Is the two button control method of games such as Robot Unicorn attack bringing you down? Because Whale Trail is now on Android, with half the buttons and twice the delight.

Is a platform game still a platform game when you get rid of the platforms? Perhaps not, but what if you’re scrolling from left to right, collecting objects and avoiding enemies by pressing a single button to go upwards? Trying to put today’s games into genres could drive a man mad! Whale Trail might not be the first game to bring a single button control method to Android, in fact I believe we took a look a look at The Impossible Game a couple of years ago, which showed us just how tough a game with a singe input could be. Difficulty isn’t the selling point of Whale Trail, although it can become quite challenging, the biggest treat that it has to offer is its experience.

Saying the experience of a game is its biggest feature is rather vague, but Whale Trail is the type of game that is more than just the sum of its parts and if you break it down too far it stops making sense. Although in actuality, there’s already very little sense in Whale Trail. You are in control of Willow the whale who’s flying through Rainbow Land to escape Barron Von Barry. So the story is total nonsense, not that you’ll find any story once the game begins anyhow. You can’t have such a bizarre story without the visuals to back it up and sure enough there’s evil clouds with faces on; happy clouds with faces on; a colorful mountain range in the background, also with faces on and so many colors, as if someone cranked the psychedelic dial up to 11. The graphics are just as much nonsense as the story, so is the music just as nonsensical? Well, here’s a sample of the lyrics: “Ain’t no riots in the sky – Just a riot of color – That lasts forever”, so, check!

Guiding Willow through the riot of color in the sky is simple: Press on the screen to tilt him up, keep holding on the screen and he’ll do a loop-the-loop. You won’t be flying aimlessly through the sky as you’ll need to collect sky bubbles for whale fuel (Did I mention the story was bizarre?). Running out of fuel will cause Willow to fall out of the sky and I can’t imagine what multicolored horrors that would cause on the land below. There are also storm clouds in the sky that will reduce your fuel if you collide with them unless you’ve collected enough stars to gain temporary invincibility, then you can smash through them for extra points. The endless mode eases you in on each play-though with few clouds and plenty of fuel, but eventually you’ll be scrambling for enough fuel to continue and carefully steering Williow through tight passages between walls of clouds.

If you’re looking for a more structured experience there’s 32 challenge missions that are unlocked after earning a small score in the classic mode. These challenges require you to reach a score milestone by the end of an area in order to win up to three stars. These stars are then used to unlock more challenge levels, which begins to get quite difficult around the high teens when you start to require a higher than two star average to unlock further levels. To reach three stars on many levels requires nothing short of perfection, which feels against the ‘spirit’ of the rest of the game’s feel good charm. There’s nothing wrong with a challenge, but when you can pay a couple of dollars through an in-app purchase to unlock the rest then the difficulty feels a little more insidious.

There’s a few technical hiccups that are worth mentioning. Firstly the frame rate isn’t as stable as it should be for a game so simple and secondly when there is a lot going on then the game simply freezes for a a second or two. Hopefully these issues can be patched out, but for now they can make some difficult situations even more challenging. Performance issues aside. Whale Trail is a nonsense game that’s a lot of fun to play. Beautiful, beautiful nonsense.

When you’re ready, head over to the Android Market and download this game by clicking or scanning the QR Code below.

Summary and Downloads:
Game: Whale Trail
Developer: ustwo
Cost: $0.99

Have you recently flashed an Ice Cream Sandwich ROM and now you’re itching to do some customizing? Well, don’t touch that dial, because I’ve got a splendid finding to share with you this evening.

fergie716 put together an amazing post over on XDA that provides info and links to some of the hottest status bar mods for many ICS ROMs already available, including Koush’s “CM9″, HTC Clay’s “Super ICS” and Brainmaster’s “ICS Mix” to name a few.

These mods will allow you to change the look of your status bar. You can center your clock, center your clock with the battery symbol, or roll with just the battery symbol if you prefer. There’s also a mod for oICS v21 and CM9 CDMA that brings onscreen buttons, lockscreen rotation, and ICS Blue in the drop-down status bar.

The installation process isn’t too tricky, but I still recommend making a backup before you head over to fergie716′s thread on XDA for the instructions and files you’ll need. While you’re there, please make sure to hit the thanks button for the post.

Source: XDA

One of the first and most important things we were able to confirm, both tablets will support the Android market. So no fears of getting your hands on a great tablet that only loads third-party apps. As we mentioned in the previous post, it looked like the tablet has HDMI out. We were also able to confirm this as well. They will support full 1080p HDMI out via Mini HDMI. That is a must have feature for any new tablet.

Both tablets will be able to connect to the internet via WiFi, but they have also added in a nice little addition that you all might like to know. They also support a SIM card. Which means you can have 3G connectivity on the tablet when you are out and about by simply popping your data SIM card into the tablet.

The final confirmation that we were able to get comes in the form of the OS. Although the site states they will be launching with Honeycomb 3.0, we have confirmed that the device will in fact be launching with Honeycomb 3.2. That is a sign of relief. That leads us to make a couple of predictions too. Knowing that GIT is trying to not only bring an amazing tablet to the market, but attempting to release as much source as possible for custom ROM support and modifications,  I have a sneaking suspicion they are holding back something. Most importantly, Ice Cream Sandwich.

You may have noticed that none of the pictures we took included the device being powered on. Due to current proprietary information, limitations and specific restrictions and requests by GIT, I wasn’t permitted to show the unit in action. Don’t worry, those will come at a later date. I promise, you won’t be disappointed when you do either. I can however confirm that the screen quality is amazing and they have done a great job putting those chips to work. The devices really fly through the OS with ease.

Pre-Orders are still open and you can snag either of the two devices directly from their website, GITCorp, for $479.99.

Product Features

• Nearby direct printing via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth without PC
• Nearby printing to PC or Mac shared printers
• Remote printing (you need to have PC or Mac with PrinterShare desktop application installed on your computer)

Product Description

Printing Right from your Smartphone

Print documents (DOC, DOCX, XLS, XSLX, PPT, PPTX, PDF, TXT) from your smartphone’s SD card and from Google Docs. Also print email from Gmail, photos from the SD card, contacts, agendas, SMS or MMS, call logs, and even web pages directly from your device to a printer right next to you or anywhere in the world.

Please note: This is the premium, unlocked version of PrinterShare Mobile Print. All the premium features are available, and no key is required.

Premium Features: nearby direct printing via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth without PC; nearby printing to PC or Mac shared printers; unlimited remote printing. You do not have to buy pages or have a subscription on the receiving computer (Mac or PC).

Nearby Printing: you can print to WiFi printers shared on your Local Area Network from your Android phone without having to install PrinterShare computer software. You don’t need to log in or sign up with the system for Nearby Printing. A wide variety of printers are supported.

Remote Printing over the Internet: make sure you’ve installed the PrinterShare software on the computer connected to the printer, just like when you print from computer to computer using PrinterShare, then just log in to your free account with your smartphone and find and select the printer you want to print to. In addition, from your mobile device you may look for printers shared by others, select one, and print on it.

 

Technical Details

• Size: 1.3MB
• Version: 5.7.6
• Developed By: Dynamix USA, LLC

• Minimum Operating System: Android 1.5
• Approximate Download Time: Less than 30 seconds

Application: PrintShare Mobile Print
Developer: Dynamix USA, LLC
Cost: FREE, regularly $12.99

If you are interested in getting your hands on the source code, point your browser to Samsungs portal site and search for D710.

Source: Phandroid

Product Description

Now wirelessly charging your Motorola Droid X2 or Droid X is as simple as setting it down! Powermat Complete solutions are pre-packaged bundles pairing a Powermat one position wireless charging mat and a wireless charging receiver to provide a seamless upgrade to wireless charging.

The Powermat 1X Wireless Charging Mat is the perfect solution for wirelessly charging in multiple locations in the home and office. Its small footprint fits almost any corner or even the smallest of nightstands.  A magnetic attraction between every Receiver and each access point on every Mat assures that alignment is precise and the most efficient charging will occur.  A unique sound tells you that a solid connection has been made and your device is charging. A second, similar sound is heard when the device is removed.

Communication between the Mat and the Receiver (via RFID) allows the mat to deliver an exact amount of power for the proper length of time so that the transfer of power is safe and efficient and no energy is wasted.  When a device reaches full charge, power is shut off to that device, which avoids overcharging of the device’s battery as well as saves energy.

Features:

• 1 Powermat 1X wireless charging mat
• 1 Receiver Battery Door for Motorola Droid X2 or Droid X
• 1 Power Supply (100-240VAC) with built-in cord management
• Auto Shut Off
• Full Charge Check

Works with: Motorola Droid X2, Droid X

Powermat is one really cool charging option. Simply set your phone down and away it charges. We currently have this product on sale for 25% of retail. Bringing the price down to only $45. You can take a closer look at this product and many more from the AndroidSPIN Store.

If the $199.99 price tag is a little steep, you can always pick up the device from us. We have it on special for $149.99 and it will ship out to you on Tuesday the 20th.

Product Description

This Motorola charging adapter allows you to use your Mini USB chargers, headsets, and data cables on Micro USB ports.

• Male MicroUSB Connector, EMU female receptacle
• 3.85in(L) x 0.51in(W) x 0.31in(H)
• 0.022lbs

  

Maps: Maps for Moms is another section that is included in the App and it’s a neat idea that works well. Basically Maps for Moms allows you to find places near your GPS Location. For example: I went to a city a few hours from where I live and I used the App to help me find a local Coffee Shop. Just open the App, Tap the “Coffee” button and it automatically searches and shows Coffee Shops near my current location. I found this to be extremely helpful. You can also find Restaurants, Malls, Playgrounds, Gas Stations, and WiFi Hotspots.

Stories: This is probably the neatest part of BusyMom Toddler Edition (at least it was for me). They include a section that has a bunch of streaming audio stories that are intended to keep your Toddler occupied. I used this in the car on my way to my Mom’s house the other day. You can hook up your phone to the iPod jack in your car and listen to stores through your car’s speakers. It also works great over the phone’s speaker. I used it last night as a bed-time story for my toddler. The stories are great classics that kept my toddlers attention.

Charts: The App also includes a section with Toddler development charts. You can easily pop over and check out a chart to see how your toddler is progressing. Not the flashiest part of the App, but it got the job done.

Overall I would give this App Five Stars and recommend it to any mom with a toddler age child. The price is amazing considering everything that you get with it. Here’s a link to find it in the Market:

Application: BusyMom Toddler Edition
Developer: BusyMom
Cost: $1.99

By: Amber