Google Maps for Android is a bit like Android itself. always changing and improving. Google have just released the latest update for Maps, version 4.4 and it's the 6th update the app has received in as many months. This particular update is all about finding things around you and it gives the user a new icon to use, "Places". Essentially 'Places' acts a bit like Yelp, allowing the user to find places around him and if you find that you are searching for the same sort of places again and again irrespective of your location then you can customise the search to load your own categories e.g. petrol station. That's all very well and good, but the update goes further by offering additional information like the opening and closing times of shops and directions to the place you've just searched using the compass. You'll need to be running Android 1.6 or later to take advantage of this update, but if so then you can grab it right now. BlackBerry users should expect to see this on their platform of choice in the near future too.

Samsung's quest on popularizing the Bada powered Wave continues. All the Wave users are now able to get lifetime Route 66 voice guided navigation for 30 euro. In addition they'll get one year free speed camera database updates.

Samsung Wave comes with Route 66 navigation preinstalled but it's only good for a 30 days trial period. After that all Wave phones can get a lifetime license for 30 euro. That 30 euro offer however only includes one country. The Western or Eastern Europe packages cost 40 euro, while a license for all Europe is priced at 50 euro.

The license applies only for one Wave unit and can’t be transferred to another. It will last as long as you own this particular Samsung Wave.

The additional bonus you get is the one year free speed cameras updates. After the free period it costs 6 euro per year per country (or 10 euro for the entire Europe).

Route 66 may still not be free as Nokia’s Ovi Maps, but the price reduction is certainly a step in the right direction.

The iOS4 beta 2 has just been released to developers. That's mean you can expect it to come to your iPhone 4 in a few weeks time.

The waiting for the final iOS 4.1 release is definitely worth it. According to most reports, the iOS 4.1 beta 2 finally fixes the irritating proximity sensor issue (even though the problem seems to be caused by faulty hardware rather than some software bugs).

The Samsung I9000 Galaxy S is expecting its Android v2.2 (a.k.a. Froyo) update sometime in September but if you're too eager to taste the Froyo, you can do it right away since an official Galaxy S test firmware packing Android v2.2 has just leaked.

While some companies haven't even started working on the Froyo updates for their devices, others are, apparently, almost ready to give their smartphones the Android v2.2 treatment. The first Samsung I9000 test firmware with the Froyo on board (called I9000XXJP1) has leaked and is already available for download.

However, before you start downloading the file and start updating your Galaxy S, make sure that you understand that this is a test firmware so some things might not work properly or be missing (for example, there is no Flash support in the web browser yet).

So, if you don't want to put your phone at risk, you'd better wait until September when you'll be able to get the update through the Samsung KIES software.

If you still want to give the test firmware a try, follow that link and read carefully the instructions inside. The I9000XXJP1 is quite stable and is certainly faster than Eclair, but according to the guys who got it tends to slow down when asked to do heavy multitasking.