Late last week brought the end of a chapter in the Great Patent War. Samsung landed on the losing end of the battle between mega mobile moguls, but for once there was a calm in the mobile world. It lasted for as long as the weekend. Can’t we all just get along, guys? If you were too busy keeping your head ducked to avoid getting caught in the crossfire, you may have missed the news that happened this week. Lucky for you, we’ve got all the stories worth noting from the week of August 26-31, 2012
Patented patent talk
Apple scored a big win in its patent lawsuit against Samsung, but it sure didn’t get to enjoy it for very long. While it was busy losing a lawsuit in Japan, the guys behind the Android OS started to fire up their own war machine. Google watched Samsung fall to Apple, but refused to let their comrade fall in combat without defending their honor. We knew a patent battle between Google and Apple was basically unavoidable, and that notion became reality this week. Google has officially filed a lawsuit against Apple for violating patents owned by the Google-owned Motorola. While it’s probably more annoying to the public than anything, this is the most excitement patent offices have felt since Telsa was alive.
Play Store wants you to play more
While access to Android devices could potentially be stifled, especially the ones made by Samsung, access to apps for the OS is only getting easier. The folks at Amazon have taken their Android app store overseas, where it landed in a multitude of European countries. The selection that the Amazon store offers is smaller than the Google Play Store, but that’s simply because Amazon does quality control. Of course that’d happen in Europe. Here in America we have a free market–we can access terrible things any time we want.
While the Play Store may not be quite as controlled as Amazon, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have plenty to offer. In fact, Google wants to show you even more than what you’re already seeing by adding a “Recommended for You” section to the Google Play Store. The feature will point you in the direction of apps that you might potentially be interested in, meaning you’ll lose even more of you free time to your Android device.
Blackberry 10 news excites the few that are listening
While the big hitters in the mobile world continue to take swings at one another, the former holder of the portable reins has been laying low and rebuilding. Blackberry has had a rough run of things in the past couple years, but it’s hoping to come up swinging with their Blackberry 10 operating system, but one of the major improvements that it’s touting has nothing to do with software. Blackberry 10 phones will have a removable battery. While it might sound sad that one of the biggest upgrades is the ability to take out a device’s power source, it’ll be great for people that still swear by their Blackberry and use it until it can’t hold a charge.
It also looks like Blackberry 10 adopters will have plenty of options on how to drain those batteries. Developers working on Blackberry 10 builds have been able to submit their apps to the Blackberry App World. This will guarantee that folks planning on picking up the newest OS from Research in Motion will have tons of options to load up their devices on launch day.
Apps and Games of the Week
Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation ($3, Blackberry) – The military shooter that has been a hit for iOS and Android users makes its way to the Blackberry. It’s the perfect way to break up the business day by taking out frustration on the virtual firing range.
SkyDrive (Free, Android) – Microsoft’s foray into the cloud-based storage market has been available on iOS for a few months, but it just made its way onto Android. If you’re a dedicated Windows user without a Windows Phone, you can still keep your documents with you.
StereoMood (Free, iOS/Android) – StereoMood spins music based on the mood you’re in. Just type in an emotion and the app will provide a playlist that plays to those feelings. It’s been on the iPhone, but it just came to iPad–now a universal app–and Android this week.
WP Politics (Free, iOS) – The election cycle is in full spin. While we’re between conventions, there’s going to be plenty of stories that will be worth tracking in the weeks and months before November 7. WP Politics gives a uniquely interactive way to follow the news, especially with its recently added “The Forum” feature. It delivers the best of the political Twitterverse with no Twitter account required.
Bastion ($4.99, iPad) – Bastion made a splash as a gorgeous looking and fluid playing indie title on PC and consoles. It brings its hand-painted art style, creative story telling, and addicting gameplay to the iPad.
Concept ($1.99, iPad) – See your idea go from first thoughts to full fruition with Concept. This app lets you keep notes that are easily organizable and will let you fully flesh out whatever idea is floating around in your head.
Appetite+ (Free, iPhone) – Appetite+ is a handy little app that lets you compare and contrast the apps you have installed on your device to your friends. See what you have in common or what they may be using that you should look into getting for yourself.
Activision Anthology (Free, iOS/Android) – A collection of classics from the early days of gaming, the Activision Anthology contains all of the best games of yore from one of the biggest developers of those days. Titles like Pitfall, Stampede, Cliff Hangers, River Raid and Kaboom all call this app their home.
