Best New Android & iPhone Games List Includes Need for Speed: No Limits, Dim Light & More

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 06: A close up image of a Samsung smartphone shows home screen apps on August 6, 2014 in London, England. Smartphone and tablet manufacturers Samsung and Apple have agreed to end all legal cases over patent infringements outside of the US. (Photo : Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Sometimes, there's no need for fancy consoles and gear to get some fun out of good games. There are plenty of premium mobile games for both Android and iPhone smartphones, if one only knows where to look.

A report from Phone Arena provides a comprehensive list of the season's premium mobile offers and best deals. Mobile gaming has never been this impressive, and the crème of the crop is for the players' taking.

One of the biggest gaming franchises offer an on-the-go experience with Need for Speed: No Limits. The racing game lets players rule the streets from their smartphones with extensive customization options and realistic graphics. Best of all, the mobile version of the chart-topping Need for Speed is free on Android and iOS.

According to a review from Gamezebo, Need for Speed: No Limits wows, saying, "For what it misses in story, Need for Speed: No Limits makes up for this in its breadth of content. There are 30 licensed vehicles that appear, and each of them has upgradable parts and customization options."

Gamers who enjoy a little bit of a scare will have to check out Dim Light, a horror adventure game that has the character navigating pitch-black settings with a flashlight. According to a report from Android Community, monsters lurking in the dark will just attack the player, leaving him no choice but to flee away as there are no weapons to fight. Dim Light is available on Android and iOS for $1.99.

There's also room on the mobile market for a slew of quirky games, and among those is the animated feature AZZL. The puzzle game is called "sweet and a little addicting" by Cult of Mac, specifically due to the delightful scenes and animations created by solving the puzzle. AZZL is a little bit more fantastical and kid-friendly than other games, but the overall app is clever and smoothly created.

The trailer of the game offers a 30-second peek into the experience. "AZZL" is available on the iOS exclusively for $2.99.

Other free mobile games include Shooty Skies and Storm Casters Ultra for iOS users, as well as Paper Monsters Recut which may be downloaded on both Android and iOS devices.

Meanwhile, paid apps that are worth shelling out for are Ski Safari 2 on Android and iOS for $1.99, Freeze! 2 on Android and iOS for $1.99, and PewDiePie: Legend of Brofist for Android and iOS for $4.99.

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In shadow of Android Pay, Google Wallet evolves to stay alive

Remember Google Wallet?

With all the fanfare surrounding Google's new digital payments system, Android Pay, it's easy to ignore the fact that Google already launched a different payments system -- four years ago -- called Google Wallet.

That earlier service was unceremoniously snubbed during the Google I/O developer conference Thursday, without any references to it during the Android Pay announcement at the event's keynote presentation.

The slight is another reminder of Google Wallet's long-time struggles to reach wider acceptance as a mobile payments system and an example of what can happen if a technology arrives too early to matter to consumers and businesses. But Google has quietly shifted gears on Wallet in a way that may keep it alive.

The world's largest online search company now plans to reintroduce Google Wallet as an app that friends can use to transfer small payments -- the digital equivalent to writing a check -- available on both the Android and iOS operating systems.

The change may help breathe new life into Google Wallet, which never really took off with customers or retailers. It will also allow Google to differentiate the two mobile payment systems, since, right now, both Google Wallet and Android Pay would both share many of the same features, including the ability for users to make in-store payments with their smartphones and make purchases within mobile apps.

A key difference between them is that Android Pay -- unlike Google Wallet -- is an open platform that can be used to power third-party payment or loyalty-card apps created by banks or retailers, according to Vijay Koduri, an executive at payments processor Adyen and a former Google executive who helped launch Google Wallet. That should allow Android Pay, which will launch later this year, to worm itself more into the mobile-payments world.

Google Wallet debuted four years ago as an early player in mobile payments -- the concept of letting people make secure online and in-store payments right from their smartphones. The service, along with other mobile-payments operators, may have been ahead of its time, as Google struggled to find carriers, device makers and retailers to support the new technology.

 Year after year, the tech industry predicted mobile payments would take off and people would start using their phones instead of their wallet. Yet year after year, consumer adoption failed to materialize, as the infrastructure to make the payments didn't exist and -- even when it did -- consumers had little motivation to use something that wasn't cash or plastic.

"You need to give me a really good reason to move from something when what I have works for me," said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Kantar Worldpanel, describing one of the many challenges Google Wallet has faced.

Osama Bedier, who helped run Google's payments business and is now CEO of payment-terminals startup Poynt, said Google Wallet had a hard time building up partners, with its plans to work with wireless carriers falling apart after those companies pursued their own service.

That would be Isis, a joint venture started by Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile, a similar mobile payments service that was later re-branded Softcard to distance itself from the terrorist group. In February, Google acquired Softcard's technology, and shut the service down in March.

Even without the carriers, it was a challenge convincing both consumers and retailers to buy into the new system, Bedier said.

Despite the rocky start, momentum in the field jump-started after Apple -- years late to the mobile payments space -- last year said it would enable its new iPhones with the technology needed to make payments at point-of-sale terminals. About 72 hours after Apple Pay's October debut, over 1 million credit cards had been activated on the service, more than other, similar services combined.

Now Google's mobile payment efforts look to be on much better footing, thanks to the spread of new terminals that can accept mobile payments as well as the momentum from Apple Pay encouraging more use of the technology. Even so, mobile payments services are still struggling to gain adoption and haven't reached mainstream use.

"Apple is making good traction, but it's not great, with Apple Pay," Bedier said.

Apple, for its part, has boasted that Apple Pay makes up $2 out of every $3 spent on purchases using contactless payment systems, which cover any device, including smart cards, that make payments wirelessly. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said 2015 "will be the year of Apple Pay."

Despite a more favorable landscape, Google opted not to update Google Wallet but instead come out with a new brand, Android Pay. The new service emerges just months after Samsung rolled out its similarly named (and functioning) mobile payments system, Samsung Pay.

Kantar's Milanesi said it was possible the Google Wallet name simply wasn't new enough to inspire more user interest, after sitting around for four years with little use, so it made sense to go with a different name.

"Coming up with new features under the same name," she said, "would've been a harder sell."

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FCC to crackdown on robocall spammers' beloved loophole

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has put forward rules to close a loophole used by robocallers and text-message spammers.

The proposed regulations, if approved, will ban robocallers from harassing citizens when they take over a previously used number. Even if the previous owner of the number was OK with the calls, robo-spammers must stop calling once the number is inherited by someone else, the watchdog reckons.

Carriers must make sure these recycled numbers are treated as a clean slate, according to the proposals, meaning telcos should use technology to block miscreants who continue to spam numbers even after they change ownership.

Robocallers are not allowed to dial up people unless some sort of consent has been given, and forms have to be filled in to be removed from the lists. By robocall, the watchdog means calls from computers that play messages touting shady businesses, loans and such like.

"Unwanted calls and texts are the number one consumer complaint to the FCC," the commission said, adding that it had 215,000 gripes on the issue last year.

"There are thousands of complaints to the FCC every month on both telemarketing and robocalls."

The proposed rules will allow people to opt-out of robocalls verbally over the phone, and also set limits on robocalls made by political organizations, which not held to the same standards as commercial companies. The rules, if approved, will restrict campaign calls to those who have consented to receive them rather than blanketing an entire area with political messages.

"Carriers could offer robocall-blocking technologies to consumers," the FCC said. "It would give the go-ahead for carriers to implement market-based solutions that consumers could use to stop unwanted robocalls."

As simple as the FCC makes these rules sound, carriers may not be willing nor be able to simply flick the switch and kill all incoming robocalls by default to recycled numbers. T-Mobile US told The Reg in a statement:

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iOS and Android are about to get updated—here’s where they stand now

Apple and Google are expected to unveil significant updates to their mobile operating systems, iOS and Android, within the next few weeks.

Google’s annual I/O conference will take place May 28-29, and Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set for June 8-12. Both companies typically use these events—attended by thousands of software developers—to show off new versions of their major platforms.

So where does the smartphone market stand now?

Android is five times larger than iOS by global sales volume

Google entered this year with a huge advantage in global market share. Last year, more than 80% of smartphones sold globally—more than 1 billion devices—ran Android, according to Gartner. Apple took second place with almost 200 million iPhone sales, about 15% of the global market.

What’s also clear is that this has become a two-horse race. Microsoft’s Windows mobile software and BlackBerry are effectively irrelevant on a global basis. Google’s biggest vulnerabilities are Apple and the potential splintering of Android—if other companies can gain traction with versions of Android outside of Google’s control.

It’s much closer in some key markets, such as the US

Apple’s iOS represents almost 43% of the US smartphone subscriber market, as measured by comScore, versus 52% for Android. Over the past year, Apple has gained some ground, but it’s not dramatic.

It seems unlikely that iOS will pass Android this year, despite Apple’s recent success with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Similarly, it seems Android will never convincingly conquer the US market, where many of the world’s top software companies are based and created. The “smartphone wars” are effectively over, and two winners are left standing.

Apple still wins the update cycle

One area where Google still needs to improve is getting more of its users access to its latest version of Android. This has always been a struggle for Google, as the Android ecosystem is very complicated and Google has ceded significant control over software to its operator and handset partners.

Google’s “Lollipop” version of Android, announced at last year’s I/O conference, is on just about 10% of Android devices, according to Google. The previous version, KitKat, still dominates.

Meanwhile, Apple’s iOS 8—announced at last year’s WWDC—is running on about 80% of iOS devices. (Note how quickly many users were able to upgrade shortly after its September, 2014 release.)

While there’s room for improvement, Apple’s tight control over iOS has paid off in this regard. Apple is in a much stronger position to release new features—even those that require a network of users, such as iMessage and FaceTime—and get instant adoption.

The next wave is moving further beyond phones

Apple’s next iOS will be its first new version since the Apple Watch started shipping this past April. We expect to hear more about how Apple will make its increasing fleet of mobile devices—the Watch, iPhone, iPad, and MacBook—work better together. Apple will also reportedly announce a new tool for making apps for its Apple TV streaming media device at WWDC.

Google, too, has extended Android. Last year at I/O, it showed off a version of Android for smartwatches and one for TVs. Android Wear watches are already widely available. Android TVs are not. Perhaps we’ll get an update on that.

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Google set to raise Android privacy controls

Google is planning to give its mobile users more control over what information applications can access, people familiar with the matter said.

Google's Android operating system is set to give users more detailed choices over what apps can access, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter remains private. That could include photos, contacts or location. An announcement of the change, which would put Android closer in line with Apple's iOS, is expected for Google's developer's conference in San Francisco this month, one of the people said.

The Mountain View, California-based company last year simplified how people are informed about what an app is accessing. Users decide whether the app can be downloaded. The new settings would give users the option to pick and choose what an app can access.

Google is adding features to its mobile services as it seeks to attract users who increasingly are going online via their wireless gadgets. Android had 81 per cent of the global smartphone market in 2014 while Apple's iOS had 15 per cent, according Gartner.

Pressure is growing on Android in some parts of the world. In Europe's five largest countries, its share fell to 69 per cent in the first quarter from 72 per cent a year earlier, according to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. The share for iOS rose to 20.3 per cent from 18.6 per cent, Kantar reported.

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Free Android apps connect to thousands of tracking and ad URLs, research shows

The average free Android app silently connects to more than 100 different web addresses to serve adverts and track users, according to a paper from French research institute Eurecom.

The worst offenders found on the Google Play store connect to orders of magnitude of up to 20 times more sites. One app that does nothing more than control volume “connects to almost 2,000 distinct URLs” when it’s booted up on a phone.

After downloading more than 2,000 free apps from the Google Play store on to an older Samsung phone, the researchers, led by Luigi Vigneri, opened them one by one.

By routing all the traffic through their own network, they were able to find out every web address requested by the applications, and then categorise them based on what they were returning, from adverts to tracking information.

The researchers found that “unsurprisingly, nine of the top 10 in this set correspond to various web services run by Google. The most popular domain in the list, doubleclick.net, is an advertising platform that tracks end users, and also serves up advertisements”.

More than 40% of the apps examined connected to DoubleClick alone, and the only non-Google service in the top ten was a Samsung site used to serve video ads.

While the presence of advertising in free apps is unlikely to surprise users, the frequent involvement of sites that track personal information is less expected. The good news is that the “vast majority” (73.2%) of apps do not connect with any tracking website; but “a small number of apps do indeed communicate with them”.

One app, Eurosport Player, connected with more than 800 individual tracking URLs; all of the top ten ranked by number of unique connections send information to more than 200 different URLs, with downloads ranging from just 100 up to 10m. Typically, such websites track information such as the “unique device identifier” (UDID) to follow a user across apps. “The issue of online tracking has been vigorously debated in the recent past, and privacy advocates argue that it allows for open-ended profiling of end users,” the paper argues. “Importantly, users are rarely aware of the actual entities that are tracking them, and to what degree ... the tracking ecosystem today lacks transparency.”

Again, Google provided the most dominant tracking service applied on the Play Store, Google Analytics, but “in contrast to the results about ad-related destinations”, the researchers found “the mobile tracking ecosystem to be significantly more fragmented, with many more players”.

The researchers argue that the findings demonstrate the downside of the relatively open nature of Android app stores. “The lack of oversight in Android Play Store makes it all too easy for end users to install applications of dubious origin, or those which silently carry out activity that might not be seen favourably by the user … Our results underscore the need for greater transparency in the network interaction of mobile applications on the Android App store [s],” they conclude.

For many years, the Google Play Store only moderated apps after they had already gone live, in contrast to Apple, which has always acted as a rigid gatekeeper to its own mobile app store. But in March, the company shook up its store, introducing human moderators to check apps before they go live.

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Microsoft slams Android updates, claims Google ships a ‘big pile of... code’

Microsoft's Windows chief, Terry Myerson, isn't pulling any punches against Android this week. Speaking during a keynote appearance at Microsoft's Ignite conference in Chicago, Myerson knocked Google's Android update plans. "Google ships a big pile of… code, with no commitment to update your device," Myerson said, with an intentional pause that left the audience laughing. "Google takes no responsibility to update customer devices and refuses to take responsibility to update their devices, leaving end users and businesses increasingly exposed every day they use an Android device."

While Myerson was quick to knock Android, he didn't really reveal how Microsoft plans to bypass carriers and deliver regular updates to its Windows 10 phones in future. Microsoft first unveiled a developer preview for Windows Phone back in 2013, but unless you sign up to this as a consumer then it's not a true way to deliver updates to devices. Updates have also been a mixed experience for Windows users. There were no upgrades from Windows Phone 7 to Windows Phone 8, and those stuck with Windows RT won't get Windows 10 in the future.

Microsoft might not have a perfect update history, but it's planning to fix some of that with Windows 10. "We’re not going to be delivering all of the updates to all consumers on one big day of the month," explained Myerson, noting that the software giant will continue to deliver updates to Windows 10 in distribution rings. Microsoft introduced the idea of slow and fast rings with its Windows 10 preview, allowing some users to get the latest bits and others to wait for stable releases without bugs.

Microsoft is also launching Windows Update for Business today, which is designed for businesses to get the latest updates for Windows 10. Similar to consumer updates, businesses will also be able to select distribution rings and maintenance windows to ensure not all machines take rapid updates to Windows 10.

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