The Android Super Challenge on HyperQuiz

How'd you like to win one of two HTC Sensation XL smartphones by proving your superior Android knowledge in the leading quiz game for Android? We're giving you the opportunity to do just that, as part of a new contest in partnership with game developer HyperBees and HTC.

Behold the Android Super Challenge on HyperQuiz! To enter, simply download HyperQuiz and select the "Contest" game mode. From there, it's up to you to work for the highest score between now and 11pm GMT (6pm EST) this Sunday, Feb. 5, by answering questions about Android!

First and second place winners will each receive a Sensation XL, and first through fiftieth placed winners will be rewarded with in-game currency (creds). We've got the Android Market link after the jump, along with the full terms and conditions for the contest.

Be sure to check back next Tuesday, Feb. 7, to see if you've won!

Feeling brave? The friendly developers over at Dropbox have released a brand new experimental build, and they're willing to give you early adopters 5 GB of free storage for your troubles. For every 500 MB uploaded with version 2.0.9 you will earn an additional 500 MB of storage-- up to 5 GB total. Mind you that the freebie storage is account-related rather than app-related, which means that you'll be able to upload from your desktop to earn the space as well as from the app. 

The new version comes with its fair share of new features, including:

• Automatically uploads photos and videos in the background using Wi-Fi or data plan
• Brand new Camera Upload feature
• Upload files of any size (no more 180 MB limit!)
• Support for resuming file uploads when there are network issues
• Various performance improvements & bug fixes

If beta builds don't give you the willies, you can grab the APK from the source link, where Dropbox is urging those who download to sing out as issues arise.

Source: Dropbox Forums

Gameloft is jumping head-on into social gaming once again with the release of their freshly released Gameloft LIVE! application.  They revamped the whole idea while adding some new features to the mix:

• An all-new 3D interface that enables players to create and customize their own unique avatar and develop it in an interactive, full-3D environment that’s full of surprises.
• New social components that will allow you to make friends and stay in contact with them, invite them to play, send them messages, and chat with them in real-time for an even livelier experience than before.
• More trophies and rewards to unlock through our games that will give you access to new items for your avatar and environment. Try your best and get the highest score!
• Direct access to Gameloft’s product catalog offering exceptional offers and exclusive info, ensuring that you’ll always be the first to know about our upcoming releases.

Achievements, leaderboards, rewards and challenges are all built into the app now and currently, Gameloft has a few free games available for download just for signing up. You'll want to mind the download process though as you have to hand over your phone number plus, it's around 230MB in additional data. Still in? Hit the source link to get it downloaded.

Source: Gameloft

With Super Bowl XLVI looming large, gaming giant EA Sports is hoping you'll be up for some (American) football on your Android device this weekend. To celebrate the end of the season and Sunday's big game, the publisher has reduced the price of Madden NFL 12 to 99 cents in the U.S.

Europeans aren't being left out of the action, either -- the price of the international version has been dropped too, and now costs just 59 pence in the UK. Unfortunately it seems the game isn't compatible with the Galaxy Nexus just yet, but a quick glance down the list of supported devices reveals pretty broad compatibility elsewhere.

We've got European and North American Android Market links for all you football fans after the break.

Thanks, bbjonez!

Google Wallet and NFC is a hot topic with a lot of folks.  It seems like a whole lot of people are concerned with the availability of Google Wallet (including yours truly), and we're all curious to learn more about ISIS, but we've no idea how popular either will ultimately be.  Just how many of you guys see yourself using any sort of NFC based mobile payment method?  NFC on phones has been around for a while in many parts of the world, but it never caught on in a big way -- especially in North America.  Of course, it wasn't really very available either, so maybe it never got a fair shake.

So let us know -- if and when NFC ends up on more new Android phones, will you use a mobile payment service?  Let us know in the poll.

What is sideloading?  It's a term you see a lot thrown around while talking about Android applications, and it's simple to explain.  It means installing applications without using the official Android Market.  What's less simple is how it's done and why you would do it.  That's where this post comes in.  Let's explain it, shall we?

How to do it is easy enough, so let's start there.  In the Application settings on your Android phone, you'll find a check box to "Allow installation of non-Market applications."  When it's checked, you can sideload.  You'll also see a pop-up warning when you check this box letting you know that your phone is now more vulnerable to attacks from applications, and that you accept all the responsibility that comes with doing this.  It makes sense -- you can't hold Google responsible for applications you didn't download through their service using their security methods.  

Sideloading apps is easy to do as well.  You download them to your phone, then use a file manager application to find them and "click" their entry.  You'll invoke the app installer program, and it will install your app just as if it had came from the trusted Android Market.  It won't be associated with your Android Market account, but it shows in your app drawer just like all the rest.  It didn't used to be this easy for everyone.  Under the guise of security, AT&T used to block users from sideloading by removing the Unknown sources field in the device settings.  Whenever you tried to manually install an app, it would be blocked because it wasn't allowed.  This could be circumvented by using adb from the SDK or by using a program like the Sideload Wonder Machine.  Luckily, those days are past us and AT&T has re-evaluated their position, and now allows the installation of non-Market apps.

Why would you want to sideload.  There are several reasons, one being that Google has allowed carriers to block certain applications based on the model and network your device is running on.  We've seen carriers block apps that permit tethering without paying the extra associated fees, and some carriers have exclusives for certain apps and they aren't available for the others.  That's a whole other mess that we'll tackle in another post -- just know that it happens.  There are other reasons to need to sideload apps, too.  Want to use a different appstore like the one from Amazon?  You'll need to enable sideloading.  The same goes for beta testing apps for developers, or even coding your own apps and testing them on your phone.  There are a lot of legitimate reasons for sideloading.  Of course, there's always the piracy aspect.  If you want to steal from hard working developers you'll need to enable sideloading.  You also suck.  Sideload, but don't steal from developers.

Previously on Android A to Z: What is recovery?; Find more in the Android Dictionary

Facebook's Android application just got an update that the social network says will bring better memory management, and "all kinds of bug fixes." If history repeats, we should see an update to fix this update any time now.

Source: Facebook

Yahoo -- you know, that other search engine -- have added a search category for Android applications. The main search results page sees a new tab labelled "Apps" giving users the opportunity to find Android applications attached to any of their search queries. We're not short of ways to search for apps across the interwebs, but seeing such a well run solution from major, mainstream a search engine is definitely a good thing.

The service also covers iOS applications, but has a handy filter to ensure that we don't see those when we're searching. Search results can also be filtered for price and category. When you find an app you like, right from the search results you can head straight to the Android Market to download, send a link for the app to your phone or scan a QR code for the application. You can also quite handily view the Android Market reviews for each application you find without having to go to the Market first which is a nice touch. We also get a "trending now" box, and it too has the iPhone/Android filter choices applied. 

I tried it out by typing in "soccer football scores" and the results were pleasantly surprising. Yahoo's own apps featured pretty prominently towards the top of the results, but it brought up results for ESPN Scorecenter, ScoreMobile, and Sky Sports Football Score Centre to name but a few. 

All in all it's a pretty well designed feature, and while Yahoo may not be the most popular search engine, it does a good job of what it set out to do. Perhaps a bigger point to mention is that it offers a more comprehensive application search solution that Google themselves. Choice is always a good thing, so try it out for yourselves by hitting the source link below. 

Source: Yahoo

If you're one of the millions of Sims fans around the world this next piece of news might interest you. EA is bringing their hit freemium version of the game, The Sims Freeplay to Android. No exact date as yet, but it will be launching in the Android Market sometime in February. 

In Freeplay, you can control the daily shenanigans of upto 16 different Sims, designing and directing their lives as you see fit. In a break from the norm, Freeplay runs in 24-hour cycles meaning that you will need to check in throughout the day and respond to your Sims needs in real time. The game will also employ an in-app purchase model, but everything can be unlocked free of charge if you're willing to put the time in. 

Early last month we told you about A.I.type and their need for beta testers for a new "floating" spilt keyboard.  Fast-forward to today, and the beta product is now finished, and FloatNSplit Tablet Keyboard is now available in the Android Market.  Based on the original A.I.type keyboard and it's amazing prediction engine, FloatNSplit brings a new and unique user interface for tablet users, with a split keyboard that's not only resizable, but with a movable "window" that A.I.type says will change your tablet typing experience.

It's also completely customizable, to adapt to your typing style and needs.  Options include dedicated numeric keys that appear and hide with a finger swipe, a resizing button, and cut/copy/paste/undo/redo functions built into the app itself.  But of course the killer feature is the floating split style.

You can split the tablet version into two semi-transparent halves for easy thumb typing, and they can be dragged separately and positioned anywhere you like on your screen.  A virtual button switches through the three modes (full, split, and floating) to keep the keyboard small and in perfect position for thumb typing with one or both hands.  FloatNSplit currently supports over 30 languages and character layouts, with context-sensitive text prediction and auto-correct available for English, Hebrew, Spanish, German, Italian, Arabic, Russian, French and Dutch. Support for Greek, Turkish, Finnish, Swedish, Korean, Tagalog is said to be coming soon.  

AI FloatNSplit Tablet Keyboard requires Android 2.2 or higher, and sells in the Android Market for $5.99.  Six bucks is a lot to spend on an Android application, but A.I.type is so confident that it's offering its own two-day refund guarantee, so I'm definitely checking it out.  We've got a video, some screenshots, and a download link after the break.