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Sporcle – Free Game of the Day from Amazon Appstore

	Name: Sporcle
	Description: If you rule the local pub on trivia night, or just dream of the day you will, Sporcle is the perfect app for you. This popular quiz game for Android has got all the bells and whistles. More importantly, it’s got great quizzes! A Quiz for Every Occasion “Oh sure,” you’re thinking. “Another app with 10 or 15 lame quizzes.” Au contraire! Sporcle for Android has hundreds of inventive and challenging trivia games. Running the gamut from Entertainment to Religion, from Sports to Literature, there’s a quiz here for anyone and everyone. You can browse through 15 different categories or simply select a random quiz and start playing. Here’s just a small sampling of the types of trivia tests you’ll find on Sporcle: “50 Largest U.S. Cities.” “Name that Sitcom.” “Ancient Wonders.” “Baby Names from Shakespeare.” (?) “Guess Your NBA Team.” “SNL Cast Blitz.” “Famous Biologists.” (??) And on and on. These aren’t your grandpa’s multiple-choice quizzes, either–each one has a written answer that you must provide. Time limits make the experience even more challenging, and more fun. How Do You Measure Up? Sporcle scores your performance on every quiz and stores the information right in the app, so you can track which ones you’ve taken and how you did. You can also get more in-depth statistics on each game, seeing how your performance stacks up against others who have taken that quiz. And don’t worry; each quiz reveals the correct answers once you’ve completed it, so you don’t have to wonder. You can also take the same quiz again if you like. It Gets Better One of the best things about Sporcle is the “connectivity” it provides. You can see comments from other players about each quiz and compare your score against theirs right on your phone–but that’s just the beginning. You can then go online, create an account on Sporcle.com, and have even more fun. On the site you can comment on quizzes you’ve taken, rate them, view all kinds of statistics, invite and connect with your friends, post your results to Facebook and Twitter, and more. You can even create your own quiz. Even if you just stick to the app, there’s more than enough to keep you busy and entertained for a long while. It features dozens of quizzes pre-loaded in every category–and you don’t have to have network access to play them. Just download the Android app and start exercising your brain. With Sporcle, there’s always a new challenge waiting for you.


	Download Link: http://goo.gl/YqGHn (Amazon.com)

Some “Best of the Best” accessories for your Android phone:

Memory Card Folder Organization

So you decided to plug your Android phone into your computer and load up some music or ringtones, but you are unsure where to start. You may have not created any folders on the card yourself but you are probably overwhelmed with all the folders that are there. Android does (or arguably doesn’t do) a good job at keeping all of it’s files organized. But how are they organized and what do all of those folders do?

Well, according to The Law of Android* the folders that are important to the Android OS are as follows:

Music/ – Media scanner classifies all media found here as user music.
Podcasts/ – Media scanner classifies all media found here as a podcast.
Ringtones/ – Media scanner classifies all media found here as a ringtone.
Alarms/ – Media scanner classifies all media found here as an alarm sound.
Notifications/ – Media scanner classifies all media found here as a notification sound.
Pictures/ – All photos (excluding those taken with the camera).
Movies/ – All movies (excluding those taken with the camcorder).
Download/ – Miscellaneous downloads.

Therefore, these are the main folders that he Android OS will look for media. You can also (which I recommend) put these folders (aside from the Download folder) into a folder called Media. This just keeps the root of your SD card less cluttered.

(Another way to see these files is to download a file manager. For starters I would recommend ES File Explorer, for a free one….)

Hopefully this helps!

*Something I just made up – kind of reminds me of Isaac Asimov – Laws of Robotics.

Some “Best of the Best” accessories for your Android phone:

Guitar Hero 5 Mobile – Amazon Free App of the Day 8/1/11

	Name: Guitar Hero 5 Mobile
	Description: Crank up the amps and step into the spotlight with Guitar Hero 5 on your Android device. Command the stage and rock out with up to 20 of the hottest jaw-dropping tracks from iconic rock bands. Drive the crowd into a frenzy on lead guitar, bass guitar, and drums. Guitar Hero 5 features songs from Blink 182, No Doubt, Nirvana, Vampire Weekend, Sublime, Bush, David Bowie, and other popular bands. From the popular Guitar Hero franchise comes one of the most epic, full-featured rock ‘n’ roll band games available for your mobile phone. Unleash your inner rock legend with Guitar Hero 5 and upgrade to the full version to unlock even more rock. Rock Your Phone • Test your skills with 2 game modes and 3 difficulty settings for tons of replay value • Change your rocker in the Appearance menu; choose between Eddie and Pandora • Check out the leaderboards and become the best rocker in the world • Select the guitar or drum kit you want to use and unlock more as you play • Unlock 31 unique achievements and earn a cool guitar pick for each one • Feel like a true rock star with awesome rockers, crowds, and venue effects Shred Like a Star Watch as your character rocks out on stage and increase your score by achieving note streaks. Rack up massive combos by hitting 10 or more correct notes in a row. Keep an eye on the Rock Meter to see how hard you’re rocking. Earn enough points and tap the blue star on-screen or shake your handset to unleash your Star Power. Bring your rock star status to another level by doubling your multiplier. Tips and Tricks • Earn an encore by rocking the fans and completing all songs in a venue • Improve your score by playing all available instruments for each song • Try out your talent in Practice mode to improve your skills • Unlock new instrument designs by beating an encore song • Get the highest scores by playing on Expert mode Get Schooled in the Ways of Rock Tap the green, red, and yellow notes as they reach the nearest fret bar to successfully play each chord, drum beat, or bass line. When playing the bass or the drums, a purple bar will appear as well as the other three notes. Tap any of the colored notes to play this note to strum on the bass guitar or stomp on the kick pedal as the drummer. Lead the Boards Online Once you master the single player experience and complete every high quality song, you’ll still have to prove that you’re the best in the world. Prove that your fingers are the fastest on the frets by tapping into the leaderboards section to download the latest high scores. Career mode scores combine your point total on drums, bass, and guitar for each song to make up your overall score online.


	Download Link: http://goo.gl/uaEli (Android Market)

Some “Best of the Best” accessories for your Android phone:

Car Locator – Free Amazon Appstore App of the Day 7/31/11

	Name: Car Locator
	Description: A radar-style screen and Google map make locating your car easy. If you’ve ever gazed out at a sea of parked cars and realized that you have no idea where yours is, Car Locator is here to help. This GPS-based app for your Android device remembers your car’s location and leads you right back to it. It also keeps track of how long you’ve been parked, lets you know if you need to feed the parking meter, and more. Park, Save, and Go. Setting Car Locator to remember your car’s spot is easy. When you park your car, just open the app (or use the handy widget straight from your home screen). You’ll see your current location on Google Maps, along with a cool-looking radar display that signifies your car with a red dot. Just double-tap the location of your car on the map (or simply shake your phone) and Car Locator will remember where it is. Along with the visual help, Car Locator features a “sonar” function that emits a beeping sound: The closer you get to your car, the faster it beeps. This can be very useful in a crowded parking lot (or if you want to pretend that you’re piloting a submarine).


	Download Link:http://goo.gl/mtdSK (Amazon.com)

Some “Best of the Best” accessories for your Android phone:

Golf Frontier GPS – Free Amazon Appstore App of the Day 7/30/11

	Name: Golf Frontier GPS
	Description: Get your game on with this fully functional golf range finder and course map. Golf Frontier GPS provides accurate course detail for nearly 15,000 downloadable golf courses, and the best part–no subscription fees and every coarse download is free, always. Your Golf Game with an Improved View The feature-rich interface indicates carry and reach distances for the current hole. Distance arcs are placed at 100, 150, and 200 yards (or meters), however, you can calculate distance from anywhere on the map by adding new map points: Just long tap anywhere on the screen in map view. The one-touch interface makes marking and measuring shot distances simple. Does it make the actual shot simple? Well, that’s up to you. GPS Conveniently Auto hole transition moves to the next hole without being prompted. As you approach, GPS adjusts with you. It’s there to aide you, not burden you. Go on with your golf game seamlessly. The GPS sensitivity adjustment allows you to configure your settings for optimum accuracy. Additionally, adjust the battery life setup to get the most from your battery for those long days on the course. Use the Most Frequent mode for ultimate accuracy. Any Course Can Be a Golf Frontier GPS Course If you can’t find your desired course, you’ve got options: First, check the course library. Golf Frontier is always adding new courses. If they haven’t added it yet, send an e-mail and make a request. Don’t want to wait? Feel free to add it yourself. Golf Frontier GPS allows you to create your own GPS course map using their robust online map editor. Golf Frontier GPS is dedicated to producing the highest quality Android GPS application possible, and they’re happy to respond to your comments and concerns.


	Download Link:http://goo.gl/fpJ6V (Amazon.com)

Some “Best of the Best” accessories for your Android phone:

Alternatives to the Android Market

So you have an Android phone that you want to be able to make your own, or you may feel a little restricted by Google’s Android Market. What other options are out there? I do a lot of talking and linking to things in Android Market, but I also talk and link a lot about the Amazon Appstore. The Amazon Appstore (among others – see below) is an alternate place to download apps for Android and along with the below list gives you the freedom to get your apps from anywhere.

I will cover a handful of app stores below. Feel free to check them out and comment about your experiences.

	Name: SlideME App Store
	Description: SlideME is a great alternative to the Google Android Market, and is the site that has made recent (geek gamer) news because of the user yongzh getting booted out of Google’s market and pulling all of his apps and moving over to SlideME and releasing them for free. He is the author of the (insert-classic-system-here)OID games like, NESOID, SNESOID, GameBoid. Just for those apps alone you should go check out the SlideME appstore.


	Download Link: http://goo.gl/P8VoU (SlideMe.org)

	Name: AndSpot.com
	Description: AndSpot takes a unique approach to the idea of an app store. One that all you power users out there will love. They have a monthly service that gives you UNLIMITED Android app downloads for a low low monthly rate of $8 per month. It is in Beta so you have to sign up for it and wait to get an invite.


	Download Link: http://goo.gl/2EEMd(AndSpot.com)

	Name: Aproov
	Description: Aproov is a web based app “store” that specializes is only Free apps. This is great if you are someone that spends a lot of time looking through the regular market’s free section and struggle with it because it is not designed for just free apps, where this app store is designed just for that.


	Download Link: http://goo.gl/Y930E (Aproov.com)

	Name: OnlyAndroid (Mobihand.com)
	Description: OnlyAndroid is an app store that has an option that is similar to the Amazon Appstore. It offers a “deal of the day” on an android app or service. Although it is not a free app, but it also does include services, for example the deal for today (7/29/11) is a 15 month subscription to the SmrtGuard service which gives you data backup and a lost phone finder service for 50% off. It is definitely a site to keep tabs on because they might offer a great deal on that certain app you have been eyeing.


	Download Link: http://goo.gl/kNGYB (onlyandroid.mobihand.com)

	Name: Amazon App Store
	Description: Amazon Appstore is the alternative appstore that I am obviously a huge fan of mainly because of the feature they offer every day that gives you a FREE app that you can just download. No strings attached. They have a great selection of apps and almost all of the apps have a sale price that is cheaper than the “normal” Android Market.


	Download Link: http://goo.gl/BRkOt (Amazon.com)

Some “Best of the Best” accessories for your Android phone:

Star Chart – Free Amazon Appstore App of the Day 7/29/11

	Name: Star Chart
	Description: Now you can have a virtual star chart in your pocket. Look through the eyes of your Android onto the whole visible universe. All you have to do is point your device at the sky, and Star Chart tells you exactly what you’re looking at. Learn about stars, planets, and more Look for your favorites To the Stars! Using state of the art GPS technology, an accurate 3D universe, and all of the latest high tech functionality, Star Chart calculates–in real time–the current location of every star and planet visible from Earth and shows you precisely where they are. Even in broad daylight. Want to know what that bright star is called? Point your device at it–you might just find out it’s a planet. Want to know what the night sky looks like to people on the other side of the earth? Just point your device down. Want to know where your star sign is in the sky? Star Chart tells you all this and more. This app has many features designed to bring the stars to you. Just point and view. No need to scroll around the screen to find out what you are looking at. Alternatively, look around the sky using finger gestures. Perfect for armchair astronomers. Supports dynamic device orientation viewing, allowing you to view the night sky while holding your Android at any angle. Accurately depicts all the visible stars of the northern and southern hemispheres: over 5,000 stars. Displays all the planets of the solar system, plus the Sun and the Moon. Displays all 88 constellations with constellation imagery based on the beautiful artwork by 15th-century astronomer Johannes Hevelius. Includes entire Messier catalogue of exotic deep sky objects. Just tap on anything in the sky and get the facts on what you are looking at, including distance and brightness. Its powerful zoom function lets you view the sky in exquisite detail, using intuitive finger gestures. Fully configurable, Star Chart displays only the sky objects that you are interested in. It allows you to view the sky underneath the horizon. So now you can see where the sun is, even at night. Manually set your location to find out what the sky looks like from anywhere in the world. And there’s a full search feature So point your Android device at the sky and see what’s out there. (Augmented Reality mode is only available if your device supports it, for this feature requires a built-in compass. Manual scrolling is supported on all other devices.)


	Download Link: http://goo.gl/2odLX (Amazon)

Some “Best of the Best” accessories for your Android phone:

Jamie’s 20 Minute Meals – Free Amazon Appstore App of the Day 7/28/11

	Name: Jamie’s 20 Minute Meals
	Description: A Letter From Jamie Hi Guys, Thanks for all your messages asking for 20 Minute Meals on Android. It’s finally here, and will help you to prepare and cook loads of delicious meals; each one in around 20 minutes. There’s 60 recipes in total; each one presented one step at a time, with photos along the way, so you really can’t go wrong! There’s also a cool shopping list feature which sorts your ingredients by aisle so you’ll be really speedy in the supermarket too. Breeze through the store using aisle view on the shopping list As well as all that you’ll find 21 videos of me shot exclusively-for-mobile with useful tips, tricks and kitchen skills from sharpening a knife to chopping an onion. Download it today and get cooking! Big love, Jamie Oliver xxx Jamie’s App: Who can help but be charmed by England’s Jamie Oliver, The Naked Chef? Jamie is well known as chef, restaurateur, and an advocate for improving unhealthy diets, especially championing healthy school lunches for children. Watch an introductory video from Jamie and get right to the recipes. Search for a recipe or peruse 10 categories such as Delicious soups, Tasty stir-fries, and Simple risottos. Each recipe includes a summary with a picture of the dish, an ingredient and equipment list, detailed instructions, and relevant videos on tasks like garlic preparation or onion chopping. Double-touch the screen in landscape mode to see pictures of each step. Add ingredients to your list and then use the general shopping list to view by recipe or by aisle. Use the menu to quickly access any video or learn about what Jamie feels are kitchen essentials – both ingredients and equipment. Jamie promises that this app will “arm you with the confidence” to have tasty meals in 20 minutes!


	Download Link: http://goo.gl/TVtDs (Amazon.com)

Some “Best of the Best” accessories for your Android phone:

Free Apps on Amazon. Can it be hurtful?

Free Apps on Amazon

Can it be hurtful?

As a potential developer, and a current website author I know that ratings and comments are incredibly important. You want to be seen in the best light and you want to be seen as an asset to whatever genre you are creating digital media in. Android apps are the same way. No matter where you get your app from their is always a rating that is considered and comments that are read before the app is downloaded.

So you get the opportunity to have your app listed as the “Amazon Free App of the Day”. You have to consider both the good and bad sides of it. the good is obvious. You are going to get your app out to thousands and thousands of people that might not have ever heard of your app before. A ton of publicity for your app. But at what cost.

the problem I see here is that because of the fact that people are just going to download it because it is free it puts you into the possibility for a poor rating or comment. And I am not talking about a justified poor rating. If there is a quality issue with the game, or something isn’t working. I am talking about a review like the following example:

1.0 out of 5 stars Supermarket chick game, July 27, 2011
*.********* “undulating tendril of disarray" (Over There) – See all my reviews(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Supermarket Scramble (App)These apps sure are full of exciting settings and themes. For chicks. What the hell is up with all the lady themed market bakery lame insulting to intelligent woman games? Does the dev really believe this type of marketing tactic will make women buy this cheeseball crap? Pfft more crappy apps…

You get a review from someone that shouldn’t have downloaded the app in the first place. I am saying this because the app is called: Supermarket Scramble. It is an app that appears to be marketing itself to a certian type of person, obviously not the type of person that downloaded it and reviewed it.

What would fix this? I think that Android Market has a great idea in the fact that you have to purchase or download the app to be able to rate it. Amazon will let anyone review any item on their site… Any suggestions on how to make this better?