We know it’s sometimes hard to be an Android user in what must seem like an iOS-dominated world — at least where new apps, or updates to current ones, are concerned. Yes, most new apps and updates appear for iOS first. But at some point, and that gap is narrowing all the time, the app or update comes to Android.

Case in point today is the extremely fun and useful app Flipboard. We use it all the time on our iPhones and iPads and have even gone so far as to create a few magazines to highlight our interests. And now Anrdoid users can get in on that fun with the latest update to Flipboard for their OS.

In addition to the magazine feature, the app also had several other updates including the following:

• Integrated Android share: add content from the Gallery & other apps to your magazines
• Bookmarklet to add items to your magazines from a browser
• Get notifications when people like, comment or subscribe to your magazines
• Share magazines via email or social networks
• Personalized recommendations for more to read
• Search is now front & center, with improved results

Get the brand new Flipboard for Android over at Google Play.

Not one to be left behind when there’s a fight to be had, Microsoft has decided to take on what it thinks are two of its biggest rivals: Apple and Samsung. Or, at least, it wants you to remember that it also makes phones too and the fued between Apple and Samsiung is a silly distraction from the awesomeness of its products.

One way Microsoft is trying to accomplish this is with a new ad. In this one iPhone users make fun of Galaxy owners and their “enormous” phones, Galaxy owners make fun of iPhone owners and call them children and the list of insults goes on and on.

If it wasn’t so heavy-handed and obvious, it would be kinda funny. Still, we do like stylized martial arts action in a church and overblown sound effects as much as the next guys/gals. The guy with the Apple tattoo is also a nice touch.

So kudos to Microsoft for at least trying to have a sense of humor and trying to do something. We may never buy a Windows Smartphone (check that, we never will), but at least it won’t be due to a lack of effort on Microsoft’s part.

Hey, we still love the XBox 360. Check out the add after the break.

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After so many years, people had pretty much written off T-Mobile as a carrier who offered Apple’s iPhone. It seemed, except for those of you inclined to jailbreak, using an iPhone on T-Mobile’s network was just never going to happen.

That is, until now. Well, not until April 12th to be exact. That’s right T-Mobile fans, the iPhone is coming to a network near you.

Today the company announced that it would start selling the iPhone 5 for $99 on April 12th. You won’t have to sign any long-term contract either. You will, however, have to agree to pay T-Mobile an extra $20 a month over a 20-month period to fully pay off the cost of the device.

You also have the option of paying full price for the device up front and then the extra fee is waived. For more, check out the full press release after the break.

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This week on The Flickcast, Chris and Matt are back and better than ever. Or, they’re pretty much the same as ever.

But that’s not a bad thing. In fact, the “same” for these two talented dudes is pretty much awesome. So, sit back, relax and enjoy this episode where the boys discuss all manner of topics including the awesome Insane Office Escape video, some visual effects news, X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Hobbit, the first day of shooting on Godzilla, new Ant Man footage, Jean-Claude Van Damme in The Avengers and, the most important thing, a fundraiser for their friend Flitz who needs an operation and doesn’t have the money.

Fortunately, you can help right here.

Chris and Matt also made picks this week incluidng Matt’s pick of Justice League Unlimited and Chris’ pick of the iOS app Feedly.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook or via email.

Podcast: Download

Another day, another software update for one (or more) of our devices. This time it’s from Apple in the form of an update to iOS, which brings the software to version 6.1.3.

According to Apple, iOS 6.1.3 fixes a bug that could allow someone to bypass the passcode and access the Phone. Bummer. It also provides improvements to iMaps in Japan. Well, that’s nice for Japan, but what about here in the U.S.?

Maybe next week, right Apple? Meantime, we’re liking Google Maps just fine in iOS, thank you.

The download is 17 MB in size and can be found by going to System Prefs> General on your iOS device. We’re updating now and will report back if anything breaks or, more to the point, improves.

With Google’s Maps app for iOS pretty much dominating the scene, the company has released another app for iOS that could be almost as useful. Or, at least, potentially more fun.

The new app, called Field Trip, had previously been Android-only and is a location-based augmented reality app that displays information on your screen or into your Bluetooth headset when you are near an area of interest.

Here are some of the apps main features from the iTunes Store description:

• Discover thousands of interesting places/experiences that fall under the following categories: Architecture, Historic Places & Events, Lifestyle, Offers & Deals, Food Drinks & Fun, Movie Locations, Outdoor Art and Obscure Places of Interest around you.

• Choose from three different modes to set frequency of Field Trip notifications. See “Field Trip”-worthy places around you on a map, by tapping on cards in map view to pull up enthralling points of interest around you.

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Do you love comics from Marvel and prefer them in digital format? Are you a current or future Marvel Unlimited subscriber? Have an iPad or iPhone?

Well, if you fit the quickly expanding segment of the population who can say “Yes” to these questions, Marvel has a new iOS app just for you. That’s right, today Marvel released its new “Marvel Unlimited” app for iPad and iPhone.

The free app allows subscribers of Marvel’s digital comics subscription service to access their comics from their iOS device, even when not connected to the internet. Non-members can also use the app, but they are limited to accessing free comics and previews of other issues in Marvel’s digital collection.

Heck, that’s pretty cool. Get the app right here in iTunes.

At one time or another, we’ve all needed to go somewhere, but didn’t know how to get there. Back in the old days, that probably meant a paper map and trying to plan a route or, in extreme circumstances, asking directions. And sometimes, things went wrong or didn’t work, and we ended up getting lost. Embarrassing to say the least.

Fortunately, those times pretty much ended with the advent of modern GPS navigation systems you could bring along with you in the car to make sure you didn’t end up someplace you didn’t want to go. Of course, the undisputed king of modern navigation and maps is Google. Sorry Apple.

And today, Google has given we iOS users a gift and updated its Maps application for iOS with several new features that make the app a bit more “personal.” The biggest change is in search, which now integrates with your Google contacts. Once you sign in to your Google account with Google Maps, the app will pull in the names and addresses from your contacts. These addresses will appear when you search for your friends or family members by name.

Google also added a new local feature that lets you search for nearby businesses by selecting categories such as restaurants, bars, gas stations and more. There’s also a new setting that lets you toggle between kilometers or miles. You can also leave that on automatic and it will choose for you depending on where you are.

Get the latest version of Google Maps for iOS in iTunes.

Yes, even Apple has security problems sometimes. They also have problems with other things, like maps. Still, that hasn’t stopped them from becoming one of the biggest tech companies in the world and one of our favorite companies too.

Even if we do love all-things Apple (well, most of us anyway) that doesn’t mean we won’t tell you when the company has a problem. Case in point this time is a security vulnerability recently discovered in iOS 6.1.

This vulnerability allows an iPhone’s unlock passcode to be bypassed, giving unauthorized users access to the device’s Phone app, contacts, voicemail and photos. Yeah, that’s not cool.

Recognizing that they have a problem, an Apple spokesperson confirmed to the website AllThingsD that the company is aware of the issue and plans to release a fix in a future software update.

And yes, there’s also video of this vulnerability in action. If you want to see it, check it out after the break.

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Are you a smartphone or tablet user? If so, have you unlocked your device or are you planning on it? If you’ve hesitated up to this point, you not wait any longer.

Why? Well, it seems the Librarian of Congress has determined that certain actions involving mobile phones are illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Basically, this means it will be illegal to jailbreak tablets and illegal to unlock phones without permission from your wireless provider. Good times.

This goes into effect on Januray 26th so if you still need to get this done, and you care about violating the law, you might want to hurry. Of course, you could always buy an iPhone from Verizon which is already unlocked, or a Nexus 4 (if you can find one), which is also unlocked, to avoid this problem.

Otherwise, you’re on your own. Good luck.

Today, Twitter released it’s new iOS app called Vine, which allows users to shoot video clips and then share them by embedding them in tweets.

Vine videos are limited to a maximum of six seconds, and play in a continuous loop. They are shot using the Vine app, which you can get right here.

In a post, Vine co-founder and general manager Dom Hofmann wrote: “Posts on Vine are about abbreviation — the shortened form of something larger. They’re little windows into the people, settings, ideas and objects that make up your life. They’re quirky, and we think that’s part of what makes them so special.”

According to many, this is supposed to be “the Instagram of Twitter”, but it reamins to be seen if people will take to it in such rabid fashion as they have to Instagram. With many users already signing on to try the service, one complaint we’ve already heard is that the videos playing in a continuous loop, much like GIFs, is kinda annoying.

Yeah, we can see that. Get the new Vine app for free over at Apple’s App Store. Let us know what you think.

As is often the case with software, it needs to be updated. Apple’s iOS is no exception. So, with that in mind, we’ll let you know that Apple release an update to iOS today and it’s now available for download.

Apple’s iOS 6.0.1 update contains, as is usually the case, the infamous “various bug fixes. It also contains a patch which fixes the iPhone 5′s inability to update itself over the air. That’s a bit embarassing to be sure.

If you have an iPhone 5 you will need to download a patch update first, then iOS 6.0.1 update. Other iOS devices can just update over the air normally.

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In what most will consider a bold, decisive move (and a few will think of as a simple attempt to save face), Apple CEO Tim Cook sent out a letter of apology today to all users of Apple’s new Maps application. In the letter, Cook admitted that Apple “fell short” on its commitment to customers.

In addition, he recommended that while the company works to fix its maps, users should check out other options for iOS including MapQuest and Microsoft’s Bing app. No mention of Google Maps, however. Shocking, I know.

The full letter is after the break.

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Whatever your experience with Apple’s new Maps application in iOS 6 (some people hate it, others are less critical) it is now part of the equation. If you update to iOS 6 or buy an iOS device with it already installed, you’ve just got to take the Apple Maps application and use it, right?

Well, maybe not. One enterprising iOS hacker by the name of Ryan Petrich has taken matters into his own hands and on Sunday posted a video that demonstrates the original Google Maps program from iOS 5 running on iOS 6.

Now before you get too excited the hack isn’t available to the public yet as, according to Petrich, it isn’t stable enough yet to do so. Also, and you should have seen this coming, you will have to jailbreak your iPhone running iOS 6 for this hack to work.

Still, if you just can’t get iMaps in iOS 6 to work for you and you’re willing to go through the steps necessary, relief for you may be in sight. That is until Apple closes this hole in the next iOS 6 updaate. Until then, go nuts!

Check out the video of this in action after the break.

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It seems the people who actually make parts for many of our shiny toys (like the iPhone 5) are up in arms again. This time, they decided to riot and, of course, there’s video. Approximately 40 people were injured and 20 were arrested and so far nobody is really sure (or they aren’t saying) what caused the riot.

Preliminary reports suggested the incident began after a security guard struck a worker during anti-Japan protests. The plant, which manufactures magnesium alloy components and LED lighting products, has been closed following the incident.

Other reports say as many as 2,000 workers were involved and according to Foxconn the incident was triggered by “a fight among workers from different production lines,” but the company noted it is “still investigating the cause of the fight and the number of people involved.”

I wonder if we’ll ever know what really happened? Our guess is probably not. Check out the video after the break.

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