Microsoft’s lack of advertising in its newly updated YouTube app for the Windows Phone has caught the attention of Google—and not in a good way. The refreshed app, which used to be a web link to YouTube’s mobile site, now offers users a full application for all Windows Phone 8 devices.

According to The Verge, Google contends the app was not only created without Google’s consent, but it is also a direct violation of the terms and conditions of the company’s YouTube API. In a cease-and-desist letter sent by Google to Microsoft, Google requested the immediate removal of the app.

“Content creators make money on YouTube by monetizing their content through advertising,” wrote Director of Global Platform Partnerships, Franciso Varela. “Unfortunately, by blocking advertising and allowing downloads of videos, your application cuts off a valuable ongoing revenue source for creators, and causes harm to the thriving content ecosystem on YouTube.”

Microsoft’s decision to build a YouTube app for the Windows Phone came as a result of Google blocking Microsoft’s access to YouTube metadata.

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This week, YouTube debuted a new feature that allows users to track videos that are trending across cities in the U.S. The feature, which was made available to users on Tuesday, filters popular videos by various demographics, including gender, age, video shares and view count.

According to the YouTube Trends blog, users can now see “today’s most popular videos in major markets across the U.S.” The decision to roll out this feature is due to the user feedback YouTube received. While the Trends Map is only available in the U.S., the blog hints at a potential expansion into other regions.

The feature is called Trends Map and was revealed by Google, which owns YouTube.

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Digital Detox, a technology free wellness retreat camp, urges adults to “disconnect from technology and reconnect” with themselves. The retreat, which prohibits the use of technology including smartphones and tablets, challenges adults to go four full days free of such devices.

According to Time magazine’s Techland poll via The Huffington Post, approximately half of all Americans sleep with their phones next them and, when broken down by age, for 18-24 year olds, that number increases to over 80%. The Digital Detox camp aims to detach adults from the obsessive need for technology.

“While detaching from our devices and disconnecting from the over-stimulation of social media, step back into the natural rhythm of life – rediscovering what living in the moment truly feels like,” says the written description of the retreat on the official site.

The retreat is called “Camp Grounded” and is set to take place the 14th-17th of this coming June. The retreat is located in California at Camp Navarro and offers several outdoor activities like yoga, volleyball, horseshoes, walking trails, archery and more. What do you think of this idea? Could you go four days without technology?

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This week, Tumblr, a popular blogging platform, launched mobile advertising on its iPhone and Android apps. In what Ad Age calls a big revenue push, Tumblr will now integrate up to four advertisements per day for users of these apps.

“This mobile advertising opportunity is native to how our consumers experience content on our apps, as a continuous stream,” said Tumblr head of sales, Lee Brown.

Tumblr’s mobile viewership has quadrupled in the last 6 months and, according to Mashable, the introduction of advertisements allows the service to take advantage of the increasing growth of the mobile advertising market.The advertisements take the form of regular posts and are differentiated by an animated dollar sign, which users may “like” or re-blog. Up until Monday, Tumblr was an ad-free service.

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A number of companies are going green with their product selection when it comes to mobile and tablet accessories. Such products promote eco-friendly features that tout power-saving capabilities. Here are three examples of green products currently on the market:

1. Gomadic’s SunVolt Portable Solar Power Station is designed to charge mobile devices by using a solar panel in a neoprene bag. The product includes several attachments, including a USB port, to accommodate various mobile devices. According to Gomadic’s product details, the device uses “sunlight to simultaneously charge up to two mobile electronic devices on a sunny day with outlet-like speed.”

2. Bracketron’s Mushroom GreenZero Wall Charger is promoted as an energy-saving wall charger that shuts off when your mobile device is fully charged. Equipped with a standard USB plug, the device features easy-to-store plug pins and a large green button.

3. For the cyclists, EcoxGear’s EcoxPower Pedal Powered Headlight and Mobile Device Charger allows users to pedal their power. The device is combined with a white LED front light, two red LED rear lights and a water resistant touchscreen case for either your GPS unit or mobile. Cyclists may charge their smartphones as they pedal and control the lights through a wired remote on the handlebars.

These chargers are three of several green products featured in a recent Digital Trends post.

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Twitter’s new standalone service called Twitter #music went live today. The service, which is web-based and iOS compatible, was officially announced via Twitter’s blog and on the popular morning show, Good Morning America. The service is touted to change the way people find music. The app has already received great reviews from select industry professionals and musicians, like Ryan Seacrest and Wiz Khalifa, who were given an early look at the service.

“It uses Twitter activity, including Tweets and engagement, to detect and surface the most popular tracks and emerging artists,” said Twitter’s official blog. “It also brings artists’ music-related Twitter activity front and center…and of course, you can tweet songs right from the app.”

The service and app are both free and allow users to find and follow their favorite musicians. Music for the service comes from iTunes, Spotify and Rdio. The app is currently available to download via the App Store.

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This week Facebook rolled out a new feature that allows users to include emotion-based icons, known as emoticons, in their messages. While this feature is not quite categorized as innovative, the social media giant’s decision to include smiley faces is a trend used by several services, including texting and Instagram. Though not available to all users yet, Facebook is moving forward with introducing the new feature in the near future to more users in the U.S.

To use the feature, users may go to the box designated for sharing a status update where a smiley face resides. This option is presented as a button and is located between the options to add a photo and select a privacy setting. The selection of emoticons is given as a drop down menu.

Facebook began testing the emoticons in January of this year. Does anyone have the option yet? How do you like it? Here’s a look at what they look like (photo from Tech Crunch):

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Digital Trends reported this week that Apple’s App Store accounted for the majority of revenue for apps with 74% in Q1. The Canalys research found that, out of the four major app stores competing in the market including Apple’s App Store, Google Play, the Windows Phone Store and Blackberry World, Apple dominated in revenue from paid-for apps.

While Apple’s App Store may have blown the competition away in app revenue, surprisingly, Google Play finished Q1 with the most downloads, overall. Google Play saw 51% of app downloads in this quarter.

“Apple’s App Store and Google Play remain the heavyweights in the app store world,” said Canalys senior analyst Tim Shepherd in the company’s press release. Shepherd compared the two app giants to Blackberry and the Windows Phone Store, citing they are both “distant challengers” in this market.

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LinkMe is the latest technological innovation that promotes the easy incorporation of social media into everyone’s daily lives. The device, which is Bluetooth-enabled, is a bracelet that allows users to view incoming messages from texts and social media platforms.

“Imagine having your closest friends and family available to you, with just a glance at your wrist. That’s LinkMe – your connection to the ones you care about the most,” according to LinkMe’s Kickstarter page. “LinkMe will automatically translate and display the messages and alerts you choose, making your entire social life available to you with just a glance at your wrist.”

If this product sounds familiar, it is because the concept echoes Apple and Samsung’s reports of developing a similar device in the form of a smart watch. Those reports were released earlier this year.

With LinkMe, users will be able to send messages with their smartphones via an app.The production of the device is in progress and developers currently have the design and tooling complete. They have set a new goal of 140k to add vibration capabilities. The initial funds (for which they have received 23k of the 100k goal) are reported to go to additional purchasing, manufacturing, testing, enhancing and language translation for the device.

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“We wanted to build a platform where you could see products recommended from everyone you trust in one place, so you can sift through it like a personalized catalog,” Christine Martinez, creative director of Luvocracy, told Mashable.

Luvocracy mirrors certain functions of Pinterest in that it allows users to create boards accumulated of products they wish to buy. Users are also able to re-pin products from what Luvocracy calls bloggers, editors and tastemakers.

Unlike Pinterest, all the products featured on Luvocracy that are collected on users’ boards are in stock and may be purchased immediately.

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