One year on, almost half of all Instagram use comes from Android

Today marks exactly one full year of Instagram on Android. The hipster filter, photo dedicated social network has its fans, and its critics alike. Love it or hate it, it's one of those 'must have' apps for a mobile platform -- just take a look at the number of BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone users screaming out for it. To mark the year, the Instagram team has shared some numbers with us. 

Despite the critics, despite the whole #TeamAndroid and #TeamiPhone deal back in the early days, Instagram for Android is booming. Booming to the point where almost half of all use comes from the Android app. Less than a day after launch the app had been downloaded 1 million times, and to date has in excess of 50 million downloads. 

Also in that year since we saw the Android launch, there was of course the much debated Facebook takeover that priced Instagram at $1billion. In fact, the Android launch and Facebook takeover all happened within the same week.

Over on the official Instagram blog, the developers have highlighted some pretty awesome looking snaps taken using Instagram for Android, so be sure to head on over and check them out.

Source: Instagram

Mobile users can now see strikethrough text formatting as well

Google has been knocking out some serious updates to both its mobile and web interfaces over the last few weeks, and today's Google+ update cleans up some odds-and-ends. Users now have better options for selecting and editing cover photos, which falls in line with the move on the web to big (well actually, huge) cover photos. You get a better preview of the photo you're choosing, as well as granular control over what part of the photo is displayed. Interestingly, this update also includes support for strikethrough text formatting, which is something you'll be used to from the web as well.

And what would an update be without a nice grouping of "bug fixes and performance improvements"? Those are here too, of course. You can grab a download or update to the Google+ app from the Play Store link at the top of this post.

Official Twitter client gets a Holo-style re-vamp

The official Twitter app for Android has been updated to version 4.0, and with it the UI has been significantly overhauled to be more in-keeping with the Android 4.x "Holo" design language. The visual changes are plain to see -- new icons, a cleaner layout and generally closer to the native Android look -- though the layout remains much the same. Like other official Twitter apps, you can now swipe left and right to jump between the four main tabs.

The new app also includes the ability to load tweeted content from other apps -- such as Foursquare -- directly in that app using a special link. On the whole, it's a significant step forward for the long-neglected official Twitter app.

Unfortunately for HTC One owners however, the Black Bar of Doom (on-screen menu key) on HTC devices is still present in this release. Worse still, it now does absolutely nothing but take up space. Oh well.

Grab the new version of Twitter from the Google Play link above, or hit the Google Play Store to update.

Now integrated with Google Now, DashClock Widget, Gmail, and calendar apps

Tasks -- the app that looks so good you'd think it was made by Google -- is getting a big update today. No longer limited to typing out tasks, users can now use the voice command "note to self..." in Google Now to add task entries to the app. The ever-popular DashClock Widget gets Tasks support as well, with the ability to display pending tasks. But the app integration doesn't stop there -- support for related Gmail messages has been added, along with support for third party calendar widgets.

There are a handful of other notable changes, too. Reminders now have a snooze function, and an indicator has been added for overdue tasks. Lists get the option to sort items alphabetically, and the date picker is now easier to use with new shortcuts for today, tomorrow, and next week.

Upon installation of the new update, a permission change is requested. This adds the option to donate to the developer from within the app. If you're using the free version, we'd suggest getting the full version before donating. Hit the Play Store link at the top to get started.

Android code for 'Servo' and 'Rust' language available to download and build

Browser-maker Mozilla has announced that it's teamed up with Samsung in the creation of a new web browser engine, 'Servo,' built upon a new, modern programming language, 'Rust.'

Both projects are focused on fully exploiting modern, multi-core hardware in a way that maximizes performance, while avoiding  the kinds of bugs and glitches that can lead to crashes and security vulnerabilities. The source code for the latest version of Rust, v. 0.6, and the Servo browser engine, is available to download for Android today. The first major  release of Rust -- let alone the Servo browser based upon it -- isn't expected anytime soon. Today's Mozilla post outlines development work continuing "in the coming year" as it approaches its first major revision.

Facebook-based bird-flinger reportedly heading to Android and iOS

Social avian catapulter Angry Birds Friends is set to launch on Android and iOS, according to reports from TechCrunch. The title's move to mobile was apparently revealed at a Facebook event in Helsinki, Finland, following the Facebook version's push past the 60 million install mark.

In contrast to the single-player focus of vanilla Angry Birds, Angry Birds Friends lets players hold weekly tournaments and compete for medals. Naturally, moving this new social pig-slaughtering experience back to mobile makes sense for Rovio given its web-based success and its familiarity with both platforms.

No word on release dates just yet. In the meantime, you'll just have to make do with of the gazillion other Angry Birds titles currently on Google Play.

Source: TechCrunch

Resizable, and as stylish as it is simple, the Agenda Calendar widget makes this app an easy recommendation

It's a good day for those of you who have waited on a widget for the excellent Agenda Calendar. (Be sure to check out our full look at Agenda Calendar.) We now, in fact, have a widget. Actually, it's a resizable widget, which any self-respecting widget connoisseur knows is the best kind of widget to have. 

And this is what it looks like. Not a whole lot more to say about it -- it's a big black-and-white widget with some colors thrown in depending on the calendar sync. Tap a listing to see it in Agenda, and hit the big + button in the top right to add a new event. Tapping a day (or date) opens that day in the Agenda app.

You could argue that there's a little wasted space here. But, truth be told, the Agenda widget looks a little different on different launchers. In the example above, we've got it set as a 4-by-3 widget on top of Action Launcher. By default, you get a 2-by-3 widget. And the spacing is different on, say, the Nexus 4. So you might have to futz with it a little.

We've been using the Agenda Calendar widget for a couple days now in place of our old standby, Pure Calendar (Agenda). This one's much simpler to set up, but that also means it's not quite as full-featured. That's not really a strike against it, though. There's much to be said about that simplicity, and the overall design is more sophisticated.

All in all, this is a $1.99 that's definitely worth trying out now.

One of the most popular PC benchmarks now available for thousands of different Android devices

3DMark, which has been one of the go-to programs to determine your computer's graphical performance is now available on the Play Store to evaluate phones and tablets as well. The app is nicely designed and gives you more than just the ability to run benchmarks. You can get a nice breakdown of how your device has performed, with metrics on the score, FPS for different areas of the test and details on how the device performed compared to other people with the same device. You also get a full set of leaderboards for the best scores recorded on different devices.

The app is quite a large download at over 280MB, but if you're serious about your benchmarks you'll want to have it at the ready. Grab a download of the first version at the Play Store link above.

Google is now providing a way to edit and create Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents for Google Apps for Business users

Google Drive is pretty slick. It allows you to collaborate, edit on the fly, and create documents and easily share them. The problem is, most of the time somebody in your organization will end up using a Microsoft Office product and throw a wrench in it all. You see, Google Drive's editing abilities don't mix well with Microsoft Office files. 

Since Microsoft Office is the de facto standard for business documents, Google is trying to alleviate any problems a bit by offering up a free copy of Quickoffice -- which is very compatible with the various MS Office format. If you're a Google Apps user, grab it free from the Google Play link above.