Chrome updated for desktop and Android

Google has recently updated the Chrome browser application on Windows, OS X and Android. The desktop version has introduced the new Mouse Lock API which improves mouse usage in online games. The OS X version also gets improvements for the high resolution systems and the Retina MacBook Pro. The Android version of the update brings support for Intel's mobile x86 architecture.

Play Store achieves 25 million app downloads

Google's Android platform has a huge user base and due to this, the Play Store recently surpassed the 25 billion downloads mark. To celebrate this, Google is providing app promotions for some of the best-selling apps which will be available for only 25 cents in the promotion. And it's not just apps, Google has also put 25 movies, books, magazines and albums for discounted prices. Here's what Google have said on the topic

Twenty-five billion is more than twice the distance, in miles, that the Voyager 1 spacecraft has travelled since its launch 35 years ago. It’s the amount of time, in minutes, that have passed since some of our earliest ancestors began to set foot in Europe. And now, thanks to all of you, it’s a Google Play milestone. We look forward to the next 25 billion.

Google's Indoor Maps launched in France

France has recently become the third country in Europe to have the Indoor Maps feature, alongside the UK and Switzerland. The Indoor Maps supports maps for airports, malls and museums in France and brings many novelties with it like information of escalators, ATMs, restrooms, etc. You can also check out what's on offer in the Carrefour supermarkets with this application.

Google Maps Ocean

Google has partnered with The Catlin Seaview Survey to bring a new feature to its Maps application, i.e. Maps Ocean. This feature allows users to visit underwater places like the Great Barrier Reef and places in the Philippines and Hawaii. This has been made possible by underwater panoramas and the Street View feature (although there's no street there). Currently, there are only six of the famous underwater locations available but more will be added as time passes.

Barnes & Noble announces the Nook HD and Nook HD+

It seems like Barnes & Noble also want a share in the current fast-growing market for affordable tablets. To do this, they have announced their latest tablets, i.e. the Nook HD and the Nook HD+.

Nook HD

The Nook HD has a 7" display with a resolution of 1440x900 pixels along with a 1.3 GHz processor and 1GB RAM. It has an internal memory storage of 16/32GB which can also be expanded via a microSD card. The battery timing is quoted for upto 10.5 hours of reading or upto 9 hours of video watching.

Nook HD+

The Nook HD+ has a 9" IPS display with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels along with a 1.5 GHz processor and the same internal memory and microSD slot as the Nook HD. The battery timing of the Nook HD+ is quoted at 10 hours of reading or upto 9 hours of video watching.

Both tablets are running on a modified version of Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 so we might also see some custom ROMs for it. The tablets will release around the end of October but you can also pre-order them here and here.

No Google Maps application for iOS yet

After the recent incident of the faulty Maps application on iOS 6, there were rumors suggesting that Google was already working on a stand-alone application for iOS and that it would be released soon. However, this doesn't seem to be the case. Reuters have recently quoted Eric Schmidt saying that

We think it would have been better if they had kept ours. But what do I know? What were we going to do, force them not to change their mind? It’s their call.

He has also said that Google has not submitted any application to the App Store for approval and that he would leave Apple to decide whether they want the application or not.
It seems that users who have updated to iOS 6 or have purchased the recently released iPhone 5 still have to make do with the faulty application and pray that Apple fix this soon or provide an alternate application.

Chrome update for iOS

Google have updated their Chrome application on the iOS which brings full-screen support for the iPhone 5. This update also fixes a Gmail bug and the app is now supported on iOS 6 devices as well. You can get the update for your device from the App Store. The version number for this update is 21.0.1180.82.