The Humble Bundle 2 available for Android - all five titles previously unreleased for Android!

Just a quick heads-up that the Humble Bundle has released their next pack of titles (while we're talking about apps we've not forgotten last weeks apps of the week - they're coming later today).

Last time around they gave us a selection of highly regarded games already available for Android, this time they're bringing us five games that haven't previously seen the light of day in Android devices. I just did a quick Google search for all these games and they've been very warmly received in other platforms, so once again this Humble Bundle looks the business and well worth your dollar.

If you're not already familiar the Humble Bundle, it's like this:

• You pay what you want/can afford for the apps. 
• It's worth pointing out that you're actually getting licenses for the games on Windows, Mac and Linux too! Naturally that's dependant on their availability for those platforms,  but it's hard to argue with getting even better value out of a proposition that's already great value.
• If you pay higher than the average price you get the fifth title thrown in for free
• Once you've chosen your payment amount you select how much goes to the Humble Bundle, how much goes to the chosen charity, and how much is ceded to the developers of the titles

So, great apps and a great cause, what's not to love?! 

Show your support, and if you can afford not to be cheap then don't be!

The Humble Bundle is available from here, or point your QR reader at the barcode below.

o86's Audio Reviews - An introduction to better quality digital music

Grado SR60i. You want these.

Good day, friends. This article kicks off a little series I’ve been planning for a while – the discussion and brief review of a few audio accessories I use. While not technically Android-specific, I do use these with my assorted Android devices, and thus considered it worthwhile to blither on about them a bit. Thanks in no small part to Supercurio’s amazing Voodoo Sound drivers for a lucky few phones and tablets, Android users are becoming increasingly concerned about audio quality, especially when playing music. The Wolfson audio chips in the original Galaxy S line set the bar for Android, and Voodoo sound took them to another level – they set the bar for mobile phones in general, over and above anything else on the market, iPhones included. With more interest in audio comes more scope for content like this, so here we are now.

I intend to cover three pieces of my own equipment –the little Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5 In-Ear Monitors (Or ‘earphones’, if you’re so inclined. This model has since been rebadged as the Ultimate Ears 600), the large Grado SR-60i headphones, and my wee FiiO E5 headphone amplifier. These represent on-the-go listening, home listening, and an optional add-on, respectively. To cap things off, fellow editor Neets has been kind enough to lend me her Koss PortaPros, which are somewhere inbetween the Ultimate Ears and the Grados in terms of size and portability.

We’ll start with some background on the industry and my experiences with portable audio in this instalment, and then ease into the actual review components. Read on after the jump, good people.

The Week in Android News for 11 March 2012

Compared to during MWC the Android community has been relatively silent over the last week with the biggest news announcement Google's re-branding of Android Market to Google Play.

The week in Android News is ready and waiting after the jump.

The Android NZ Apps of the Week 07/03/2012 BLOCKBUSTER 50 APP EDITION! [AOTW]

So, another week passes. As I sat here collating the editors apps for this week I stopped to ponder for a moment and realised we've been doing these (near) weekly pieces for almost five months now. I went back through our recommendations and lo and behold - with this weeks apps we've reached 50 app recommendations. Since that's such an irresistably round number I thought we might do a quick recap and throw all these awesome apps into one piece, just in case a few escaped your notice.

First up we'll have our new wee crop of much loved apps for this week, and then just drop the rest right afterwards. Enjoy!

The Week in Android News for 4 March 2012

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for the lack of updates recently. Personal circumstances have not allowed me to write these articles as frequently as I'd like.

This week has been pretty full in the realm of Android news, mainly due to Mobile World Congress (MWC) going on in Barcelona. While Samsung didn't announce the Galaxy SIII (QQ), there were plenty of other exciting announcements happening.

The week (and then some) in Android News is ready and waiting after the jump.

Review: SGP Crumena Leather Pouch for Samsung Galaxy Nexus

In today's review, I decided I wanted to take a look at something a little more elegant and different to branch out from my usual case reviews. For this reason, I chose the SGP Crumena Leather Pouch, SGP's new series of leather pouches for mobile devices. The model we are taking at today is the brown vegetable leather pouch, which feels and smells fantastic. 

The inside is lined in an ultra-soft suede material, which adds some cushion, but more importantly prevents your device from scratching. The tough leather outside is extremely resistant to liquids and scratches, since the case sports an all leather construction, it emanates high quality and style, which favor business users. 

Unfortunately, pouches are not my first choice for device protection because they impede phone usage, as the screen is fully covered. While this adds extra protection, it also makes it more annoying to remove the phone from the pouch constantly. 

Check out the full video below for all info:

[REVIEW] Mugen Extended Battery for the Galaxy Note - 4500mA of staying power

Is this the extended battery you're looking for?

Battery life. The final frontier of convergence. The great challenge facing all smartphone owners... ...or at least those who actually use their convergence device for more than simple telephony (if you caught a faint whiff of a derisive sneer with that comment, it's because I meant it).

I can virtually guarantee that if you're here reading this you have at some point complained about your present phones battery life, and probably every smartphone you've owned before it too for that matter. I can also be almost certain that you've invested a fair amount of time investigating and experimenting with ways to extend it. Be that dimming the screen, scrupulously avoiding light coloured wallpapers, meticulously micro-managing your sync activities and data usage, flashing custom ROMs, or just plain curtailing your use. One thing nearly of all these things have in common is that you're compromising your use and enjoyment of the device.

You might think to yourself, "Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was a way I could have the battery life I need, but without having to curb my use?", and "Why hasn't anyone done something about that?". Well fortunately for you Mugen have attempted to do something about it. Question is, just how good is it?