Apple has already overtaken Nokia as the smartphone leader when it comes to the number of units manufactured, but according to a forecast from DigiTimes, the Cupertino company could also overtake the once unbeatable Finnish phone vendor in shipments by the end of this year.

Minimalist email client Sparrow continues to grow apace, thanks to some updates over the summer. We last looked at it back in March, but there’s a lot of new stuff since then.

Apple has finally been granted certification to sell its 3G iPad 2 in mainland China, according to The Wall Street Journal. Up until now, the Cupertino company has only been able to offer its Wi-Fi only tablet, but it now has the ‘network access license’ needed to sell the 3G-capable device.

I’ve worked at a few desks that used Cisco VoIP phones (one in the Wired.com offices among them); but something like the new Invoxia NVX 610 iPhone-controlled conference phone may eventually turn conventional handsets — even VoIP ones — into relics.

Every now and then you hear something that makes your heart bounce with pride, and recently we at Cult of Mac heard one of those things.

It turns out that a prototype iPhone case design we featured here back in March has become a real commercial product, thanks to its investors seeing it mentioned on our site.

We’re delighted that we were able to play our part in turning this business idea into reality. But we’ll let the guy who came up with it, Joey Chun, tell the whole story.

Those of you wishing for an 8-megapixel camera in the upcoming iPhone 5 might just be in luck. According to a report from Taiwan Economic News, Apple has secured deals with two manufacturers who will supply 8-megapixel cameras for Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone.

Apple’s online AppleCare Agreement Support system has been down for maintenance over the weekend. It isn’t clear whether there will be any updates or changes to the system like the recent addition of social media linking in the online Apple Store. The system isn’t available for AppleCare Support employees either.

Apple has now completed the roll-out for social network integration across its online store, allowing shoppers to share every single one of the store’s products on Facebook and Twitter — including third-party items.

We are receiving reports from readers that invitations to join Apple’s AppleSeed Software Customer Seeding Program are hitting people’s in boxes today. This comes as rumors are ramping up about the imminent release of iCloud, Mac OS X 10.7.2, iTunes 10.5, ATV updates and the iPhone 4S/5.

I like the full screen mode that apps can run in on Mac OS X Lion, but if you are just now experimenting with this new feature you may feel a little lost. The reason you might feel lost is because while apps run in full screen mode a lot of navigations elements are missing. Today you’ll find out that they aren’t missing just hiding.

Happy Labor Day! If you’re stuck for something to do while you’re off work today, why not treat yourself to a new iOS game? Developers have been slashing their prices to celebrate the holiday, and there really are too many games to choose from. Here’s the huge list of reductions from just EA, Gameloft, Namco Bandai, Sega and Capcom.

In typical Apple fashion, the company is keeping the release date for iOS 5 and the accompanying iCloud service a big secret, but the launch of these products could be right around the corner. According to screenshots taken from its internal RetailMe application, Apple has now begun training retail store staff for the upcoming release of its new services.

Best Buy is expecting pre-sales of the iPhone 5 to begin in the first week of October, a leaked internal document from the retail giant reveals. In addition, the document says Apple’s eagerly-awaited handset is coming to the Sprint network.

This caught my attention over coffee and the Sunday paper (I know! Weekend luddite, is what an affectionate — I think — friend calls me) a book entirely devoted to fonts called “Just My Type” by Simon Garfield.

Now here’s something else you don’t see every day: musician and entrepreneur Jean Michel Jarre has introduced the AeroDream One, an 11 foot tall technological marvel that combines an all-purpose iDevice dock and a 10,000W stereo system for the ultimate in colossal home entertainment.

Since the iPad first shipped in April of last year, the tablet has been slammed by critics as a content consumption device, a feature-limited Tablet PC and a pointless plaything for rich yuppies.

Apple itself positioned the iPad as a living room knee-top device, something for mindlessly flipping through apps or games while watching Comedy Central. Steve Jobs even introduced the iPad while sitting on a padded living room chair.

All this spin makes our friend, the iPad, come across like some kind of lazy slacker. In fact, the iPad has become a hard-working professional. But why? 

For those who love their iPads but miss the warm, muted sounds of a 78rpm phonograph, feast your eyes on the iVictrola iPad dock. A successor to the iVictrola iPhone dock a few years ago, this acoustic amplifier uses the speaker outputs of your iPad and an antique Magnavox phonograph radio horn to playback anything from Bix Beiderbecke to Lady Gaga – no electricity required.

There has been a plethora of reports about leaked next generation iPhone parts that are allegedly for either an iPhone 4S or 5 model. Now we are seeing an equal number of rumors about iPhone 4S/5 case designs. Most of these new case designs probably started after an alleged next generation iPhone design document leaked earlier this summer. Indications are that case vendors are taking this leak seriously and producing cases based on the information they have received.

MacRumors previously commissioned a set of renderings trying to decide what the next iPhone will look like. Later they analyzed the existing third-party cases to help decide what that device might look like. The results they were left with are a bit puzzling.

I went to the local Apple Store today in Friendswood, Texas at the Baybrook Mall to grab something and I came home with another unofficial Apple accessory from a Mall kiosk.

Global Cell, Inc., a cell phone accessory store sitting just outside the Apple Store, sold me an iPhone 5 rubber case for $19.95 plus tax.

We told you yesterday that Apple had allegedly lost a next gen iPhone prototype in a San Franciscan tequila bar. Through a string of events, it was uncovered that Apple had purportedly tracked the prototype device to an apartment in Bernal Heights and sent a private security team on a recovery mission.

The San Francisco Police originally said that it had no knowledge of such an investigation, and it was believed that Apple’s security team could have posed as police for the purpose of searching the apartment of Sergio Calderón. Now, the SFPD is saying that officers did in fact help Apple in the attempt to recover the mysterious iPhone prototype.

With the news that HP is seriously reevaluating the longevity of the webOS platform, it looks like another mobile OS has fallen by the wayside.

After being largely abandoned by Nokia for Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS, Intel has announced a ‘temporary’ halt on development of Meego. The company will reportedly focus on hardware development for either the Windows Phone OS or Android.

Amazon’s rumored tablet is very real, according to MG Siegler of TechCrunch. The ‘Amazon Kindle’ tablet runs a fully-customized version of the Android OS that “you’ve never seen before.” The device will sell for half the price of the entry-level iPad, and it’s expected to ship in November.

Rumors have been that Apple will introduce enhanced voice recognition features in iOS 5. While such features have remained hidden in the developer betas of iOS 5, some have managed to dig into the software’s SDK and find evidence.

Now, it has been confirmed by an unnamed Apple employee that Nuance-based speech-to-text functionality in iOS 5 is very real, and it’s being tested at Apple right now.