the mobile phone and gaming magazine www.phonicamagazine.co.uk
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phonica magazine uk
WHAT’S INSIDE VOLUME 1 ISSUE 4 2009 EDITOR IN CHIEF Kevin Leonce
NEWS
PREVIEWS
GAMING EDITOR
Sco Tierney Le 4 Dead 2 6 HTC HD2 starts shipping in Europe and Asia 8 Nokia Founda on Awards 2009 CONTRIBUTORS Vodafone unwraps great value handsets for Christmas 9 Rob Hobson 12 Sony Ericsson launches XPERIA X10 Ian Duncan Samsung Genio Touch 13 Motorola DEXT available exclusively on Orange Paul Park Sony Ericsson Aino Charles Thompson 14 Orange Wednesdays App comes to iPhone Nokia 5530 15 Orange launches electronic goods recycle program CREATIVE SERVICES &Uncharted DESIGN2: Among Thieves 29 Balloon Boy on Twi er Sco Tierney Grand The Auto 4: The Ballad of Gay Tony www.sco - 30 erney.com Golden Joys cks 2009 Pro Evolu on Soccer 2010 32 Eurogamer 2009 Forza Motorsport 3 36 Blitz Arcade releases Encleverment Experiment EDITORIAL Sonic and Mario at the Olympic Winter Games editorial@phonicamagazine.co.uk Tekken 6
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VIEWS
FEATURES
Risen
ENQUIRIES Cursed Mountain 16 PHONESMARTS: THE DEATH OF SYMBIAN? info@phonicamagazine.co.uk Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Republic Heroes Is this OS nearing the end of its shelf life…. Borderlands or is Nokia holding out on the good stuff?
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ADVERTISING
COMPETITION
18 THE PHONE BOX: 10 FREE ANDROIDadver APPSsing@phonicamagazine.co.uk Here’s our pick of the 10 free apps you must have on your Android device. Win a Samsung B3310 mobile
WWW.PHONICAMAGAZINE.CO.UK
40 A MORE REFINED PALETTE Some games do leave a sour taste,abut makesMagazine UK on Facebook & Twi er Become Fanwhat of Phonica a game enjoyable? Phonica Magazine ©Games: Phonica’s 20 Recommended Racers All material in this publica rights reserved. MobileAll Phones 42by copyright. COMMUNIST LAN PARTY GAMING IN CHINAon is covered No part of this publica on may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval Explore the development ofsystem China’s gaming industry or transmi ed in any form electronic, mechanical, photocopying and market….communist style.or otherwise, in whole or part without wri en permission of the
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THE GUIDE
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publisher or the copyright owner.
44 FORGOTTEN GEMS: F ZERO GX Please note every care has been taken to ensure that all the Before there was Fast and Furious wethat hadwhilst F-Zero GX. in this publica on is accurate at the me of going to print, Join us as we take this baby the fordata a spin one more me! publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, whether caused by negligence or otherwise, or for any loss, however caused, occasioned to any person by reliance on it; and hereby disclaims any liability for it. Opera ons and some features are network dependent; please refer to your network provider for full details.
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EDITOR’S LETTER TIS THE SEASON… TO BE WHAT? As we edge closer to the epicenter of the holiday season I’m sure you’re thinking about what treats you’d be buying/ge ng this Christmas. Already we see the high streets have begun their priming, with the likes of Vodafone and the Carphone Warehouse en cing customers with some sleek touch screen phones at a bargain. So many phones, so many deals….s ll some me. Yes!! I’m s ll not sure what my Christmas games collec on is going to be. With companies looking for the much needed boost in sales this is one season that’s sure to leave you smiling. From this point onwards brace yourself to be bombarded with specials, deals and giveaways. Before you get all excited tho, maybe best to start preparing that wish list; the PSP Go that you so greatly crave, the relief you could stay on Vodafone and finally get the iPhone, and that top game that’s about to be released. Whatever it may be, make a list…..check it twice…. then let the shopping begin! I have my eyes on a HTC phone. Although I am tempted by other handsets something about their design (HTC) always catches my a en on (a er my BlackBerry that is). So let’s get cracking on those wish lists. Feel free to surprise me with an HTC phone this holiday season! And for those who are not quite sure what you’d like to buy, get your issue of Phonica and see what’s the must have’s for the season. You can even email me, but please….. no ‘Dear Santa’! Enjoy reading. Your Editor in Chief
Kevin Leonce kevin@phonicamagazine.co.uk
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THE GUIDE
PHONICA’S 20 RECOMMENDED RACERS WIPEOUT
GRAND PRIX 4
BURNOUT PARADISE
F ZERO GX
MICRO MACHINES 2: TURBO TOURNAMENT
(PS1, Sega Saturn, PC)
(PC)
(PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
(GameCube)
(Megadrive)
“I suspect most games would be improved by a Le field soundtrack and an ultra-cool design job. The HD update for PS3 was pre y brilliant too.”
“The ul mate F1 simulator; packed to the seams with detail and realism. ”
“Fast, fran c and totally stupid. The replay feature is excep onal also; nothing beats watching your car disintegrate before your eyes!”
“So fast it will actually make your eyes invert. The ul mate racing experience, boosted with supreme visuals and glamour.”
“One of the finest mul player games ever made, and here’s li le bit of trivia; it was the first game to receive a 100% playability score from Gamesmaster.”
FORZA MOTORSPORT 3
COLIN MCRAE RALLY 2.0
SSX
WAVE RACER 64
GRAN TURISMO
(Xbox 360)
(PC, PS1)
(PS2)
(N64)
(PS1)
“The best looking (and maybe even ‘the best’) track racing game on the market. Fast, precise and totally joyous.”
“When played with a racing wheel, the sense of control and involvement was startling. S ll a terrific tle, and possibly the best in the McRae series.”
“Excellent level design and ludicrously improbably tricks. Christ, but Rahzel’s v/o got old quickly though.”
“Skim the ripples and smash through the waves. Jet skies have never been so much fun!”
“The most important racing game of all me, and the first game to take racing seriously. An absolute legend of the genre.”
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FEATURE THE PHONEBOX
10 FREE ANDROID APPS 10 OF THE MOST USEFUL, ENTERTAINING OR JUST PLAIN AMAZING APPS ON ANDROID. ALL FOR FREE!
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FEATURE SHAZAM A u lity with which all music lovers should be in mately familiar. This bemusing system has been wowing the mobile community long before apps were anything like the wonderfully simple technology they are today. Years ago the system was operated through a phone call, today the Shazam app sits cosily on Android (and iPhone) home-screens just begging for your DAB to pump out a sound you don’t recognise. If the music is at a comfortable listening level, Shazam will provide users with the song tle, album, label and ar st name along with a convenient link to both YouTube videos and Amazon mp3 (a slightly redundant op on if you decide to “reference” the song from my next app).
iMUSIC A cheekily named app which allows the user to search for and download mp3s direct to the phone’s memory card from all over the net by providing links to downloads from its own fairly usable interface. A emp ng to waver the slightly dubious nature of its legality with a user agreement which refers to the usage of the mp3’s as “for reference only”, be aware that this is not an app the music industry will thank you for downloading. Phonica cannot endorse the use of this app, its inclusion in this list is purely to highlight the dis nc on between an app store which monitors and sanc ons its content and one which is much more open and inclusive.
SHOPSAVVY The best of several barcode-reading applica ons available on Android Market. This app u lises the phone’s camera to read barcodes and performs a search of local shops and online stores for the cheapest availability of the product. Frighteningly accurate and annoyingly useful, the more frugal among you might find yourselves scanning the back of a packet of crisps before you realise there is a limit to its money saving usefulness – that is a er you’ve scanned everything you already own to gra ng effect.
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FEATURE chompSMS
beebPLAYER
An SMS and MMS client which transforms the slightly dull Messaging applica on bundled with the phone. Along with unfathomable visual customisability, this applica on allows you to change several no fica on op ons which would ordinarily be impossible to alter and generally glosses up the SMS experience to a standard even the iPhone’s IM inspired messaging client can’t hope to emulate. If bundled with the free SMS Popup app, the experience of messaging on the Android becomes a great pleasure.
An unofficial BBC iPlayer mimic. Comes with all the usability of the official iPhone app (if not all the gloss) and sees almost monthly upgrades to the service by the developer, something he deserves great credit for as it’s a massively popular app and yet con nues to improve. The slightly smaller screen of the Android phones means a slight deprecia on of the video quality when compared with the iPhone’s alterna ve but this may change with the Droid’s giant high resolu on screen. Watching Kidulthood on the bus is a rewarding if not slightly daun ng experience.
METAL DETECTOR A bit like Ronseal, it does exactly what is says on the screen. Not necessarily the most useful app, it’s certainly not overcomplicated by any distrac ng aesthe cs, however when you tell your friends your phone has a metal detector it’s a bit like telling them it makes sandwiches. Not the most exci ng thing it could do but confusingly intriguing all the same.
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FEATURE FACEBOOK
GOOGLE SKY MAP
The eventual arrival of the official Facebook app was met with mixed responses, but despite the confusingly foreign interface (and it must be said inferior performance and usability when compared with the iPhone’s version) the Facebook app does have a few nice li le tricks up its sleeve. The widget is a slap in the face for iPhone users, allowing seamless status pos ng from the homescreen, and the Facebook phonebook handily provides a few friends’ numbers you misplaced along with a fair few you deliberately lost. If you’re a Facebook fiend you won’t be happy un l you have this.
Almost excessively geeky but s ll interes ng. If the loca on of heavenly bodies concerns you then this star, planet and satellite mapper will use your GPS and compass to point you in the right direc on. Also useful for tricking unsuspec ng girls that you’re actually NASA smart.
“GET OUT THERE AND GET LOOKING FOR MORE DRIBBLE INDUCING APPS.”
PHONALYZR Apart from a Z in its name, this app holds absolutely nothing even slightly exci ng. However, you’d be surprised how interes ng your telephone sta s cs can be. This app tracks all calls and provides informa on which makes for o en surprising reading such as: top callers by minutes, top callers by calls, outbound vs. inbound calls and other stats which sound dull but might shock you when you realise you’ve been calling that a certain young lady more than anyone else.
LAYAR The best of the current crop of augmented reality apps. Having your own 3D mapping of local sights and sounds is very useful and the recent addi on of the tweep layer is strangely fascina ng. The camera allows an HUD-like overlay to be placed on top of live images producing an effect akin to being in an FPS (although hopefully not the same maniacal bloodlust). The tweep layer maps the loca on and content of twi er posts along with their twi er iden es on screen, very interes ng when not evoking a feeling a li le like being 1984’s Big Brother. Other layers map anything from homes for sale to halal food stores. A very cool app and one with a massive variety of possible func ons in the future. There are thousands of apps on Android Market and this list is by no means exhaus ve. There are bound to be a fair few killer apps I’ve missed out and there’ll be thousands added in the next few months to take advantage of increased market exposure. If you’ve already tried out these awesome addi ons to your handset, get out there and get looking for more dribble inducing apps. Charles Thompson
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