Hasta La Gadget!

Seriously, words cannot describe how incredibly entertained we are by this Mario Live wallpaper for Android 2.1 and above devices. All across the home and locked screen, our favorite Italian faux-plumber protagonist runs through randomly-generated levels across various themes like outside, underground, and castle. It’s very customizable, allowing you to change the level’s difficulty, see the alternate paths Mario’s AI has plotted, and rendering the background (all at a cost to CPUs and battery life, of course). Free download — donations suggested, of course — and if you’re looking for a way to stare at your phone even longer, well, look no further. Videos through which you can live vicariously are after the break.

Continue reading Mario live wallpaper for Android: better than a Tanooki Suit in the summer

Mario live wallpaper for Android: better than a Tanooki Suit in the summer originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We knew Google had the power to remotely remove Android apps — Microsoft and Apple have backdoors into their mobile operating systems, too — but it’s always a little disconcerting to see a kill switch used. Such is the case today, as we’ve just heard Google unleashed the hounds this week, siccing bits and bytes of remote deletion power on a pair of “practically useless” but still Terms of Service-infringing apps. Curiously enough, Google admits that most who’d downloaded these programs had deleted them already, and that this “exercise” of the remote application removal feature was merely a cleanup operation. Google says users will get a notification beamed to their phone if an app is removed, however — so as Big Brother as that all sounds, at least the company’s being nice and transparent about the whole matter, eh?

Update: To be clear, the developers of the offending apps had already removed them from the Android Market, so this was technically a cleanup. The only question is why Google would go out of its way to mop up an app that absolutely no one would miss.

[Thanks, Matt]

Google flexes biceps, flicks Android remote kill switch for the first time originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 04:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPad Scrabble playable on your iPhone? Pretty neat. Desktop Asteroids playable on your Android smartphone? Rather more action-packed — and a little less expensive to get into. Androideroids is a project of Grant Skinner and runs on Adobe’s Air platform. It’s an eight-player game hosted on a desktop, with each participant given a first-person smartphone view of the vast expanses of space and the hollow rocks scattered throughout it. Meanwhile, a desktop client displays an overhead perspective of the shenanigans, displaying everyone’s life and score. Players can either shoot asteroids or each other, tapping on the screen to thrust and fire while tilting to turn. Honestly the move to first-person doesn’t seem to have done anything to improve gameplay, but this is still one game of Asteroids we’d make room for in our games folder.

Continue reading Android + Asteroids + multiplayer = Androideroids (video)

Android + Asteroids + multiplayer = Androideroids (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jumpin’ Jehosaphat! Just when you thought America’s first 4G phone couldn’t get any hotter, along comes this: a striking white version of the HTC EVO 4G (so much for that unavailable white iPhone 4, eh?). We’ve received confirmation that this here handset will be sold exclusively through Best Buy (as in, don’t even bother heading to your local Sprint store), with the official launch date set for July 11th. We’re told that Sprint will eventually gain access on August 8th, with other retailers snapping it up in September. If you somehow managed to hold off on snagging the existing black EVO 4G, you can get your pre-order in starting on June 18th — yeah, today, Junior! We’re assuming the price will remain at $199.99 on a 2-year contract, but be sure to drop us a line if you wander in and find out otherwise.

Update: And it’s official; the presser is after the break confirming the same $199.99-on-a-2-year-contract price as well as the dates mentioned already.

Update 2: Turns out this thing was around way back at Google I/O! Head on past the break and mash play — that’s definitely a white-backed EVO 4G on stage. Thanks, Omar!

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Continue reading White HTC EVO 4G coming exclusively to Best Buy on July 11th, pre-orders start today

White HTC EVO 4G coming exclusively to Best Buy on July 11th, pre-orders start today originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 10:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not interested in waiting until the 23rd for Verizon’s big announcement? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered right now! The Motorola Droid X has probably been one of the worst kept smartphone secrets in recent memory, but after spending two hours with the phone we sort of see why. In short, it’s pretty awesome. Call it a superphone or a mega-smartphone, but the 4.4-inch handset is absolutely Verizon / Motorola’s answer to the HTC EVO 4G, and makes the Droid Incredible look like a bench warmer. What do we mean? We’ll let you see for yourself just after the break in a breakdown of exactly what this phone is all about — and in a video or three of it in action. Oh, and on your way down, make sure to feast your eyes on the gallery, too.

Continue reading Exclusive: Motorola Droid X preview

Exclusive: Motorola Droid X preview originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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