve the President’s goals for a high-speed, wirelessly connected America.”

Deutsche Telekom Chairman and CEO René Obermann said, “After evaluating strategic options for T-Mobile USA, I am confident that AT&T is the best partner for our customers, shareholders and the mobile broadband ecosystem. Our common network technology makes this a logical combination and provides an efficient path to gaining the spectrum and network assets needed to provide T-Mobile customers with 4G LTE and the best devices. Also, the transaction returns significant value to Deutsche Telekom shareholders and allows us to retain exposure to the U.S. market.”

As part of the transaction, Deutsche Telekom will receive an equity stake in AT&T that, based on the terms of the agreement, would give Deutsche Telekom an ownership interest in AT&T of approximately 8 percent. A Deutsche Telekom representative will join the AT&T Board of Directors.

Competition and Pricing
The U.S. wireless industry is one of the most fiercely competitive markets in the world and will remain so after this deal. The U.S. is one of the few countries in the world where a large majority of consumers can choose from five or more wireless providers in their local market. For example, in 18 of the top 20 U.S. local markets, there are five or more providers. Local market competition is escalating among larger carriers, low-cost carriers and several regional wireless players with nationwide service plans. This intense competition is only increasing with the build-out of new 4G networks and the emergence of new market entrants.

The competitiveness of the market has directly benefited consumers. A 2010 report from the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) states the overall average price (adjusted for inflation) for wireless services declined 50 percent from 1999 to 2009, during a period which saw five major wireless mergers.

Addresses wireless spectrum challenges facing AT&T, T-Mobile USA, their customers, and U.S. policymakers
This transaction quickly provides the spectrum and network efficiencies necessary for AT&T to address impending spectrum exhaust in key markets driven by the exponential growth in mobile broadband traffic on its network. AT&T’s mobile data traffic grew 8,000 percent over the past four years and by 2015 it is expected to be eight to 10 times what it was in 2010. Put another way, all of the mobile traffic volume AT&T carried during 2010 is estimated to be carried in just the first six to seven weeks of 2015. Because AT&T has led the U.S. in smartphones, tablets and e-readers – and as a result, mobile broadband – it requires additional spectrum before new spectrum will become available. In the long term, the entire industry will need additional spectrum to address the explosive growth in demand for mobile broadband.

Improves service quality for U.S. wireless customers
AT&T and T-Mobile USA customers will see service improvements – including improved voice quality – as a result of additional spectrum, increased cell tower density and broader network infrastructure. At closing, AT&T will immediately gain cell sites equivalent to what would have taken on average five years to build without the transaction, and double that in some markets. The combination will increase AT&T’s network density by approximately 30 percent in some of its most populated areas, while avoiding the need to construct additional cell towers. This transaction will increase spectrum efficiency to increase capacity and output, which not only improves service, but is also the best way to ensure competitive prices and services in a market where demand is extremely high and spectrum is in short supply.

Expands 4G LTE deployment to 95 percent of U.S. population – urban and rural areas
This transaction will directly benefit an additional 46.5 million Americans – equivalent to the combined populations of the states of New York and Texas – who will, as a result of this combination, have access to AT&T’s latest 4G LTE technology. In terms of area covered, the transaction enables 4G LTE deployment to an additional 1.2 million square miles, equivalent to 4.5 times the size of the state of Texas. Rural and smaller communities will substantially benefit from the expansion of 4G LTE deployment, increasing the competitiveness of the businesses and entrepreneurs in these areas.

Increases AT&T’s investment in the U.S.
The acquisition will increase AT&T’s infrastructure investment in the U.S. by more than $8 billion over seven years. Expansion of AT&T’s 4G LTE network is an important foundation for the next wave of innovation and growth in mobile broadband, ensuring the U.S. continues to lead the world in wireless technology and availability. It makes T-Mobile USA, currently a German-owned U.S. telecom network, part of a U.S.-based company.

An impressive, combined workforce
Bringing AT&T and T-Mobile USA together will create an impressive workforce that is best positioned to compete in today’s global economy. Post-closing, AT&T intends to tap into the significant knowledge and expertise held by employees of both AT&T and T-Mobile USA to succeed. AT&T is the only major U.S. wireless company with a union workforce, offering leading wages, benefits, training and development for employees. The combined company will continue to have a strong employee and operations base in the Seattle area.

Consistent with AT&T’s track record of value-enhancing acquisitions
AT&T has a strong track record of executing value-enhancing acquisitions and expects to create substantial value for shareholders through large, straightforward synergies with a run rate of more than $3 billion, three years after closing onward (excluding integration costs). The value of the synergies is expected to exceed the purchase price of $39 billion. Revenue synergies come from opportunities to increase smartphone penetration and data average revenue per user, with cost savings coming from network efficiencies, subscriber and support savings, reduced churn and avoided capital and spectrum expenditures.

The transaction will enhance margin potential and improve the company’s long-term revenue growth potential as it benefits from a more robust mobile broadband platform for new services.

Additional financial information
The $39 billion purchase price will include a cash payment of $25 billion with the balance to be paid using AT&T common stock, subject to adjustment. AT&T has the right to increase the cash portion of the purchase price by up to $4.2 billion with a corresponding reduction in the stock component, so long as Deutsche Telekom receives at least a 5 percent equity ownership interest in AT&T.

The number of AT&T shares issued will be based on the AT&T share price during the 30-day period prior to closing, subject to a 7.5 percent collar; there is a one-year lock-up period during which Deutsche Telekom cannot sell shares.

The cash portion of the purchase price will be financed with new debt and cash on AT&T’s balance sheet. AT&T has an 18-month commitment for a one-year unsecured bridge term facility underwritten by J.P. Morgan for $20 billion. AT&T assumes no debt from T-Mobile USA or Deutsche Telekom and continues to have a strong balance sheet.

The transaction is expected to be earnings (excluding non-cash amortization and integration costs) accretive in the third year after closing. Pro-forma for 2010, this transaction increases AT&T’s total wireless revenues from $58.5 billion to nearly $80 billion, and increases the percentage of AT&T’s total revenues from wireless, wireline data and managed services to approximately 80 percent.

This transaction will allow for sufficient cash flow to support AT&T’s dividend. AT&T has increased its dividend for 27 consecutive years, a matter decided by AT&T’s Board of Directors.

Conditions
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals, a reverse breakup fee in certain circumstances, and other customary regulatory and other closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in approximately 12 months.

Advisors
Greenhill & Co., J.P. Morgan and Evercore Partners acted as financial advisors and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Arnold & Porter, and Crowell & Moring provided legal advice to AT&T.

Conference Call/Webcast
On Monday, March 21, 2011, at 8 a.m. ET, AT&T Inc. will host a live video and audio webcast presentation regarding its announcement to acquire T-Mobile USA. Links to the webcast and accompanying documents will be available on AT&T’s Investor Relations website. Please log in 15 minutes ahead of time to test your browser and register for the call.

For dial-in access, please dial +1 (888) 517-2464 within the U.S. or +1 (630) 827-6816 outside the U.S. after 7:30 a.m. ET. Enter passcode 8442095# to join or ask the conference call operator for the AT&T Investor Relations event.

The webcast will be available for replay on AT&T’s Investor Relations website on March 21, 2011, starting at 12:30 p.m. ET through April 21, 2011. An archive of the conference call will also be available during this time period. To access the recording, please dial +1 (877) 870-5176 within the U.S. or +1 (858) 384-5517 outside the U.S. and enter reservation code 29362481#.

Transaction Website
For more information on the transaction, including background information and factsheets, visit www.MobilizeEverything.com.

AT&T set to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion is a post from: Droid Life

A couple weeks ago I reviewed a Geometry Wars lookalike called “Pew Pew,” which was fun, but I had a few complaints about. I’m generally not a fan of games like it, which try to emulate game controls on-screen. Coupled with the fact that the play area was a bit on the small side, these joysticks blocked my field of play to the point where it was frustrating.

However, yesterday I came across another Geometry Wars clone which solved most of the problems I had with PewPew. Instead of relying on on-screen controls, Tilt Arena does everything via your phone’s accelerometer. By tweaking sensitivity settings found in the menu, users can fine-tune their steering and speed and blow up shapes to their heart’s content.

The graphics are beautiful and emulate the Geometry Wars experience a lot more closely, right down to the screen flashes when enemies die. This is a recent change, and one that can be thankfully turned off. The game also manages to zoom out a little bit, giving the player a greater view of the battlefield they’re playing on.

What really got me was how well it ran on my aging Milestone; not many games that involve a lot of action and particle effects do. Tilt Arena was smooth, responsive and the opposite of frustrating, which wins it major points. To give you guys an idea of how it plays, I whipped together a quick gameplay demo.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The only thing I find lacking with this game is its lack of depth: PewPew may have been a bit more annoying in gameplay, but at least it had a lot of variety when it came to play modes and ship selection. There’s really no replayability here except for a high score table, which is a bit disappointing. However, apparently this is Priority Interrupt’s first effort at a game: hopefully more updates are coming.

Tilt Arena is a free download

Source: Reddit
–
Matt Demers is Droid Life’s app guy, and is sick as a dog. You can hear it in the video. You can wish him well via Twitter or e-mail.

Review: TiltArena > PewPew is a post from: Droid Life

If you’ve got friends who use iOS, there’s a good chance that at least one of them uses Instagr.am; for the uninitiated, the app takes a lot of the work out of photo editing and sharing. Users can take photos, apply effects and publish photos to social networks like Twitter and Facebook quickly and easily, which, for some, is an asset. Not all of us have the time to bring up Photoshop if we just want to convert things to black and white.

Though Instagr.am doesn’t have an Android app, it has something that’s similar. PicPlz achieves the same functions and more; in addition to Twitter and Tumblr, users can automatically add their photos to a Dropbox account. This makes it very easy to transfer photos off your phone without connecting a cable, and eases the process of viewing them later.

Users can use the app to comb their contacts for friends who also have PicPlz installed; they can, in turn, be added as “friends.” An in-app timeline lets you know what your friends have been up to with the ability to comment. This turns PicPlz into its own social network, but really, why would you use that system when you’re going to be posting to Twitter, anyways?

PicPlz has many of the same filters as Instagr.am, which is the main appeal; primarily, I’m using the faux-high-definition filter due to its ability to make my pictures look a little more detailed – at least at lower resolutions. Blown up it looks a bit off, but for Twitter, it’s alright.

If you don’t use a camera replacement, PicPlz is for you; it doesn’t add any new features to the camera itself, but makes it easy to share photos quickly. However, if you want to just snap and forget, the default camera might be a better option, as having to navigate filter and posting menus can be annoying.

PicPlz is a free download, which is great. You can find it on the Android Market.
—
Matt Demers is Droid Life’s app guy, and staving off strep throat at the moment. Good vibes on Twitter or e-mail would be appreciated.

Review: PicPlz on Android is a post from: Droid Life

Though many of us are Android fans, a few of us have taken things a step further and have  actually done some coding for the platform. This is all well and good, but what about those of us who wish to learn?

As someone’s who’s in that latter camp (if anything, to learn more about that of which I write), I find that I learn a lot better from videos than reading endless blocks of text. While this is no substitute for a proper programming education, a number of self-education options are available, namely Coding Green Robots.

Coding Green Robots is a web series broadcasted biweekly by a couple developers from Toronto, ON. Though only two episodes are available at the moment, they give a run-through of a number of basic concepts that a user would need to know to develop for Android. Included are open-source projects and a number of tutorial notes for users to read and keep around for reference: these are invaluable resources in a quest from programming-illiterate to writing basic apps. They also offer a number of tutorials and a developer discussion section on their website.

Again, these sites can’t replace a formal programming education, but they can try; I don’t see anything wrong with trying to give users who don’t have money (or time) to drop on formal courses a taste of what they can experience with Android development. If nothing else, knowing how applications work and are made can give you a greater appreciation for the work that developers put into their creations; knowing a thing or two about the hard work devs do may give you an incentive to to toss them a couple bucks for a premium version of their app.

Happy coding!

Coding Green Robots on UStream
–
Matt Demers is Droid Life’s app guy, but as you can see, he likes to mix things up from time to time. You can find him on Twitter, or contact him via e-mail.

Spotlight: Coding Green Robots is a post from: Droid Life