Exclusive: Grindr to launch Android app version “imminently”

The iconic iPhone gay social networking app Grindr is to launch on the Android platform imminently, PinkNews.co.uk can reveal after obtaining a leaked final test version of Grindr for Android. It is understood that the the app is intended to go live within the Google Android Market in next few days.

Grindr has more than 1.65 million regular users in 180 countries worldwide, with London being the app’s most popular city.

The application is essentially a hyper local dating service, listing 100 gay guys together with their photographs by their distance in metres from the user.

Although the service has been on the iPhone for two years, it has been absent from the Google led Android mobile platform. There are now more Android users than Apple iPhone owners. Many of Grindr’s competitors including the granddaddy of gay networking Gaydar are already on the Android platform and have gained market share.

PinkNews.co.uk obtained a beta version of the Android application and has been told by sources at Grindr that a live version will go live in the Android Marketplace “imminently”. A Grindr source told PinkNews.co.uk that the app was being launched after “tremendous demand” from users.

Grindr’s iconic status was partly gained after Britain’s most famous technophile Stepher Fry did more than just mention Grindr on Top Gear. He effectively hijacked the BBC motoring programme, with an estimated global syndicated audience of 350 million viewers, for a minute and a half as he explained Grindr’s intricacies to host Jeremy Clarkson and tried to find another Grindr user in the studio audience.

Some have criticised Grindr for promoting sexual promiscuity as the service can be used, should the user wish to find sexual partners with relative ease. Others have warned about personal safety, Daniel Gomez, Community Engagement Manager at The Lesbian & Gay Foundation said: “Programmes like Grindr are the new ‘Gay Bar’ of the millennium. But a word of caution…use common sense when meeting up with men from the internet. We sometimes forget that it doesn’t always do what it says it does on the tin! I think sometimes it’s easy to forget, that not everyone has the same intentions you do when looking to meet men online”.

But in an interview with PinkNews.co.uk last month, Mr Simkhai said: “As a company we employ moderators to monitor content, but Grindr users are no more vetted than the ones you meet in bars or clubs. Do we encourage promiscuity? Not at all, the platform we provide is neutral in that sense. We simply make it easier to meet people, be that for friendship, dating or otherwise. We’ve even had a Grindr user get help to fix his broken down car using our app.”

The company has already said it is planning to launch a version of Grindr for lesbians as well as straight people. It has publicly said it is working on an Android application.

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George Michael says he was the ‘poster boy for cannabis’ and deserved to be jailed

Gay pop star George Michael has told the BBC that he deserved to be jailed for crashing his Range Rover through the door of a shop while under the influence of cannabis.

Michael was jailed for eight weeks and fined after the incident at Snappy Snaps in North London.

Michael told the Chris Evans show in an interview to be broadcast tomorrow that he is “ashamed” of the incident and is having treatment to stop his use of drugs which he says has earned him the status of “the poster boy for cannabis”.

“This was a hugely shameful thing to have done repeatedly. So karmically [Sic] I felt like I had a bill to pay. I went to prison, I paid my bill.

“Remarkably enough, I know people must think it was a really horrific experience – it’s so much easier to take any form of punishment if you believe you actually deserve it, and I did.”

He added: “It wasn’t a weekend break, put it that way. I didn’t feel sorry for myself. I thought, ‘Oh my God, this place is absolutely filthy, because it was Pentonville’. I just thought, you get your head down.”

Michael told Evans that he gave a signed photograph to every fellow inmate and prison warden.

Past convictions

The 47-year-old singer already has a conviction for driving under the influence of drugs and was found slumped over the wheel of his car when police found him on July 4th 2010.

He had crashed the Range Rover into a branch of Snappy Snaps in north London.

He pleaded guilty to the offence and to possessing two cannabis joints and was he was handed an interim six-month driving ban.

His arrest came not long after the end of a two-year driving ban incurred in 2008 after he was caught in possession of crack cocaine and marijuana.

In 2007 he was given 100 hours of community service after being found unconscious at the wheel of his car by police.

Michael’s new single, a cover of New Order’s True Faith will be released on 13 March, with all proceeds going to Comic Relief.

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Alexander McQueen’s fashion label to design Kate Middleton’s wedding dress

The late gay designer Alexander McQueen‘s fashion label is to design Kate Middleton’s wedding dress for marriage to Prince William according to the Sunday Times.

The newspaper calls its scoop the “fashion secret of the year”, it claims that that Miss Middleton will wear a dress designed by Sarah Burton, the creative designer of Alexander McQueen, founded by the openly gay fashion designer of the same name who committed suicide last year.

A fashion source told the newspaper that the dress will be combination of Miss Middleton’s own ideas and Ms Burton’s “deep knowledge and understanding of high fashion.”

Jonathan Akeroyd, chief executive of Alexander McQueen, reportedly a colleague that he had got the commission, although he denied this when asked by the Sunday Times. “No, not at all, I am the CEO. I would know if we were doing it,” he told the paper. Designers of previous royal wedding dresses have been bound by secrecy by Buckingham Palace.

Alexander McQueen designed the wedding dress for Sara Buys who married Prince William’s step brother Tom Parker Bowles in 2005.

McQueen took a cocktail of drugs including cocaine before hanging himself the day before his mother’s funeral in February of 2010. He had a history of depression and anxiety and had researched how to commit suicide on the internet before he died.

The 40-year-old had taken cocaine, sleeping pills and tranquillisers before his body was found by his cleaner.

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New Arrivals(1st batch) for March 2011

Dear patrons,

The first batch of new arrivals are here. We have also restocked many items that were out of stock. Have a pleasant weekend.

Cheers,

MMDD

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Triathlon swimsuits

Triathlete Magazine just finished their steamy triathlon swimsuits photo shoot on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Every year the magazine comes out with a swimsuit issue. The photo shoot was taken at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows from Kona as well as on other locations of Hawaii's Big Island. In stead of using typical models, triathletes from all over the world will be showcasing their gear:

• Claudia Abreu: contest winner at the website of the magazine


• Lesley Paterson: professional from Scotland


• Dan Hugo: professional from South Africa


• Canadian age-grouper Angi Greene and


• Minneapolis-based age-grouper Lindsey Kurhajetz.

The models will showcase the latest in triathlon swim apparel, some taken at iconic locations from the Ironman World Championship course. Only available in the Triathlete magazine’s July issue.

Category › Triathlete Magazine , triathlon swimsuit

New Designs for 2011

Eva Silk Top & Lace Ribbon Panties

It's been a busy couple of weeks at the online lingerie boutique, Ever-so-Sexy, as they prepared the pages to present the new 2011 Spring/Summer collection, Ultraviolet from Sonata Lingerie.

Anyone who knows the brand will know that Sonata Lingerie offers a combination of romantic, cute and erotic designer lingerie and this new collection has examples of all these styles.  There is a sleek and sexy cupless bra in black silk satin to go with a sensuous black silk knicker that ties at the sides with generous silk bows, but for a more innocent style there is Eva, an all white range which includes a silk chiffon top, a silk underwired bra, decorated with Solstiss lace and the signature Sonata design, lace panties with silk ribbons in a sun ray affect.

But that is not all - in total there are 32 new intimate garments to choose from.  Each is offered for sale separately on the Ever-so-Sexy site, allowing you to mix and match to your taste.  All Sonata Lingerie is hand made - ethically produced in Europe.

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Reversible Bikini

4 for the price of 1: stunning reversible bikinis from Becca and Tyr for a workout or yogasession and reverse for beach and pool activities. Reverse top without bottom or vice versa, and you have 4 different swimsuit combinations just by buying 1 bikini.

Above a crossover straps reversible bikini from Tyr with print design on one side and a solid color on the other side. Some brands like Vitamin A sell a color design on one side and the same color on the other side but added in
a metallic striped pattern.

Nothing beats Becca reversible bikinis as not only can you turn the bikini around to find a solid color or design, you can also mix and match the different tops and bottoms from the same collection to your fashion needs and taste. Above Becca's halter-style bikini top solid color on one side, bold and sassy stripes on the other with a gorgeous goldtone ring in the center.

Category › becca , tyr , vitamin a