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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As expected, Flipboard for Android has been pulled off of the Samsung Galaxy S III and is now available for all to download. The popular social news magazine app was going to be an exclusive on Samsung’s flagship smartphone for an unspecified amount of time, however an XDA-Developers forum member was able to extract the APK file from the unreleased device. The app runs perfectly on the Galaxy Nexus, and reportedly works on older devices like the original Galaxy S and various Android tablets as well. Flipboard for Android can be downloaded by following the link below.

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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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The newly announced Samsung Galaxy S III will include an exclusive version of Flipboard, the popular social news magazine app that is currently available only on iOS. The South Korean vendor stated that it has an exclusive on the app for an unspecified amount of time, and it will not arrive in the Google Play marketplace until later this year, according to SlashGear. The app is similar to the version found on the iPhone, and features a gesture based interface that allows users to log in via social networks to have links aggregated to the app. Unlike the iOS app, the Android version has the ability to add a Flipboard widget to a handset’s home screen.

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Pebble, the smartwatch that can display and interact with apps on Android and iPhone smartphones, announced on Wednesday a partnership with popular fitness app RunKeeper that will allow users to wirelessly control and display information from the app on their Pebbles. “Making the RunKeeper app accessible from Pebble is another step towards making fitness tracking simple for our users.” said RunKeeper CEO Jason Jacobs. “People don’t just want to track their fitness activities, they want to do so in the most convenient way possible, and you can’t beat the form factor of a smart watch.” RunKeeper boasts more than 10 million users and was one of the highest grossing health and fitness apps in Apple’s App Store in 2010. “We welcome RunKeeper to the Pebble app family and we’re flattered that they are our first app partner,” said Eric Migicovsky, founder of Pebble Technology. The smartwatch is being fully funded through the crowd-source website Kickstarter and has become the most funded project in the site’s history. The Pebble has garnered more than 53,000 backers and thus far has raised over $8 million. The device is slated to be released in September. Pebble’s press release follows below.

Pebble Announces RunKeeper Will Build First Watchapp

RunKeeper Data Will be Displayed on Pebble’s E-Paper Display And Runners Can Now Control the App Without Ever Having to Touch their Phone

PALO ALTO, CA – (May 2, 2012) – Pebble, the revolutionary smart watch that will display and interact with apps on your iPhone or Android device, today announced it’s first app partner will be RunKeeper, one of the most successful mobile apps ever that makes tracking workouts fun, social, and easy to understand.

With this app for Pebble, RunKeeper’s in-activity fitness data will be shown on Pebble’s E-Paper display, which looks great indoors as well as outdoors under direct sunlight. Runners, cyclists, hikers, walkers and skiers will be able to use Pebble to wirelessly control the RunKeeper app, eliminating the need to remove the phone while on the go. Pebble even makes it possible to pause or skip music tracks right from the watch.

“Making the RunKeeper app accessible from Pebble is another step towards making fitness tracking simple for our users.” said Jason Jacobs, CEO of RunKeeper. “People don’t just want to track their fitness activities, they want to do so in the most convenient way possible, and you can’t beat the form factor of a smart watch.”

RunKeeper has more than 10 million users, and it was one of the highest grossing health & fitness apps in the iPhone App Store in 2010. It is available on both iPhone and Android.

“We welcome RunKeeper to the Pebble app family and we’re flattered that they are our first app partner,” said Eric Migicovsky, of Pebble Technology. “One of the most exciting things about Pebble is that anyone will be able to build apps for the watch, which is going to result in new capabilities and functionality that we haven’t even thought of yet.”

Pebble will release an open software development kit (SDK) in August, enabling even more applications to be developed for the Pebble platform. A watchapp directory will be launched later in 2012 to provide a distribution method for all Pebble apps.

Consumers have already registered their interest in Pebble with more than 53,000 individual backers on Kickstarter, the crowd sourced funding platform. The project was posted on the Kickstarter platform on April 11 and since that time backers have pledged more than $7.5 million towards Pebble.

Pebble is the first watch built for the 21st century. It’s infinitely customizable, with beautiful downloadable watch faces and useful internet-connected apps. Pebble connects to iPhone and Android smartphones, alerting you with a silent vibration to incoming calls, emails and messages.

The popular photo sharing app Instagram, which allows users to capture photos or import them from a smartphone’s camera roll and then apply retro effects before sharing them with friends, is coming off its biggest month yet. After being acquired by Facebook for $1 billion dollars, the app amassed more than 5 million Android users a mere week after the service launched on Google’s operating system. Instagram continued to see tremendous gains, surpassing 10 million Android downloads and totaling 40 million users in late April. Mashable on Tuesday reported that Instagram now has more than 50 million users and, according to its API, is adding roughly 5 million per week. Instagram is free for both iOS and Android.

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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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Samsung never confirmed that the highly anticipated Galaxy S III would be unveiled at the company’s press conference in London on May 3rd, merely stating “come and meet the next Galaxy” in its invitation to the press. According to the South Korean vendor’s Unpacked Mobile 2012 app now available in the Google Play marketplace, however, we can expect Samsung to take the wraps off its “Galaxy S3″ flagship smartphone next week. The slip up confirms what everyone already assumed — that the Galaxy S3 will be unveiled in London next week, although the actual device name may still vary from the moniker mentioned in the Unpacked app. The next Galaxy phone from Samsung is expected to feature a quad-core 1.5GHz processor, an HD display, 4G LTE, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and a ceramic case. A screen capture of the app description follows below.

[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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Richard Wiseman, a psychologist and professor at the the University of Hertfordshire, has created an iPhone application that is intended to manipulate an individual’s dreams. While the user is asleep, the Dream:ON application will play various “soundscapes” that are intended to enhance and manipulate dreams. “Getting a good night’s sleep and having pleasant dreams boosts people’s productivity, and is essential for their psychological and physical well being,” the professor said to Sky News. “Despite this, we know very little about how to influence dreams. This experiment aims to change that.” Wiseman is hoping to attract thousands of people to take part in the dream manipulation experiment. His app can alter the sounds being played based on movement it detects when the user’s phone is placed on his or her bed at night. The soundscapes will then be able to evoke various dreams such as walking in the woods, lying on the beach or wandering in a peaceful garden. The Dream:ON app is available for free in Apple’s App Store, but users should be wary: a national survey found that 21% of respondents had trouble sleeping and 15% suffered from unpleasant dreams. A video explanation of the Dream:ON app from Professor Wiseman follows below. 

Read [Apple App Store] Read [Sky News]

One of the most popular photography applications for the iPhone has quickly become one of the most popular Android apps. Instagram for Android surpassed 1 million downloads less than 24 hours after its release on the Google Play marketplace on Tuesday. The Android application opened its pre-registration last week, attracting more than 430,000 users. When the service launched it reportedly saw 2,000 sign-ups per minute, nearly crashing the company’s servers. The popular app allows users to capture photos and edit them using a number of filters that give images a unique retro look. Pictures can then be shared through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and email. The company previously announced that it had more than 30 million users on iOS alone.

[Via TheNextWeb]

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Amazon on Thursday updated its official Kindle app for iOS less than 24 hours before Apple’s new iPad launches. The Kindle 3.0 update adds a number of improvements, including a new eBook library design, cloud view and support for the new iPad’s Retina Display. The new library design facilitates easy access to a user’s books no matter where they are stored, with a new grid view and two tabs labeled “Device” and “Cloud” much like the layout on Amazon’s Kindle Fire. The update is available now for free in the 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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During the annual South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger of Instagram teased the company’s long awaited Android app. During an interview with TechCrunch, the duo said that an Android version of the app is coming “really soon.” Systrom briefly showed the app running on his Galaxy Nexus and claimed that “it’s one of the most amazing Android apps you’ll ever see, in some ways, it’s better than our iPhone app.” The company previously announced that an Android app is on the way, however no time frame was given. The app is currently in a private beta phase, and Instagram hopes “to have it out to people really soon.” Finally, Systrom and Krieger revealed that Instagram now has more than 27 million registered users, almost twice as many as it had in December 2011.

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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.