Windows app templates

Templates in Window App :

1. Create an empty app, which allows you to build an app from scratch by adding Sections and Data Sources and configuring its content and style using your own creativity.
2. Create an app from a template, which allows you to start with a previously generated app as a guide. Use a pre-configured app setup with your own customized content and layout, and you can also add new Sections and Data Sources. Click on a template tile in order to display more information about that app’s layout and purpose as well as screenshots.
Once you have selected the type of app you want, insert a name, add a description, and select an icon. The icon must be in .png format and measure 160 x 160 px. Now it’s time to add Application Sections and Data Sources.

What is a Data Source?

 

A Data Source is what you want to be displayed in your app – YouTube videos from your favorite channel, your store’s inventory, images from your Flickr account, etc. Data Sources are displayed in your app through Sections. Every Section you create must be connected to a Data Source, and multiple Sections can be connected to a single Data Source. When you create a new Section, you will be given the option to use an existing Data Source (if one exists) or to add a new one. You can edit your Data Sources by clicking on the name of the source you’d like to change.

What are the different Data Sources?

 
RSS – A list of sets of information based on an RSS feed that you enter when creating the data source.
Youtube – A list of videos with titles and descriptions based on a YouTube channel or search that you enter when creating the data source.
Flickr – A list of images and their corresponding data based on a Flickr UserId or search that you enter when creating the data source.
Bing – A list of news search results based on a Bing search that you enter when creating the data source.
Html – A single page of static text that you enter.
Collection – A list of items with columns of characteristics. This is your personal data that does not depend on a website.

What can I do with a Collection?

 

A Collection is the Data Source that allows you to upload data that does not depend on a website – store inventory, contact info, daily diet, favorite musicians, etc. Before entering any data in a Collection, you can edit the possible columns of data. Add a column for every bit of information you want to display for each item and select what type of data it is. There are many types of information you can add: Address, Album Name, Artist Name, Image, Int, E-Mail, Phone Number, Song Name, and String. Changing the data type for each piece of information is important because it allows you to include a variety of additional actions in your app. Your data can be static or dynamic.

Static Resources vs. App Studio Data Services

For Collections, there are two data storage options: Static Resources and App Studio Data Services.
Static Resources means the data will remain constant and does not depend on an internet connection. If you change the data in App Studio, your app will not automatically update.
App Studio Data Services means the data is stored in App Studio and depends on an internet connection. If you update your data in App Studio, your app will automatically update. This allows you to create live apps that don’t need to be updated when you want to change data.

What is an Application Section?

 
Application Sections are the pages of your app. You can add up to 6 distinct Application Sections to your app. There are two types: Sections and Menus.
A Section is a group of pages that are connected to one Data Source. All Sections have a main page that shows your data on a high level and can also have additional pages with more detailed data. Your detail pages act as a pivot and will thus display side-by-side once you click on an individual item on your main page. For example, the main page of your Starters Section shows an image with the name of the dish. Click on a dish, and you can see the image enlarged and with a description below. Swipe to the right to see the price or the recipe…whatever you want to show! This is very useful, especially when there is more information about an individual item than what can optimally fit on a single page.
A Menu is an individual page that contains a list of items that can be either Sections or Actions. Section Items link you to a new Section in the app. Action Items let you link to an external website or complete a variety of different actions (link to What are the different actions). You can also create a custom Action Item. Each Section listed in the Menu can be connected to a different Data Source. Menus let you show more information because they can have multiple Sections, so they are very useful when you want to show more information than what can fit in 6 Sections.

Panorama Control

Navigation in Windows Phone 8 apps starts with a Panorama. A Panorama is a list of sections the user will see when he or she opens the app. Everything an app can have can be displayed in a different section.

What does "Bind to data" mean?

When you start editing a page in your app, you’ll see a bind to data icon () next to each Content item. Binding means you connect part of a Data Source to a certain area of a page. You can see the options that are available for each Content section by clicking on the binding icon and hovering over Data.

What does "Add an Action" mean?

When you start editing a detail page that depends on a Collection with certain data types, you’ll see a small add an action lightning bolt icon () for each Content item. An action is something that will occur on your phone when you click on that piece of information in your app – call a number, send an email, etc. There are a variety of possible actions, but keep in mind that only the actions that correspond to the types of data in your Collection will appear.

What are the different Actions?

 
Call Phone: Call the number (data type phone) that you entered for that item.
Email: Send an email to the email address (data type email) you entered for that item.
Nokia Music - Play Artist Mix: Play a music mix in Nokia Music for the artist (data type artist) you entered for that item.
Nokia Music - Artist: Display the Nokia Music singer information for the artist (data type artist) you entered for that item.
Nokia Music - Search: Search in Nokia Music for the artist (data type artist) or album (data type album) you entered for that item.
HERE Maps - Directions: Open a map to show directions from your current location to the address (data type address) you entered for that item.
HERE Maps - Address: Open a map that shows the location (data type address) that you entered for that item.

Configuring Application Sections

Add a new Section or Menu by clicking on the plus sign () near Application Sections. Then you can edit an Application Section by clicking on its name. For a Section, you will see its corresponding Data Source and Section Pages. Edit the parts of a Section by clicking on the pencil next to its name. For a Menu, you will see its Menu Page and Menu Items that can each be expanded. To edit Menu Items, you must first click on the pencil next to the Menu name and then click on the pencil next to the item you want to edit. When you edit a Section, you can change the content through binding and add actions. You can also change the layout that determines the available content fields and add Extras to the application bar, like share, text to speech and pin to start.

What are Style, Tiles and Splash?

 
Style: Change the colors of your text, background, foreground and application bar or select an image for your background.
Tiles: A Tile is an image that represents your app and acts as a shortcut on the Start screen of your device. All apps have a default Tile to be displayed (the smallest icon). You can also add a few more tiles:
Cycle template: This Tile cycles through a slideshow of up to 9 images from the Collection that you indicate.
Flip template: This Tile has a “front” and a “back” and constantly flips between the two.
Iconic template: This Tile is static and constantly displays the data you input.
Splash & Lock: Upload the background image that will appear on the splash screen and the lock screen.

Getting the app done

How do I get my app on my device?

First you must install the Windows Phone App Studio certificate on your device. Press the magnifying glass () at the bottom of your device to launch Bing search, and then press the eye icon () that appears at the bottom of the screen. Point the phone’s camera at the QR code that opens with the certificate link, and the phone will automatically scan it. Click “add” and the certificate is successfully installed once it returns to the original Install the certificate page.
Once your certificate is installed and your app is generated, follow the same instructions to scan the QR code. Accept the installation, and your app will now appear in your app list!

How do I publish my app?

In order to publish your app, you must be registered at Dev Center! Follow the instructions here to register.
To give your apps the best chance of passing certification, remember the following:

1. You need to create your own unique 300x300 PNG tile to represent your app.
2. Create at least 1 (and up to 8) 768x1280 or 1280x768 PNG screenshot(s). Only use in-app content, do not stretch the image, and make sure your screenshot does not show the off screen edges of the phone. There are various ways you can take your screenshots:
   • Use the screenshot capture function on any Windows Phone by pressing the power button + start button
   • Use the screenshot tool in the Windows Phone emulator in the Windows Phone SDK
   • Use the screenshot capture tool in the Nokia Remote Device Access tool
   For more detailed instructions, go here.
3. Make sure you use your own unique app title, app Logo, Pin to start tile, and long description.
4. Do not use the template placeholder text ([insert name here]) or template app content.

Check out this website for the rest of the publishing steps!

Multilingual Support

When you create an app, you can easily change the default language that will be displayed in the Windows Store in the first "App Information" step. In order to add additional languages to your Windows Phone application, you need to download the source code for the application and edit it using Visual Studio.

The initial resource file you use to capture UI strings that are being localized is called AppResources.resx and is located in the app’s Resources folder of your project.

On the project’s Properties page in the Supported Culture box, select the language(s) you would like your app to support. Visual Studio will create a new resource file for each supported language that is an exact copy of the default language resource file (AppResources.resx). It will automatically rename it using the culture’s locale code, such as AppResources.en-US.resx.

Replace the default language values in each supported language resource file with translated values, and you are done!

How do I enable ads on my app?

In order to enable advertisements in your Windows Phone application, you need to do the following:

• Install the tools - Install Visual Studio, and install the latest version of the Windows Phone SDK
• Obtain an AdUnitId and ApplicationId keys - Register your app at the Pubcenter site with your Microsoft Account, create a Windows Phone 8 app (ApplicationId), and create an AdUnitID
• Update the App Studio code
  • Download the App Studio source code for the application by clicking “Download Source Code” after you’ve generated your app.
  • Open the XAML code and find the AdControl line in the file View/YourFirstPage.xaml. The code is commented, so if you want to use it, you need to uncomment it.
  • Replace the AdUnitID and ApplicationID in the code - In the AdControl XAML, there have two important properties: AdUnitId and ApplicationId. The current values of these two properties are intended for demo purposes only. Before publishing your App to the Windows Phone Store you need to replace these two values with the values you obtained through PubCenter.
    
    < ads grid.row="1" height="80" width="480" isautocollapseenabled="True" isautorefreshenabled="True" adunitid="Image480_80" applicationid="test_client" />

Windows phone app

SoundBoard App for Windows Phone

So, our game plan in this lesson ...

1. We'll sketch some ideas on the user interface and user's interaction with the app
2. We'll set up the new app, creating a new project, copying assets into the project, setting up the AppResources.resx ... all things we learned about before, but tasks we now need to perform for our brand new project

1. Sketch out the screens in a low-tech mockup

As we set out to think through designing our first commercial app, I would recommend you take some time and read through this:
Windows Phone 8 Design Process
https://dev.windowsphone.com/en-us/design/process
Also, there's also a template for sketching a "low tech mockup":
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=266572
These templates are not only useful for getting your ideas down on paper, but also for thinking through the users interaction with the app, and what feedback we can show the user about the functionality of the app. I can also use a "low tech mockup" to communicate my design and interaction ideas to other to gather their feedback before I waste time developing the app -- just to realize I made a major flaw because I assumed too much.
So, I use that template to sketch my ideas for the SoundBoard app:


The design was largely inspired by the Pivot App Project template ... there will be several PivotItems ("views" or "types") each containing a number of sound tiles. When you tap on a tile, it will play the sound.
I also want to be able to record a sound. I have a app bar at the bottom of the main page ... tapping that will allow you to record a sound. After thinking I needed three buttons, we had the idea that we could provide some visual feedback ... we can easily create a reel, like those old reel-to-reel players from the 1960's, and animate that while recording. That would offer some great visual feedback to the user. Clicking a save application bar button would then allow you to provide a name for the sound and it would be displayed in a PivotItem titled "mine" or "custom" or something like that.
Now, besides the design process, there's always some effort in getting the assets you need for a project like this. In this case, we're providing you with the sounds and the images to follow along. Truth be told, Clint spent a few hours working with a sound guy and a graphic artist. In my experience, the effort required to bring in creative types, or to build creative assets yourself, should not be underestimated. It can be challenging even in a simple app. If you have serious commercial aspirations, I would find someone well versed in those areas that you are not an expert. You can waste a lot of time trying to make your images and sounds just right, and still fall far short of something that can pass as professional quality. Whether it be websites or apps I've worked on, I've never regretted paying professional designers for their help. It's made me look more professional than I really am.
At any rate, with just a little planning up front and some time spent acquiring the assets I'll need, I have a good direction for my app. Let's go ahead and get started developing the app.

2. Create the SoundBoard project based on the Windows Phone Pivot App project template

File | New | Project ... menu opens the New Project dialog:

Just like we did earlier in this lesson:

1. Make sure you're in the Installed | Templates | Visual C# | Windows Phone section
2. This time, choose the Windows Phone Pivot App project template
3. Change name to SoundBoard
4. Click OK

3. Replace project assets

In the Solution Explorer, open the Assets folder and delete all files and subfolders:



... and confirm the deletions ...



In the assets file that is available wherever you originally downloaded this document or watched the associated videos, there's a subfolder called: SoundBoard_Assets ... select all files and subfolders ...



... and drag and drop into the SoundBoard project's Assets folder in the Solution Explorer:

4. Confirm the project icons are properly referenced

In the Properties folder, open the WMAppManifest.xml file:



... and confirm that the App Icon, Small Icon and Medium Icon are set properly ...


Windows Phone 8 supports three Tile templates: flip, iconic, and cycle. This link does a nice job explaining the different types:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsphone/develop/hh202948(v=vs.105).aspx#BKMK_Tiletemplates
In this app, our needs are simple. Later on in this series, we'll use a Cycle template and see how to programmatically give it a list of images to cycle through. Personally? I love any type of data visualization so I love those apps that use the iconic template for anything that has a lot of updatable information that can be displayed in a tile. For example, on my own phone, I have a weather app that updates the tile with the temperature, humidity, wind and visibility, I have another app the displays the amount of battery remaining in an iconic tile, and a countdown app with a count down until I take a vacation. I have actively sought apps like these in the Store because I think they make my Start page look cool.

5. Configure the title of main page to pull from the AppResources.resx file

While we don't plan on localizing our application completely, I will go ahead and set up the app so that we could easily add it in the future.

Open the MainPage.xaml and locate the <phone:Pivot> element's Title attribute. Change it to:

Title="{Binding Path=LocalizedResources.ApplicationTitle, Source={StaticResource LocalizedStrings}}"


Now I'll change the app's title in the AppResources.resx. You'll find it in the Resources folder.



Change the ApplicationTitle value to "SoundBoard". Save and close the file.

Recap

To recap, not much new in this lesson per se, but these are the types of tasks we need to perform each time we undertake a new project. We did talk about a few new topics, like focusing on the design and interaction of the app, and choosing from the different types of tile templates that are available

METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE (PC REVIEW)

METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE PC REVIEW

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance tries not to waste a moment of your time. In the 4-6 hours required to complete its campaign, you’ll cross the globe, have sword-fights with skyscraper-sized mechs, team up with an A.I. dog, explore a science facility with a remote-controlled robot, leap over missiles to chop up helicopters, and fight a metaphor for American evil. Rising is as silly as it sounds, and it knows it.
Developer Platinum Games accomplishes a lot in a short period of time, and while it sometimes gets in its own way,Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a tight action game whose campaign moves as quickly as its excellent combat. It’s all killer, no filler, with more than enough incentive for repeat play-throughs.
The most consistent issue in Rising is its cutscenes. To its credit, you’re rarely made to watch what you’d rather play, but the story bits, interesting though they are for fans, ultimately intrude on the fast-paced flow of combat. The convoluted plot starts as lucidly as the series has ever been, but spirals out of control almost immediately: the assassination of a recovering country’s leader sends Raiden, a cyborg ninja, after a terrorist cell that’s kidnapping kids and infiltrating America’s political infrastructure.

 The events of Raiden’s retaliation range from goofy and fun, stylish and cool, to overwrought metaphor. The geo-political lecturing seem engineered specifically for fans of Metal Gear Solid 4's Melodrama , but it doesn’t connect well with the action. Ultimately, the conversations and character cameos are pure fan-service that everyone else can skip without missing a beat. The relentless act of actually fighting terrorists is what matters here, and there’s little need for motivation when the action is this fun.


Rising propels players toward a boss battle every 45 minutes, introduces new enemy types regularly, and unleashes waves of cyborg soldiers to slice with a sword. This is a tight action experience without an ounce of fat, and Rising’s pace is just as quick as its technical melee combat. The Metal Gear series traditionally relies on stealth and silenced weapons, but the moment-to-moment action of Rising is an aggressive and elegant alternative.

The light and heavy attacks have a natural chemistry that makes every sword slash feel empowering, so combat never feels like you’re budgeting quick but weak strikes vs. slow and strong ones. Each combo flows into the next with grace: lifts, knock-downs, stuns, spin-kicks, aerial juggles, and other specialized attacks feel as fantastic as they look. Raiden’s exaggerated acrobatics lend a hypnotic sense of style to each attack, especially as you unlock additional moves with earned currency. By the end of the campaign, and as I began my second run through it, Raiden felt like a balletic badass, using his heels as often as his hands to wield his weapon. Seeing that style is as much a reward as the satisfaction of brutalizing an enemy with a flurry of katana hack-and-slash, sliding underneath someone, redirecting attacks, canceling combos, or letting loose in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance’s hook: Blade Mode.



Rising is gorgeous on PC, and runs smoother than it does on console.

Once Raiden slays enough cyborgs, he can briefly enter the time-slowing Blade Mode and slice his sword in any direction, instantly killing (or severely wounding) nearly anyone with precision strikes. The results are often uncomfortable and/or hilarious. You can chop off legs (or one, if you’d rather), decapitate someone at the eyes, and turn weakened enemies into various, disgusting pieces with a swivel of the mouse or a flick of the right stick.

And on PC, you're going to want a controller. The mouse and keyboard controls, while serviceable, don't enable the melee combat's precision and finesse offered by a controller.

Blade Mode is a fun, sadistic parlor trick, but it’s more than a cheap and easy way to win. Slowing time plays a strategic role in combat. Bisecting cyborgs reveals their fuel-filled spines, which Raiden can rip out to replenish his health. Blade Mode also plays a defensive role, which turns a silly finishing move tool into something more skill-based. Cutting protects Raiden from incoming objects (choppers, missiles, other ridiculous things), and wrecking an enemy’s weapon prevents them from using it. Slicing certain special enemies’ appendages also plays into the upgrade economy, giving you bonus currency to unlock more health, weapon power, and more complex combo arrangements, all of which carry over into a new game plus that holds even more blade types, costumes, and other secrets to discover. Everything feeds into making you feel like a talented combatant who’s truly earned satisfying improvements.

The only thing that really holds back Rising’s combat is the secondary weapons. Killing bosses allows you to acquire their staffs, sais, and swords, but switching to a secondary tools come with a catch. Alternate weapons replace one of your two normal attack buttons, which neuters katana combos. On top of that, alternating between two weapons doesn’t flow together as well as the evolving sword strikes. Switching from one to the next in the middle of a combo has a disjointed feel, a bit like interrupting yourself, as though your new blade wasn’t built to work in tandem with the sword. Despite the cumbersome transitions, these extra weapons strengthen Rising’s variety. The sai, for example, doesn’t deal much damage, but it disrupts cyborg A.I. functions, giving Raiden the opportunity to obliterate a stunned opponent.

The erratic camera poses additional issues as well. Rising is such a fast-paced game, with wild combat that encourages unpredictable attack patterns, that it can’t always keep track of Raiden in the thick of battle, especially when large-scale bosses eat up most of the on-screen real estate. Unless you’re acutely aware of your next move, Raiden can get lost in his own chaos from time to time. Having to come to a complete stop before changing from grenades to a rocket launcher, or a heavy blade to a faster crowd-control weapon is another inconvenience that’s antithetical to Rising’s go-go-go mentality. The improved performance on PC, though, goes a long way. With sharper graphics it's visually superior on PC, while a stronger frame rate makes combat more responsive and run smoother. Additionally, the PC version includes all of the DLC costumes and story expansions in a great game that's a steal at $30.

 THE VERDICT

Despite its best efforts, developer Platinum Games sometimes gets in the way of its own pace -- especially for those who aren’t into the franchise. However, Rising’s troubles are rarely enough to derail the incredible momentum of an always-entertaining, action-oriented Metal Gear spinoff. Whether or not you have ever enjoyed Metal Gear, this is a must for anyone who appreciates melee-combat. It’s simple, fast, and clean, with enough supporting content like additional weapons and secrets to encourage a campaign replay – or more, if you find yourself obsessed with the idea of a no-kill run. Just make sure to use a controller for the best experience.

Galaxy Gear : Review

 Galaxy Gear: The smartwatch 

 

If smartphone makers dipped their toes in the smartwatch pool last year, we can expect them to do the cannonball in 2014. Out of the all the smartwatches launched so far, the Galaxy Gear is by far the most interesting, not to mention packed to the gills with features. Despite Samsung’s heavy marketing budgets though, the Gear wasn’t exactly a runaway hit. The reason for is this we feel, is that Samsung seemed to have designed the Gear for loyalists, someone who’s current phone and future upgrade would be a high-end Galaxy device. After the dust has settled, Samsung has finally sent us a review unit of the Gear, which we tested with the Galaxy Note 3. Let’s find out what the fuss is all about.

Design and Build
The neon green version of the Gear is very striking and is quite the head-turner. Thankfully, the watch is also available in other shades which are a bit more understated. It’s a tad bulky but also light, so it’s not so bad. I found it quite comfortable during my week’s usage and after a point, you hardly notice it. The Sasmsung Galaxy Gear is built to last and that shows in its construction. The stainless steel frame around the display lends it a premium look and the rubber straps are firm, yet flexible enough to be worn comfortably. The 1.6-inch Super AMOLED display is also protected by a scratch-resistant coating.

Looks quite funky

The Gear just has a single power button and that’s about it. Everything else is based on gestures, which we feel is the way to go when you have to deal with such a small display. Samsung has designed the UI for the Gear in such a way so as to take advantage of the AMOLED panel. The minimalistic icons are devoid of colour so there’s always more black, for which, the pixels needn’t power on. When needed though, the panel can reproduce rich, saturated colours for the gallery and third-party apps. Sensitivity is pretty good as well and the watch works quite well with (some) riding gloves.

The charging cradle that’s bundled along

The Galaxy Gear comes bundled with a charger and the docking cradle. The cradle snaps on the Gear and is the only way to charge the watch as it has the microUSB port and an NFC tag. You can pair the Gear with a compatible Samsung phone using the NFC tag or manually via Bluetooth. We don’t get why it’s such a convoluted process to charge the watch as it would have made more sense to have the charging port and NFC on the Gear itself, rather than having to carry around the cradle everywhere. Wireless charging is also something that’s missing.
We found the Gear to be quite comfortable to use on a daily basis and the learning curve is very small.
Features and performance
Like any other wrist watch, the Gear too sports a fully adjustable wrist strap, making it a comfortable fit on most wrists. One of the highlights of the Gear is its ability to make and receive calls and for this, we have a dual-microphone array and a speaker that’s hidden at the base of the strap. The volume level is good enough for using indoors and the microphones are sensitive enough to pick up your voice, even if you aren’t holding your hand up to speak. This is great as you can go from eating a pizza to doing the dishes, without having to touch your phone. You can also answer and reject calls using S Voice. Besides voice commands, the Gear also has an accelerometer and a gyroscope which help it perform some neat gestures. For instance, you set the watch to show you the time or any other screen as soon as you make the motion of looking at it. You can also double tap the screen using two fingers at any point to check the battery and adjust the device’s volume.

The Gear Manager app

You can manage the Gear and the notifications you wish to receive directly from the Gear Manager app on your smartphone. The app is constantly running in the background, monitoring the activity you perform on the Gear. You can select a variety of themes, clock faces and specialised apps from the Samsung Apps store.

Besides the usual fitness apps, there’s also Evernote, Line, Pocket and ChatOn to name a few. There’s no dedicated Facebook or Twitter app yet, but you can still receive notifications from them. There are a bunch of pre-installed apps as well like Find My Device, Media Controller, Pedometer, Weather, Stopwatch and Timer.

A much more convenient way to recieve notifications

S Voice plays a big role in making the Gear a lot more intuitive. You can use this to reply to messages, email (only for the default app, not Gmail) and a couple more. Unfortunately, you cannot use this to interact with third party apps like Hangouts, WhatsApp, Gmail and the lot. You can also use S Voice to call people from your phonebook, text them or open an app. While the idea is good, S Voice isn’t. The whole process is very sluggish and it’s actually faster to get what you want with gestures rather than voice commands. It’s also not very good at understanding what you say. It works if you speak slowly and there isn’t much ambient noise but tough luck getting it to work outdoors.

Outdoor shots aren’t bad

Indoors is strictly average at best

The camera on the wrist strap is like the Holy Grail for voyeurs. The 1.9MP shooter manages 15 seconds of 720p video too. The camera quality is decent for outdoor shots during the day but in low-light and indoors, it is strictly average. You also get some of Samsung’s camera apps like Sound and Shot. Everything that’s captured is instantly relayed to your phone via Bluetooth. You can use some functions of the Gear, like the camera, even when it’s disconnected, which is where the 4GB of in-built storage comes in.
Battery life
Samsung promised about a day’s worth of usage for the Gear but actually managed to squeeze out quite a bit more. After the first charge, we got almost two days of continuous usage before we had to charge it. On subsequent days, it was a little less but it always went beyond a day. Now, we didn’t use the camera a whole lot but everything else was on. We made and received calls from the watch as much as possible and notifications for all commonly used apps were active.

There’s a single physical button on the Gear for power.

Verdict and Price in India
Samsung has priced the Galaxy Gear at Rs 22,900 and whichever way you cut it, that’s a lot of money for a smartphone accessory. It only gets worse as the Gear is sadly, only compatible with a handful of high-end Samsung phones. The trouble is, even if Samsung wants to increase compatibility to more devices, they can’t because the phones have to be on Android 4.3 and above and they should support S Voice. The Gear makes a great companion to the Note 3 especially since it’s so much easier to stay updated with notifications on the watch than it is to constantly keep pulling the massive phone out of your pocket. To increase sales, Samsung could have bundled the Gear with the Note 3 for a slight premium, which would have made it a much better package for someone buying the Note 3.

There’s definitely a market for a device like the Galaxy Gear. The ability to make and receive calls from the watch is a very nifty feature in times when you’re simply unable to reach your phone. I personally felt the camera was totally unnecessary but they had to show it could be done, so they did it.

There are a lot of ways in which Samsung can improve the Gear in order to make it a better product. Their first attempt seems more of an engineering exercise to test the waters and see what sort of a response a device like this would garner. We have a sneaking suspicion that Samsung is working on a range of smartwatches, each one catering to a specific need. We’ll probably hear more about them at one of their Unpacked events or at trade shows like Mobile World Congress. So we recommend you hold on till then to see what the second wave of smartwatches looks like.

Galaxy game pad

Samsung launches a game pad for Android that’s optimized for its Galaxy phones 

 

Apple began allowing third-party gamepads on the iPhone with iOS 7, and Samsung is also upping its presence in the space after announcing its own gamepad (the not-so-creatively named ‘Smartphone GamePad’) for Android 4.1 phones.
Unlike the iPhone gamepads which attach themselves to the device, Samsung’s is standalone and uses a Bluetooth connection to link up with a smartphone — although Android 4.3-powered Galaxy phones enjoy more features, including NFC connect support.
The GamePad weighs in at 195g and features an eight-way D-Pad, two analog sticks, four action buttons and two triggers located on the shoulders of the device.




The pad is accompanied by an app (‘the Mobile Console app’) through which users can browse and buy supported games. The GamePad appears to support all Android smartphones, but some features — including a ‘Play’ button — are exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy family.
The company points out that Galaxy device owners can hook their phone up to their TV using an HDMI cable or mirroring apps like Samsung’s AllShare service, and then replicate a home console experience using the GamePad.
Samsung says the GamePad is available now in “select” countries in Europe, although it has not revealed a price (we’ve contact Samsung to try to get it). The company says the accessory will become available in other markets “in the coming weeks.”

THE DARKKN Review

THE DARKKN1GHT459 RETURNS

Calling all super-heroes! Nearly three years after its launch on PC and PlayStation 3, DC Universe Online is flying higher than ever. Now released on PlayStation 4, this action-packed online RPG has grown beefier, free-er, and sharper thanks to a modest graphics makeover. It’s still mostly the same game as it was when we first reviewed it, though, so if you weren’t a fan of grinding through legions of heroes and villains to gain experience, earn super-loot, and hang out with the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman, then this revamped edition may still leave you Captain Cold.

Secret Origins

Getting started with DC Universe Online on PS4 is easy, especially if you’ve been playing on the PS3. It shares the same servers, so all you need to do is log in with your PSN account and your existing toons will follow. For newcomers, though, character creation is a comic fans dream come true. Designing a custom hero or villain from scratch or using an existing DC character as a template offers a dizzying array of possible combinations, naturally falling into the MMO roles of tank, controller, and healer. Be warned, though, that three years in, all the good hero and villain names have been taken so you may be stuck with adding numbers or being really creative.

Based on real-time combat instead of the auto-fighting that prevailed in older MMOs, DC Universe Online’s fun fighting system hasn’t changed much since launch. Expect to punch guys a lot in the beginning since your early powers tend to be less powerful than your fists. Character animations are stilted and the lack of variety in henchmen, cops, and goons can get a bit tiresome. The controls are practically identical to those on PS3, and it’s fairly easy to implement multiple powers using a combination of the shoulder bumpers and main buttons.

As you level up, things get cooler as you add skills and powers from the expansive skill tree. Unfortunately, the progression trees can be too limited, and sometimes ask that you choose powers you don’t want or don’t make sense for your character’s backstory in order to get the one you actually want.

Many of the story quests are personally assigned by DC’s iconic characters like Batman and Joker, which really makes you feel like an important part of this comic-book world and not just another guy in a cape. Open-world quests tend to be pretty grindy and monotonous, usually ordering you to collect or defeat a particular number of items or enemies. Much more interesting are instanced dungeon encounters that climax each story arc, in which you fight alongside superpowered elite like The Flash or take down major villains like Poison Ivy.

Finishing all the main storyline content should cap out your character at level 30. If you’re mainly a solo player, there’s not much for you to do after that except to replay missions or restart a new character, but the more social-minded now have access to an excess of exciting endgame content like story-based raids, co-op encounters, and PvP battles that incorporate DC’s big-name characters.

What’s New

DC Universe Online has grown in complexity thanks to a steady stream of updates and purchasable DLC packs. The new crafting system, which lets you create power-giving exobytes and slot them into your armor and equipment, is dead simple. That’s good, because beefing up your gear increases your Combat Rating; a high rating grants access to some of the most exciting top tier raids and encounters. This stick and carrot system is a powerful enticement to keep playing, even after you’ve maxed out your level cap.

The Home Turf DLC lets you purchase and customize your own home base. Lairs are pretty useful in that its personal mainframe gives you access to sidekicks, supply drops, and more while out in the field. Not to mention that you can also invade other people’s lairs or defend yours in fun group raids.

One thing that isn’t new is the setting. DC Universe Online came out right before DC Comics’ New 52 reboot of its comic book line, meaning that Tim Drake is still Robin and Superman still wears his classic red trunks. It’s disappointing that the DC Universe itself has changed, and the game can’t change along with it, but doing so would probably be a major overhaul. In comic book lingo, I prefer to think of it as taking place on one of DC’s unspecified parallel Earths.

THE VERDICT

DC Universe Online looks the best it ever has on PS4, and is definitely an improvement over the PS3 version’s chunkier, low-textured visuals. It has matured quite a bit since launch, adding much-needed elements like crafting, home bases, and more end-game content, but maintaining a level cap of 30 may put off those players who’d like to further advance their veteran characters or are primarily interested in soloing. That said, DC Universe Online is the best super-hero MMO out there and well worth the free download.

Call of Duty: Ghosts- Review

Like a good sequel should, Call of Duty: Ghosts doesn’t ignore the formula of fast, fluid gameplay that has made the series famous, but introduces a unique new premise, unprecedented player personalization, and sweeping changes that breathe new life into the multiplayer experience. It’s over-the-top and at times unnecessarily complex, but serves both current and next-generation consoles with ambitious new ideas and tremendous replay value.

Despite sharing a name with one of Modern Warfare’s best-known characters, Ghosts takes place in an entirely new Call of Duty universe set in the not-too-distant future. In a genre overwrought with antiquated Russian conflicts and ambiguous Middle Eastern terrorist threats, Ghosts takes on a refreshingly unique premise in which the threat comes not from the east, but the south: a federation of oil-rich South American nations rises to take over the hemisphere, pushing north and coming to blows with the U.S.

The prelude establishes a harrowing vision of a United States homeland that's broken but not beaten – not quite Red Dawn,  but not Fallout 3, either. It’s a space not often explored by modern shooters, and its mood is heightened by missions set in a besieged Santa Monica and the wasted remains of San Diego, to the tune of an excellent, somber score from David Buckley (The Town, Metal Gear Solid 4). But ultimately, time on the poignant homefront is short lived as the story goes behind enemy lines in Caracas, the Andes mountains, and other exotic locales.

Those might lack to familiarity, but the variety of environments keeps the campaign fresh, not only in terms of visuals, but in gameplay as well. Instead of just fighting waves of enemies through a linear stage at ground level, you’ll find yourself rappelling down skyscrapers, flying helicopters, having firefights in space, commanding tanks, scuba diving through shipwrecks, playing as a dog, and evading shark attacks. Each requires new strategy, acute situational awareness, and – in the case of the space and water missions – special consideration for verticality and physics.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Call of Duty game without elaborate setpieces, fierce shootouts, and tense stealth missions, and Ghosts delivers some of the most memorable experiences in the series. I felt genuine dread as the ground and buildings collapsed around me during orbital weapons strikes, the zero-gravity spectacle of the Federation’s space station ambush is awe-inspiring, and bursting through a highrise window as the entire building crumbles during the Federation Day mission is exhilarating.

But like previous CoDs, the story of Ghosts struggles to remain in focus amidst the fray of explosive cinematic moments and relentless firefights. Narrated loading sequences with stylized story animations push the campaign forward, but only last for one or two minutes before launching back into the action. It’s there, on the front lines, that much of the plot progression is presented and oftentimes lost.

It's by no means an achievement in dramatic storytelling — it's more about dumb fun — and it lacks the player-choice element introduced with Call of Duty: Black Ops II, but when given time to breathe Ghosts actually offers some interesting human drama. The story centers around two brothers, Logan and Hesh, their father Elias, and yes, their dog Reilly as they fight the Federation as part of the battered remnants of the U.S. military, and later as the elite Ghosts squad. The family ties, specifically the relationship between Logan and Hesh, made me care about the protagonists in a series that's habitually made its characters a dispensable commodity. The voice acting is decent overall, though there are periodic moments of cringe-worthy dialog, like one superfluous moment when Elias reveals he’s a member of the Ghosts. And then there’s Riley. Though the subject of many a meme at this point, Riley not only acts as a useful tool for recon and silently dispatching enemies, but is integral to several dramatic sequences, saving your character on more than one occasion.

The story stumbles in the second act when it strays away from the more evocative character focus in favor of a long stretch of back-to-back missions driven almost exclusively by guns-blazing combat. While not poorly done, this visually arresting, action-packed, but ultimately hollow middle stands in stark contrast to the effective first and final acts. On the bright side, that padded out my play time to roughly 10 hours, making this campaign one of the longest CoD single-player experiences.

Or, in the case of those for whom multiplayer is the primary focus, it handily gets out of the way other than to serve as the inspiration for map environments, equipment, and weapon design.

Ghosts preserves much of the look and feel of the traditional Call of Duty multiplayer experience, but introduces sweeping changes that make it more personalized, more diverse, and better balanced. At its core lies the expansive new Create a Soldier system, which affords us the ability to create and customize 10 unique characters, each with up to six loadouts, for a total of 60 available classes and 20,000 possible configurations. Create a Soldier also riffs on Black Ops II’s Pick 10 system, allowing you to forego certain equipment in order to outfit a primary weapon with extra attachments or enable extra perks. In all, there are an impressive 39 weapons, 12 pieces of equipment, 35 new perks, 36 scorestreaks spanning three categories, and various weapons attachments to choose from.

Create a Solider is ambitious in its scope, and the sheer breadth of options caters to and empowers every style of play. Whether you want to run around like a high-powered knife-wielding mutant or move stealthily through a map by using heightened senses, you can. But for all of its versatility, Create a Soldier is dauntingly complex next to previous Call of Duty games. Even after hours of matches and experimentation, I felt as though I had only begun to understand the nuances of each of the 35 unique perks and how to optimize my classes for a specific style of play. On the one hand, Create a Soldier’s depth will have enthusiast players honing their perfect loadouts for months, but on the other, it makes for a more challenging entry-level experience.

Or, in the case of those for whom multiplayer is the primary focus, it handily gets out of the way other than to serve as the inspiration for map environments, equipment, and weapon design.

Ghosts preserves much of the look and feel of the traditional Call of Duty multiplayer experience, but introduces sweeping changes that make it more personalized, more diverse, and better balanced. At its core lies the expansive new Create a Soldier system, which affords us the ability to create and customize 10 unique characters, each with up to six loadouts, for a total of 60 available classes and 20,000 possible configurations. Create a Soldier also riffs on Black Ops II’s Pick 10 system, allowing you to forego certain equipment in order to outfit a primary weapon with extra attachments or enable extra perks. In all, there are an impressive 39 weapons, 12 pieces of equipment, 35 new perks, 36 scorestreaks spanning three categories, and various weapons attachments to choose from.

Create a Solider is ambitious in its scope, and the sheer breadth of options caters to and empowers every style of play. Whether you want to run around like a high-powered knife-wielding mutant or move stealthily through a map by using heightened senses, you can. But for all of its versatility, Create a Soldier is dauntingly complex next to previous Call of Duty games. Even after hours of matches and experimentation, I felt as though I had only begun to understand the nuances of each of the 35 unique perks and how to optimize my classes for a specific style of play. On the one hand, Create a Soldier’s depth will have enthusiast players honing their perfect loadouts for months, but on the other, it makes for a more challenging entry-level experience.

When comparing the PS4 and Xbox One versions side-by-side, there’s little to no variation in textures and effects, but there is a discernible difference in resolution. While both are displayed at 1080p, the Xbox One version upscales the game from 720p resolution. In contrast, the PS4 version runs natively at 1080p, which makes character models, weapons, and environments look noticeably sharper and more detailed. The difference is especially apparent on larger-sized TVs, where pixel density weighs more heavily in picture quality.

It’s certainly going to be a sticking point for those who demand the highest fidelity experience, but the difference is harder to identify in absence of a side-by-side comparison.

Oddly, the Xbox One version makes no use of the haptic feedback motors built into the controller’s triggers, and the DualShock 4’s trackpad is used solely as a button to toggle the in-game scoreboard during multiplayer.

There is, however, one notable exclusion from current-gen. Historically, Call of Duty has limited a majority of its modes to 12 players, but offered an additional playlist that supports 18-player matches known as Ground War. While the larger-scale matches live on with the PS4, Xbox One, and PC, owners of the Xbox 360, Wii U, and PS3 versions are capped at 12 players. It’s a surprising step back for the series, and the larger maps could have benefited from the higher player count.

It should also be noted that my smooth multiplayer experience was hosted on a dedicated server hosted by Activision – and most of yours will be, too. Activision says that all platforms will use a hybrid of dedicated servers and peer-to-peer matchmaking, which should eliminate many of the lag issues we've seen in the past. If all goes well, the days of being tossed into a game hosted by someone 2,000 miles away on a dial-up connection will be behind us.

The Verdict

Call of Duty: Ghosts isn't a reinvention of the franchise, but proves there's still room for innovation within its existing formula. Though at the risk of overcomplicating things at times, its robust multiplayer gameplay, surprisingly fun co-op modes, and lengthy, challenging, and varied campaign makes Ghosts one of the best Call of Duty games to date.