We start the day with a new batch of free applications from the iPhone App Store. The new crop includes “Cockpit Recorder.” Also on tap is a pack of five screen protectors for your iPad, as well as a deal on the OEM version of Mac OSX 10.6.

Along the way, we’ll also check out some deals on iPhone 4 cases, iPad accessories and gadgets for your iPod. As always, details on these and many other items can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

Chris Chang of MICGadget blog has uncovered a new iPad 2 case with a pair of mysterious new holes.

The new openings are a rectangular slot on the upper right side (when viewing the iPad from the front), opposite the volume rocker and lock; and a smaller, squarer opening on the top of the iPad in the middle.

The makers of the case say it fits the iPad 2 “perfectly,” which means the new device may have capabilities.

Chang guesses that the top opening is for HMDI or mini-HDMI, and the side opening for a SD Card. Engadget on Friday claimed the iPad 2 will have an SD Card slot, although it places the opening on the bottom right of the new iPad, not the side.

Check out more pictures below.

LAS VEGAS, CES 2011 — The annual Consumer Electronics Show this year was dominated by 3D TVs and Android tabs, but there was still plenty to see for Mac and iOS fans.

As the show wraps up, here’re our picks for the best gear on display in Sin City this year. Most, but not all, is Apple-related.

LAS VEGAS, CES 2011 — Check out this simply stunning 3D-mapping technology from Swedish-based C3 Technologies that elicited a uniform reaction of “holy %$*@!” from us when we saw it. One reason for its precision is that it was developed from recently declassified missile targeting technology originally developed by Swedish aerospace powerhouse Saab.

LAS VEGAS, CES 2011 — Here’s a sneak peek at Boxee’s upcoming iPad app from the show floor of CES.

Boxee is the super-slick video software that makes online video easy and social. It’s the single best reason to own an older Apple TV: you hack it to run Boxee, and suddenly it’s useful because it can play local video files, no matter what the encoding format.

The iPad app is just like Boxee on a Mac or Apple TV: it makes it easy to find and share online video on your iPad. You can even stream video from your iPad to your TV (a la AirPlay). Best of all, the app will come with a media server (Mac and PC) that will transcode video files on the fly and stream them to the iPad app.

Should be available before the end of the quarter. Free, of course.

Update – Andrew from Boxee wanted us to know that the expected arrival date is actually Q2, not Q1 as Avner says.

LAS VEGAS, CES 2011 — Intel gave a detailed look at its next-generation Sandy Bridge chips that will likely make their way into Macs in 2011.

The chips boast four cores and integrated graphics processors that improve image-processing performance and power-management, according to Intel.

The new chips are up to 800% faster than the current generation Core Duo chips used in most of the MacBook line today. The chips are 60% faster than high-end i7 chips used in top-of-the-line iMacs and Mac Pros.

Made with a 32nm manufacturing process, the chips boast an incredible 1.16 billion transistors apiece.

“That’s a big number,” said Intel VP Mooly Eden, who walked a packed CES press conference through several benchmark tests showing off the new chips’ processing power.

Several PC companies here at CES unveiled new machines powered by Sandy Bridge chips, including Lenovo. Apple is usually several months behind and will likely introduce the new chips in the spring at the earliest.

During the preview event, Intel’s executives were extremely bullish about the Sandy Bridge line, portraying it as the biggest product launch in the company’s recent history.

The Sandy Bridge line comprises 29 chips that will find their way into more than 100 different “desktops, laptops and everything in between,” said Intel’s CEO Paul Otellini in opening remarks.

The most important addition to the chips’ architecture is the integrated graphics processor, which outperforms 45% of discrete graphics cards on the market today, said Eden. It certainly looked pretty impressive, displaying and streaming 1080p HD streaming wirelessly from a laptop to a connected TV; and conjuring up a 3D avatar of Eden that he said could easily be inserted into a game in realtime.

We start the day off with an assortment of bargains. first up is a new batch of price cuts from the iPhone App Store, including “Drake’s Tower,” an action game. Also under the spotlight is a deal on Apple’s touch-sensitive Magic TrackPad. Finally, were you one of the many who received the new iPod nano for a holiday present? If so, there is a wristband case to keep your tiny tunes close.

Along the way, we also check out a deal on Xserve servers, a 70 percent off deal on iPad cases, and software to control your Mac’s WebCam. As always, details on these and many other items can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

Tablet sales are expected to more than double in 2011, not so much due to first-time buyers, but from upgrades. The iPad could follow the trail broken by Apple’s iPod, creating a brand-loyalty that lasts for years, one analyst reasons.

Of the 24 million tablet sales projected this year, growing to 44 million by 2015, “the lion’s share will be iPads, despite many would-be competitors that will be released at CES, we see Apple commanding the vast majority of the tablet market through 2012,” Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps said.

So, you were a very good boy or girl this year and Santa brought you a brand new Mac.

Maybe it was a sleek MacBook Air, perhaps a studly MacBook Pro or a bright and shiny iMac for your desktop. You say it was an old-school Mac Pro workstation? Well, bully for you!

Isn’t it time to make a few resolutions about how you’re going to love and care for your new machine so you can get the most out of it and keep it running in tip-top shape long after your Apple Care subscription runs out?

Here are five suggestions to help you do just that:

1. Have a back-up plan.

The number one mistake made by 99% of the people who wake up one day with an empty feeling in the pit of their stomach as they realize all their photographs, all their music, all their software and the outline for that Oscar-winning screenplay are just…gone — is having no backup.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), Apple has left you no excuse for not having your data backed up, at least since the introduction of Time Capsule and its integration with Time Machine, a built-in backup solution that’s been part of OX X since 2007.

A 1 terabyte Time Capsule is only $299 and unless you are one of those Pirate Bay or LimeWire scofflaws you’re probably never going to fill it up.

Don’t want to pay the Apple premium for seamless integration and “Designed in California” panache? Dozens of excellent third-party backup solutions await from the likes of LaCie and Seagate — there’s even an eco-friendly Green solution from Hitachi subsidiary SimpleTech, the USB 2.0 [Re]Drive, made from bamboo and recycled aluminum.

Regular backups for your computer system are like roughage in your diet: just do it and you’ll never never be sorry you did.

We start with software in today’s deal spotlight. No doubt, many readers received an iPhone as a present this year, so our first two bargains focus on the Apple handset. We take a look at the latest crop of price cuts from the App Store, including “Produce Tracker,” an app that keeps a history of your purchases. We also check out some free apps for the iPhone, including “Vectorama,” a vector arithmetic app. We finish up the spotlight with a number of Mac software titles that are part of a MacPromo bundle.

Along the way, we also check out some hardware deals for the MacBook Pro, as well as the Mac Pro. We also take a peek at some accessories for your iPhone or iPod.

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