Even though some may have decided Google+ is a vast waseland with nothing to offer, I disagree. In fact, I often find more interesting discussion on G+ than I do on Facebook or Twitter.

Not to say that my friends on Facebook or Twitter don’t have anything interesting to say, they do and often. It’s just that Google+ users tend to go more in depth on subjects and I’ve particularly liked the level of interaction you can have with people there.

But up until now, one thing has been missing: Google+ on the iPad. Fortunately, that’s a problem no more as Google has today released an updated version of the G+ app for iOS which includes full iPad support. It’s pretty much the same as what you get on Android and looks great when combined with the iPad’s retina display.

The Google+ update is available via the iTunes App Store now. Go get it.

Well, this is a bit disappointing. Granted, it will probably only affect a small percentage of you out there, but it’s still kinda lame.

According to reports, even if you have Apple’s shiny new iPad and want to engage in a little FaceTime with a, um, friend, you won’t be able to do it, even if you have super fast 4G LTE. It will only work over Wi-Fi.

If you try, you will be prompted to connect to an available Wi-Fi network. Curiously, if you are using your iPad as a Wi-Fi hotspot, which you can with the Verizon version, FaceTime will work if you initiate a call using an supported iPhone or iPod.

Apple has so far been moot on this issue but you can be sure people are going to be asking about it. After all, in many cases 4G LTE is as fast (or faster) than available Wi-Fi networks so the fact that FaceTime isn’t supported is difficult to understand.

Again, this isn’t a critical point for most of you, we just found it interesting as it gives a bit of insight into how Apple deals with wireless carriers. Of course, it could be a decision on Apple’s part. . . but we kinda doubt it.

With the popularity of smartphones like the iPhone and myriad of Android-powered handsets, one of the things users love to do is take and share photos with friends and family. One of the best apps for doing this when using the iPhone is Instagram.

This app allows you to take a photo, manipulate it if you choose and then upload it to your photo stream for all to see. People can then subscribe to your photo stream and view your photos on their devices. Or, you can upload them to Twitter, Facebook or Flickr.

It’s extremely popular on the iPhone (many of us here use it, in fact) but so far, it’s only been available for iOS devices. Apparently, that’s not going to be the case much longer.

Speaking during the LeWeb conference in Paris this week, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom confirmed that an Android version of the company’s popular iOS application is coming soon. ”We have two people working on Android now,” Systrom said.

I know what you’re thinking. Two people doesn’t sound like very many. However, keep in mind that the whole company probably isn’t that much bigger and has been exclusively an iOS app since launch.

No launch date was forthcoming from Systrom but we expect to see the Android version of Instagram sometime early next year.

Let’s face it, there’s a lot of apps out there for the iPad and iPhone. Many of them are even useful and, on occasion, fun to use. You can add Flipboard to that list.

In case you haven’t tried it yet, Flipboard is a very popular magazine-style news application which, up until today, was available only for the iPad. Now, those of you who want the same experience on your iPhone or, for some reason, don’t have an iPad yet, can now enjoy Flipboard on your iPhone because it’s now available.

The app allows users to flip through a single feed of articles and photos that have been shared across various social networks. It can also display stories from a variety of news categories including technology, design, “Flipboard picks,” photography, business, sports, style, travel, food and more.

It’s a great app that really helps you digest a lot of information quickly and easily and does it inside a very user-friendly interface. It’s definitely worth checking out.

Flipboard for iPhone is free and available in the App Store now.

You may have heard of a little game called Call of Duty: Black Ops. In fact, before the more recent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, it was the best selling first person shooter game of all time on the XBox 360, PS3 and PC.

But what if you didn’t have and XBox or were on the road and wanted to play it on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch? Well, up until today you were out of luck. Fortunately, your luck is changing . . . for the better.

That’s right kids today Activision has released Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Here’s all the scoop from the official press release:

Adapted from Treyarch’s best-selling console hit, Call of Duty: Black Ops, and built specifically for Apple mobile devices, Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies delivers a Zombies experience never before seen on mobile along with 50 levels of cult-favorite Dead-Ops Arcade, providing the ultimate undead challenge for fans of Call of Duty’s signature Zombies mode. Featuring Voice Chat for a true Call of Duty style multiplayer experience, the title allows gamers to play solo or join a team of up to four to take down hordes of zombies.

Apple on Thursday (or today if you’re reading this, well, on Thursday) released iOS 5.0.1 for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. This update reportedly fixes a number of issues with the operating system.

According to Apple, the update fixes bugs affecting battery life, adds Multitasking Gestures for the original iPad, resolves bugs with Documents in the Cloud and improves voice recognition for Australian users using dictation. Actually, I’m pretty happy about that last one as the Australian Siri really had a hard time understanding me.

iOS 5.0.1 is compatible with iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, iPad, iPod touch (4th generation) and iPod touch (3rd generation). To install the update, launch the Settings app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, tap General, and then open Software Update.

You can also update the old fashioned way by syncing your device with iTunes. Let us know how it goes if you do update.

Ok music creation fans who don’t have iPads, your time has come. That’s right, Apple has today official dropped the Garage Band app for iPhone and iPod Touch.

As you probably know, prior to today, it was only available for OS X-running Macs and on the iPad. But no more. Now you can compose the next great song while sitting in the waiting room of your doctor’s office or on the toilet. Just be sure to use headphones . . and wash your hands.

“GarageBand on iPad has been a big hit and we think customers will love using it on their iPhone or iPod touch,” Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing Philip Schiller said. “The innovative Multi-Touch interface combined with Smart Instruments makes it easy to create great sounding music, even if you’ve never studied music or played an instrument before.”

GarageBand is available in iTunes for $4.99 to new users or for free to those who already own the app on an iPad. It is supported by the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and the third and fourth-generation iPod touch. Click through for the full press release from Apple.

For those of your doubting the demand for the new iPhone 4S and decrying it’s inevitable failure, we say it’s now time for you to stop hating Apple and realize that they know precisely what they’re doing. How can we be sure?

Apple has just announced that the company sold over 4 Million iPhone 4S handsets during the first weekend they were on sale. You can count some of us here at The Flickcast in that number too — especially Mr. Ullrich, who seems to get all the cool toys.

That’s more than double the amount when the iPhone 4 was lunched last year. Additionally, Apple says that over 25 million customers are already using iOS 5, and over 20 million have signed up for iCloud.

Apple is planning on launching the iPhone 4S in more than 90 countries by the end of the year, and has launched the device in 7 countries so far. So, you can imagine what its eventual sales figures will be.

Can you say astronomical? We can. And so can Apple.

Click through for the full press release from Apple. Have you picked up your iPhone 4S yet? If so, what’s you favorite feature so far?

If you were one of the people disappointed by Apple’s recent iPhone 4S announcement, lack of an iPhone 5 announcement and sure the company was starting a downward spiral because of user backlash against the lowly iPhone 4S, fear not. It seems Apple is gonna be just fine.

The company has confirmed that they have sold over one million iPhone 4S devices in the first 24 hours. That beats the previous record holder, the iPhone 4, which sold just over 600,000 in one day when it launched.

Of course, sales numbers for the iPhone 4S are helped by the fact that the device is available on three US cell phone carriers (AT&T, Verizon and Sprint) instead of just one like the iPhone 4 was at the beginning. Still, that doesn’t take away from the impressive sales figure.

So, to those of you talking about how Apple “disappointed” people with “just” the iPhone 4S announcement and started discussing the company’s imminent downfall now that Steve Jobs is gone, all we can say is “Suck it.” Apple isn’t going anywhere. Deal with it.

Check out Apple’s official press release is after the break.

At an event held this morning at Apple’s Cupertino campus, newly minted Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled what many were expecting: a brand new iPhone. Dubbed the iPhone 4S, the device is cosmetically very similar to the current iPhone 4 but features a host of internal improvements which may appease fans eagerly awaiting an iPhone refresh.

In addition, Cook announced the release data for iOS 5, the software that powers Apple’s lineup of devices including the iPhone and iPad, as well as updated iPods with price cuts and an intelligent assistant, dubbed Siri, which enables user to verbally interact with their iOS devices.

Here’s the highlights of today’s event:

• Apple made the iPhone 4S official. It features the same Retina Display but features Apple’s dual-core A5 processor and a dual-core graphics chip.

• The iPhone 4S battery can provide 8 hours of 3G talk time, 6 hours of browsing time on 3G and 9 on Wi-Fi, 10 hours of video playback or 40 hours of music playback.

• Apple has redesigned the iPhone 4S antenna to switch between two antenna to send and receive. Hopefully how you hold the device won’t matter now.

• The iPhone 4S features HSPA+ 14.4 support, though Apple isn’t branding it as “4G.” It’s also a world phone, so one device will support CDMA and GSM/WCDMA networks around the globe. That means it will work on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint networks in the U.S.