Category: Mobile

Posts about mobile devices and smartphones

Galaxy on Fire II – Supernova (coming soon)

Lukas Rox Games, Mobile, non-eve , ,

A company known as Fishlabs has recently been busy developing yet another expansion for the critacally acclaimed game, Galaxy on Fire II (it’s the closest game to EVE Online available for iOS and Android).

Galaxy on Fire II is a space-themed dogfight game and is one of the best in its genre for iOS, Mac and for Android as well. The storyline of this new installment takes place immediately after the previous expansion named Valkyrie, where our protagonist, Keith T. Maxwell has banished the evil Alice into the Void realm, with the help of several new weapons and got his own space station on the way.

The story of Supernova expansion begins with an insterstellar disaster in the Midorian sector, forcing Mido out of their space and creating new ground for a conflict with Nivelians. Mido decide to ask Maxwell to become an emissary of peace to the Nivellians to negotiate treaty and aid. Despite his valiant efforts, the situation only gets worse. Slowly Keith realizes there must be a new, hidden enemy, who tries to make matters even worse.

According to the press information, the Supernova expansion will bring about 10 hours of action, and knowing Fishlabs, this will be quality entertainment. Players can expect new missions and loads of new content such as space ships, star systems, blueprints, weapons and commodities.

Fishlabs seems to follow the example of other great game manufacturers such as CCP or Blizzard, publishing a dev-blog every two weeks, to keep the playerbase informed of the progress. Developers have announced that the game will be available for iOS in HD in third quarter of 2012.

Let’s dig deeper

The expansions brings several new ships, namely a heavy battleship “Bloodstar“, which according to galaxyonfire wikia sports 180 cargo space, 1 turret, 4 primary weapons, and 4 secondary weapons. There is limited information regarding other ships, apart from their names (and looks – Fishlabs has published several screenshots).

  • The new ships:
    • Gryphon
    • Rhino
    • Bloodstar
    • Amboss
    • Gator Custom
    • Blue Fyre
    • Ghost fighter

      

  • New modules:
    • Gamma shield – to withstand the gamma radiation after the supernova explosion
    • Repair laser (Large Remote Repairer I anyone?)
    • Leech beam (another mod from EVE: Nosferatu!)

  

  • New primary weapons:
    • Heavy Ordinance Turrets – turrets with heavily improved damage
    • Sentry Turrets – similar to sentry drones in EVE. Launch them and allow them to shoot your enemies.
    • Matador TS – new, manually controlled turret
    • M6 A4 “Raccoon” – improved version of the M6 series
    • Mass Driver MD 12 – improved version of the MD series
  • New secondary weapons:
    • Cluster missiles
  • Improvements to mining
    • Gas harvesting: fire a ionization missile into a gas cloud, then harvest it with a plasma harvester

 According to rumors, the expansion will become available on 31st of August, 2012.

Mobile apps for EVE Online on iOS and Android

Lukas Rox DUST 514, EVE Online, Games, Mobile, Tablets , , , , , , , , , ,

companion-apps-all

» For Windows Phone 8 apps, please go to this post «

This post is a synergy of my interests. If you are a returning visitor, you have most likely noticed that I write not only about EVE Online, but also about all things mobile: tablet PCs, mobile operating systems and so on.

Smartphones have changed the mobile phone market forever: almost half of all the mobile phones nowadays are smartphones. With CCP giving the community an API to access the in-game information, it was just a matter of time until first EVE related third-party apps have arrived.

Most of the Apps available for the two biggest smartphone platforms, namely Android and iOS, can be divided into three large groups:

  • character tracker
  • market tracker
  • industry helper

Majority of these third-party apps are free, but some of them use ads and donations to cover developer’s costs.

Unfortunately I neither own a Windows Phone 7 device, nor have a working emulator of it, so this review will not cover WP7 apps. Sorry!

It is also worth mentioning, that CCP has plans to deliver their own mobile applications for DUST 514 and EVE in the near future. Developers did not reveal any specifics besides Neocom app for DUST 514, which will run on PS Vita and will deliver almost full interaction with the game, except for the core FPS gameplay. Neocom for PS Vita is said to allow managing fittings, accessing market and so on.

Read more about CCP plans for mobile devices:

Since this post is rather long, please click “Continue reading” –>

Read more

iOS 6 surprise

Lukas Rox Mobile, non-eve, Tablets , , , , , , , , ,

Controlled gossip is one of the most powerful marketing tools ever created by a man. Why? Because most of the features of the new iOS 6, such as new maps, Siri on iPad and Facebook integration have been widely discussed over the past few weeks.

Of course nothing is set-in-stone until Apple officially unveils it during one of their famous Keynotes.

This year WWDC conference not only brought new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (with Retina display, with nearly 3 times as many pixels as Full HD), but also confirmed most of the iOS gossip mentioned earlier:

  • New maps (with turn-by-turn navigation and introduce 3D fly-by view). Google maps are officially gone. In my opinion this was a premature step (of course justified from the lower 3rd party costs point-of-view). Google maps offer much more content than Apple’s, with features such as Street View and new 3D maps, these are the most advanced maps publicly available in the world.
  • Facebook integration – works just like Twitter integration in iOS 5: sign in once, and use for all apps.
  • Siri comes to iPad (but to the new iPad only). The voice assistant has also become a bit smarter: now features more data sources (such as sports). You can also tell Siri to launch any app you have on your iDevice.
  • Cover flow comes to all three iTunes stores.

And now the features that were not known before Tim Cook’s keynote:

  • Shared Photo Stream – share your photos with other iDevice users
  • Safari improvements – it is now possible to upload photos directly from Safari as you would do on a Mac or PC. iCloud tabs allow viewing websites already opened on other devices  such as Macs, iPads & iPhones. Full screen landscape mode for iPhone provides even more real estate on the iPhone screen.
  • Mail improvements – adding images to a message is now easier. VIP inbox will highlight messages from the most important people.
  • Phone app has received long awaited “Reject with a message”. It is possible to “Reject + Remind to call back”
  • “Do not disturb” mode which can silence all notifications and calls in a specific timeframe (let’s say 10pm to 7am). In this mode only people on the Favorites list will sound the ring. It is also possible to allow the second call – if someone calls twice in the “Do not disturb” mode, the second call will not be silenced.
  • Facetime is not tied to WiFi anymore and now works on 3G/LTE as well. Many people were complaining about this artificial limitation.
  • Passbook – the center for electronic tickets and passes. It is now possible to manage tickets and boarding passes from one place. QR Codes allow third party devices to scan tickets directly form the iPhone screen.
  • Accessibility improvements

In my eyes, iOS 6 is far from a breakthrough, but offers several features requested by the users and some cosmetic changes. The Apple policy of bringing new features, such as Siri to new models only might be justified by the revenue from selling new iPhones and iPads (and also allows to cut expenses on Siri cluster, because if too many users get access to Siri, they are more than likely to crash it), but makes no sense from end user point of view.

The exact release date has not been disclosed yet, but Apple says “iOS 6 is coming this fall”, so we will see it sooner, than later.

You can now ask why the title of this post is “iOS 6 surprise”. The answer is “Because iPhone 3GS is still supported, while original iPad is not”. It is unusual for Apple to support a device for more than two generations of software. Both the original iPhone and iPhone 3G have only received two software updates, so did the original iPad. iPhone 3GS is still sold and supported, most likely to fill the gap for the budget smartphone; iPhones were always marketed as a high-end device. With Tim Cook at the helm this policy seems to change.

iPad 2 does not show signal strength for Aero2

Lukas Rox Hardware, Mobile, Tablets , , , , , ,

Aero2 is one of the less popular carriers in Poland, mainly because they do not advertise their services. Aero2 has won a frequency tender in which they have been granted 2600 MHz band for LTE, but the company has to provide a free mobile Internet access service until 2014. This free service is called “BDI” – more info about it is only available in polish here. The service itself is nothing fancy, with download speed limited to 512 kbit and PDP context re-set every 30 minutes. Still, as a free service (there is no catches – you only have to pay 20 PLN deposit fee for the SIM card), it is a very good choice for tablet  owners.

Unfortunately, not every terminal is compatible with the service. Aero2 is only offering a data plan, without voice telepfony or text messaging. They limit the services at SIM card level, by disabling TS 11 and TS 21 services (see this 3GPP spec to see what the TS and BS services are), and allowing only the BS 70 service (packet data). iPad 2 can use the bearer service, but it does not show signal strength, and very often it goes into “Searching…” or “No service” mode. The weird part is, PDP context is still available even then (PDP context is the logical connection between user’s terminal and an IP network – such as the Internet or internal company network). I have reported this bug to Apple.

EDIT: Apple bug reports are under NDA, so unfortunately I can’t post the Apple Engineering team response.

 

“Item” and 22 other items could not be purchased

Lukas Rox Mobile, Tablets , , , , ,

“EVE: Templar One” and 22 other items could not be purchased at this time. Please try again later.

If you own an iDevice running iOS 5 or 5.1 you might have seen this window when trying to update or download an app from the App Store:

And if you’ve seen it, you’ve probably seen it more than once. So what does this error message really mean?

It means that you have a corrupted sqlite db file. Who would have thought? Unfortunately this is a known bug and has been happening to users all over the world. So far Apple did not fix the issue, but thanks to the internet, some clever folks have found & shared the solution on apple.com community forum.

EDIT:Apple has adressed this bug in IOS 5.1.1

If you are experiencing the problem above, just go to Settings -> General -> Software Update to update your device to iOS 5.1.1

If for whatever reason you can not/don’t want to update your device, follow the tutorial below.

The tutorial is based on the forum info, but has some screenshots, which should make it even easier.

Pre-requisites

iOS version <= 5.1 (bug has been fixed by Apple in iOS 5.1.1 and above) – but jailbreak is not required!

The guide

1. Download iExplorer from their creator’s website: http://www.macroplant.com/iexplorer/

2. Install iExplorer to your PC or Mac

3. Run iExplorer

4. Connect your iPhone or iPod Touch or iPad to your computer

5. Close iTunes if it starts automatically

6. Click “Mount iDevice” in the iExplorer window. You should now see list of files in the sandbox part of the device storage:

7. Browse to “Media” ->; “Downloads“

8. Find the file “downloads.*.sqlitedb“

9. Delete the file mentioned in 8.

10. Close iExplorer

11. Disconnect the device

12. Press the top “On/off” button and keep it pressed until “Slide to power-off” appears. Once it does, move the slider.

13. Wait for the device to shut down

14. Press the “On/off” button and wait for the device to boot up.

Done! The bug should be gone.

.

Credits

Writing this guide was possible thanks to just_jeepin and ya1950 posts on Apple Support Communities forum.

 

 

New iPad prices in Poland

Lukas Rox Hardware, Mobile, Tablets , , ,
new iPad iPad 2 (last year) iPad 2 (now)
16 GB WiFi 2099 PLN 2049 PLN 1699 PLN
32 GB WiFi 2499 PLN 2469 PLN —
64 GB WiFi 2899 PLN 2899 PLN —
16 GB WiFi/3G 2599 PLN 2549 PLN 2199 PLN
32 GB WiFi/3G 2999 PLN 2979 PLN —
64 GB WiFi/3G 3399 PLN 3399 PLN —

All prices include 23% VAT.

Source: store.apple.com/pl and myapple.pl

New iPad and polish LTE networks

Lukas Rox Hardware, Mobile, Tablets , , , ,

EDIT: This post is about 3rd gen iPad (“The New iPad”). For information about 4th gen iPad (“iPad with Retina”) please check this post.

In just three days Apple will begin selling their newest iPad in Poland. If you were looking forward to the LTE feature however, you will probably be disappointed. Fear not; the new iPad has still much better mobile baseband than it’s predecessor.

Let’s have a look at the details.

The new iPad baseband specs

According to the new iPad Tech Specs on apple.com, it’s baseband (the 4G built in modem) is capable of using the following networks:

  • GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
  • UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
  • 4G LTE (700, 2100 MHz)

As you can see, the new iPad can use 2G and 3G networks just like iPad 2, but there is one small detail, which makes the new iPad better: the DC-HSDPA (it’s sometimes called HSPA+ DC). This is a dual carrier HSDPA network, which allows transfers of up to 42Mbit/s. This is definitely better than “normal” HSDPA, which only offers 7,2 MBit/s.

But wait, there is LTE in Poland, isn’t there?

The answer is yes, there is LTE. Unfortunately right now all the carriers, who rolled out LTE network in Poland use the 1800 MHz band. This is not good for the new iPad, because it can only operate in 700MHz and 2100 MHz bands.

Polish carriers are unlikely to use either of these bands for LTE in foreseeable future, because the 2100 MHz band is currently occupied by the fast HSPA+ DC 3G networks. These networks are rather new, so the probability that any carrier swaps them with LTE soon is rather slim.

Current HSPA+ networks in Poland:

 

Share your Windows printers using AirPrint

Lukas Rox Mobile, Tablets , , , , , , , , ,

When AirPrint was first introduced in iOS 4.2, I have spent some time trying to share my Windows printer to my iPad. Of course a free solution was already there, one that involved installing Apple Bonjour Service with CUPS Lite for Windows. So I’ve quickly found that solution on Google and downloaded the necessary tools, namely Bonjour Print Services for Windows and Airprint.zip, which contains the CUPS service.

Making it work was quite easy. You need to unzip the Airprint.zip file to C:\Program Files\AirPrint (on a 32-bit Windows), or to C:\Program Files (x86)\Airprint on 64-bit Windows.

The next step is registering the service: log in as a user with admin rights, click “Start”, “Run”, enter “cmd” and press “OK”.

In the console, enter the following commands:

sc.exe create AirPrint binPath= "C:\Program Files\AirPrint\airprint.exe -s" depend= "Bonjour Service" start= auto
sc.exe start AirPrint

IMPORTANT: If you use 64-bit Windows, use the appropriate Program Files (x86) directory instead.

It worked! …until iOS 5. So I’ve run the Wireshark to see if Apple changed anything to the AirPrint protocol. It was not a surprise that they did:

Luckily, CUPS Lite has several command line switches and it can be adapted to the change.

To make Airprint.exe compatible with iOS 5 and above, run the following commands from the command prompt:

sc.exe stop Airprint
sc.exe delete Airprint
sc.exe create AirPrint binPath= "C:\Program Files\AirPrint\airprint.exe -R _ipp._tcp,_universal -s" depend= "Bonjour Service" start= auto
sc.exe start Airprint

IMPORTANT: Remember to use the right Program Files or Program Files (x86) directory.

Since you’ve seen the picture and the modified entry for Airprint service, you might already have guessed that -R binds CUPS Lite to a slightly different service name (the one which my iPad was looking for). This allows the iOS 5.x devices to be able to find shared printers again.

Make sure airprint.exe is allowed through in Windows Firewall. Some tutorials will tell you to disable Windows Firewall alltogether – don’t do that, it’s a security risk!

Some tutorials will tell you to enable guest account for the sharing to work. Don’t do that, it’s a security risk. If someone accesses your network (for example cracks or guesses your WiFi key), he will be able to print anything on your printer. Use one of the user accounts on Windows instead, and when you order iOS device to print something, iOS will automatically ask you for username and password.

The above has been tested with iPhone and iPad, both running iOS 8.1.2.

PS. If you are running Linux it is still possible to use CUPS and avahi daemon to share a Linux printer to AirPrint enabled devices.

The new iPad announced; iPad 2 price down to 1699 PLN

Lukas Rox Hardware, Mobile, Tablets , , , , ,

Yesterday Apple has announced a “Resolutionary” device: “The new iPad”. I’m sure you have already read about the official list of features, but in case you didn’t, here’s a list:

  • 2G/3G/4G (LTE) modem capable of:
    • HSDPA (7.2 Mbit/s)
    • HSUPA (7.2 Mbit/s download and 2 Mbit/s upload)
    • HSPA+ (21 Mbit/s)
    • HSPA+ DC (42 Mbit/s)
    • LTE (72 Mbit/s)
  • WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 GHz & 5.0 GHz)
  • 2048 x 1536 resolution Retina display
  • Apple A5X SoC with 4 graphical cores
  • works 9 hours on battery (LTE mode) or 10 hours in WiFi mode
  • 5MP iSight camera with five-element f/2.4 lens

Pricing didn’t change and the new iPad costs just as much as the old one did. But here is one more thing: as usual, Apple has lowered the price of the now-old iPad 2. The cheapest iPad 2 (WiFi 16GB) now sells for 1699 PLN!

You can order yours on polish Apple Store.

PS. iOS 5.1 is now available both through iTunes and as Over-the-air update.

iPad 2 16GB WiFi 1699 PLN
iPad 2 16GB WiFi+3G 2199 PLN

Android 4.0 running on x86 CPUs

Lukas Rox Mobile, Software, Tablets , , , , , , , ,

This morning the android-x86 team has released a RC build of Android Ice Cream Sandwich. It comes in a few flavours: Asus EEE-PC, Asus notebook and AMD Brazos to name a few. If you have a different netbook, fear not: the EEE PC build should run just fine.

I have installed the new build on my Acer Aspire One AOA110 (ZG5) and most features work out of the box:

  • Atheros WiFi card
  • Intel 945 graphics
  • Touchpad
  • Android Market
  • Fake SD card
  • Camera
  • Suspend – a bit buggy

Unfortunately, ethernet networking is still not supported (it’s been this way since 3.2), so this build will not have connectivity when running in VMware or Virtualbox. The same applies to the ethernet adapter in netbook itself.

EDIT: The following ISO image supports Ethernet on Virtual Machines: http://www.buildroid.org/Download/android-x86-vm-20120307.iso.gz Please keep in mind that this build does not have Android Market/Google Play.

Remember not to install GRUB if you install Android alongside other operating systems – it will leave other systems unbootable!

To remedy this, I have added these lines to my /etc/grub.d/40_custom file:

menuentry "Android-x86 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich" {
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,5)'
linux /android-4.0-RC1/kernel quiet root=/dev/ram0 androidboot.hardware=eeepc acpi_sleep=s3_bios,s3_mode SRC=/android-4.0-RC1 DATA=
initrd /android-4.0-RC1/initrd.img
}

UPDATE: First paid 3D game that works on Android x-86 is Fruit Ninja. Congratulations, Halfbrick!

And here you can have a look at some screenshots from this new build: