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.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Google is going to give multiple smartphone and tablet manufacturers early access to the latest builds of Android to build devices and then sell those directly to consumers through the Play Store. Google will supposedly have these devices ready in time for the launch of the next version of Android, code named Jelly Bean, which is ser to bow in November.

In the past Google has selected one company to make its “Nexus” devices. Most recently, that company was Samsung. Recently, Google began to sell the Galaxy Nexus directly through its Play Store and had a page of the store dedicated to devices plural. This, of course, begged the question as to what other devices were going to be sold there. Perhaps this new development answers that question.

According to the Journal’s source, this new plan would give Google “more control over the apps that run on smartphones and tablets powered by Android, thus reducing the influence of wireless carriers over such devices.” Gotta say, that sounds pretty good as I think carriers have way too much influence as it is.

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The war for dominance in the social media space will never really be won. Even with Facebook and Twitter dominating the scene at the moment, there’s always going to be other players looking to draw eyeballs and attention to their networks and platforms.

One such player in this war is search giant Google, whose Google+ social network debuted towards the end of last year. Sadly, even with some impressive user numbers, over 100 Million at last count, a new study suggests that “social activity and user engagement” on the service is far from good. In fact, it’s downright terrible.

Over at Fast Company, the findings of an RJ Metrics study that analyzed data from a sample of 40,000 public Google+ accounts in an effort to determine just how successful the social network is was revealed. The reports main conclusion? Google+ is a ghost town.

According to the report, the average post on Google+ gets fewer than one “+1,” the equivalent of a “like” on Facebook, and fewer than one reply. Links and other items shared publicly by Google+ users are re-shared just 0.17 times per post, on average. In addition, users averaged about one post every 12 days, usage per user declines each month after they make their first public post and about 30% of users who make a first public post never make another one.

As a daily user of Google+ (here’s my profile) I find this report interesting. On the surface it paints a pretty grim picture of Google+ and its user base. However, it only takes into account public post on the service, something I almost never make.

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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.

Late yesterday Apple released an update to its desktop operating system. This update, dubbed OS X Lion 10.7.4, features several minor bug fixes as well as a security update addressing the FileVault password security issue. This issue made users’ passwords vulnerable by storing them in plain text format. Here’s what the update addresses in Applespeak:

The 10.7.4 update is recommended for all OS X Lion users and includes general operating system fixes that improve the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac including fixes that:

For information on the security content of this update, please visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.

As always, we recommend you download and install via the combo updater instead of using Apple’s Software Update built into the Lion OS. Sure, it takes a bit longer and is a bit more effort, but in our experience, it usually yields better results.

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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If you’re one of the millions of people who read comic books on your iPad or iPhone, this post should be of particular interest to you. That’s especially true in this case if you love Marvel Comics.

Why? Well, today ComiXology and Marvel Entertainment have announced a multi-year deal where Marvel will distribute its digital comic single issue titles excessively through ComiXology. According to the report and interview with Marvel SVP and General Manager of Digital Media David Phillips, the deal was actually signed on May 1 but the announcement was delayed to coincide with the release of Marvel’s The Avengers.

“This partnership will allow us to innovate and advance the digital storytelling and reading experience,” said ComiXology co-founder and CEO David David Steinberger.

Phillips added that ComiXology’s “technology is by far the best.”

In addition to the Marvel deal, ComiXology also announced that over 65 million digital comics issues have been downloaded on all of its platforms, including mobile and desktop. That number is quite a jump from the 50 Million the company announced in January.

Certainly there’s other options for reading comics on the iPad, but it would seem with this latest deal, and the one they already have with DC, ComiXology is definitely asserting its dominance in the digital comics space.

With all the fanfare surrounding Apple’s iCloud and the recent debut of Google Drive, let’s not forget another player in the “cloud” story is still around and very much active: Amazon. In fact, they’ve just released a brand new desktop app to help users access all their info stored on the company’s cloud servers.

The app is available for both Mac and Windows desktops and could not be easier to use. Simply drag and drop your files onto the desktop icon for instant uploading to the cloud, then have access to them from any of your mobile devices that have a web connection. Of course, you have to actually go to Amazon’s website to do that.

The app is a good first step for Amazon but lacks many of the features found in other offerings from Google and Dropbox. Of course, Apple doesn’t even have an app at all so at least Amazon is ahead of them.

Still, with all of Amazon’s resources I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before they release a revised version fothe app with more features. Plus, they really need to do something about the prices as they seem a bit high.

Keep at it Amazon. Competition is a good thing.

As far as music services go, iTunes has pretty much been the dominant player for several years. However, Spotify has made great strides and has become a personal favorite of many members of The Flickcast staff. But as good as the service is, there’s been something lacking: an iPad app.

Fortunately, the company is changing that today. That’s right, Spotify has announced that its iPad application is now available in Apple’s App Store. The free app allows premium Spotify subscribers to access the services huge library of music, stream tracks and playlists, and share songs.

The new Spotify iPad app also features gapless playback, a crossfade function and AirPlay integration, allowing users to stream music wirelessly from the iPad to AirPlay-compatible devices. In other words, if your an ipad and Spotify user, this is just the thing you’ve been waiting for.

On a side note, if you’re a Spotify user and want to listen to music at home I highly recomment pairing the service with some Sonos speakers. The Sonos Play 5 / Spotify combo is really hard to beat.

Check out a video highlighting all the new features of Spotify for iPad, as well as the full press release, after the break.

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When you think of companies who innovate and come out with compelling new features ahead of the competition, Apple may spring to mind as a leader in that area. However, as this new commercial from Android seeks to remind you, Apple isn’t always first with new, innovative concepts and products.

In fact, where the “cloud” is concerned at least, it would seem Apple is well behind another upstart tech company: Google. Today’s newly released Galaxy Nexus/Android commercial highlights that idea. In a nutshell, the commercial reminds users (and potential users) that you don’t need a separate “cloud” service add-on to take advantage of those features in an Android/Google world, you just need an account. An account you probably already have.

To take advantage of this service, simply sign-in to your Google account on your Android phone and you have access to it all: email, contacts, calendars, browser info, and more. It’s really that simple.

Let’s face it, Apple is a great company that does a lot of things well. Sadly, they haven’t ever really gotten the whole “cloud” thing right. Not with .mac, not with Mobile Me and not really with iCloud either. Google, on the other hand, has done a great job and was pretty much there from the beginning before the “cloud” was even a thing. Let’s give credit where credit is due. Google does it right.

Check out the new commercial after the break.

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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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