The late Steve Jobs called 2011 “the year of the iPad 2″ and almost a year after it was introduced, almost 2 years after the original iPad was introduced, it remains a product selling in the tens of millions with absolutely no competition in sight.

And that’s a shame because, as a consumer, the one thing I want most is strong, meaningful competition for the iPad.

It’s become a cliche to say “there’s no tablet market, there’s only an iPad market”, but like most cliches there’s more than a little truth to it. Very few people want a tablet. Not in the 10 years prior to the iPad when Microsoft sold Tablet PC to almost no one, and not in the almost two years since when Apple’s competition has tried to differentiate themselves by being more like PCs.

The simple truth is, the iPad was never designed to be a tablet. It was never designed to be a PC crammed into a slate form factor. Like they did with command line on the Apple II, and graphical interfaces on the Mac, and multitouch on the iPhone, Apple strove to make something that was more mainstream, more accessible than what had come before. It just turned out to look like a tablet.

For many people, PCs — personal computers — are anything but. They’re complicated, impenetrable stacks of boxes and webs of cables, with mice that never move right, buttons that never click right, windows that hide other windows, programs that make little sense, and files and folders that are as frustrating to find as they are to figure out how to use. They’re like cars back in the days when you had to be a mechanic to own and operate one, and very few people did.

The iPad is the opposite of that. You turn it on. You click home. You tap an app. You click home. You tap another app. You know where you are and if you get lost you’re always only a click away from getting back to some place familiar. It’s more approachable. It’s more understandable. It does 80% of the things 80% of the people need 80% of the time and that, it turns out, is a huge swathe more than most PCs could ever do for most people.

That’s why Apple is selling a so many of them, and why their competitors aren’t.

To compete with Apple, everything from RIM’s PlayBook to Google’s Android Honeycomb tablets offered more specs and more desktop-class power. To the exact people who wanted anything but.

Powerful multitasking metaphors don’t help people who think their internet is gone because their browser is lost behind their word processor. Flash doesn’t help mainstream consumers who have no idea what it is, even if their more obscure web video sites don’t play without it. Tegra II processors don’t help wives who just want to know whey their messages won’t scroll without sticking and stammering. Bezel gestures and on-screen widgets don’t help people who just, for once in their technology plagued lives, want simple controls, for a simple screen, that does one app at a time and does it very, very well. Copying the iPad’s look won’t help when the software running it doesn’t work with anything approaching the same simplicity or feel.

Apple understood this back in 2005 when they started work on the Safari Pad concept, and while even they didn’t full get it when they made it manifest in 2010, they got it enough to release the iPad, and they got it even more in 2011 with the iPad 2, iOS 5, and iCloud.

It’s not about being thinner, or lighter, or faster. It’s not about specs or about content. It’s about experience. And now, as we enter 2012, as Apple is poised to release an iPad 3, not a single one of their competitors have gotten that yet.

Until they do, until Amazon or Google or someone else puts the mainstream customer first, every year for the foreseeable future will be the year of the iPad.

The TiPb staff picks their favorite devices, features, stories, and new or majorly updated apps and accessories of 2011!

The TiPb editors, writers, contributors, forum admins and moderators, and podcasters have come together to nominate and select the winners of the 2011 TiPb Editors Choice Awards. They were all tough choices, and a lot of things we love simply didn’t qualify for consideration — weren’t new or weren’t majorly updated for 2011. But a lot of really, truly great stuff was. These, then, are our picks of the year.

• Want an alternate take? Try our 2011 TiPb Readers Choice Awards!

iOS device of the year: iPad 2

Last year we had a really tough time picking the iOS device of the year — Apple introduced a new product category with the original iPad, redesigned their signature handset with iPhone 4, refreshed the iPod touch, and unveiled an all new Apple TV 2.

This year they didn’t introduce a new iPod touch or Apple TV, kept the same design for the iPhone, and even the iPad 2 wasn’t the most radical of refreshes.

Of the updated devices, however, iPad 2 got a new casing design, both thinner and lighter, two new cameras (lame as they may be), and was first to get the new, dual-core, Apple A5 system-on-a-chip.

iPhone 4S admittedly got the A5 as well, a new, better antenna and a much better rear camera, but it just wasn’t as much or enough to take the title.

While visions of Retina display tablets, 4-inch phones, and 1080p TVs dance in our heads for next year, this year we give the nod to the best that we got.

The iPad 2.

iOS feature of the year: Siri

Sure, it debuted as iPhone 4S-only, but so did multitasking, so did video recording, so do many of Apple’s new iOS features. It’s the flagship device for a reason. Not just a simple voice control system — we’re told Nokia invented those in 1812 or somesuch — it’s an honest-to-Asimov digital personal assistant with a personality right out of Pixar. It’s to previous voice control systems what multitouch was to previous resistive touch screens. It’s Apple’s next great mainstream computing interface. It not only remembers context but can understand relationships. It can remind you to call your mom or wear your jacket, it can find you a restaurant or find your friend. And it puts up with all your lame query jokes.

iMessage bypasses the exorbitant carrier text charges and brings iOS users, all over the world, one step closer to BBM-like instant messaging. Notification Center finally makes alerts almost as good as Android, if not as elegant as webOS. PC-free cuts the cord to iTunes and takes us to the iCloud, where all our data gets stored and backed up. All of those, and more, are great additions to an already great OS.

But Siri is transformative.

Story of the year: Steve Jobs

Heart breaking. Inspiring. Tragic. Triumphant. The biggest story of the year wasn’t the untimely passing of Apple’s co-founder, it was the full realization of his life, his vision, and his legacy.

In March he took the stage, in a way only he could ever take it, to introduce the iPad 2. He reportedly considered the tablet the most important innovation of his career — a career that included the mainstreaming of the command-line interface with the Apple II, the graphical user interface with the Mac, the multitouch interface with the iPhone, and the revolutionizing of digital music with iTunes and the iPod, retail with the Apple Stores, the consumer electronics business with Apple itself, and even animated feature films with Pixar.

Relentlessly democratizing technology his entire life, his final Keynote appearance in June was to introduce iCloud, the server side of the mobile equation. His vision of the future was deeply personal, deeply connected, and deeply integrated. And his will made it manifest, not only for Apple and of Apple, but as influence for the culture well beyond.

He resigned as CEO and then passed away right after the introduction of the iPhone 4S, and just before the publication of the biography he himself set in motion. While Apple will go on, perhaps even reaching greater heights than ever before, we will never see his like again.

Thank you Steve.



Epic fail of the year: Patent lawsuits

It seems as though there was an embarrassment of embarrassments to choose from this year. Yet even amid such a massive mountain of fail, one managed to rise above all the rest.

Intellectual property rights exist for a reason — they encourage investment in innovation by ostensibly preventing others from simply copying the ideas of the innovators. Yet they’ve become a weapon used not to create competition but to stifle it by those who’ve often simply bought and paid for pieces of paper.

Apple didn’t release new iPod touch and Apple TV hardware this year. Granted neither has much competition but Apple’s mantra has always been to compete with themselves. Likewise the iPhone 4S didn’t get a design update even as competing devices have seriously upped the handset game.

Privacy also took a swift, hard roshambo in the rights this year as everything from Apple’s poorly coded location recording system to Google, Facebook, and Twitter being forced into decade, or double decade privacy oversight, to lack of disclosure surrounding Carrier IQ making headlines. On the flip side, the media earned more than their usual share of fail points for once again never missing a chance to linkbait and headline grab at Apple’s expense.

But ultimately, from Apple and Android makers suing each other to Lodsys suing independent developers, one things brought fail to an all time abysmal low this year.

Patents, the patent wars, and the patent trolls

Productivity app of the year: Noteshelf 4.0

When the iPad first launched it seemed to take a while for everyone, including Apple, to figure out exactly what it was and where best it fit. Now, a year later, it’s fitting in every where from the couch to the board room, the school to the planning session.

Screens 1.5 showed us our iPhones and iPads could be powerful, elegant windows into our PCs and servers. Agenda made the calendar ridiculously clean and elegant, and interfaced with Due to get more done, better and faster than ever. Instapaper got a full on facelift, and Apple brought iWork to the iPhone.

What caught our attention, though, from the corporate heads behind Mobile Nations to our our own editors and writers, was an app that not only made the iPad useful, but better than anything else. From taking notes in class to jotting down ideas while brain-storming big business, it took a lot of our iPads from nice-to-have to must-have.

Noteshelf

Arts & Entertainment app of the year: GarageBand

Just like last year, a previously desktop-only app was re-imagined for iPad and forced us to once again re-evaluate just how good tablet software could be. But Apple wasn’t the only one wowing us this year.

Instagram mixed fun filters with simple social sharing to spectacular effect. Snapseed and Photogene2 made photo editing first class citizens on iOS. Apple brought iMovie to the big iPad screen.

It was what Apple did with music, however, that really blew us away this year. Introduced alongside the iPad 2, it’s interface immediately is recognizable to anyone who has ever used iLife for Mac yet immediately accessible to anyone who has ever put finger to multitouch display. With built in smart instruments for novices and the ability to interface with real instruments for pros, and multitrack recording an editing, it’s a studio on your lap or in your pocket. Very few people are making content creation software this robust for mobile, and very few, if any, other platforms can boast anything like this in their libraries.

GarageBand was music to our ears.

Social app of the year: Tweetbot

Twitter and the iPhone feel like they came into their own together, a blend of mobile device and social network as good as the richest peanut butter and darkest chocolate.

Path 2.0 made the smaller-scale social network drop-dead gorgeous, but does a world covered with the wreckage of Friendster and Wave and Buzz and Jaiku really need another social network? And if it does, isn’t Google already cramming Google+ down as many throats as it possibly can? Facebook finally decided that the iPad was mobile enough to deserve it’s own app and rolled out Facebook Messenger in case the normal app just wasn’t fast enough to get your IM on. LinkedIn got a re-design, finally growing up into its own app, while Twitter for iPhone go a re-design to make it… um… better for Twitter to push #hashtags to new users intent on keeping up with celebrities?

But you don’t always need to start a new network, or radically change a user experience that works. Sometimes you just need to make a damn good client, with solid features and finely honed panache, that respects long-established usage patterns but does so with character and charm.

Sometimes you just need to make something like TweetBot.

Hardcore game of the year: Real Racing 2

There’s a difference between a great game and a game that not only stays great but gets even better. There were a lot of great hardcore games on iPhone and iPad in 2011. Modern Combat 3 was the best first-person shooter we’ve ever seen on iOS, and Dead Space took spooky, atmospheric, interstellar survival shooters to a whole new level. And Infinity Blade II… the new Unreal Engine 3 game looks so good you won’t believe it’s on mobile.

But the folks at Firemint just never stayed still long enough for anyone else to catch up. Every bit as fast as the cars on their virtual tracks, the moment Apple added a new feature to iOS, Firemint added it to their game. Whether it was better graphics for more powerful chips, multiplayer for more robust networking, and full on AirPlay Party Play for an almost hybrid console experience, Firemint was on it in a flash.

That’s why Real Racing II won this year’s grand prix.

Casual game of the year: Tiny Wings

If a game is incredibly simple and more than a little repetitive, it has to be really well executed to turn our well. It has to be phenomenally well executed to become our favorite of the year.

Tiny Tower was brilliantly realized and Cut the Rope: Experiments breathed new life into an already great game. DragonVale brought the creatures of myth to farm-style games of the present, Minecraft brought the classic constructor to iOS, and SPY Mouse brought the Firemint magic to puzzlers.

But it was a bird that not only wasn’t angry but couldn’t even quite fly, that was perpetually chased the setting sun, that was as exquisitely well rendered as it was well suited for the iPhone.

Because it proved once again that sometimes less really is more — Tiny Wings

Jailbreak app of the year: IntelliscreenX

YouTube Link

While I’ve always been a huge fan of LockInfo by David Ashman I have to admit that the guys over at Intelliborn really stepped up to the plate with their new version of IntelliScreen for iOS 5.

When Apple “Sherlocks” your app — basically incorporates it into the OS and built-in feature set — you can either pack up and go home, or you can figure out that Apple’s only providing the median functionality and double-down on doing it better for the power users.

LockInfo did just that, making a great app even better. SBSettings and BiteSMS kept doing what they’ve always done — filled gaps Apple hasn’t — while integrating and improving at the same time. Dreamboard created an alternative to Winterboard, and iUsers provided for multiple logins on iPad. ATV Flash brought the same power to the iOS Apple TV that it did to the original, Mac OS version.

Not to be outdone by Apple’s foray into Notification Center, however, Intelliborn rolled out an update that not only fully integrated with iOS 5, but provided so many features it became a veritable one stop functionality center.

IntelliscreenX

iPhone case of the year: Lifeproof

Apple didn’t introduce a new iPhone design this year, which meant a lot of case-makers didn’t have to worry about coming up with all new cases either. But what about all better cases?

Both DracoDesign and Element took their existing aluminum bumpers and added incredible new colors and finishes. Case-Mate did similar with their Barely There. BodyGuardz and DODOcase introduced great new sticker skins, one carbon fiber, the other rich leather. Pad and Quill brought iPad-style to a Little Black Book and mophie and Apple both made sure their already excellent battery case and bumper case fit not only the CDMA iPhone 4, but the iPhone 4S as well. And Otterbox introduced the Reflex case to their already industry-leading line.

There was something new this year as well, something that could protect against the weather — rain, snow, ice — but not be as big nor as bulky as past solutions.

Lifeproof

iPad case of the year: Smart Cover

iPad 2 was a design change this year — thinner and lighter and with cameras on both sides. Again, we got a lot of great variants of already great cases, but we got some truly new cases as well.

ZAGGfolio bound a keyboard into their case, for those who still couldn’t truly give up tactile typing for multitouch, and Case-Mate added a kickstand to their Pop Case. DODOcase rejuvenated their hand-made case and added new variants and new artist lines, while Pad and Quill created the Contega, adding new age features to old world craftsmanship.

Apple, however, had an unfair advantage. They built magnets into the iPad 2, and they were ready to take advantage of them on launch day. It’s not that it kept the thinner, lighter iPad 2 as thin and as light as possible. It’s not that it could be folded to keep the iPad 2 up and easy to type with or watch on. It’s not even that it can turn on or off the iPad 2 display. It’s all of that, together, in several elegant shades (that no longer include orange).

Smart Covers

Accessory of the year: Kickstarter

Beyond cases, there were a lot of great accessories this for iPhone and iPad both. There were amazing interfaces to let you plug instruments into GarageBand. There were fantastic bands to make iPod nano not only a working watch, but a gorgeous one. And there were all manner of chargers, docks, and camera peripherals and so much more.

And this year a lot of them came not from the traditional places, the large, established accessory makers, but from the same place — a platform that let independent innovators find the finances they need to produce their innovations. It worked so well this year that many of the aforementioned docks and watch-bands and cases and camera peripherals came straight from its pages.

Kickstarter

Narrowing down the list of my most used apps is a huge undertaking! There are apps that I may use intensively for long periods of time, then not use so much at all. What I tried to do was identify the apps there were used on an almost daily basis, even if they were ones that I didn’t use for a long period of time each day. This is perhaps best exemplified by my first choice…

My-Cast Weather Radar

There are a long of weather apps out there (in fact, working on reviews of a couple more!) but My-Cast seems to have the perfect mix of ease of use, simplicity, and providing enough information. It has an “iPhone-like feel” to it, in it’s layout and presentation. It has intuitive controls to change between (for example) short of verbose forecast. With My-Cast weather, I find I can get a quick, easy to understand forecast, description of severe weather events, and even radar and map displays. I have other apps that I use for more detailed information when needed, but My-Cast is the app that I check on a daily basis to find out what it going on weather wise.

• $3.99 for iPhone – App Store link

Air Sharing

I use a lot of different online storage systems and email accounts. Air Sharing lets me manage them all together. I can see what it in dropbox, and then move it to Box.net. I can check an attachment I have on my exchange email account, and open it up and read it. The versatility of the app is its strongest feature. No, I can edit documents, but I can print them with air print or email them from withing the app. Air Sharing is a great far-reaching document and storage management tool. (This was almost going to be Goodreader, but that requires a separate app for both the iPad and the iPhone, while Air Sharing is a universal binary).

• $2.99 for iPhone – App Store link
• $3.99 for iPad – App Store link
• $4.99 for iPhone and iPad – App Store link

Hanging with Friends

I wanted to choose a game to put in here. I mostly play casual games (think Angry Birds, Where’s my Water, Tower Defense, Temple Run, Doodle God, Fruit Ninja, etc), many of which I may get into a “groove” and play for days on end. I ended up choosing Hanging with Friend, by the makers of Words with Friends. Hanging with Friends is a Hangman style game that you play…well…with friends! While I also play Words with Friends, I have found that Hanging with Friends is probably the casual game I check on a regular basis – seeing if my opponent guessed my word, or trying to guess a word myself. While I enjoy Words with Friends, I find that Hanging with Friends is a little more low key – I don’t spend as much time trying to figure out the perfect word to play. It’s a great and fun way to play a word game that might be a little less stressful (for me at least!)

• $1.99 for iPhone – App Store link

MLB.com At Bat 11

I have both the iPhone and the iPad version on the app, and during the baseball season I was using these on a daily basis. As a huge baseball fan, I loved the local radio broadcast feature, and following the game live with Gameday was almost as good as watching it on TV. Even in the off season, I have found that the app gets checked on a regular basis – for news, transaction updates, and anything that might be going on during the Hot Stove season. Unfortunately you have to purchase the app each season, AND they don’t make a universal binary, but for any baseball fan it is a must have. And the good news is that each year it has been released, it has had new and improved features, so I hope to see even more improvements in 2012!

• $0.99 for iPhone – App Store link
• $0.99 for iPad – App Store link

Facebook

Yes, I use Twitter (and Tweetbot is my go-to app). Yes, I use Google+, and use the app for that. But Facebook is the “social network” that I probably check, and make updates too, most frequently. As such, the Facebook app for the iPhone is the app that gets the most use. And now with the Facebook app for the iPad available, I will probably start using that one as well. This may change in 2012, I may start using Twitter or Google+ more, but for now, for me, Facebook is still the king (although I do sometime use Quick Status to update both my Twitter and Facebook accounts at the same time!).

• Free for iPhone and iPad – App Store link

Every week a few of us from team TiPb will bring you our current favorite, most fun and useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they're iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch related, they're fair game.

To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

GTA 3 – @chrisoldroyd

I don’t play many games on my iPad however the release of GTA 3 has got me hooked. I used to play this a few years back on my PS2 and PSP; so hearing it was now available for iOS, I just had to get it.

The game plays amazingly well, the graphics are true to the original PS2 version; which in my opinion is some feat on a 9.7″ handheld device. The key to the success with games like these on the iPad is the controls system. Rockstar appears to have this just right, even I can control things and that’s saying something. All in all this game is streets ahead of anything else that I have played on my iPad, it is utterly brilliant!

• $4.99 – App Store link

Action Movie FX – @Alli_Flowers

JJ Abrams is nothing short of brilliant. I love his movies and tv shows, and now his iPhone app – Action Movie FX. Meant to highlight the explosive effects used in his latest endeavor, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, it gives you the ability to…well…blow things up.

Action Movie FX leverages the camera in your iPhone (or iPad 2), and allows you to take live footage and then apply an explosive effect. The app comes with a missile and a car roll. I’m not crazy about the car effect as it has limited use. The missile, on the other hand, is very practical, and kept me incredibly entertained on Christmas eve as we drove around the neighborhood looking at all the festively decorated yards. “Stop here!” I would shout, and my brother would pull over. “I want to blow up that yard!” I’m sure the neighbors were tickled to death that we were spending so much time admiring and photgraphing their displays. If they only knew….

You can purchase two additional effects packages, one of which I got for $.99 that includes a fire (gun) fight and an air strike. If you ever wanted to direct expensive movies with huge special effects (or just wanted to blow things up), I highly recommend Action Movie FX.

• Free – App Store link

Batman: Arkham City Lockdown – @reneritchie

I’m not a huge fan of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins and Dark Knight movies. He simply doesn’t understand the core of the character (nor is he capable of producing good endings.) Bruce Wayne doesn’t dress up as Batman. Batman isn’t his secret identity. He is Batman. It’s Bruce Wayne that he dresses up as; that’s his secret identity. And it’s his job to save everyone, from the citizens of Gotham to the Joker to Ras Al Ghul. It’s his job to make sure no one ever dies the way his parents died, not ever again. It’s those simple, essential truths that Frank Miller nailed so transformative-ly in Dark Knight Returns in the 1980s and Paul Dini and Bruce Timm realized perhaps best of all, detective and all, in Batman: The Animated in the 1990s, that Tim Burton touched on though ultimately stumbled all over in his attempt at the Batman franchise, and that Nolan missed completely, despite the great acting and production values of his soon-to-be completed trilogy.

There’s nothing wrong with Gotham that Batman can’t fix with his brains and his fists. Which brings me, circuitously, to Batman: Arkham City Lockdown, the latest attempt to bring the Batman franchise to video games and the first to hit the iPhone and iPad.

It looks great. It uses the same Epic Unreal 3 engine that powers Infinity Blade, and the designs are modern but true to the spirit of the characters involved. Control is good given the limitations of multitouch, and Batman: Arkham City Lockdown takes pains to walk you through them from the get go. Gameplay is a tad repetitive — you go from area to fairly similar area and box your way from bad guy to fairly similar bad guy. Early hyper-swiping (is that the multitouch equivalent of button mashing?) quickly stops working, however, as badder guys require more precise counters and attacks, and you need to build your skills if you want to make it past anything other than the early stages.

In general the Arkham series is an extreme take on the Batman — ultra-violent, with female characters whose, to quote Bill Watterson, powers seem to primarily consist of keeping their costumes from falling completely off. But it’s well executed (no doubt thanks to having Paul Dini involved with the franchise), with good atmosphere, and has more than enough to please both longtime Batman fans and those who just want some gritty gaming fun over the holidays.

• $5.99 – App Store link

Golden Axe – @skeetobite

It’s retro day as we enter the last day of 2011. My choice for the pick of the week is Golden Axe, by Sega. This is an import of the classic arcade game from the late 1980′s. You are a mighty adventurer, trying to save the King and his daughter from the evil Death Adder. Just like the arcade version, you can play as a Gilus Thunderhead, a dwarf; Tyrus Flare, an amazonian; or Ax Battler, a sword wielding barbarian. Pick up food and potions, ride dragons, and of course fight enemies along the way to the main battle to defeat Death Adder. Just like the arcade version, you can play mutliplayer here as well, using bluetooth. There are sequels (Golden Axe II and III) but this game is the real thing from the arcade. For anyone who played this game in the arcade, you MUST pick this game up asap and give it a try.

• $0.99 – App Store link

Bejeweled – @iMuggle

The new version of Bejeweled adds not only more awesome graphics but new game play modes. I’ve always been hugely addicted to Bejeweled Blitz so I already knew this was a purchase I wasn’t going to regret.

The newer version has a Zen mode as well as a diamond mine mode. While one is timed and you have to attempt to blast away the earth and dig deeper, Zen mode is not timed and is just endless gameplay.

If you’re a Bejeweled fan, make sure you pick up the new version.

• $0.99 – App Store Link

1Password – @sethclifford

I’m not much of a believer in the usefulness of New Year’s Resolutions since many people make grandiose claims they’ll never complete and end up feeling terrible about it, but if you make even one this January, make it to be more secure and efficient in your computing life and know outright that you can do it. 1Password is the key to unlocking success with this resolution. I chose it as one of my most-used apps of 2011 this past week (as did many of the TiPb staff), and I can’t say enough about it.

It is simply put, my single most valued application on both the Mac and iOS. We’ve talked about it at least a zillion times on TiPb, so I won’t go into everything again. But understand this: I couldn’t manage my life, our office, and the feeling of control over the myriad bits of information we all interact with on a daily basis without it. You might look at the prices of the apps and balk, but to me, there’s no price I can put on either security or knowing that all the important data I need to access is always at my fingertips. You can always make more money, but you can’t get more time, and an app this good is worth your time.

Ok, I’ll dial down the hyperbole now. But seriously, if you’re not using it, why not? Don’t you like making your life easier? Isn’t it worth a few bucks to support fantastic software development and simplify things for yourself in the process? I think you know the answer to that. Go forth and learn a new way of living with your tech. Seriously. Go. Now.

• $14.99 for iPhone and iPad – App Store link
• $14.99 for Mac – Mac App Store link

Navigon — andrewwray

Doing a lot of holiday traveling, and want to make sure you arrive at your destination on time? Or maybe you’re going out of town for the New Year, and want to make sure you don’t get lost along the way?

I’ve been using Navigon as my main GPS app all year, and then some. It’s one of the best GPS navigation apps available for the iPhone and can even run on the iPad 3G. Navigon provides quick access to Google search, subsequently making it a breeze to search for your desired location (restaurant, gym, grocery store, gas station, whatever) and it also offers in-app purchases for things like 3D terrain mapping in a panoramic view, live traffic and even police radar location information. I’m sure some of you have personal prefecences for other GPS apps, or maybe even prefer a standalone device, but for me, Navigon does the job perfectly.

• $38.99 (North America Only) – App Store Link

Your pick?

You're part of the team as well, so we will be choosing one reader to make a submission each week! Just look for the announcement on twitter or our Facebook page each weekend for a chance to be picked! In the meantime, jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

What kind of accessories do you want for the iPad 3? 2011 was Apple’s official “year of the iPad 2″, and there’s little doubt 2012 will be the “year of the iPad 3″. Aside from a 2048×1536 Retina display and Apple A6 chipset, Apple probably won’t innovate much with the form factor — it already “just works” — but could they, and third party manufacturers, innovate more when it comes to accessories?

This year, with the iPad 2, we got the Smart Cover. Light and thin it could turn your iPad on and off by virtue of magnets. We also, finally, got an HDMI dongle. What could next year bring?

When Apple releases an iPad 3 next year, what accessories do you want them to release with it? Transparent Smart Covers, Apple branded keyboard cases? What?

Samsung has seemingly stepped up its spat with Apple by releasing an ad that not only resembles an iPad ad but incredulously even uses one of the same girls that Apple has used in one of its ads.

The new Samsung ad is for its Galaxy Tab device, it shows a young girl using the device for various tasks like reading and gaming.  Apple used the same girl originally in one of its iPhone 4S advertisements. The Samsung ad is definitely shot in a very similar way to an Apple ad too. This is either one amazing coincidence or more likely Samsung is going out of its way to provoke and copy Apple. The iPhone 4S ad is below so you can see the same actor in both ads.

Source: TNW

Given that I spread my device usage across many different platforms such as iOS, Android and yes, even BlackBerry — I find I have a few standard apps that I like to use. There is of course an exception when it comes to iOS, because I’m not overly fond of the native Twitter client on any OS but for the most part — my most used apps all revolve around productivity for me and getting things done when I really need to. Read on for my selections

Tweetbot

As mentioned, I have a real distaste for Twitter for iPhone — especially after their most recent update. With that in mind, for Tweeting on the go I make use of Tweetbot. The layout is perfect for me, and it’s nice and fast in comparison to other Twitter clients out there. I find with most Twitter clients, something is always missing. Be it push notifications, an image host or some other feature but with Tweetbot — it has everything I need, all wrapped up in a gorgeous UI.

• $2.99 – App Store link

Evernote

I am a dreadfully forgetful person, and to make matters worse — I’m fully aware that I am that way. So, in an effort to better keep myself organized and remember things I use Evernote. I’ll send links, notes, images and even the occasional voice note reminder to myself. For all of these reasons, Evernote is among my top used apps — if not, my most used app aside from Tweetbot.

• Free – App Store link

Dropbox

A lot of my life depends on the cloud, I store pics, documents, videos and music there. I’m a bit of a nut when it comes to having things backed up, given the amount of personal items I’ve lost over the years thanks to hard drive failures, SD Card failures and just hardware failures in general.

Backing things up to Dropbox has become a habit for me now, and having the comfort of being able to grab files from there when I need them is important. Also note the pattern here again — Dropbox has a client for just about any platform be it iOS, Android and most importantly, my desktop.

• Free – App Store link

Rdio

While there is plenty of music services out there to choose from on, being Canadian makes it difficult to find one that offers plenty of choice when it comes to music selection since big media still has their heads in the sand when it comes to licensing agreements.

For a lot of folks, Slacker is a great option but for me — it’s Rdio. The service does cost me $9.99 / mnth but it also allows me to stream and store for offline use music with no limits across all my devices. That includes iOS, Android and even on my desktop. No brainer for me, and a must have.

• Free / Requires Subscription – App Store Link

Tumblr

I’m pretty much a internet junkie, I spend a lot of time on the internet digging up random things. As such, I come across a lot of weird things and using Tumblr helps me keep track of things I come across but not only that, it allows me to share those things with others as well.

Plus, I’m not huge Facebook fan but keeping a ‘timeline’ of current events is something I like to do, and often times I’ll go back and look at the random things I have posted to Tumblr and remember those times. The Tumblr app for iOS is nice and simple and the service itself gives me an outlet — as I learn on Zen and Tech, it’s good to have an outlet for such things.

• Free – App Store link

Rene, Georgia, and Seth talk iPhone redesigns, smartphone bans, early iPad 3, small Apple Televisions, Steve Jobs’ Grammy, untethered iOS 5 jailbreak, DIY camera, iMame, most used apps, cases, and more.

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iPhone

• Rumor: Completely redesigned iPhone coming in fall of 2012
• U.S. Department of Transportation refuses to accept NTSB ban on smartphones in cars

iPad

• Rumor: iPad 3 coming on Steve Jobs' Birthday

Apple Television

• Rumor: 32 and 37-inch Apple Television coming in late 2012

News

• Steve Jobs to receive special Grammy award for revolutionizing music industry

DIY and Jailbreak

• iOS 5.0.1 untethered jailbreak now available for original iPad, iPhone 4, older models
• Daily Tip: How to untethered jailbreak original iPad, iPhone 4, and older devices on iOS 5.0.1 with redsn0w 0.9.10b1
• Top 5 things TiPb wants from jailbreak in 2012
• Weekly Mod: How to replace the rear camera in an iPhone 4 (GSM/CDMA)

Apps

• TiPb’s most used apps of 2011
• Use Siri dictation on your Mac with Air Dictate for iPhone 4S
• Action Movie FX brings Hollywood style special effects to your home videos
• iMame arcade emulator yanked from the App Store
• Top 5 iPhone and iPad apps for electronics shoppers

Accessories

• Poll: What kind of case do you prefer for your iPhone?
• Review + Giveaway: Case-Mate Barely There Brushed Aluminum case for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4

Hosts

• Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie)
• Georgia (@GeorgiaTiPb)
• Seth Clifford (@sethclifford)

Credits

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Apple Senior Vice President of Design, Jonathan Ive has been made a Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE), in recognition of his work at Apple and contributions to the industry.

He described the honour as “absolutely thrilling” and said he was “both humbled and sincerely grateful”.

Mr Ive added: “I am keenly aware that I benefit from a wonderful tradition in the UK of designing and making.

“I discovered at an early age that all I’ve ever wanted to do is design.”

Ive was previously made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2005. Known to have been one Steve Jobs‘s closest friends and co-workers, he’s been responsible for making manifest everything from the original iMac to the iPhone, MacBook Air, and iPad.

Source: BBC News

iOS and jailbreak developers Steven Troughton-Smith and Nick, who goes by the Twitter handle @TheMudkip, have hacked together a working window manager for Apple TV, paving the way for the possibility of iPhone and iPad app compatibility on the non-touchscreen device.

I rewrote SpringBoard from scratch using only QuartzCore. MobileX isn’t linked against UIKit.

[The control scheme involves] remote events from an iPad. Or a cursor controlled by an apple remote.

It might be a while before we actually see this publicly available but the idea is as exciting now as the original jailbreak apps were back in the early days of iOS, before the introduction of the iOS App Store.

Source: Steve Troughton-Smith, @theMudkip