Facebook Messenger gets voice support, reduces typing.

Tired of typing? The latest update to Facebook Messenger now lets you do more with your voice. Last week, Facebook published a similar update for the Facebook app for Android. Which brings me to ask why are there two apps for Android with the same feature? Why not get rid of the Facebook Messenger app? Anyone knows?

The update also includes the usual performance enhancements and bug fixes.

Download link.

Facebook for Android update makes viewing photos faster.

In an update published today to Google Play Store, Facebook app for Android has been enhanced for faster opening and viewing of photos. There is also an option to share your friends' stories to timelines, pages and groups. The last added feature is the ability to send voice messages within the app. Unless my memory is failing me, It seems to me that the voice message feature was always there. Checkout the notification center to download the update or head over to Google Play Store to download the app.

 

Zynga adds banners to highlight new features while you play Word with friends.

Zynga today posted an update to its fame Word with friends game that adds a banner which purpose is bring you live updates about new features added to your favorite game while you play. The change does not go into details about this, but we can only assume that tapping on the banner will take you to the store so you can update the app, if needed.

Besides the usual bug fixes and performance enhancement, Word with Friends now lets you reconnect with your friends if you haven't played for a while.

Check out the notification center on your device to update. If you haven't been hit with the Words with Friends frenzy yet, check it out on Google Play Store.

Camera MX update introduces "Atmosphere Mode"; adds glowing effect around images.

Camera MX is a must-have for photo lovers. It lets you optimize and edit your photos and the best feature is the ability to add effects and photo frame live in the camera. The latest update introduces another interesting feature called "Atmosphere Mode".

CameraMX now shows a glow around images that would have been displayed with black frames otherwise. It is slowly animated and its colors depend on the colors of the image. This mode is activated by default on dual core devices that runs Android version of Honeycomb or later. Of course, "Atmosphere mode" can be disabled in the settings.

Camera MX is free to download on Google Play. If the built in effects are not enough for you, additional packages are available for purchase for as low as $0.99.

Chrome Beta gets first update already.

Released last week for early adopters and beta testers, Chrome beta for Android today received its first batch of bug fixes. This update contains a number of fixes, including:

• 164632 - Edit Bookmark is broken
• 167351 - Youtube video controls are lost after returning from fullscreen
• 167016 - Some Samsung Galaxy S2 freezes
• 168062 - Double tapping on non-zoomable sites scrolls the page to the top briefly before returning to original position
• 167379 - Sometimes tabswitcher is frozen
• 166998 - Tab content stretched out while returning to it through side swipe gesture
• 168632 - Crash - Stack Signature: TabAndroidImpl::FromWebContents
• 168388 - Sync signed in info text's font size is too small
• 168430 - Bookmark star icon doesn't turn grey/white immediately after bookmarking URL /deleting URL from bookmarks

Known Issues:

• Performance is sluggish, noticeably on Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S
• Frequent freeze on devices with specific versions of Qualcomm GPU driver
• Text autosizing may break formatting on some sites
• Video continues playing after exiting fullscreen on android phones
• [HTC Droid DNA] Getting crash on tabswitcher mode
• 163439 - yahoo.com page links are not working
• 166233 - Cannot submit comments on facebook posts or pictures
• 165244 - Text handler jumps or disappears when moving
• 162486 - iframe scrolling broken
• 158633: Tap disambiguation overaggressive
• 169910 - Flickering while opening new tab

Source: Chrome releases

Official Chrome Beta for Android released for early adopters.

Google has released a beta version of Chrome for Android devices that will let users try out the new features before they get released. The beta version will run alongside your current version of Chrome without any problems. However, since this is a beta, expect to see some bugs pop up or other behavior linked to it. 

Google Chrome beta is free for download on Google Play. Make sure you use the link. A search in Google Play will yield no results.

Source: Chrome Blog

Merry Christmas and Happy New year to you all.

I first want to say a big thank you to all the regular readers of this blog. I really appreciate. I started it six years ago and the readership has always been on the rise. Thanks for that. Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to you all. Have fun and enjoy the moment.

Google Drive now supports spreadsheet editing on smartphone.

The latest update to Google Drive for Android and iOS now supports spreadsheet editing in new native editor. Users can also create new spreadsheets on a device. Google Docs also gets new capabilities with Copy/Paste maintaining formatting.

See the change log below:
1. Edit Google spreadsheets in new native editor
2. Edit contents of tables in Google Docs editor
3. Formatting is maintained when copy/pasting within Google Docs
4. Single tap to enter edit mode in Google Docs editor
5. Add a shortcut to Drive files/folders to your homescreen for quick access
6. Send Link now supports copying link to clipboard

Download Google Drive.

Outlook.com app for Android released.

25 million active users for Outlook.com so far. A third of which are Gmail users. That's probably what prompted Microsoft to release a new mail client for Android. But wait, is it really a new release? I haven't downloaded the new version yet, so I'm still using the old Hotmail.com client. Take a look at the screen shot. Notice anything? It doesn't look like a new Outlook.com client to me but more of a right-click > Rename of the old Hotmail client; same interface, same layout but with the Outlook.com tab. I doubt Microsoft will convince Gmail users to make the switch with this app.

Download Outlook.com app

Astro File Manager for Android now supports Skydrive.

Astro File Manager is one of those apps that keeps getting better and better with time. As its name implies, this powerful app let you manage files on your Android and also include a backup/restore engine. But it has more to offer. Now with the cloud being the tech world new darling, Astro File Manager was quick to include seamless cloud integration in its binaries. Initially, Dropbox and Google Drive were supported, but yesterday Metago, the developer, added support for Skydrive. 

Now users will be able to seamlessly move or copy files between clouds from within one app. Open the Google cloud service you want in Astro, choose the file you want to move/copy then choose the other cloud service, say Skydrive, to paste the file. Simple. This integration makes managing your clouds efficient.

Astro File Manager is available free on Google Play Store.