We start out with several iPad cases, including a leather item from UrbnFlip, as well as a hard case from Philips. We also check out a number of refurbished iPod touch MP3 players, including an 8GB model for $149.

Along the way, we’ll also take a look at a number of other gadgets and software titles for your Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod. As always, details on these and much more can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

We start the day with a deal on an iPhone that is about as close to free as you can get. AT&T Wireless is offering a refurbished 8GB iPhone 3GS for just a penny – not counting the $36 activation fee. Also on tap is a number of cases for your iPad, including the Merkury cases and sleeves. We wrap up the spotlight with another 2-year iPhone warranty to protect your handset against drops and spills.

Along the way, we also take a look at some accessories for your iPod and iPhone, as well as software for your Mac. As always, details on these and many more items can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

Reading between the lines of Reggie Fils-Aime’s most recent criticism of the App Store, Nintendo is deeply afraid of Apple’s influence on the video games industry: the president of Nintendo of America says that the price levels of the App Store have created a consumer “mentality” that portable games should only cost a few dollars.

Fils-Aime’s comments come even as Nintendo prepares to launch its new handheld console, the Nintendo 3DS, in March.

Apple’s latest iPhone 4 launched especially for use on Verizon’s CDMA network has already been given the teardown treatment by our friends over at iFixit, and their findings have revealed that the revised device packs a redesigned vibrator, and changes to the location and design of RF components. However, the most surprising discovery is the Qualcomm MDM6600 chip, which is dual-mode GSM and CDMA compatible.

The use of this particular chip, which also features in the Motorola Droid Pro, signifies that the iPhone 5 will surely be dual-mode, allowing Apple to ship one handset for both Verizon and AT&T, as well as every other carrier in every other country.

The full iFixit teardown of the Verizon iPhone 4 is certainly worth a read, buy you can check out our highlights from the teardown after the break!

Motorola’s Super Bowl ad for its Xoom tablet — one of the first serious iPad contenders — is replete with Apple references: 1984, Lemmings, white earbuds. But where Apple’s TV ads for the iPad are practical and concrete, Motorola’s is cryptic and confused.

Reminds me of Palm’s weird, ethereal ads for the Pre, which bombed. It’s not good sign.

Plus, the device will reportedly cost $800 with a $20 per month data plan. There’s no WiFi-only model. From our hands-on at CES, the hardware looks OK, but we couldn’t test the software: Moto was showing an unfinished unit..

It is a popularly held belief that one day Mac OS X and iOS are destined to merge into one OS to rule them all. When Apple announced last October that Lion, the next major update of Mac OS X would feature some of the best ideas from iOS, it only added to the convergence speculation.

But are Apple’s two operating systems really destined to converge? After all, they both seem to be doing very well by themselves. The Mac may benefit from some iOS features, but it’s hardly struggling on its own. Mac sales are stronger than ever. So what exactly would the advantages be?

One of our favorite applications to make it in to the App Store this week is Google’s latest iPhone app, Google Shopper. By recognizing products by barcode, voice and text search, and even cover art, Google Shopper helps you find the information you need on millions of products, including online prices, reviews, specifications, and more.

Also to feature in this week’s list of must-haves is The Daily, the first digital news publication created exclusively for the iPad. The long-awaited publication boasts original content every single day, covering breaking news, sports, pop culture, entertainment, apps, games, technology, and lots more.

PaperHelper for the iPad also makes our pick of the best apps this week thanks to its innovative design and excellent user interface, which makes writing essays and papers on your device a great deal easier. Its unique split-screen feature enables you to write your document on one half of your iPad’s display while you browse the web for information and reference on the other half.

Find out more about the applications above and check out the rest of this week’s must-haves, including IntoNow and Thermo, after the break!

We close out another week with hardware deals in the spotlight. First up is a batch of iPads, starting at $429 for a 16GB Wi-Fi tablet. Next is an 8GB iPod nano for just $120. We finish the top deals with a number of MacBook Air laptops, beginning with a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo model for just $849.

Along the way, we take a look at some iPad cases, a bargain on a 27-inch LED Cinema Display, and more. As always, details on these items and more can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.

The Daily, the made-for-iPad product from Rupert Murdoch and News Corp., made a much-anticipated world debut Wednesday at the Guggenheim in New York. News Corp marketing promised “a package that’s smart, attractive and entertaining.”

Too bad it delivers an experience that’s pedestrian, plain and vaguely creepy. Not to mention prone to crashing.

Tech bloggers are salivating over the possibility that the Verizon iPhone will create a “Perfect Media Storm” when it is released on February 10.

“These kinds of stories only come along every generation or so,” said one industry expert who insisted on anonymity for this article (and also insisted on ordering Lobster during our off-the-record lunch). “Really monumental tech events expand rapidly across the media landscape until almost every single headline is focused on that piece of news. It is a remarkable and terrifying occurrence, I’ve heard tell.”

Pundits are warning that the Verizon iPhone launch will attract noticeable attention from the Main Stream Media, including obligatory “lining up” segments on local newscasts, and a variety of daytime TV clips. Add to that scenario the brewing social media battles between Apple fan boys and iPhone haters and you have a tech news super cell that is capable of generating Apple headlines for weeks on end.

Even spammers will contribute to the upcoming media tsunami with their unending stream of boorish VeriPhone “opinion pieces” that are nothing more than keyword targeted word salad or repurposed content from legitimate sites. Angry AT&T users could also foment media attention as they publicly bash their aging network.

While no one can predict what the actual Verizon iPhone media storm will look like, expect it to pick up speed starting early next week.

Teaser articles with flashy headlines will appear first, hinting at the raging media storm that will soon follow. Then, as review units are tested, expect a sustained torrent of “under the hood” coverage from all areas of tech media.

Finally, on February 10, the event will make landfall with national news and cable networks cutting together segments comprised primarily of glamour shots of the new phone and happy Verizon customers getting their Apple devices.

What follows is a sampling of headlines sure to appear during the impending Verizon iPhone media storm. Prepare yourself and your loved ones for this type of journalism, as we will see much more of it in the days ahead.

Can You Hear Me Now? Comparing Dropped Call Data on Verizon and AT&T

OVERCLOCKED: Which iPhone Is Faster?

Top Ten Verizon iPhone Tips and Tricks

Which Network Really Has You Covered?

There’s an App for That – A Detailed look at how the app experience plays out on both networks.

Verizon iPhone Ships a “Billion Million” Units – Predictions of units sold in the coming months from tech press and analysts.

I’m returning My Verizon iPhone

Apple Stock: How High is Too High?

Why Android Is The Best Smartphone EVER!

This Guy’s Blog Post is WRONG!

No Way! That Other Blog Post is WRONG! – A protracted back and forth between two tech journalists to elicit links, coverage, and increased attention.

Where is the White iPhone?

How The Verizon iPhone is a Win for AT&T

I Told You So: How I Predicted All of This Over a Year Ago

iPhone, Therefore I Am

The iPhone as Fashion Statement

Why I Hate The Verizon iPhone

Why I’m Leaving AT&T

This Verizon iPhone Top Ten List Goes To Eleven

How the iPhone Reinvented Telephony

One iPhone to Rule Them All

“It almost never happens, but these giant media storms have occurred in the past,” said our source. “This new iPhone is something like the moon landing, really.”