The Rabbids franchise (which is a spin-off from the Rayman series) has never fully established itself in popular culture in the same way as characters like the Angry Birds. It never had a signature genre of game, bouncing around various ideas from strategy and arcade, to puzzle and simulation. Released just before Christmas, the XBox live title Big Bang saw it take on interplanetary travel in a physics based game that mixes arcade reactions with puzzling depth.
Capturing good HDR (High Dynamic Range) photos on Windows Phone has never been simple, with some of the best requiring lots of processing time and extreme effort to get anything useful. 4Blend HDR is a new, free application that leverages Nokia's new Imaging SDK to produce HDR that's quicker to use and generally more effective and flexible. Yes, it still helps enormously to have a tripod or a wall to rest the camera phone on, but I was much happier in 4Blend than any previous HDR offering in the Windows Phone world.
While Windows Phone's email application does handle Gmail in a way that fits in with the UI, there are some areas where it can be lacking (including label support, filtering, and multiple accounts). Does the third-party client MetroMail address these issues and, if so, is it worth Googlers switching to it? That's a finely balanced decision.
Nokia's DC-19 Universal Portable USB Charger provides an easy way of topping up your phone's battery when out and about. That's something that seems to be an increasingly common requirement, a result of integrated batteries having become the norm, and the reality that most smartphones need to be charged at least once a day. There are a large number of portable battery charging products on the market, so is there anything that makes Nokia's latest entry in this category stand out from the crowd?
Sometimes you just have to seize the moment. After our review of Angry Birds Go (which liked the basic idea and implementation of the game, but noted the sheer destructive power of the freemium options), the developer of Poppy Kart got in touch with the AAWP team to point out an alternative. And very nice it is too.
Popping up just in time for Christmas (and giving Xbox Live a new release at this critical time of year for Windows Phone) is the sequel to one of the most well known infinite runners. With more curves, more moves, more obstacles, and more adventure, it's time to check out Temple Run 2 for Windows Phone.
When you have a rather average karting game, you can work to make it a better game, or you can graft on a financially punishing in-app purchase mode to take as much money as possible from the users. Rovio's Angry Birds franchise reaches the karting space with Angry Birds Go, and unfortunately they've gone with the 'take as much money as possible' approach to the latest game from the rather cross Avians.
Subway Surfers has already been mentioned here on All About Windows Phone, in regards to scam-ware (see our editorial here) so it's a pleasure to finally have the title available on Microsoft's mobile platform. Subway Surfers has already built up a strong following on iOS and Android devices, and while it's not as strong as an Instagram or an Angry Birds, it's great to see more familiar titles arrive. The key will be Subway Surfers 2 and if it is released on all three platforms simultaneously. But for now, the review!
"This rings a bell", you may think, and you'd be right. Many months ago, I reviewed the Mugen 3000mAh version of this accessory - and the idea here is identical, yet with significant extra thickness and capacity, so if you read that earlier review then you know most of what there is to know - just add mm and mAh as appropriate. If you're new to Mugen's accessory then read on - this might just change the way you use your Lumia 920....
Oh there's nothing like a bit of festive tinsel and trappings to make an application feel just right for this time of year. Some apps go for an extra theme pack, or snow over the title graphics. Or you can go for a game that is all about christmas, which is the approach that Christian West has taken with Reindeer Round-up.
