The Consumer Electronics Show has officially kicked off here in Las Vegas, and if there’s one thing every Mac fan should go into CES knowing, it’s that the whole television industry is petrified of Apple entering it.

As CEA’s Chief Economist and Director of Research Shaun Dubrovik made clear in his introductory presentation on the trends they expect to see this year at CES 2012, the whole television industry is scrambling. They are all trying to anticipate just what the heck Apple is going to do when they unveil their long rumored television, the iTV.

What are TV makers betting that Apple has up its sleeves? A bezel-less, ultra high resolution TV that runs apps and is controlled by a mixture of gestures and voice control and effortlessly interact with tablets and smartphones.

No wonder they’re scared: no one is better positioned to roll out a next-gen television that does all of the above things than Apple.

The idea behind the Zeo Sleep Manager Mobile ($99) is that the quality of your sleep affects your health in a bigger way than we generally recognize, and that measuring the amount of time we sleep and its quality — then quantifying that sleep with a number on a 100-point scale — will give us the information we need to improve our sleep, and ultimately our health.

**Update: Contest ends tonight at midnight. Enter to win. One lucky winner will be chosen!

We’ve now added a sixth deal, our latest iOS Foundations Course, to the Holiday Giveaway which makes it worth over $950 worth of training courses. Happy New Year!**

Since launching Cult of Mac Deals this past fall, we’ve received a tremendous amount of support from our fans, and so this holiday season we wanted to give something back. We’ve compiled a fantastic giveaway including 6 of our top deals valued at over $950!

One lucky winner will receive one of each of the following online video courses:

1. Dive into iOS – Learn how to code iPhone/iPad Apps
2. UX for Founders – Make Steve proud with design that doesn’t suck
3. Adobe Photoshop CS5 Training – Learn the fundamentals of Photshop
4. Awesome Demo Videos – Create compelling demo videos for your business
5. Learn HTML/CSS – Start building your dream site today
6. iOS Foundations Course – Learn the basics of building your first iPhone/iPad app

Here’s how to enter the giveaway:

The biggest company at CES this year is Apple. No, Apple isn’t giving keynotes, hosting a booth or even taking meetings, as far as I know. But Apple dominates CES like cheesy hotel casinos dominate the Las Vegas Strip.

A consumer electronics show without Apple is like an Internet search show without Google, a social networking show without Facebook or a, er, MacWorld Expo without Apple.

But that’s not why Apple’s presence is so large at CES. The reason is that half the initiatives, product directions and announcements are responses to Apple, or anticipation of what Apple might do in the future.

The behemoth Consumer Electronics Show is upon us. By tomorrow, press-only showcases will already begin revealing this coming year’s tech magic (the show floor opens for everyone else on Tuesday).

We’ve been drawing aside the curtain as much as we were able in the form of previews throughout this past week. For those who missed them — and for the rest who want a quick recap as we plunge into the show — here’re the big highlights going in.

Epic Games, the makers of popular iOS title Infinity Blade, reported a staggering $10 million in revenue last summer from the sales of their original title in the App Store. After the release of the highly-anticpated Infinity Blade II last month, Epic Games has announced that it has now collected over $30 million in revenue.

Laaaaaaaaaaadies and Gentlemen, welcome to Friday Night Fights, a new series of weekly deathmatches between two no-mercy brawlers who will fight to the death — or at least agree to disagree — about which is better: Apple or Google, iOS or Android?

This week’s topic is one personal to both iOS and Android fans alike: is Samsung really copying Apple’s designs for its Galaxy series of Android smartphones and tablets? Samsung and Apple are brawling it out on pretty much every continent on Earth trying to get to the bottom of this issue, so it’s only fitting that we try to settle this one in the ring too.

In one corner, we have the 900 pound gorilla, Cult of Mac; in the opposite corner, wearing the green trunks, we have the plucky upstart, Cult of Android!

Place your bets, gentlemen! This is going be a bloody one.

An interesting Apple patent filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office details how Thunderbolt could be headed to iOS devices. Apple has actually been filing many Thunderbolt-related trademarks as of late, despite the fact that Thunderbolt is also an Intel property.

In this recent patent, Apple details how the need for high-speed data connections between devices requires new cables. The traditional 30-pin connector isn’t cutting it anymore, and Thunderbolt is the future.

What’s this? Android news on Cult of Mac?! Who the hell cares?! Maybe you don’t, maybe you do. Point is: these are a few of the popular topics going on in the Android world today. Maybe you’d like to know what the competition is up to, or perhaps your aunt received a Kindle Fire she needs to update. Regardless of the reason, having a resource such as Cult of Android allows you to learn more about what’s going on in the ecosystem powered by the world’s leading mobile OS.

Pioneer Electronics has released two high-end audio players that come equipped with AirPlay functionality. This means that iTunes and iOS users can access music from a desktop computer or iOS device and stream it through their big speakers. Third-party apps like Pandora can also be used to stream music from an iOS device to Pioneer’s new players.

The N-30 ($500) and N-50 ($700) support AirPlay and DLNA wireless technologies. More manufacturers are starting to integrate AirPlay into their home theater and stereo systems. Expect to see much more from this trend in the near future.

Today Dijit has launched its official iPad app for interacting with your TV. In a world where we’re constantly tweeting and checking Facebook from the couch, Dijit has attempted to intertwine our online lives with our favorite TV shows.

The app works with Griffin’s Beacon peripheral or the Roku box to turn your iPad into a universal remote with internet capabilities. Not only can you browse your TV guide and control what you’re watching, but Dijit’s app gives you quick access to Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia, YouTube, and your Netflix queue.

Today marks the one year milestone for the Mac App Store. In 2011, Apple unveiled the Mac App Store on January 6th, 2011 with over 1,000 apps available at launch. Just like this year, CES was starting to ramp up. Apple stole the early thunder by announcing its app distribution system for OS X.

Steve Jobs told the world that, “We think users are going to love this innovative new way to discover and buy their favorite apps.” As it turns out, he was right.

For years we’ve heard a lot of hype about SSDs and how they’re going to change computing, but their progress has been slow, and the masses have been getting impatient. Well CES 2012 will be the start of SSDs officially entering into mainstream use thanks to Apple Inc. The best purchase I made in 2011 was when I replaced my MacBook Pro with the new 11″ MacBook Air. Not only is the MacBook Air lighter than any laptop I’ve owned, it’s also powerful enough to do some really awesome things I’d never thought possible on a miniature computer (like playing graphic intensive games like Star Wars the Old Republic). Most of these technological marvels are all thanks to Apple’s inclusion on SSDs in the MacBook Air lineup. Of course, Apple didn’t invent the SSD, nor were they the first company to use them, but they’re responsible for bringing SSDs to the masses at an affordable price.

So by now you may have heard that Nikon’s flagship pro D-SLR, the D4, is real and will be on the floors of CES. The new features of this new drool-worthy machine are numerous, but one that immediately caught my eye was its ability to be controlled remotely by an iPhone or iPad — wow! I don’t think anyone saw that coming.

One of the nifty little features in Apple’s iOS operating system is the ability to “swipe to delete” certain items. You can use the gesture to remove songs, podcasts, videos, text messages, emails, and more from your device, but for some bizarre reason, not audiobooks.

Here’s how to delete audiobooks directly from your iOS device — without the need for a computer.

The world’s largest gadget showcase starts on Sunday in Las Vegas, and as we have in years past, Cult of Mac will be at Consumer Electronic Show 2012 from day one to report on the latest iOS and Apple news, the most important tech trends, the best accessories and gadgets, as well as rock out at the some of the most bitchin’ and downright bizarre parties Sin City has ever seen.

On our website, you’ll be able to access all of our CES coverage by visiting our dedicated CES 2012 page.

For this CES, Cult of Mac is rolling in with its deep bench deployed. Here’s who’ll be on the ground, along with their Twitter handles. Follow us for on-the-floor updates, or if you’re at CES and see one of us, make sure to say hi.

• Leander Kahney, Editor (Twitter: @lkahney)

• John Brownlee, News Editor (Twitter: @drcrypt)

• Eli Milchman, Reviews Editor (Twitter: @elimilchman)

• Buster Heine, Community Manager (Twitter: @bst3r)

• Erfon Elijah, Reporter (Twitter: @erfon)

• Traci Dauphin, Gallery Editor

Also, make sure to be following Cult of Mac’s official Twitter account at @cultofmac for exclusive news, first looks, notes from the showfloors and even give aways next week, all in real time. You’ll be glad you did.

See you guys next week for the most exciting week in tech!

South Korean smartphone maker Samsung learned a lesson about the pace of Italian justice Friday. A Mulan court rejected the company’s call for a preliminary injunction against sales of the iPhone 4S. This is Samsung’s second denial in Italy, a court refused to block the iPhone 4S in that nation back in October.

All this time, people have blindly taken the Birds’ word for it, and joined them in their campaign of violence against the pigs. Nobody thought to ask the pigs for their side of the story. Until now.

It’s hard living in a post-PC world, especially if you’re chip giant Intel. A Wall Street analyst downgraded the company from “Buy” to “Neutral” after key PC makers signaled plans to adopt rival ARM – not to mention the smartphones and tablets also throwing sand in Intel’s face.

Remember that Steve Jobs action figure from the other day that Apple is trying to force legally off the market, insinuating they own Steve Jobs’s likeness?

Turns out that it looks like in most states, Apple can’t really do squat to prevent the sale of DiD Corp’s Steve Jobs doll? As it turns out, even if Apple did own Steve Jobs’s likeness, that would only be valid in most states while Jobs was alive. Now that he’s dead, though, almost anyone can profit off of his likeness.

As a person who frequently hangs his iPad 2 by the Smart Cover from the fridge while I’m cooking, my vote was going to be “genius” until I thought of exactly how quickly it would take a subway thief to just snag the iPad 2 off the bar on their way out the door. What do you think?

[via MIC Gadget]

If, like me, you’re yearning for a physical controller that works well with iOS devices and games, then you’ll be pleased to hear Gametel’s wireless gamepad for smartphone and tablets now supports the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. The device connects via Bluetooth to devices running iOS 4.0 or later, and supports hundreds of arcade titles from the iCade suite, in addition to other selected iOS games like No Gravity and Super Crossfire HD.

The Magic Feet from Mobee looks set to become the perfect accompaniment to Apple’s wireless peripherals, by introducing an inductive charging system that wirelessly charges the batteries in your Bluetooth keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad, without you having to remove them.

It charges three accessories simultaneously, with just 6 hours required for a full charge. It also introduces four more USB ports to your Mac.

If you’re a carrier scrambling for ways to make up dwindling voice and texting profits, Apple’s iPhone 4S is not just a product, but a dreamy pin-up, a new report on smartphone data usage finds. What’s more, Siri — the iPhone 4S’s hallmark feature — is a down-right wet dream.

Trying to get somewhere in a hurry? The folks at Apple figured this might happen, so they built a very neat feature into OS X Lion to help you see a map of any address you’ve been sent via email, or encounter in a web page or document. No copying and pasting required.