The ink has barely dried on the contract for Facebook’s aquisition of Instagram and the company has already dropped a brand new camera app for iOS devices. The new app, called Camera for iOS, and is intended to make uploading and viewing Facebook photos faster and easier.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the app features Instagram-like filters to modify users’ photographs before uploading and also offers the ability to upload multiple photos, unlike Facebook’s current app for iOS. The timing of this release is more than likely just a coincidence as the company had to have had this app in development long before their purchase of Instagram.

It’s more likely they were trying to mimic some of Instagram’s features in their own app but then decided it would probably just be easier to buy Instagram and incorporate it info Facebook. Plus, they get one more important thing with that purchase: the users. This new app is just the beginning. Look for an improved app sooner rather than later.

Facebook’s Camera for iOS is available now on the Apple’s App Store. And no, there’s no Android version . . . yet.

If you’re an Android user who also enjoys using the Google+ social media service, you may have been a bit miffed to see the iOS version of the G+ app get a big update a few weeks ago. Well don’t worry, your time has come.

That’s right, Google today took the wraps off a big update for the Android version of the Google+ app and with it has come several improvements to the UI including the big thing you may love or hate: giant pictures. The new app also makes starting a hangout with your pals possible from a mobiel device.

In addition, there’s also a new navigation ribbon on the left side, much like the desktop version, that features quick shortcuts to all the areas of Google+ you might need to go to. You also get some new transitions as you scroll through feeds, the ability to download pics as wallpaper, the ability to edit posts inline and more.

The new app is available through the Google Play store. So, what do we think?

In yet another display of near complete disregard for its customers, Verizon Wireless announced this week it plans to eliminate the $30/Month unlimited data plan any user subscribed to prior to the company’s transition to tiered data plans last July. Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said at the 40th J.P. Morgan Technology, Media and Telecom conference that once unlimited 3G data plan customers upgrade to 4G LTE, they will be forced to purchase the company’s shared data plan.

“Everyone will be on data share,” Shammo said. The carrier’s shared data plans are scheduled to launch in the coming months, and will allow users to share a single pool of data between multiple devices. “If I can add as many devices as I want, that is more efficient from a family perspective and a small business perspective,” the CFO said.

When asked how Verizon will migrate customers off their unlimited data plans, Shammo said that LTE will draw customers away from it. “A lot of our 3G base is on unlimited,” he said. “When they migrate off 3G they will have to go to data share. That is beneficial to us.”

Sure, beneficial to you, but how does that benefit customers again? Oh yeah, it doesn’t. It just means people should get ready to pay ever increasing costs for mobile data.

How do we feel about this?

Perhaps this is a good thing and will lead to those much-desired turn by turn directions on the iPhone that users have wanted? Let’s hope so.

What am I talking about? Well, it seems Apple has decided to get rid of Google Maps in iOS 6 and going for an in house solution instead. According to the folks at 9to5Mac, the mapping solution will be in-place for the next major version of the mobile operating system, combining technologies from the acquisition of Placebase, C3 Technologies and Poly9.

According to reports, the new maps app will feature a state of the art 3D mode with graphics provided by C3. The look and features of said 3D maps will supposedly “blow your head off”, at least according to the report.

As someone who’s used both iOS and Android, it’s very clear which has the superior maps application with far more features including turn by turn. With Apple and Google moving farther apart it makes sense that Apple would want to go out on its own this way.

Competition is good and let’s hope that leads to a better maps experience in iOS 6. We expect this to be revealed in much more detail during Apple’s upcoming Worldwide Dev Conference next month.

Google+ hasn’t quite caught on with people as much as something like Twitter or Facebook, at least not yet. However, that hasn’t stopped Google from trying make it the best social networking experience possible.

Going a long way towards that goal is the update to its Google+ app or iOS users, which the company rolled out late yesterday. With the new update, users will see a completely redone user experience and Google’s goal is to basically simplify and beautify Google+. They released a statement on this new philosophy:

To be clear, we’re not interested in a mobile or social experience that’s just smaller. We’re embracing the sensor-rich smartphone (with its touchable screen and high-density display), and transforming Google+ into something more intimate, and more expressive.

Sounds good. And if you check out the app, you can see they’ve done pretty much what they set out to do. The new version of the app is extremely well done and, dare we say it, quite beautiful.

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Add me to the list of people a bit perturbed about not being able to get a ticket for Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June. Sure, I could have been more diligent or woken up super early to make sure I got a ticket. However, with tickets selling out in under two hours, it might not have made a difference anyway.

Plus, Apple could have also taken its West Coast developers into a bit more consideration when deciding the release schedule for tickets too. After all, Apple is a West Coast company, so that should count for something. Amiright? Maybe not.

Anyway, for those of you in the same boat who did not manage to get a ticket for WWDC, an alternative has presented itself. No, Apple hasn’t released more tickets for its event. Instead, some enterprising developers in San Francisco, who’ve dubbed their organization Indie Developer Labs, have decided to put on an iOS developer conference of their own.

“Indie Developer Labs is an open area where developers are provided with space to work, free Wi-Fi, and an open environment to connect with other developers. Our mission is to help foster the collaborative spirit of the Apple developer community,” the organizers said on their website.

The event will take place from June 12th to June 15th in San Francisco, during the same time and just blocks away from where Apple’s event will be held at the Moscone Center. We wish them well.

Developing apps for the iPhone, iPad and other iOS devices is a booming business. There’s also money to be made developing apps for the Mac and Mac OS X as well.

There’s so much to gain, and Apple wants to keep developers as happy as they can, that the company holds an annual developer’s conference in San Francisco to make sure everyone is on the same page and to help developers get all the tools they need to create great apps. In fact, the company just announced that its Worldwide Developer Conference will take place in San Francisco from June 11th to June 15th.

For the event, Apple is providing over 100 sessions on iOS and OS X, in addition to a student scholarship program. If you’re a first-time developer of apps for the iPhone or a seasoned veteran, this even surely offers a great deal of useful information and contact building.

Read on for all the details from Apple’s official press release.

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With the huge pupularity of services like Dropbox, it was only a matter of time before others joined in the competition for your cloud-based storage needs. Now, a major player in all things cloud, Google, has taken the wraps off its Google Drive service.

The service, which allows you to store things in Google’s cloud, comes with 5GB of free space to start, with the option of adding more as you need it. The upgraded storage options come in 25 and 100 GB increments with cost of $2.49 and $4.99 a month respectively.

These upgrades also increase your Gmail storage space as well bringing it up to 25 GB total at both upgrade levels. In addition, if you really need more space, you can get up to 16 TB, but that will set you back almost 800 bucks a month, so it might not be worth it to you — at least right now.

There’s also a Google Drive App for Windows and Mac which, like Dropbox, allows you to sync your Google Drive to your desktop or laptop and interact with it that way. At the moment, there’s no dedicated Google Drive app for iOS devices like the iPhone or iPad (nor does the Google app for IOS appear to let you access your Google Drive), but let’s hope one hits soon enough.

After trying to Google Drive app for Mac OSX, it works pretty much as you would expect with all your Google Docs items available to you as well as the ability to upload and save items created in other apps like Micsofot Word. All in all, it works pretty well with no issues so far.

Looks like Dropbox has got itself some real competition now.

Remember back before we had multi-billion dollar movies in theaters showcasing our favorite heroes doing the things we had them doing with action figures in your garage decades ago? Just me? Probably, but that doesn’t mean most of you didn’t want to do the same, and now DC and LEGO are giving you the chance to do it in style with their brand new app, LEGO Super Heroes Movie Maker.

The app is to celebrate the new marriage of LEGO and Warner Bros.’ famed DC list of characters, in the DC Super Heroes line of toys and video games. The app works pretty simply, but is also perfect for those with a good amount of time and patience. Here’s how they break it down.

Bring the LEGO DC Universe Super Heroes to life with the LEGO DC Super Heroes Movie Maker. The free app lets you bring your blocks to life using simple tools and guides that make it easy to shoot, edit, even score your movie with music. Add one of the customizable title cards and share your directorial debut online.

You can get the app now for free in the iTunes App Store, or just wait for it to hit your non-iPhone sometimes soon. In the meantime, check out their trailer for the app after the jump.

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After the initial announcement of Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure, there was mention of a mobile app in development alongside the proper console release. Just how the game’s plethora of characters and technology would tie between consoles, PC and Apple’s iOS was quickly debated by the toy and gaming communities. Once Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure was released, players were welcomed into two separate but interconnected worlds where their figures gained life both in a classic adventure style game on consoles and the minigame-centric PC community. Now, using those same unique character codes, players can import their Skylander into their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with Skylanders: Cloud Patrol.

Skylanders: Cloud Patrol is a shooting gallery style game with some inspirations from Fruit Ninja. Players take their Skylander, with the ability to unlock more through either gameplay or redeeming codes from purchased figures, and target the trolls that have escaped into the Skylands. Players group together shots to release combos while avoiding hitting bombs which end the game for them. At only 99 cents, Cloud Patrol is the cheapest addition to the Skylanders library for any player and provides a simple but fun burst of entertainment while utilizing characters players have already become familiar with.

“Skylanders is already a huge success both on consoles and the web with Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure and Skylanders Spyro’s Universe and we are excited to bring the franchise to the mobile platform,”said John Coyne, vice president, consumer marketing. “Now with Cloud Patrol, fans have a brand new way to interact with their favorite Skylanders characters on the go in fun a new form of gameplay.”

Check out the gallery of screen shots for Skylanders: Cloud Patrol for iPod touch, iPhone and iPad after the jump.

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In 2010, Jerry Holkins, aka Tycho, posted chapters for what he hoped would become the third installment of Penny Arcade’s steampunk RPG game series, but then much to the dismay of fans, not much else was heard of about the game.

Cut to 2012 and not only does the game have a developer, indie devs Zeboyd games, but it should be released sometime this summer. I got a chance to sit in on the panel where the game’s creators, plus Holkins himself, discussed how the game resurfaced and came to be.

What is obviously different right from the start in On The Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 is the SNES-style art and graphics. The previous two games looked a bit more like one of Mike Krahulik’s comics, but this third game is less comic, more Final Fantasy. The battle system and dialogue boxes are reminiscent of all my favorite RPGs growing up, but combined with the snarky, sometimes foul dialogue always present in the Penny Arcade games, it’s more like an R-rated version of Dragon Warrior.

During the Q&A portion of the panel, fans asked a lot about the other apparent difference in On The Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness 3, which is the absence of a customizable protagonist. In this third installment, players take on a party of Gabriel, Tycho, and Ann. The developers mentioned that they may wrap up the story of the previous protagonist, but you won’t be able to play as him. However, there will be enemies in tiny hats, and tiny hats make everything funnier, so it all balances out.

On The Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 will be available this summer on PC, Mac, Xbox, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android.

Yes, you read that right. Facebook is apparently closing a deal to buy super cool photo sharing service Instagram for a Billion dollars.

Facebook CEO Mark Zukerberg announced the deal on, where else, his Facebook page. Here’s the gist of the deal from Zuck himself:

I’m excited to share the news that we’ve agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.

We believe these are different experiences that complement each other. But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.

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