Since the iPhone 4S has essential the same casing as the iPhone 4, we didn’t see radically new iPhone cases this year but rather more and better of the same — subtle refinements and bold variations.

Both Element Case and Draco Design fixed a lot of the early reception issues and created even more stunning finishes. [Pad and Quill[(http://www.tipb.com/tag/pad-and-quill) scaled down their wood and leather for iPhone, while DODOCase opted for a leather sticker instead.

Otterbox got sleeker but no less well defended, while Lifeproof brought a great new product to the protective space. Case-Mate added brushed aluminum to their Barely-There, and BodyGuardz added some Carbon Fiber to the mix.

mophie kept even hard-pressed iPhone 4S batteries going, while Apple slightly tweaked their iPhone 4 bumper to fit the Verizon iPhone 4, which also enabled it to fit the iPhone 4S.

Yup, that’s a lot of different kinds of cases, but to keep the number of categories sane, we had to it. They all have two things in common, however — they’re all great and you have to pick your favorite. Vote up top and tell us why you voted they way you did in the comments! These are your awards, so get to it!

As we roll on into the weekend, it’s always a good chance to get caught up on the things you may have missed out on from the week. You can skip on back a few pages, and see if you missed out on anything and while you’re at it — make sure you check out the TiPb forums as well. You can register now to get started today:

• iOS 5 Forum: 5.0.1 9A406 (new build number) What has changed?
• iPhone 4S Forum: Slow iPhone 4S — Any fix?
• iCloud Forum How do I free up iCloud backup space?
• iPod Touch 4 Forum Win the iOS device of your dreams in the TiPb holiday giveaway! [Week 3]
• iPhone 5 Forum: Interesting tidbit as to when we may see it

If you’re not already a member of the TiPb Forums, register now!

Two robbers on Columbia’s campus apparently only fancy robbing iPhone users. If you have a BlackBerry or Droid, they’d rather take your cash instead. In three separate incidents on 114th Street the men repeatedly asked victims to fork over their iPhones. While the first victim handed them an iPhone, the second victim handed them a Droid. They apparently aren’t Android fans and opted to take his cash instead. When the third victim stated she didn’t have an iPhone, they refused to believe her and pushed her into a fence and searched her.

So far the suspects haven’t been apprehended or identified but new security footage has been released that will hopefully help ID the two iPhone snatchers. One student apparently thinks it has to do with the high resale value of the iPhone –

“I think it speaks to the resale value of an iPhone,”

While the resale value of the iPhone may be higher than other devices, isn’t it just easier to steal cash than go through the trouble of hacking these things on eBay or Craigslist?

Source: NBC New York

In case you hadn’t heard — and really, ask somebody next time! — TiPb wants to give you the iOS device — or devices! — of your dreams. That’s right, a brand new iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPod touch, or Apple TV, or even iPad 3 in 2012, could be yours!

And this is week 3 so you now have a third chance to win!

The Prize: A $600 Apple gift certificate to put towards the iOS device — or devices — of your dreams. An iPhone or iPad for you or your special someone, a couple of iPod touches for the kids, a handful of Apple TVs for the whole family — you could even save it for an iPad 3 when Apple releases it! — whatever you choose!

How to enter: Each week we’ll have a special thread in a different TiPb iOS device forum. Just leave one (1) reply in each thread telling us why you’d love to have that week’s device. You can enter once per week, each week, for a total of four (4) chances to enter over the course of the contest.

The contest is on now and the winner will be announced on the iPhone Live podcast on December 28, 2011.

So what are you waiting for? Enter already!

• TiPb iOS Dream Device Giveaway: Week 3 thread!

A new Kickstarter project from FMC Smart aims to make sure your iPhone never lets you forget where you’ve parked again!

After a long day at work or hanging out with my friends or even after going to the shopping mall, there’s always a time where I completely forget where I parked my car. Right now, there are apps on the iPhone that will save the location of my car, but I have to manually launch the app to drop a pin each and every time I have parked my car. Stopping to launch an app when I’m running into work or trying to catch a plane is a complete waste of time and totally annoying. So I developed an app that allows the iPhone 4S to remember the last place I parked and the only time I have to launch the app is after I’ve lost my car, not before.

The way it works is simple an straightforward, using the new Bluetooth Smart technology nestled inside the iPhone 4S it helps find where you’ve parked your car without having to first tell the app that you’ve parked in that location.

The receiver sits in your vehicle. All you have to do is launch the Find My Car Smart app and it will automagically locate your car by communicating with the receiver using the BT Smart technology. Unfortunately this only works with the iPhone 4S due to the Bluetooth Smart requirement, but it can be a total lifesaver in those panic moments where you’ve completely spaced out where you were parked.

The Kickstarter project has a goal of $10,000 in order to being mass production, but they’re already up to around $2,500 in funding with 28 days remaining. You can donate just $25 to receive the receiver and a free copy of the app from the App Store, and for an additional $30 you’ll get a car charger to ensure the Bluetooth Smart receiver never dies on you. The receiver should begin shipping at the end of January.

Source: Kickstarter

• App Store Link

If you have an extra $40 dollars burning a hole in your wallet and around 10-15 minutes of free time, K.O Gadget Store has an awesome mod available that gives you a glowing back logo for your iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.

The logo lights up whenever the front screen is turned on, and stays illuminated for 15 seconds after you put your iPhone to sleep. It even lights up when you’re holding the phone up to your ear while on a call!

The mod is fairly easy to install based on the video instructions from their website, and the end results are pretty stellar. It’s as easy as removing the 2 screw on the bottom of the iPhone using a Phillips #00 screwdriver, then sliding the back panel off by pressing up with your thumbs. Installing the illuminated logo is the only tricky part, but even those with little skill can accomplish the task.

It’s a great companion to your MacBook Pro, and they even include the required tools necessary to complete the installation. Check out the instructional video above!

UPDATE: Their site is currently down while they upgrade their servers to handle all the orders. If you manage to snag one, let us know!

Source: K.O Gadget Store

Apple’s revised iOS 5.0.1 update seems to have come with decrypted ramdisks, something which could make the port of Siri to other iOS devices legally possible. Before today's firmware update, important files to get Siri working on other devices were encrypted in Apple's file system. Decrypting them would be illegal and infringe on copyright and that is the main reason for it not being made available.

According to MuscleNerd, a prominent figure in the jailbreaking community, the release of the revised iOS 5.0.1 update means that it is now possible to extract the relevant Siri files without infringing on Apple's copyright. It will now be interesting to see if those involved in porting Siri to other iOS devices see this as the green light and release it. We will let you know as soon as we hear anymore information.

Source: MuscleNerd

Battleground Defense: Experience the classic tower defense game play along with the intense action of modern warfare. Defend your territory using Missile Launchers, Heavy Canons, Flame throwers in different landscapes around the world.

• $0.99 for iPhone and iPad – App Store link

XnView Mobile Fx: Easily turn your photos into vintage images, but apply enhanced processing too.

• Free for iPad – App Store link

Hero’s Way: Slay your way through 60 levels of monsters, ghost and ghouls in this action packed arcade-role playing game!

• Free for iPhone and iPad – App Store link

Prime Location Property Search: Find prime properties from leading estate agents in desirable locations across the UK. Discover properties for sale simply by holding up your iPhone camera and moving it around.

• Free for iPhone – App Store link

Grolly at the North Pole: Right at Christmas season, Emma and her cuddly monster Grolly take us to the North Pole where we have a lot to discover again. Grolly turns your children into wildlife experts. Experience the winter magic from ist most beautiful side.

• $0.99 for iPad – App Store link

Any other big app or game releases or updates today?

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Fortune is reporting that Walter Isaacson, author of the official biography of Steve Jobs, may be planning an expansion of 630-page book in the future.

At an event in San Francisco hosted by the Commonwealth Club of California, Isaacson shared a number of gems about the two years he spent with Jobs writing the book and talked about the possibility of expanding the title in the future. Fortune senior editor at large Adam Lashinsky moderated the talk.

Being such an iconic figure, Isaacson believes the additions will be needed as many feel Steve Jobs’ story to be such a historic mark on humanity, and the book in its current version doesn’t give enough credit to the plethora of innovation he’s brought to the technology space.

Steve Jobs went on to become the number one selling book on Amazon for 2011 after receiving mild reviews, which may be one of the reasons he’s planning an annotated version of the biography. Another possibility is writing an addendum to get into the period of Steve’s life shortly before his tragic passing.

Source: Fortune

For today only, the TiPb Store has the Case-Mate Barely There Case for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 on sale for only $12.95!. Get them before they’re gone!

Get the Case-Mate Barely There Case for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 now!

CydiaBlog has stumbled upon a supposedly leaked component from Chinese parts retailer TVC-Mall for the upcoming iPad 3, detailing a replacement microphone flex cable with a different design from the iPad 2.

The new part, when compared with iPad 2, shows a different arrangement in internal circuitry, hinting a major re-design. The tail end of the part makes a "U-turn", whereas the iPad 2′s Microphone Mic Flex Cable makes almost 90-degree turn both ways. Except for few details, the leaked part so far doesn't offer a tantalizing tease.

Component leaks aren’t uncommon in the run-up to new Apple product releases, but as always, take this with a 9.7-inch grain of salt, as a lot of those purported parts for next-generation iOS devices don’t always mean what they suggest.

It’s also been rumored that the next iPad will come packed with a full Retina display. Given the chances of these new parts entailing an all-new design are about as accurate as flipping a coin, we’ll just have to wait until Apple actually announces the thing.

Source: TVC-Mall via CydiaBlog

Indeed.

Source: Dilbert via @3ricCardinal

Apple has historically outsourced their A5 chip production to Asian manufacturing plants, however this has recently changed with a move away from offshore production lines and into the great state of Texas.

The A5 processor – the brain in the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 – is now made in a sprawling 1.6 million square feet factory in Austin owned by Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics, according to people familiar with the operation.

Samsung, makers of the A5 chip designed by Apple that sits at the heart of the new iPhone 4S and iPad 2, recently completed a $3.6 billion non-memory chip production plant in December which is now fully up and running, pumping out A5 chips at a full production rate to help Apple keep up with demand of their popular iOS devices.

Samsung added around 1,100 jobs to support the new chip production line, which is said to be equivalent the size of 9 football fields. Why Austin Texas? The reason for the move is said to be due to the high amount of educated workers fresh out of the gate from the University of Texas’ engineering school.

Source: Reuters

Apple has strangely released a revision to its original iOS 5.0.1 update which was first released back in November. The release coincides with the update to the second generation Apple TV and maybe has something to do with the release of iTunes Match in more countries or the iPhone 4S continued international rollout.

If you have already updated to iOS 5.0.1 you will not see the update; it appears to be only accessible to those that haven't updated originally. The new build is iOS 5.0.1 (9A406) and supposedly offers some small bug fixes and stability improvements.

If anyone updates to the new version let us know if you notice any changes.

Source: TiPb Forum

Zeitgeist has published its annual list of top searches for 2011 and they include Steve Jobs, the iPad 2 and, interestingly, the iPhone 5 among the top ten.

Rumors of the iPhone 5 were running at full-force before Apple officially announced the iPhone 4S back in October. Apple likes to keep a tight lid on production and future product releases, which would be one of the reasons the iPhone 5 was among the top searches of 2011 as nobody really knew exactly what they’d be releasing right up until the announcement.

Here’s the full top 10 list:

1. Rebecca Black
2. Google+
3. Ryan Dunn
4. Casey Anthony
5. Battlefield 3
6. iPhone 5
7. Adele
8. 東京 電力 (TEPCO)
9. Steve Jobs
10. iPad 2

Source: Zeitgeist

Randomly accurate rumor site Digitimes thinks Apple will be releasing a 7.85-inch iPad sometime around Q4 2012 to help compete with the Amazon Kindle Fire.

Apple is likely to launch a 7.85-inch iPad prior to the fourth quarter of 2012 in addition to a new iPad scheduled to be released at the end of the first quarter, according to sources in the supply chain.

We previously heard rumors of Apple planning the release of a 7-inch iPad by Christmas of 2010, and obviously that never happened. With the Kindle Fire gaining in popularity, however, this new rumor suggest Apple may be inclined to jump into the mini-tablet game to maintain a strong foothold in the tablet market. This rumor also backs up previous speculation of Apple prepping manufacturers for a 7.85-inch iPad for a 2012 release.

Then again, Apple never bothered competing with netbooks, so their not adverse to staying away from low-margin products, and saying the Kindle’s size is the key to it’s success seems rather superficial. Neither the Galaxy Tab nor PlayBook — both 7-inches — sold at anything approaching high volume.

Source: Digitimes

Curious how to set up the new accessibility feature in iOS 5, namely the custom vibration patterns? Custom vibrations patterns let you set up uniquely identifiable series for contacts in your address book — a handy feature to say the least!

Turning custom vibration patterns on

To get started, you’ll first need to turn on custom vibrations from the accessibility settings:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap ‘General’.
3. Scroll down to the bottom and select ‘Accessibility’.
4. Set the Custom Vibrations option to ‘ON’.

Now that custom vibrations is enabled you’ll be able to record your own custom vibration pattern. Follow these quick steps to record your own vibration, or just check out the video at the top of this post.

Recording your custom vibration pattern

1. From the Settings app, tap ‘Sounds’.
2. Scroll down to the very bottom and tap ‘Vibration’.
3. Under the ‘Custom’ section, tap ‘Create New Vibration’.

At this point you’ll be presented with a recording screen asking you to tap anywhere in order to begin recording you custom vibration pattern. Custom vibrations have a maximum duration of 10 seconds, but you can simply tap ‘Stop’ when you’re done recording your own vibration if you want something short and sweet.

Now just hit ‘Save’ and you’ll be asked to name your new vibration pattern. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be taken back to the Vibration settings pane with your new pattern automatically selected as your custom vibration.

Setting up your contacts

You can even set custom vibration patterns for individual contacts!

1. Launch Phone or Contacts
2. Select your desired contact,
3. Tap ‘Edit’ and scroll down until you see the vibration option.

All contacts will be set to the default vibration you’ve selected from the settings app, but you can manually select your newly-created vibration pattern for any contact this way. You can also set a specific contact to only ring instead of vibrating at all.

That’s it! Although Apple supplies you with five built-in vibrations, it’s great that they’ve given users the ability to set their own custom vibration patterns in iOS 5. As always, let us know if we missed anything in the comments below, and enjoy your new custom vibration patterns!

Daily Tips range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com.

Just like [iTunes Match], iTunes TV Shows in the Cloud seem to be rolling out internationally. TV Shows in the Cloud, part of Apple’s iCloud service, allows users to re-download previously purchased TV Show content to iTunes on Mac or Windows, or iOS devices including iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Apple TV.

If you’re outside the U.S. and you’re getting your first fix of iTunes TV Shows in the Cloud, let us know where and how it’s working for you!

Facebook have begun to roll out their new profile design: Timeline, to iPhone through the mobile optimized version of their website. The redesign features most of the important features of Timeline.

• Viewing and changing Cover Images.
• Scrolling back through time – from birth to the present day

Other features are missing, like the ability to add ‘life events’, or change the date of photos to have them listed accurately in your timeline, but overall the interface is really nice.

The new timeline interface is only viewable on profiles that have enabled them on the normal website. Timeline hasn’t rolled out on the iPad, or the native app, but no doubt it will be soon.

Source: m.facebook.com