Friday Fun: Droids Landing, iPhone Aliens, and the Continuing Saga of Smartphone Addiction

They're at it again at DroidLanding on Twitter, posting cryptic comments and links to bizarre videos, all leading to clues and a new smartphone giveaway. This time the scavenger hunt is for the Samsung Droid Charge, a forthcoming 4G LTE device. I've wasted a lot of time on these games for previous smartphones. I might give this one a miss. Or I might not. Follow @DroidLanding and the #chargelanding hashtag on Twitter if you're interested, and see the teaser video below.

And in case you think I'm just all about the Androids, no, I appreciate iPhone aliens, too. So here's a new game for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad (running iOS 3.2 or higher) called Alien Autopsy. Similar to the old favorite Operation game from Milton Bradley, this version lets you dismember an alien body, just as if you were in Roswell, New Mexico, back in 1947. The company press release promises "amusing sound-effects," including "an other-worldly scream" should you fail and wake the alien during organ removal. Should be a classic. From True North Productions, Alien Autopsy is now available from the iTunes AppStore.

Meanwhile, my own smartphone addiction continues, although perhaps having reached a sort of plateau. I'm looking forward to a weeked of killing green pigs in white bunny ears in the latest Angry Birds Seasons update—all while enjoying a traditional Easter film-fest of bunny movies such as Harvey and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? And here you'll find some Twitter observations on smartphone addiction by me and others:

True or false: If I don't obsessively carry my smartphone everywhere, all the time, am I still a #SmartphoneAddict ?

@jessicareyes #nowplaying por amarte asi...se la dedico a mi telefono que deje en casa #smartphoneaddict @jose981fm
      The Microsoft Bing Translator tells me this means "#nowplaying by Amarte asi... is dedicate to my phone to leave at home # smartphoneaddict @ jose981fm." I'm not sure if that means she's dedicated to leaving her phone at home (trying to stop being a smartphone addict), or if she's dedicated to her phone and so can't leave home. Good job, online translator.

@Kelly_Kyky: Je suis sur #twitter depuis mon ordi! ça me fait tout bizarre :S #SmartphoneAddict Shared via Tweetcaster
      This one translates as "@ Kelly_Kyky: I'm on # twitter since my computer! It makes me all strange: S # SmartphoneAddict." Once again, not entirely sure what it means (I mean, sure, computers sometimes make me strange, but it doesn't make me want to go on Twitter), but what I like is how often I'm finding fellow smartphone addicts in foreign languages.

This is a couple days old, but well worth a look if you missed it: a true #SmartphoneAddict http://youtu.be/bVOiLC4A_ls @androidashley
      Tech blogger Ashley Esqueda (@AndroidAshley) expresses her "nerd rage" about a comment from Frank Meehan, CEO of INQ, who said that pretty girls use iPhones and Androids are too complicated and geeky—clearly, a horrible and sexist thing to say, and AndroidAshley lets him know it in no uncertain terms!

I've made a huge mistake: Downloaded Angry Birds Rio from Amazon AppStore on a day I already have too much to do. #SmartphoneAddict

When traveling in an unfamiliar city, Droid Navigation Rocks! #SmartphoneAddict
      And the reason is you can find whichever kind of fast food you need. Mmm, fast food . . .

Wore my Droid battery all the way out yesterday playing Angry Birds. And 3 times the day b4. Rio has been mastered. #SmartphoneAddict
      Well, mastered until the next update, anyway. Expected in May.

@bkwins aren't they FUN? I completely drained my battery at the dodger game tweeting pics of SF idiots. #SmartphoneAddict
      Smartphone addiction and a Dodgers/Giants rivalry—ah, life is good!

This news is sure to make WP7 succeed! RT @inafried: Angry Birds for Windows Phone 7 coming May 25 http://t.co/FMRPLvZ #SmartphoneAddict
      Wow, there's a lot of Angry Birds in here. I must have a lot of pent up rage.

@teknicsand: Back from stone age. Got my Nexus One back from the service center. #android #smartphoneaddict

RT @minadanielle: Twitter got a new face lift? Shows how often we tweet from an actual computer #smartphoneaddict
      I'm right there with you, minadanielle—I might be on Twitter frequently throughout the day, but it's almost always going to be through TweetCaster on my Droid.

Well, I'll leave you with another of my current favorite addictions, a little Flight of the Conchords. And I'll dedicate this one to AndroidAshley and all the great women working in IT. Have fun!

Follow B. K. Winstead on Twitter at @bkwins
Follow Windows IT Pro on Twitter at @windowsitpro

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