Friday, March 27, 2015

Pushbullet lets you respond to messages from GroupMe and Blackberry Mobile.

Pushbullet is an awesome cross-platform app for sharing links, apps, send SMS and receive notifications on your computer. This app is a must-have as it let you reply to WhatsApp, Facebook, Hangouts and more on your computer when you're at your desk. Check out the tutorial I wrote about sending and receiving SMS on your PC.

Pushbullet was updated today with the following new features and fixes:


  • Added support for responding to messages from GroupMe and Blackberry Mobile.
  • Fixed bug where Chrome sharing screenshot instead of link.
  • Fixed bug with notification forwarding not working for some people.
  • Fixed bugs where some pushes were copied automatically when they shouldn't be.
  • Update translations.
Download Pushbullet for free on Google Play store.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Chrome Browser gets pull-down-to-refresh gesture.

Back in January, Google introduced the pull down to refresh feature in Chrome Beta for testers to use and provide feedback. I blogged about it here. Now the 500 million users of the mobile browser for Android will enjoy this new feature that makes refreshing or reloading a website a breeze. Pull to refresh will prove very useful to owners of small screen devices - even bigger ones. While new to Chrome, the pull-down-to-refresh feature is widely used in apps like Facebook or Twitter for example. 

Chrome Browser has been updated yesterday, which also includes "lots of bug fixes" according to the change log.

Download Chrome browser here

Flipboard lets anyone create private groups to share magazines with friends, family and co-workers.


In an update posted this week, Flipboard now lets users create magazines and share it with friends, family and co-workers and keeping the groups private. Before the update, magazines creation were mostly personal while letting you share articles via social networks. I have not installed the update yet, but I assume the notion of groups will allow interaction between the members with each contributing their own topics.

Flipboard

This update also brings Twitter integration. Members of the popular micro-blogging service will be able to create a Flipboard account simply by using their Twitter credentials. The @mention is also supported thus making it possible to mention friends in flip captions and in comments.

Check out the full change log below and head over to the Play store to download Flipboard.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Pocket Casts receives major upgrade; Adds Volume Boost and Silence Removal.


My favorite podcast app for Android picked up a major upgrade today. Pocket Casts is the coolest podcast app I know and use. Like wine, the app gets better with time. This update to version 5.0 brings two new features that any podcast listeners will love: Volume Boost and Silence removal.

Volume Boost is simply awesome and is unique to Pocket Casts. How many times have you jumped when a loud notification would interrupt your listening experience through your headsets? It always happens to me when commuting, accompanied by the annoyed looks of those around me. Pocket Casts fixes that with Volume Boost which lets you listen to podcast as loud as you want without increasing the device volume. Isn't that cool?


Silence Removal is another feature that will make the listening experience very interesting especially if time is short. As its name implies, Silence Removal will remove pauses in your podcasts so you can listen more in less time.

See the full changelog below for the other changes in this major update:

  • Material Design! We agonised over jokes/puns using the word 'material' for hours, but in the end we spared you. I still have 'Material Girl' playing on loop in my head though :(
  • Swipe episodes to mark as played/unplayed. Viva la revoluciĆ³n!
  • New Audio effects: Volume Boost and Silence Removal. If you can't guess what the first one does then you're beyond help.
  • Up Next list now in your mini player, swipe across to see what's coming up and quickly add more.
Download Pocket Casts for free on Google Play store.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Gameloft's Pastry Paradise supports online multiplayer mode.

Pastry Paradise is to Gameloft what Candy Crush is to King. Only the theme is different. Candy Crush, if the name is no indication to you, is all about a world of colorful candies. And Pastry Paradise is all about Gingerbread Gardens, Wafer Woods and Mt. Mudcake. Cute and tasty. The bad guy's name is Mr. Moelleux. Line up three similar tasty pastry and cookie in any direction to make your way through Pastry Paradise delicious wonderland.

Yesterday, Gameloft released the first update to Pastry Paradise. Players will be able to challenge their friends thanks to the new online, real time multiplayer mode. Big rewards will be awarded to players for beating friends and nearby chefs.

This first update is really a major one as it also includes 110 new levels and a new villain. The change log does not mention its name though. See the full changelog below:

Player vs. player

  • For the first time in a match-3 game, battle players in a real-time Multiplayer mode.
  • Earn big rewards for beating friends and other nearby chefs.
Explore new region
  • Discover 110 new levels & a new villain.
  • Thanks to your ideas on Facebook, the new region's name is Fluffy Fields!
A big boost
  • 3 new Boosters to overcome obstacles.
Update or download Pastry Paradise on Google Play Store.