10 Top Android Racing Games

Death Rally

Tired of opponents getting in the way in racing games? Blow them up! This game offers plenty of dangerous weaponry that you can use to deal with the opposition. Thankfully, you can earn money to armor up your vehicle, repair damage, and upgrade weapons. You know, so you can cause more mayhem.

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2XL MX Offroad

Motorbikes aren't just for trial racers. No, they're also for racing to the finish line against up to seven other racers. Motocross and ATV bikes are available, with tracks that allow riders to perform dangerous stunts in the air.

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Acceler8

Dirt and sand are the racing terrains of choice here. Off-road vehicles jockey for position around twisty tracks, where the blinding sun proves to be just as much of a challenge as the other racers. You can earn money to buy better vehicles, which makes surviving easier.

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GT Racing Motor Academy

Start a career and race for fame, money, and better cars in this free racing simulation. Tired of beating computer opponents? Take the battle online against other players.

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Parking Frenzy

Ever notice that most racing games just end with cars stopped in the middle of the track? Here's a game where that's just not allowed. Players must try to park cars in difficult spots. Players are rewarded for not hitting any obstacles and for completing the challenge quickly.

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Trial Xtreme 2

Take dirt bikes through challenges they were probably never meant to handle in this trial racer. The gist is that an improperly-armored rider must remain on his bike as he rides across ramps, rocks, and through structures. The ultimate goal is to collect stars in each level, get to the finish line quickly, and perform flips to earn more points.

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Pocket Racing

This retro-inspired top-down racing game has players trying to race time trials around six tracks. Staying on the road is important, as there's a time penalty for going off-track. The game features downloadable ghosts that you can race against. That means you can play the best players in the world any time.

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Raging Thunder 2

This is old-school arcade-style racing in a modern package. It's all about drafting and picking up turbo boosts to zoom past opponents. (If you're braking, you're doing something wrong.) Best of all, the game has a no-nonsense "instant race" function that picks a car and track automatically, then starts up a race.

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Reckless Racing 2

This isometric racing game features players racing around dirt and road tracks. The game's physics system can be a challenge to deal with, but that’s also part of the fun. It also features a cross-platform online multi-player option and some of the best touch screen controls ever.

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Snuggle Truck

In this game, inspired by trial racers, players must try to keep their stuffed animals in their truck, as they race across hazardous terrain. There are medals for completing levels in a certain amount of time with a certain number of animals. On Android, the game is available in both this family-friendly version, and in its original, more controversial Smuggle Truck version.

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Whether you feel the need for speed or the desire to run your fellow drivers off the road, I won’t judge. I will, however, suggest you redirect that energy into one of these Android racing games.

These games run the gamut of racing styles, but they all have the same basic goal: Get to that finish line as quickly as possible! So pick a game, rev that engine, and get going.

Reference: http://is.gd/r53Eh4

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10 Best Android Puzzle Games

1. World of Goo

The goo balls in this game are used to build structures that get you to your final goal. The challenge comes from the limited goo ball supplies, especially as a certain number of goo balls must travel along the structure to the end in order to complete the level. This game is a must-have for tablet owners.

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2. Triple Town

Here's a game that combines the city building of social games with Match 3 gameplay. The goal is to plant trees in order to form larger trees, but bears make this hard because they try to knock them down. Don't worry. By blocking off their moves, they can be taken out.

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3. Chu Chu Rocket

If Tom and Jerry cartoons have taught us anything, it’s that cats and mice will eternally be at war. Sega’s Chu Chu Rocket plays on this, but adds a twist. In this version, arrows guide massive hordes of space mice into a rocket, while trying to keep space cats away. There's both a frantic mode where up to three computer opponents can duke it out to collect as many mice as possible, and a puzzle mode where limited sets of arrows must be used to get all the mice safely into the rockets.

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4. Tetris

This has been the puzzle game of choice since the original dot-matrix Game Boy that ran on four AA batteries. Unlike the iOS version, which comes with a variety of in-app purchases, Android's Tetris comes as a free ad-supported version with marathon mode and a paid ad-free version with additional modes.

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5. Slice It!

Geometry is difficult, but that doesn't mean it can't be fun. This game involves drawing lines to divide shapes into a certain number of smaller shapes using a specific number of lines. Somewhere, that middle school geometry teacher is laughing and saying, "I told you this would come in handy some day!"

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6. Cut the Rope: Experiments

Get experimental with this latest entry in the Cut the Rope series. The goal is still the same: get the candy from where it's attached to the string in Om Nom's mouth. However, this game brings a variety of new obstacles. It also does a good job of bringing new players into the fold with a set of introductory levels.

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7. ZooKeeper DX

Matching objects with similar properties is a recipe for gaming fun, and this puzzler is no exception. While the Match 3 genre is very crowded, this one wins out because of its unique thick-border art style.

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8. The Moron Test

Some puzzle games might make us feel dumb, but here's one that's designed for that explicit purpose. The questions may seem simple, but they actually prove to be devilish brain-teasers. At least that's what I tell myself.

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9. Spy Mouse:

The line-drawing gameplay of Flight Control is turned into a stealth-based puzzle game here. Players must draw a path for the eponymous spy mouse to travel along, collecting cheese, and getting to the end of a level while not being eaten by the cats.

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Burn the Rope

The best titles are literal ones. The goal of Burn the Rope is to burn rope. Flames constantly burn downward, so you must tilt your device in order to make the flames burn as much rope as possible in each puzzle.

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Mobile puzzle games, whether they’re falling block versions or object-matching titles, are so addictive that players have been known to lose a few hours on them.

And yes, most of the time it’s Apple’s iPhone we associate with this digital affliction, but Android has a handful of equally-addictive versions. In fact, there are at least ten that are worth your time.

Do you have a favorite Android puzzle game? Share it in the comments section below.

Reference: http://is.gd/MkudPL

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Facebook IPO: It’s Set for May 18 [REPORT]

Facebook’s long-awaited Initial Public Offering is happening in just two and a half weeks time, the Wall Street Journalreports Tuesday. 

Citing the usual anonymous sources familiar with the matter, the Journal says Facebook will begin its IPO roadshow on Monday May 7. That’s when companies traditionally make the rounds of mutual funds, large banks and other major investors looking for multi-million dollar stakes. (We’ve reached out to Facebook for official confirmation.)

The name of the IPO roadshow game is to explain why your stock will be such a good buy, although in Facebook’s case that shouldn’t be too hard. (Our advice: just show them this video, and you’ll be done in 150 seconds.)

Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg will only be present for some of the roadshow, say the sources; COO Sheryl Sandberg will handle the rest, along with CFO David Ebersman. (We’re hoping Sandberg still gets to finish work at 5:30pm.)

The roadshow will wrap up pretty quickly, and then it’s on to the IPO itself, apparently set for Friday May 18. As we’ve written before, the IPO should shift $10 billion worth of Facebook stock, leaving the social network with an overall valuation of $100 billion — and turning Zuckerberg, who owns a controlling stake of voting shares, into one of the world’s richest men.

Someone else who will be watching the IPO closely: Kevin Systrom, founder of Instagram. We’ve already noted that the $1 billion Facebook purchase of his app made Systrom worth $400 million on paper, but we’ve since learned that much of that $1 billion deal was for Facebook stock.

A wildly successful IPO could theoretically make Systrom a billionaire, albeit at a much lower level than Zuckerberg.

So now that it’s finally happening, what are your thoughts on the Facebook IPO? Will the social network be wildly overvalued, or find its true level? Let me know in the comments.

Reference: http://is.gd/nfLwhg

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MemeKit Transforms Your Facebook Photos Into Memes

You and your Facebook friends can now join the ranks of Scumbag Steve, Philosoraptor, Angry Ass Wolf,College Freshman, Annoying Facebook Girl and other memes.

A new website lets you create text-over-image memes using Facebook content. MemeKit combines recent status updates and random tagged photos from you and your friends’ Facebook Timelines.

MemeKit gives you the options to share your creations to Facebook or mail a physical copy for $3.

BuddyMeme is another website that gives your Facebook photos the meme treatment, but it doesn’t pull in status updates like MemeKit does. On BuddyMeme, you write your own text.

Reference: http://is.gd/a8dpeH

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KegDroid Android Serves Beer With a Google+ Login [VIDEO]

Need a beer? Want to show your love for Google’s Android operating system at the same time? Then look no further than KegDroid.

Named Betsy, this kegerator features a touchscreen for selecting your drink of choice, and two taps as arms for dispensing your order.

KegDroid was created by Google employee Paul Carff, who has been homebrewing his own beers since 1991. The pint-sized Android dispenses pints of beer using an Android tablet –specifically, a Motorola Xoom — as its controls.

The tablet is running the latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, and protects brews from unauthorized drinkers; it has to be authenticated before Betsy starts pouring.

In order to authenticate the KegDroid you have to have a badge. Google is using NFC badges, however, Carff says you could also implement an RFID badge in the system.

An NFC reader is built into the KegDroid’s stand. Once it reads your badge, the application authenticates your access to Betsy’s wares.

Once you’re authenticated, Betsy will grab your name and photo from your Google+ page. Then you select what beer you would like to drink -– Betsy offers two options– as well as whether you would like a 1oz, 8oz, or 12oz pour of your brew of choice.

The application also keeps track of how cold the keg is, and how fast a beer is pouring from the keg once selected.

Would you want your own KegDroid in your office? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Reference: http://is.gd/S4dSyq

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Dell Upgrades High-End Gaming Laptops With Faster Graphics, Ivy Bridge

Dell has announced a series of upgrades to its Alienware gaming laptops, including Intel’s new quad-core processors and powerful graphics cards unavailable in any other device. 

The company updated its lineup of high-end gaming laptops for Alienware’s M14x, M17x and M18x models Monday. The devices will now tout the new Intel third-generation Ivy Bridge processors, as well as the latest graphic cards from Nvidia and AMD to bring improved visuals to the gaming experience.

The laptops also come with Bluetooth 4.0, Blu-ray disc drive, HDMI 1.4 capabilities and USB 3.0 for fast data transfer.

The M14x model boasts a 14-inch high-definition display and is the most mobile of the three. Meanwhile, the M17x and M18x models bring gaming power with AMD Radeon HD 7970M graphics card and GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GT 660M and 675M graphics solutions. In addition, theM17x is the only laptop in the series that comes with an optional 3D display.

Dell also announced a partnership with EA and the popular game Battlefield 3, so users can control certain aspects of the game while playing on an Alienware device. For example, accessing the Alienware control center on the laptop will allow users to personalize the experience by adjusting lighting colors and effects settings.

The laptop becomes an extension of the game. When a player is in full health, the keyboard will glow white. When a player in the game is dying, it will pulsate red.

A spokesperson told that Dell aims to roll out these capabilities to more EA games in the future. Alienware M14x, M17x and M18x are available now on Dell.com and Alienware.com with prices starting at M14x, $1,499 for the M17x, and $1,999 for the M18x.

Would you buy a laptop specifically for gaming? Do you see this as a growth area? Let me know in the comments.

Reference: http://is.gd/3h2Q3j

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Google’s Data Collection From Wi-Fi Networks Wasn’t Accidental After All

Google has released a report that explains how and why the company’s street view cars collected data from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks.

A few weeks ago, the Federal Communication Commission announced that it had concluded its investigation into Google’s interception of user data from the Wi-Fi networks its cars passed while photographing streets. Google’s report gives some more insight into this curious case.

It is currently available on Scribd, for those interested in reading it.

Until this point, it had seemed that Google’s interception of data was purely accidental. That appears now to be only half true. According to the L.A. Times:

The report points the finger at a rogue engineer who, it says, intentionally wrote software code that captured payload data information — communication over the Internet including emails, passwords and search history — from unprotected wireless networks, going beyond what Google says it intended. The engineer invoked his 5th Amendment right and declined to speak to the FCC.

After the code was written, it somehow escaped being noticed by anyone involved with the project. Coworkers missed it during code reviewers, and managers missed memos discussing the utility of intercepted data. Whether or not you believe this perfect storm of lapses in oversight depends, I suppose, on how much you trust Google.

What may have helped the code go unnoticed was Google’s policy of allowing employees to work on projects that interest them in their free time. The engineer who wrote the data-intercepting code was apparently working on it as a side project, and he was not required to get permission from the street view team before modifying the code. One wonders how long that policy will remain sacrosanct. Though it shielded Google in this case, it also portrays the company as being ignorant of its own products.

You may be wondering what value the intercepted data could possibly have to Google. Again, from the L.A. Times:

On at least one occasion, the report says, the engineer reviewed the data to identify frequently visited websites. He thought it might be helpful in determining how much people were using Google search, so he asked a member of Google’s search quality team who told him “it had no use or value,” the report says. When he determined it had no value, he abandoned the idea.

After that, it seems the code remained on the cars — presumably because no one thought to remove it.

These apparent “communication failures” within Google aside, you might believe that the search giant was being noble when it turned away the intercepted data. But let’s look at the dates. The code was implemented on cars in 2006. Two years later, Google announced its super-fast Chrome web browser. While it’s certain that the information picked up by the street view cars did offer little value to Google, part of the reason might have been that the search giant had already come up with a far better (and far less creepy) way to gather information about how users were surfing the net: A web browser.

Though the FCC wound up merely fining Google for obstruction of justice, its reason for not prosecuting the company was simply because there was no precedent. There are, it implies, simply no laws against what Google did. Sometimes it seems like Google’s “don’t be evil” policy is more along the lines of “don’t be evil within the narrowly defined parameters of the law.”

Reference: http://is.gd/HCIeLx

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