TuneIn Radio gets playback & buffering improvements, updated widgets.

TuneIn Radio brings the world's largest collection of radio stations to your Android device, that's over 100,000 stations for your listening pleasure with categories including songs, podcasts, shows and more. The app is also cross-platform, therefore available on Windows Phone, iOS and Windows. TuneIn also has a social touch in that you can share what you're listening with your followers and vice-versa. The Android version of the app is also Android Wear friendly and works with Chromecast too.

TuneIn Radio has an update available in Play store with the following improvements and fixes:

• playback & buffering improvements.
• updated homescreen widgets.
• chromecast improvements and bug fixes.
• several bluetooth bug fixes.
  

Google+ updated with material refresh animation and new community page design.

Google+ app for Android got an update today that brings more material design to the interface. Members of various communities on Google's social network will notice after the update the page layout has changed and displays the communities' logo and banner more prominently at the top; so big that it takes about half the screen estate. I'm not sure what Google is up to here, but the image is very pixelated. Something I hope they will change in a future update. Given how other Google apps beautifully implemented the material design, I wonder what the Google+ team is thinking. 

As usual, the update also includes some performance improvements and bug fixes.

The update is available for download now in the Play store. Click here if you haven't already downloaded it yet.

Amazon Kindle for Android updated with Word Wise to quickly understand difficult words without much interruptions.

As a father, I find Word Wise to be a super useful addition to Kindle. With Word Wise enabled, readers will see short and simple definitions automatically appear above difficult words. And Amazon Kindle does that without being too intrusive. Briefly putting it to the test today, I found that Word Wise did indeed offered a clear definition of words that I would have otherwise stopped my reading to get the definition - using the good old press and hold. Again, as a father of a little girl who's main spoken and written language is French, this makes my task of teaching her English so much easier.

The update, which was released two days ago, brings you more info about the book itself and the author. See the full change log below:

• Read more challenging books with Word Wise.
• Learn more about the book and author before you start reading.
• See popular highlights from other Kindle readers.
• Create flashcards from textbooks to help you study.
• Look up words with any dictionary.
• Control Audible playback easily without leaving the page.
• Navigate manga easily with a table of contents.
• Bug fixes.

Source: Google Play Store

Video Messaging: Get creative with 8 new Skype Qik live effects.

Skype Qik - pronounced quick - is Skype's second app that is cross platform, just like it's big brother Skype. But Skype Qik still plays in the messaging category albeit exclusively video. It can be compared to Instagram in that Qik lets you capture moments by shooting videos, add predefined effects to them and share with friends or groups of friends. Besides being a video messenger app, Skype Qik is really good at making your videos a great piece of art.  And it keeps getting better at that.

In the most recent update, Skype Qik got 8 new live effects. Users will be able to pick the effects they want while shooting the videos, hence the live effects. Simply swipe over the viewfinder to scroll through the fun effects before sharing the masterpiece with friends.

Check out the update in Google Play store. 

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.

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.

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.

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 revolución!
• 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.

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.

Flipboard for Android now serves top stories in widget.

Flipboard is my favorite news magazine on Android. Unlike other numerous news apps in Google Play store, Flipboard has that distinctive feature that lets you flip through your news like you naturally do with a paper-based magazine. Of course there is more to Flipboard than the flip.

Flipboard was updated with top stories now showing in the Flipboard widget. You need to sign up for a Flipboard account to see a selection of stories you can pick from. The latest version version also brings along the usual bug fixes and performance improvements.

Download Flipboard free in Google Play store.