You ever just wanna blow stuff up?  Yeah, me too.  Then you might be interested to know the folks over at Clapfoot Games have provided an outlet for you.  Their latest version of Tank Hero for Android, is a neat, 3D and fast paced shooting game which allows you to take out the enemy using weapons like howitzers, heat seekers and cannons.  Game play is intense, and there are quite a number of levels to keep you busy, with the developer promising to add even more.  Hit the break for more details and then head on over to the market for the download.  We’ve also added some more pics for you as well.  Don’t forget to let us know what you think of the app in the comments below.   Read More…

Tank Hero For Android, Available In The Market For Download

View full post on Android News, Rumours, and Updates

The Tank Hero Android App by Clapfoot Games is a 3D tank action game for the Android platform. There are 2 modes of gameplay Campaign Mode and Survival Mode with 40 levels for each mode. There are 5 types of tanks that you can fight against, each are a different color and you get 4 weapons to choose from for your tank.

The controls are simple and there is a tutorial the first time you play the game. You have a DPad in the bottom left hand corner of your screen that you use to control the tank. To shoot simply press on the area you want to shoot at once. The graphics are simple 3D graphics but look really cool with the overall design of the game.

Overall, this is an excellent tank action game for the Android platform. Online gameplay might be a cool feature to add to this already great game. At the time of this review the Tank Hero Android App is free. Thumbs Up.

Download Tank Hero

View full post on

It’s no secret that Gameloft makes some of the best Android games you can get. Usually running $4-$6, Gameloft features a lot of HD games that both look great, and play well. You may remember that they gave away a copy of Dungeon Hunter HD earlier this month. Today’s offer is similarly great, only it’s more reminiscent of Spartacus than King Arthur. Today, and today only, you can get a free copy of Hero of Sparta from Gameloft. If you’ve played Dungeon Hunter, the gameplay will feel familiar — it’s a very similar style. If you haven’t played either, catch the trailer below, or just jump straight to the source link and start downloading! At a price of NOTHING, you can afford to take a risk. (Note: the game may change on you once you select your phone. If it does, just re-select the free game from the list of games toward the bottom of the screen, and begin your download.)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Free Gameloft Game – Hero of Sparta, Today Only

View full post on Android News, Rumours, and Updates

Over at TDG, they got an exclusive sneak peek at the coming-soon DJ Hero for Android. The game has been a smash hit on consoles, and is now coming to the Android screen. According to the review:

The controls of the game are easy… however you’ll notice that when your hand is pressing on the keys it’ll make it so you can see if you are pressing it or not as there is no feedback built in when you press it. Besides the fact of not knowing when you press the key its fairly easy to catch on quick to the game and start with the fun. This being the first time I’ve ever played the game.. Phone or home game console I did find it both fun and entertaining and something I’d continue to play over and over again. Like the home system one you have to play and “beat” levels to proceed to the next one. With having only a beta one there was only 5 levels in which I could play from.

Sounds like the game has been relatively well ported, but still needs some help in functionality. Be sure to keep it here for a release date, price and requirements, and be sure to hit the break for a full gallery. Source link will have the complete rundown. Thanks Korey!

Read More…

Android Gaming: DJ Hero coming to Android

View full post on Android News, Rumours, and Updates

I told you the story about my wife and the Nokia N8 and am happy to report that I was able to get her a blue Nokia N8 through a timely purchase and swap deal that worked out for me and Mike Macias. She has been using it now for about a week and a couple of days ago I showed her the power of the device and she is even more pleased with the N8.

My wife is a Party Lite consultant so she travels around to different homes and has parties showing off candles, accessories, and food so having a reliable GPS system is extremely important to her. She has a 2002 Acura with a navigation system in it, but you need to pay $200 a year to get an updated DVD and the user interface blows. I showed her how to use Ovi Maps and we setup an account for her to use so she could enter in show addresses in advance and have them synced to her N8 as favorites.

Well, the other day she decided to follow the specific directions from the hostess to a location about 35 miles away from our house. She called me in a bit of distress because the directions she was given were junk and not getting her to the destination. I told her to give me a couple of minutes as I was going to help her using her new N8. Now, she could have simply launched Ovi Maps and went through entering the destination manually, but the specific address was on her desk at home so it was easier for me to just go into her Ovi Maps account on my Mac, enter the address, and click on the star icon to save it as a favorite. I then told her to start Ovi Maps and sync to her account. She tapped favorites, tapped the address, and within about 10 minutes she was successfully pulling up to her destination. I was a hero thanks to Ovi Maps and she will now start using her N8 even more for getting to her shows.

Speaking of Ovi Maps, there is a brand new beta version available over on Beta Labs, version 3.06, so make sure to go get it for your N8 right now. The list of new features is below, but one of the coolest is the ability to download maps for offline navigation right to the device, via WiFi, so you won’t need to connect through a PC or Mac and use MapLoader.

• Download street maps directly to your device! A new feature called “Update” on the main menu which allows you download Street Maps directly (via WiFi) to your phone without a PC! Please note that phones without WiFi (e.g. Nokia 5230) will not work.
• My Position and Search are now integrated (now called Map). When accessed, it will show your last map view
• Back button in Favourites
• Long tap functionality to delete & rename collections & routes
• Pop up for first time use – to inform user to download new map data (when upgrading 3.04 > 3.06 for the first time)
• Improved behaviours of transit lines settings in map toolbox (no more grey out)
• Compass calibration hint
• Refreshed place details information view

I personally find the lane assist through city driving to be essential and plan to record a video of Ovi Maps in action on my N8 soon so you can see what I am specifically talking about here. Anyone else have an Ovi Maps success story?

View full post on Nokia Experts

Sprint Hero owners, you may want to check your phone for a maintenance update which has started rolling out today. You can check this manually by heading to Settings > About Phone > System Updates > HTC Software Update > Check Now on your device.

The update brings the version number up to 2.32.651.2, but again, this is just a maintenance release, so not much going on here. If you’re a Hero owner and you have trouble downloading the update, leave us a comment below.

[thanks KW for sending this in!]

Sprint Hero maintenance release 2.32.651.2 now available

View full post on Android News, Rumours, and Updates

The Scooter Hero Android App by wuzla is a side scroller game with 3 modes of gameplay. The object of the game is to get as far as you can without falling. You do this by jumping from platform to platform. To score additional points you can do grinds. Super Medals mode adds the obstacle of trying to collect medals on certain platforms. Gas Plant mode adds the obstacle of having to refill your gas before it is empty by collecting gas cans. Skills School mode has cones that you need to avoid hitting when jumping from platform to platform. If you hit a cone you will lose 1 point per cone. There are a few different power ups and items you can get for more points.

The controls are simple, to make the character jump press on the screen once and he will jump. To perform a grind stint you will need to time your landing so that the front tire can hook onto the platform. From a grind you can also press the screen once to jump. To perform a higher jump press on the screen once a bit longer and then release. To perform a double jump press on the screen once to jump and then press on the screen once again for the double jump. These can be used if you need an extra jump to reach a platform. The graphics are really well done and of high quality. The game has a cartoon feel to it. The game could use an online leader board instead of only having local scores.

Overall, this is a quality side scroller game with 3 modes of gameplay. At the time of this review the Scooter Hero Android App is $0.99. Thumbs Up.

Download Scooter Hero Lite

Download Scooter Hero Paid

View full post on

Less than a year after its initial release in November of 2009, TELUS has announced they will no longer be selling the HTC Hero. The move is likely influenced by the addition of higher-end Android devices to the TELUS lineup, including the  HTC Desire, Motorola Milestone, and the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy Apollo.

You may be able to find some stock left in stores, but the Hero has been officially removed from online ordering. Goodnight, sweet prince.

View full post on Google Android News Android Forums

For those of you who downloaded the 2.31.651.7 update from Sprint on your Hero, there is a little bonus for you over at XDA. A completely stock rom from nfinitefx45 with everything from the factory including: root, busy box, wireless tether, su, and the ability to add A2sd. Adding A2sd to a 2.1 sense rom is a really nice touch considering this moves all the dalvik to cache, allowing for over 100 megabytes of free space on the device. I have actually achieved this with another hack from Firerat and his custom MTD partitions, albeit on Cyanogen 6.0 stable (Froyo).  It is a great tweak which freed up about 150-200 megabytes of internal data storage on my Hero! If you use Firerat’s tweak. you better know what the heck you are doing and he drives home that point clearly on his forum page at XDA. The stock  Sprint rom comes in a .zip file odexed and deodexed, so you have the choice. Give it a try if you like stock sense with the new update rolled in, which takes care of GPS and dialer issues, along with a few superuser permissions!

NFX Sprint 2.31.651.7 STOCK Deoxed/Odex
This is the New Update from Sprint this is a completely stock rom with everything from the factory included.
Included Extras:
Rooted
Busybox
SU
wireless tether

View full post on AndroidSPIN | Your No.1 source for Everything Android.

For those of you who thought your Sprint Hero was dead, think again! Sprint has released a new update: software version 2.31.651.7. It is supposed to fix the GPS and dialer issues and this is an OTA update. All you need to do is hit settings on your phone, system updates, and then HTC software update. Some people have already pushed this and are saying the dialer loads in seconds now instead of a full minute prior to the update. Sprint has also confirmed another update for the Hero in October. A lot of people are speculating as to whether this will be a 2.2 (Froyo) update or some kind of patch for 2.1 update 1. Sprint has said that the Hero will not be getting Froyo, and that pretty much shuts down that dream, but you never know. One can still hope for an official Froyo release on the Hero! Until then, keep your fingers crossed and hope HTC and Sprint have been paying attention to what some developers have been able to do with the Hero in regards to Froyo.

View full post on AndroidSPIN | Your No.1 source for Everything Android.

Bionicle was Lego’s wildly successful and long running product line that mirrored easily-built, high-playability robot models with a convoluted storyline that included comics, novels, and even short movies. It told of a colossal battle between two essentially identical armies of robots. All things come to an end, however, and Bionicle’s run has concluded. In its place, refreshingly story-light, is Hero Factory.

Just like Bionicle, the Hero Factory features a lot of unique parts as well as Technic-compatible Lego elements. If you have a lot of Bionicle bricks lying around, you can be sure that these new sets will be compatible. Also like Bionicle, the age range for the sets seem to skew a bit lower. For instance, the kids and I played around with a sample of Meltdown, a robot featuring two toxic waste buckets mounted on its back and a ball launcher, and it sported a mere 50 elements including Technic pins.

However, some of the models are much more complicated. The Von Nebula model (pictured above) was wonderfully complicated and Lego rates it 9+ with 156 pieces.

This model, incidentally, was deemed less fun by the kids because it lacked a ball launcher, but I loved it. It was the most cunningly designed humanoid Lego figure I think I’ve ever seen. The hips and knees are two ball joints each, and the shoulders are as well, making it incredibly sturdy and poseable — very high playability!

And for those of you concerned that Hero Factory’s incompatibility with System bricks limits its use as a building medium, be sure to check out artists like Guy Himber, whose Clockwork Coconut Crab makes masterful use of obscure elements. Ultimately, Lego is what you make of it!

I’m looking forward to seeing all the cool models coming out of the Hero Factory line.

View full post on GeekDad

Everyone has gone update happy this week, so update happy that even the HTC Hero for Sprint is getting in on the action with a bump up to firmware version 2.31.651.7. The update fixes issues with the phone dialer and GPS, but we are afraid that this may be getting to the end of the line in terms of future progression of the device. We already know the handset won’t get Android 2.2 (Froyo), so it seems like Sprint is just setting users up with a nice place to live — sort of like a retirement home — until the Hero is finally released from its mortal coils to join its brethren in Android heaven.

[via TalkAndroid]

At my house, Band Hero sits without being played; sometimes for weeks on end. Don’t get me wrong, I find it fun and addictive; I just don’t keep it hooked up all of the time. If I want to be entertained, I want to be entertained now! I don’t want to have to spend time setting everything up first. BlackBerry users had the chance to play with Guitar Hero in the past, but now we have a chance to switch from “1, 2 – 1, 2, 3, 4!” and focus more on the ones and twos with DJ Hero Mobile.

In a similar style to Guitar Hero, DJ Hero Mobile focuses on timing and skill. Step up to the turntable and try to keep the beat while you scratch and cross-fade. As the product description says: “the more beats you successfully rock, the more mixes you unlock!”

Features:

• 13 full-length, original mixes of tracks by artists including: The Jackson 5 and Third Eye Blind, Marvin Gaye and David Bowie, and Weezer and Dilated Peoples.
• 8 unlockable mixes (5 available to play from the start, 8 more to be unlocked)
• 22 achievements including ""Scratchaphobia"" and ""Full Set"" (completing all the game’s mixes at any difficulty setting)
• Choose a DJ with unique and expressive animations and perform in 3 different venues
• Controls faithfully re-create the console experience to include streams, scratches, cross-fades and EUPHORIA.

Just a word of caution: if you let the beat drop, don’t let your BlackBerry drop. It kind of, you know, voids the warranty. DJ Hero Mobile is available for $6.99 at BlackBerry App World. You know what? I think I might pull out Band Hero after all. Who wants to come over and jam?

• Pick up DJ Hero Mobile for BlackBerry Smartphones >>

CrackBerry.com‘s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. DJ Hero drops on App World

View full post on CrackBerry.com blogs

The guys at Twinkler Software let me know that for today (Monday) only they are offering up a bundle of AddOnis and WiFi Hero at 40% off. The bundle usually sells for $11.98, but today until midnight you can grab it for just $7.19. These two great apps add some great functionality to your device giving you more control over common tasks.

• AddOnis: AddOnis extends system functionality, enabling features missing from the system that make your device easier and more efficient to use by adding all of the choices you always wanted to your menu selections.
• WiFi Hero: WiFi Hero automatically controls your WiFi Power Status to save power and make your battery last longer. WiFi Hero can automatically turn off or turn on WiFi power (on GSM or WCDMA netwoks only) based on your location, screen status (on/off) and charging status (on charger/off charger). 

Contest: In addition to the sale, Twinkler Software is giving up 40 app bundles to CrackBerry readers – This means you can win both AddOnis and WiFi Hero. To enter, just leave a single comment on this post. Contest ends this Sunday at midnight PDT.

• Purchase Addonis/WiFi Hero bundle OTA from your device >>

CrackBerry.com‘s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Contest: 40 copies of AddOnis & WiFi Hero up for grabs; Buy both today only and save 40%

View full post on CrackBerry.com blogs

One of Canada’s regional carriers in Manitoba – Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS) – has taken their first step into the world of Android with the HTC 6250 (you might’ve seen this device in other parts of the world being called the “HTC Hero”). Their version of the Hero resembles what Sprint offered to their customers back in 2009 and is largely the same externally and internally.

There’s no word on what version of Android it comes shipped with so you may want to give MTS a call or walk into one of their retail locations to see the device for yourself and to gather more information about it. You can grab the phone for $99.99 on a two-year contract or $199.99 if you’d rather be free after 365 days.

[via IntoMobile]

View full post on Android Phone Fans

The HTC Hero, one of Sprint’s all time best selling phones, has come back, this time with some attitude. To quote Brian Johnson, she’s “back in black”.

Cellular South is now offering out HTC’s handset, with all the standard specs. It comes with Android 2.1 installed, and it priced at $129.99 on a two-year contract, along with a $50 reward card, bringing the total price to $79.99. To sweeten the deal, you can snag a second one for free… after another $50 mail-in reward card.

If you would like to check it out for yourself or order, hit up the source link below.

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

HTC Hero, back in black

View full post on Google Android News Android Forums

Over at CellularSouth’s website, there’s a shiny new update for owners of the HTC Hero.  If you’re still waiting on Android 2.1, head over and hit the advertised button to serve yourself and nice helping of Eclair.

Thanks for catching up guys…and I’m not just being snarky, that’s sincere.  Everyone should be on 2.1 by now, in my opinion.

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

HTC Hero for Cellular South Gets Android 2.1 Update

View full post on Google Android News Android Forums

ZXTeam has released an update to ZX 2.1 HERO v1.5.1.Now at version 1.5.1.

INCLUDES
- HTC widgets
- clear cashe on boot
- takes for ever to become unstable
- fast
- HTC apps
- fully functioning
- htc ime
- legend looking

WHATS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE NEAR FEATURE?
- have this as fast and as stable as it is on a hero
- include the 650mhz hack
- include 10mb ram hack

WARNING WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO YOUR DEVICE

TIPS
- put widgets to the minimal
- if you are having problems, follow these steps
Directions….
-Wipe data/factory reset
-Wipe cache
-Wipe dalvik
-Wipe battery settings
-Wipe rotate settings blah
-If you want to use Apps2SD then format Ext4/fat32/swap. If not (mytouch) then exclude your EXT partition. You will only have Fat32/SWAP
-Flash ROM
-Flash overclock kernel IF you want
-Reboot
-Wait for lock screen to apear (DONT TOUCH ANYTHING)
-Wait for your carrier to appear (mine is t-mobile)
-Wait AT LEAST 10 minutes and dont touch a thing or unlock screen.

REQUIREMENTS
- repartition in this order ext 1/2/3/4
- 96mb swap

CHANGE LOG:

v1.5.1

- added jit

v1.5
- edited the clear cashe on boot script
- edited the cpu script
- speed tweaks
- noticeable bump in speed

Head over to ZXTeam’s AndroidSPIN Developer Homepage for more information and downloads.

View full post on AndroidSPIN | Your No.1 source for Everything Android.

The development team calling themselves unrevoked discovered an executable binary called skyagent in the HTC EVO and the Sprint Hero. A second executable binary called hstools was also found in the HTC EVO. In addition to other capabilities, both binaries allowed access to the root of the phones’ file sytsems.

File this in the “this isn’t exactly new but now we know how it all went down” category. The skyagent binary could be used as a backdoor into each phone “allowing control of the device without the user’s knowledge or permission.” Skyagent was executable by any user without requiring elevated permissions. Once skyagent was invoked it would listen for commands over a TCP port on “all interfaces, including the 3G network.” The commands that unrevoked discovered are:

• sending and monitor user tap and drag input (“PentapHook”),
• sending key events (“InputCapture”),
• dumping the framebuffer (“captureScreen”),
• listing processes (“GetProc”),
• rebooting the device immediately,
• and executing arbitrary shell commands as root (“LaunchChild”)

It was skyagent that unrevoked used for their 1-click root method that can be found at unrevoked.com

Likewise, hstools was another executable binary that could be used to pass command input to the phone with root permission. Hstools was exploited by unrevoked after skyagent was removed by the EVO launch-day OTA update.

Unrevoked makes a point to mention that they do not believe that either HTC or Sprint had any malicious intent with regards to these two vulnerabilities. It is believed that skyagent was a debugging binary that was never removed from the phone before official release. Unrevoked goes on to praise Google, HTC, and Sprint for their efforts in patching the vulnerabilities and provides a timeline of events:

• 31 May 2010 23:53:08 EDT: Google security notified about skyagent
• 01 Jun 2010 03:53:30 UTC: Automated Google response
• 01 Jun 2010 16:45:46 UTC: Response from Google Security Team
• 02 Jun 2010 23:18:31 EDT: Sprint security contacted about skyagent
• 03 Jun 2010 01:18:58 CDT: Sprint response
• 04 Jun 2010: Sprint OTA update removingskyagent binary.
• 30 Jun 2010: Sprint OTA update patchinghstools vulnerability.

Source: unrevoked

NOTE: Backdoor Found in HTC EVO & Sprint Hero, Exploited to Gain Root Access originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

AndroidGuys is looking for summer interns! Check out bit.ly/AGinterns

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View full post on AndroidGuys

HTC has officially  released the Linux kernel source code for the HTC Evo and the HTC Hero (GSM and CDMA). What does this mean? For the average user, not much. But, for the developers, it means that they can now get everything up and running in their custom ROMs for these devices (like JIT and camera). Although there have been custom made kernels up and functional on the Hero for awhile now (thanks to xda-developers… it’s even been overclocked), it’s nice to see that Google hasn’t simply forgotten about these sources. If you would like to see the kernel releases for yourself, go take a look at the HTC Developer Center.

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

HTC Evo and HTC Hero kernel sources released

View full post on Google Android News Android Forums

We touched on this briefly in our previous post covering Sprint’s tentative plans to bring Android 2.2 to their network on at least the HTC EVO 4G (and other Android 2.1 phones launching this year), but for those that missed it, official word through Sprint’s Twitter says the Samsung Moment and HTC Hero are not currently in play as devices to see the update. It doesn’t get more clear than this:

Let’s look at the silver lining: at least Moment and Hero owners won’t have to go through the heart-wrenching ordeal of having their update continually pushed back and delayed. That has to count for something, right?

[thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

View full post on Android Phone Fans

Remember yesterday when we said that Eclair was on the way for the Hero? Well thats basically just been confirmed. HTC has recently issued a statement saying:

“Android Éclair update for HTC Hero will be released by the end of June. The upgrade will come in two parts, the first of which will roll out from this week and will be detected when the Hero next automatically checks for software updates. The second part of the update will follow towards the end of the month. As the second part of the upgrade will wipe all data on the handset, Hero users should ensure any important data has been backed up before proceeding with the installation. Due to the size of the update, wherever possible, we would advise using a WiFi connection for this download to avoid additional data charges.”

So there you have it my patient Europeans, it looks like you’re finally getting the 2.1 update after all.

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

HTC Hero to get Android 2.1 by end of June (Europe)

View full post on Google Android News Android Forums

We wrote about the 2.1 update possibly coming to the UK a little over a week ago. Well apparently good things come to those who wait. HTC Europe has begun pushing out groundwork for the 2.1 update OTA to Hero owners today. If your phone receives the update, you will see a notification on the phone and all you have to do is press OK to accept the update, which will download via your data connection or wifi. After installing the update, you can verify it installed correctly by checking the Build number.

From the Home screen, go to Menu -> Settings -> About Phone -> Build Number. Once there, the new Build number after the update will be 2.73.405.93; 2.73.405.94 (Nordic) & 2.73.405.95 (Greece/ Ireland).

[via HTC]

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

HTC Hero gets ready for Android 2.1 OTA in UK

View full post on Google Android News Android Forums

It would seem that the long-awaited Android 2.1 upgrade may be making the journey towards the West sooner rather than later – if recent reports are to be believed. After reports last week of the 2.1 update being made available to customers in Asia, Pocket Lint has reported that a statement advising a June arrival has not been retracted, according to Top.10.com.

Is this the news we’ve all been waiting for? Or have HTC pulled the wool over our eyes again? After all, we were meant to be receiving this update in October 2009 March 2010, but that never happened either, with the ‘official word’ pushing a release back to June 2010.

June’s here for another 23 days yet – will HTC turn this update into the new Gran Turismo 5, with a never-ending line of setbacks? Or will they stun us all and deliver the goods before June is out? My British cynicism cannot help but feel that the former is far more likely, but HTC have to release the update eventually. Right?

Don’t tell me you can’t see the sad face in this picture either.

[via: Top10.com; Pocket Lint]

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

HTC Hero – Android 2.1 upgrade for UK – truth or tease?

View full post on Google Android News Android Forums