This is quite an interesting move by Yahoo. Tumblr is quite a popular platform and has created a whole genre called tumblogs.  I am not giving any ideas to anyone, but there is a good chance that Yahoo might try to make tumblr into a free service which gives you premium services(e.g. bigger media uploads) for a small fee.

Up next, Google released a new version of it’s Maps software for web browsers. This video from the Google Maps blog explains what has changed. Of course, they have put these improvements into the app for Android and the iPhone. They are also going to be bringing out a new iPad version of the Google Maps app along with the Android and iPhone versions later in the Summer. I for one am really glad that Google Maps is finally coming to the iPad.

The other thing that was announced was a new layout for your Google+ stream.  Of course, they also put out a video to show it off which you can find below.

Google has also made some changes to Hangouts. Not only will you be able to do some video calls with your people but you will also be able to chat with them. Yes, Google has also added messaging. Additionally, they’ve also released a Hangouts app which you can download right now on your iOS or Android device.

Earlier today, Nokia announced a new phone. It’s called the Nokia Lumia 925. This guy has got a 4.5-inch screen with a resolution of 1280×768, 1GB of RAM, a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.  In terms of the camera, you have an 8.7-megapixel camera which is capable of shooting 10 photos one after the other. You will also have a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Nokia Lumia 925 will be releasing in the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and China in June and will cost you about €465 before taxes(approximately £475 including VAT in the UK). USA and “other markets” will follow soon after that.

With about 60 million monthly active users, BBM is quite a popular messaging service. However, the  company is trying to get people excited about their phones and tablets once again with the recent launch of the BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system for their smartphones and tablets back in January.  That being said, only time will tell if this will get people excited about BlackBerry once again or if they are late to the party.

I for one am glad that it is going to be a free update. After all, keeping up with the latest and greatest in Windows operating systems can be quite a costly affair. In any case, I will be downloading the public preview edition so I can give you my first impressions, so stay tuned for more.

Update: You will be able to get Windows 8.1 from the Windows store on release day.

Here’s how it works: Let’s say that I create a new Google account today. I have 15GB right out of the gate. I then start uploading a few photos which add up to a total of 50MB. I have therefore used 50MB out of my 15GB allocation.  I then receive an email which has a total size of 50MB, taking my total to 100MB out of 15GB. However, I also upload some 3GB worth of documents up to my Drive. Therefore, I would have used a total of 3.1GB out of my 15GB total.

Side note: For the record, I am a regular user of Google+, Google Drive and Gmail.

Up first is FoxIt Reader. Essentially, it’s an alternative to Adobe’s Reader application.  Like Adobe Reader, it’s a PDF reader which allows you to open PDFs.  However, it also allows you the ability to create PDF files from within Microsoft Office using their add-ins. I have been using this as my PDF viewer for about a month now and it is just awesome. From turning on my computer to opening my PDFs, it blows Adobe reader right out of the water. The other thing that makes FoxIt reader cool is the ability to open multiple PDFs in the same window using tabs(just like web browsers).  I highly recommend that you check this one out.  I can tell you that FoxIt Reader is free and is available for Windows PCs(and yes it runs on Windows 8).

The second of my picks is the iRig Pre Universal Microphone Interface for iOS and Android devices . This allows you to plug your XLR microphone into your iOS or Android device(along with your headphones). Of course, the device also has a 48V switch(AKA phantom power), so it makes it compatible with all XLR microphones which need phantom power and those which don’t need phantom power. It is powered by a 9 volt battery and comes with a velcro strap as well. The other thing I should mention is that you also have a gain control on the side to control the amount of gain going out of the interface.

I will have a test recording uploaded on this site very soon so you can be the judge of how good the sound quality is. By having this interface with you, it will allow you to turn your tablet or phone into a mobile recording rig.

I have been also testing it on some Skype calls for three weeks on my iPad and I have to say that this works like a dream.  If you’re a podcaster who’s been looking to record content on-the-go then this is a really good interface for the job.

I would highly recommend picking up one of these for yourself.  The iRig Pre XLR Interface is available for about $40 on Amazon USA
(£24.75 on Amazon UK).

Update: You cannot monitor using the headphone jack on the iRig Pre(by monitor, I mean hearing what’s coming out of the XLR microphone)