Hearthstone’s Blackrock Mountain expansion announced, game’s user interface for phones also previewed

The folks at Blizzard held their panel at Pax East this morning, and they had a few cool announcements to make. One of the announcements pertained to none other than Hearthstone, the addictive collectible card game based on the World of Warcraft universe that launched on Android tablets late last year.

The latest content for the game is another adventure not unlike Curse of Naxxramas. It’s dubbed Blackrock Mountain, and it follows the theme of a never-ending battle in the depths of a molten core between two fiery entities — Ragnaros the Firelord, and the dragon Nefarious — to determine who will maintain control of the mountain once and for all.

The expansion adds 31 new cards to be earned through a total of 5 wings (released weekly) and 17 bosses. It’ll cost 700 gold or .99 per wing, or you can opt to pre-order the entire bundle of wings for .99 (which you’ll be able to do starting March 19th). Unfortunately the first wing doesn’t seem to be free so you’ll have to spend something in order to go along for the ride.

Blizzard has already previewed five of the new cards ahead of the update’s April landing date:

Beyond that, they’ve given us an early look at the three card backs they’ll be offering to commemorate the launch. On the far left you’ll see the standard card back for reaching rank 20 in the March season of play, the middle cardback is earned by defeating the Heroic (overpowered) versions of each Blackrock boss, and the far right cardback is earned by pre-ordering the game.

There was one other bit of news Blizzard had to share before they peaced out: the phone version is still in the works, and it’s coming along quite well. While it’s been possible to get Hearthstone loaded up onto an Android phone through the use of tricks, it doesn’t do anything to make a user interface that’s suitable for phones.

Thankfully Blizzard has come up with a way to squeeze everything you need into these small-sized devices so you can get the same Hearthstone experience without needing to tote a hefty tablet everywhere. They’ve also confirmed that phone users will be able to play PC and tablet users in cross-platform and cross-device fashion (which also means your decks, cards, gold and dust are all the same no matter which device you decide to play on).

That’s all we know about the phone version right now. Blizzard said it’s still in alpha stages, but they’re working incredibly hard to get it ready for release. As for Blackrock Mountain, look forward to that at some point in April.

[via Hearthstone Blog]

AT&T’s Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is also getting Android 5.0 Lollipop today

After Samsung Galaxy Note 4 owners on AT&T were treated to Android 5.0.1 Lollipop earlier today, it appears Galaxy Note 3 owners are also joining in on the fun. We’ve received reports of the Galaxy Note 3 also receiving Lollipop under build number LRX21V.N900AUCUEOC1. Just like on the Galaxy Note 4, the update weighs in at around 1GB, so it’s pretty hefty. Makes sense too given this is one of the biggest firmware updates to happen to Android in quite some time.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Android 5.0 Software Update Includes:

• Songs, photos, apps, and even recent searches from one Android device can be immediately enjoyed across all of your Android devices.


• New User Interface look and feel, more fluid motions


• Priority mode to only allow certain notifications to get through


• Battery saving features and remaining time left to charge or deplete indicators


• Smart Lock to secure phone or tablet by pairing it with a trusted device like a wearable or car


• Most frequently used settings available with just two swipes down from the top screen

Since the update just started rolling out in phases, it may take a little bit longer before it reaches your device. If you don’t feel like waiting for the update to ping you, you can jump into your Settings app and select the General tab, then scroll down to About device > Software updates > > and Check for updates to pull it manually (once it becomes available, of course).

[AT&T]

Thanks, ZP15!

You can also send notes, reminders, and alarms to your phone from Google on the web

Last week we told you about how you can send Google Maps directions to your phone from Google Search. Just type “send directions” into Google and a new card will allow you to choose a destination and then send it to your device. This functionality is similar to an old app called Chrome to Phone. It’s a great idea, and it looks like Google is adding even more features.

In addition to sending directions you can also send notes, set alarms, and add reminders. All of these commands work the same way as the directions. Simply type “note to self, set and alarm,” and “set a reminder.” A card will show up with the appropriate text boxes and options. Fill out the card and click “send to phone.”

In order to have your phone show up as a recipient you need to have a few things. Make sure you have the most recent Google app, Now cards enabled, web & app activity enabled, Google Now notifications turned on, and “high accuracy mode” location reporting.

[via Google]

Android 5.1.1 (LMY47V) officially uploaded to AOSP and here’s the full changelog, Nexus Player factory images also available

While some still anxiously await Android 5.1 to hit their devices, Google is onto bigger and better things. Android 5.1.1 (officially 5.1.1_r1 build number LMY47V) has just been uploaded to AOSP and as the small .1 increase suggests, looks to bring smaller bug fixes. That’s not to downplay the software update which probably maybe hopefully patches up that nasty memory leak plaguing some devices.

While Nexus devices will have to wait a little longer before an official rollout begins, a factory image is currently available for the Nexus Player (Fugul) if you feel like getting a head start. If you’re looking for exact changes, a detailed developer changelog from Android 5.1.0_r5 to 5.1.1_r1 can be found right here.

[AOSP]

Deal: Amazon also has the Nexus 6 for $150 off

Yesterday we were treated to a great deal on the Nexus 6 if you bought it directly from the Google Store. It was a 0 price deduction, which effectively made the device 0 and 0 for the 32GB and 64GB variants, respectively.

That same deal is now up on Amazon’s store front. This is great for those who might want to use Amazon store credit or have the luxury of getting cheap overnight shipping thanks to Amazon Prime. Be sure to head right here for the deal if you aren’t particularly fond of the Google Store.

 

According to Google’s Smart Lock page, the Nexus 6 also runs Window Phone

Smart Lock was one of the more noteworthy new features that debuted in Android 5.0 Lollipop. Adopting an idea we only saw in Motorola devices prior to Lollipop, Smart Lock is simply a convenient way to keep your Android device unlocked when it’s safe, and locked when it’s not. The feature is so important, Google even created a dedicated landing page to talk all about it. What they didn’t notice, however, is one of the featured images created for the page is actually a Nexus 6 running Windows Phone. Oops.

Now, we’re not going to run with some sort of conspiracy theory that Google will introduce a dual-boot option for the Nexus 6 in the near future. This is simply a designer faux pas in which he used the wrong Netflix screen shot when putting together the image. It’s not the first time we’ve seen a slip up, with the world going nuts over a Nexus Tablet once believed to be the Nexus 8 (the image was later tweaked to reflect the Nexus 7 2013).

Nothing too big, just kind of funny that you can find Nexus 6 running Windows Phone on one of Google’s official web pages. Ha.

[Smart Lock | via Reddit]