Angry Birds Space Downloaded 10M Times in 3 Days

Rovio’s Angry Birds Space has had a solid takeoff with 10 million downloads since its release on Thursday, according to the company.

The company, which disclosed the figure in its Twitter feed Monday morning, didn’t say how the release compares with previous title launches. However, according to reports, Rovio’s last major Angry Birds release, Angry Birds Rio, hit 10 million downloads in 10 days, more than three times as long.

The latest game was released for various formats, including for the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android devices, as well as the Mac and PC. The company didn’t release a Windows Phone version, though it plans to,according to Rovio CEO Mikael Hed.

The new version brings several important changes, most importantly gravity, which will allow players to use nearby planets to perform trick shots on unsuspecting pigs.

The game has 60 levels, with more content available through in-app purchases (only in the iOS version for now). The game includes hidden goodies and secret levels, and Rovio promises regular free updates for the future.

You can get the iPhone version here. The iPad version is available here, and the Android version is available over at Google Play. Finally, the Mac version is available in the Mac App Store, while the PC version is available directly from Rovio.

[Courtesy: Mashable]

Finally Android gets Instagram

Instagram for Android is finally here — which is welcome news for Android smartphone owners who waited patiently as Instagram’s iOS user base rose into the millions.

Will they be satisfied when they install Instagram for Android? We did a walkthrough of the new app in order to find out.“The Android app offers an extremely familiar Instagram experience when compared to the iOS app,” Instagram said in its announcement Tuesday. “You’ll find all the same exact filters and community as our iOS version.”

It’s true that Instagram for Android has most of the same features as the iPhone version. The user interface on the Android version has the same layout. The five tabs on the bottom of the home screen are dedicated to five key functions in the app. Another feature that has not changed is sharing photos out to the same four platforms: Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and Tumblr.

There are, however, some notable differences.

Instagram for Android uses a new camera icon in the camera view. The app also lacks some of the iPhone version’s image editing features — most importantly tilt shift, which allows you to focus on one area of the photo while distorting the rest of the image.

The Android version does have one feature its iPhone counterpart lacks: “Advanced Camera.” When you turn this on, it will automatically resize your photo, so you don’t have to recrop the image in Instagram’s interface.

In the iPhone version, you can only resize or crop if you select a photo from your photo library. Instagram for Android was tested on a Samsung Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.0. Currently, the Android version of Instagram is compatible with Android 2.2 or higher.

You can download the Instagram for Android app for free over at Google Play. (Download)

[Courtesy: Mashable]

Screenshots

It is Twitter's 6th birthday

Twitter is celebrating its sixth birthday today. The sheer fact that you can understand that sentence shows you how far Twitter has gone since then. It has become the de facto short message system of the internet and the favorite social networking service of celebrities all around the world.

And, with over 500 million users, it is the largest one-to-many open communication platform on the web.It wasn't long before its public debut on July 15 as Twitter and since then the service's popularity has exploded.

Today Twitter has an estimated 350 million registered users, with about 100 million of them posting regularly on the site in 2011. The service has attracted numerous celebrities, politicians, brands, and influencers from all fields to the platform. Depending on who you ask (or follow), you'll find that Twitter can be used to comment on the mundane, for personal micro-blogging, as a promotional tool, an RSS reader replacement, or to learn about current events in real time.

Here are some quick facts about Twitter gathered from around the web:

• Born from a 5-member team, Twitter is now available in 28 languages and employs over 835 people.
• Over 60 billion tweets were sent out in all of 2011.
• 1 million Twitter accounts are opened every day
• The record for maximum tweets per second as of date is 12233, set during Superbowl 2012.
• It took 3 years, 2 months and 1 day to hit the first billion tweets. Now it takes less than a week.
• A 2011 study from the University of Washington says Twitter and other social media sites played a central role leading up to the toppling of the Tunisian and Egyptian dictators.
• Lady Gaga (@LadyGaga) has over 21 million followers on Twitter, making her the most "followed" user. Barack Obama (@BarackObama) is by the most popular politician on Twitter with over 13 million followers, while YouTube (@YouTube) is the most popular brand on Twitter with 10 million followers.

[Source: Mashable and Techspot]

Chrome became best browser for one day

Google’s Chrome browser became the most-used browser in the world for one day last weekend, according to web analytics company StatCounter.

A new report by StatCounter revealed that Chrome became the top global Internet browser for the first time on Sunday. It was the most popular browser in India, Russia and Brazil, which helped contribute to it becoming the number one PC browser for the day.

“While it is only one day, this is a milestone,” said StatCounter CEO Aodhan Cullen.About 32.7% of global web browsing occurred on Chrome on March 18, followed by Internet Explorer with 32.5%, according to a Reuters report. On Monday, Chrome occupied 30% of browsing while Internet Explorer accounted for about 35%. Firefox occupies about 25% of the global market share, while Safari trails with 7%.

Chrome still has a way to go to beat Internet Explorer and Firefox in many regions, including China, United States and Germany.

“Whether Chrome can take the lead in the browser wars in the long term remains to be seen, however the trend towards Chrome usage at weekends is undeniable,” Cullen added. “At weekends, when people are free to choose what browser to use, many of them are selecting Chrome in preference to Internet Explorer.”

[Source: Mashable]

Windows 8 may come this october

Microsoft plans to finish working on its Windows 8 operating system this summer and have it ready for personal computers and tablets in October, according to unnamed sources familiar with the matter speaking with Bloomberg.

The sources also revealed that the Redmond-based company plans to release both the traditional x86 version of Windows 8 and the new ARM version at the same time. It is expected that five ARM-based devices will feature the new OS on launch day, with more expected in the future.

According to the sources, three of them will be ARM-based tablets, and Microsoft’s tight control of the number is to ensure extensive quality control standards are kept to, so that the first devices exceed consumer expectations.

In many ways it makes sense, as the software house is an expert at crafting operating systems using the x86 architecture, but this is their first attempt at providing consumers with an identical version on ARM-based devices. By limiting the initial offering of ARM devices it frees the company to focus extensively on each one to ensure they operate as expected.

A launch around this time would also be ideal for Microsoft to target Christmas shoppers and claw back some of the consumer interest that has largely focused on Apple products over the course of the last year.

[Source: Techspot]

New iPad Smart cover problem

Smart covers, which attach to the iPad’s built-in magnets, are supposed to turn the tablet on automatically when you flip them open. But as dozens of iPad users in this Apple forum concurred, that was no longer the case with many smart covers on the new iPad.

That seemed odd, as the new iPad is physically no different from the iPad 2 — on the surface, at least. But it turns out Apple has been messing with the polarity of its magnets under the hood.

Photographer Mark Booth uncovered this when he did some experiments with magnets, iPads and a couple of smart covers. You can see the results in a video on Booth’s blog.

“The iPad 2′s sleep/wake sensor wasn’t polarity specific,” Booth explains. And that apparently led to an issue for iPad 2 users who flipped their smart covers around so that they sat flush with the back of the tablet — an everyday act that could cause the iPad 2 to switch off unintentionally.So it seems the new iPad’s sleep/wake sensor does require a specific polarity. But in fixing one issue, Apple appears to have caused another for users who want to use their old smart covers with their new tablets. 

Booth theorizes that Apple quietly made the polarity change in their smart covers at some point in 2011, since newer Apple-made smart covers do seem to work with the new iPad. If you got yours for the holidays, there’s a good chance you won’t see a problem.

If your smart cover hails from early 2011, try taking it back to the Apple store; Booth says he’s hearing from users that the store will exchange old smart covers for new ones.

[Source courtesy: Mashable]

Galaxy Tab 2.0.7 coming in India

Samsung has announced at the on-going South-West Asia Regional forum that it will be launching recently announced Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 aka Tab 310 in South-West Asia including India next month. There is no word on the exact launch date or the pricing as of now.

Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 is the successor of the original Galaxy Tab and comes with features like Android 4.0, 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 7-inch 1024×600 PLS LCD display, 3MP rear camera, and a VGA camera on front. Other specs include HSPA+, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, A-GPS and a 4000mAh battery. Company has stated that it will be releasing both Wi-Fi only and 3G variants in the region but we don’t think India will be getting the Wi-Fi only version.

Samsung has also revealed that it also plans to launch Galaxy Beam projector phone in South-West Asia in May. There is no word whether India will get it too.