Apple may be working hard to get rid of preinstalled Google apps on iOS devices iPhone, but Google is pushing the other way with high-quality apps like YouTube and Chrome. GOOG just updated the Chrome for iOS to make it compatible with the new iPhone 5 and it also fixed a Gmail-related issue.

The latest version of Chrome for iOS is 21.0.1180.82 is out and you can update from the App Store (the app itself will also notify you when there’s an update available). Read more »

Google has released an updated version of the Google Play Books application for Android. Some of the biggest complaints with this application were the lack of dictionary, note taking and highlighting abilities and Google has addressed all of them in this update.

As you can guess, you can now add highlights to the text and take notes while reading books. There is also a built-in dictionary now, so you can quickly look up a word. Read more »

Users may find the performance of Samsung’s Exynos processors exhilarating, but it seems the developers who work on custom ROMs for these devices don’t share the same enthusiasm.

Responding to a query on xda-developers forum, CyanogenMod developer who goes by the forum ID ‘codeworkx’ explained why he and other developers think that Exynos processors are bad for developers. It essentially boils down to lack of proper support from Samsung in terms of providing sources or documentation for their processors and when they do it’s either outdated or incompatible. Read more »

Despite its great look, the Apple Maps app -which replaced Google Maps in iOS 6 – has been subject to some heavy criticism over the past few days. The incomplete coverage and numerous inaccuracies made most users miss the iOS 5 days, when they could actually go places.

However, salvation might be on the horizon, as we got a report saying that Google is already done with the development of an iOS-6 compatible Google Maps app. Read more »

Google Maps for Android just received a new update with two key improvements. The first extends the amount of info shared between your desktop computer and your Android device – the web history option enables it to access your desktop Google Maps searches. The other update is a cool one-hand zoom method.

After the update, Google Maps for Android can access your search and direction history. So, if you looked up some place on the computer, you can easily find its info again on your phone as it will auto-suggest it as you start typing. Read more »

Apple has just released its iOS 6 to the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch and probably the most talked about feature is the new Maps app.

It sheds Google’s mapping technology and moves to a TomTom partnership with a pinch of Siri navigation – but some think that this was the unfavorable move. Read on to get the scoop. Read more »

Chris Weber, Nokia’s Head of Marketing, has a few things to say about HTC’s new Windows Phone 8X and Windows Phone 8S smartphones that were just unveiled.

Although Mr. Weber referred to the HTC unveiling as “more than good news for the Windows Phone ecosystem”, he also took a dig a the Taiwanese manufacturer. Read more »

The Optimus G E973 is LG’s new flagship and the South Korean company has made sure that both the hardware and the software give you plenty to be excited about. There’s the laser-cut plastic for enhanced precision, the laminated Zerogap display, the 13MP camera with Time catch shot, the wireless dual-screen functionality (not just mirroring) and more.

Seeing things in action is usually the best way to describe which feature does what. Take the Time catch shot – it lets you take a shot and then gives you several shots taken even before you pressed the shutter. It certainly sounds a little confusing, so check out the video, which will make everything clear: Read more »

Twitter has released a brand new application for the iPad, which does away completely with the sliding pane design of the previous application, designed by Loren Brichter, creator of the original Tweetie app (now Twitter for iPhone).

The new application now places a single list of tweets on the screen, regardless of whether you hold the iPad in landscape or portrait. It does come across as a terrible waste of screen space, especially in landscape mode and the developers could definitely have put more effort in utilizing all that display area. Read more »

The latest update to the Dropbox app for iOS enables users to share files to Facebook and Twitter. You can post pictures to the popular social services and attach files to Facebook messages.

The update also allows support for AirPrint, meaning you can now print Dropbox pictures or docs via Wi-Fi. Read more »

Microsoft has confirmed the costs of its Office 2013 suite as well as the Office 365 Home Premium and Small Business Premium services.

The subscription-based Office 365 Home Premium will give 5 people access to the full Office 365 features ( Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, and Publisher) via their individual accounts. For the privilege they will have to fork out $99.99 a year. Read more »

Ever since the popular messaging and voice calling app Viber hit Windows Phone devices, it only supports messaging. Happily, the Viber team has worked closely with Nokia to iron the issues out and add voice calls as well.

However, there’s a problem. Today, Viber posted a Facebook status explaining why the app update hasn’t been pushed – it’s been delayed by the Microsoft publishing process for the Windows Marketplace. Read more »

Intel is busy with IDF and while it’s mostly focusing on its next generation CPU architecture, Haswell, there was some good news about Android too. Namely, that Android 4.1 Jelly Bean has been ported to work with the smartphone-oriented Atom processor.

There are a number of devices that use the Z2460 chip, including the Lenovo K800, Orange Santa Clara, Lava XOLO X900, ZTE Grand X IN and soon, a brand new droid from Motorola. Read more »

In case you are participating in the iOS 6 beta test, you might want to know that the GM (Golden Master) build has been seeded to the developers.

You can get it via Apple’s official developer channel right now. Read more »

Microsoft has officially scrapped the Windows Phone Marketplace, folks. The new go-to place for the software giant’s mobile OS applications will be called Windows Phone Store from now on.

Along with the new name, Microsoft has introduced several improvements to the Windows Phone Store. Read more »