It’s Mother’s Day weekend so we hope you got your mom some kind of a gift or flowers or something. No? Really? Well, sucks to be you, scrambling around looking for the perfect gift in such a short amount of time. Of course, if your mom’s a techie kind of mom or loves her iPhone, here’s a few sale apps for the weekend that might help make your shopping a little simpler.

Pocket Informant HD

Another week of Pocket Informant HD being on sale. If you want to get things done with power, this is the app for you. Down from $14.99 to just $8.99. Get it quick. 

Rhythm Studio

Kick with this universal electronic music making app with classic synths and drum machines along with other studio hardware. Four bucks off to just one dollar.

SunVox

It’s a dollar more than Rhythm Studio, but SunVox is another great music making app and it’s going for just a measly $1.99. With the money you saved on the previous app, treat yourself to another one.

Halftone

Turn your images into unique vintage comics that are sure to be a treat for your friends and family. And it’s free for now, so get SOCKO, BLAMMO now.

Audubon Birds and Butterflies

Wow, seven dollars off the price tag takes this birding and butterfly hunter app down to just one dollar, and it’s from the Audubon Society, so you know it’s got the goods.

Australia Travel Guide – Lonely Planet

A hold over from last week’s all travel apps, visit the Land Down Under and do it with Lonely Planet’s expert advice and it won’t cost you one red cent, mate.

World Travelpedia – Nightlife

And if you’re a nightlife kind of traveler who goes for clubbing globally then you need this app (and it’s free too so hop to it). 

Ka-Bloom

Psychedlica, man! Puzzle game with color out the whazoo, this is all about eating, growing and blooming and bring life to the cosmos for free.

FrameMagic Premium

Don’t forget mom! Make her a beautifully framed picture of yourself and shoot it over to her like a 21st century swell kid (and do it for free plus time, heh heh, it’ll be our secret).

DataMan Pro

Keep track of your iPhone or iPad usage with this slick piece of software that keeps track of all your stats for you. Save 50% and get the iPhone version for a mere buck and the iPad version for just $1.99.

Kings Corners

Once upon a time this app sold for $1.99 but now it’s free for you in the App Store, so  you can restore order to the royal court in this beautiful solitaire game.

While there’s certainly nothing wrong with the Google-powered Maps app we’ve had since the original iPhone, it could be argued that it’s time for Apple to shake things up and go their own way — and that could indeed be happening with iOS 6.

9to5Mac is reporting that Apple may introduce “an incredible headline feature” with iOS 6 in the form of their own Maps application — one that finally breaks from Google Maps and is created entirely in-house.

Of course, the Maps app itself is already Apple’s own creation, but the technology that powers it comes from the Googleplex. Apple has widely been rumored to introduce their own solution over the years with the acquisition of Placebase, C3 Technologies and Poly9, which is plenty more than enough technology to create their own mapping solution.

According to “trusted sources,” that could be exactly what we’ll see when iOS 6 hits the streets later this year — a complete rewrite of the current Maps app, using C3 Technologies-based street view and what’s described as “a powerful new 3D mode.”

“The 3D mode does not come enabled by default, but users simply need to click a 3D button that is conveniently and visibly stored in the app,” the report reveals. “Perhaps under the fold like the current traffic, pin, and map view buttons. This 3D mode is said to essentially be technology straight from C3 Technologies: beautiful, realistic graphics based on de-classified missile target algorithms.” (Sounds like a much better use of that technology, if you ask us.)

With Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference now only a month away, it’s widely expected that Cupertino will at least preview iOS 6 at the event, although no one knows for sure if a redesigned Maps app will get a nod there. The report also doesn’t mention anything about turn-by-turn navigation, which is sorely lacking in Apple’s built-in app compared to the pretty awesome Google Navigation included free with Android devices. Let’s get on that, shall we, Apple…?

Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter

(Image courtesy of 9to5Mac)

Bet you never thought your iPad could do origami, did you? Well, with the Incipio LGND Hard Shell Convertible Case, it can! This folio-style case lets you fold up its suede flaps into a fabulous little stand for your iPad. There are magnets on either side of the flaps and the back of the case to pin it all together, so you don’t have to worry about origami that won’t stay put (I think they call that cheating in some circles). Fold the flap over one way to type, and the other to stand up the iPad and watch LOST, like I’ve been doing since I got this case.

The LGND also has a “smart” magnet on the inside cover to wake up the iPad and put it to sleep and a soft microsuede interior to avoid scratching your tablet device.

The bottom line. I’m not taking this case off of my iPad for awhile. Maybe next week, when I review something else, but this case is a different take on the casual business look that folios are going for these days.

Incipio LGND Hard Shell Convertible Case
$34.99

4.5/5

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Incipio LGND Hard Shell Convertible Case for iPad

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If you’ve been avoiding Harry Potter books until you could beam them onto your Kindle, Amazon has some good news for you — assuming you’re paying $79 per year for their Prime service, that is. Today’s update is chock full of Potter Kindle news, Proview settlement rumors, iOS 5.1 jailbreak progress and much more, so let’s dive right into this Thursday, May 10, 2012 edition.

Rumor: Proview Rejected $16M Settlement for iPad Trademark

The Next Web is reporting that Apple and Proview are in “serious negotiations” to resolve the issue of the iPad trademark in China, with Cupertino apparently jotting a figure of $16 million on a piece of paper and sliding it across the table, only to have it rejected by the nearly bankrupt Proview. So how much does Proview want? $20 million? $50 million? If you guessed $400 million, you win the non-existent prize — that’s the reported amount it would take to appease the company’s creditors, including eight Chinese banks. That amount is still a drop in the bucket compared to the $2 billion lawsuit they filed in the U.S. earlier this year, which was recently dismissed by the court. Certainly sounds like Apple and Proview are on opposite ends of the financial spectrum for now…

Amazon Brings Harry Potter to Kindle Owners’ Lending Library

Amazon today announced that all seven Harry Potter e-books will be coming to the Kindle on June 19, where they will be exclusively offered to Amazon Prime members through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, rather than being sold directly to the public. PaidContent reports that the exclusive license from Pottermore likely cost Amazon a pretty penny, but the publisher dismisses concerns that the deal may cannibalize their existing sales. “The way the deal is structured means that any lost sales are more than made up for,” explains Pottermore CEO Charlie Redmayne. “Yes, some people will borrow from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library and therefore not buy, but Amazon is paying us a large amount of money for that right, and I believe it’s a commercial deal that makes sense.” And that’s only the beginning — “new partners and new platforms for the [Pottermore] site” are promised in the next few weeks, but Apple’s iBookstore won’t be among them, at least not yet. “We’re having conversations with Apple, but there is no date, no agreement,” the CEO concludes. “Would I like to be working with Apple? Absolutely.”

Hacker Jailbreaks All Devices Running iOS 5.1

The cat and mouse game was bound to wind up in the hackers’ favor sooner or later, but it seems that iOS 5.1 has successfully gotten a jailbreak on a new iPad, just as iOS 5.1.1 rolls out this week. According to Cult of Mac, Chronic Dev hacker pod2g followed up his recent success with an untethered jailbreak for his iPhone 4 running iOS 5.1 by doing the same for his third-gen iPad, but notes there’s still plenty of work to do getting it ready for public consumption. The good news, however, is that the jailbreak will work on all devices running iOS 5.1 — and that includes the iPhone 4S as well as the new iPad. The one exception is the latest 1080p-capable Apple TV, which already has a tethered jailbreak solution and appears to be “several weeks out” from a proper untethered solution.

JibJab Media Introduces Beep Boop Game for Kids

We’re big fans of the JibJab Jr. Books app for the iPad, which is why our interest was piqued immediately to hear the company has a new app available, this time aimed at the smaller screen of the iPhone and iPod touch. “Beep Boop turns learning good behavior into a game your kids will love,” explains JibJab co-founder Gregg Spiridellis, who along with his brother have five kids between them. “You reward positive behaviors with BEEPS and discourage negative behaviors with BOOPS.  It’s way more convenient — and fun — than a sticker chart!” Best of all, the app is absolutely free and available for all devices running iOS 4.2 or later. Hit the link and start taming those little ones with Beep Boop!

MP3tunes.com Files for Bankruptcy

The long, strange saga of MP3.com finally comes to an end with the bankruptcy of MP3tunes.com, the music locker service founded by Michael Robertson. Cnet notes that the website was essentially “sued out of existence” in 2007 by EMI, and the legal costs involved in fighting the suit have finally taken their toll. “Four and a half years of legal costs and we’re not even out of trial,” Robertson explains. “Mp3tunes has no choice but to file. This is what they do. The labels engage in multi-year legal battles and put small companies through hell for years.” The bankruptcy likely means a final verdict may never see the light of day — ironic, considering the proliferation of cloud locker services aimed at music from the likes of Google and Amazon.

Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter