Google+ has been one of the services that got a major update following the Google I/O keynote speech today. The social network now has a redesigned UI with a new stream, which is all about design and depth. Google has taken the multi-column design from the mobile devices and has brought it to the desktop, making the interface beautiful and dynamic.

The photos and videos in the design span multiple columns that are fast, fluid and fun. Google has also introduced delightful animations throughout its new design. Read more »

Google was rumored to unveil its own music streaming service and the internet giants has chosen its I/O event for its debut. The company officially launched an on-demand service called “Google Play Music All Access”.

The Spotify competitor features millions of songs that can be played instantly. The service offers you songs by personal recommendations and also allows you to have your own playlists and chats. Read more »

In addition to multiple new and cool APIs for developers, Hugo Barra introduced Google Play Game Service which introduces leaderboards, game progress saves in the cloud, real-time multiplayer and game achievements.

What’s cool is that all of the new game services features, save for real-time multiplayer, are going to work crossplatform between Android, iOS and the web. Read more »

Google has just announced at its annual I/O conference the Play Store app installs have crossed the 48 billion mark.

More than 2.5 billion installs were made just the last month, so we can expect the 50 billion mark to follow soon. Read more »

Google I/O 2013 has just started and to get things up to speed Sundar Pichai stepped on stage and announced that Android is doing even better than before. The Google platform has reached a total of 900 million activated devices.

An device counts as activated when you get a new Android handset and log in with your Google account for the first time. There would be several devices out there that were purchased but never logged in, so they won’t be counted in this number. Re-sells haven’t been counted, either, but as you know not every device that was activated would be in use now.

At this rate Google is on track to reach 1 billion Android device activations, in a few months, rather than at the end of the year as earlier predictions suggested.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 (I9500) international version – has received an early nightly build of CyanogenMod 10.1.

The version in question is based on pure Android 4.2 but the ROM, being a nightly, will likely have lots of bugs and may not be suitable for a daily driver. Read more »

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 is rumored for a while now and the tablet was found in the AnTuTu benchmark database a few days ago. Now, the device has been officially listed in the Bluetooth.org website, hinting that its launch might just be around the corner.

The model number of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 is confirmed to be GT-P5200 and the listing also reveals the existence of the LTE model. Read more »

HTC is leveraging Twitter’s obsession with what is known as “vadering” to promote its HTC One flagship. The message accompanying the photo reads “We find your lack of aluminum disturbing.”

There’s more going on with this post than just a dig at the plasticy competitors of the One. Read more »

HP is following up on its x2 line of tablet/laptop hybrids with two new models – the 13.3″ Split x2, running Windows 8, and the 10.1″ SlateBook x2, running… Android. Both are laptops with detachable screens, which turn into tablets on their own.

The 13.3″ screen of the HP Split x2 is an IPS LCD with 1,366 x 768 resolution. The device is powered by a 3rd generation Intel Core i3 or i5 (Y-series with 7W SDP / 10W TDP) with 2GB RAM (upgradeable), and has a 128GB SSD with an optional 500GB HDD. Read more »

It seems Spotify is going to have some tough competition soon. According to The Verge, Google is all set to unveil its own music streaming service today at the Google I/O event.

According to their sources, Google has already signed deals with two of the biggest music labels in the industry, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. Google had also reportedly struck a deal with Warner Music Group earlier this year. This means that they have sizable content to kick off the service. Read more »

Archos has launched its ChefPad, a tablet that is designed exclusively for cooking enthusiasts. The slate comes with few dedicated apps, which is bound to be your virtually cooking assistant.

Archos ChefPad sports a 9.7″ display with a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels and is powered by a 1.6 GHz dual-core processor along with 1 GB of RAM. Read more »

Mozilla has launched a new version of its Firefox browser for Windows, Mac and Linux. The Mozilla Firefox 21 comes with an added Social API support, which allows the social networks to integrate straight into your browser.

According to Mozilla, the Social API has the potential for integrating social networks, e-mails, finance, music, cloud possibilities, services, to-do lists, sports, news and other applications for your enhanced Firefox experience. Read more »

NVIDIA surprised everyone at CES with its Project SHIELD handheld gaming console and now the chip maker released the full specs along with launch date and price. SHIELD is powered by NVIDIA’s own Tegra 4 chipset, which packs for Cortex-A15 cores, a fifth power-saver core and a mobile GeForce GPU.

The gadget runs pure Android 4.2 with TegraZone pre-installed – this is a repository of Tegra-optimized games. In an impressive demo, SHIELD ran a ported PlayStation 3 game with better graphics than the PS3. Read more »

CyanogenMod’s official statistics page shows that the custom ROM platform has surpassed the 5 million installs mark.

The official installs amount to around 1,884,851 with almost twice as much for unnofficial (read nightly) installs at 3,196,212 million. Read more »

The BLU Life View is certainly not what passes as a budget-friendly Android smartphone these days. With a 5.7” HD IPS display, quad-core CPU, dual-SIM functionality, and a metal clad body, the handset looks like anything but a device with a sub-$300 price tag.

Roughly a year ago, the BLU Studio 5.3 turned our idea about a budget smartphone upside down. This time around, the Miami based manufacturer launched a trio of Life series smartphones, and the 5.7” View is leading the way as the flagship of the bunch. Read more »