At CES 2012, GM was showing off their remote control and monitoring Android app, but I would say their more interesting announcement from the show was a new OnStar API, which will enable outside developers to start plugging into their connected electric car. To showcase the new capabilities, GM partnered up with the guys at RelayRides, which is basically Airbnb for cars. Using the mobile app, you will be able to post your vehicle as available for rent within certain dates, and if it's with a Chevrolet Volt, the car will only begin functioning in the specified timeframe. Once a rental time kicks in, customers can use the app to find the Volt via GPS, and remotely unlock the car to grab the keys inside. Even if you don't have a smartphone, you'll be able to unlock the car via text message. From the renter's side, you can search based on vehicle type, proximity, timeframe, price, and all of the other usual criteria. Rental rates can go as low as $5 to $6, which includes a million-dollar insurance policy. 

This is pretty big news because so far, the only other car manufacturer seriously wooing app developers has been Ford, and they've been doing it for some time now with AppLink. They haven't been able to crank out a ton of apps since AppLink has come out, but RelayRides was apparently wrapped up in under a month. Of course, they made their app specifically for the OnStar API, so they might have been able to get it up a bit quicker than others will be able to, but it's a promising start.

The OnStar API will be available for Android and iOS starting in the first half of this year, but if you're interested in getting involved sooner than later, you can pitch your app idea to developers@onstar.com. 

Source: OnStar

Our pals at Borange today unleashed Textie for Android, bringing cross-platform text and picture messaging from the land of iOS (they've had something in the neighborhood of 1.6 million downloads from iTunes) to our beloved mobile platform. The port is pretty obvious -- you'll see a lot of iOS-type buttons. Try to get over that, because what you've got is a simple and pretty powerful texting appliation that offers unlimited use. Features include:

• Sends unlimited free messages to any Textie user, email address and most U.S. mobile phones
• Sends high quality photos to other Textie users or to any email
• Installs free on Android, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch
• Can be installed on multiple devices simultaneously
• Naturally integrates with your existing address book contacts
• Provides access to server-archived messages
• Uses secure SSL for all connections
• Uses battery-efficient Google C2DM Android push notifications

Textie's also done a great job of explaining in the Market listing all of the permissions it uses, so be sure to read that if you're worried about that sort of thing. We've got download links to the free Textie app after the break.

More: Textie blog

Ever have that moment of panic when you realize you've left the house without your trombone? Yeah. We've all been there. Fortunately there's iBone.

I've been desperately trying to convert from Foursquare to Path for bothering most of my social networks at once, but a pretty critical bug was keeping that from happening. But Path's just released an update that fixes Twitter authentication in Ice Cream Sandwich, as well as keeping push notifications from being delivered if, in fact, that's the way you want it.

For the uninitiated, Path is sort of mix of Foursquare and a much smaller Facebook. The idea is to have a tight-knit group of friends with which you share. Of course, adding the ability to share via Twitter, Facebook and, yes, Foursquare, opens it up to much more. The app itself is stunning, though it could use a little refresh for 720p displays.

If you haven't checked it out yet, we've got download links after the break.

Youtube link for mobile viewing

Thats right, folks, Rovio is still pumping out updates to the Angry Birds franchise, as its latest video shows us. This time around in Seasons, we're celebrating Chinese New Year by smashing those little green pigs. The update is due to hit on Jan. 20, so if you're an Angry Birds fanatic thats just a few more days to wait.

If you've still not tried out Angry Birds Seasons and want to see what all the fuss is about, you'll find a handy download link after the break.

Source: Rovio

When Chevy finally launched the Volt plug-in hybrid electric car, they also kicked out an app with in-car communications and monitoring subsidiary OnStar to integrate owners' mobile phones with the vehicle. Similar to the MyFord Mobile app that Ford put out to integrate with their own Focus Electric, OnStar RemoteLink being shown off at CES 2012 hooks into the OnStar system onboard the vehicle, allowing the owner to remotely monitor the fuel levels, and in the case of the Volt, also check in on how the battery is charging, plus set off-peak charging schedule. RemoteLink also can plan routing on the phone and send it remotely to the car, saving you time the time of generally tedious address inputting when in the car. OnStar RemoteLink is available for both iPhone and Android phones and is compatible with most 2010-and-newer GM vehicles with OnStar.

But the app isn't the only thing OnStar had to show off at CES. Also on display was a new media system in their Volt show car that linked two Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets for backseat users with the car's Verizon LTE connection and the center stack up front. By integrating LTE with the power of the Android tablets, OnStar was able to build a system where the driver can pull up a movie from the home computer and stream it back to the tablets attached to the back of the front seats to placate a squad of rambunctious youngsters, start a Skype video call between the kids and grandma, or presumably just put up Angry Birds to keep them entranced in avian demolition for a few hours.

British tabloid newspaper The Sun has decided to head down the digital route, with the arrival of its very own subscription-based Android application. 

The premise is quite promising if you're a regular Sun reader. All the "news", less of the paper. The first month's subscription will set you back just £0.69, which is low enough to tempt those more sceptical readers to give it a whirl. After this, though, the subscription rate will rise to £4.99 per month. And of course you don't need to head down to the local store every morning or tip the paperboy. The most obvious downfall, besides the fact that you're reading The Sun, is the lack of Honeycomb and ICS support. Newspapers would look pretty sweet on a shiny new Transformer Prime don't you think?

For those Android Central readers outside of the UK, The Sun is one of the biggest tabloid newspapers in the country and is owned by one Rupert "find me on Twitter" Murdoch. We're not saying that installing this app will mean that The Sun will be listening in on your voicemails, not at all. But just in case -- good morning, Mr Murdoch, we hope you're well.

Download links are after the break.

Youtube link for mobile viewing

Get the latest of one of the most popular sports video game franchise ever, Madden NFL '12, for your Android device for just 99 cents from EA Sports.  The game was built for Android 2.1 or higher, and has optimized versions for both Tablets and the Xperia Play with it's built-in control pad.  You can choose to play as any of the 32 NFL teams, and different game-play modes allow for complete micro-management of every bit of action on the field.

It's Madden NFL 12, done right, for a buck.  Grab it using the handy link after the break.