The app starts at the screen below – just tap the centre, say the words you want turned into music, and away you go…

The app is free to use, although you can make in-app purchases in order to get extra songs. Download it from the Google Play store today!

Flipboard allows you to choose a range of topics to receive news for, and also view your social network feeds in a magazine format where you flip pages. If you want to check out the app, head to xda-developers, sign up and download the APK.

In the image above, I was able to send an SMS from one phone to another, and when I replied the message was also received in the web browser along with a notification. For users who send a lot of text messages and would prefer to do it from their computer on a proper keyboard, Citroon could be a godsend. Free users are limited to sending/receiving 100 messages a month – premium packages are available from 99 cents a month (in euros) which offer unlimited sending and receiving.

The main website is in French and the ‘English’ link doesn’t seem to work, but I’m sure this will be updated in time. However once you log in (click Connexion after entering your details) some parts are in English. I know enough French for this not to be a problem but others might struggle a bit. The website uses HTTPS so your messages will be secure.

If this sounds like a useful app for you then I’d recommend installing it, it’s free anyway so you can’t lose out by giving it a go!

The Google Drive website features the video below, giving more information about the service.

Early users suggest that the service is basically a clone of Dropbox, albeit one that offers 5GB of free storage compared to the 2GB offered by Dropbox. Google Drive is replacing Google Documents, so all documents stored in there will be moved to Google Drive when the update occurs.

I have to admit, despite being an Android user (phone and tablet) and using a lot of Google services, I’m entirely happy with Dropbox’s free service, so at the moment there is no incentive for me to change to Google Drive, unless I need that extra space in the future.

• Bookmarks can now be added as shortcuts on your home screen.
• You can select apps to handle links opened in Chrome.
• Use Chrome with a system proxy if you have one setup.
• Request the desktop version of a site rather than the mobile version.

This last feature is the best one for me – I hate having a tablet yet still getting served up a page designed for a small smartphone. Here is a screenshot showing the BBC site in Chrome, and the option in the menu to ‘Request desktop site’:

Here is the browser after the ‘Request desktop site’ option has been ticked. Much better!

The only thing stopping me from switching to Chrome full time is the lack of Flash – I use Flash on various sites such as CBeebies to allow my son to play the games. It appears that Flash will never be supported on Chrome for Android, which is a shame as so many sites continue to use it. I will be happy to see the back of Flash once something standard appears to replace it.

Once I discovered the solution, it became obvious. The error was down to my having enabled 2-step verification for my Google account, and it was necessary to generate a one-time password to log in with. The Google help pages have a useful page about this here.

Following the advice on the help page, I went to the Authorizing applications & sites page and generated a new password for my Xoom (I had already done this for my phone so should have remembered!) Once done, I entered the temporary password on my Xoom and voila! It worked. Hopefully if you are having this problem, this article will have solved it for you.

For those new to Instagram, it allows you add effects and filters to your photographs, allowing you to enhance your photos and make them more vibrant. There are a multitude of sharing options too, with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Foursquare all supported. The app is free so it’s definitely worth checking out.

You can create your own avatar, chat to friends and compete to get your name to the top of the ranking leaderboards! There is also a gift shop where you can spend points to buy gifts for your friends.

There are a variety of games on offer, including the classic draughts/checkers. Here’s me easily winning a practice game

There’s also a game called Tower Blocks where the aim, unsurprisingly, is to build a tall tower out of blocks. I need a bit of practice at this one!

If you’re a competitive person who likes playing games on their phone, or just wants to make new friends, then you definitely can’t go far wrong with Thumbpark. It’s free to download so get it today!

As with previous Humble Bundles, you can pay what you want for the games – although beating the current average (which currently stands at $6.25) will get you an extra game. The games are:

• Avadon: The Black Fortress (tablets only)
• Canabalt
• Cogs
• Zen Bound 2
• Swords & Soldiers (if you pay more than the average)

As per usual, you can also include donations to Childs Play and the EFF with your purchase. The RRP of these games is $57 so it’s well worth taking advantage of this deal by going to the Humble Bundle website now!

The main improvements are as follows:

• Optmised music-score viewing for tablet users. Users can now view several lines of their tabs at once.
• Enhanced audio performance, including a ‘Higher sound quality’ button. You can also configure playback in real time.
• A simplified file-import system, and a new tab named ‘Files’ on the Home interface.

The app is compatible with Android 2.2 onwards, and is available in English and in French.