Everyday, Amazon offers a paid Android app for free. Even better: these apps aren’t like the many useless apps that are usually free in the Android Market, but many times they are actually really good apps and games. In the past, they have offered apps like Guitar Hero, Plants vs Zombies, and Doodle Jump– apps that usually cost from $1-$10 — for free. In fact, today, they are offering the game 3D Bio Ball HD for free. It’s a twist on the classic game Labyrinth where you guide a ball around a maze to a target.

So how can you get these apps? Instructions after the break.

First, on your phone, go to Settings > Applications, and check the box for “Unknown sources.” What this does is it will allow the Amazon appstore to install apps on your phone (this is telling your phones to install apps not directly from the Android Market).

Next, you’re gonna want to download the Amazon appstore. From your Android phone or tablet, open the web browser and go to: www.amazon.com/amazonappstoreapp (or just click on that link from your device). Click the “Download now” link and then click OK for the message box that pops up. You will then be redirected to the Android Downloads app. After the download has finished, click the file that you just downloaded and install it (it should be called “Amazon_Appstore”).

After the application has installed, click “Open.” Now you can enter your Amazon account information and log in to the Amazon appstore (if you don’t have an Amazon account you can make one for free on their site). From there you will have access to the thousands of Android apps in the Amazon appstore (both free and paid– just like you would in the Android Market. Amazon also has discounts from time to time on other paid apps, so for example, a $10 app in the Android Market may only be $5 in the Amazon appstore), and, of course, the Free Paid App of the Day which will be at the top of the home page of the appstore. You can install the app by pressing the “Get App” button and following the directions.

If you are on your laptop or desktop computer and want to check out the Free Paid App of the Day (or just see what apps are in the Amazon appstore), you can go here.

We hope that this has helped all you Android users out there and if you have any app recommendations of your own feel free to share them in the comments!

Wow MWC is off to a crazy start. Today, as promised, Sony Ericsson took the full wraps off the Xperia Play/PlayStation Phone, and wow is it looking better and better. Just as Wirefly leaked last week, Verizon will be the lucky carrier to get this awesome phone in “early Spring” (they just don’t give up at all do they? First it was 4 4G phones at CES, next the iPhone 4 and now this? And it’s only February!).

As for specs? Wirefly looked again to be 100% on the mark, with the official word being that this beast will come with:

• 4 inch high-resolution screen– This fits in with all the other rumors we’ve heard about the phone, and with a resolution of 854×480 expect games to look really awesome on here.
• Android 2.3 Gingerbread out of the box– Yes, this will be running the latest and greatest of Android for phones which is definitely something to get excited about because it’s the best version of Android for phones ever released (faster, updated Google Apps, support for game controllers *cough* *cough*)
• 1 GHZ processor with 512 MB of RAM– To make sure all those PlayStation games run smoothly.
• GPS and WiFi– With support for WiFi N networks and the ability to use the phone as a portable WiFi hotspot.
• 5 megapixel back camera with flash and HD video recording with second front camera for video chat– Just like the iPhone 4, Nexus S, Samsung Epic 4G etc.
• 8 GB microSD card included in the box
  

Oh, and the phone will also ship with one “legendary” PlayStation One game (title not yet announced), with an additional 50 games available at launch (including Guitar Hero, Assassin’s Creed, and Dead Space to name a few) from a whole bunch of publishers (with some current smartphone games already out there getting special extra levels on the Xperia Play).

Still no price and exact release date– but wow is this turning into some awesome year for anyone on Verizon. New video of the Xperia Play in action after the break.

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, the next generation of the hit series coming out in September, is going to be the most story centric Guitar Hero to date according to lead game designer Brian Bright. Warriors of Rock will have a Quest mode narrated by KISS bassist Gene Simmons that will have you fighting “The Machine” throughout the game. “The Machine” will represent all that is anti rock such as pop music, and will be your villain throughout the game. In the final battle with The Machine, you will choose your band from the 8 characters and, using their special abilities, defeat The Machine in an epic guitar battle. You will have 8 characters that all have special abilities and can turn into their respective warrior alter ego. For example, Johnny Napalm, a character that has been in every Guitar Hero game since the beginning, turns into a blue metal mutant and  has a power called “Speed Freak”, which never allows you to go below a 2x multiplier.

Johnny Napalm's Warrior Alter Ego

Along with the revamped Story Mode, Activision is putting a lot of work into creating incredible backdrops for epic guitar battles. The visuals in the story mode will be unprecedented for a Guitar Hero game. Think of the incredible backdrops of Brutal Legend, just custom made for each unique character in the game. During the final battle with “The Machine” you will be fighting in an epic wasteland with a fiery backdrop filled with volcanoes.

So is a beefed up story m0de enticing enough to spend more money on Guitar Hero? Or will you wait instead for the next Rock Band as your music video game of choice?

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is set for release September 28, 2010 for the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii with for $59.99 for the game itself, $99.99 for the game and guitar, or $179.99 for the whole bundle, which includes the game, a guitar, drums and keyboard.

The full set list of tunes is after the break.

A Perfect Circle – “The Outsider”
• AFI – “Dancing Through Sunday”
• Alice Cooper – “No More Mr. Nice Guy”
• Alter Bridge – “Ties That Bind”
• Anthrax – “Indians”
• Atreyu – “Ravenous”
• Avenged Sevenfold – “Bat Country”
• Bad Brains – “Re-Ignition (Live)”
• Black Sabbath – “Children Of The Grave”
• Blue Oyster Cult – “Burning For You”
• Bush – “Machinehead”
• Buzzcocks – “What Do I Get?”
• Children Of Bodom – “If You Want Peace… Prepare For War”
• Deep Purple – “Burn”
• Def Leppard – “Pour Some Sugar On Me (Live)”
• Dethklok – “Bloodlines”
• Dire Straits – “Money For Nothing”
• Dragonforce – “Fury Of The Storm”
• Drowning Pool – “Bodies”
• Edgar Winter – “Free Ride”
• Fall Out Boy – “Dance, Dance”
• Five Finger Death Punch – “Hard To See”
• Foo Fighters – “No Way Back”
• Foreigner – “Feels Like The First Time”
• George Thorogood and The Destroyers – “Move It On Over (Live)”
• Jane’s Addiction – “Been Caught Stealing”
• Jethro Tull – “Aqualung”
• KISS – “Love Gun”
• Linkin Park – “Bleed It Out”
• Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Call Me The Breeze (Live)”
• Megadeth – “Sudden Death”
• Metallica & Ozzy Osbourne – “Paranoid (Live)”
• Muse – “Uprising”
• My Chemical Romance – “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)”
• Night Ranger – “(You Can Still) Rock In America”
• Nine Inch Nails – “Wish”
• Pantera – “I’m Broken”
• Poison – “Unskinny Bop”
• Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody”
• Rammstein – “Waidmanns Heil”
• Rise Against – “Savior”
• Rush – “2112 Pt. 1 – Overture”
• Rush – “2112 Pt. 2 – The Temples Of Syrinx”
• Rush – “2112 Pt. 3 – Discovery”
• Rush – “2112 Pt. 4 – Presentation”
• Rush – “2112 Pt. 5 – Oracle: The Dream”
• Rush – “2112 Pt. 6 – Soliloquy”
• Rush – “2112 Pt. 7 – Grand Finale”
• Silversun Pickups – “There’s No Secrets This Year”
• Slayer – “Chemical Warfare”
• Slipknot – “Psychosocial”
• Soundgarden – “Black Rain”
• Steve Vai – “Speeding”
• Stone Temple Pilots – “Interstate Love Song”
• Strung Out – “Calling”
• Styx – “Renegade”
• Sum 41 – “Motivation”
• The Cure – “Fascination Street”
• The Hives – “Tick Tick Boom”
• The Offspring – “Self Esteem”
• The Ramones – “Spiderman”
• The Rolling Stones – “Stray Cat Blues”
• The Runaways – “Cherry Bomb”
• The White Stripes – “Seven Nation Army”
• Them Crooked Vultures – “Scumbag Blues”
• Twisted Sister – “We’re Not Gonna Take It”
• ZZ Top – “Sharp Dressed Man (Live)”

Activision officially announced what we all knew was coming– Guitar Hero 6, or as Activision calls it Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. Activision promises a more rock centric soundtrack, and with a rocking soundtrack you need a rocking new guitar. So Activision announced a new type of guitar specifically made for shredding. This guitar has the electronics in the neck instead of the body so you can swap your favorite guitar bodies instead of buying more plastic instruments. To see a picture of the new guitar or to see the new trailer, hit the more link.

]]> http://teenstalktech.com/2010/06/10/guitar-hero-warriors-of-rock-announced-get-ready-to-shred/feed/ 1 http://teenstalktech.com/2009/03/05/the-beatles-are-coming-to-rock-band/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-beatles-are-coming-to-rock-band http://teenstalktech.com/2009/03/05/the-beatles-are-coming-to-rock-band/#comments Fri, 06 Mar 2009 04:05:50 +0000 Eli Blumenthal http://teentechblog.com/?p=2159

Very into Rock Band and are looking for some new classic songs to jam to? Well, if that’s the case, then today’s your lucky day: MTV Games, Harmonix (joint Rock Band founders) and Apple Corps LTD (copyright owners of the Beatles music; not the iPod company) announced today a whole new game for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii that features the legendary British rockers.

Arriving 9/9/09, it will be available as a stand-alone game for $60, and for $250, as a limited edition Rock Band set including the whole package– game, guitar, drums, mic– entirely designed to look like the instruments used by the Beatles. You can also get just the guitar for $100.

The game will also have 45 of the Beatles hits from 1962 through 1969 playable, though as of right now, not much is known about whether you can download those songs for play on your Rock Band 1 or 2 as well as if you can play other songs in this special Beatles version. We also know that fortunately, the 3 companies also said that the older Rock Band instruments will be able to work with the new game, so those of you who don’t wanna spend the extra $190 for more plastic instruments can just get the game and be all set

So you pumped for this new game? Will this make you hold off on that Rock Band 2 or Guitar Hero World Tour purchase and wait a few months to get a game based on one of the greatest bands ever? Sound off in the comments.

Info from Joystiq.com and pix from Rock Band Beatles preview page.

There’s a reason all these people lined up last year (Pic from ABC News)

For those who don’t know, Black Friday* is the day after Thanksgiving — the first day of the holiday shopping season –  and stores put out deals with HUGE SAVINGS on EVERYTHING, including electronics.

So if you want/need something new and value your wallet, READ ON!

*alludes to companies profits rising from “red” to “black” from its large volume of sales, though its less likely due to the current economic turmoil

All the major stores have great deals going down: Best Buy, Amazon, Circuit City (who really need go holiday sales if they wanna stay in business ), Amazon, Walmart, Costco- you name it.

For all the info on the deals from these and tons of other stores check out BlackFriday.info, but we’ll give you a small taste of some of the deals that catch our interest in this post.

By the way, if you really wanna capitalize on these Black Friday deals, you better be ready to get up really early (think earlier than 5 AM!) because the lines here are crazy.

Here’s some of our picks from each store.

Walmart:

• Xbox 360 Arcade Bundle- (see here) with Sonic Saga. wireless controller and Guitar Hero 3 with Guitar for $199.99 – this is a perfect example of insane Black Friday deals.

Xbox 360 Walmart Deal

Best Buy:

• Xbox 360 60GB Console with 4 games (Lego Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda, NBA 2K9, Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground) for $299.99. For those who wanted a 60 GB system deal instead of the deal Walmart is offering (above) for the Arcade.
• AT&T LG VU With Touch Screen – $49.99 with New 2-Year Contract- another great deal.
• $100-$150 off Macbooks and Macbook Pro’s- yup, this is even for the new Macbooks that came out only a lil’ while ago (see here for a recap of new Macbook info). This is great for those looking to buy one of those new, sweet, aluminum Macbooks (oh, and you can save even more on some of the older plastic Macbooks- I saw one with a $300 savings!). Check it here.

Circuit City:

• Xbox 360 Arcade Holiday Bundle with Extra Controller & 20GB HDD – $199.99. As you’re probably noticing, the Xbox 360 is getting major deals everywhere, but for those looking for an Arcade bundle (or anyone looking for a video game system below $200), but here you are basically getting what was the discontinued Pro model as a new deal. This is AWESOME and should make a great holiday gift.

Dell:

• Creative Labs 8 GB Mp3 and Video player w/ built-in speaker and voice recorder for $79! Perfect for anyone who wants a great music player loaded with features, that is also almost $100 cheaper than the iPod Nano.

Creative Zen Mozaic 8 GB

• Dell Inspiron Mini 9 for only $299- This is a tiny little laptop — aka netbook — is perfect for school and travelers with its small 9 inch screen. I assume this version is the one running a special Linux OS with a 4 GB SSD (solid state drive), and it may not be the perfect system for those who aren’t completely tech savvy.

Dell also sells a Windows XP version and both models have room for up to 32 GB SSD (these aren’t designed to replace you big 15 inch laptops or desktops), and these models may cost more than the $299 price here, though not much higher (these aren’t available with those expensive add ons you find on other computers).

For all the info on the Dell Mini 9 click here.

Dell Mini 9

This is just a small sample of the crazy deals coming on Friday. For all the info on all the deals go to that BlackFriday.info site.

What you think- any of the Black Friday deals listed going to make you wake up early on Friday? You gonna wait till a little later in the Holiday shopping season looking for even better deals? If you are getting something on Black Friday- what is it? Let us know in the comments. 

For all you Guitar Hero fans, you day of waiting for your “Rock Band killer” has finally come. Today is the day Guitar Hero World Tour comes out with all the instruments — Guitar, Drums, Mic — and unlike Rock Band, this is available at launch for ALL systems: Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, and Wii (which still doesn’t have Rock Band 2). Check out our previous post here to see what makes this version better than ever.

What you waiting for? Go run down to your local Best Buy/ Walmart/ Target- wherever, and start rocking!

Oh, and let us know your take on the new Guitar Hero– better than Rock Band 2?

Ad for Sen. Barack Obama in Burnout Paradise (Pic from GigaOM)

I don’t know about you, but I like to play my video games as a temporary escape from the “real world.” You know, controlling a team of your favorite players in Madden or MLB 2k8, or destroying some random alien in Halo 3 — things that you just can’t do in real life. To my great dismay, that barrier between “real world” and the “virtual world” of video games is starting to get really blurred. What am I talking about? Read on!

There have been many reports — and pictures — of video games on the Xbox 360 being filled with ads promoting Senator Barack Obama (and soon, most likely Senator John McCain if that’s the way things are headed). I know this might not bother most people, and it isn’t terribly annoying to me, but I fear this path and where it may lead.

It’s one thing to see a Snickers or Sprint ad in a game of Madden (they’re both 2 big NFL sponsors), or a T-Mobile or Sprite ad in a game of NBA Live 09 or NBA 2k9 (T-Mobile and Sprite are big NBA sponsors- NBA 2k9, by the way, is not yet listed anywhere as receiving these in game ads); those ads give the game a more realistic feel.

But now that the ads are expanding to other topics not related to the game (i.e. politics), this new direction isn’t really not sitting well with me. I don’t wanna start seeing an ad play during halftime of one of those games telling me the problems with the other candidate. And if they are putting in these little ads on the sidelines 3 weeks away from the election, whats to say they won’t put in other, bigger ads as we get closer to November 4?

Obama Ad in NBA Live (Pic From Reuters.com)

I understand video games are insanely popular — especially with us teens — but if the companies and sponsors want to go out and start filling our games with ads to make a little more $$$, why can’t we the customer see the price of games drop and not have to pay $60 per game. That, or keep the ads to a minimum (and if at all possible- relevant to the game like T-Mobile in the NBA and Sprint in Madden).

What you think- are you noticing some of these election ads popping up in some of your games (particularly Madden 09, NBA Live 09, Guitar Hero 3, and Burnout Paradise) you seeing them in other games (if so which ones)? More broadly, do you mind the increasing appearance of ads in games or believe the games should be cheaper in light of them? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Info and Pix from Joystiq.com, Reuters.com, and GigaOM.com

Rock Band fans, your long wait for the next version of the popular music game has finally ended. Today, Harmonix and MTV Games released the next version of Rock Band — Rock Band 2 — to the world, and it can be yours for either $59.99 for just the game (for those like me who already have Rock Band 1 and don’t want more instruments lying around ), or $189.99 for the whole package: the game,  a new wireless drum, a new wireless guitar, and a mic.

So what you waiting for? Go to your local Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, Walmart or wherever and pick your self some new virtual rock star goodness, and let us know what you think of the new game (or if you’re waiting for Guitar Hero World Tour to come out next month) in the comments.

P.S. Owners of the PS3, PS2, or Wi: don’t be too upset, the Xbox 360 only has exclusitivity  of the game for a month. Rock Band will be available for the PS3 on October 19, the Wii on November 16 and the PS2 on November 18.

And current Rock Band owners, feel free to download Stephen Colbert’s new free song (called “Charlene”) for Rock Band 1- it’s interesting to say the least and you can check it out here.

Now that Madden 09 is out in the wild (see our review on it here), lets turn back to the ever popular Rock Band 2. The news we got here is not going to be the most pleasant for fans of the “old” game (and those wanting to get in on the new one), but we’ll give it to you anyways. For those who wanna know more on this, hit the More link.

Let’s start this with a little recap: Rock Band 2 will launch first for the Xbox 360 on September 14, with a one month exclusivity till the other systems (PS3, PS2, Wii) get their respective versions of the game. Now while the stand alone game itself will not be delayed, according to Gizmodo.com the bundle of all the instruments and the game will be delayed until October 19- the same day it launches on the other systems. This is not the end of the world by any means, but with Guitar Hero 4 expected to come out on October 26, this could be a real problem for Harmonix- makers of Rock Band-  along with anyone looking to buy this and show it off to all their Guitar Hero loving friends before they get their hands on Guitar Hero 4

What you think- are you still gonna wait for the bundle, is this delay in the bundle gonna make you switch to Guitar Hero 4, or are you perfectly happy with your current music games (Rock Band 1, Guitar Hero 3 and Aerosmith) and Madden 09? Let us know in the comments.