Sony Ericsson phones have historically included complete themes that mask the entirety of Android, but In recent devices the theming has been toned down a little. The look of user experience is still completely recognisable and different to all other Android phones, and somewhat industrial in appearance. The clean lines and subtle graphics do, however, offer a pleasing style that fits the hardware they work within. This results in a consistent feel that works through every part of the system and is without doubt one of the more carefully considered Android skins currently in use. Media is seen as important to Sony Ericsson and is demonstrated by the inclusion of multiple media-related widgets and a completely new interface for viewing photos and playing music and video. The music player is simple and easy to use. as they always should be, and presents tracks and albums as efficiently as possible. On top of this, there is a button available that lets you search online for related information about the artist you are playing and this is particularly useful if you are considering more purchases for the artist in question. An associated music widget lets you play and control mu sic tracks directly from the home screen, which is a useful extra touch. The Timescape social aggregator is designed to let you simplify your social networking no matter how manly services you use. It is a time—saver in that it lets you read Facebook messages, tweets and text messages in the one place, but bizarrely then takes you to the web interface for each service when you select a message. This is an omission in a solution that is designed to provide consistency above all else, but besides this, Sony Ericsson has offered many genuinely useful features to stock Android. Most of the noticeable changes are to the home screens and the folder creation feature sits perfectly alongside the Heating dock to create a mobile space that feels more efficient than many others. The visuals are a marmite solution — so me will love them and others will hate them, but with some genuinely useful tools Sony Ericsson has managed to create a setup that is capable of pleasing the power user and the casual Android buyer in equal measure. One of the best Android skins built to date.

With Sense, HTC has chosen to customize every single aspect of the Android interface and also many of the features that sit below the home screens. All of the main apps such as calendar and messaging have received the Sense treatment and this filters through the entire interface. Android is hidden almost completely by HTC Sense and many users who do not understand smartphones in great detail will believe that Android looks exactly like this. Most of the changes are purely aesthetic and have little bearing on the way the system works, except to make it look clean and consistent, but on lowend devices HTC Sense can hinder performance somewhat. It is, in most people‘s opinions. an improvement on stock Android and will suit the needs of many people, but it does require precious resources in terms of fixed memory and the power needed to run every day. The extra apps have been carefully selected by HTC and are all worthy of inclusion. Care has been taken to not duplicate functionality where possible and this means that HTC phones still feel quite easy to understand and to navigate from the very first use. Footprints is a highlight and lets you store locations that you have visited in the past with images and descriptions. The widgets are closely aligned to the apps they sit in front of and also designed to present a consistent look over each home screen that the user sets up. HTC Hub is designed to let you download free apps from HTC and to check out the latest information from a variety of sources. and HTC Watch lets you choose from hundreds of mobile movies to keep you entertained. HTC has taken opposite positions with Sense. On the one hand, the entire interface has been oyerhauled to suit the HTC style, but only carefully considered apps have been installed by default. As we said earlier, this makes it a great solution for the majority of users and only a few will want to remove Sense and install their own version of Android. The positives easily outweigh the negatives and HTC has managed to make Android its own and brought a lot of extra functionality to the smartphone experience. It is a reliable and quick overlay that makes the experience feel more professional than Android does on its own.

Use the new Broadway 2T to redirect TV to your personal Android device

Hauppauge Digital has just announced that the Broadway 2T will now allow Android users to redirect Wand personal video to their phones and tablets, although you will need Android 2.2 or higher to use it. So that means you can send live TV or a video signal Feed using MPEG-4 H.264 hardware compression, u sing the device’s integrated 8Cl2.`l1l1 Wi-Fi facility. The device also allows you to control your content by scheduling recordings and playing pre-recorded content. But that’s not all, Broadway contains two DVB-T receivers so you can watch Iive TV on any one mobile device plus a computer at the same time. You don’t need to mess about with extra software, either.Just op en any Internet browser with Flash support, enter the Internet address of Broadway and you’re away. And Broadway doesn’t just work in and around the home, you can be anywhere in the world to utilise it, making it a great device to take with you trips away. You can buy the Broadway 2T for $199.

You can watch live W on any one mobile device plus a computer at the same time

10. TNA Wrestling
Price: UK: E2.55 US: $3.99
Impact Wrestling is the most sophisticated and realistic wrestling simulation. There’s a good selection of wrestlers from the TNA roster, as well as various game modes to power slam through.

9. Driver
Price; UK: 21.99 US: $2.99
A slightly more cartoony version of the classic franchise set in San Francisco. The racing elements are spot on, and the gameplay will keep you coming back to your Android for more and more.

8. 9mm
Price: UK: 24.99 US: $6.99
Those who have played Far Cry will feel right at home with 9mm. A combination of simple controls and great story development make it a hit that has gone unnoticed by a lot of people.

7. Tintin
Price: UK: E4.99 US: $6.99
Tintin may not necessarily be everyone’s cup of tea, but on the smaller screen, he delivers one of the most solid platforming gaming experiences available for download from the Google Play Store.

6. Sonic 4
Price: UK: 23.02 US: $3.99
Sonic has seen many sequels and remakes over the years, and Sonic 4: Episode 1 is the first to make its way to Google Play. The gameplay is similar to that of 20 years ago, but with remarkably better graphics.

5. Asphalt 6
Price: UK: E0.69 US: $0.99
Similar to the famous Ridge Racer series, Asphalt is a long-standing racer putting you in control of the w0r|d’s fastest cars. Despite the fast gameplay, the game manages to stay well clear from any lag. Definitely one of the most engaging racers.

4. GTA III
Price: UK: 22.99 US: $4.99
GTA III celebrates its ten»year anniversary with this superb port to Android. The game is exactly the same as its console counterpart, but with the inclusion of a series of comprehensive touchscreen controls. Locations are easily recognisable, and despite its size, the game graphically holds up very well.

3. NFL Flick Quaterback
Price: UK: 21.49 US: $1.99
NFL Flick Quarterback puts you in the boots of one of American football’s finest. The gameplay is simple yet still gives a feel of the sport, something not all games achieve. Fans of the Madden series will feel right at home here, despite it being on a smaller screen than its console brothers.

2. N.O.V.A 2
Price: UK: E4.99 US: $6.99
Building off the success of the original N.O.V.A, its sequel is bigger and better. There are 12 chapters to battle through, each of them lengthy and designed to be totally different. The multiplayer aspects of N.O.V.A 2 are what really make it stand out. Ten players can connect online or locally and battle it out in five different game modes. if you lre looking for a shooter, reminiscent of Mass Effect or other similar sci-fi epics, then N.O.V.A is definitely for you.

1. Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation
Price: UK: 24.99 US: $6.99
There is a plethora of shooters on Google Play, but none of them come close to a console style game as Modem Combat 3: Fallen Nation does. The third in the Modern Combat series does take up a lot of internal storage on your device — 1.37GB to be exact- but in return you get one of the best games for Android. The game utilizes the same techniques as similar franchises Call Of Duty and Battlefield. It takes places over 13 levels and requires a certain amount of skill to complete. Modern Combat 3 is the most realistic game we’ve played. It boasts fantastic graphics, immersive gameplay and brilliant multiplayer options.

What is lt? Intel, the company that dominates desktop and laptop computer processors has developed a new one for mobile. It’s called the Atom Z2460, and is part of the family know as Medtield.
What ore the benefits of this new processor? At the moment it’s pretty much impossible to say, given that there are no phones available right now running on it. But having a giant entering the business will undoubtedly increase competition in the field, which is always a good thing. Of course, no company ever launches a new product saying that it is worse than what already exists on the market, so we can expect some big claims from this processor in the future. When will I be able to try it out? The first phone has been announced. It is the Orange Santa Clara (although its name is likely to change by the time it goes on sale). Orange and Intel are already making grand claims about the power efficiency of the Santa Clara, whose battery will apparently deliver up to 14 days on standby. The other specs are pretty good for what will be an ‘affordable’ device, with a 4-inch display, 16GB of storage and an eight megapixel camera that can shoot ten pictures per second. Orange’? That’s hardly a big name! Indeed. It may take a while for the industry’s biggest names to be lured away from the likes of Qualcomm and NVidia, who make most smartphone processors, but at least this ensures the first Medfield phone will be available in an ‘afordable’ handset, and if it delivers the kind of power and performance that we’d hope to see, it may prove a popular choice.