A recent post on the official Temple Run Facebook can be seen here, it reveals that game is still being developed at the moment and no exact release date has been given, however contrary to this a recent article over at TechGadgetsWeb suggests that it will in fact arrive on February 9th. The guys at Imangi Studios have not officially announced this to our knowledge (we’ve checked the official website, Twitter feed and Facebook page) – therefore don’t take it too seriously for now.

Some may say that the Android version of Temple Run has taken far too long to develop, but Imangi say that they want to ensure that the developer’s first-ever Android app is solid when it arrives. We agree with this decision as let’s face it with so much hype surrounding its release its bound to come under lots of scrutiny.

Until we hear official word from trustworthy sources you should watch out for fake Temple Run apps which may show up at the Market, perhaps ‘Like’ the official Temple Run Facebook page or follow Imangi on Twitter to stay up-to-date.

Since Temple Run has hit the App Store in mid-2011 it has seen a huge amount of success, in fact when it cost $0.99 it became the top grossing app available for iOS, the free version of the app then hit the top spot in the free app charts – therefore it is no surprise to see such hype surrounding the Android release.

For those of you haven’t already played Temple Run we have embedded a video below which gives you a taster of the action you’re missing out on. Which other iOS-exclusive games and apps do you want to hit Android?

When Siri was first launched many Android fans commented that it was just something similar to what some Android Apps have been offering for ages. Since then we have seen an explosion of other apps being released for the platform. But recently an application actually called Siri for Android appeared on the Android Market.

IT ProPortal are reporting the app claimed to be an official app for the Android platform, and after being present for a few hours Google quickly took it down. While it was still live the app was downloaded by almost 1,000 users.

The application was developed by Official Software and it seems the developers account has also now been pulled. Other applications from the company have now also disappeared from the store. Google are reported to have moved quickly to remove the app and would have been keen not to get hit with anymore lawsuits from Apple.

This has been one of the biggest criticisms of the Android platform and how easy it is to get rogue applications on to the Android Market. There have been many reports of criminals putting up apps that create malware on devices that they get downloaded to.

Last month we told you about rumors that Google were working on their own Siri like feature for the Android platform, codenamed Majel. While this is being worked on expect to see even more Siri type apps appearing on the platform.

Did you download the fake Android Siri app?

Currently Android is trailing behind the iOS platform with regards to making money for app developers and according to a report here, iOS generates around four times as much revenue for the top 200 apps. This is in comparison to the top 200 applications found on the Android Market.

Even if you look at the apps that are downloaded for free and then use in-app purchases, the App Store still has a big advantage. According to an end of year report by Distimo 65% of the top 200 on the Android Market are free downloads, while on the App Store only half are free.

The gap in revenue is smaller when comparing applications for tablets, with these only generating twice as much as the Android Market. This revenue gap leads many developers ignoring the Android platform as their first choice in releasing new applications. With this in mind it will be surprising if Google’s Eric Schmidt claim that the Android platform will become the primary choice for developers coming true.

There are monetization options open to developers, which are helping some developers on the Android platform close the gap on iOS. StartApp is one such alternative that was recently launched by Android, and has paid out $200,000 to developers who install its SDK.

StartApp has its own search portal with applications from developer customers, and users get a search icon on their home page. It’s what generates revenues, and pays out $10 to $50 to developers for every 1,000 downloads or shares in the ongoing search revenue. It has now been installed on 450 applications, and in turn generated ten million downloads. This has helped some developers see their revenues jump by ten times as much.

StartApp’s CEO Gil Dudkiewicz said, “We are thrilled by the results we have seen thus far, with developers rapidly adopting our solution driving incredible growth in the download and distribution of our search solution”, and “We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our partners, many of whom have seen dramatic increases in the revenue they are receiving from their apps. This has led to a zero churn rate in the number of developers using our solution”

Apple recently banned Tapjoy’s incentivized download model for allegedly gaming the App Store rankings, but on the Android platform it is doing well and has helped developers. If current trends continue the Android platform could overtake iOS in app downloads, and many developers may choose it as their primary platform. Google does have to close the revenue gap though or developers will continue to look at monetization options, which won’t necessary be popular with users.

According to an article on eWeek a malicious developer managed to clone popular games on the Android market, and re-released them as free games after altering some code. Google has since removed them according to Lookout Security.

The criminals managed to create a number of titles with code to make the handset send SMS messages to premium rate numbers. Users would have been unaware their handset was sending these messages until receiving their bills, which would have been extremely high because of the SMS fees.

There were around thirteen applications available on the Android Market for just over a day before being pulled at the weekend. Even though Google acted quickly a few thousand users seem to have downloaded the malicious apps.

These included fake Angry Birds, Need for Speed: Shift, Cut the Rope, Riptide GP, Great Little War Game, Assassins Creed: Revelations, World of Goo, Shoot The Birds, Talking Tom Cat 2, Talking Larry the Bird, and Bag It. All of the fake games were being offered as free downloads.

Users in the UK, France, Germany, Poland, and Italy are among the countries thought to be affected by the fraudulent applications. Many security experts feel the requirements to become an Android developer and publish apps are too relaxed, and malicious apps will still be a problem until rules are toughened up.

We have reported before that there are a number of free security applications available for smartphones that may stop such malware getting onto your handset. Have you ever downloaded a malicious application?

The British users of the Android tablets and phones can now rent movies to their devices over the internet using a Wi-Fi or 3G connection. There is currently a similar service available in the US and now the UK have a library of approximately 1000 hit movies available to them which they can rent for as little as £2.49. The library currently includes titles such as Reservoir Dogs and Harry Potter. More recent movies are also available such as Senna or Green Lantern, but they will initially cost a little more at £3.49.

As the Telegraph explains, the service is only available to Android users and to rent a movie they must first download the Videos app which is available for free on the Android Market. The films can then be downloaded and can be viewed even when you’re not online. Each purchase gets a 30 day period in which it must be watched, plus once viewing has begun the movie must be watched within 24 hours. There is no limit to how many times the movie can be watched in the 24 hour period.

If users have a HDMI cable they can also watch their movie rental on their TV or on their PC or laptop. There are currently similar services available in the UK such as Lovefilm; however Google will be hoping the ability to watch these films on mobile devices will be enough to appeal to more users. What do you think of Google’s new movie rental service?

An article on CBR Mobility is reporting that according to Strategy Analytics the Android Market is set to go past the Apple App Store for quarterly volume by the end of 2012. The Android Market will be helped from third party app sellers such as the Amazon App Store, GetJar and Nook to name but a few.

A few weeks ago Apple had its 15 billionth application download, while last month the Android Market recorded its 4.5 billionth app download. It is still thought that Apple will still have the highest revenue from app downloads next year as it has more paid for downloads. Plus it currently has more apps than the other platforms.

But because of the help from the third party sellers it won’t be long before the Android Market is out in front. Sometimes the Android platform can be helped with the tight restrictions that Apple imposes on applications being submitted to the App Store, developers can even release apps on Android first because of this.

But the Android Market does have its problems with applications in the past being released that contain malware. The Android Market is currently undergoing a face lift as it was recently updated and is rolling out around the world. It comes down to personal preference which is better, but personally I prefer the look and feel of the Apple App Store.

My cell phone is on the Android platform, but I also have an iOS device so have used both app store fronts. The Android market is certainly getting better but still falls a little short of Apple’s offering. But the quality of the applications available is the important part, and currently the Android Market has a way to go. Do you agree? Or do you prefer the Android Market?

Prices for these movies start at just $1.99, but in order to take advantage of this you will need to make sure that you download the new videos app, but this can only be done once you upgrade your version of Android Market. Sadly the service is only available to the US, but Google has said that they hope to roll it out to certain countries in the coming months.

To see just what’s up for offer then you can just visit the online version of Android market, where you will be able to see the choice of thousands of movies. PC World is a little concerned, as the content is nothing like iTunes has available. Some of the most recent movies are on Apple’s service but not Google’s, which is sure to have an affect on how well the new app will be received.

Having said that, we have seen in the past that Android has an uncanny way of catching up fast, so we should not expect any different here. We all know how the likes of Apple, Android, BlackBerry and Windows all borrow design elements from each other, so comes as no surprise that the new app is a little like the tiles that are used in the WP7 Metro UI.

There are two ways to get the app, the first is to wait for it to automatically update on your handset; or the second is to download it from unofficial channels – the risk will be yours though.

If you like to download big apps, then you will be pleased to know that this app allows you to downloads them with a maximum size of 4GB. This will be ideal for gaming apps, as they are usually the ones that are of a large download size. Anyway, to see the improvements to the new Android Market app we have embedded a video for you below. The design itself looks on par if not better than the App Store, but we all know that it is not all about looks right?

The new mobile app is called Yahoo! AppSpot. The service will also be available via the web browser at Yahoo App Search for those that do not wish to download the app to their mobile device. As well as finding apps the Yahoo! AppSpot app also recommends apps to users.

The way in which this app is unique to similar ones on the market according to Yahoo is instead of just providing a list of ‘Top Apps’ which would tend to be the same every day; it also would suggest apps that are personal to users’ taste so the list would differ every day.

It is able to do this as it searches your library and from the apps already purchased or downloaded can filter what you would be interested in. according to the article at PCMag, it will only search the library with your permission.

What do you think of this new app from Yahoo? Will you be using it?

The news comes from a report which explains that a professor from a North Carolina State University called Xuxian Jiang, found this new malware, which is being referred to as Plankton, in ten different apps from three separate developers which is alarming, and he is not the first to report such infected apps.

Google were apparently quick to react and in response have removed the named apps from the Market completely. The Android Market has been criticized in the past for its lack of security against these types of problems and it seems they are finally doing something about it.

The apps in question normally require no root permissions or Super User. It is suggested that while locking down the Android Market more securely it would limit the amount of apps but at the same time would do more good than harm in the long run.

Check out the article over at MobileBeat for more details about the new malware infection problem and what Google intend to do about it. What do you think should or can be done to solve these issues?

As Mary Ann Neder over on the appmodo.com website recently noted, the Solitaire Chess by ThinkFun app has been a top educational game for Apple iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad users since January 2011. The Solitaire Chess game is easy to learn, quick to play, and very addictive.

The great thing about the app is the fact that while you’re playing the game, you are also improving your strategic thinking skills. Solitaire Chess is easy for beginners to learn, and can be started without the user having any previous knowledge of how to play chess.

Solitaire Chess for Android has been designed and developed to work on all Android versions from Android 1.6 right up to 3.0 Honeycomb. The game features support for many of the latest Android tablets, including the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Motorola Xoom and the Asus Eee Pad.

The game does in fact come in both a free and full paid version. The free version features 40 challenges across 4 different levels of difficulty, while the full version comes with 400 challenges. Do you think you will download the Solitaire Chess by ThinkFun game?