Android

Facebook is trying to make mobile messaging more conversational with some changes it's been rolling out this past month, but one of those could lead to some awkward moments between you and your friends. Among the new Facebook messaging features that are on its iOS and Android apps are a new, more visible real-time typing indicator and a feature that shows you where your friends are messaging you from, a spokeswoman for the company said. The features, she added, are especially meant to improve group messages.

The Tonino Lamborghini Antares is not like any other smartphone, and that's because it's mostly an expensive piece of jewelry. The Antares is a $4,000 device built by an Italian brand that makes accessories for the upper crust. Tonino Lamborghini is not associated with the sports car company, but it uses very similar branding and is owned by the son of Ferruccio Lamborghini, the man who created the automobile brand. And like the famous Lamborghini vehicles, the Antares is an eye-catching object.

Instapaper, yet another app that's been missing from Android, makes its debut, again minus some features available for iPhones and iPads. Like Instagram, Instapaper doesn't have all the bells and whistles the iOS app does. "We're working hard to add additional features to Instapaper for Android," according to a company blog post . "We believe that we've captured the core Instapaper experience but can't wait to make the app even better. " The Android app, which allows you to save Web pages for offline reading later, does include adjustable fonts, Dark Mode for reading in low light, folders, rotation lock and native Android sharing.

If you've ever wondered what a $4,000 smartphone looks like, we'll be unboxing one this afternoon. The Tonino Lamborghini Antares is a luxury smartphone that is set to go on sale in the U.S. this spring after launching in Russia and China late last year. The Android gadget is encased in stainless steel and leather. It is geared toward high-income users who want their smartphone as much for its ability to make a status statement as its functionality. LIVE DISCUSSION: Join us at 2:30 p.m. as we unbox the Tonino Lamborghini Antares The device features a 4-inch screen, a 13-megapixel rear camera and comes with 32-gigabytes of storage.

As a parent, you could assume that your teens have taken all of your lectures about the ills of distracted driving to heart. Or you could turn to a growing number of apps designed to let you know exactly what your teens are doing behind the wheel. Canary (for iPhone and Android) is one. It is installed on a teen's phone, and parents will be alerted whenever their sons and daughters are texting, tweeting or using Facebook while they are driving. Canary can also be set to send an alert when a designated maximum speed is exceeded.

Facebook has officially announced Facebook Home to make Android-powered smartphones more Facebook-centric. It's a free interface Android users can download as of April 12. "With Home you see your world through people, not apps," Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday at the Facebook Home launch. LIVE DISCUSSION: Join us as we talk about Facebook Home at 2 p.m. With Facebook Home, users see the latest content shared by their friends on the lock screen of their phones.

The latest update to the Facebook iOS and Android apps will now let you tag your friends in status posts and comments. The feature, which has long been available on the Facebook website, can be activated by typing "@" followed by the name of the friend you want to tag in your comment or status update. You can use this feature on the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or any Android device running the latest version of the Facebook app. Quiz: The week in business Facebook has also added a "Share" button next to the "Like" and "Comment" buttons.

Vine, the popular Twitter-owned mobile video social network, is now available for Android users. Twitter released a Vine app for Android devices Monday morning, about four months after launching exclusively for Apple devices. Since launching, Vine has been a hit for Twitter, gaining more than 13 million users. Some have called it the Instagram of video. The social network consists of looping six-second videos. Users can easily create Vine videos by touching their phone's device to record.

Google Maps is making it easier to use the app to bypass traffic jams on the fly and to find highly rated places. An update Wednesday for the Android version of Google Maps app adds a new discovery feature and the ability to reroute navigation directions whenever the app finds a quicker route. Google said users can now tap the app's search box to see a feature called "Explore," which they can then tap to expand. The feature will then show recommended places to shop, eat and visit.

Google is changing the way it approaches the production of new Android smartphones, seeking to end fragmentation among phones running the many different versions of its OS. For its upcoming line of Nexus smartphones and tablets, Google will give early access to up to five manufacturers in order to bring some form of unity to the devices running the Android operating system. Previously, Google would work with a single manufacturer at a time, helping it produce a lead device.

Hungry for doughnuts? Let Doughbot guide you to the nearest shop. Doughbot is a new app released this month for the iPhone and iPad that helps users quickly find the nearest doughnut shops in their vicinities. "Never be lost without doughnuts again. Ever," the app's description reads.  PHOTOS: Comparing the HTC One (M8), iPhone 5s, Galaxy S5 Pulling information from users' smartphone GPS, Doughbot quickly finds the closest doughnut shops. Users can see the shops in a list, scroll through them or see them all on a map -- represented by big round sprinkled doughnut icons.

Wish you looked thinner in your selfies? Well, as always, there's an app for that. A new iPhone app called SkinneePix bills itself as an easy way to edit your selfies to look as much as 15 pounds skinnier. "It's easy. Simple. Fun. Our little secret," the app's Twitter bio says. The $0.99 app launched earlier this month and lets users quickly shave five, 10 or 15 pounds off their selfie with just a tap of their finger. VIDEO: Unboxing the HTC One (M8) The app is the first by Pretty Smart Women, a company by Phoenix couple Susan Green and Robin J. Phillips.

If organization is a vehicle that helps us achieve our goals, then time management is the oil that keeps the vehicle running. "Time management has a huge role in organization. Anything you want to do in life you have to make time for," says Julie Morgenstern, organizational guru and author of "Time Management From the Inside Out. " She approaches time management the same way she approaches cleaning out a closet. Like sorting objects into bins, she sorts tasks into the appropriate time slot.

A smart phone app that allows users to post messages anonymously is coming under fire for fostering cyberbullying, leading to at least two juvenile arrests, school phone-use bans and several campus lockdowns. Scrutiny of the 4-month-old   Yik Yak app   for Android and Apple devices has spread from the Southeast to the Northeast to the Midwest and, this week, to the West Coast. The app has registered more than 10,000 downloads on Google's Play Store and, according to   AppAnnie , has cracked the top 100 most popular apps on Apple's App Store.

QuizUp, a popular mobile game that had been available exclusively for Apple iOS users, launched Thursday for Android devices. The game allows users to face off against their friends by taking quizzes. Users choose a topic and then must answers questions correctly and as quickly as possible in order to get a higher score than their opponent. QuizUp offers a wide selection of topics, including the "House of Cards" Netflix series, music from the 2000s and flags from around the world.

"If only Bradley [Cooper]'s arm was longer," Ellen DeGeneres wrote in her record-breaking Oscars tweet that contains arguably the most epic selfie in history. But could DeGeneres and friends have taken a better picture? Although the selfie has been retweeted nearly 3 million times , caused Twitter to experience outages and contains a dozen stars, there's one company that thinks its technology could've snapped a better photo. PointGrab, an Israeli tech company, said CamMe, its free photo app, would have enabled DeGeneres to fit more celebrities into her picture (as well as the entirety of supporting actor winner Jared Leto's face)

Following Samsung's lead, HTC will begin selling next month a version of its flagship smartphone, the HTC One, with Google's "stock Android" operating system.  The phone will be sold starting June 26 for $599 in a version that will work with AT&T and T-Mobile networks. The stock phone caters to users who want the default version of Android and not the versions that have been modified by phone manufacturers. PHOTOS: Top smartphones of 2013 The stock versions were reserved for Google's own line of Nexus smartphones and tablets, but earlier this month, Google announced that it would begin selling the Samsung Galaxy S 4 running stock Android.

The Lakers have released an official mobile app for both Android and iOS platforms. Partnered with developer Lucid Appeal, the Lakers app provides "news, statistics, schedules, image and video gallery, user profiles, and more," according to a release from the team. "Launching this mobile app is a part of our long term strategy to engage Lakers fans across digital platforms and deliver content to fans in all the ways they want to consume it. We're excited for this launch, but even more so for the long-term road map we have for the mobile app and the dynamic features coming in future versions," said Nick Kioski, director of new media and technology for the Lakers.  To download the free app, navigate to the App Store on an iOS device, or to Google Play on an Android device.

Nokia announced three low-cost smartphones that run the Google Android operating system. In recent years, Nokia primarily powered its smartphones with the Windows Phone operating system, but limitations of that platform prevented the phone maker from building low-priced, entry-level devices. Nokia changed that Monday by introducing the Nokia X line, which includes the Nokia X, the Nokia X+ and the Nokia XL. The devices will be available for 89, 99 and 109 euros, respectively, or about $122, $135 and $150, all before any carrier subsidies.

Security researchers are warning Android users not to install versions of Flappy Bird found in alternative app stores as they may contain malware that could lead to unwanted charges on their phone bills. Flappy Bird is a mobile game that rose to popularity over the last few months but was suddenly removed from both the Apple App Store and Google Play last weekend. Since then, some Android users have turned to alternative app stores to install Flappy Bird clones that have the same name and icon and deliver the same game play.