LUSARAP

Ahead of the imminent Samsung Galaxy S5 release date, reports have started to circulate around potential spinoff devices with a Samsung Galaxy S5 Active model mooted.

The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is a phone that many people have asked for – a mobile with top-end specs but a screen small enough to let the phone comfortably fit in your pocket. Not everyone wants a 5-inch screen. And god knows why anyone would want a 6-inch one.

Dropbox has revealed a new set of developer tools called Dropbox Platform, which aims to help make your data readily available across platforms and apps.


The company announced the new tool at its first Dropbox developer conference, DBX, which is being held in San Francisco this week.

The Sync API already lets developers access Dropboxs file syncing technology, but this latest announcement opens up far more possibilities.

For example, the new Datastore API allows app developers to sync app-specific data to the cloud. This could involve settings, contacts, to-do lists, sketches, and even game save files, to name just three.

It means that you could have an app installed on multiple devices and it would sync up across them without fuss. Potentially the most exciting aspect of this will be for mobile gamers, who will be able to start a game on their Apple iPad and continue it on their Android phone (or vice versa).

The other tool is Drop-in, which provides simple lines of code to add important Dropbox functionality to your app quickly and efficiently. The two initial examples provided are Chooser, which grants quick access to Dropbox files from within an app (for sharing files, for example), and Saver which - you guessed it - permits one-click saving to the cloud.

The important thing to note here is that Dropbox Platform doesnt provide a whole heap of brand new functionality, but it does make it a lot easier for app developers to sync data to the cloud. This should ensure that we see such features as standard in a lot more apps from now on.

Apple is reportedly preparing a duo of iPhone 6 models to launch later this year, with the first 4.7-inch version to launch in June.

Train Conductor 2: Travel the states of America and guide all the trains across the tracks safely!


Some of you may recognise the screenshots of this game from when it was first released by the Voxel Agents on the iPhone about a couple of years ago.  But in any case, check out its good points and our game tips on how to beat your mates below!

Gameplay

The core of the game has a few railway tracks on the screen and trains will chug across.  Your job is to drag and create new tracks in order to connect the train to its correct destination.  If your vehicle travels to the right line then you’ll get a point (…and if it doesn’t then a point is deducted).  As well as creating new rails, when you tap on a train then it’ll stop and stay stationary until you tap on it again.  As with real life… don’t let any trains collide otherwise the round is over and your highest score will get logged.

So far, the game is very logical and matches up with what you’d expect from a train management sim… but there’s much more than that and the variety is quite vast given that it’s all based on one core concept.  Each and every level has a distinct and unique attribute which adds to the overall character of this game.  For instance, there are obstructions inbetween tracks; trains will travel at variable speeds and you have to navigate huge valleys…  There are also special night levels but we won’t go through this here as that’ll just spoil your surprise.

Instant Action

Train Conductor is fast and fun gameplay which is designed so well that you don’t really think about the intricacies.  But actually there’s a lot of good graphics with cool music tracks.  Most importantly though, the controls work seamlessly and you shouldn’t find yourself frustrated.

Compete against your friends

Amongst our team we had a ball competing against each other on the same phone, and we suggest you do the same too.  But we know sometimes it’s hard to get together with mates mid week, and in those cases you can share your score on Facebook and compete online – pretty nifty.


Rating: 5/5 Train Conductor 2 is a great game which shows how much variety can be packed into one single game style.  It’s very well tuned and the difficulty is just right.  The key to enjoying this game is to challenge your friends to see who’ll get the highest score.  As a single player game, the pros/gurus out there may find that this won’t keep them entertained for long enough, but that’s probably because they didn’t realise that they can still play ‘Challenge’  mode, which is different from ‘Classic’ mode!

Train Conductor 2 Tips and Tricks

When it comes to competing, we’re maniacs at figuring games out and we always try to better each other’s score as much as possible!  So learn how we got at least 100 points in every stage in Classic Mode…

• The trains always start off a bit slower to ease you into the game.  However, we’ve found this indirectly shocks the mind when the trains increase in speed.  To improve your consistency with scoring: switch on the fast forward initially, and turn it off when the trains get faster.  The slight duration where the trains are going too fast will improve your reaction speed so you’re ready for the rush hour bouts.
• Stay calm… It’s actually possible to stop almost all the trains and carefully calculate which crossings should come first, second and third…
• When you’ve stopped a train, don’t worry about trains coming behind it – they’ll automatically slow to a halt.
• Don’t be too greedy – sometimes it’s not possible to get all trains to their destination and you need to lose some points to free up some exit lanes.
• Survival is the most important thing first – the longer you survive, then the more points you can score (i.e. then you can let some trains go to the wrong place and count on recouping the lost points).
• … as an example that this works – on one level I was playing, two trains almost crashed head-on so I stopped them both at the last minute and just left them there.  Although I lost points because the stationary trains obstructed exit routes for the rest of the game, I still managed to get over 100 points because the train management became easier.
• If you’re in rush hour and you’re planning on stopping many trains, then try and tap on it as soon as it appears on the screen.  That way, you won’t have another train behind it which you’ll need to remember to stop.
• Most collisions will happen because a train intersects with the side of a crossing one.  Therefore, to reduce this effect: try and make your crossings occur in the middle where possible.  This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but it does help to try and stay centred.
• So in short, if you couldn’t be bothered to read the above:  Practise stopping all the trains and slowly connecting them to their destination.  You’ll realise that the game automatically compensates and you won’t be inundated with so many trains that they’ll crash.

Make sure you play the Challenge mode after you’ve been through the Classic tracks because the layout and the points are different!

A new round of Samsung Galaxy S5 benchmarks have leaked, with latest reports suggesting two variations of the flagship handset will be made available.


With the Samsung Galaxy S5 release date widely expected to be held on February 24, new leaks have hinted that the Samsung Galaxy S4 follow-on will launch in both quad-core, 2K display and octa-core Full HD display hosting variations.

While a separate Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini is expected to launch in the future, it is believed the leaked flagship variations are set to be more akin to Apple’s iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C offerings than full blown spinoffs.

According to leaked AnTuTu benchmark results, surfaced via PhoneArena, {pullquote}the two Samsung Galaxy S5 variations will be known as the Samsung SM-G900R4 and Samsung SM-G900H{/p[ullquote}. Both will feature 16-megapixel rear-mounted cameras alongside secondary, 2-megapixel snappers up front and Google’s latest Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS.

That’s where the similarities end, however. The leaks have claimed that the Samsung SM-G900R4 will play host to a 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor alongside 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Interestingly, this version of the HTC One rival will reportedly run a QHD display with a stunning 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution.

On the other side, the Samsung SM-G900H variation will see a 1.5GHz octa-core Exynos CPU line up alongside 2GB of RAM and a more traditional 1920 x 1080p Full HD display. The lower screen resolution S5 will reportedly add 2GB of RAM and just 16GB of integrated storage.

Although Samsung has yet to officially confirm the existence of such a device, the Korean manufacturer last week teased the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S5 launch, issuing invites to a February 24 press event dubbed “Unpacked 5.”

Messaging app Snapchat has been forced to issue an embarrassing apology after users complained of a huge increase in the amount of snap spam messages they were receiving.

It has been a good week if youre in the market for an affordable Android tablet.


First Barnes & Noble slashed the cost of its Nook HD readers in the UK and now, as the week comes to a close, Amazon is at it too.

Not to be outdone by its fellow American bookseller, Amazon has slashed the price of the 16GB, 7-inch Kindle Fire HD by £20.

The ad-supported version will now cost only £139, down from £159, while the commercial-free iteration is a tenner dearer at £149. Similar deals are also in Europe and the US.

However, the discounts are are limited to the 7-inch tablet, with the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD remains at, by comparison, a rather expensive £229.

Earlier this week, Barnes & Noble cut the price of its base Nook HD tablet to just £99 in the UK as it begins to hand the brand over to third party manufacturers.

While the Amazon price cut could be a direct response to B&N reducing the cost of its Android tablets, its also plausible that the retailer is preparing to refresh the device.

The Kindle Fire HD arrived in the UK in October last year, so it would be no surprise to see a newly-updated iteration arrive around the same time this year.

Of course, rumours persist that Amazon is plotting to launch its first smartphone later this year although its gone rather quiet on that front just lately.