My Apps Update of the day: Instagram, Vine, Flipboard.

A couple of updates for some of my favorite apps for Android. You will notice that most of the updates are based on the new craze for short videos or GIFs as I like to call them. Check out the logs below and use the links to download or update these apps on your phones.

Instagram - The much awaited update that brings 15 seconds video support.

What's in this version:

New in 4.0: Video!

Note: Only devices with Android 4.1 and above are supported.

Vine

This update includes:

• Search for users and hashtags
• Share to Facebook
• Improvements to capture speed, quality, and audio/video synchronization
• Clear cache option available in Settings
• Other bug fixes and UI improvements

Flipboard

What's in this version:

-Added support for animated GIFs
-Bug fixes and improvements
Plus all the great features from 2.0.3:
-Invite contributors who share your passion to help create your magazine
-See more subscriptions with 2 added pages on phones
-Collect and save content into your own magazines, tap the “+” button to begin
-Your magazines are public, but can be made private
-Integrated Android share: add content from the Gallery & other apps to your magazines

Avast Security and Antivirus for Android updated with Obad trojan detection & removal.

"The file turned out to be a multi-functional Trojan, capable of the following: sending SMS to premium-rate numbers; downloading other malware programs, installing them on the infected device and/or sending them further via Bluetooth; and remotely performing commands in the console." This statement is from Kapersky and does not warrant any more comments from me. To avoid trouble, download and update Avast on your Android. The update contains the detection and removal tool to protect you against the Obad trojan.

Source: Google Play Store

Evernote for Android gets updated with alarms, notifications.

Evernote for Android got updated with a an interesting feature today. Users will now be able to set alarms in their notes, thus making project tracking easier by setting a due date and get reminded with notifications. There's more. Notes can be ordered manually or by date. And finally, notes can be marked as done.

Evernote for Android is a powerful note app that is free on Google Play Store.

Press Release: New HTC One wins Computex Gold Medal Award for design & Innovation.

Taipei, Taiwan, June 4, 2013 – HTC, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, the global leader in mobile phone innovation and design, has won international recognition again for the new HTC One smartphone. Following the GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications Association) award for Best New Mobile Device or Tablet, the flagship smartphone has been given the Gold Medal in Design and Innovation award from Computex Taipei 2013. Organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) in conjunction with iF (International Forum Design), the award is the highest honor in the Computex d & i awards, and was personally given HTC by Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou.

This year, out of a total of 254 product entries submitted for consideration, he jury of experts agreed that "extremely sophisticated detailing makes the new HTC One smartphone stand out from the myriad of smartphones available in this very competitive product category. The new HTC One is as much as joy to hold and touch, as to use; and is certainly the best of this year’s entries."

"For the new HTC One to win yet another international award, it demonstrates how HTC’s proven design capabilities, both in product design and user experience, is bringing a new perspective to the industry,” said by Ben Ho, HTC CMO, “We will continue to innovate and provide consumers with the highest quality products."

The new HTC One was awarded the GSMA’s “The Best Mobile Handset, Device, or Tablet.” It was also awarded Tech Radar’s “MWC's Best Phone” and “Best in Show” and Mobile Geeks’ “Best Smartphone.”

Source: HTC

Vine for Android released.

Android users have been blessed today with the release of Vine, the Twitter-owned service that lets users post short videos to social networks is now available free in Google Play Store. First released for Apple's iOS, Vine lets users create 6 seconds long videos. The app is already popular on iOS and is almost guaranteed to get an overwhelming success on Android. My assumption is based on Instagram success on which Vine seems to take its inspiration from. If you are an amateur of short videos, Vine will fit your needs.
Vine is free for download on Google Play Store.

Chrome Beta for Android updated with Translation.

Two days ago I posted about new features ported from Chrome Beta to the official Chrome Browser for Android. With that done, Google wasted no time to publish new features to Chrome Beta for early adopters to try. This time it's Translation that finds its way to Chrome beta. You should already be familiar with Google Translation on a PC. It works just the same on the phone. Translation will prompt you to translate any web site you visit if the language is different from the phone default language. 

Check out the change log for other features:

• Google Translate: When you come across a page written in a language that isn't in the same language as your phone or tablet, look for the translation bar
• Fullscreen on tablets: Simply scroll the page to dismiss the toolbar
• Support for fullscreen API 
• New graph showing your estimated bandwidth savings when you use the experimental data compression feature
• Mobile friendly error pages

Download the update in Google Play Store.

Chrome for Android gets full-screen and simplified search.

About a month ago, Google added full screen browsing to Chrome Beta for Android. As stated in this post dated April 11, Search was simplified "so that queries remain visible in the omnibox to make it easy to edit". Fast forward to today and these features have been ported to the official Chrome Browser for Android devices. 

In case you're not aware, there are currently two versions of Chrome in Google Play Store: a beta version and the official version. The former lets users experiment with new functionalities and send feedback. These features usually appear in the official version bug free about a month later. 

If you want to beta test new features before anyone else, download Chrome Beta. Get the official Chrome Browser for Android here.

What's in this version:

• Fullscreen on phones - Scroll to hide the toolbar
• Simplified search - View and refine your query directly in the omnibox
• Tab history on tablets - Long press the browser’s back button to view your tab history
• Several stability improvements

Circle gets reduce app size and bug fixes.

Circle, the social app that lets you build your local social network by locating friends in your neighborhood or city was updated yesterday with the following:

-- Reduced application size substantially, saving you space and data.
-- Improved LinkedIn connect
-- Fixed bug regarding location fetching
-- Enhanced message notifications
-- Other minor bug fixes

Download: Google Play Store

Iconic "This is CNN" becomes an optional feature in CNN app for Android.

In a previous update, CNN included the iconic "This is CNN" on startup. A feature that certainly is cool, but annoying if you want to have a quick glance at the app without anyone else noticing. However iconic and melodic is James Earl Jones voice, it is not welcomed in meetings or any place where the voice will disrupt whatever is going on around you and you become the center of all attention. CNN has published an update that enables users to silence Mr. Jones when you feel the need to. Check out the change log below.

What's in this version:

*The CNN app now supports Nexus 7 devices
*The iconic ‘This is CNN’ welcome greeting is an optional feature that you can switch on and off through the User Settings. It will now play only after you enable it.
*CNN widgets are now more stable. To utilize the latest version, delete your current widget and reinstall after updating your app.
*Receive quicker breaking news alerts to your phone
*Browse photo galleries related to today’s news
*Minor bug fixes

Source: Google Play Store

Thursday app updates: Flipboard, Contacts+, WeChat, avast! Mobile.

Flipboard

What's in this version:

-Collect and save content into your own magazines, tap the “+” button to begin
-Your magazines are public, but can be made private
-Integrated Android share: add content from the Gallery & other apps to your magazines
-Bookmarklet to add items to your magazines from a browser
-Get notifications when people like, comment or subscribe to your magazines
-Share magazines via email or social networks
-Personalized recommendations for more to read
-Search is now front & center, with improved results

Contacts +

What's in this version:

- Google+ sync
- Google+ tab which displays your contacts’ Google+ info
- Bug fixes & translations updates

WeChat

What's in this version:

• Chat with friends in a Live Chat session
• Invite your friends to a WeChat group chat via QR code
• Backup and restore your chat history

avast! Mobile

What's in this version:

• Added option to disable automatic saving of the Activity Log to SD card
• Improved File Shield to reduce CPU, memory and battery consumption
• SMS block offer is now available on all Android versions
• Fixed UI issues on some Sony Ericsson devices

Source: Google Play Store.