It was only last week when Apple released iOS 4.4 firmware update for the second generation Apple TV users. And today, roughly after five days of pushing that major release, iOS 4.4.1 build 9A335a has been released which likely brings bug fixes and minor performance improvements to the second-gen Apple TV.

One of the most popular and widely used app on the iPhone has got an update today! This new version 3.4 of the official Facebook for iPhone app brings an overall improved and polished UI for notifications, along with much better reliability and bug fixes. It also adds new Map View for Facebook Places, ability to unfriend, and the ability to check-in to Facebook Events that you might be attending.

An analyst at Rodman & Renshaw claims that the upcoming Apple iPad 2 will feature a dual-core CPU to compete with the likes of RIM PlayBook, and the Android “Honeycomb” based Motorola Tablet.

It looks like Skype is soon going to bring video calling to iPhone and iPod touch. In a help document (pulled now) published on the official Skype site, details were posted about making video calling from Skype for iPhone app to the Skype clients running on other platforms such as Windows and Mac.

Apple today started airing a new commercial, promoting iPhone 4’s FaceTime feature once again. The commercial which is titled “Under The Covers” is all about Christmas which shows a boy and his mom having a FaceTime video call with Santa Claus! Video after the break.

One of the most popular and widely used app on the iOS devices has got an update today! This new version 3.3.3 of Facebook for iPhone brings an overall improved and polished UI for notifications, along with much better reliability and bug fixes. It also restores the ability to post as a page that you admin on Facebook.

Black Friday has already started in some parts of the world which marks the beginning of the 2010 holiday shopping season. To celebrate this special day, Apple has launched its only sale of the year on almost all the popular product items.

Yahoo Messenger app for iPhone received a significant update today which enables video and voice calling from the iPhone client to virtually any Yahoo Messenger account in the world. You can now make iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 video calls, as well as iPhone 4 to PC / Mac and vice versa.

Apple today has posted a new iPhone 4 commercial which primarily focuses on the amazing Retina Display. Video after the break.

Google today has finally brought the popular Android app named Google Goggles to the iPhone. Google Goggles was first introduced for Android platform in December last year.

A new tweak which goes by the name of SecretSMS is now available for jailbroken iPhones which allows you to send secret SMS text messages to any mobile phone. Recipient wont be able to read the message until he or she knows the password for the encrypted message.

If you haven’t been living under a rock or something, you will know about the Google Voice app saga which probably led to increasing tensions between Apple and Google last year. Popular Google Voice clients for iPhone like GV Mobile, Voice Central and others were available earlier for a short period, but then they were soon removed by Apple from the App Store due to “duplicating features that the iPhone comes with (Dialer, SMS, etc)”. Later, these apps were made available on Cydia for jailbroken iPhones.

If the steps posted earlier were too difficult for you to follow, well you can now get HDR (High Dynamic Range) Photography feature on your jailbroken iPhone 3G and 3GS with a new tweak in Cydia which goes by the name of “HDR Camera Enabler”.

A new useful add-on which goes by the name of “Home Page in Safari” has been released on Cydia which allows jailbroken iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users to set their favorite website as home page in Mobile Safari browser. This could specially come in handy on the larger, more spacious screen of iPad !

According to the Beverly Hills Newspaper (The Courier), Steve Jobs (CEO and Co-Founder of Apple) will be honored with the title of “Lifetime Achievement in Technology” in the Vision Awards at Beverly Hilton on 23rd of this month. This will be the 40th anniversary of this awards ceremony.

The official UK website of Apple has this confirmation up on the site that iOS 4.1 for iPhone and iPod touches will drop on Wednesday, September 8th. This is probably the same day when the new iPod lineup for fall 2010 (iPod nano, iPod shuffle and iPod touch 4G) will also go retail.

Apple has completely redesigned both the iPod nano and iPod shuffle for their fall 2010 iPod lineup. iPod nano gains multi-touch functionality, new lighter and smaller square’ish design, and at the same time loses video camera which was only introduced last year. iPod shuffle on the other hand has got all the buttons back, with a new large battery which gives up to 15 hours.

If the latest round of rumors from Apple Insider are to be believed, Apple might introduce a new 3G-enabled iPod touch this Wednesday, which like its iPad 3G offering will include an AT&T micro-SIM for contract free data connectivity.

We are only a few days away now from Apple’s Special Media Event which is scheduled to be held on September 1, at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Theater in San Francisco. While the event more looks like being iPod-centric, rumor has it that Apple is very likely to introduce new Apple TV (dubbed as iTV) which will be based on iOS like the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

China Unicom, which happens to be the only official and authorized carrier in the world’s largest cellphone market (China) for iPhones and iPads is going to provide full service to its customers, which includes jailbreaking, converting SIM Card to Micro-SIM, installation of 10 of the most popular apps from Cydia, and a free case on every new purchase of iPhone 4 and iPad 3G. This was spotted by a Chinese citizen on a large advertising banners outside some of the China Unicom’s stores, as can be seen in the images below.