We start out with a couple hardware deals and the latest crop of free iPhone apps. First up is a 27-inch iMac running a 3.33GHz Core 2 Duo processor for $1,499. Then comes a number of free apps from the iPhone App Store, including “A Christmas Santa.” Finally, we wrap up the deal spotlight with a Mac Pro Xeon with qud 2.66GHz processors for $1,749.

Along the way, we’ll also check out several other items of interest to Mac owners, including another iPad cover, an iPhone bumper, a bargain on the iod touch and gaming software. As usual, details on these and much more can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

As we previously reported, Apple has ambitious plans to put users’ Home folders in the cloud to make them available on any machine.

The system will use the iPhone 5, which will likely include a Near Field Communications chip, as an authentication mechanism. Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short-range wireless connection technology that would turn the iPhone into an electronic wallet or security passkey. Bump the iPhone 5 near a compatible NFC-equipped Mac, and the computer will load the user’s home folder and preferences.

However, it was unclear whether users would be able to load all their files onto the host machine. After all, iTunes and iPhoto libraries can get pretty large. Loading a massive iTunes library onto a guest machine from the cloud could be a lot of heavy lifting. And how about the applications to run them? What if the host machine didn’t have Photoshop installed?

Apple’s solution is that only a subset of user’s data and content libraries will be made available, according to a source familiar with a test version of the system. Specifically:

Apple looks like it will break another record for Mac sales, shipping 4.3 million Macs during the December quarter, according to consumer researchers and financial analysts. This comes on the heels of the previous quarter, which revealed a record 3.89 million Macs.

Despite the apparent record, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster views the NPD sales figures as a “neutral data point” because they mirror Wall Street expectations. However, Munster said the figures show international Mac sales are stronger than domestic demand for the Apple computers, indicating the Cupertino, Calif. company is on track for between 22 percent and 28 percent year-over-year growth.

Verizon has been rolling out its new LTE mobile broadband service across America over the past couple months in a move that is thought to herald the introduction of a future 4G iPhone to their network, presumably next year. Either way, right now, there are no Verizon 4G smartphones… instead, they are selling a series of LTE 4G modems, which are regrettably only for Windows PCs… no Macs accepted.

Luckily, it seems that the plucky hacking community has already managed to put themselves together an unofficial workaround to the situation, bringing 4G support to OS X for the first time… at least for the Pantech UML290.

Epic Games, the company behind such diversions as “Batman: Arkham Asylum” and “Gears of War 3″ is releasing tools for developers to meet demand for iPhone and iPad games.

The company will launch the latest version of its game-development tools, called the Unreal Development Kit, to the public Thursday. The free to download kit will include new tools to create high-quality graphics and animations on iOS, which should simplify and speed up the development processes for games.

“Apple’s App Store is the most vibrant market for mobile gaming,” said Epic Chief Executive Mark Rein. “If you’re going to make a game for a mobile device, and you want to make the most money, you’re nuts not to make it for iOS.”

infinity Blade. We certainly loved it, declaring it to be an “elegiac App Store masterpiece,” but did Joe and Jane App Store agree?

It appears so. According to Appmodo, who looked at the Game Center data for Infinity Blade, 274,000 players have currently registered the game… which means at $5.99 per copy, Epic’s raked in over $1.6MM dollars in just five days.

Toshiba certainly seems to think their business with Apple is important, judging by the latest news the company is now readying a $1.89 billion production facility to help supply Apple with high-resolution LCD display panels. Re: Retina Displays.

Apple had 25 percent of mobile devices in November, with the iPhone the most used mobile device on the advertising network of Millennial Media. The Apple handset was used by 14.28 percent of the time and the iPod touch came in second with 8.96 percent of the network. Motorola’s Droid finished in third-place with 7.48 percent of the advertising network, according to the figures released Tuesday.

Samsung and Motorola were in second and third position behind Apple in the mobile device manufacturer category, with BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion and HTC filling out the remaining spots in the top-five mobile device manufacturers. Nokia finished in 7th position.

Remember that old Mac you had? That beautiful iMac. It was lovely. Still works, but these days it doesn’t get used much.

It was a G5. One of the 17 inch models. You think. Wait. Or was it 20 inch? Damn, have to get it out and measure it now. It had a 1.83GHz Intel. Or was it a 2.33GHz? Dammit. You really can’t be bothered to boot the thing up just to check. But now you want to know.

Chair and Epic Games’ Infinity Blade ($5.99) may disappoint those who looked for a direct iOS analogue to the Unreal 3 Engine’s console offerings (where first-person combat by beefcakey “Tom of Finland” style space marines often spills over into rocket-turret-mounted monster truck driving sequences) but gamers who would so miss the point are a rare breed easily descried by the government-mandated “DERP” tattoos branded into their foreheads. For the rest of us, Infinity Blade is a perfect crystallization of the iPhone’s capabilities as a cutting-edge gaming device, a paradigm shift in the way AAA developers approach multitouch interfaces, and… lest we forget… the most visually impressive and polished game on the App Store.

1. Follow Cult of Mac on Twitter
2. Follow True Power on Twitter
3. Tweet and replace *color* with your fav: “@cultofmac and @truepowerinc are giving away 25 ThinSkins for iPhone. I want the *color* one”
4. We’ll choose 25 freaking winners who gave us twitter shoutouts and Direct Message you for your deets (so you HAVE to follow CoM). Contest ends 11:59 PST Wednesday, December 14th.

What You’ll Win

Each winner gets their favorite color ThinSkin FREE. Again, the Gremlin Green one is legendary.

Giveaway Details

This giveaway is void where prohibited and there is no purchase necessary to enter the giveaway.  Prizes will be shipped directly from ThinSkin.  Cult of Mac is not responsible for shipping/handling of the prize.  Please provide an accurate physical address if contacted that you are a winner.

We report with reservations, because this rumor — while titillating — is clearly absurd. That said, if you don’t hear it from us, you’ll hear it from someone more breathless: Mac Daily News is claiming that the Verizon iPhone is coming to a Verizon outlet near you as soon as December 26th.

We start off another week with a mix of deals for your iPhone, iPad and iPod. To kick things off, there is a deal on a 1.4GHz 12-inch MacBook Air for just $1,104. Next is a new crop of price cuts for iPhone apps, including the “Nightstand” alarm clock. Finally, there is a deal on iPad cases, some marked down as low as 70 percent off.

Along the way, we also take a look at a number of other bargains, including a stand and folio for your iPad, a Sony radio dock for your iPod, and a 24-inch LED Cinema Display for your Mac.

As always, details on these and many other items can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

The media is a-twitter with reports that Apple’s new iPad will have both a front-facing and rear-facing camera, with Reuters quoting anonymous sources in the supply chain.

I don’t buy that: I don’t think that Apple will imitate the ‘competitors,’ like Samsung Galaxy or Acer whatever-they-name-it.

Apple is ahead of the curve, it doesn’t follow. The thing is that a rear-facing camera in such a device is not useful and adding it only because others have it is not Apple’s style.

Not sure that Saint Nick has much sway over Steven P. Jobs, but maybe if you put this white iPhone ornament on your tree he’ll get the hint.

The handmade ornament (only six available!) comes with magnets on the back, so it can go up on your fridge once the holidays are over. It’s smaller than the real thing, measuring 3″ x 1.5″ and also available in black.

The ornament’s also a nice idea if you want to say you’re going to give your beloved one, but have to wait for the spring 2011 launch.

$10 on Etsy.

Via iPhone Saviour

Did Verizon suffer a Wikileaks-like unauthorized release of sales data? That’s the conclusion of one analyst, who wrote Monday that the carrier was practically forced to agree to an iPhone contract that was beneficial to Apple.

After a Friday report included monthly Verizon smartphone sales numbers precise to 1,000 units per month, Asymco’s Horace Dediu said the leak was “as big as a Wikileaks release of diplomatic chitchat is to…diplomats. Bigger, actually.”

Apple will likely bid for part of some of the 4,000 patents worth $1 billion held by bankrupt Nortel Networks, according to a Monday report. Google is probably also competing against the Cupertino, Calif. company to lay claim on patents involving wireless-related technology, such as LTE.

“Sources expect the sale to draw wireless telecom newcomers Apple and Google , which want to build up patent war chests as they fight incumbents such as Nokia, which want to protect their patent positions, in the courts,” according to Reuters.

This past week finally saw the unveiling of Google’s long-awaited Chrome OS. Surprising few to none, the big revelation is that Chrome the browser is actually the entire operating system. Using cloud web applications, it will be possible to run a bunch of desktop-ish apps on a Chrome-based netbook at home, then go to work, fire up Chrome on Mac or Windows on your work laptop, and have the same experience there. Pretty snazzy stuff.

It’s yet another take on what cloud-based consumer computing could be (insert “network computing” if you’d like to relive 1996), an heir to the promise of Java and so many others. And it looks to have some legs, even if we’re still quite some ways from seeing commercially available hardware ready to run on it. Many developers will create apps for the platform, and its write-once, read-anywhere (WOMA!) promise is mighty seductive. It would be very easy to imagine a world in which no one develops for traditional desktop operating systems anymore, except for professional applications like video editing and design work. Sounds like bad news for Apple, right?

Having sold millions of copies of their fowls vs. sows catapult game, Angry Birds, developer Rovio is experiencing such success that they’re even starting to begrudge Apple their thirty percent cut off the top of in-app purchases.

Rovio has just announced that they intend on launching Bad Piggy Bank, a new in-game payment system which will allow Angry Birds customers to make in-app purchases without going through Apple.

Ping just got a micron less useless on Friday with the addition of new functionality: the ability to make social playlists and share them with friends.

Boy, Delta’s getting everything right with Apple owners this year. Hot on the heels of their announcement that they would be installing 135 free-to-use iPads at their gates at JFK comes word that they’re now in the process of installing gadget charging stations in their gate areas at 19 United States airports.

Just as Cydia is the dark mirror to the iOS App Store, Cydia will also be available on the Mac, according to Cydia developer Jay “Saurik” Freeman.

The new MacBook Air is a remarkably solid wafer of hardware, especially after the recent EFI Firmware Update that solved the occasional issue of graphics corruption when the Air wakes up from sleep.

It looks, though, like there may be a new crisis brewing and a new glitch to address, this time with the Air’s ability to play nice with he official USB Ethernet Adapter.

Steve Jobs’ disdain for the 7-inch tablet form factor embraced by the likes of would-be iPad killers like the Samsung Galaxy Tab couldn’t be any more dripping even if it poured in bilious rivulets out of his open mouth. At the last earnings call, he flat out dismissed them as “DOA – Dead On Arrival.” He even fantasized about customers sanding the meat off of their fingers until only the skeletal bone was left, since “sand[ing] down their fingers to around one-quarter of their present size” is the only way to type comfortably on one.

This contempt seems pretty unequivocal to me, but someone apparently wasn’t paying attention: according to Reuters, Asian manufacturing sources are telling them that Apple is putting together a 7-inch “iPad Mini” for shipment in early 2011.

When a company with as fabled a name as Bowers & Wilkins proffers up an iPod dock, one expects nothing less than enough oomph to satisfy even the most discerning audiophile, and enough svelteness to elicit a smile from even the most ardent aesthete. B&W’s first shot at a dock, the Zeppelin, certainly turned heads when it debuted in 2007 (at least, once word got out about it). But its sprawling, bulbous shape — and sprawling, bulbous, $600 pricetag — limited its appeal. Two years later the company followed with the Zeppelin Mini, a much smaller, less expensive dock that nevertheless tried to maintain the aesthetic and sonic reputation the company was known for.

But at $400, the Mini was still significantly pricier than almost any other dock sitting on, say, an Apple Store’s dock table. Then earlier this year B&W brought the price down to $300, placing it on a level field with other upper-mid-end docks — a league that seems to be gaining players at an almost alarming rate — and allowing it to stand out among its peers as the compact, high-performance star it is.