Exciting App Updates

By Pedram on August 19th, 2010 3

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Not a whole lot going on in the world of Android for us Canadians as of late but there’s been some updates to a few key applications and I thought I’d run them down for you in case you missed one. I have also listed the minimum firmware requirement beside each app. Also worthy of mention: all the apps below are FREE, that’s a good price.

Facebook for Android. This one got a pretty significant update. I’ve always complained that the Android Facebook app is really lacking and used Facebook’s mobile website as an alternative. This update however brings the app much closer to what the competition is offering. While I’m not in love with it (Clicking some items in my notifications still kicks me out to the browser,) it is much improved and I’m glad Android is being taken a little more seriously on this front.

Gesture Search. (Requires 1.6 Donut) The problem I have with search applications is the part where you have to launch an app. Thankfully, Google has a solution for me. They’re calling it “Double Flip” and it basically lets you flip your wrist twice to launch the app (video). Now this wrist flipping didn’t work for me every single time but once I got the hang of it, I was constantly using this app to search. If you’ve never used Gesture Search, you basically draw the letters you want to search for. Give it a shot!

Chrome to Phone. (Requires 2.2 Froyo) I’ve been using this one since it came out as Google Code but they’ve finally put it up on the market. It lets you push out a webpage you’re viewing in the desktop Chrome browser to your phone. It also makes Google Maps and Youtube links automatically launch the native apps on your phone. Great to use when you’re just about to leave the house with your phone.

Flash Player 10.1 and Adobe Air. (Requires 2.2 Froyo) The final build for Flash Player 10.1 hit the market for Nexus One users. As far as I know, this is only for Nexus One users. I haven’t noticed much difference but hopefully they’ve ironed out any bugs in this final release. Air is another topic of conversation. Adobe has announced Air 2.5 will be out Q4 2010 to phones capable of running it. Air is a platform that could lead to some exciting mobile apps once rolled out to phones.

That’s all I got. I realize not all of you can get these apps but it’s not my fault Google keeps developing apps just for Froyo. Did I miss anything? Let me know!