
The developers behind the popular media playback software VLC have today announced that the app is now available on Chrome OS. The team explained in a blog post that Chrome OS was one of the last operating systems on which you couldn’t run VLC, so today’s release has been a long time coming for users of the operating system.

Instant Articles are Facebook’s attempts to speed up webpages on mobile in order to keep users reading and sharing within the social network. The serviced fully launched to all iOS users in October and has been in public testing since then on Android. Today, Instant Articles are rolling out to all Android users, as the rest of industry continues work on an open sourced alternative .

You can save 50% on any one album from Google Play this weekend. Go through this special link to activate the coupon and then the discount will be automatically applied at checkout. This is a great chance to save on music that isn’t available on any streaming services including Adele’s new critically acclaimed album. Deal expires at midnight on December 1. If for some reason Google Play does ask you for a coupon code, just enter 50ALBUM2015.
Terms and Conditions are as follows:
Get 50% off any one album of your choice. Select any album on Google Play and redeem your offer by midnight December 1, 2015. Your discount will be applied at checkout.
Must be redeemed on Google Play from compatible Internet connected devices using a Google account. Limit 1 per user. Age restrictions apply. Valid in AU, BR, CA, DE, FR, GB and US. Nontransferable. No cash value. Cannot be used in conjunction with other offers or discounts. See Google Play Terms & Conditions

Google announced in a blog post today that it is finally bringing podcasts to its Google Play Music app. In order to make that happen, the company — now a subsidiary of Alphabet — has launched a tool for podcasters to upload their content.
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Hurry! Get two Philips LED Light Bulbs for $4.97 (backordered, but finally avail for order!) http://t.co/QiNSIcu0Fx pic.twitter.com/vmnEQJlyqB
— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) April 23, 2015


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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnkVkwH2qbE?rel=0]

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MagicPlay—another app from the doubleTwist developers—brings support for Apple’s AirPlay to any Android device running Android 4.1, allowing content to be streamed to an Apple TV connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the phone. If you aren’t rooted, a separate app will enable you to stream your music and videos to an Apple TV or compatible set of speakers from doubleTwist, but you won’t be able to use these features within the Play Music app itself.
If your device is rooted, however, MagicPlay now adds an option to stream your content via AirPlay from the Play Music app. This feature, added in the 1.1 update that was released today, was announced by doubleTwist in a blog post today. MagicPlay now takes advantage of an API normally reserved for the Chromecast:
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If you liked the look of the four new tablets Samsung announced at CES back in January, you don’t have long to wait until they go on sale – but for now, only the wifi models will be available, and the Tab Pro 12.2 won’t ship until next month, reports re/code.
You can preorder the Wi-Fi-enabled Galaxy Note Pro 12.2, Tab Pro 10.1 or Tab Pro 8.4 now from various retailers, including Best Buy, Walmart and Amazon. But the Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 isn’t expected to ship till March …
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Update: the new version is available now.
Today Twitter has announced they will be updating their official app for Android, making it easier to discover what is happening on the microblogging network. The update adds new search filters that allow you to quickly navigate to specific people and Tweets. The filters also allow you to toggle between all relevant Tweets and only the most popular “top Tweets.”
Filters will also allow you to filter by different media types, such as photos and videos. There’s also an option to see Tweets only from the people you follow. The update includes includes a new timeline in the Discover tab that makes it easier to see what’s currently trending. This trending timeline will show topics that are associated with nearby events and TV shows.
Google is making some improvements to its Google Cloud Platform today that will make it easier for developers to provide cloud services across apps on multiple platforms. After first launching a preview of Cloud Endpoints earlier this year, Google announced today that the web backend solution for app developers has moved to General Availability. Cloud Endpoints provide developers with an easy way of building a simplified cloud backend to deploy across their web, Android and iPhone apps:
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Earlier this year, popular news app service Flipboard brought a personalized magazine feature to iOS, and, today, the feature has made its way to Android devices. Because Android applications can integrate more deeply into the core operating system, the new Flipboard update is even more versatile for custom magazines:
On Android devices, people also have the option to flip an item into a magazine from other applications, including YouTube, a web browser or their photo gallery. There are also many ways to share Flipboard magazines on Android: in addition to the social networks they have connected to Flipboard, Android users can share a magazine from the magazine’s cover “share” button, via text message, email or on Pinterest.
Flipboard has also introduced a new web tools system for personalized magazine creators to edit their magazines via a web browser. Additionally, the new update includes single-sign-on for Facebook accounts and the ability to login to a FinancialTimes account.
After lots of leaks, rumors and outright company forecasts, Samsung today announced the Galaxy Note 8.0, an 8-inch iPad Mini competitor. The 1280×800 pixel display will have a slightly better PPI of 189 than the Mini and match camera specs and a quad core processor. Samsung’s Note 8.0 will also double up the Mini with 2GB of RAM and add an S-Pen for those who need/want it as well as expandable storage via the Micro-SD card slot. Just like the Galaxy Tab 7 2 it has an IR blaster with a rebranded Peel station navigation. On the down side, it won’t have LTE (only HSPA+) and it will run a slightly out-dated 4.1.2 version of Android Jelly Bean. It also weighs almost an ounce more than the iPad Mini.
Oh and it can make calls like a huge phone.
Will this go head to head against the Mini? My gut reaction is no. Samsung’s Touchwiz overlay and pen will keep these out of the hands of mainstream users. No price or launch date is yet planned but the specs tell me (720P TFT display) that Samsung is aiming for a low price. I’d expect to see this at $250 in the US probably just after it launches in the 2nd quarter in a number of Asian and EU territories.
https://twitter.com/9to5mac/status/305507515855167489
Press release follows:
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfQrhMb18dY]
Google’s Vice President of Product Management Bradley Horowitz announced a Google+ partnership with Flipboard and teased an enterprise version of the social network at Le Web 2012 in London this morning, but he also demonstrated Hangouts…on an iPad.
According to TheNextWeb, the Flipboard partnership will stream Google+ feeds into the app as part of the Mountain View, Calif.-based Company’s new Google+ APIs that now sport limited availability for developers. The integration will also allow Flipboard users to get access to posts, media, and other data without visiting Google+ directly. Other social networks on Flipboard include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr.
Horowitz further demonstrated Google+ Hangouts at the conference with an iPad. TheNextWeb’s Jamillah Knowles was on-hand to ask the executive why he chose Apple’s tablet over an Android device for the conference, but his response was vague (as heard in the audio clip above).
The Googler was also obscure in regards to numbers. He noted the 170 million-user base for Google+ as a “stale” estimate, and he would not give specific stats on whether Google+ apps prod interaction. He did mention, however, that Google has dreams for its social network in the enterprise.
Flipboard for Android is set to officially début on the Galaxy S III when it launches May 29 in Europe, as we learned during Samsung’s press event earlier this month. However, before the app even launches, the currently iOS-exclusive Flipboard has leaked to those looking to install the social-network aggregation/magazine-format application on their Android device. Version 1.8.4 was pushed today— to those who have downloaded— in the form of an over-the-air update. As The Verge noted, the update brings a fix for the app crashing on older versions of Android and other performance enhancements, but some users are findng errors when trying to update. Nonetheless, it looks like Sammy is getting Flipboard ready for its official Android début.
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We already know Flipboard made its Android début last week with the introduction of Samsung’s new Galaxy S III, but today the app is available to everyone willing to download and install the APK themselves. XDA-developer forum user Valcho uploaded the .apk that he extracted from the Galaxy S III, which means you’re getting the actual app. It should also be easily installed through your device’s Web browser, so you will get to try it before its official release on Google Play. Go over to the XDA forums to grab it now.
Google’s Propeller app is reportedly launching in a couple weeks says AllThingsD. The new app will be available on both Android and iPad tablets, and will act like Flipboard providing content from many different sources. Publishers will be able to package their content in a web app to be presented on tablets in HTML 5.
Propeller will launch with a frenzy of publications and be integrated into Google+ — like Google is doing with most of their products. Launching before Propeller however is Yahoo’s Livestand which will also have similar content delivery functionality. But I think we all know which is going to be better, right?

A mockup of a seven-inch Amazon tablet running a forked Android version.
As Amazon gears up to debut its long-rumored tablet on Wednesday at a media event in New York (a subtle hint of a media-focused launch), TechCrunch chimes in with a name. The Android-driven device will be apparently marketed under the Kindle Fire moniker in order to distinguish it from Amazon’s highly regarded family of dedicated Kindle e-readers. Manufactured by Foxconn, Apple’s favorite contract manufacturer, the gizmo should boast a seven-inch color touchscreen (not true multi-touch) and won’t have an email client preloaded, but users will be able to download one from its mobile application store or use a built-in browser for web mail, writes author MG Siegler who first saw the device early this month.
Meanwhile, AlllThingsD’s Peter Kafka writes the online retailer is cutting partnerships left and right with Hollywood studios and magazine publishers. Amazon has now added Fox shows to its streaming catalog, Kafka reported today, explaining the deal includes shows Fox no longer airs and old Fox movies such as “Office Space,” “Speed” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”. Also, at least three magazine publishers have thrown their weighg behind Amazon’s tablet project: Hearst, Conde Nast and Meredith. Kafka cites industry sources claiming all three publishers “have deals to sell digital versions of their titles on the new device”.
Those titles are allegedly optimized for Amazon’s seven-incher and terms are said to mirror the 70:30 revenue split offered by Apple’s iTunes content store. Even though its success is anything but given, conventional wisdom has it that the Amazon tablet should benefit from Amazon’s many cloud services and long-standing partnerships with content providers. What’s unique about Amazon…