Sierra, the latest filter to join the Instagram family, is a white-bordered filter that adds a lightened, low-contrast vintage look to photos. As far as Instagram filters go, it's pretty standard stuff, but it's always nice to have new options. The more substantial addition to the app is a feature called Lux, which lets users automatically increase the brightness of photos and boost the contrast. The option is meant to offer a way to improve underexposed photos and make them more Instagrammable.

Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom confirmed last year that building an Android version of Instagram is "a major priority" for the company, and the company is known to be working on such an app. It's really not a matter of if, but when. Last week, rumors began swirling that Instagram for Android could be imminent. We reached out to Systrom, who declined to give any specifics about a timeline.

For Instagram, Android is the most logical next step for growth. Having stirred early buzz in the tech press and later named Apple's iPhone app of the year for 2011, the service has done quite well, especially considering it only exists on iOS. It now boasts over 15 million users on Apple's mobile operating system alone.

Launching an Android app will expose it to a massive number of potential new users. Android commands more than 46% of the smartphone market, according to Nielsen. If its success on iOS is any indication, the service can expect to see its user base flourish once the Android version drops.

The other top priority at the company's headquarters is building out a Web version of the service. This one is a little less urgent, because they are so many third party Web UIs for Instagram, and probably not as much demand for an official one as there seems to be for an Android app.

Still, a report released by IHS in the wake of Microsoft's earnings announcement last week is worth a closer look.

"Combined with Nokia's efforts to drive the development of the Windows Phone ecosystem, the Lumia 900 and its successors will help Microsoft to reclaim its No. 2 ranking in smartphone operating system market share by 2015." Lam wrote.

To do so, Microsoft would need to jump from its current market share of 2% to 16.7% in four years. Windows Phone has gotten loads of praise from reviewers and tech writers, but the company does face some hurdles, including a lack of apps when compared to the number of apps available for iPhone and Android.

Based on comments after the release of its earnings Thursday (which topped Wall Street analysts' estimates), Microsoft seems to be positioning itself to make Windows Phone more developer friendly. To date, developers have been far more interested in working on applications for iOS or on Web-based platforms.

"I would say one of the things [we] talked about at CES last week was just how important it is for us to work on and with developers to create a really vibrant developer ecosystem," said Bill Koefoed, Microsoft's general manager of investor relations, during the call with analysts.

Google has also partnered with some Las Vegas-area Best Buy stores, so it can guide gadget-addled convention-goers straight to the cash register. Today's update also releases the floor plans of some of the first locations submitted to Google.

There's a mobile arms race heating up here. Apple's Siri intelligent search assistant on the iPhone 4S skips Google and goes to Yelp when you search for a local place or business. Apple has also been snapping up 3D mapping technology. Meanwhile, Bing Maps has provided inside mapping since August of last year.

Mobile mapping inside buildings is an important trend, but Google has an advantage of scale. As the map provider for the biggest smartphone platform and the iPhone (for now), the majority of smartphone users are comfortable with Google Maps.

To understand the value of this strategy, look no further than Google's partnerships with Las Vegas-area Best Buy stores during CES. Google has a piece of every step of the sales process except the cash itself, and it wants in on that, too.

Perhaps the most surprising announcement is that Ubuntu is coming out with a touch and gesture based TV operating system that can be controlled with a smartphone. MobiTV, a popular smartphone application, has joined forces with Deutsche Telecom for its "TV Everywhere" initiative. As if TV were not already everywhere. The MobiTV partnership will bring television to smartphones, tablets, PCs, set-top-boxes and ... whatever. If it has a screen, TV is coming to it in one way or another. TiVo has a new Android app that it announced this morning.

Conspicuously missing from all this great TV-based innovation? The Apple TV. Everyone is talking about it though, so I guess Apple wins CES. Again.

The fact of the matter is that the confluence of television and mobile platforms is going to be a major story this year. It almost comes to the point where we might need to start questioning the very definition of a "mobile" platform. Televisions are almost the opposite of mobile. They are quite stationary, actually. The only thing mobile about a TV is the remote and ... wait, where did I put that thing again?

The goal is two-fold. TV developers would like to bring the closest resemblance of cable and live television to mobile devices. On the other hand, mobile developers would like to bring the best representation of the Web and mobile apps to stationary TV sets. This is not a case where the two sides will meet somewhere in the middle and split the difference. Each scenario is likely to evolve in parallel over the next year.

Who wins when television is built on top of mobile operating systems like Android or iOS? App developers, multimedia and premium content providers, hardware manufacturers, CPU and GPU processors and advertisers come to mind. App developers will have the ability to expand their offerings to larger screens tied to mobile platforms. Advertisers looking to leverage apps as an expanding base for of reaching consumers will be on board. These apps will be driven by the multimedia and premium content providers. When devices have more functionality, the entire hardware supply chain benefits from consumer interest.

Who loses when TV, the Web and mobile platforms converge? Mostly, the "pipes." The pipes are the bandwidth providers that are responsible for carrying content and applications from sources to devices. The more options that are available to get mobile content on your TV outside of AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, Comcast, Cox and bandwidth providers, the harder it is for the pipes to monetize that content. This is precisely what the pipes do not want, to become "dumb" pipes. Yet, the ability for Android to run apps and content on TVs without going through the pipes fundamentally threatens the value-added content services that each company is trying to rollout.

That is why we see the carriers trying to work from the other end. For instance, AT&T wants you to watch TV on your mobile device with its U-Verse application. Verizon touts all the capabilities of FiOS on your TV or mobile device. Samsung is making it easier for paid-TV subscribers to stream certain content to mobile devices with a new offering called "Samsung N Service."

The convergence of TV and mobile will play out well into the future. We heard ripples come out last year at CES but the onramp is now becoming crowded. What it comes down to is the notion that the mobile platforms, Android specifically, have a far more disruptive reach than many pundits originally predicted. Not only are smartphones changing how users consume information, mobile operating systems are on a path to fundamentally change how content is delivered.

A new Android app called Boycott SOPA aims to help bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds and keep users in tune with which companies support SOPA and thus which products to avoid. The app scans barcodes on real-world products and then checks against a database of 800 SOPA supporters, letting you know if buying that box of tissues is going to ruin the Internet or not.

Things are not always quite so self-explanatory, however. A few manufacturers of things like cosmetics and pharmaceutical products are on the list of SOPA supporters and some organizations may have business relationships of which you're not necessarily aware.

While this barcode-scanning Android app won't single-handedly dismantle SOPA, it's another tool in the fast-growing kit used by those seeking to derail the legislation. It takes what the "No SOPA" Chrome plugin does and carries that over to physical products in the real world.

So far, the app has received largely positive reviews from users in the Android Market. A few folks were annoyed that the app asked for access to their contacts, but by and large, it seems to be doing the trick for most people.

Back in 2010 we put together our first list of the 30 best and worst Web tech tattoos. Here's our latest compilation, including an augmented reality tattoo, HTML tags, Javascript and C++, Debian, Wordpress, Google, Microsoft, RFID, QR codes, even Bill Gates' face. If you have work that's better, or worse, show it off in the comments.

Unix commands/C++/Javascript

Google

Microsoft

Next page: RFID, Augmented Reality, QR codes and Tux sitting on Windows eating an Apple!

RFID

Augmented Reality

Android

HTML

Networks

Tux

Debian

QR Code/Shotcode

WordPress

Sources: Machine gun Tux: wrightzen; Jobs, left: Cult of Mac; Jobs, right: SODAPOP; RIP toe, Geeky Tattoos; Jobs, arm: Cult of Mac; Stay hungry, wrists: Speak Truth, Breath Love; Stay hungry, arm: Gristle Tattoo; Apple/Jobs icon: gadgetpolice.com; "There is no reason": wease.com; "One more thing": Cult of Mac; Unix commands: Geeky Tattoos; Google It: jessversus; Powered by Google: Geeky Tattoos; Windows XP: traviscostrrr; Windows: bremiclem; Bill Gates: Big Tattoo Planet; RFID: The Loom; Augmented reality: iheartchaos.com; Android: eagyn; Android skateboard: the brand show; HTML body: iamdonte; : interbent; : interbent; CCIE: knuckletattoos.com; Tux: Sabrina Ricci; Debian arm: MicheleM_; Debian back: NiNiaX; QR code: Geeky Tattoos; ShotCode: Ad Lab; Wordpress: Hugo Baeta

The holiday season typically sees a surge in mobile application downloads, especially once Christmas Day arrives and countless consumers all over the world unwrap their new Android devices, iPhones, iPads and iPods. In a true testament to the continued proliferation of these devices, this year's holiday spike in app downloads was a one for the record books, according to Flurry's data.

Apple hasn't released numbers, but there's little doubt that items like iPads, iPhones and the iPod Touch did quite well this holiday season, and for those who already own such devices an iTunes Store gift card made for a no-brainer of a present. Amazon's own Kindle Fire, which has access to a limited version of the Android Marketplace, was that company's top-selling and most frequently gifted item this holiday season as well.

The 1 billion weekly downloads threshold may be a new one, but it's one that Flurry expects to see continue well into 2012. There's very little reason to doubt that prediction, as smartphones and tablets continue to pick up steam in the marketplace and new devices from Apple, Amazon and Android handset manufacturers are expected to drop throughout the year, in many cases at lower price points.

Mobile analytics company Flurry has been tracking the progression of iOS and Android application penetration across the world. No surprise, the United States is the most mature smartphone market on the planet. The rest of the world is catching up. China and South Korea both have made great leaps in 2011 to bring smart devices to users and where there is a smartphone, there is an app for that.

The U.S. has the highest install base of Android and iOS devices running apps in the world at 109 million. China is second at 35 million with the United Kingdom third at 17 million. The mobile app market is by no means saturated. Flurry still sees lots of room for it to grow.

Flurry encourages app developers to look overseas for potential growth markets. For instance, in China there are 122 million middle class adults age 15-64 that are not using iOS or Android. In the U.S. that number is 91 million (figuring a 200 million potential smartphone user base or about 60% of the population).

This brings us to the "addressable market." Right now, the most mature markets are the ones that have the highest penetration per, population. That means that the U.S., Sweden, Hong Kong and Sweden are the most mature. At the same time, the U.S. still has lots of potential to grow in iOS and Android adoption. Take a look at the chart below.

This chart is a little confusing if you do not know exactly what you are looking at. Here is the explanation from Flurry:

• The vertical axis measures our total addressable audience (TAM), which we define as adults, 15 - 64, who are at least middle-class. The TAM per country is represented by the larger, light blue circles. The U.S., with the largest light blue circle, has the largest TAM at 200 million. The horizontal axis shows percent penetration, which is the active user (iOS or Android device that used an app over the last 30 days) divided by the TAM

Now that we have a look at the mature markets, which ones have the most potential? The light blue portions of the circles show the potential for the apps ecosystem to grow. In this chart, the U.S., Japan, China and India have the highest potential. Sweden and Hong Kong drop right off the map.

Expect developers to start focusing on more emerging markets in 2012. The U.S. may be the test bed for popular apps, but there is big money to be made overseas. Is your studio planning on taking advantage? Let us know in the comments.

Other additions are catching up with WordPress for iOS, but they're welcome. The post editor now has a formatting toolbar above the keyboard, and the app now has a tablet view. The app also adds post uploading in the background and gets a few other fixes. This is an open-source app, and it's the best mobile blogging interface I've seen yet. What's up with everybody else?

WordPress for iOS is fine. Our Marshall Kirkpatrick finds it to be a knock-out, but that may be Stockholm syndrome. I use it, too, and it works, but it's awfully hard to use compared to this new Android version. The Action Bar and Dashboard should become the standard. I love that it's the result of open-source collaboration.

So, what's up, blogging platforms? The world is mobile now, and helping us blog while we're out is a surefire way to keep users engaged. WordPress for Android has pivoted back toward the light, but most of the pivots in this area have been toward social networking and away from writing posts.

Do you blog from mobile devices? What service do you use?

Google is making that easier than ever to learn to develop for Android. Last night it introduced a new beta program, Android Training, a collection of classes designed to help mobile developers make better Android apps. Google realizes that in the realm of public opinion Android apps are perceived to be inferior to iOS. Hence, Android Training is targeted to help developers make slicker, sexier, more functional apps.

• Designing for multiple screens
• Improving layout performance
• Managing audio playback
• Optimizing battery life
• Remembering users
• Sharing content
• Capturing photos
• Maintaining multiple APKs
• Developing for enterprise
• Monetizing your app
• Designing effective navigation

For example, here is some sample code for designing for multiple screens. This is an example of using RelativeLayout which allows the developer to specify layout in terms of the spacial relationships between components.

Google knows what the biggest problems are for Android developers. Fragmentation, screen sizes, monetization and design are high on the list. For instance, designing for multiple screens is one of the biggest advances in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The next step after developing for different screens is to make them perform better, hence the next class on the list, improving layout performance.

There are some prerequisites to Android Training. You should know the basics of writing code and how to develop an Android user interface. Android Training does not start from scratch. It is designed for developers looking to refine their apps. In time, Google is likely to come out with more beginner classes and more advanced classes.

Apple has long given developers a full set of training tools and directions. Check out the iOS Dev Center to see content like "Learning Objective - C: A Primer."

If Google wants to fulfill chairman Eric Schmidt's prediction that mobile developers will be writing for Android first by the middle of 2012, it is going to have to close the gap between the perceived quality of Android apps versus iOS apps. Consumers are going to want to buy Android apps the way they do iOS apps that at this point is not the case.

Mobile developers: you going back to school? Do you see Android Training as a good reference point to building your own apps (sample code is always helpful)?

The growth of smartphone adoption and associated mobile technologies has been staggering. As of the end of 2011, the majority of U.S. adults under the age of 35 now own a smartphone. Sixty-two percent of them have downloaded apps (mostly games), and mobile Web usage among these consumers has grown 45% since last year.

Video is huge among smartphone owners, who watched about 35% more video content on their devices than they did last year. From the looks of Nielsen's list of top apps, most of that video is coming from YouTube.

While many of the results drawn in many of these types of studies are not exactly breaking news, what's intriguing is the massively increasing degree to which we're all walking around with tiny, Web-connected computers in our pockets and the ways in which those devices are embedding themselves deep into our day-to-day lives. From the iPhone alarm that goes off in the morning to the miniature news reading and emails we check just before bed, these things aren't just gadgets. They're practically extensions of ourselves.

As we approach 2012, we expect to see this growth in the smartphone market continue unabated.

That comes as no surprise. Facebook is the most popular app of all time, with 350 million people accessing the social network from mobile devices. Across the age demographics surveyed by Nielsen, Google properties took the next four spots. After that, the list gets interesting, with media apps more popular for younger segments and productivity apps prevalent for older Android users.

Pandora Radio, Words With Friends and Angry Birds all made the list, with Pandora use higher in the youngest demographic and Angry Birds taking the seventh spot for the two older segments. QuickOffice ranked higher for the older users.

Take a look at the chart below. It is interesting to note how the 25-34 demographic is a bridge between the 18-24 and 35-44 groups. Pandora might be the best example, with less older users streaming music than the younger two but QuickOffice ranking higher.

There is one common denominator with all of these apps, as the same apps show up on each list. Most of them are featured heavily in the Android Market (except, of course, the Amazon Appstore). The fact of the matter is that the top 50 or so apps on the Android Market make up for the lion's share of app usage. Nielsen released a study in August that shows that the top 50 apps make up 61% of usage. The top 10 make up 43% of usage.

The top apps also go to show that the battle to come for the time and attention of users. Facebook and Google are enemies after the same targets, with both companies focused on grabbing eyeballs to sell advertising against. This battle has been evolving on the Web for the last several years. The next several years will find the search giant and the social network taking the war to users' pockets.

Unlike heavy Android users, most people do not have dozens of apps on their smartphones. What apps are missing from this list that most techies would think should make it? Spotify? Pulse? Netflix? Let us know what are your most used apps in the comments.

Developers are the front line soldiers of the platform wars. "iOS and Android are winning not only by virtue of technological sophistication, but primarily by the strength of their application ecosystems," the VisionMobile report states. The "network effect" drives the ecosystem, more sales equals more developers and more applications which in turn drives more developers. We take a close look at the platform wars through VisionMobile's report below.

The VisionMobile report is one of the most comprehensive breakdowns of the entire mobile ecosystem that has been published this year. The 68-page report (PDF) looks at smartphone vs. feature phone adoption, developer trends, how each OS differentiates itself and what tools are available, the importance of app stores and how HTML5 could deflate that market, among other topics.

Applications drive ecosystems. It is something we have known for several years but 2011 has really brought the importance of the app environment to clarity. Apple has more than, 500,000 apps while the Android Market has near 330,000 (up from the time frame that VisionMobile used for its survey, ending before October 2011). It is an Android and Apple world and the two platforms share a few key characteristics:

• Both originate from non-telecom partners.
• Both are monetized indirectly. Apple through high-margin devices or advertising for Android.
• Both are driven by companies that can pump billions into development of the operating system, create online services and drive application ecosystems.

It is hard to say which platform is No. 1. If we are talking about sales volume, Android takes the cake in almost every way. At the same time, Apple has created an environment where it makes, by far, the most amount of money for a single corporation in the mobile ecosystem.

We can see why Android does so well in the chart below. It is the only company that gains the green check mark in all four categories while iOS and webOS are the only two platforms that are for "high end devices" and "tablets" at the same time. Since Hewlett-Packard completely flubbed its webOS implementation and has more or less dropped the notion of making tablets and smartphones, that end of the market is left to Android and Apple.

"There isn't and won't be a single winner in the smartphone race. Both iOS and Android platforms reached a critical mass of hundreds of millions of users. Their long-term positions are secured by strong network effects between users and developers, making it almost impossible to displace them.

The jury is still out on whether there is a place for a third platform player, and whether Microsoft, with the help of Nokia, will be able to wrestle the third position away from Blackberry," the report states.

Adoption & Battle For Third

More than one and four global cellular users have a smartphone. Developed countries have the highest adoption, with sales to the channel reaching 65% in the United States and 50% in Europe. Sales to channel drop significantly in developing worlds with 19% in Asia-Pacific, 17% in Latin American and 18% in Africa and the Middle East. Overall, 27% of the world's cellphone users have smartphones.

The battle for third in the platform wars comes down to three main contenders. Two come from established tech innovators while the third is a suite of developer tools that can be employed by anybody.

Research In Motion currently holds the third spot almost by default. It has 70 million handsets deployed worldwide and has grown 40% year-over-year. That does not mean it is growing as well as RIM would like though as its percent of market share has been evaporating as its sales stale in the face of competition from Apple and Android. Microsoft should come on strong with Windows Phone especially that it now has Nokia on its side and the company's large brand presence across the world. In terms of platform, HTML5 is creeping up on each in terms of developer attention because it is the one platform that can truly cross the bridge between all of the platforms. Each of the major players - Google, Apple, Microsoft and RIM - have professed a dedication to HTML5 development.

What it comes down to is developer attention. The BlackBerry App World has near 30,000 apps while Windows Phone recently surpassed 40,000. Yet, each has weak "network effects" according to VisionMobile's definition of the term. Symbian also falls into this category though application development for Symbian now primarily falls to publishers working towards making a dent in smartphone adoption of emerging markets.

"Apple and Google turned the mobile industry on its head by creating vibrant product ecosystems encompassing devices, content and on-line services. The battle of ecosystems, however, is still far from being decided. We expect continued evolution of this dynamic market driven by entry of new players, such as Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft, as well as expansion of the experience ecosystems across screens, shifting the battleground from smartphones to tablets and finally the living room," the report stated.

We broke down the developer aspects of the VisionMobile report on ReadWriteMobile . What do you think will be the third-place ecosystem outside of Android and iOS? Will third place eventually go to the most unique platform (Windows Phone) or will it devolve into whatever system runs HTML5 the best? Let us know your thoughts on VisionMobile's report in the comments.

How The Kindle Fire Will Attack The iPad: Newsstand

Kindle Fire Is A Service, Not A Product

Why the Kindle Fire is No iPad Killer

What Did Amazon's Kindle Fire Just Do To Android?

Hacker Shows How To Easily Root the Kindle Fire

Intent to Purchase: The Kindle Fire Gains Consumer Mindshare

Amazon Boosts Kindle Fire Order To 5 Million

How Amazon's Kindle Fire is About to One-Up Handheld Gaming Systems

The New Nook Aims at Amazon's Kindle Fire, But the iPad is Still Safe

Missing Pieces: Device Access

There are several things that need to be understood about the hardware for the Kindle Fire and how that affects Android apps. Foremost, device access for apps is extremely limited either by design or the fact that certain hardware functions do not exist for the Fire. There is a large variety of Android apps request device access to things like the camera, accelerometer or location services. You are not going to find those apps in the Amazon Appstore.

The Fire is built off what appears to be Android Gingerbread flavor 2.3.5. One would think that what Amazon did was take the Gingerbread build and add on top of it. This is not the case. Amazon's build of Android is somewhat of an addition by subtraction principle. Taken out of the platform are many of the device access capabilities, such as location. The Fire is built from a stripped version of Gingerbread that more or less just runs the kernel of the device.

The purpose for this is two fold: drive users to the Web and to Amazon's cloud services. The prime example of this is location. Apps do not have location access from the device. Look at how the Fire handles both Facebook and Twitter. The dedicated apps for Android from Facebook and Twitter are missing. In the Amazon Appstore, the Twitter app is Twitter for Mobile Web. It is a redirect. For Facebook, there is not even a redirect.

Why is this? The answer is that both Facebook and Twitter apps have significant device access requests that the Fire hardware does not support. Location is one of these. If you want to use Facebook and Twitter, you have to do so through the browser, of which Amazon provides with its "Silk" build. These are just two examples but if you are wondering why a certain app is not available in the Appstore, ask yourself: what kind of permissions is the app asking for?

Our initial impression of the Appstore was that developers could just submit the code from their normal Android Market apps for approval to the Appstore. Yet, without device access components, this is impossible because those apps will not work with the Fire. Developers have to strip certain permissions from the app to get it to work with the Fire. The subtraction is a way for a peculiar kind of control unique only to Amazon.

Android Market & Third-Party App Stores

Users cannot reach the Android Market from the Fire. It is basically impossible without rooting the device. If you type the URL for the Android Market (market.android.com) into the Silk browser, you get redirected back to the Amazon Appstore. I figured that a way around this would be to install a third-party browser that Amazon theoretically would have no control over, but none exist in the Appstore.

What Amazon does allow is the ability to load third-party apps from outside app repositories. The ability can be accessed through settings (and gives users a warning that is more or less a scare tactic to keep them from doing it). For instance, you can access Getjar apps through the browser. Through Getjar we installed the Dolphin HD browser to see if going straight to the Android Market URL would work. It did not and still redirected to the Appstore.

One app that is one of our favorites is NHL Game Center 2011-12. It is a dynamic app that can show in (almost) real-time what is happening on the ice of an NHL game. We downloaded it through Getjar in hopes of checking scores and the download process was smooth. Yet, the thing with NHL Game Center is that it requests location services after registering what the users favorite team is. A message pops up along the lines of, "NHL Game Center could not find the location of the user, please turn on location in the settings" and promptly closes. There is no way around it. This severely curtails the type of apps that Amazon will allow to be used with the Fire.

Conclusion: Accept It or Root It

Users that only need the Fire for various Web uses will find the fact that the Fire as a "service" is a very acceptable tablet. There are plenty of games, access to the Amazon Newsstand, several utility apps and access to the Amazon store and cloud. For instance, Rafat Ali, the founder of paidContent, has said that the Fire has now replaced the iPad as his travel/leisure device.

For those that require cellular connections, the Fire is not going to work in the same way that it does for Ali (a cellular connection would also give it location services). The Fire is a window, a portal. Amazon has told consumers and developers that it will not stop them from rooting the device and last week a developer found a very easy way to do so. If you do not like the user interface and restrictions of the Appstore, rooting it will be the best course and perhaps trying to put Android Ice Cream Sandwich on the device. There will be certain limitations with what can be done with ICS on the Fire without the device hardware necessary to support app functionality, but it will give access to the Android Market. At $199, it has a price point that makes it acceptable to root and not feel guilty over money lost if the entire UI explodes.

Have you played with the Fire? What is your thought on how the UI works? Are you going to accept it or root it? Let us know in the comments.

2. Like Android phones, Buffy always makes a comeback.

3. You don't want to mess with Androids or Buffy. Androids say things like "DROID" in a robotic, menacing tone. Buffy shoves wooden stakes into the hearts of the undead.

4. Buffy and Android both seem to be super-human robots.

5. No one could believe when either of them arrived on the scene. Buffy fans, you know what I'm talking about.

How do you think Buffy and Android are alike? Tell us in the comments.