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Any.DO is largely considered the first truly beautiful Android app.

Depending on who you ask, the to-do app pushed the boundaries of what was possible, both in design and performance, on the Android platform when it debuted in late 2011. Since then, the company has grown to 12 full-time employees and expanded to iOS and the web in 2012.

But its major success, and the majority of its user base, still rests on Android, as its early entry and consistent upgrade schedule has engendered a sense of loyalty from its five million users. Today, the company is announcing a $3.5 million seed round of funding lead by new and existing investors, including Google Chairman Eric Schmidt’s company, Innovation Endeavours.

Any.DO has also updated its Android app to allow former (or present) Astrid users to import their tasks. Wunderlist released a similar tool last week.

Part of today’s Lumia 925 announcement in London was a new app coming soon to Windows Phone 8. Called Oggl, it’s a social network by the makers of popular iOS camera app Hipstamatic.

The app allows users to take photos and apply filters, much like Hipstamatic or, yes, Instagram, and will natively allow for sharing to the aforementioned Facebook-owned service. Its mandate is fairly brought — “a community of creative people capturing and curating their lives through photography,” and its grandiose language attempts to engender a more mature dynamic than Instagram, but at its core it’s still a photo-based social network. Oggl appears to be one of the first third-party apps to have access and will allows users to post their images on Instagram.

The app will be launching in the coming weeks, and we’ll have a thorough hands-on with it when it launches. The app will be available across the WP8 ecosystem so, unlike Smart Camera, this won’t be a Lumia exclusive.

Via: Engadget

Most Canadian carriers released the Samsung Galaxy S4 a couple weeks ago, but today it’s WIND Mobile that has started selling this flagship Android. The price, as previously stated, is $399 on the WINDTab or $699 outright. One of the selling points that WIND is focussing on is their all-in talk/text and data plan for $30/month. If you’re interested in scoring the GS4 make sure you check out our in-depth hands-on review here.

Source: WIND

The Nexus 4 in White has popped up in various corners of the world, but not yet officially announced. This unicorn device has now been captured on film, both in pictures and video, at an event called The Mobile Show in Dubai, specifically at the Qualcomm booth. TechView notes that the N4 is running Android 4.2, which is an older OS as the current Nexus 4 is at 4.2.2. However, it looks real a reflective backing seems to shine a bit more than the back version, but the source notes that “the front is still black and takes the charm away from the device.”

Unfortunately, still no word on when/if this colour will be available to the masses. One can dream of an announcement coming at Google I/O tomorrow. Video below…

BlackBerry announced “a new social engagement platform within BBM” this morning called BBM Channels. It basically digs a bit deeper into your BBM relationship and allows BBM users to quickly connect to the things that interest them by creating ‘channels”, specifically targeting businesses, brands, celebrities and general groups. Similar to other social platforms, BBM Channels allows you to “follow” them to receive updates.

BBM with BBM Channels is available now in the Beta Zone and can be used on BlackBerry devices running BlackBerry 5 OS and higher, to BlackBerry 10 users. It also should be noted that BlackBerry intends to bring BBM Channels to Android and iOS when the app becomes official in the Summer. Full features of channels below:

If you’re one of the early adopters, or thousands of Canadians, who have the BlackBerry Z10 then you should check your device for the latest OS update. So far we’ve been receiving tips that Rogers, Bell, TELUS, Koodo and WIND customers have been notified that 10.1.0.273 is now available to download – the complete update is 341MB in size, apparently takes about 30 minutes via Wi-Fi, and brings HDR shooting and improved red eye reduction to the camera, landscape support for the calendar, and improved cursor control.

(Thanks Todd and Chris!)

Are you one of those people who has a lot of free space on his or her Gmail account, but is constantly butting up against the 5GB limit on your Drive account? Well, friends, despair no more.

Google has smartly, and graciously, combined the amounts — a disparate 5GB for Drive/Google+ Photos and 10GB for Gmail — into a single 15GB pool. Based on a casual survey of users, I’d say this will benefit the majority of people currently using Google services.

The one downside to this change is the elimination of the $2.49/25GB storage plan, making the next boost from the default a $4.99/100GB plan. Still half the price of Dropbox, it’s disappointing to see the base plan removed.

Do you use Google Drive? Do these changes benefit you?

Source: Google Drive Blog

A long time rumour – dating back to March of 2011 – has finally been realized.

BlackBerry will finally bring their very popular BlackBerry Messager (BBM) to both iOS and Android. During the keynote presentation, CEO Thorsten Heins stated this will be available for free for devices running iOS 6 and Android Ice Cream Sandwich (OS 4.0) or higher.

In addition, BBM for iOS and Android will be available this summer, but are “subject to approval by Google Play and the Apple App Store.” For iOS and Android users, the BBM app will be limited to simply messaging and groups, but will be updated “later on” to have BBM Voice, screen share, and the new BBM Channels that was introduced today.

BBM currently has over 60 million active users who send and receive over 10 billion daily messages.

Thorten Heins just announced a new BlackBerry device, set to launch in emerging markets in the summer. The Q5 is a mid-range device that we’ve seen leaked before, combining a QWERTY keyboard with a chiclet design, similar to the Curve series that was so popular a few years ago.

The device will come in multiple colours, including red, white, black and pink. The 3.1-inch touchscreen, with its 720×720 resolution, is identical in density to the Q10, but we’d imagine the cost savings come from the materials used, a different camera sensor and internal storage. Expect a microSD card slot as well for expandable storage.

According to the press release the Q5 will be available “in selected markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia (including the Asia Pacific region), and Latin America, with expected availability beginning in July.” While we’re not certain whether the device will come to Canada, we could definitely see it sitting on the shelf at Fido, Koodo, Virgin, or WIND, Mobilicity, Videotron for $350 or $400.

Source: MarketWire

Developing…

We’re all about to find out ‘what’s next’ for BlackBerry. Today, May 14th, in Orlando is where all the festivities will be unveiled. Rumours are that there will be a plethora of announcements, possibly new BB10 devices (like the entry-level R10), tablet updates and deeper BBM integration. Thorsten Heins, President and CEO of BlackBerry, will take the stage at 9:00am EST and we’ll update you as the event unfold: