We knew their would, at some stage, be an Android app available – it was more a matter of when — and we still don’t know.

There is progress being made – Instagram have unveiled a registration page for those who want to be “first in-line” for the heavily requested Android version.

No details are given on the website, no screenshots, nothing other than a box for you to enter your email address. I must admit, the website is easy on the eye and great to look at.

It was revealed by Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom that two people have been working on an Android app which they  say will “address an entirely new market” and see their userbase double.

6th November last year, it was suggested there would be no Android app for a while, and that Instagram for video on iPhone will arrive before. Obviously this is now no longer the case.

On the registration page no screenshots are available to look at, nothing is hinted. The app’s designer Tim Van Damme has however uploaded a very sneaky and subtle image online.

It’s a wise idea to sign-up. If you don’t, you won’t be miss out, it’ll be #1 app for Android for quite awhile around the first week of release, if not the first month.

[Source: The Next Web]

The new update – 1.3 – has added some refreshing new features:

List Management

You can now create, add and edit lists in-app opposed to having to go on Twitter in-browser.

Activity/Interaction

TweetDeck have welcomed two new column styles: Activity in which you can see the activity of those who you follow, very similar if not identical the to pre-existing feature of Twitter for iOS or Twitter’s website found under Connect.

Under the Interaction column, you find your mentions, along with people who have followed you, retweeted you, and favourite a tweet of yours.

Inline Media Previews

This is already available for a variety of iOS based Twitter clients such as Tweetbot or Echofon. Simply put, you can see a linked image inline with the tweet it’s linked from. Makes it easy for those images you want to avoid, or if you don’t want to wait for the image to load.

Twitter has made a great move adding all these great new features to TweetDeck. I assume these were the most requested by fans of the previous client, which at the time wasn’t under the wing of Twitter.

It’s now much easier to retweet than previously on TweetDeck – they’ve gone back to old style of being able to ‘RT’ with a comment, which was the initial style. Until now users have had to use the speech mark or edit themselves.

You can download new TweetDeck here: tweetdeck.com

[Source: The Verge, Twitter]

Starting September 1st this year (2012) – Apple will spend approximately a tenth of their budget on buying back shares for again, approximately $2.64 per share. According to The Verge, the buyback is expected to run over a three year period.

Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted Apple had a “record weekend” for sales with the new iPad.

The buyback of shares will “neutralise the impact of dilution from future employee equity grants and employee stock purchase programs.”

Tim Cook said:

“We have used some of our cash to make great investments in our business through increased research and development, acquisitions, new retail store openings, strategic prepayments and capital expenditures in our supply chain, and building out our infrastructure. You’ll see more of all of these in the future. Even with these investments, we can maintain a war chest for strategic opportunities and have plenty of cash to run our business. So we are going to initiate a dividend and share repurchase program.”

When Apple announced the amount they had to spend, it was a topic of discussion.

Of the $100 billion Apple announced it had – $45 billion will be spent over the next 3 years.

[Source: The Verge]

Even though it had been heavily rumoured that Microsoft would unveil a new console which would lose the disc drive, that is not the case.

Microsoft said to Bloomberg: “2012 is all about the Xbox 360.”

It is now expected the company will unveil a follow-up next year at the E3 conference – it is believed Sony will do the same. Nintendo have already showcased the Wii U at the same conference last year.

Xbox 360′s sales are still healthy courtesy of the Kinect motion-sensor accessory.

It would be a poor move for Microsoft to announce a new console when, currently, the console is making money.

The Next Web have recently been reporting that Microsoft have been telling partners that the next Xbox will not feature a disc drive and will offer an online marketplace solely for gaming downloads. Sources told The Next Web they had to sign the strictest of NDA’s.

It’s currently estimated Microsoft make a staggering $115 profit on the $300 Xbox 360 – the hard drive model.

Microsoft are obviously playing the field for the rest of the year with the Xbox 360. They don’t have to worry about competition from Sony as they don’t plan to announce a follow up or even update to the PlayStation 3 this year.

[Source: Bloomberg, The Next Web]

Milk, the company Rose founded not long ago to financially support startups announced it was closing down its only product, Oink.

According to AllThingsD, Google isn’t acquiring Milk, or Oink. Google are however acquiring the entire Milk team. Employees are apparently netting $1-$2 million each. TechCrunch is reporting Google acquired the entire Milk team for around $15-$20 million.

Kevin Rose who is famous for starting Digg and co-hosting Diggnation will reportedly work on Google’s social efforts, assuming they mean Google+ in which Rose has a strong presence.

Currently, no one is aware what will happen to Milk, the company in which all of the staff have been acquired from.

Rose has invested in some impressive products and companies in the past; Zynga, Foursquare, Twitter and more.

This isn’t the first time Rose has dealt with Google — Digg was very close to an acquisition in 2009 – according to AllThingsD the deal fell apart at the last minute.

Oink, the only product from Milk didn’t attain the success which Rose initially expected – however it was downloaded 150,000+ times in its first month. Milk had raised $1.7 million from Google Ventures – perhaps Google had an eye on Rose for a while – they had no idea how to get him on-board.

It’s going to be a tough move for the Apple fan-boy. Maybe we’ll see him using Android more. Doubtful.

[Source: AllThingsD, TechCrunch, The Verge] [Image Source: Joi Ito]

However, hats off to HP for coming up with a 3-part campaign to get across the message for its IT Care Pack Services & Support. What could have been a rather dull campaign aimed at the business owners / technical managers, has come out to be a rather fun campaign (it makes some of us ‘techies’ giggle – not sure about the average we-dont-get-tech-jokes type people). What typically comes to mind from HP’s advertising is a very neatly designed poster or card that would have read ‘Renew your IT Care Pack services for ease of mind’.

So in a 3-part video series, HP has managed to not only get across the message, but done it in a rather pleasant way – more entertaining that what we expected when we first heard about it. And incase you are wondering, we are also asking the same question: Is that REALLY Kiefer Sutherland or just an attempt at a very weird version of Jack Bauer?

Without further delay, enjoy the 3 stooges (sponsored videos):


This article has been sponsored by HP

The search for new ideas and innovations is nothing new. The effort to strive, to achieve is something that is instilled in today’s society far more than ever before. With the technological enhancements, both social and structural, changing the way we live on a daily basis, companies are finding new and more innovative ways to make themselves more relevant in the new digital age.

Orange has decided to be part of the digital crowd as well and shun some of the traditional myths of business. They are inviting entrepreneurs, innovators and all sorts to pitch to them UK’s next ‘Different Business‘. According to their release, ‘if you’ve got a fresh idea, why not tell Orange all about it and you could win a year’s backing and support to make it happen!’

While the whole mantra of being different is pretty old, it is interesting to see a very telecom-based leader jump into innovation. If the company’s own history has something to say, then perhaps Different is not cliched with Orange at all. It is something that applies to Orange perhaps better than most. Since 1994, Orange has found innovative ways be different: first company that started billing by seconds (to get more revenue!), offering 2-1 cinema tickets and pizza deals which most of us on Orange have used quite frequently, and so much more.

Since most ideas today are linked to some form of technology, it would not be a surprise to see an overwhelming number of submissions around the web, mobile or web as service. But Orange are looking for something that will make them fall off their seats, something that is well beyond the competitors, and that will challenge the current conventions of creativity! If in the process, Orange find another Steve Jobs (perhaps one for the UK would be great!) – what more could the world ask for?

Combining  the UK’s most successful business leaders in the judging panels, you can Win Your Business support and advice, as well as investment to the winning idea selected by the judges. They’re looking for a different idea, different approaches, clear strategies – something that is worth funding. The prize is worth up to £200,000!

So any Marks, Jobs or Surgeys out there in the UK who will take this up?

Sponsored Post

HTC’s new offering the HTC One X is a quad core mobile phone which is, perhaps surprisingly, crafted as a very slim, light and exceptionally elegant looking phone. With its 130g weight and 8.9mm thickness you will be forgiven for being distracted from its headline feature of the quad core chip. This mobile phone boasts a 4.7 inch 720p screen showing a crisp image and a slightly protruded display.

Meanwhile, Finnish tech giants Nokia unveiled their Nokia 808 PureView. What Nokia have done is strip away all those aspects that don’t enhance the experience and created PureView by taking core aspects of the smart phone and really getting what users want. With its 41 megapixel camera this smart phone puts many standard cameras to shame; it is definitely Nokia’s way of experimenting this year and they did it in style!

Panasonic may not be the most obvious brand to link to the mobile phone but if their new smartphone is anything to go by this won’t be the case for long. The Panasonic Eluga Power is 5 inches with a 720p screen and a 1.5GHz dual core processor all of which will give you amazing power whether you’re browsing menus or playing a high definition video. It is also a tough phone, so no need to worry about damaging it in everyday life.

The final phone to really catch our attention in recent months is the Doro PhoneEasy 740 which stands out due to its focused and simple design. Doro is a company that has long been associated with older people; this year they make the move into smartphones by combining a touch screen with a slide out keyboard. It runs off Android but has really simplified the menu making it perfect for anyone who wants the capabilities of a smart phone without the fuss.

The smartphones we’ve seen so far this year could well be some of the best mobile phones ever produced; keep an eye on these phones and see which will be making waves throughout 2012.

The rumoured product is a mobile payment dongle, the same as Square, that would thus compete with the company founded by Twitter co-founder, Jack Dorsey.

According to GigaOm, the dongle will be shaped like a triangle and will allow small business owners to process credit/debit card swipes from a smartphone.

This is very likely due to PayPal’s recent strategic shift on focussing on physical stores using their service opposed to online only.

Obviously PayPal would much rather every customer be a registered PayPal customer — though that will never be the case – the next best step is for every customer to still be able to use the PayPal service without an account – the same as Square.

The only issue is the policy in which PayPal holds money for 21 days. This policy is one which has caused much debate – and it causes a major inconvenience to millions.

GigaOm are reporting that PayPal has over 100 million account holders – and obviously – as we all know – PayPal is a very well known name, especially for those who regularly use eBay.

PayPal don’t just want to conquer larger companies, but the entire business market.

We will find out this Thursday what PayPal’s long-term plan is.

[Source: GigaOm]

Initially you could have your new iPad shipped by 16th March. It’s now 19th March.

In the UK, the shipping date is “2-3 weeks” which isn’t an exact date. Based on shipping dates it would appear online stock is down to zero – with their next shipment arriving a week later.

To clarify – this does not mean their are no iPad’s available. Usually Apple stock very little online opposed to in their retails stores, and business partners like Best Buy in the US or KRCS in the UK.

As always no specific number will be released to the amount of iPad’s that have sold out.

One thing is for sure, there will be an almighty queue outside Apple’s flagship store in London. Many people aiming to get their hands on the first iPad – most likely to sell, or at least buy several to sell.

As a result of Apple releasing a new model iPad, the price of the iPad 2 has dropped by $100 in the US.

A problem which has been pointed out by people online – Apple are advertising 4G iPad’s – in the UK, currently, there is no 4G connection available. Something which could be considered unfair on consumers who aren’t aware of this.