IMDb for Android gets a new look in honor of Comic-Con.

With the Comic-Con only a few weeks away, IMDb for Android has been updated to look more à la page in honor of the popular event and added a new section dedicated to it. As a FYI, the Comic-Con is set to to begin on July 21 to July 24 in San Diego. 

While IMDb is celebrating the Comic-Con with its dedicated special section, not all new features related to the event are actually live in the app. Most of them, if not all, will become available mid-July, which is about a week away. Then, users will have access to the following:

• IMDb trending visualizes currently popular titles and stars.
• Fan IQ lets you test your knowledge and challenge your friends.
• Follow breaking Comic-Con news in our special Comic-Con section.

The update also includes the usual bug fixes and framework enhancements and is available in Google Play store for download.

Amazon Kindle for Android updated with new navigation experience called Page Flip.

Amazon is offering a new navigation experience to its Kindle app for Android and iOS, including its Kindle family of e-readers. Called Page Flip, the update is already available in Google Play for download. However, I'm am not seeing any of the new features in the app though.

Here's what's new with Page Flip. Besides the obvious flip gesture we're accustomed to thanks to FlipBoard, the updated Amazon Kindle makes it easier to "save your place" and pin your pages.
Say you want to reference a page, a chart or a picture on another page, Page Flip will pin your page to the side of the screen when you swipe away. Tap the pinned page again to get back to where you stopped reading. 

Page Flip also includes a bird's eye view feature that makes looking for a picture or passage easier and quicker to find.

Check out the video below to see Page Flip in action before heading to Google Play store to get the update.

Netflix on Android gets a new icon and that's it.

Old Icon

New Icon

What do you write about when the most popular movie streaming service updates its app on Android with just a new icon redesign? This is what Netflix did with its latest update. A new icon that changed from "Netflix" with a white background to a simple "N" with a black background. Add to that some bug fixes and you get a change log.

Grab the update in Google Play Store and enjoy the new shiny icon, courtesy of Netflix.

Instagram on Android will now translate your follower's bios and feed posts.

The last time I blogged about Instagram goes back to October 2015. It's not that I deliberately ignore it, but Instagram rarely publishes a detailed change log when they post an update to the store. Today is one of the rare occasions when they do so. Even f it's a minor update, it is worth mentioning, especially if you have among your followers friends or unknowns that speak foreign languages. 

In my opinion it is a feature you expect to see in any modern apps, but not all apps are equal. Thankfully, and finally Instagram chose to bring some modernity after recently redesigning their app icon. In this update, Instagram added the ability to translate profile bios and feed posts written in different languages. They invite you to "see translation" without giving any details about support languages.

Check out the update in Google Play Store.

Google Docs, Sheets & Slides gets improved comment notifications on Android and web.

Google Docs, Sheets and Slides received an update today that makes it easier to interact with comment notifications made by colleagues or friends on your documents. Prior to this update, notifications were sent as emails. This update, which works on Android devices and web browsers, will let you respond quickly. These notifications will appear based on your settings on the device and Drive settings for the browser.

Check out the updates in Google Play store:

• Google Docs
• Google Sheets
• Google Slides

Inbox by Gmail gets direct share to frequently emailed contacts.

Direct Share is a feature that Google made available as an API recently that makes sharing stuff to individuals easier. Let me explain. Before Direct Share, the sharing experience on Android and other mobile platforms, consisted of tapping Share, then pick an app before selecting a person or group. With Direct Share, people you email the most or send messages to very often shows up first in the sharing options, right above the standard list of apps that we are accustomed to. Many apps in the store have already taken advantage of this API, namely WhatsApp and Outlook, at least on my device.

Google today released an update to Inbox by Gmail that includes the direct share feature for devices running Android Marshmallow and above. People that you email the most will now be listed at the top of the sharing list so you can quickly send them stuff without first opening the Inbox app. Again, a very nice feature that will likely find its way in other apps as well and may bring a crowd to the sharing list. Only time will tell.

Download the update for Inbox by Gmail in Google Play Store.

Microsoft adds viewing IRM-protected Word and PowerPoint files on Android devices.

Microsoft today published an update to Word and PowerPoint for Android bringing Information Rights Management (IRM) support, allowing users to view IRM protected documents on their devices. If you're not familiar with IRM, it is a way to protect documents from being copied, forwarded or printed by unauthorized users. Once enforced, the document is protected no matter its location because the protection is stored in the file itself.

This update also lets users add a shortcut to their Word and PowerPoint file to the start screen for quick access. Word is also capable of handling "files that were saved in plain text (.txt) format." Microsoft also added a format background feature into PowerPoint that will let users "customize a slide by adding the background color of their choice."

Download: Word PowerPoint

Pocket Casts updated with new features & Shifty Jelly engages in reality distortion field...

Pocket Casts, my favorite podcast app on Android - and Windows Phone - was updated today. The last one was posted in April in which the team laid the groundwork for a "tastier future" and that may well be the beginning of a series of updates to bring the app to another level considering the wit they put in the change log:

Build 324! Our most exciting build yet. Chamfered edges. Thinner. Lighter. Less Ports. Improved Camera. Comes in one new colour (yeah you spell it with a 'u' America). Now hand over your money, plz. K thx bye. [Engages Reality Distortion Field].

Unfortunately, their plan to get your money did not work out as planned:

What...that didn't work? Odd it works for Apple all the time! Honestly though we fixed a truck load of things in this build, and we hope you like that it's now the best build of Pocket Casts ever, marketing be damned :)

Pocket Casts is an excellent podcast app with some nice features like the ability to sync your podcasts among your devices, whether they run Android, Windows and iOS; Add to that support for playback sync. You start listening or watching a podcast on one device and pick up where you stopped on another device. Pocket Cast is sold at $3.99 in the Google Play Store and is money well spent. Too bad they don't offer a trial.

Microsoft OneNote for Android gets new notebar and core code base change for faster features addition.

With 50 millions download on Android alone, you will agree that Microsoft OneNote is a success. Today Microsoft published an update for the popular note taking app. For me, this is a great update. Finally Microsoft managed to fix an issue I was having with OneNote ever since I installed the first preview of Android N. The app was cashing shortly after I entered my Microsoft account. It took them three updates to get there, but I'm gad to get OneNote working again on my Nexus 6 and make peace with Android N. 

The update itself adds some new features to OneNote with a change to the code base that will allow Microsoft to add new features "at a faster rate". The second noteworthy addition is this bar at the bottom of the screen which offers a new way to takes notes.

Here's what's new in this update for OneNote for Android:

We have changed the core code base of OneNote for Android which gives us the ability to add features at a faster rate. We have also added the following features:

1. Adding notebar: a new way to create notes

2. Ability to create or delete sections while in offline mode

3. Sync improvements

4. Bug fixes and performance improvements

Download Microsoft OneNote in Google Play Store for free.

Microsoft adds new improved sharing sheet to OneDrive for Android.

No doubt Microsoft is doing an awesome job pursuing their "mobile first" strategy on competing platforms. Take this update to their OneDrive app for Android as an example. The update was published on June 10 and I missed it since it did not show on my Nexus 6 running Android N; but it did on my Nexus 7 (2013) and it is a long awaited update, albeit a simple one.

Before that update, sharing a file on Onedrive was limited to sharing a link, sending file or inviting people to view the file. There was nothing that permitted sharing to the popular social network platforms we're so accustomed to, as shown in the screenshot below.

Thankfully, Microsoft took note of this limitation and updated their OneDrive app on Android to give users more option for sharing stuff. The screenshot below is quite self explanatory. Tapping the sharing icon will bring up the screen below with more options for sharing your file. It is no more limited to just the three options I've highlighted above, and Android users will get to choose among the apps they have installed on their devices plus the tree options I've already mentioned. You can see the difference after the upgrade with the screenshot below.

In the event you missed the update, get it in the Google Play Store for free.