It may have taken a long time for Google to get around to releasing its popular Chrome browser for the
Android platform, but that day has finally come.

In order for your tabs to sync from the desktop version of Chrome to the Android Chrome Beta, you will first need to install Chrome Beta on your Android device, and ensure you are running the latest version of Chrome on your desktop.

Once you have both apps installed and up to date, sign in to each respective browser using the same Google account. You can sign into Chrome desktop under Preferences Personal Stuff. Chrome Beta on Android will prompt you to sign in the first time you launch the app.

Now that you’re signed in under the same account in both browsers, launch the desktop version of Chrome and open the Preferences tab.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani)

1. When viewing the Preferences tab, click on Personal Stuff and then under Sign In, click on Advanced.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani)

2. Under the Advance menu, you will need to ensure the “Open Tabs” box is checked. If you have enabled Chrome to sync everything, you won’t have to change anything. However, if you are manually managing what Chrome syncs, you will need to check the box next to open tabs.

That’s all there is to setting up tab sync with Chrome desktop. You can repeat these steps as necessary on more than one desktop. Now let’s take a look at how you view the open tabs in desktop Chrome on your Android device.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani)

1. You have two options to viewing the open tabs on your other devices. You can either drop down the menu and select Other devices on any screen, or you can tap on the folder in the lower-right corner. Both methods will bring you to a view of the open tabs on your devices.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani)

2. As you can see, I have two devices set up to sync my open tabs. The device name the tab is open on, as well as last sync time, is displayed above each tab listing. You can then view any of the tabs by tapping on it.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani)

3. If you would prefer to remove one of your devices from your list, you can long-press on the device name and you will be presented with a Remove option. Doing so will only remove the device from your view, it will not stop the syncing of open tabs on that device.

One more note about the syncing of tabs. As it is now, the sync is one way–from desktop to Android. Tabs you have open on your Android device won’t sync back to Chrome desktop.

Are you familiar with Skylanders? If you’re not, here’s a primer: Skylanders is a combination toy and video game franchise, in which real-life plastic toys interact with a special “portal” for gaming consoles and become living, breathing in-game characters. Players can use any character for which they have the toy. Skylanders is, essentially, a machine engineered to harvest money from helpless parents. It’s also a pretty cool game.

At this week’s Toy Fair, Activision reportedly has plans to announce a few new figures in the Skylanders line-up. There are eight new special figures, all of which are “giant-sized” and feature special abilities. Some of them even light up when near the game portal. There will also be eight new regular Skylanders launched at the same time as the giants.

Skylanders has been a sales juggernaut, generating more money than any other new children’s IP last year. Now that Activision smells blood, you can bet more figures will be on the way at steady intervals.

Have you played Skylanders? What did you think?

[Game Informer]

Apple has sent a stern warning to developers who try to inflate their App Store rankings.

“Once you build a great app, you want everyone to know about it,” the company announced to developers last night. “However, when you promote your app, you should avoid using services that advertise or guarantee top placement in App Store charts. Even if you are not personally engaged in manipulating App Store chart rankings or user reviews, employing services that do so on your behalf may result in the loss of your Apple Developer Program membership.”

App Store rankings are based on a closely held algorithm Apple has developed. The algorithm is believed to include elements of an app’s download figures, news articles about a respective program, and whether it has been featured by Apple. User ratings also appear to be a key ingredient.

Getting into the Top 25 in Apple’s App Store is a near-obsession for developers. The apps that make it into that list generate far more revenue, and usually help companies expand their sometimes-small operations into real businesses. Angry Birds developer Rovio is a huge business today partly because of its ability to find its way to the Top 25.

Developers hoping to be the next Rovio have been hiring third-parties that focus solely on improving an application’s ranking in the App Store. Some of those services do so through legitimate means, by promoting applications and increasing awareness. However, as Apple points out, there are some services and developers attempting to game the system by adding fake user reviews that celebrate a title’s features.

Last year, Apple made waves by reportedly changing its ranking algorithm to give more weight to apps in certain categories. Social-networking applications benefited greatly from the modification.

Developers who didn’t benefit so greatly have relied upon the services of companies like Flurry or TapJoy to help boost their rankings. TapJoy’s advertising network for developers, for example, helps get apps in front of users. Last year, TapJoy said its program can push as many as 100,000 new downloads a day.

Apple did not immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment.

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Working quickly to prepare for the worldwide release, Sony will this week release firmware 1.60 for their latest console, the PS Vita. This firmware will include some major additions to functionality, including a map application and the ability to record video, as shown below.

Firmware 1.60 is set to be released tomorrow, February 8th. Although the addition of functionality is always welcome, what we really want to know is if this firmware update addresses the Vita version of the HBL currently being developed. We’ll let you know as soon as we find out, so keep it here for the latest news from the PSV scene.

Source: IGN

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The world of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is less generic than it seems.
Image courtesy Electronic Arts

If you’ve seen the incredibly dull marketing campaign for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, which makes the upcoming role-playing game look like just another generic Tolkien clone, you probably aren’t that excited. But this Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC game, to be released Tuesday, is an addictive good time.

I’ve spent about 10 hours immersed in this fantasy RPG created by a squadron of proven talents: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind game designer Ken Rolston, writer R.A. Salvatore and artist Todd MacFarlane, all with the backing of former MLB pitcher and gaming entrepreneur Curt Schilling. I’ve had nothing but good times hacking and hunting my way through its monsters and dungeons. Sort of like a cross between Fable and World of Warcraft, Amalur’s world is a delicious mixture of vibrant reds, greens and blues. The art team knocked it out of the park, crafting a large variety of landscapes that feel both unique and harmonious: alluring, mystical elf havens or industrious, worn-out villages.

Uniting this world is a widespread belief that its people’s fates cannot be changed. In Amalur, each person believes he has an immutable destiny, one that defines how, and how long, he will live. Until you come along.

But of course, your character is the anomaly, somebody who can change both his own fate and the destinies of the people he interacts with. So, naturally, it’s up to you to save the world.

It’s a fun world to save, mostly thanks to a flashy but simple combat system that owes more to action games like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta than it does to games in its own genre. You can use several types of weapons, like hammers, bows and an extensive and satisfying set of chakram to unleash combination attacks on your foes. There’s also magic, ranged attacks and a host of other special abilities.

Further enhancing this system is the fact that you can customize your character’s skills without getting too pigeonholed in one specific archetype. There are three different skill trees — Finesse, Might and Sorcery — and you can mix and match between them to create any sort of hybrid character that you can imagine. Skill trainers across the world allow you to easily reset these skill trees, in case you screw up or change your mind.

Though there is a lot to love about the world, it’s hard to stay attached to any of the people in it. Amalur’s user interface is designed much like a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, liberally sprinkling yellow exclamation points and markers all over your mini-map in order to show you where to quest next. It’s easy to ignore the people and their plights in favor of endless side quests.

Like any good RPG, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is adept at digging its claws into that part of your brain that just loves accomplishing things. It can be exceptionally soothing to sit on your couch for a few hours and just bang out quests. If you need a taskmaster in your life, this just might do the trick.

The updated app lets you play around with the hearts on the cup.

(Credit:
Starbucks)

Starbucks is giving its augmented reality mobile app a little bit more love. Literally.

As part of a new update, users of the company’s Cup Magic app can now point their phones at Starbucks Valentine’s Day-themed cups to see new, love-themed effects that appear to be happening on the cup itself.

Starbucks originally launched its Magic Cup app last November on both iOS (iTunes) and
Android (Market) to coincide with the coffee chain’s annual run of holiday-themed cups. Users would point their smartphone’s camera at one of the seasonal cups and it would pull up an augmented reality scene that matched up with whatever character was on the cup.

This new addition is a little more limited, with the company only using one type of cup that will be carried in its stores through February 16.

Besides looking neat, there is–of course–a business hook to get you to buy more than a cup of something for yourself. The app lets users buy and send digital Starbucks gift cards to friends that can be delivered on Valentine’s Day, as well as providing a way to send messages that require the recipient actually head to a Starbucks, buy a beverage, and aim it at one of the limited cups to see what was written.

Starbucks is just one of a handful of food and beverage companies to develop their own augmented reality applications. It’s joined by burger joint The Krystal Co., which last year put out an app to let customers see its penguin mascot dancing on cups and boxes. There’s also the more useful implementation by Dominos, which recently put up billboards in the U.K. that let customers view and order pizza from an augmented reality menu using their phones.

Here’s a demo of what it does, followed by the original holiday version:

Sony has officially confirmed that PlayStation Network accounts are going bye-bye, and will be replaced with Sony Entertainment Network accounts. If you’re a current PSN user, don’t worry – this process will happen automatically and you won’t have to do much more than sign a new EULA.

The change comes as Sony attempts to merge its various entertainment offerings into one platform. The company noted that the transition will help Sony with improving its functionality and making its various services easier for consumers to access.

The company also mentioned that the change makes it easier to establish a network that provides movies, games, music and “more,” whatever that may be.

Your login information will remain unchanged. New accounts come with software updates for the Vita and PS3 on February 8.

What do you think of the new Sony Entertainment accounts?

[Digital Spy]

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Some of Sinelnikov’s apps (on the left) compared to their similarly named App Store counterparts (on the right).

(Credit:
CNET)

Apple has declared war on lookalikes in its App Store.

The company today removed a handful of iOS applications that bore a resemblance to more popular apps, and had climbed the charts as a result.

As spotted by TechCrunch, apps like Tiny Birds, Plants vs. Zombie, Numbers with Friends, and Temple Jump have been removed from the App Store. That’s not to be confused with titles like Tiny Wings, Plants vs. Zombies, Words with Friends, and Temple Run, longtime crowd favorites and best-sellers that remain available.

The removals come on the heels of a report posted by The Guardian chronicling Anton Sinelnikov–the developer of these titles–as well as other developers that have created apps that customers can easily mistake for the real deal.

Nine of Sinelnikov’s other titles remain available on the App Store, though none that could be mistaken for some on Apple’s top selling lists.

Apple makes it at least partially clear that this behavior is not allowed, as per its App Store Guidelines, a rulebook the company introduced near the end of 2010 in an attempt to explain what it would and would not allow in its digital storefront. Two sections in particular detail where developers can get into trouble.

Under the introductory section (emphasis mine):

If you attempt to cheat the system (for example, by trying to trick the review process, steal data from users, copy another developer’s work, or manipulate the ratings) your apps will be removed from the store and you will be expelled from the developer program.

And under the section on trademarks and trade dress:

8.5 Use of protected 3rd party material (trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, otherwise proprietary content) requires a documented rights check which must be provided upon request

A fine line
Similarity among video games has long been a hot-button issue (no pun intended), with derivative works oftentimes being considered an important part of the ecosystem, something that can create genres, or transform them completely. Companies like Popcap games, for instance (now owned by Electronic Arts) have taken a stance that so-called clones of their games have provided valuable new ideas that the company may end up folding into future iterations.

All that said, there’s a fine line, which is where things can get murky. That’s been especially true in recent weeks, where the question of originality has been questioned by developers big and small.

For instance, developers like NimbleBit, the makers of Tiny Tower–which was Apple’s 2011
iPhone game of the year–recently accused social-games giant Zynga of copying its game with an upcoming title called Dream Heights. Earlier this week the developer faced separate accusations from Buffalo Studios, claiming the company was ripping off its flagship Bingo Blitz game with a title called Zynga Bingo. There was also the reverse of that, when iOS game Vector Tanks was pulled from the App Store at the request of Atari for being too similar to 1980 arcade game Battlezone.

How much policing Apple will do on its own remains unclear. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it is making any changes to its App Store Guidelines to spell out the rules differently, or if the pulled apps fell under one or more of the rules mentioned above.