I really wanted to try programming something using an Android accelerometer, and I recently found some CC0 starter assets for Arkanoid. Coincidence? I don't think so.
So... One of the hardest parts is done. I have some starting assets. I've started the second boring part: designing and creating menus. That seems to be finished, too. Now, the exciting part is finally beginning!
I have already initialised and handled the accelerometer. It's basically just the tilt function for now, but it will be improved later. However, I am really looking forward to programming the physics and mechanics. I would also like to introduce more game features and experiences, and maybe even some minigames. We'll see how long I'll be able to work on it. It looks really interesting, though, so wish me luck!
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To write about something more interesting, I got an Honor X5 in a box from a friend. The interesting thing is that the phone was bought in China, so it comes with Chinese software, which might have some interesting features and functions.
So, I unpacked the phone. Even though its dimensions are quite standard and it's the same width as my everyday phone, it feels too wide when I hold it. I do not know what the cause is, but it feels weird. The body, however, is really well manufactured. The phone has an aluminium frame and back, which makes it relatively heavy.
It has a 5.5-inch screen with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels, which is impressive. The screen is sharp, and I really like it. The Octa-core CPU (4x1.2 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4x1.5 GHz Cortex-A53) is powerful, and my model has 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of ROM. It seems that nearly 10 GB of the ROM is still available for the user, so that should be fine.
The screen looks great and has excellent colour ...
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I took another phone from the mystery box. It's a Chinese Samsung Galaxy clone running Android 4.1.
To be honest, there isn't much to write about. It's just a standard Chinese 'shitphone', which were really common years ago. It's impossible to find any information about it.
However, it is really impressive hardware. It has an unknown ARM processor, 256 MB of RAM and incredibly small storage. This is a common problem with old Android phones, especially Chinese ones. This restricts its use to making calls and sending text messages. I could only fit four small games on it and it is absolutely full!
The only advantages I have found are that it is less laggy than these phones used to be and that it is fully translated, which is more unusual than it sounds. But what good is smoothness when you can't install apps because you don't have the space?
So I've only installed Candy Crush and Slingshot Racing, which is a really nice game that was deleted from Google Play many years ago. You can see them on the following screens:
Also, here is ...
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Yes, I know my English isn't the best either, since it's not my native language. However, the Czech translation that I saw when installing the Bluetooth driver for the notebook that I received is really funny, and I have no idea how it was created.
Directly translated, it says:
"setting is set the drive wheel, be nice wait one important"
That's quite funny. Isn't it?
I thought it was unique, but when I shared the screenshot with a group of vintage PC collectors, I was told it's quite common with Bluetooth drivers. So, nothing special after all. But I still found it funny and a bit scary, as I thought I had downloaded a scam driver containing a virus.
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So, I got the Huawei Y6s (2019) as a gift, and honestly, itβs a pretty cool little phone for what it is! Itβs got this MediaTek Helio P35 chip with 3 GB of RAM, which is totally fine for my use. Its a pitty that i bought new phone couple weeks ago to replace my broken Realme 7.The 6.09-inch HD+ screen looks nice and clear for videos, and at just 150 g, and it is really thin.
The one thing thatβs would stop me using it is the micro USB port. In 2025, it feels like a blast from the past when everything else I own is USB-C, and it is just a hassle to deal with different cables
Nevertheless, if youβre not chasing fancy specs, itβs a solid pick for a budget phone. It would make a great gift for someone like me who collects phones and uses them for gaming.
It's not old enough to be considered a vintage phone, but I'd put it in the archive and take care of the battery. However, it still supports Android, so I can easily fill it with games, as you can see in the ...
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This is the first phone that worked straight out of the box: The Huawei Ideos X3. It's one of my oldest Android phones, running version 2.3.4.
It was also the first phone I got with those stupid softened plastics and all their disadvantages.
So I took a wooden stick and started scraping the mess off, as the phone was incredibly sticky when I touched it. After a while β and after outsourcing the task to my wife β it started to look really nice.
So, after cleaning up, I started thinking about which software to install. I downloaded some game packs for Android 2.2 and 2.3 from the Web Archive, connected the phone in "mass storage" mode, and started copying the smallest installers to the phone. But I encountered a problem immediately. While the phone was showing that there was about 150 MB of free space, the PC was showing just 16 MB. I was unable to use any more than that. So I only installed a couple of the smallest games, one of which surprisingly included a Minecraft copy or an early version of Minecraft. Even more surprisingly, the game runs ...
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Since migrating to my new Moto G05, I have discovered one really annoying issue. When I switch to "just vibrations" mode, no icon appears in the top bar. However, when I switched to 'silent', the indicator icon appeared.
This is quite problematic as I turn to vibrations while I am at work, and without the icon I am completely unable to tell whether I am still on vibrations, even when I am elsewhere and my phone does not ring.
As I usually run Lineage OS, which has this 'feature' fixed, I have not faced this issue even though I am on the current Android version. However, after some research, I discovered that this function has been present since Android 12. It took me a lot of Googling and searching through the settings to get the icon back.
But why is silent mode being signalled and not vibration mode? Who came up with this stupid idea, and what is the purpose?
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As my Realme 7 is on its way out β especially the battery and charging port β I had to find a new phone. I don't need much. All I need is a relatively recent version of Android and a USB-C connector, which is the only thing stopping me from buying an older flagship second hand and flashing it to Lineage OS.
So, I found the Motorola Moto G05. I know many would argue that it's absolutely worthless, but I actually really like it.
I bought it two weeks ago and have just tried it out. Then I put it back in the box and laid it on the table. I really need the screen protector because I'm not very careful with phones. I ordered three of them from AliExpress because the price of one glass here is about the same as the price of seven from China. So I had to wait. And yesterday, they finally arrived. And yes, I had more fun with Czech Post, especially the postman who refused to walk a few more steps to our house because of roadworks. So I had to visit the post office. However, I collected the package ...
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I received another gift. It's a box of mobile phones. Most of them should work; some of them don't. However, they all look interesting. There is also a Galaxy Tab 3 with a dead battery, which I am going to fix and use.
The first item brought in for repair was a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini with a dead battery. I performed some resuscitation procedures, as can be seen in the following picture.
After some hours of resuscitation, the battery was brought back to life. I reassembled the phone and expected a quick solution. However... It was not that easy.
The phone booted up to the S4 Mini logo and then switched off. When I connected the charger, it displayed a weird 'battery loading' signal and got stuck. After some tinkering, I got to the stage where the logo stayed on the screen forever, the phone heated up, and nothing else happened. I tried to boot into the recovery menu, but without success as the display just showed 'no command' and rebooted. However, I am able to access ODIN and I will try to flash it. This phone is proving more ...
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I received a lovely gift yesterday. It's just another NES emulator handheld. But I really like this one.
The first thing to mention is the price. It costs around 6β8 euros and comes in a nice case. I don't think I would be able to buy just the case for that price here.
So, of course, the plastic looks cheap and the buttons are not very nice to press. Sometimes you have to press them harder and more precisely. The A/V output is more amusing than useful.
However, the feature I really like about this device is the ability to connect a second external controller so you can play multiplayer games, which my son really likes.
Also, compared to the handheld I bought a few months ago in Action Supermarket, this one has well-known and fun NES games instead of Chinese rubbish.
One thing I was warned about was charging. I was told that there is no charging circuit to look after the battery; the battery is simply charged by a constant voltage connected from the source. Therefore, it would be better to only charge the device when I can supervise it. I will have ...
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