Crazy Taxi iOS and Android!

If you ever played Crazy Taxi back in the day, on Sega Genesis, you gotta grab Crazy Taxi for your mobile phone!  Super fun, free and same as the original just on a much smaller screen. I guess they are coming out with a sequel soon as well.  Enjoy some CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZY Taxi!

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Fireworks For iPhone and Android

With the 4th of July just around the corner, I wanted to pass along a super fun FREE app called Fireworks Arcade for both iPhone and Android. 

You launch fireworks with the touch of your finger and the cool thing this one has over others I have tried is that you can drag your finger around the screen as well and create quite an impressive show!  And it is instantly responsive, no lag at all. 

The fireworks themselves explode into different shapes randomly the longer you use it, like stars, smiley faces, hearts, circles, etc. similar to some of the newer fireworks you'll see at a live show. 

Enjoy!

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Draw Something Free Phone Game

I didn't intend to do 2 posts in a row about SmartPhone games, but when I came into work on Monday there was a buzz about a game called Draw Something Free.  Apparently it's the top free app currently with over 10 million downloads?!  Where have I been?  Not sure how I missed that one. 

It is similar to Pictionary, without most of the embarrassment of having to stand up and draw things in front of a group of other people!  You play with other people online, similar to Words With Friends. 

You sign up with either email or Facebook or possibly both and then you can start games with your friends or random opponents.  They will give you a list of 3 words to choose from and you start drawing. 

One thing I learned after doing my first drawing, is that the person on the other end sees everything you do when it is their turn.  So if you start out drawing something, decide to erase it and then start over, they'll see all of that.

All in all it's pretty cool so far.  I draw TERRIBLY and don't think I'm a real good guesser either, but I will give it a try.  I'm not sure how it is on battery life or anything like that, but with over 10 million downloads, I'd have to assume it functions well enough to give it a try.

Free for both iPhone and Android.

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Where's My Water? Android and iPhone

I came across this super fun game yesterday called Where's My Water?  It is made by Disney and it is very impressive!  It is along the same lines as the very popular Cut the Rope, but is very different in that it involves flowing water.  You have to control the flowing water around the various levels with your eventual goal to get it into the pipe that fills the tub for the Alligator and he can take a shower/bath!  Who doesn't want to help a cartoon Alligator take a bath?!  8-)

Along the way you pick up rubber duckies and hidden objects to open up bonus levels.  It is really impressive graphics wise and the best part is the ease to be able to pick it up and put it down.  You can play a few levels in minutes and then put it back down or go through and play for an hour if you'd like.

Not counting the 10 cent games I purchased this week, this is only the second game/app I've purchased and it is WELL worth the 99 cents.  It is very unique and addictive/fun.  Check out the pictures/reviews on either the Amazon App Store for Android or Apple App Store and try it out for yourself, you won't be disappointed.  I think I'll go play some now.  Have a great weekend!

UPDATE:  If you happen to be reading this post on 12/14/2011, the app is 10 cents in the Android Market for their 10 days of 10 cent apps promotion.  Get it while it's hot!

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Verizon Promotion Doubles Data Plan

Verizon Promotion Doubles Data Plan

The month of November marks 2 years since the original Motorola DROID started Androidmania, and what better way for Verizon to honor the event than treating its customers to an irresistible offer like this one? Starting tomorrow, November 8, anyone who commits to a 4G smartphone data plan with Verizon will receive twice the megabytes that the plan includes. For example, opting in for the $30 2GB per month plan will get you 4GB of data instead.

The promotion applies to any Verizon 4G smartphone, and both new and existing subscribers are eligible for it. Existing Verizon customers should bear in mind that in order to request a data plan change they must either sign up via their My Verizon account or contact customer service for assistance.

With sizzling-hot devices like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the Motorola DROID RAZR, and the HTC Rezound nearing their release, it is pretty certain that a great deal of Verizon subscribers will take advantage of the double data deal. However, Verizon is making it clear that the data promotion will be available for a limited time, so it would probably be a good idea not to hesitate for too long if you find the offer tempting.

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Flick Golf!

I've been looking for a game like the old track ball Birdie King arcade golf games from back in the day and I came across Flick Golf for Android today.  That sounded like exactly what I was looking for in that you just flick your finger, like the old golf games and that's pretty much it.  It has real good reviews, except that after a recent update people lost their save game data, which doesn't apply to me, so I decided to give it a go!  It's the first game I've paid for and it was 99 cents.

It is very fun, but it's not exactly Birdie King, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  It's different in that your main goal is to get the ball very close to the hole in one shot.  There are rings around the hole and if you're in the closest ring you get 500 points, if you hit the pin you get bonus points and if you get a hole in 1 you get more bonus points, etc.

You get one initial shot and that's it, there is no putting, no picking of different clubs, etc.  Just flick it and that's it.  But it is quite interesting that once you do the initial flick of the ball, you can then control the curve and direction while it's in the air and you sometimes have to adjust for wind speed and direction, etc.

It's really a very simple concept and very easy to control and play, but getting a lot of points and hole in ones is challenging.  There is a regular course play mode where you progress through 9 holes on a course, trying to get closest/in the hole and then there is a quick shot mode where you have a time limit and your goal is to get a set number of points within your time limit and if you hit that goal, you unlock more courses.

Very cool game and worth the 99 cents if you're looking for a very simple, addictive little golf game that requires no prior knowledge of golf/clubs and has great graphics. It is available for both Android and iOS.  Enjoy!

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Contract Killer: Zombies!

With Halloween around the corner and us recently getting into the series The Walking Dead, a show about Zombies taking over, it's timely that I came across the free game Contract Killer: Zombies!  We really like The Walking Dead show by the way.  There were only 6 episodes in the first season and only 2 so far this season, so it's real easy to get the prior episodes and catch up! 

The game has real good graphics and it's free for Android and iPhone.  You assist the other characters with various missions, but your main role it to blow away the Zombies while they do the majority of the work.  Give it a try!  BRAINS!

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Updates to Prior Posts

I thought I would do a quick update on two prior posts...

Android App Creation
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Regarding my App-a-palooza post I was wanting to try to create an application that would allow me to control the two flash LED lights on my Droid X camera flash independently, so that I could just turn one light or the other on instead of both. The bottom LED is faulty and started to blink about 10 seconds after using one of the LED flashlight apps. Well, after over a month, the Motorola development team finally got back to me and said that while the two LEDs are in fact independent, there is no way to control them separately at the application level. On the plus side, when I use the flashlight app now, after around 10 seconds the bottom LED just goes off. It no longer blinks, so problem solved on it's own! I might return it for a 'new' refurb just before my year is up, but really no need to at this point. All is good now.

P90X workout
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Regarding my previous post on P90X from last week. I was onboard, for a day anyway. I got the supplements that I had mentioned and started in on the workout for day 1 and at the 1/2 way mark of the first workout I started to feel funky. My muscles were extremely fatigued to the point where I didn't have the energy to continue and I felt as if I needed to lay down. I had taken the Size On supplment prior/during the workout and this was the first time I had tried it.

In addition, I did the workout at 5pm, prior to eating anything major. Even though I had some turkey and some hard boiled egg whites just before working out, it might not have been enough food and that could have contributed to my fatigue. I've taken the Size On supplement separately afterwords with no major issues, I do feel a bit different when taking it, but haven't felt that same funky/fatigued feeling. I've also taken it when doing regular weight lifting workouts and no major issues.

I think the P90X is a bit too much at my current level of fitness. I have no problems at all doing a few miles on the treadmill-walking fast with some slight jogging and can do weights fine, but my typical workouts are only 2-3 days a week and 35 mins in length. I may incorporate some of the individual exercises of the P90X into my regular workouts, but I do not plan to continue with the program as a whole at this point in time.

I returned the Size On and Protein supplements to GNC. As far as GNC goes, it was great to be able to return the supplements used with no issues for a full refund. I didn't realize they would do that when I purchased them, so that was a bonus. They aren't bad taste-wise compared to things I've tried before, but I can taste the artificial sweeteners. My stomach/body is easily bothered by certain things and while these supplements aren't directly causing immediate issues, would rather not take these specific ones due to all of the additional ingredients that I don't necessarily want/need.

The main reason I wanted the Size On was for the muscle gain, which is a result of the creatine mostly. So I'm going to instead get a creatine only supplement. Creatine is tasteless and naturally occuring in the body. I've taken it before and I know it works, so I'd rather just stick with pure creatine for that one. I'm planning to get this one.

As far as the protein supplement goes, it wasn't bad, but again, has a whole lot of other ingredients and the aftertaste like a diet drink might, due to the artificial sweeteners I would guess. I'm going to go with this Now Whey Protein Isolate instead, which is all natural and doesn't contain any artificial sweeteners and is unflavored.

I think that wraps up the two things I've been wanting to provide an update on. If there's anything else you would like an update on or anything you'd like to have me post about, please leave a comment, as I'm always looking for new ideas for blog posts!

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Angry Birds Facebook Game

'Angry Birds' to attack Facebook, your remaining free time

I got the idea for this post from a similar post from Tim Ponders, thanks Tim.

Angry Birds the Facebook game is coming sometime over the next month it sounds like. I think that is going to be insane. As popular as the Farmville/Mafia wars type games were, this could be so much bigger given how many people play Angry Birds. Also, looks like a St Patrick's day version is coming out soon as well, so be sure to check your app store for updates to Angry Birds Seasons!

Original Article By Winda Benedetti

Just when you thought the "Angry Birds" campaign for world domination was finally starting to subside, it appears that no, NO ... it has only just begun. "Angry Birds" and Facebook are about to join forces ... and your free time will never be the same.

Mikael Hed, chief executive at Rovio (the development company that makes the game), says in Wired's UK magazine that "Angry Birds" is coming to the social network in the next month and that "there will be completely new aspects to it that just haven't been experienced in any other platform."

Rovio has not released much in the way of details about how the game might differ from the "Angry Birds" we know, but there is one tidbit of information to be had: Those of you who think that the pigs have been getting the short end of the stick in this ongoing saga will be happy to hear that "the pigs will have a more prominent role" in the Facebook app, says Hed.

(An interesting side note: Rovio tells Wired that users spend 200 million minutes playing the game every day and that some three trillion pigs have been popped so far.)

Meanwhile, Peter Vesterbacka, Rovio's "mighty eagle" (and head of business development) confirmed in the article that there may be other spin-off games in the works as well — perhaps games in the driving and sports genres.

Though "Angry Birds" got its start on the iPhone, it can now be played on iPads, Android phones, Palm devices, and Sony's PlayStation Portable game machine among other places, and the game is in the works for Windows Phone 7 devices and the Nintendo DS. Meanwhile, it's approaching the 100 million download mark.

But be warned: "Angry Birds" and Facebook together ... that sounds like the deadliest combination yet. Be afraid for your free time. Be very afraid.

While you wait for the end of your free time to begin, take a look at Conan O'Brien's tribute to Finland's most famous export. He and his crew say they've built the world's largest live-action "Angry Birds" game ever.

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Words With Friends

If you've had an iPhone for a while, you probably already know about Words With Friends. It is very similar to Scrabble and you can play others online, with up to 20 simultaneous games supported. Well, it is now available for Android as well! So now Android and iPhone users can play against each other also.

There is another game called WordFeud on Android that is supposed to be pretty much the same thing, but now that Words With Friends is out and since we never tried WordFeud, we decided to just stick with the new one. It is quite fun, but I think it definitely requires a lot of time and concentration.

A few people from work had a few games going the other day and they just play a turn when they're on lunch or break or something, so those games can go quite a while but it is fun. And I'm thinking it's probably good to stimulate your brain a bit in between playing games like Angry Birds or a new one I grabbed yesterday, Stupid Zombies (ios - android).

If you want to get a game going, my login is dudeman135. I don't guarantee I'll respond quickly all the time, but if you're looking to play a newbie...bring it on!

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