Shaun Mccran

My digital playground

17
M
A
R
2011

Huge update for Robo Defense for Android

Over the last few days Lupis Labs have steadily released a huge amount of updates to their 'Robo Defense' Android game. It was already a top ten game for the Android platform, but it is great to see software maturing, and being constantly revised to bring additional features to their users.

There has been a massive graphics overhaul, the addition of a zoom mode and several other updates. They have also added a load more achievements, and a survival mode with scaling difficulty to really test you.

A full list of the updates is available on the Lupis Labs website.

25
J
A
N
2011

Chroma circuit Android game review

I've been waiting for Bowler Hat games Chroma Circuit for a while now. It was demonstrated at Scotch on the Rocks last year, and it looked like quite an innovative mobile puzzle game.

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18
O
C
T
2010

GetJar mobile App changes its billing model, launches GetJar+

I've never used the getJar application market place, I had heard of it, but never really considered it as competition for the regular Android market. I was recently approached by their PR agency with a press release detailing how they are launching a pilot program, called getJar+. It looks like they are switching to an AD based revenue stream rather than a pay per app system.

I'll give them a try, but I'm holding back on judgement until I've seen what they host, and how easily they interface with my mobile platform.

The full press release is included below.

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04
S
E
P
2010

Twitters OAuth changes break HTC Peeps login

I've got a HTC Desire Android handset and I use the Twitter Application that ships with it, Peep. Recently it stopped logging in for me, after a quick search around online it looks like Twitter have finally made their OAuth login authentication mandatory for third party applications.

This is a good thing in itself, but it does raise the question of when a platform changes from being just 'open' to being so wide spread that it is considered as a public API. I'm not in a position to comment on why Peep wasn't updated to work with OAuth before it was released, but it does make you question who is responsible for maintaining the service levels of public API's.

If Twitter have published and promoted their API, surely it is their best interests to maintain its functionality, and ensure some level of backwards compatibility? This is a tricky point to argue, as on one hand it is very good that they are maturing their platform with new features and security, but on the other hand they do risk alienating the community they rely on by introducing new features that require third party application changes. By this I mean changes that require an update, and are not backwards compatible, rather than just not updating and missing out on any new functionality.

This is especially prominent in this instance as it affects the Twitter Application that actually ships with HTC Android handsets, so it is guaranteed to be quite widespread.

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