Neowin.net - Where unprofessional journalism looks better

Facebook for Android

| FREE | Facebook

Neowin.net - Facebook beta testing improved Android App - Neowin.net - Where unprofessional journalism looks better

If you frequent social networks and have an Android device, then you've almost certainly used the Facebook application and chances are that you've found its functionality somewhat lacking, particularly when compared to the iOS app or the website itself. Luckily the developers behind the app haven't been sitting still. A few weeks ago they stopped by reddit to ask users for pointers on what can be done to improve the app, both in terms of bug-fixing and features. Well, they've come back and there's good news - an update is currently in beta as we speak and you can sign up to be in with a chance of testing it yourself: Hello /r/Android, Thanks for all of your suggestions and bug reports in the thread we posted 3 weeks ago (http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/h7nx1/we_are_the_dev_team_for_facebook_for_android_help/). We've added many of the most requested features and fixed several bugs. Here's a partial list: We'd like to enlist your help in beta testing the app to make sure that everything works on all of the devices people are using. If you're interested in helping us beta test, please sign up using this form: We'll select some of the people that respond and send them instructions on how to install and test the beta version. Thanks! The Facebook for Android devs This is certainly welcome news for Android owners everywhere. Fingers are crossed that they've implemented better groups support, but time will tell. There's no mention of when we can expect the update to hit the market, but considering that it was only 3 weeks from when the first post was made on reddit, it shouldn't take long to iron out any bugs that are discovered. Read More

Gem Miner: Dig Deeper

| AUD 1.99 | Psym Mobile

Neowin.net - Review: Amazon's free Android app of the day - Gem Miner: Dig Deeper - Neowin.net - Where unprofessional journalism looks better

If you didn't already know,  Amazon has their very own Android app store. It's just like the marketplace from Google, except Amazon runs it, meaning it has some subtle differences. One of those differences is that they give away a paid app for free every single day. When I picked up my Android phone about a year ago, there weren't a huge amount of top, quality games available but Gem Miner was one of them and it quickly caught my eye. As you may have figured from the title, Gem Miner is a mining game that players of Minecraft will be somewhat familiar with. You start off with the most basic supplies and must dig, dig and dig to find precious minerals like coal, gems and gold; once you've filled up your backpack, you can go back to the surface and sell it, allowing you to buy more supplies and better tools. Unlike Minecraft, you do have to account for the structure of the mine as you dig. If you dig under some rock, it may well collapse on top of you, sending you back to the surface with the penalty of loosing your loot. You'll also have to build ladders or install lifts to help get yourself back to the surface. It's impossible to stay in your mine forever, though, you only have so much stamina and running out will mean a loot penalty. Overall, I found the game to be a fun time waster for about 10 minutes, but I couldn't help but feel it got very repetitive very quickly. Perhaps Minecraft has spoiled me with its procedurally generated terrain that goes on for as far as you can walk, allowing you to really explore however you like, while Gem Miner is stuck with you spending the majority of Read More