Less. Than. Three. That's how many days remain until Apple holds their September 12 event and we almost certainly get our first, official look at the iPhone 5. I just put up a fancy new iPhone super page to keep track of all the action, and we have lots more coming this week.

That starts tonight in a special iMore show Sunday edition where I'll talk geek-to-geek with Fox New's Clayton Morris about what we can expect at the big event. You don't want to miss that. But before we get too caught up on the week ahead, here are some final thoughts on the week that was, including Amazon vs. Apple, the ultimate copy loop, and a sentimental moment for yours truly...

Jeff Bezos vs. Steve Jobs

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos single-handily helmed Amazon's Kindle event last week, introducing a sweeping new range of cheaper-than-ever, more powerful-than-ever gadgets services. Naturally, that led some to compare Bezos to Apple's late co-founder and CEO, Steve Jobs, back when Jobs was in his prime.

In that Jobs and Bezos were/are both CEOs talking on a stage to media, and Bezos made just as much fun of Android tablets as Jobs used to, fair enough. But the differences were profound and fundamental.

When Steve Jobs took the stage, he told you what he was about to tell you, told it to you, and then told you what he'd just told you. He started with clear, concise sales numbers and other metrics and finished with clear, concise product grids and prices. He pioneered Apple's mastery of the linear consumer narrative.

Bezos' pitch, by contrast, was almost a stream of consciousness, with new devices and features being thrown with little regard for structure or clarity. As a consumer story, it was rambling.

Sure, you could say it was just a media event, but why have a media event if not to help frame your story? Media write for consumers. You paint media a clear picture, odds are that's what consumers will get. You give media pieces, odds are consumers get whatever the media manages to piece together. That's not a good thing.

Likewise, to this day, we still have no idea how many Kindles Amazon, a public company, has sold. Even well after the event, it took until Amazon.com was finally updated, to find out exactly what the new Kindle product matrix was. And we still have no real idea where it will be.

The iPad is in 90+ countries. The kindle in barely a handful. Chris Umiastowski pointed out that Apple started with essentially one phone on one network in one country, and everyone underestimated their growth potential. But to achieve that growth, Apple had to forge carrier deals around the world. To achieve the same growth, Amazon will need to forge content deals around the world.

And in that incredibly important regard, Bezos to date has proven to be no Steve Jobs.

The ultimate copy loop

Someone got so upset about Apple winning a $1 billion willful infringement verdict against Samsung this week that, to defend Samsung's copying, they tried to make it look like Apple was copying Braun... by copying their entire article from something Gizmodo posted in 2008?

I'm not linking to that bait, but you can read John Gruber's take at Daring Fireball and Matthew Panzarino's at Robot Tuxedo if you're curious.

Samsung got what amounts to a speeding ticket for running a red light to the head of the smartphone sales chart, they'll be just fine thanks.

4 years, 7 thousand posts, and 4 million words later...

Four years ago this week my old boss, Dieter Bohn, and the CEO of Mobile Nations, Marcus Adolfsson dropped iMore on me to run. For the next three years I did my best to run the site while also holding down a full time marketing job in enterprise software. A year ago my new boss, Kevin Michaluk brought me on full time. Last week, I wrote my 7000th article for iMore, and my 2 millionth word for Mobile Nations.

It doesn't seem anywhere nearly that long or that much. It feels like the blink of an eye. I guess that's what it means to follow your bliss.

To Kevin and Dieter, Marcus and Andrew, to everyone at iMore and Mobile Nations, and most importantly to all of our amazing readers, listeners, and viewers -- thank you! Here's to many, many more!

Yippie kay yay

Now lets get this new iPhone and iPod week started! (And don't forget to grab the wallpaper while you're waiting)

The iMore show's Sunday edition returns tonight with yours truly and special guest, Clayton Morris, co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend, and technology expert on Fox News Channel. We'll be talking a little about last week's Nokia and Amazon announcements, and a lot about Apple's upcoming September 12 iPhone event.

Join us LIVE at 6pm PT, 9pm ET, 2am BST. Set an alarm. Bookmark this page. Be here.

Want to go full screen? Head to iMore.com/live. Want to watch via iPhone or iPad? Grab the Ustream app and search for "mobilenations"!

What if, when you pinched-to-zoom in iOS, it wasn't just your pictures or website that got bigger, but your entire device? Start with an iPhone 5. Pinch. iPad mini. Pinch. iPad. That, and fingerprint scanning, Siri mission-control, and more are shown off the Atama Studios concept video above. John Paczkowski from AllThingsD calls it insane but great. What else could you call Apple mastering bag-of-holding physics, unstable molecules, or extra-dimensional mass?

I'm just wondering why they didn't show the extra pinch down to iPod nano feature? Carrying it as my watch is my favorite part!

Source: Aatma Studios

Apple is finishing getting all the banners in place at Yerba Buena for the September 12 event where we'll likely see the iPhone 5 and new iPods. At first the Yerba Buena banners just looked like streams of color but an eagle eyed MacRumors reader noticed that tilted your head and squinted just so, Apple iOS icons were revealed within. More precisely, the Music, Safari, iTunes Store, Stocks, and Game Center icons had been stretched vertically, and in some cases flipped over, to create the background. Make of that what you will.

For my part, I took a couple hours this Sunday morning to play around and see what I could do with those same icons, and the result is below in convenient iOS wallpaper form (2048x2048) so it'll fit everything from your Retina iPad on down). It's "inspired by", not a dead on replication, because: Sunday morning.

iMore will be providing complete coverage, color, commentary, and context throughout the week, of course, and kick it into overdrive on Wednesday (until we look as stretched, color-shifted, and motion-blurred as some of those icons!)

Meanwhile, touch and hold the image below to save it to your iOS device Camera Roll, then jump into Settings,Brightness & Wallpaper, Wallpaper, Camera Roll, and set, scale, and crop it just exactly how you like.

(And if this one doesn't suit your tastes, MacStories.net has their own take on it as well.)

Here's the deal -- you follow iMore on your favorite social networks, and we give you awesome accessory prizes... EVERY MONTH!

We know our loyal readers already visit iMore.com daily, subscribe to our RSS feeds and get the iMore Podcast on iTunes, but we wanted to do something a little extra to reward our loyal fans and grow our audience in some of the off-iMore social networking and content sharing sites that iPhone owners hang out and visit.

It's easy! All you have to do is follow iMore on Youtube, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook and as a thank you for doing so we're going to pick a lucky winner each month from among our iMore followers / subscribers / fans on each of these sites to win some great iPhone prizes! That's four winners each month - one picked at random from each site. All you need to do is click the links below to follow us on each site, and just keep following us! We'll pick our four winners on the last day of each month and announce them around the first day of the new month along with the prizes to be won for the new month. You can subscribe to all of Youtube, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook to maximize your chances of winning.

This month we want to help you stay charged so you never miss a beat! See the list below for links to the sites and the prize you could win on each one.

• On Youtube - You could win Seidio SURFACE Plus Case!
• On Twitter - You could win a mophie Juice Pack Plus!
• On Google+ - You could win a mophie Juice Pack Air!
• On Facebook - You could win a Seidio Charging Vault Kit!

And don't forget to follow our sensational staff -- they often have extra accessories and apps so you never know when they'll surprise you with something special -- @imore, @reneritchie, @GeorgiaTiPb, @llofte, @iMuggle, @chrisoldroyd, @bla1ze, @phishgirl3!

We'll send out a reminder each week with ways to earn extra entries, so make sure to watch the blogs! Thanks for following, spread the word and good luck!!

Follow iMore and Win Contest FAQ/Details

Eligibility - Open worldwide. In order to participate as a follower /subscriber / fan of the iMore accounts in this contest you must have an account with Youtube, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook. We'd love you to follow on us in all four locations (that maximizes your chances of winning) but it's not required. One, two or all four is fine. If you're already following us when this contest starts, don't worry, you're entered automatically!! You must also be a registered member of iMore to be eligible.

Announcing Winners - Winners will be chosen randomly each month. Winning usernames will be posted to the iMore blogs within the first few days of each new month. Winners will be contacted via the respective sites (Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Youtube) and once initially contacted the follow-up will be conducted via email to work out details (address for shipping, etc.) on getting the prize. There is no rule against being able to win more than once.

There you have it! Be sure to tune into the blogs around the first day of each month for the winners' announcement and to see what can be won next month. If you have any questions, you can email me at michelle @ iMore.com - be sure to make the subject Follow iMore and Win Contest!

Every week the editors at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This week's selections include a few games, an alternative to iTunes Match, a scientific discovery app filled with illusions, and some simply smashing weekend reading.

SongPop - Ally Kazmucha

When it comes to games on my iPhone or iPad, I tend to prefers ones that I can pick up quickly and then leave just as quick. While I don't have a ton of time to play them I do enjoy being able to wind down at night and relax with them or have something to do when waiting for an appointment or meeting. SongPop fills that gap along with being highly addictive.

The premise is that you play against your Facebook friends in fast rounds of "name that tune". You can choose from many playlists and types of music and you'll be given 5 songs at a time. The point is to guess them not only correctly but faster than your opponent. The person with the most points at the end of the 5 songs wins that round. You'll alternate picking playlists each time.

SongPop comes with several playlists to choose from or you can get more by using the coins you earn by winning matches or as an in-app purchase. If you haven't checked it out already, I highly suggest that you do. When you get super addicted and your productivity tanks, just don't blame me!

• $1.99 - Download Now

gMusic - Chris

If you use Google Music you must check out this awesome app for the iPhone and iPad. I started off my journey of trying to store my music in the cloud using iTunes match but found it to be buggy, slow and always missing album artwork; even though my collection on my PC was perfect. It got to the point where I just couldn't use it any more so I looked for another solution. Google has launched its Music service in the United States but hadn't rolled it out anywhere. Luckily, with a bit of jiggery pokery and a United States IP address, I managed to get it activated on my UK account and uploaded all of my music. Everything went up there without a hitch and all my artwork was perfect.

Google hasn't released a music app for iPhone as of yet so you are stuck with using third party apps, when I say stuck that really isn't fair as the one I found is awesome! gMusic offers everything that an official app could offer and probably much more too. It works seamlessly with my stored music, organises everything by Album, Artist Genre etc. and displays all the artwork in a very elegant manner. It streams the songs without downloading them (although you can set it to download them if you like) and they are very quick to start even on a 3G connection. To be honest, it blows iTunes Match away and I will never go back after experiencing this great app and the Google Music combination.

If you want to store your music in the cloud and access it in the easiest way possible, forget iTunes Match and look at Google Music and the gMusic app, I can't recommend it enough. Thanks go to my brother @andyoldroyd for tipping me off on this one!

• $1.99 - Download

Splice - SimonSage

Splice is a fantastic game based loosely on genetics. The idea is that you have to assemble cells of genetic material into a specific strand. Each cell can only fork off into two others below it. Meanwhile special cells can alter things more dramatically by erasing (or doubling) all the cells after it or shooting out an extra single cell. You only have so many moves (or splices) in which to solve each puzzle. If you go over, you'll have to backtrack as many steps as you need to figure it out. If you solve the puzzle under the minimum, players earn "Angelic" status on specific strands.

What really makes splice fantastic is the music and art style. There's this pensive, deep piano music playing throughout the game which switches up every 7 levels or so (each batch is called a sequence). Even just flipping through the level browser is an experience. While I can't vouch for the scientific accuracy of the whole affair, Splice is an addictive, immersive game that will have you engrossed for hours.

• $3.99 - Download Now

Color Uncovered - Leanna Lofte

Color Uncovered is a fun interactive app that teaches about all the wonders of colors including a lot of optical illusions all developed by the Exploratorium in San Francisco. How is Monet like a honeybee? What color is a whisper? Why is it so hard to find your car in a lamp-lit parking lot? -- These are just a few of the topics that are addressed in Color Uncovered. In addition to the optical illusions and other facts presented in Color Uncovered, it also gives instructions for performing your own experienced at home with items like a CD case, a drop of water, and a piece of paper.

Color Uncovered is a free app, so there really is no reason not to pick it up. Whether you're 10 years old or 65 years, you're bound to find the information and illusions in Color Uncovered interesting and fun.

• Free - Download Now

Planet Hulk - Rene Ritchie

Writing the review for Marvel's new Avengers Initiative game, I ended up making several references to Greg Pak's epic Planet Hulk series from Marvel Comics. For those interested in the chronology, it preceded Marvel's Civil War storyline and was basically designed to get the Hulk out of way so they didn't have to worry about incorporating him into the Captain America vs. Iron Man show down. He would have swung the balance of power, or created too much chaos, for the story they wanted to tell. So, banishment.

What Planet Hulk turned into, however, was so much more. Hulk is sent off-world, supposedly to an idilic place free from the stresses and annoyances of earth. But something goes wrong, as it always does, and Hulk ends up on a brutal world, Sakaar, run by a tyrant dictator, the Red King. Weakened and confused, he's captured, enslaved, and put into the gladiatorial arena. And all sorts of green, gamma-irradiated hell follows from that.

The writer, Greg Pak, creates an amazing world with mythos enough to put a smile on Joseph Campbell's face. It's epic fantasy meets epic sci-fi, and it puts the Hulk fully through his hero's journey, but leaves him in a very, very dark place. (The story after Planet Hulk is called World War Hulk, so you get the idea.) In fact, it's the power of the mythology Pak instills that makes the series so compelling.

Planet Hulk begins and ends simply, poignantly, devastatingly.

"This is the story of the Green Scar, the Eye of Anger, the World Breaker... Harkonan, Haarg, Holku... Hulk. And how he finally came home…"

That should be enough to convince you. If not, download the sample from iBooks and take a look. (Don't get the animated movie version, though, it's nowhere near as good.) If you prefer physical goods, you can grab the paper off Amazon.

• $24.99 - iBooks - Download now

• $23.09 - Trade paperback - Buy now

Your choice?

Now that we've chosen our favorites for the week, we want to hear yours! Did you pick up a killer app, accessory, or game this week? Tell us about it!