BlackBerry Store Tops 100.000 Apps, Up 30.000 in 7 Weeks

BlackBerry's app store now has more than 100,000 apps, just in time for the launch of its BlackBerry Z10 smartphone. The Canadian smartphone maker said developers have created more than 30,000 new apps over the past seven weeks since it unveiled its new operating system and devices.

Today, BlackBerry 10 customers can download Amazon Kindle, OpenTable, and The Wall Street Journal. CNN, The Daily Show, eBay, eMusic, Maxim, MLB at Bat, MTV News, Pageonce, PGA, Rdio, Skype, Soundhound, and Viber will be available in the coming weeks.

Google Launches Animated GIF Search

Google is making it easier to search the web for animated GIFs, the latest proof that the rudimentary image format is making a comeback. The search engine giant has added new filters to its Image Search page, including clip art, line drawings, photos and faces. But the option to search for animated GIFs caused the most buzz among advertisers and Internet users alike.

Once thought to be a relic of the early Web 1.0 era, the crude animated images have returned to the spotlight thanks to sites like Reddit and Tumblr, where GIF memes like Grumpy Cat and Infomercial Failsfirst went viral. “GIFs have been around since 1987 and have become the de facto standard for short animations on the web, from pony glitter text to grumpy cat memes” the company wrote on its Google+ page.

New BlackBerry PlayBook is in the Works According to BlackBerry Exec

It seems there may be some confusion up at the BlackBerry headquarters about whether or not there is a new PlayBook tablet in the future.

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins recently told Australia’s Herald Sun that tablets are “a very difficult business.” He went on to suggest that the company won’t be releasing any new tablets unless it can find a niche that needs to be filled. It seems, however, that someone forgot to send out that memo to the rest of the company.

Apple is really mad at Samsung and BlackBerry now

If you own an Apple (AAPL -0.27%) iPhone, you should have received an email from the company over the weekend, alerting you to a new page on the Apple site that explains why the iPhone 5 is the best.

The tag line: "There's iPhone. And then there's everything else." This might be the first time since 2001, when it blew everybody away with the first iPod, that Apple has stooped to defend its position as the best possible thing since sliced bread.

Google removes AdBlock Plus app from Play Store

Google has removed AdBlock Plus, an app that lets users block advertisements while browsing the web, in addition to other similar apps such as AdAway, from the Play Store.

In an e-mail to the developers of AdBlock Plus, Google has said that it found the app to be violating section 4.4 of the Developer Distribution Agreement as the app interferes with or accesses another service or product in an unauthorized manner. It has instructed the developers to revise and upload a new instance of the application that is compliant with the developer terms.

Google Exec Posts Photos Taken With 'Nexus 10'

Google's Vic Gundotra is having a nice time trying out some new hardware during his beach vacation. At least that's the view from his profile on Google+, where he posted two pictures taken with something called the "Nexus 10."

There currently is no product with that name, but it's been rumored that Google will introduce a new Nexus tablet at the company's event on Monday morning. Also, Korean site Seeko on Thursday posted images of what appears to be a manual for the tablet.