Google announces new apps for iOS (UPDATE)

Google previewed a few new iOS apps at its developer's conference today, called Google IO, that will be rolling out on the App Store later today.

Google's popular web browser, Google Chrome, has long been a desktop app for Windows and Mac. It recently became available for Android devices, and today is available for iOS, on both iPhone and iPad. The iPad app looks extremely familiar to the desktop version, and the iPhone version shares the same design concepts as well. The app will support incognito browsing, and well as tab syncing between devices.

Apple launches separate Podcasts app

It was expected that Apple would take podcasts out of the iTunes app on the iPhone and iPad, and release a standalone app for podcasts in the latest version of their mobile operating system, iOS 6, which should be released this fall. Although Apple hasn't yet gutted podcasts from the iTunes app, they have given them a standalone app, straightforwardly called "Podcasts", ahead of the iOS 6 release. 

Flipboard now available on Android

Flipboard has been know as a great media consumption app on the iPad for a long time. It allows users to browse through personalized news in a minimalistic magazine-like design. The app became available on the iPhone more recently, and today, is available on Android devices via the Google Play store. Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet owners can also download it through their proprietary app stores.

Along with the new Android version of the app, Flipboard for iPad and iPhone also received updates. All versions of the app now support the social network Google+. In the past, a user could connect Twitter or Facebook, and news from those feeds would appear in Flipboard. With this new update, users can connect their Google+ account to the app, and items from that feed will appear in Flipboard. You can 1+ (Google+'s version of the Facebook "like") any post directly from the app, or tap to share, comment on, or reply to the post.

Samsung Galaxy S III hits the US

The latest and greatest Android device has hit the US, a little less than a month after it reached Europe. The Samsung Galaxy S III is now available for purchase through T-Mobile. Other carriers will start selling the device within the next few weeks.

Samsung Galaxy S III - Marble White

The S III is an Android smartphone running the latest version of the mobile operating system, Android 4.0, or Ice Cream Sandwich. It features a large 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED touchscreen, an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera, 16 gigabytes of internal memory, 4G LTE service, and a quad-core CPU.

Microsoft announces Windows Phone 8

At its Windows Phone Summit today, Microsoft gave the press a sneak peek at the future of Windows Phone, their mobile smartphone operating system. The new Windows Phone operating system will be called Windows Phone 8.

Although there will be many new end user features in the new version of the operating system, Microsoft is focusing on some of the features that developers would care about in this announcement.


A large change in the latest version of Windows Phone is that the new OS will be based on the same core as the desktop version of Windows, so it should be easier for developers to write apps. This will also add some security features.

Google launches Google Offers iPhone app

Google has been serving up Groupon-style deals through their Google Offers service for over a year. They offer city-specific deals in each area they support, and allow users to buy these offers, and use them later. For example, a user would spend $15 for a voucher that can be used to buy $30 worth of t-shirts.

Spotify launches streaming radio service

Spotify, an online music streaming service that allows users to browse through a large catalog of music, and play any song on-demand, has announced today that it is getting the business of streaming radio. In the new Spotify iOS app, users will be able to choose a song, artist, album, or playlist, and Spotify will create a "radio" station based on that selection. The station will play songs that are similar to the selection made originally, and will alter its selections based on likes and dislikes users give to specific songs. This seems like an open attack at Pandora, which does exactly the same thing, and has been doing so for close to 6 years. 

Microsoft announces the new Surface tablet

Microsoft has always been a company devoted to creating great software. They are the makers of the Windows operating system, which runs on many devices, all manufactured by other companies. The company has announced today that it will no longer rely solely on partners to create the devices that run their operating system.

Microsoft announced a tablet today, that will run on the latest edition of Windows, Windows 8. This device will be manufactured directly by Microsoft. Windows 8 is thought to be the first version of the popular operating system that is really fit for tablet devices, and it seems to make sense that Microsoft would create a device that fit well with the new operating system.