Google Maps has received a new experimental Labs add-on today that may simplify your life in areas with little to no Wi-Fi or data.

The "Download map area" add-on in the new Google Maps 5.7 for Android will store a map for a specific area you're trying to visit. You'll have to plan in advance with this tool, and downloading a map will take some time and storage space, but it beats lugging around a guide book, or worrying about getting enough signal in a trouble spot.

If you've got an Android phone running version 2.1 or higher, and the latest version of Maps 5.7, you can get started by opening the menu, tapping More, then Labs, and selecting the download feature. Later when you search for a Place, for instance, going into the More menu will show you an option for downloading the area map while you're still online.

Be forewarned that the feature won't show you directions, Places, satellite view, or 3D buildings.

Since you may not want downloaded maps sticking around too long, you can view or delete them from the cache settings (get to it from Menu, then More). After 30 days, Google will delete them by default.

After playing around with the map downloads, we like what we see so far. The real test will be seeing how easy or useful the feature is in areas that are truly data-starved.

Originally posted at Webware

I wouldn't call myself a spreadsheet ninja, but I do use spreadsheets on a daily basis--and Google Docs, specifically--to track roommate bills, plan vacations and conferences, and keep tabs on work projects.

Today Google updated Google Docs for the mobile phone and tablet browser to make it easier for the tool's users to share multiple documents and sort spreadsheets, text docs, presentations, PDFs, and drawings you create online.

Log in from any mobile browser and you'll immediately see two drop-down categories on the navigation bar. One sorts documents by name, modification date, and the date you last opened it. The other filters gargantuan lists by documents you own, have starred as important, or are part of a collection. You can also filter by document type.

Any time you select (or more) one of those docs, you'll see the Share button appear on the bottom of the screen. You'll be able to then e-mail the file as an attachment or as a link, or copy the link.

All these are small but useful additions to the online version that make for a smoother viewing and using experience from a condensed mobile screen.

Originally posted at Webware

The latest developer's build of Firefox launched today, bringing hope to the small but vocal minority of Firefox stable users who have been plagued by the browser's persistent memory and performance problems that Mozilla is not ignoring their complaints. Firefox Aurora 7 can be downloaded for Windows, Mac, and Linux, and includes changes that Mozilla said in a blog post announcing the release will result in 30 percent less memory use "for many users."

Another big memory usage change comes to the "garbage collector" process, which, when working properly, cleans out from your system memory browser processes that are no longer running in active tabs. This, too, is expected to result in better memory management. Telemetry infrastructure has been added to Firefox in this release, so it's easier for Mozilla developers to track how their changes affect the open-source browser. Mozilla also expects people to see faster browser start-up times on all three desktop operating systems.

There are a smattering of new features included in Aurora 7. Most of these relate to support for "future-Web" technologies, and the browser includes support for a Web timing specification to measure performance of a site as it's being used; the hardware acceleration function Azure Direct2D for HTML5 Canvas; and a more elegant way to display text that has spilled out of its boundaries on a page called CSS3 Text-Overflow: ellipsis. In the new version, Firefox Sync will now synchronize bookmarks and passwords by default.

New users will be able to download Aurora 7 immediately (see links above), while existing Aurora users can force an update through Firefox's Help menu or wait for the build to be pushed to them in the next few days.

The best things in life are free. You know: love, sunsets, the second pizza you get you when you buy the first pizza. And apps. Definitely apps.

If you're an iPhone, iPod, or iPad user, you can find a smattering of freebies by rooting around the App Store.

But those are just the tip of a huge iceberg (free-berg?). With the right tools, services, and even apps, you can score a king's ransom in free iOS apps.

I've rounded up seven great sources for this free stuff. If you have a favorite, or you know of another option not listed here, be sure to share it in the comments!

In the meantime, hit the slideshow below to start your search for gratis app goodness.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

After something of an uphill battle, Fieldrunners HD, the hugely popular Tower Defense game for iPhone, has finally made its way onto the Android platform. Originally tabbed for release last week, Fieldrunners ran into a few speed bumps with the Android Market. But fortunately all is well now, and for the first 24 hours (the clock is already ticking), Fieldrunners will be available in the Amazon Appstore for free or in the Android Market for a buck.

With high-def graphics, more than 400 levels, and four battle fields, this multiple award-winner is certainly worth checking out.

Over 15 billion applications have been downloaded from Apple's App Store, the company announced today.

"Thank you to all of our amazing developers who have filled [the App Store] with over 425,000 of the coolest apps and to our over 200 million iOS users for surpassing 15 billion downloads," Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, Phil Schiller, said in a statement.

The App Store's growth over the last few years has been nothing short of astounding. It took Apple nine months to hit 1 billion downloads, and its store finally hit 5 billion downloads in June 2010. In January of this year, Apple's store tallied 10 billion app downloads. The company celebrated the feat by giving away a $10,000 App Store gift card to the person who downloaded the 10 billionth application.

All those downloads have helped developers cash in. According to Apple, it has paid developers more than $2.5 billion since its App Store launched.

At 15 billion downloads, Apple's mobile marketplace is far ahead of the Android Market. In May, Google announced that there have been 4.5 billion applications downloaded from the Android Market so far.

However, the Android Market is hot on Apple's heels. According to Google, its store hits another billion downloads every 60 days.

On a separate front, Apple is engaged in a legal battle with Amazon over the use of the term "Appstore." Yesterday, a judge denied Apple's request for a preliminary injunction to squelch Amazon's use of the term, saying that, although the term isn't purely generic, Apple had not established the likelihood of confusion between the competing brands.

In Europe, meanwhile, a quartet of tech heavyweights--Microsoft, HTC, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson--have filed formal applications to get Apple's trademarks for "App Store" and "Appstore" declared invalid

Related stories:
• Apple loses bid for injunction against Amazon
• Google touts Android adoption
• Microsoft, others fight Apple's EU 'App Store' trademark

Originally posted at The Digital Home

Nintendo says that it has no plans to develop for mobile platforms, including Apple's iOS or Android, the company told Bloomberg in a phone conversation today.

Nintendo's Yasuhiro Minagawa told Bloomberg that its long-standing strategy of developing games only for its own hardware "hasn't changed and won't change."

Prior to Minagawa's comments, Nintendo's shares were on the rise due to speculation that the company might follow Pokemon and develop games for smartphones, since it's a minority stakeholder in that company. However, Nintendo told Bloomberg that Pokemon is an independent company, and its decisions do not affect its own strategies.

As the top portable-hardware company in the game industry, Nintendo has been feeling pressure from the increasing popularity of smartphone-based video games. According to a report from Flurry Analytics, in 2009, Nintendo owned 70 percent of the U.S. portable game software market, followed by iOS with 19 percent share. Last year, Nintendo's market share slumped to 57 percent as the combination of iOS and Android rose to 34 percent share.

What's more, that trend doesn't appear to be slowing down. Just yesterday, Nielsen released a study that found games are by far the most popular application category on mobile platforms. Each month, the average mobile gamer plays 7.8 hours of video games from their smartphone. Nielsen said that iPhone owners spend an average of 14.7 hours playing games on their devices.

Meanwhile, Nintendo is having some trouble selling its latest portable, the 3DS. That device, which allows users to play games in 3D without the need for special glasses, has been dogged by a meager game library and a requirement for gamers to have the right viewing angle in order to experience the 3D. And at $250, some have been turned away by the platform's price.

Nintendo chief Satoru Iwata acknowledged the device's shortcomings during a 2011 financial results briefing earlier this year, saying that the "value of 3D images without the need for special glasses is hard to be understood through the existing media." He went on to tell investors that "not that many people believe 'now is the time to buy [the 3DS].'"

During a question-and-answer session with shareholders yesterday, Iwata took aim at smartphones, saying that based on his company's research, people are just as "active" playing titles on the Nintendo DS as they are on the iPhone. And as far as he is concerned, Nintendo isn't suffering due to mobile games or social titles being played on Facebook.

"In summary, I would like you to understand that, so far, consumers have not stopped playing with Nintendo DS because they are using these [mobile] services or playing social games," he said.

Originally posted at The Digital Home