[TOP RECORD] Pokémon Go - Biggest Mobile Game In US history

Pokémon Go has become the biggest mobile game in US history after just one week. According to a SurveyMonkey analysis, the blockbuster game has surpassed Clash Royale and Candy Crush for daily active users and is on track to overtake even bigger apps – including Google Maps.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Pokémon Go was more popular in the US than Tinder and about to outpace Twitter for the size of its active user base. Now developer Niantic"s new title is speeding towards behemoths Google Maps and Snapchat, which have daily active user bases of around 15 million on US Android devices. SurveyMonkey"s graphs below point toward a remarkable surge in popularity and, in its analysis, the company wrote that Pokémon Go"s user base had swelled to 21 million daily users as of Tuesday.

[caption id="attachment_902" align="alignnone" width="782"] The latest data shows an incredible upsurge for Pokémon Go.[/caption]

With the release of Pokémon Go adding millions to Nintendo"s share price, and expectations that it will become one of the most popular apps in the US, the question remains – will it last? "History hasn’t always been kind to games that generate tremendous hype," SurveyMonkey"s Robbie Allan wrote. Nintendo"s recent mobile game Miitomo found "early success that was ultimately unsustainable," he added.

[caption id="attachment_903" align="alignnone" width="782"] The game in action[/caption]

Early signs show that Pokémon Go could continue growing, with a full global release still in progress. Initial releases in the US, Australia and New Zealand were followed in Germany this week. The UK is now the next major market with an official release, with the news announced on Twitter:

UK Trainers, the wait is over. #PokemonGO is now officially available to be installed from Google Play or iTunes.

— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) July 14, 2016

But Pokémon Go has not yet been released in Japan, the home of the Pokémon franchise and one of the biggest gaming markets worldwide. Once a full rollout is complete, it would come as no surprise if Pokémon Go had reached the top of the charts for both Android and iOS.

At the very least, we"ve got what is likely to be the biggest game of 2016. Whether Pokémon Go, and developer Niantic, can maintain this momentum beyond the initial hype, we"ll have to wait and see.

Have you tried Pokémon Go yet? Are you part of the craze, or do you prefer a more traditional gaming experience? Let us know in the comments.

Pokémon Go Is Finally OUT- Here"s A Brief History

More than just a way to discover dead bodies and irritate law enforcement, Pokémon Go is  an augmented reality multiplayer smartphone game that has quickly amassed a huge amount of interest. But where does it all come from? Indeed, what even is a Pokémon? Here’s a brief history of a phenomenon 20 years in the making.

A bug collector"s fantasy

Pokémon is a Japanese creation. The man responsible for it, Satoshi Tajiri, was inspired by a childhood fascination with collecting bugs. The main games in the series are developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo. Pokémon"s golden years shone through the late nineties and early 2000s, starting with Pokémon Red and Blue, which were released for the Game Boy in the US in 1998.

[caption id="attachment_894" align="alignnone" width="782"] Each version of the first Pokémon games, Red and Blue, offered some unique Pokémon.[/caption]

What is Pokémon?

The duo of games were essentially role-playing games (RPGs) that saw players control a character who wondered a coastal landscape, dotted with towns, forest and mountains. The land, called Kanto, was inhabited by a cast of strange and wonderful creatures, Pokémon, which the player was tasked with capturing in Pokéballs in order to catalog, train and fight them. The morality of keeping wild creatures in quantum states within tiny red and white balls and training them for exhausting and violent physical combat is widely ignored throughout the Pokémon universe.

The first Pokémon games featured 151 Pokémon scattered about Kanto, and the catchphrase “gotta catch ‘em all” urged players on to complete their Pokédex, an encyclopedia of all the Pokémon in existence. The task of catching ‘em all was made increasingly difficult through successive entries in the franchise, with over 720 Pokémon appearing in the sixth generation of the games.

While Nintendo feared that the concept might not appeal to the Western market, it was a huge success, most notably spawning a trading card game and TV anime series, which popularized Ash and Pikachu as the faces of the franchise. The term Pokémania was coined to put a name to the web of merchandise, movies and monster toys that sprang up, swallowing millions of dollars and launching Pokémon into the stratosphere.

"The morality of keeping wild creatures in quantum states within tiny red and white balls and training them for exhausting and violent physical combat is widely ignored throughout the Pokémon universe"

Demand for new Pokémon games has barely dwindled. The latest in the series, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, released in 2014, proved the most successful UK launch of any of the titles.

Pokémon Go

The concept for Pokémon Go began life as an April Fool"s prank in 2014. Niantic, owned by Google at the time, and Nintendo teamed up to create a YouTube video that announced the Pokémon Challenge, a Google Maps-based search for Pokémon that would reward the most diligent hunters with the title of Pokémon Master.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YMD6xELI_k

This short-lived escapade formed long-lasting ties between Niantic and Nintendo. The idea of developing an augmented reality Pokémon game took a step towards reality, and, in 2015, The Pokémon Company announced that Niantic and Nintendo were working together to produce Pokémon Go.

Pokémon Go represents a colossal next step for the franchise

The game sees users move an avatar across a real-world map using the phone"s GPS. Dotted around the world are PokéStops, which can be used to gather Pokéballs and other in-game items, and gyms, where players can train their Pokémon. When a Pokémon appears on the map, you can press on it. When you do this, the Pokémon appears in augmented reality, superimposed onto the image seen through the phone"s camera, allowing you to throw Pokéballs at it until you capture it.

[caption id="attachment_895" align="alignnone" width="782"] Pokémon Go uses a stylized map of your real-world surroundings[/caption]

Pokémon Go launched in the US earlier this month and made a rapid ascent. News stories across the web hailed its meteoric rise above Tinder, heading for Twitter. Tales of robberies, dead bodies and serendipitous friendships also proliferated, all adding to the publicity, allure and concern over the game.

Niantic"s servers were overloaded by the amount of people playing the game, leading to a delayed international launch, with users in Asia and Europe still waiting for a chance to play the game through official channels.

[caption id="attachment_896" align="alignnone" width="782"] Pokémon Go involves a lot of walking around staring at your phone.[/caption]

At the moment, the game is the focus of global attention and a potential milestone in mobile gaming, augmented reality and the applications of smartphones. Whether it can sustain and build upon this platform is yet to be seen, but Pokémon, from the humble beginnings of a child gathering insects from the streams and forest of rural Japan, has cut a unique and lucrative path, with Pokémon Go representing a colossal next step for the franchise.

What are your thoughts on Pokémon Go? Are you excited, scared and indifferent?

[Review] Sony Xperia XA - Mediocre Performances OR NOT?

The Sony Xperia XA can be found as a low-cost entry in Sony"s new lineup. Apart from the nice cameras and good design, it offers somewhat a mediocre serving. But you may still be interested in Sony Xperia XA, and here"s why...

Pros:

• Surprisingly good cameras


• Nice design

Cons:

• Not enough free storage


• Slow


• Poor battery life for a Sony device

Sony Xperia XA release date and price

The Sony Xperia XA is currently available for pre-order with a shipping date of July 17. The price is set at $279.99, although Amazon is currently offering it at a reduced price of $267.97. It"s available in white, graphite black, lime gold and rose gold. Alternatives for this price are the 5.5-inch Moto G4 Plus, which houses more power, or the Honor 7, which has better battery life.

Sony Xperia XA design and build quality

The Sony Xperia XA looks and feels very good, despite lacking the metal unibody of the Xperia X – it instead has a plastic enclosure. Unfortunately, Sony has omitted the splash protection that the Xperia XA’s predecessors, the Xperia M4 Aqua and Xperia M5, featured.

[caption id="attachment_873" align="alignnone" width="782"] The virtually borderless display transitions smoothly into the plastic frame.[/caption]



The Sony Xperia XA is beguiling to the touch. It feels pleasantly matt and smooth and has an edgeless and gapless design. The volume rocker sits slightly higher than on many other Xperia models, making it easier to reach.

[caption id="attachment_874" align="alignnone" width="782"] The Nano-SIM and MicroSD cards can be swapped in and out without extra tools.[/caption]

A discrete flap on the side of the phone can be removed with your fingernail, granting you access to the Nano-SIM or microSD card slot without the need for a special tool. However, the flap is not sealed against liquids and dust.

[caption id="attachment_875" align="alignnone" width="782"] Note the rounded transition between the frame and the glass display[/caption]

The Sony Xperia XA weighs 137 grams and is 7.9-millimeters thick. The most visible design differences to the Xperia X and X Performance models is the XA’s lack of fingerprint scanner and, as mentioned previously, its choice of casing material.

[caption id="attachment_876" align="alignnone" width="782"] The plastic case makes, at the very least, a good first impression.[/caption]

It’s impossible to say how well the plastic casing copes in the long term, as we only tested the device for a week.

Sony does offer a selection of protective cases for the Xperia XA. Firstly, there is the flip cover, which comes in the four possible body colors. When you flip the cover open, the display is automatically activated; close it and the display switches off.

[caption id="attachment_877" align="alignnone" width="782"] A fingerprint scanner is not something you will find on a Sony device under $300[/caption]

Next up is the StyleCover SBC26, which is also available in the four housing colors. It is placed over the rear panel and device edges, protruding slightly above the edge of the display. Then there is the Smart Style Cover SBC24, which is thin, transparent and practically invisible.

The metal edges on the left and right side of the Xperia XA are cool to the touch.

Sony Xperia XA display

The display of Xperia XA is faint and humble. Even at maximum brightness, it is not easy to read on bright days. And small fonts show a visible seam about the edges of the characters.

[caption id="attachment_878" align="alignnone" width="782"] Compared to the Xperia X (top) the display of the Xperia XA is weak.[/caption]

The display of the Sony Xperia XA is 5 inches and features HD resolution (1,280 x 720) making for 293 pixels per inch. Other reviews confirm that the display has a brightness of 502 cd / m² and a contrast ratio of 1564:1.

Sony uses its in-house Triluminous technology on an IPS display. In the display settings, you will find two color profile presets from Sony: the Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 and the Super Vivid mode increase the saturation of images and videos that you look at in Sony"s Gallery app. Outside of the app, the profiles have no discernable effect.

Sony Xperia XA software

The software of the Sony Xperia XA comes with a lot of preinstalled apps. Since you’re unlikely to use many of them, none of them can be uninstalled, and they occupy a lot of space on the scarce internal memory, they are a very annoying inconvenience.

[caption id="attachment_879" align="alignnone" width="782"] The Xperia XA leaves the factory running Android 6.0 Marshmallow.[/caption]

Sony gives the XA Android 6.0 Marshmallow. We tested the device in July, but it was still only covered by the April security patch. Thus, Sony is less reliable than Google, Samsung or HTC when it comes to security. Those three manufacturers provide software updates earlier and address known vulnerabilities in a more timely manner.

[caption id="attachment_880" align="alignnone" width="782"] Stamina mode is rendered largely unnecessary after the implementation of Marshmallow"s Doze feature[/caption]

Besides Sony’s own apps, there are also a range of third-party apps that come preinstalled. Our review device came with Amazon, AVG Protection, Facebook, Kobo eBooks, Sky Go, Spotify and SwiftKey. Thus, the internal memory left at your disposal is less than 5 of the original 16 GB.

Sony Xperia XA performance

Aside from the camera, everything is a little slow paced on the Xperia XA. Games have mediocre graphics, apps start with noticeable load times and multitasking is no fun. If you only change between the camera app, Facebook and WhatsApp, the XA performs decently enough; everything else is a chore.

[caption id="attachment_883" align="alignnone" width="782"] What use are eight cores if none of them are fast?[/caption]

Inside the Xperia XA, there’s the MediaTek Helio P10 processor, which has eight cores clocked at 2 GHz. However, the ARM Cortex-A53 CPU cores belong squarely to the mid-range. The chip’s GPU is the Mali-T860, which only has two 700 MHz cores, providing weak performance. The mobile internet, at least, is fast enough: the LTE is Cat. 6, offering speeds up to 150 Mbit/s.

If you need more power, perhaps to play games, we recommend the Honor 5X over the Xperia XA. This is considerably better equipped and even costs a little less.

 

[caption id="attachment_884" align="alignnone" width="782"] You can expand the Xperia XA"s memory using a hack.[/caption]

Since Sony has laden the device with bloatware, the purchase of a MicroSD card is all but essential. If you want to use it to expand the internal memory, you will need a little know-how, however. The Xperia XA runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow, which allows users to format MircoSD cards as internal memory, but Sony has decided to disable this option, so you will need a command line to get it back, making the process just a little more laborious.

Sony Xperia XA audio

The internal speaker on the Xperia XA is weak and tinny. The voice quality when making calls is clear, however. The headset sounds warm and is well-shielded against background noise. The audio options allow for improvements to be made to the sound quality. Sony offers a five-band equalizer with bass boost for further adjustments.

[caption id="attachment_885" align="alignnone" width="782"] FM radio and an equalizer are two of the audio tools at the XA"s disposal[/caption]

Sony Xperia XA camera

The Xperia XA’s cameras are the phone’s main selling point. The main camera delivers detailed, high-contrast pictures with bright colors. Only when looking closely can small artifacts be seen around the edges of objects. Even in low light it provides decent results. The Selfie camera is also above average.

Sony has paid special attention to the camera equipment on the Xperia XA. The rear camera is 13 MP with an f / 2.0 aperture and a simple LED flash. The front-facing camera is 8 MP and also has an f / 2.0 aperture, plus an 88-degree wide-angle lens. The selfie camera has no flash, but it does have an HDR mode, which yields good results in backlit conditions.

The hybrid autofocus on the Xperia XA with its phase and contrast measurement ensures practically instantaneous, blur-free shots. This, together with the dedicated camera button, makes the Xperia XA a solid replacement for a digital camera.

[caption id="attachment_886" align="alignnone" width="782"] Sony"s camera app offers a limited manual mode.[/caption]

The camera app features a manual mode, although it is not nearly as extensive as some, for example, on the HTC One A9 or Huawei P9. It is therefore advisable to shoot all your photos using the Superior Auto setting. The focusing is fast and provides mostly sharp results.

Sony Xperia XA battery

The battery life of the Xperia XA is mediocre in comparison to its competitors. Particularly when using the camera app, the battery drains quite quickly. This is a shame: after all, the camera is supposed to be the Xperia XA’s main selling point. The PC Mark Battery Benchmark returns an operating time of 6:46 hours. When idle, the XA can last up to two days, but in everyday life you will need to charge it daily.

The 2,300-mAh battery cannot be replaced, but you can fully charge it with the supplied charger within half an hour.

Sony Xperia XA technical specifications

• TYPE:


• Phone


• MODEL:


• Sorry, not yet available!


• MANUFACTURER:


• Sony


• DIMENSIONS:


• 143.6 x 66.8 x 7.9 mm


• WEIGHT:


• 138 g


• BATTERY SIZE:


• 2300 mAh


• SCREEN SIZE:


• 5 in


• DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY:


• LCD


• SCREEN:


• 1280 x 720 pixels (294 ppi)


• FRONT CAMERA:


• 8 megapixels


• REAR CAMERA:


• 13 megapixels


• FLASHLIGHT:


• LED


• ANDROID VERSION:


• 6.0 - Marshmallow


• USER INTERFACE:


• Xperia UI


• RAM:


• 2 GB


• INTERNAL STORAGE:


• 16 GB


• REMOVABLE STORAGE:


• microSD


• CHIPSET:


• MediaTek MT


• NUMBER OF CORES:


• 8


• MAX. CLOCK SPEED:


• Sorry, not yet available!


• CONNECTIVITY:


• HSPA, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 4.1

Final words

Sony has boiled the Xperia XA down to two key features of the lower upper class: camera and design. However, looking to the left and right in this price range reveals some better alternatives. These might not take better pictures or look so chic, but they either last longer, work considerably faster or have better software.



If you are a fan of Sony, there are even better products from the brand in the same price range. The significantly faster and also waterproof Xperia Z3 Compact is available now for as little as $240.