Joshua is a music education major at Texas State University who jumped on the Android Central train in April 2011. Since joining, he's been moved to Apps Editor and spends a good chunk of time checking out some great (and not so great) apps to write about. Born and bred in the capital of the Lone Star State, Joshua maintains that, yes, everything is bigger in Texas.
He's been following Android since before the G1, but finally got into the handset game with a Hero and is currently rocking a EVO 3D Galaxy Nexus. When not writing, you can usually find him doing copious amounts of band director homework.
Keeping your phone safe and sound is a pretty big deal to all of us, I'd say. We cover our thin, svelte devices in cases, slap screen protectors on them, and make sure they're always in a pocket, purse, or holster. In the odd event you've misplaced your phone, or even worse, it was stolen, it feels like the sky is falling. Important emails, financial information, texts, pictures, all of...
Not too long ago we mentioned a new Reddit app called BaconReader for Reddit. The screenshots looked so clean and slick I decided I had to try it out and give it the courtesy of a full-blown review. After having spent some time with it, I'm glad I did. If any of you members of the Android Central nation are also Redditors, you know how hard it is to find a good Reddit app in the Market...
YouTube link for mobile viewing A new era of gaming has finally been reached on Android. No, I'm not talking about the advent of Tegra-3 devices or console-quality games like Shadowgun. I'm talking about OnLive, and being able to stream any number of high-quality games straight to your phone or tablet (barring you have a strong internet connection). For those who aren't aware, OnLive is...
YouTube link for mobile viewing Music has always held a special place in my life. I did choir, play the tuba, and am majoring in music in college. Unfortunately, music doesn't usually make a compelling game, so when I was presented with Musaic Box, I was understandably skeptical. In short, HeroCraft proved me very, very wrong. Musaic Box is built in the point-and-click genre of games,...
With the holidays right around the corner, we're staring down the ugly double-barrel of gifts and the inevitable New Year's resolutions. Finding the right gifts for the fitness freak in your life can sometimes be a chore, but here at Android Central, we've got you covered. And what about those folks who'll pledge to be more active and exercise more in the new year? Well, there's...
YouTube link for mobile viewing Sometimes I come across a game that makes me feel really dumb really challenges the ol' noggin of mine, and I know I just have to share it with you all, the Android faithful (because Android users are inherently smart). Apparatus is one such game, and by the time you're done with it, you'll deserve either a pat on the back or a tasty cold one (or both)....
YouTube link for mobile viewing What happens if you take one part Advance Wars, one part any tactics game, give it a hilarious storyline with a rough-and-tumble stereotypical general, and release it for Android? Oh, well then you'd have Great Little War Game by Rubicon Development. In Great Little War Game (or GLWG, as it's named in the app drawer), you're part of Force Blue (my name,...
YouTube link for mobile viewing If there's one game I loved playing as I was growing up, it'd have to be Hydro Thunder. Piloting souped-up speed boats with ridiculous turbo jets tacked onto their backs was one of the highlights of any trip to the arcade, and I could burn endless amounts of quarters playing again and again and again. While Ground Effect Pro XHD isn't Hydro Thunder in...
Oh, hello, Moto. When Motorola announced the MOTOACTV, I really didn't know that to think. An Android-based fitness tracker? Aren't there much cheaper apps for that sort of thing? Then the specs came out and it sounded kind of cool. Still, a phone can do everything the MOTOACTV can. So what makes the MOTOACTV special? Is it as useful as Motorola purports it to be, or is it another...
YouTube link for mobile viewing Remember in The Fox and the Hound how Tod is a likeable, heroic fox that ends up saving the day in the end? He must be from a different breed of fox (the Disney breed?) than the ones you'll meet in Chicken Coup Remix HD, because these foxes are nothing but muderous, bloodthirsty creatures with only one goal in mind: eat all your brainless chickens. Why do...
YouTube link for mobile viewing We've all been there: a maniacal evil genius has you in the thick of his trap, and the only way to escape his series of death beams is to reflect them away from you using whatever is at your disposal. Maybe it's a nickel, maybe you've got a lot of mirrors at your disposal. At any rate, we all know the only way we got out of the trap (and saved the day!)...
Since the EVO 4G came out many moons ago, Sprint promised us we'd see more in their EVO brand, and it delivered. Soon after we saw the EVO Shift 4G, then the EVO 3D, and now the EVO Design 4G. So how does the newest in the EVO line hold up? Can it hang with the best of them or will it be relegated to the discount rack? Is one processor enough? Will it come in white? Does it blend? If...
YouTube link for mobile viewing If you're looking for a slight deviation on the gameplay you'll find in Star Diamonds Capture, you need look no further than Star Diamonds Paradise. It's built much in the same way as its sister game, with a few differences. You're still playing against a live opponent (and you'll need an internet connection to do so!), you're still trying to capture as...
Samsung's got a lot going for them these days. They're shipping mad numbers of devices, making phones for different price points and consumers, and shoot, they even got build the coveted Galaxy Nexus. The phone in question right now is the Conquer 4G, a not-quite-midrange, not-quite-high-end phone that's out on Sprint. I find it (personally) a little hard to classify because some of the...
Let me be the first to say, yes, I know this app has a redundant name. It's called Rotating Live Wallpaper, but its full name is RLW Live Wallpaper Pro. So you've got LW Live Wallpaper, which essentially translates into Live Wallpaper Live Wallpaper, but I digress. At first glance, RLW Live Wallpaper looks startlingly similar to Mystic Halo, but upon closer inspection you'll notice it's...
As we wait for the impending update to the Google Reader app, I took to looking for other cool ways to consume everything on my Reader feed. Through my journey in the Market, I discovered not an app, but a widget called Minimal Reader Pro. Minimal Reader Pro is awesome because not only does it save you the hassle of opening an app (precious seconds are lost when opening apps!), it looks...
Keyboards are a big deal on Android. Some let you swipe, other peck, but regardless of the method, they all have one thing in common: they're how you say anything on your phone. So imagine my excitement when I'm introduced to a new keyboard, promising more bacon never-before-seen levels of text prediction, all in a nice, shiny, new beta package. I just had to try it out, and it is, in a...
YouTube link for mobile viewing It's been a crazy ride for Star Legends: The Blackstar Chronicles. The second in the "Legends" series of mobile MMOs, Star Legends started out in closed beta, then eventually was made available to the masses and now is the top dog among mobile MMOs. It feels like forever since I last mentioned it, but I had to take make the time to really dig into this...
YouTube link for mobile viewing I might not think Siri is all that and a bag of chips, but I've got to hand it to Apple for one thing: it sounds good. Listening to the articulate, smooth-talking Siri, I couldn't help but think how archaic Android's own text-to-speech sounded. Compare Android's voice to Siri and you're left with the inevitable comparison to the Speak and Spell. During...
YouTube link for mobile viewing Ed. note: This theme requires use of the Theme Chooser. When Google finally unveiledIce Cream Sandwich to the world, we all knew it was going to be the new hotness. How much it changed things, though, I'm not sure anyone could have really predicted. Fortunately, it didn't matter. Once the event was over, I knew I wanted it, period. Thanks to one...