You don’t wanna miss this: National Geographic World Atlas goes free

National Geographic Society produces some of the most compelling, fact-checked content money can buy and their World Atlas iPad app has long been my go-to reference source, not just for checking out interesting facts and trivia but for doing serious research related to the world's countries, their economies, demographics and so forth.

They updated the app on January 11 with high-resolution Retina graphics, revamped UI and added a new feature which lets you explore a full 3D view of the globe.

Today, they're making the app free for a limited time and you're advised to download it now before the price goes up. Note that this is the first time ever the app has become available as a free download since its 2010 App Store debut...

iPad sales up 8M units in Q4, market share down 8 percent

New research shows number one tablet maker Apple shipped more iPads while also losing market share during the 2012 holiday fourth quarter. The company shipped nearly 23 million tablets during the period, a dramatic increase from the same time in 2011, when 15.1 million Apple tablets shipped.

At the same time, Apple's overall share of the tablet market fell for the second quarter in a row, slipping to 43.6 percent from 46.4 percent during the third quarter of last year - and down from 51.7 percent a year ago, according to IDC.

Apple ended the year with 48.1 percent year-over-year growth while number two tablet rival Samsung saw its growth more than double. A combination of Android and Windows-based tablet sales helped push the South Korean firm's share of the tablet market to 15.1 percent, up from 7.3 percent in 2011...

Angry Birds Star Wars updated with ‘Escape From Hoth’ levels

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hQ5fFRG25k

Rovio just updated Star Wars Angry Birds with a new content pack named Escape from Hoth. It brings with it twenty new levels as well as two bonus levels to find and unlock. Brand new piggies need stopping, including the mynock pigs in the belly of the asteroid. You'll also be making a daring escape in an epic moving boss fight. This updated is free to anyone who purchased the game (99 cents for the iPhone/iPod touch, five bucks on iPads)...

App Store income 3.5x Google Play’s in December

Examples keep appearing of how Apple is able to squeeze more revenue from its iPhone and iPad than rival Android. The latest data shows Apple's App Store earned  3.5 times more  than Android's Google Play in December. Did I mention this happened despite Google Play doubling its quarterly revenue? The reason, according to App Annie, is the iPhone 5 and iPad mini - both popular holiday gifts and natural driver of App Store sales...

Evernote’s Penultimate handwriting app goes free, Hello gains business card scanning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItRaJBmdOL0

Acquired last year, Evernote's Penultimate iPad app helps you jot down notes and draw sketches using your finger. It's like having a Galaxy Note just without, you know, a pen. Penultimate 4.0 was launched this morning and Evernote kindly decided to offer it free of charge (it used to be a paid download). It's tightly integrated with Evernote and your handwritten notes now sync fully via the cloud with your other Evernote content.

In fact, you can now open handwritten notes on any device that has the Evernote app. Plus, Evernote search is fully baked in and it's quite clever, too: the cloud is able to parse your digital ink notes and turn them into easily searchable text. The new version also comes with more sharing options and support for eleven languages. Did I mention that Penultimate now doesn't cost a dime?

Tired of Passbook? Give Key Ring a try

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3WlTLK3PVE

The Key Ring app from Mobestream (recently acquired by Gannett) has been around for some time now. Available for free on iOS, Android, Windows and BlackBerry, it brings all your plastic cards together. The app lets you simply scan and store your existing loyalty cards, enroll in new loyalty programs and get exclusive coupons and discounts from top retailers. But it doesn't stop there...

The evasi0n jailbreak progresses further – Windows app and Mac app completed

If you're keeping your eyes locked in on the evad3r's Twitter account, then perhaps you saw the second tweet hit the wire just a while ago. Indeed, yet another step in the progress of the evasi0n jailbreak tool has been finished.

Now that the tool's GUI interface has been completed for both Windows and Mac OS X, a few super fortunate, and uber trustworthy individuals, get to perform a private beta test with the tool. 68% completed, only 32% remaining!

Don’t want crowdsourced reviews? Scoopt lets your closest friends share their recommendations

Want to find restaurants and bars you'll like but are tired of getting reviews that the stores likely posted themselves? The problem with traditional crowdsourcing is the service tends to be anonymous, and you will get reviews from people who don't necessarily share your tastes.

Scoopt has a different crowdsourcing philosophy. It's an app that is designed to help you connect "with your favorite people's favorite places". Instead of comprehensive reviews from strangers, Scoopt gives you quick recommendations from friends you trust...

Valve CEO: Apple’s a bigger threat to Steam Box than consoles

Valve may be taking on traditional video game consoles with its upcoming Steam Box, but CEO Gabe Newell says that Apple is the company's biggest threat to its success in the entertainment space.

Newell gave a lecture to a class at the University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs this week, and he had some interesting things to say about Apple and the mounting war for the living room...

evasi0n website hints at Sunday release for iOS 6 untethered jailbreak

As pointed out on Twitter by @Pix3lDemon, the website setup for the upcoming evasi0n jailbreak tool strongly hints at a Sunday release. While this isn't entirely surprising, seeing as members of the evad3rs themselves hinted at a Super Bowl day release, it does reafirm the belief that Sunday, will indeed be Funday.

As you'll see on the evasi0n.com splash page, each device that shows a visible Calendar icon is displaying a '3'. It just so happens that the first Sunday in February is on the 3rd. Coincidence? Probably not. Check past the break for the screenshot.

Daylight Viewfinder: a hardware/software combo for taking photos in bright light

Have you ever tried to take a photo with your iPhone on a bright and sunny day and were not even able to see what's on your screen because of high glare? If like me you live in a sunny area, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Comes the Daylight Viewfinder, an eyepiece and app combo for taking iPhone pictures in bright or high glare areas. I had heard about it a week or so ago, but I got to go hands-on with the hardware/software combo during a preview at MacWorld today in San Francisco...