Where’s My Mickey? Now For Windows 8 and Windows Phone

Disney has released the latest version of their popular Where’s My? series with Where’s My Mickey?, featuring Mickey Mouse of course! If you’ve never played any games in the series, the objective is usually to lead a splashy volume of water to some underground goal through pipes and obstacles. Where’s My Mickey? adds to the formula with many new obstacles and mechanics and takes the action above ground for the first time ever. The major change is the addition of clouds which can be controlled with wind and can make rain. These powers can also affect special plants that are featured in many of the new levels. There are some new things that can be done with the traditional water and in some levels, you will need to change its color.

The levels are all carefully designed and a lot of fun and feature trademark Disney characters. There are many secret levels and hidden extras to be found throughout the app to keep you coming back. You can also purchase some extra, more difficult Goofy levels for an additional fee. The tablet version comes with 20 additional levels custom made for larger screens with bigger and harder puzzles. Both versions will also have more episodes added in the near future as Mickey animated shorts are released.

The art is great with a strong Mickey and Disney theme throughout. There are fun introduction animations to begin each level and introduce the story for that section. Once you get the water to the goal, there are additional fun animations as a reward. Where’s My Mickey? is available now on Windows Phone Store($0.99) and the tablet version is on the Windows Store ($4.99). Don’t miss this experience if you’re a Mickey fan.

Source: Where’s My Mickey? for Windows Phone

[Image Credit: Windows Phone Store]

 

Gangstar Vegas For iOS And Android, A GTA Clone From Gameloft

Take a crime ridden journey through Sin City with Gangstar Vegas from popular mobile games studio Gameloft. In Gangstar Vegas, you play an ex-MMA fighter caught up in the seedy underbelly of Las Vegas. You’ll need to perform many criminal acts as you explore the vast city and its casinos. The game is an open-world sandbox with an enormous area to explore and a variety of settings and buildings to complete the picture of a bustling Las Vegas. Most of the buildings are inspired by real Vegas landmarks and it’s not very difficult to tell. The game features a strong soundtrack with better than expected voice acting throughout.

As a former MMA fighter, you’ll have the ability to deal out some vicious martial arts moves to enemies. Of course you’ll also have access to a ridiculous amount of weapons and vehicles to bring even more mischief to the city. This being a GTA clone, you will have a bunch of set missions to complete to advance the story mode, or you can freely explore the world and do whatever you like. There is a lot to occupy your time, including many addictive casino mini-games which highlight the Vegas setting.

Gangstar Vegas is available now for both iOS and Android for $6.99. Be warned however, it is a very large download at 2.5GB so make sure you have enough space to spare if you choose to get it. If you’ve been itching for a GTA experience on a mobile device, this is the closest thing yet. Check it out if you’re into the GTA brand of mayhem.

Source: Gangstar Vegas for Android | iOS

[Image Credit: Gameloft]

 

Instagram Updated With 15 Second Video

A major update to the outrageously popular photo sharing app Instagram has arrived, bringing the ability to shoot short video clips up to 15 seconds in length. It’s a move to counter the new hit viral video sharing app Vine, also recently released. To be blunt, Instagram has thrown down the gauntlet with this update and has surpassed almost every feature included in Vine.

Of course, the trademark filtering feature present in Instagram is also included in the video mode. Users can take a short video and apply 13 different video exclusive filters to their clip. The app has a simple button for taking videos and you simply tap and hold to begin capturing video, and release when you’re done. Once the video has been recorded, you can select a thumbnail image to appear for the video from the footage you’ve captured. Videos will appear automatically in your feed and can be viewed right away. They do not loop as they do in Vine but can be replayed if you want.

Besides the great filters that you can apply for interesting effects, Instagram has included a new ‘Cinema’ feature with image stabilization for shaky hands or if you’re taking video in a car or on a boat. It’s a great little addition to the app that makes you feel more like a pro photographer. There are some simple editing features as well which are also a thoughtful addition.

The new and improved Instagram is available for iOS and Android right now. If you’re an Instagram fan, download it right away.

Instagram for iOS | Android

Sleep Better with Sleep Genius For iOS

Sleep Genius is a new sleeping aid app for iOS devices. It features three modes with a distinct approach to improving your sleep and sleep quality. Sleep Genius claims that the app is inspired by the latest scientific sleep studies and should help anyone trying to get a good rest in this hectic sleep deprived world.

The first mode, aptly named ‘Sleep’, has three specially designed programs to help you fall asleep and maintain a peaceful sleep. One of the programs, called ‘Renewed Universe’ is available for free as the default and the other two can be purchased in app for $2.99 each. In ‘Sleep’ mode, a series of sleep inducing sounds and rhythms play to music designed to help you gently fall asleep. You can set the program to play continuously while you sleep or you can set it to a timer that will shut it off after a specified period.

The second mode, called ‘Alarm’, has a new take on the old obnoxious alarm clock most of us dread. Instead of blaring some terrible noise that wakes you up in a bad mood, ‘Alarm’ uses something they call ‘Revive Cycle’ to slowly build to a waking state from a sleeping one. Before the alarm sounds, the app plays some gentle, low sounds to bring you out of the deepest sleep so that the awakening doesn’t ruin all of the good done by sleeping.

Finally, there is ‘Power Naps’ mode that guides you through a quick 30-minute nap meant for a quick boost. The app emphasizes that studies have shown that a good nap can provide a noticeable recharge of your mental and physical energy. ‘Power Nap’ handles the entire process smoothly and is a great help if you want a quick recharge.

Sleep Genius also features a thoughtful guide on the data and research behind many of the sleep aid techniques used in the app. If you find yourself wondering how a certain feature works, or are just more curious about sleep, the guide is fantastic. It also has a series of extra sleep tips you can use.

Source: Sleep Genius for iOS

[Image Credit: Apple iTunes Store]

 

 

Rockmelt : Best of Web & News for Android

Rockmelt : Best of Web & News is a new mobile news reader app for all Android devices. The app helps you find the hottest news, stories, blogs, and videos fast. Like many other news aggregator apps, Rockmelt uses your browsing habits and preferences to serve up a personalized experience to you. The top stories and news appear on the home screen and change according to the types of content you like to view. This personalization aspect is a major part of Rockmelt, and the more you use it, the more accurate the recommended news and videos get. You’ll often be presented with content that you might not have found on your own but that perfectly suits your tastes based on your browsing habits and preferences.

It wouldn’t be a modern app without the social networking side and Rockmelt has that covered. You can instantly share your favorite sites and stories with friends on other social networks or directly within the Rockmelt app. You can view what your friends like and even browse along with them and leave comments.

Rockmelt also promises a faster browsing experience with no ads. The app shows only the good stuff and cuts out the ads that clutter so many blogs and videos and interrupt the viewing experience. This speeds up browsing significantly and makes it more pleasant overall. The app also claims very fast rendering of all content from text to video.

It’s nothing revolutionary, but Rockmelt : Best of Web & News is an attractive and solid reader app that makes browsing fast and easy. It’s available now free on Google Play for all Android devices 4.0 and up. If you’ve never used an aggregator app, give it a shot, it’s a lot of fun.

Source: Rockmelt App for Android

[Image Credit: Google Play Store]

 

Yandex.Browser for Android

Yandex is the popular Russian competitor to Google and offers many of the same services but specifically tailored for Russian users. They’ve now added their own dedicated browser for Android, Yandex.Browser, to the list of services they provide. The browser is what you’d expect from a mobile browsing app but has a few noteworthy features. One difference is a single search bar for URLs and searches that is located on the bottom of the screen instead of the top as in most other current browsers. This is meant to make it easier for users of Android devices with larger screens to access the search bar quickly. Those seconds of having to move your finger all the way to the top of the screen just to start a search can add up. There is also a feature called Tablo that displays a table of your most visited sites for quick access. You can of course customize which sites are in Tablo. The browser also sports a very convenient data compression feature to help pages load faster even on a slow connection. Yandex handles some of the processing ahead of time and only loads what is necessary to give you the fastest browsing experience possible.

In an interesting move, the non-Russian versions of Yandex actually use the dominant search engines for their region instead of Yandex’s own engine. For example in the English version, Yandex uses Google as the default search though you can choose to use Bing or Yahoo if you choose. This is meant to make the results more familiar to each region’s users.

Yandex.Browser is a good move for the still-growing Yandex. If you want to try a light and capable browser, check it out for free on Google Play.

Source: Yandex.Browser for Android

[Image Credit: Google Play Store]