Implode! for Windows Phone (Video)

This week's new Xbox LIVE game for Windows Phone 7 is "Implode!" It's a chalkboard-drawing-style physics puzzle game where you have to drag and drop little bundles of dynamite onto certain areas of a stacked structure in order to make the whole thing crash into a pile that sits below the dotted line. It's a simple concept, but of course the structures get more complicated as you progress through the levels. The game also has some significant replay value since it also has an editor where you can create your own structures and levels to blow up. Of course, it also has Xbox LIVE acheivements and leaderboards so you can keep up with your friends' scores. The initial release does not include support for Mango's fast app switching features however. It's still a fun game if you like destorying things. Check it out Wednesday in the Windows Phone Marketplace by searching for "Implode!"


 

Controversial Game Banned from iPhone Lands on Android

The Android Market is no stranger to controversial apps. This time around it's an app that attempts to convey the story of how your smartphone came into being -- which may not be a pretty story.

From the Market Description:
Phone Story is an educational game about the hidden social costs of smartphone manufacturing. Follow your phone's journey from the Coltan mines of the Congo to the electronic waste dumps in Pakistan through four colorful mini-games. Compete with market forces in an endless spiral of technological obsolescence. You can keep Phone Story in your favorite device as a reminder of your impact on this world."

The app developer says all revenues from the sale of the app will be donated to organizations working to solve the issues mentioned in this game.

Phone Story 

PRICE DROP

by molleindustria

<50 downloads, 117 ratings (4.4 avg)

$1

Install

Download from the Android Market

Android 2.3.4 Now Arriving For This Year's SE Xperia Models

Sony Ericsson has been talking big about bringing Android 2.3.4 to its lineup of 2011 Xperia smartphones for a while now. We had been expecting those updates to start showing up in October, but it looks like they're already on their way to users now.

Earlier today we talked about the update arriving for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo. We're now hearing confirmation that the firmware is also out for theXperia Play and Xperia Arc; there's been no word yet on the Pro.

As promised, the update is full of goodies, including Swype's virtual keyboard. It looks like the Play didn't get it, but the Neo and Arc can now use their 2D cameras to take 3D pictures, using Sony Ericsson's 3D Panorama software, letting you view your creations later on a 3D-capable television.

All models can now take screenshots with ease, and the inclusion of SE's "Facebook inside Xperia" UI melds social networking tools into Androids's core. You'll be able to start video chatting with the latestGoogle Talk. Then there are also a whole mess of other, smaller, changes, like playlist control, automatic screen brightness, and new power-up animations. If you don't feel like waiting, you can track down firmware images through the source link below.

Hulu Plus Nearly Doubles Android Device Support

When it comes to premium video apps gaining widespread hardware support, Netflix just set the bar pretty high when it updated its app to run on any Froyo or Gingerbread system. Hulu Plus has a long way to go towards catching up, but a new release of the software takes some big steps in the right direction adding support for eight new Android smartphones and a tablet.

The list of supported Androids now includes the Motorola Droid Bionic, Droid 3, and Droid X2, the LG Revolution and G2x, and the HTC Incredible 2, EVO 3D, and Sensation. HTC's Flyer is the sole tablet to find inclusion this time around. Adding these nine onto the list of already-compatible smartphones and tablets, and the grand total is up to twenty – like we said, there's still a long way to go, even with these gains.

The eight-dollar-a-month service may not have the popularity of streaming Netflix at the moment, but the recent changes to that company's subscription plans may see some users starting to consider services like Hulu Plus instead, so this additional device support is coming at the right time. Along with all the new compatibility, this latest Hulu Plus update also manages to improve video playback performance. Look for it now in the Android Market. 

T-Mobile: No iPhone 5 This Year. What About an iPhone 4S, Then?

With Apple's latest iPhone hardware expected to be debuted within a month's time, we're still trying to sort out how all the major US carriers fit into Apple's plans. AT&T and Verizon seem like no-brainers, and we've seen some evidence that makes a decent case for Sprint also being on-board for the launch. The murkier question is of T-Mobile's plans; plenty of analysts have suggested it would get some sort of new Apple hardware, but just what exactly, and when? The carrier's CMO recently made some comments that begin to start answering those questions.

T-Mobile CMO Cole Brodman, speaking before company employees, noted "we are not going to get the iPhone 5 this year." You can't get much more definitive than that. While it's nice to get a straight answer from one of the carriers in regards to the iPhone 5, there are still plenty of questions Brodman left hanging.

Is T-Mobile planning to introduce the phone sometime next year? Would that delay have anything to do with the proposed AT&T acquisition? And then what about other iPhones; if Apple releases an updated 4S (as seems pretty likely), might T-Mobile be selling that handset before the end of the year? Brodman's wording almost seems to intentionally leave this possibility open.