White gadgets became an iconic symbol under the careful craftsmanship of Apple. When Apple released the original iPod 11 years ago in classic Apple white, everybody wanted one, and eventually every gadget manufacturer in the world tried to copy that style.

Over the last few years though, black iDevices have started to gain in popularity over their white brethren. Black is classy, professional, and always down for a good time, whereas white is starting to come off as fun but a bit more feminine. Some people think white is making a comeback, but a new study  suggests that nearly 70% of Apple owners prefer black over white now, and there’s no turning back.

Each time Apple releases a new operating system, or new product, they publish a digital support manual for that device relative to the newest version of iOS or OS X. When “the new iPad” was released on March 15th, Apple published the user guide. Ditto for the iPhone 5. And each time a new version of iOS comes out, those guides are updated and published again.

All Apple user guides are up-to-date, except the iPad user guide, which hasn’t been touched since March. Some eagle-eyed observers have wondered why a month has passed since iOS 6’s release without Apple updating it, and it’s probably because Apple’s waiting for the iPad Mini keynote.

Checkmark, the supper-slick location-aware reminders app for the iPhone, has gotten a feature bump in its newest update that almost (almost!) makes it a new app.

And if you don’t already have Checkmark, then shame on you — the $2 app not only makes location-based reminders on your iPhone way easier and way better than the built in reminders, but it also works on your iPad.

If we were to name our most anticipated iOS game, it would easily be Epic’s upcoming Infinty Blade: Dungeons, a spin-off of the popular franchise that takes Infinity Blade’s existing world and makes a Diablo-like action RPG out of it. Epic and Apple have been showing off Dungeons since May, and we even thought there was a good chance it would be released after the iPhone 5 keynote.

It wasn’t, and unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it will be released after next week’s iPad mini keynote either. In fact, it won’t even ship this year.

By the time the new iPad Mini is announced next week I’m sure someone is going to be able to almost assemble a complete model with leaked components and supplier parts, just like they did with the iPhone 5. The latest leak to hit the Internet claims to show the screen that will be used for the iPad Mini.

Some assumed that the iPad Mini would take after the iPhone 5 and use a 16:9 ratio, but the leaked iPad Mini LCD has a 4:3 ratio and is running on a 16.7Whr battery. Here’s a peak at the screen:

Each time Apple’s made a significant update to a device this year it’s received a significantly larger screen size or resolution. First the iPad came out with a Retina display along with the MacBook Pro, and now the iPhone 5 has a bigger display as well.

That’s great for your eyeballs, but it also means that the average size of apps is growing too, which may end up costing you more in data fees in the long run.

The violent driving sensation that is Carmageddon makes its debut on iOS today, 15 years after it was first released — and subsequently banned for its twisted mix of automotive killing machines — on Mac and PC. It’s available to download right away from the App Store, and it’s free for today only — so grab it quick.

Invites to Apple’s iPad mini announcement went out yesterday, so it’s time speculation turned its focus to when the much-anticipated device will actually go on sale. One source claims that you’ll be able to pick it up in shops on November 2, with pre-orders starting a week earlier — on October 26 — via the Apple Online Store.

The iPhone 5 has been on sale for nearly a month now, but we’re still yet to see any official third-party Lightning accessories. It’s not that accessory makers are slow at producing them, it’s that Apple is yet to finalize its Lightning policies and give manufacturers the go-ahead to use its new connector.

Fortunately, this is expected to happen next month. Apple will hold a conference in Shenzhen, China, between November 7 and November 8 with its Made for iPod/iPhone/iPad (MFI) program partners to finalize its Lightning plans, according to a source “close to Apple’s accessory manufacturing partner.”

When Apple sends out invitations for their media events, they often include little hints as to what people can expect to be announced. The iPhone 5 event nvitation had the shadow of a gigantic five emerging from underneath the date, and the iPad 3 invitation showed off the clarity of the tablet’s still-unannounced Retina display.

In comparison, today’s invite for the October 23rd event doesn’t seem to have many clues as to what Apple is announcing. The design of the invitation doesn’t seem to mean much. However, the writers of Apple’s invitation have tipped their hat a little bit in the wording of the invitation: “We’ve got a little more to show you.”

What does it mean? Well, everything Apple is expected to announce next week is either a smaller version of an existing product (thinner iMacs, a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro tear) or ‘mini’ (the iPad mini, a new Mac mini). It’s not a lot to go on, but it’s definitely a purposeful choice and a nod to the products we’ll see next week.