Google Wallet has been dealt more blows than Rocky Balboa but it just won’t quit (even though some of its engineers will). Today, Google announced the acquisition of technology company TxVia and hopes their expertise will “accelerate innovation towards our full Google Wallet vision.” TxVia has worked with advanced processing technology for prepaid cards and emerging payments since 2008 and has supported the management of more than 100 million accounts. Google Wallet could use all the help it can get right now and I’m betting TxVia’s connections with major payment networks will come in handy.
The latest distribution numbers are out and it appears Ice Cream Sandwich is gaining momentum. In a 14-day period ending on April 2, 2012, Android 4.0 appeared on 2.9% of devices accessing the Google Play Store. Yes, that’s still a pretty paltry number, but compared to last month’s data, it’s up 1.3%. That’s good news for an operating version that has been mostly stagnant since its release back in November of 2011. We’re finally starting to see OEM’s and carriers roll out the Android 4.0 update to their phones and this latest data is reflective of that.
Welcome to Monday’s Apps For Kids, a new Cult of Android feature where we take a look at kid-centric apps. Many of us are parents with kids who seem to know their way around our mobile devices better than we do. With the Google Play Store having over 400,000 apps, it can be quite a daunting task trying to find apps appropriate for our young tech enthusiasts. With Monday’s Apps For Kids, we hope to make that task easier by suggesting an array of topics and apps that have been kid tested and parent approved. So grab whatever crayon is lying around and get ready to write down a few apps worth checking out.
It’s not everyday Verizon has a deal worth jumping on, but this one warrants a definite look. If you’ve been in the market for a powerful smartphone but have been short on cash, Verizon has dropped the price of the HTC Rezound to an amazing $49.99. That’s a steal for a 4G device featuring a 4.3-inch Super LCD screen, dual-core 1.5GHz processor and 8MP rear camera with dual LED flash and f/2.2, 28mm wide-angle lens. The HTC Rezound was unfortunately overshadowed by the Galaxy Nexus, and to be honest, would have been the device I purchased myself (had it not been for the Galaxy Nexus).
Gameloft released the long awaited Dungeon Hunter 3 onto the Google Play Store over the weekend and fans seems to be a tad disappointed. With Dungeon Hunter 3, Gameloft abandoned the paid model in favor of freemium, and according to fans — they also abandoned the story and gameplay model.
