According to CEO Joe Kennedy, Pandora has surpassed 150 million users in the United States and is the second most downloaded app in the history of Apple’s App Store, CNET reported on Wednesday. The Internet radio service has big plans for the future and is working with automakers to integrate the service into virtually all future vehicles. “We truly believe this is just the beginning,” Kennedy said at the CTIA Wireless trade show in New Orleans. Over the past year, the company has faced increased competition from streaming service Spotify, however it doesn’t seem to have affected Pandora’s continued growth.

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A new iPhone app aims to remove the language barriers users face while traveling abroad. SayHi is a translation app available in Apple’s App Store that flawlessly translates a user’s spoken words into one of 33 different languages and dialects. The app was released almost two weeks ago and is already the No.1 business app in the App Store, with a four and a half star rating from more than 1,600 individuals. While at times there are a few hiccups, as with any app, the program worked as intended during our tests and did so in a reasonable amount of time. SayHi is available for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad running iOS 4.3 or later, and can be had for $0.99 in Apple’s App Store.

[Via Business Insider]

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After reports surfaced claiming the Google Play Store was about to reach 15 billion app downloads, Google confirmed to TechCrunch that it reached the milestone “a few weeks ago.” Apple reached the same number of downloads in July 2011 and recently surpassed 25 billion downloads in March. The gap between the two marketplaces seems to be widening slightly, with Google seeing about 1 billion app downloads per month while Apple is serving about 1.25 billion app downloads per month. The Google Play Store currently has more than 500,000 apps, while Apple’s App Store has some 600,000. There have been reports, however, that claim iOS developers are making more money than their Android counterparts. Analyst Horace Dediu noted that up until the end of January 2012, Google has paid developers $320 million compared to $4 billion from Apple, but the Cupertino-based company’s app download rate is reportedly slowing, having fallen by 30% in March. Google expects to earn $35.9 million from its app store this year.

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Sexting, or the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photographs between mobile phones, continues to grow increasingly popular. Mobile users often have private photos posted to the Internet without their permission, and politicians and celebrities alike have taken explicit photos that using mobile devices that were eventually leaked. Unfortunately for Anthony Weiner, the congressman wasn’t aware of an iPhone app by the name of Snapchat. The program is available for free in Apple’s App Store and allows users to send photos that self-destruct within 1-10 seconds. Images cannot be saved in the app, and Snapchat will even notify users if the recipient takes a screenshot — though there is no way to prevent screenshots from being taken, of course. It should also be noted that images are stored on the developer’s servers, and while the company “attempt(s) to delete image data as soon as possible after the message is transmitted,” it cannot guarantee messages will always be deleted. “Messages, therefore, are sent at the risk of the user,” the company’s privacy policy warns.

[Via Forbes]

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Apple in February acquired the San Francisco-based company Chomp, a startup that develops application search and discovery software. Apple went forward with the acquisition in an attempt to improve the application search and discovery features within its App Store — the company’s Genius recommendations are a little half-baked. The service was previously available for both Android and iOS, but a recent visit to Chomp’s website has revealed that you can no longer search for Android applications. The app has also been removed from Google’s Play marketplace. It is unclear what will become of Chomp’s earlier partnership with Verizon, which used the service to powering its own app store marketplace.

[Via GigaOM]

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A group of developers in Russia recently launched the “HackStore,” a centralized location for third-party OS X applications. Like Cydia on iOS, the HackStore is a software hub that allows developers to distribute applications without having to endure Apple’s approval process. The developers behind the project claim that piracy will not be tolerated in their app store, though it is unclear exactly what measures they are taking to prevent pirated software from being distributed through the HackStore. “The biggest Mac Appstore problem is that they limit their users in everything, without giving an opportunity to expand these limits,” HackStore’s creators wrote on their website. “This is not correct, because ONLY users should decide which applications they should install and which one do not. We think HackStore [will] break through the narrow confines of Mac Appstore.”

[Via Engadget]

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While Spotify offers a native iPhone app, the company still doesn’t offer one for Apple’s iPad. According to a photo recently published to the web, however, that may soon change. A Swedish technology consultant posted the first image of what is said to be a beta version of Spotify’s official iPad app. The image was posted on Instagram and it featured the caption, “It’s getting closer!” The image has since been removed, but not before it began to spread across various tech blogs. Spotify on Friday sent out press invitations for a special announcement event in New York City. Could the event be for an iPad app? Perhaps, although a press conference dedicated solely to an app seems unlikely. Earlier reports indicated that the music streaming company may announce brand partnerships that will allow app and playlist recommendations from companies in an effort to make the platform more attractive to advertisers.

[Via The Verge]

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Facebook’s $1 billion acquisition of Instagram has had a great impact on the photo-sharing app’s popularity. Despite public outcry with some users looking to delete their accounts, Instagram continues to add users by the millions. The media coverage has benefited the company greatly and on Tuesday evening, Instagram became the N0. 1 free app in Apple’s App Store for the first time ever. The company recently revealed that it had surpassed 30 million users on the iPhone, and combined with the success of the Android version and Facebook’s user base, it won’t be long until the photo-sharing app surpasses 50 million users and beyond.

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Earlier this month, Apple crossed a record 25 billion downloads from more than 550,000 available apps, while Google in December surpassed 10 billion downloads from 400,000 available apps. Analytics firm Flurry on Friday announced the results of a new study that examined various mobile app markets, and interestingly enough, the study found that apps in Amazon’s competing Android Appstore earns three times more revenue than those within Google’s own marketplace. Apple’s App Store took in the most revenue, with the Amazon Appstore earning 89% of the revenue Apple did and Google’s Play marketplace making just 23%. “Another way to interpret the results is that for every $1.00 an app generates in the iTunes App Store, it generates $0.89 in the Amazon Appstore and $0.23 in Google Play,” Flurry analysts wrote in their report. “These results mirror those of a similar analysis conducted by Flurry last December, where we found for every $1.00 generated in the iTunes App Store, developers generated $0.24 in the Android Market.” The statistics come from 11 million daily active users of top-ranked applications available on iOS and Android over a 45-day period between mid-January through the end of February.

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Microsoft’s Windows Phone Marketplace has reportedly reached another milestone according to Chinese website Sina. The company’s chairman and chief executive officer for the Greater China region Simon Leung said that the mobile platform is now home to over 100,000 registered developers who have made more than 70,000 apps available in 63 different markets. The number of apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace, however, is still a relatively small figure when compared to Apple’s App Store, which boasts more than 500,000 apps, and the 450,000 apps in the Google Play marketplace.

[Via TechCrunch]

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Rovio on Thursday released Angry Birds Space for iOS and Android devices, as well as OS X and Windows PCs. In the fourth major Birds release, users will get to fling birds on zero-gravity planets while utilizing new gameplay features such as slow-motion and lightspeed destruction. “This is Rovio at its finest, and we are more than excited to bring Angry Birds Space to all our fans worldwide,” said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio. “This launch marks a huge step for us as a company, and our whole team and partners have really pulled together to bring out a fantastic array of exciting products and experiences. We hope that our fans will find all things Angry Birds Space as delightful as the Rovio family does.” Angry Birds Space is available for $0.99 in the App Store on the iPhone and iPod touch, and Angry Birds Space HD is available for $2.99 on the iPad. The Mac version is available for $4.99 in the Mac App Store. The game is available for Android devices for free with advertisements in the Google Play marketplace, with an ad-free versions available for $0.99 and an HD version for Android tablets available for $2.99 in the Amazon Appstore. Read on for a video and Rovio’s press release.

Angry Birds Space Now Available

Angry Birds Space marks the first integrated product launch for Rovio Entertainment

March 22, 2012 – Rovio Entertainment today announced the launch of Angry Birds Space, available now for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android devices, as well as the Mac and PC, with PC retail copies to follow shortly. Angry Birds Space marks the first integrated entertainment launch for Rovio, with merchandise, animation and books available in retail at the same time as the game.

From floating through space in zero gravity, to using the gravity of nearby planets to set up spectacular trick shots, Angry Birds Space takes the gameplay that fans already know and love to a totally new level. With brand new birds, brand new superpowers, and a whole galaxy to explore, the sky is no longer the limit!

“This is Rovio at its finest, and we are more than excited to bring Angry Birds Space to all our fans worldwide,” said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio. “This launch marks a huge step for us as a company, and our whole team and partners have really pulled together to bring out a fantastic array of exciting products and experiences. We hope that our fans will find all things Angry Birds Space as delightful as the Rovio family does.”

Angry Birds Space features 60 interstellar levels, with regular free updates in the pipeline. Even more content is available through in-app purchase, starting first with the iOS version. Included in the game are many hidden goodies, secret levels and cool space content. Gameplay has been thoroughly optimized for all platforms, including full Retina display support on the new iPad.

To celebrate the launch of Angry Birds Space, Rovio and partners hosted a series of launch events for fans of the game in Beijing, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Seattle and Tokyo. Today, Earth is officially the epicenter of fun in our galaxy!

Angry Birds Space is available for $0.99 from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch, and Angry Birds Space HD is available for $2.99 from the App Store on iPad. Both are also available at www.itunes.com/appstore.

Angry Birds Space for the Mac is available for $4.99 from the Mac App Store.

Angry Birds Space is available for Android devices for free with advertising. Ad-free versions of Angry Birds Space will also be available on Android for $0.99, and an HD version for Android tablets for $2.99.

Instagram, the increasingly popular photo-sharing platform for Apple’s iPhone, has always allowed users to export photos taken within the app to other social networks. The service has never allowed users to upload non-Instagram photos onto its platform, however — until now. Hipstamatic, a similar photo app that takes vintage-looking photos, is set to unveil a partnership that will allow Instagram photos to be uploaded to its service, Fast Company reported on Wednesday. ”When we launched, it was all about Facebook and Flickr and Twitter, and now we’re seeing a huge shift in our user base toward Instagram,” Hipstamatic co-founder and CEO Lucas Buick said. “We’ve never been a social networking company, but we clearly benefit from social networks. So this will be the first app outside of Instagram that lets you into their network. That’s pretty cool for us.” Hipstamatic is slated to issue an update on Wednesday evening that will bring Instagram integration to iOS devices. The app is available for $1.99 in Apple’s iOS App Store.

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Sparrow’s desktop email client for OS X includes a great UI and a number of great features such as multiple accounts, a unified inbox and a user-friendly layout. The company on Thursday brought those same attributes to Apple’s iPhone, iPod touch and iPad with the release of its much anticipated iOS app. Much like the desktop version, Sparrow’s mobile app features a simple, Facebook-like design that is light, responsive and easy on the eyes. The iOS app supports iCloud, Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, and other IMAP services, however it does not support POP accounts or push notifications. “If Sparrow was to do Push today, we would have to store your credentials (login/password) on our servers to frequently poll your accounts, and send you notifications,” the company said. “This is a responsibility we’re not ready to take. As a startup focused on iOS/OS X development, we do not have the skills to secure your data on our servers and we do not want to put sensitive information at risk. That’s why Sparrow iPhone 1.0 doesn’t do push.” Sparrow’s mobile app requires iOS 5 and can be had for $2.99 in Apple’s App Store. A video of Sparrow’s new iOS app follows below.

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Last month it was discovered that the popular social network Path was uploading entire address books — including email addresses, names and phone numbers — to its external servers. Path’s actions were a direct violation of Apple’s terms of agreement, and the Cupertino-based company was apparently not happy. Bloomberg’s BusinessWeek reported on Thursday that Path co-founder Dave Morin was hauled into Apple’s headquarters and grilled by CEO Tim Cook and other executives on the matter. Apple remained silent as other developers were called out for stealing users’ contact data, but the company finally issued a statement claiming that “any app wishing to access contact data will require explicit user approval in a future software release.”

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Imangi Studios on Tuesday announced that its hit iOS game, Temple Run, will be coming to the Android Market on March 27th. Temple Run is an Indiana Jones-like ”runner” game that has users sprint through obstacles and escape the dangers of the jungle using gestures that make the character jump, duck and move from side to side. “We are excited to finally share the Android release date with our fans who have been so enthusiastic and supportive of Temple Run,” said Keith Shepherd, co-founder of Imangi Studios. “By expanding to more mobile devices, we hope to provide the same addictive and fast-paced gameplay to an entirely new group of players.” Temple Run is currently the top free app and top grossing app in the iOS App Store, with over 40 million downloads and 7 million daily active users. The game is free to play and features in-app purchases that allow users to buy different characters and power-ups for higher scores. The company previously announced the game would be available in February, however it was delayed for unknown reasons. Read on for the Imangi’s press release.

Imangi Studios Brings Temple Run to the Android Marketplace March 27

WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 6, 2012 – Imangi Studios today announced that Temple Run, the Top Grossing App and Top Free App in the App Store in January 2012, will be released for Android devices on March 27. Free to download, Temple Run challenges players to test their reflexes as they race down ancient temple walls and along sheer cliffs. With endless gameplay, players collect coins as they jump, slide and run to escape the evil monkeys guarding the temple while avoiding obstacles.

“We are excited to finally share the Android release date with our fans who have been so enthusiastic and supportive of Temple Run,” said Keith Shepherd, co-founder of Imangi Studios. “By expanding to more mobile devices, we hope to provide the same addictive and fast-paced gameplay to an entirely new group of players.”

The iOS version of Temple Run for iPhone and iPad boasts over 40 million downloads in the App Store since its debut in August 2011.