When I buy electronics, I like to scan the barcode to price check, do a search for customer and industry reviews of the product, and ask around to see if anyone else has experience with that particular item. Decide.com adds another step to that decision process by determining if you should buy now or wait.

Decide offers all of the functions that I previously mentioned in one app. Users can scan a product barcode in stores and see if there are better prices available nearby or online. But it also provides a quick note about whether you should buy at all today. The app predicts whether prices are likely to fall given a product’s age or sale history, so it might tell you to wait. However, you might be in the midst of sale right now, so the app is just as likely to give the thumbs-up sign and make a purchase now.

Price is not the sole reason to buy a product, and Decide helps make an informed decision. On each product result page, surprisingly informative users reviews are pulled in from BestBuy.com. There’s an average 1 to 5 star rating displayed and technical specs on gadgets to help make a decision. And if you’re frustrated that a new model is announced just after you purchase, there are cautionary warnings that a product refresh with better specs might be on the way.

Once you’ve settled on a product, Decide lists how much it costs at several online retailers (tax and shipping included). Shoppers looking for instant gratification can also get a price comparison of nearby retailers, along with distance or directions from your current location. This is sadly one area that Decide falls well short of ShopSavvy. While ShopSavvy was constantly able to track down local retailers who have products I searched for, Decide returned an “Unavailable” list or showed a bias towards Best Buy and Radio Shack.

The Decide application is a useful utility when shopping for electronics, games, Blu-ray, and various accessories. It doesn’t keep pace with other apps when it comes to price comparison, but as for its overall virtues, the app does a great job of helping consumers choose the right kind of product and the right time to purchase it. Android 2.3.7 or higher is required to use this app. If you don’t have that version, borrow a friend’s phone, download Decide, and choose a phone to purchase that has been updated.

I fear turn-based RPGs may have gone the way of the dodo, but I am finding a little relief in the exploding market of action/RPGs. Exitium is one of the newer of these hybrid games on the market, and I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of detail, polish, and overall mechanics of the first game from Minoraxis, Inc. From the moment you are literally thrown into the beautiful world of Vardonia, you will control four heroes with whom you can take the reigns and steer the future of the Arkan and Abylonian kingdoms.

Before you begin any of the storylines, you are given the choice to play as Kiron, a fierce brute warrior, Jasen, a paladin with a mix of martial and magical powers, Galen, a warrior-wizard, and Alia, a priestess. Each has their own storyline and backstory along with unique sets of attacks, skills, and weapons. Every character is a soldier on one side of the war or another, allowing you to gain a unique perspective on their beliefs on the war and their civilization. The two magicians were more difficult to use because of their spell attacks so if you want more of a challenge start with either of them.

Exitium’s gameplay is very reminiscent of Destina. You travel through multiple environments to fulfill quest requirements all the while fighting monsters and leveling up. There are no breaks in battle as monsters constantly reappear, though you can change equipment, use items, and save anytime you’re in a hostile setting. Fighting and using spells are easier than in Destinia, mainly because you have less spells to use, but you aren’t constantly switching menus to find the right spell. All the controls are at your thumb-tip making it easy to cast a spell or use a potion.

The story is a little linear for an RPG game. I don’t mean there aren’t plot twists or turns, there are, but there’s not really any exceptional dialogue or intrigue for the characters. The whole story is told to you without actual happening to you (it’s the show vs tell argument). While, thankfully, it is easy to find quests and your next objective, you can almost foresee what you will be told to do and what will happen. Obviously with four characters there are four different interesting paths and stories to choose from, but the basic quests and missions are a bit too predictable.

As I mentioned, gameplay is fantastic, and I think the simpler, but just as rich, inventory/forging/skills is the best approach. There are thousands of weapon and armor choices to find or create or upgrade at your whim so you don’t ever have to be stuck with the same equipment. Menus are easy to navigate, and Exitium allows you to simply and quickly drag and drop items. While forging and upgrading equipment was easy, selling was time-consuming as you have to input what price you want to sell the equipment for.

Despite a few hiccups like continuing running in a direction after I stopped pressing or some lag when facing many enemies (albeit on my fading Xperia Play), the amount of polish and detail in this game are astounding. The world is completely filled with subtle background objects like bones or cracks that would normally go unnoticed. Vardonia is a visually rich world, and the character details are magnificent. The art quality is worth the price of admission alone.

For a 20+ hour campaign along with hundreds of quests for multiple characters, Exitium is one of the best “bang for your buck” games. Vibrant environments, multiple story arcs, and a plethora of quests and weapons mean there are few games that can match the quality and scope which Exitium displays. In a market craving RPG-type games, Exitium is a gem that can truly stand out and say mobile RPG games are the best and strongest of all the nostalgic forces in gaming.

*Unfortunately, the developers just informed me that Google has blocked this game for unknown reasons. Check back soon for more information.

Do you have an Android device that sometimes seems to belong to your young children instead of you? If this sounds like you, then I’m sure you’ve:

• heard “Dad!” or “Mom!” yelled out as they pressed the wrong button and went out of the game or video clip or drawing they were working on
• madly cancelled out as they were about to make an unauthorized purchase from an ad
• or before they delete an important e-mail
• or call your boss at home on a Friday night
• worried about what they might access from the browser or Market
• or maybe you’re not comfortable handing it over for all of these reasons?

Well fret no more; Famigo Sandbox is here to the rescue. It’s exactly what you’re looking for!

This free app sets up a sandbox for you and your kids where you have complete control over which apps can be used. Think of it as a launcher within your launcher, a safe walled city where your kids can play.

Start the app in Play mode, and your child can only choose from a start screen of apps that you pre-select. What happens if they do tap an ad or other button that would normally take them out of a game? It depends on which option you select (reachable in Settings -> Select Block Mode):

• Show Popup (Block Screen):  where the Popup comes up and they need to press back to resume their app at the same place, or Home to return to the sandbox. This seems preferable in most situations
• Return to Sandbox Immediately: the default, which takes them out of the app, stops them from going elsewhere, but then they can click the icon to restart their app from the beginning or go back to the sandbox.

To get out of the sandbox, you need to tap menu and then a new unlock sequence. This takes you to Manage mode where you can make changes to the apps included.

You have additional options to take further control including:

• Grid View vs Gallery View
• Block In-App Purchases
• Block Social Gaming
• Block Incoming Phone Calls: great for those of us with home businesses and calls coming at any time
• Prevent Sleep: which has the added benefit of minimizing the number of times your kids hand the phone back to you and ask you to unlock it.

The app does a good job on setup of choosing an initial list of apps that you might want your kids to have access to, but I’ve found that I do want to make a few additions. I have yet to remove one of its choices. It works great on both my phone and my tablet, but it did take longer to choose my initial list of apps in the tablet version – to the point where I almost thought it was frozen.

If your kids are Android fans like you, then this is a must have app. You’ll have it ready on a home screen to press before you hand over your device every time.

What’s the worst thing your child has done with your Android device? Would Famigo Sandbox have saved you? Let us know in the comments!

OrangePixel has an awesome collection of games for Android, and their latest, Stardash, is a true gem if you’re addicted to platforming games. In the vein of Super Mario and Mega Man, Stardash is level upon level of jumps, dashes, and difficulty. Platforming is great, but Stardash turns it up a notch from the cutesy Mario titles so if you’re faint of heart, turn away now.

Stardash has four chapters with ten levels apiece. Don’t worry though, they won’t go quick, and they won’t go painless. The levels are only unlocked upon completion of the previous level so while they aren’t all progressively harder, you get the easier stuff out of the way in the very first level. With added monsters and more complex puzzles, the latter levels seem hard, but if you can run and jump perfectly, they’re really the same in principle. (I hope that eases the crushing difficulty before you play the game.)

I have an Xperia Play specifically for these gaming reasons. Stardash is fortunately optimized for the Play, but with simple controls, playing with them on-screen doesn’t cause to much discomfort either. Run left, run right, and jump. Those are your only options for survival. What we forget, however, is the timing aspect. This isn’t a control per se, but it is the essence of Stardash and you need it (or luck).

I didn’t notice any bugs or any lag despite the speed and nature of the game. That being said, I did have a few dislikes. I understand the “original Gameboy gameplay” aspect, but I would have liked some color or maybe even a negative-type scheme, not just gray. I also felt like the monsters’ area that caused the character to die was bigger than their actual appearance. In places where I felt safe a centimeter away from a monster, I found myself dying a few times. Maybe this was just me. Be careful anyway.

OrangePixel produces games that us 90s kids love. They hark back to a more difficult era with extremely tight gameplay. They are one of my favorite game developers, and Stardash is another notch in their belt. There is no shame in copying Mario or Mega Man, especially if it’s creative and well-done like Stardash.

On August 1st, I had the extreme honor of previewing the beta of Squarespace’s Android app. As a multi-year Squarespace user, I was extremely happy to have access to the service in a native app on my smartphone. It provides me with access to my blog, its comments, and its stats while on the go. While it was released after its iOS brothers, the Android app felt very polished and functionally when I used it.

Now, almost exactly one month later, I am happy to announce that the team at Squarespace has released this app into the wild. It is complexity free, and gives you all the features you would expect from a blogging app. Like I said, you can manage and create posts, manage comments, and even preview your site. All this is possible in a mobile environment.

In my time with the beta versions of this app, I found no real limitations. I was able to write and publish personal blog posts, which was cumbersome on my 4-inch touchscreen. I could also manage my comments, including both deletion and approvals. My favorite feature, however, was having access to the stats package on the go.

If you are a Squarespace user and you have an Android device, then you must get this app. It will change the way you manage your blog. I can’t recommend that you get it enough. If Squarespace’s service and updates to their web offerings is any indication, this app will be updated and maintained like no other in the market today.

Okay, I’ll admit it. I am a social media junkie. Unlike most normal people, I don’t find one or two networks and use them exclusively. Instead, I join almost every network I hear about, and then try my best to use them all. Often, I fail at that balancing act. However, if a network has a great Android app (like Google+), I use it much more often. That’s why when a social app is updated on Android, I know about it.

This is one of those times. GetGlue, the social network that lets you check-in to TV shows, movies, books, and other media, has updated their Android app, and it looks and runs great. It comes packing a nice new UI update, which brings it up to par with the iOS application. It also seems to run a good bit faster on my device, although speed improvements aren’t mentioned in the change log.

Speaking of the change log, here is the whole thing:

• Fresh UI around entire product
• New Quick Rate to build up your profile
• Sports Check-ins
• Quickly jump between sections of the app using your device’s menu button and search from anywhere using your device’s search button (THANK YOU!)
• Significantly reduced download size
• Now runs on more devices, including tablets supports landscape mode
• Foursquare support and push notifications coming soon!

In case you didn’t notice, I am happy about a couple of these changes. Particularly, I am so happy they have decided to make use of the search and menu buttons inside the app. My goodness is that update overview. They also got me excited for the fabled integration of Foursquare, so that i can check in to my movie and the theater at the same time.

What do you think of GetGlue’s new features and look? Do you use the service? Let us know how you feel by leaving a comment.