Google showed off an impressive list of 41 new features for Google+ at the I/O conference. Today the company announced that it is releasing a brand new app for Android which comes with improvements in location and photos features. The Google+ Stream has also been improved in this update. Throughout the day, version 4.0 of Google+ for Android will be rolling out to users all around the world. Apart from these features, the app also brings Notification tweaks and the ability to edit additional profile fields on the move. One tap access to the new Hangouts app is also baked in.

Read full post →New Google+ App For Android Launched

Hmmm, it did not take too long – just approximately a month ago after the Dove Real Beauty Sketches ad campaign went viral on YouTube that it has ended up as one of the most watched video ever, at least according to the folks over at Dove. This is definitely a success by any means, and the three-minute ad has also another plaudit going for it, where it is now the third most shared ad of all time. If you want cold, hard numbers, rest assured that this ad has been viewed for over 114 million times, where it was uploaded in 25 different languages to 33 of the brand’s YouTube Channels.

The previous king of the hill where the most viewed online ad is concerned would be the Evian Roller Babies that stood at 111 million views. According to Fernando Machado, VP of Dove Skin, “The moment that the Dove Real Beauty Sketches film was uploaded to the Dove YouTube page, it quickly started to gain traction around the world with men, women, media and even other brands sharing the film. The campaign evoked an emotional reaction in millions of people that inspired them to share the positive message with others. Beyond just the millions of views and publicity impressions, it is the outpouring of testimonials from around the world that are exciting us.”

You know what they say, better late than never, in addition to another adage, “good things come to those who wait.” Well, folks living in Japan will be more than happy this May 29th (assuming you’re a huge fan of console gaming of course) as the Sony Entertainment Network (SEN) online store will finally hit the Land of the Rising Sun, a good five months after it was launched in the US. The SEN is a browser-based marketplace which happens to be somewhat similar to the Google Play store, where users are able to sign in with their current SEN or PlayStation Network account and purchase video games, TV shows and films of their choice for any kind of supported device that they own.

It seems that Sony takes this stance – consumers will, in all probability, be far more likely to pick up digital content whenever one is able to access the kind of store that they like from a smartphone, tablet or PC. The moment you pay for the content that you want, it will be added automatically to the “My Downloads” section of the PlayStation Store, where it can then be played on the PS3, PS Vita or PSP. Chances are we would see plenty of impulse purchases here, don’t you think so?

iPhone speakers these days are a dime a dozen as you can find a speaker to dock your Apple smartphone in nearly any shape, size, color and farm animal. But if you’re the kind of person who prefers to use nature when it comes to your gadgets, then this seashell iPhone speaker is just what you’ve been looking for.

The conch shell iPhone speaker amplifiers are sold by WAAM Industries for a retail price of $75 and uses the natural contours of the seashell to amplify your iPhone’s speaker. The shell is able to hold your iPhone through a bit of manipulation since seashells don’t naturally have a dock for smartphones. A hole is cut out at the base of the shell, which holds your iPhone as well as allowing the shell to accurately amplify your phone.

We think this shell would make a great addition to anyone’s desk, especially if you happen to live near the beach, although for $75, you could probably walk out into your “backyard” and pick up your own conch shell. We just hope you have the proper tools to create the hole to properly dock your iPhone into it.

Asus has shared that the company intends to roll out a spanking new Ultrabook sometime down the road later next month, when Computex kicks off, that is. According to Asus, the Asus Zenbook Infinity (as it will apparently be called) will be 14% thinner compared to the other notebooks that so happen to be part of the Zenbook range, and this is made possible courtesy of new materials. The Asus Zenbook Infinity will arrive with an aluminum and glass case, and it will also boast Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on the lid itself in addition to being used around the keyboard.

Gorilla Glass has gained a reputation among gadget users to be a durable, damage-resistant kind of glass which normally sees action on devices such as smartphones and tablet displays, but when it comes to PC manufacturers, the use of Gorilla Glass is definitely more rare. Still, we are starting to see more and more of these PC manufacturers take advantage of all that Gorilla Glass has to offer to churn out thinner and lighter notebooks these days. Asus claims that the Zenbook Infinity will measure approximately 15.5mm thin, which would surely make this one of the thinnest ultrabooks in the market. Unfortunately, any other details concerning the Asus Zenbook Infinity remains unknown as at press time.

It is a known fact that there are countless apps available for mobile devices that run on the Android platform. Google Play Store is home to a plethora of apps of all categories, and new apps are submitted in huge numbers every single day. However, the quality of these apps may be called in to question. Google doesn’t have strict rules like Apple does for apps that wish to be listed on its store, so quite a lot of mediocre apps gets listed as well. In order to have its own edge in the app ecosystem, Samsung has announced a new app contest for developers all around the globe. The idea is to create apps that are exclusive to Samsung’s Galaxy devices, 10 winners will be selected among which the $800,000 prize money will be distributed.

Samsung wants third party developers on primarily focus on apps that work with its Group Play feature. This feature was detailed at the Galaxy S4 event, it essentially allows users to share content such as music, photos and games between multiple devices, simultaneously. Developers who might be willing to submit their creations need to know that all entries must be for free apps, not paid ones. In-app advertising and purchases are not off limits.

We’ve heard a number of reports Apple is currently developing a smartwatch, which is currently being called the iWatch, with a reveal expected to take place at the end of this year. New reports are coming in saying Apple is currently testing 1.5-inch OLED displays for use in a smartwatch.

The report is coming from the latest edition of a Taiwanese newspaper, Economic Times, which says Apple has tapped RITEK subsidiary RiTdisplay to begin sampling 1.5-inch OLED display as well as providing the touch sensor technology for the watch. The report continues by claiming Foxconn has already received orders to begin producing Apple’s smartwatch, although order volumes are said to only be around 1,000 units, which would indicate it would be produced for a small-scale trial.

Ever since Pebble was first announced, it seems a number of companies have been rumored to manufacture their own smart watch, such as Google and LG. Whether or not there’s a market for smart watch devices is yet to be seen, but considering Apple may be working on an iWatch, we think there could be a market for it once they announce their device.

A lot has already been said and written about Sony’s upcoming mobile device, the Xperia Tablet Z. This Android powered tablet was previously expected to be released in the U.S. towards the end of this month. Today via a press release Sony announced that its retail and operator partners around the globe will now be offering this device for sale. While Sony U.S. online store still lists it in the pre-order stage, major resellers Amazon and Newegg have listed May 24 and May 25 as the dates they’ll respectively have the device in stock.

The 16GB and 32GB Wi-Fi models come with price tags of $499 and $599. Sony mentions in the press release that the 4G variant will be available as well, but the company’s online store does not currently list the cellular version of this tablet. Considered by many as a premium Android tablet, the Xperia Tablet Z touts a quadcore 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, 2GB of RAM and Adreno 320 graphics-processing-unit or GPU. Coming in at just 6.9mm, Sony claims this device is the thinnest and lightest in the category of 10-inch tablets that are waterproof. So who is picking one up?

One gripe many PlayStation fans had with the PlayStation 4 global event was the fact Sony didn’t show the console. Sure – we heard a lot of information pertaining to the DualShock 4 as well as caught glimpses of some sweet-looking next-generation games, but we certainly wanted to see what we’ll be staring out for hours at a time. While Sony has yet to unveil the PlayStation 4, that hasn’t stopped them from teasing us nearly 24 hours prior to Xbox’s unveiling of its next-generation Xbox.

The teaser video looks to have highlighted the PlayStation 4 console, but many of the images are shown at high speeds while slowly zooming into a blurry, black rectangle. What we can make out from the video is a PlayStation logo, what looks to be exhaust ports, maybe a power button, and a bunch of close-up angles of what we assume is the PlayStation 4. Oh – yea, don’t forget about the “4″ which seems to resemble the “4″ in the PS4 logo.

The title of the video hints that we could possibly be seeing the PlayStation 4 make its debut at E3 this year, although we think it would have been safe to assume Sony was planning on unveiling it on June 10 anyway during its global press conference.

Earlier this month, we did bring you word that the Samsung SGH-i537 could be the waterproof version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active for AT&T, while a few days after that, a handset known as the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active has picked up its Bluetooth certification along the way. This would certainly mean that the Galaxy S4 Active has long been making its rounds on the rumor mill. Word has it that the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active (SGH-I9295) has leaked out as you can see above, where this will be a tougher dust and water resistant version of the Galaxy S4 flagship.

What we do know about the device is, it will be powered by a quad-core 1.9GHz processor with Adreno 320 GPU, in addition to a 5” Full HD display – although it remains to be seen whether this is a Super AMOLED screen or not. Other than that the pixel density of this display stands at a purported 480ppi. Not only that, some rumors point to an 8-megapixel rear camera, which would definitely be a step down in terms of megapixel count from the Galaxy S4’s 13-megapixel, but unless you plan to blow up your photos to really large sizes, this really isn’t any big loss to the end user.