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Game Review: Plants Vs zombies

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We all know what are plants and what they do but have you ever thought that plants could get you rid of the zombies! Well that is exactly what they do in the game Plants Vs Zombies.

As the name signifies, it’s the battle between the plants and the zombies but as by nature plants are not self-reliant, they need your help in terms of strategizing and planning what to do and what not to. So, pull up your sleeves and take out that shovel as some digging and seeding is coming your way.

The game has a very intuitive and an exciting game play that is bound to keep the player glued to his/her smartphone for hours together. While testing this game out, we almost spent more than three hours playing this game continuously!

The game although seem like easy but as the levels grow in numbers, the game becomes tough and it keeps on growing. But not to worry as there are multiple plants and various varieties of plants ranging from pea shooters to zombie eater and fire breathers, all there to help you out and revenge the zombies.

After stage 5, you will be presented with the shovel also which gives you the power to remove a plant and sow another one in its place for a faster more painful death to the zombies. And as all these plants need the power of sun to kill zombies, you will need sun’s power in abundance while the number of zombies grows with the levels.

Overall, it is a very nice game with great graphics and even better concept that promises hours of fun and game play. But beware, the worst part about this game is that it is highly addictive and you will end up spending most of your time playing this game rather than doing anything else. Although the developers could have done something’s more with the music that tends to annoy the players after a few stages of zombie breaking action.

This game requires an iOS 3.0+ device and above. You can download the Plants Vs zombies application on your Apple device manually or can also visit the iTunes store to do the same. Alternatively follow this link. This game is available for iOS, Android and even PC you can also check out the developer website for more details.

App Review: Comics

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Comics have always been the favourites across age categories. With the advent of smartphones, comics have also took a turn to satiate the thirst of digital consumers. Digital comics which provides visually rich pictures also suits the readers who want a more interactive and interesting reading experience.

The Comics app is one such application that offers several graphically rich comics in digital format for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Developed by ComiXology, the app comes with built-in store that enables the users to purchase the digital version of popular comics.

ComiXology’s Comics app offers Digital Comics version from the top publishers &#151 DC Comics, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, and Vertigo along with several other popular publishers.

The interface of the app is quite uniform like that of an App store where one can see more of comic book covers here instead of App icons. Five basic options at the bottom of the App screen &#151 Featured, Popular, Browse, Purchases and Downloads are self explanatory.

Out of these five, Browse option allows you to search for your favorite comic series via search for which you may have to manually enter the name. Alternatively, you can browse the store by Series, Publisher, Genre, Creator, Story Arcs and special Free Comics section.

Most interesting part of this app is the comic reading experience that has been devised using the Guided View technology. For the first time, the app will offer you a quick tutorial on how to go about reading the comics in the app.

The app takes user from one panel to another via animated transition instead of loading full scanned copy of the comics. For several other image readers, when you have scanned copy of a comic then you will have to zoom and swipe your finger across the screen several times to get a fairly visible view of a page. That’s what is guided view.

With Comics App, the comic page goes through an animated transition and the time of the same can be set in order to suit one’s need &#151 from Immediate to 1 second. Navigating through panels is simple right to left for next panel and left to right for going to previous panel.

At any point you can simply tap to get the options and tap on the pages option to jump between pages instead of swiping randomly between panels.

The core reason for choosing this app is the Guided View interface that takes comics reading to a totally different level. Users are guided through the panels in a manner that carries the continuity of the story from one panel to another. Also if there is a bigger panel, the app focuses on the speech bubbles in the panel and frames the graphics accordingly.

The Comics app is meant for every one &#151 from comic book lovers to the first time comic readers. It’s a totally different and amazing experience reading the comics on the large screen of iPad. The best part of it is that the books purchased via the app are also viewable in the web interface at the comics.comixology.com.

Currently the ComiXology store offers over 13,000 comics books in its library along with the new releases. With number new series coming in, this is one good app must have for any comics and graphics art lover. The most recent version of Comics App for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad requires 4 or higher.

App Review: Talking Tom Cat

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The copycat is back in the business yet again, in a new setting and new adventure. The which is created by Outfit7, stars a talking cat which responds to touch, slaps, teasing and of course, repeats everything users say into their phone when the app is on. Talking Tom, the cat is already popular among the users, though is more popular among the kids who can never have enough of his antics.

When the cat is patted on the belly or the head, it purrs, and it reacts when poked. Even those users who don’t like violence or don’t want bad influence on their kids have the option to switch it (the violence) off. Ben, the neighbour of Tom, can also be controlled by the users with a few buttons. Anything that happens on the screen can be recorded and shared with the friends through Facebook and YouTube as well.

The quality of animation is good though it could have been sharper. The app runs on smoothly without any delay or lag. The best part of the app is that it comes for free but the users have to bear the advertisements on the top of the screen. There is the facility of in-app purchases as well.

The app is funny and entertaining for the adult users but only for a short time. Things get boring for them after that, though kids can enjoy the repetitions of the cat for far longer. Before users run their app for the first time, they will need to download additional data on their phones to get good quality graphics.

First look: Samsung Galaxy Y

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Samsung has always managed to strike the right cord when it comes to the youth and that’s what it has done with the newly announced Galaxy Y which costs Rs 7,800.

Galaxy Y, with much better specifications and lower price, is bound to give a tough time to several smartphones including the recently launched HTC Explorer.

In terms of look and feel the device doesn’t seem cheap or show signs of cost cutting. It has the same sturdy build that we have been seeing in most Samsung smartphones over the past couple of years.

The device is small and fits snugly in the palm of the hand. The back panel of the Galaxy Y features a textured finish that adds both looks and grip.

Since it is targeted at the youth there will be more colour options in the form of interchangeable covers, a Samsung India spokesperson told The Mobile Indian. The covers will come as Galaxy Y accessories.


In comparison to its closest rival &#151 HTC Explorer, the Galaxy Y falls short by 0.2 inches in terms of display size but scores with better display performance. The device is light after having a 1200 battery, which is enough to power this device for up to two days’ use.

Galaxy Y gets 2.3 Gingerbread as its operating system and combined with Samsung’s Touch Wiz user interface it delivers a nice user experience. It is powered by a fast 832 application which is by far the maximum that has been offered at this price.

There have been no major deductions about the hardware except that the phone has a small 2 main camera, but it would be asking for too much if we criticise the Galaxy Y for this.

HTC Android security flaw

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Google’s Android operating system has been suffering some security hiccups and vulnerabilities since last year. Now, security vulnerabilities have been found on a few HTC Android smartphones as well.

According to reports, there is one HTCLogger which runs on HTC smartphones as a native service. This data collecting service app typically keeps tab of user information and logging patterns for purposes that not known so far. It collects information about the user’s web browsing activity, last known network, GPS locations, SMS data, system logs, phone numbers and even email addresses.

HTC devices affected by this vulnerability are EVO 3G, EVO 4G, Thunderbolt, EVO Shift 4G, MyTouch 4G Slide and Sensation.

Trevor Eckhart, administrator of Infected community forum posted about the security vulnerabilities and then Artem Russakovskii blogged in detail about its effects at Android Police.

With such a severe security loophole, Eckhart suggested that the security research of the vulnerability is on-going while the patch for it is difficult to obtain without ROOT access to the phone. Also, several Android developers would agree that installing apps from unknown sources and third-party app stores needs to be avoided by affected HTC devices.

HTC has refrained from making any public statements but considering the seriousness of the vulnerability, the company is certainly working to roll out a patch for it. So far there is no solution to the problem.

Images of BBM for Android leaked

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Research In Motion surely surprised many when it mentioned support to run apps on PlayBook tablet. However, the leaked images of BlackBerry Messenger running on Android operating system will surprise many. TechRadar has received two images that show BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) on an Android smartphone. This news will certainly interest several Android and BlackBerry smartphone owners for its cross-platform potential.

Earlier this year The Mobile Indian reported that RIM was planning to work on a stripped down version of BlackBerry Messenger for Android and platforms. Now images show a BlackBerry Messenger BBM icon in the Android menu and the BBM user profile.

Apparently, users won’t have a similar experience on the BlackBerry Messenger on BlackBerry OS. Now BBM for Android may interest users who wish to keep in touch with their friends, family or colleagues. BBM for Android will carry the same system for adding users but there’s no clarity on threaded conversations.

BlackBerry Messenger for Android seems to be developed using the BlackBerry Messenger SDK, along with BlackBerry Java SDK.

With Apple on the verge of releasing iOS 5, which brings a new iMessage messaging platform, it’s quite unlikely that Apple will approve the massively popular BlackBerry Messenger. Although it would be interesting to see the BlackBerry Messenger for iOS compete with the iMessage service.

So far screenshots indicate that BBM for Android might be in the pre-alpha or alpha stage. There is no official detail on the project and we may have to wait for a bit longer to actually see the instant messaging service on Android.

First look: Samsung Omnia W

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Till now there was a lot of confusion in the Indian smartphone market as to who will be the first manufacturer to announce a Windows Phone Mango 7.5 based smartphone. Well, now with the announcement of the Omnia W, Samsung has taken this position.

Omnia W was launched globally just a couple of days back and India will be among the first few countries to get these devices.

We played around with a Samsung Omnia W at a press event where Samsung revealed its plans about these devices. The device is priced at nearly Rs 19,990 and will be available for purchase next month onward.

Samsung Omnia W looks great with its 3.7 inch capacitive touchscreen with native of 480 x 800 pixels. The most amazing characteristic of this device is its 252 ppi which makes visuals look crisp and smooth. The display reproduces bright and vibrant visuals that are unparalleled in any other display available in the market today except the Galaxy S2 which uses a larger version of the same display.


With 10.9 mm thickness, this device is comfortable to hold and has a lot of oomph. It is black and looks really classy.

Samsung Omnia W features a 1.4 GHz application and runs Windows Phone Mango 7.5 on 512 of to keep things speedy and fluid as well. The device makes use of the native Windows user interface with live tiles and works real smooth.

It has a 5 snapper with flash capable of recording 720p video.

Overall, Samsung Omnia W looks great and has the hardware to power a large sized tablet as well.

Stay tuned for we’ll carry a detailed review soon.

eBay India app for Android available from today

After launching apps for Nokia’s Ovi store, Apple iOS, and the Mobile web, eBay India is set to launch a new app. eBay already has an Android app, and this new application is likely to form the backbone of the Indian version.

This would allow users to list an item and even include up to eight photos. What’s more, this app supports RedLaser’s barcode scanning technology to prefill item details for an array of products.

There are other options like revise items from your “Active Selling” list, relist them from the “Unsold” list, “Sell one like this” capability (when viewing a similar item on eBay), as well as the ability to schedule an auction (start immediately or choose a later date), end an active auction, mark an item as shipped, and contact the buyer right from within the app.

In addition, eBay for Android has a new home screen, which has more options for refining search results (condition, free shipping, location, completed listings and sold items only). Besides, the home screen now also shows feedback ratings and recent comments from eBay members.

The new Indian version of the app will be available free from the Android market and eBay’s website, which users can download on to their Android device.

eBay will also make the app available on the Ovi store for Nokia phones. Currently, the app comes reinstalled in Nokia C20-02 and C2-03 phones only.

For people who use feature phone and do not want to download an app, they can simple visit m.ebay.in (Indian version) through their phones browser.

eBay has also recently added social networking feature to its mobile apps that lets people connect to eBay through social networks, this also lets people share what interests them of eBay or keep a track of an ongoing auction etc.

First look: Samsung Wave 3

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After Samsung announced its Bada 2.0 phones back in August, the Wave 3 has made its first public appearance today during the Samsung press event in Delhi. The new device with its totally revamped operating system is sure to be as good as what we saw in the past. Bada 1.0 was great and with Bada 2.0 we expect better applications from more reputed developers and multimedia content from Samsung’s services, which Wave 3 has.

Samsung Wave 3 happens to be the flagship Bada 2.0 device and is priced at Rs 19,600. It will be available for purchase towards the end of this month or perhaps sooner.

Wave 3 looks brilliant in its 9.9 mm thick body and weighs less than 130 grams. It has a metal body which adds to both style and durability for long term use as well. Wave 3 has a 4 inch super with 480 x 800 pixel resolution at 233 ppi pixel density.

The device looks and feels great with its curved edges and slim profile, which make it easy to hold and operate with one hand. The power and display lock key has also been placed on the side of the device for easy single hand access.

Wave 3, along with the upgraded operating system, has been upgraded in terms of the hardware as well. The new device gets a 1.4 GHz application for much faster command processing time coupled with 3 of internal memory.

The device also has a 5 rear camera and VGA resolution front camera. It connects using WiFi, HSPA and 3.0. Wave 3, although priced at almost Rs 20,000 is well worth it.

Watch this space for a detailed review of Wave 3.

Nokia Ace to be first 4G LTE supporting Windows Phone

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A new Nokia smartphone, codenamed Ace, will be the first mobile phone with Windows Phone, according to a report.

MyNokiaBlog.com, an unofficial website that covers the latest Nokia products and announcements, said that the Nokia Ace will feature 4.3 inch massive Amoled ClearBack display. This massive screen bearing Nokia Windows Phone handset is expected in the first quarter of 2012.

To complement the massive display, this Windows Phone operating system running device will house 1.4 GHz processor. There’s no detail on whether this mobile will be dual-core or single core.

At this moment, the tipster stated that this handset will come with Mango update. An Interesting part of this Windows Phone will be the 8 camera with Carl Zeiss lens and we presume should be capable enough to record 1080p HD video. This smartphone will have 16 onboard storage which would be great enough for storing all multimedia and of course, the apps.

Nokia is expected to release this device in first quarter of 2012 in US and we presume that this handset might be shown at the Mobile World Congress 2012. This handset might be one of the Windows Phone Flagship devices for Nokia.

Besides Ace, Nokia is also working on two Windows Phone based devices &#151 Searay, and Sabre.