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Announced at the company's special media event held last month, the iPad Air will go on-sale today at Apple retail stores, the Apple Online Store, and select wireless carriers in the U.S, Canada, Europe, and select parts of mainland China. Apple began taking orders for the redesigned tablet device - which arrives at a thickness of just 7.5 millimeters, and weighs in at a super-light one pound - around Midnight (Pacific Time); with the company focusing heavily on conveying the added convenience that the tablet's new weightlessness will bring to customers looking to carry the device on them or simply hold the device for long periods of time in one hand.

However, weight isn't the only factor new with the iPad Air. Still boasting Apple's 'Retina' display, the Air also features the A7 system-on-a-chip processor. Built for both speed and performance, the new chip offers 64-bit architecture; making the iPad Air the first tablet of its kind to do so. This, Apple says, will ensure the new tablet is able to deliver “killer performance,” whilst at the same time retaining that all-important battery life.

The iPad Air going on-sale in Australia has already sent the internet abuzz with photos and unboxing videos detailing what's new, as Apple has once again seemingly managed to convince people to line up at its many retail stores to grab a taste of the action.

Available in both Space Gray + Black and Silver + White, the iPad Air will run anyone looking to take advantage of its new features the same $499, $599, $699, and $799 for the Wi-Fi Only models (16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB respectively), then jumping to the more premium entry price of $629 if you wish to add cellular connectivity. The line maxes out at $929 for the 128GB cellular version.

This week at 148Apps.com was all about the red, white, and blue as we celebrated the 4th of July. Writer Lisa Caplan contributed to the festivities with her list of Favorite Four apps for Independence Day. She writes, "It’s July 4th, so we hope most Americans are out celebrating and reading this on an iPhone or iPad or between activities. But if you are still looking for apps to help make the day even better, we’ve rounded up four of our favorties that commemorate everything from US History to the traditional BBQ for you here."

See Lisa's complete list at 148Apps.com.

GiggleApps stayed on a vacation theme with its review of Miny Moe Car. Reviewer Amy Solomon says, "Miny Moe Car is a charming and fun simulated driving app that toddlers and children in preschool will enjoy. I have always been a fan of this type of toy, both as an arcade game as well as a simple children’s plaything. I remember when my son was just a year old, I bought him the most realistic driver I could find – a toy he still enjoys today. A search on iTunes will find a few applications of this type that mostly show a POV from the driver’s seat of a car or other vehicle. This is also the case for this application which does a really nice job of recreating the driving experience for toddlers."

Read Amy's complete review on GiggleApps.com.

And finally at 148Apps.biz, Carter Dotson reported on a new study revealing the iPad as the number one gaming platform. Dotson writes, "Tablets and phones are vastly different devices. This seems obvious, but in reality, they really aren’t: the difference between the iPhone 4S and the iPad 2 is basically different sized screens. However, the way that users, especially gamers, use the two devices is still dramatically different, according to PlayFirst, via Pocket Gamer. Tablet users are playing more games than phone users are, and they’re spending more on games."

Read the full report at 148Apps.biz.

That's the end of this week's happenings, but there's always more news, reviews and contests headed your way across the 148Apps network. Just follow us on Twitter or Like us on Facebook to keep track of all the goings-on. Until next week, enjoy the fireworks!

Historically, Christmas is one of the biggest days of the year for entry of new mobile devices and the apps that make them more productive and entertaining. This year is no different with mobile analytics company Flurry reporting record-breaking mobile growth for both Apple and Google. Apple is on pace to exceed a staggering 10 billion downloads. This would double the overall downloads earned across 2008, 2009 and 2010. With multiple Android operating systems available with multiple carriers, it's no surprise that the Android Market also set records, more than tripling its life-to-date downloads of 3 billion, reached in May 2011, to now over 10 billion cumulative downloads reached this December.

With an average of 1.5 million mobile activations from December 1 to December 20, Christmas day hit 6.8 million, a 353 percent increase. And with all of those new devices there was a surge of app downloads with an increase from 108 million to 242 million, or 125 percent. That's a lot of mobile presents and rightly so as they're no longer a way to only make calls, but to access social sites, video, music, games and much more. The full report is available here.

Flipboard, the iPad social magazine app, has announced that Comedy Central's hit show "The Colbert Report" is becoming a content provider, Mashable reports. This marks a big step for what Apple proclaimed was the best iPad app of 2010 because it is the first video contributor to be added the service. Before this announcement, rumors had been circulating that Flipboard would make this move.

What sets Flipboard apart from other media aggregators is how it presents user data from social networks and websites in the form of magazines for users to flip through. It remains to be seen though how video will be integrated into this model beyond just having a dedicated video section. We do know that users won't be able to watch full episodes, just clips and tweets from Colbert himself, a self-proclaimed iPad fan.

Flipboard's video section is currently live. Although "The Colbert Report" is the only announced partner, with Paramount Pictures and Bud Light signed on as advertisers that should change soon. Flipboard is available for free now on the App Store.

[ via Mashable.com ]

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By now you’ll have heard about the fatal explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oilrig in the Gulf Of Mexio that is now leaking oil into the Gulf at an alarming rate. While efforts are made to prevent further leaked oil from the wellhead, a new app is helping members of the public as well as professionals report discoveries of oil on beaches and wildlife affected by oil.

App developer Intridea built Oil Reporter for Crisis Commons, an international volunteer network of tech and business professionals that provides tools and resources for crisis and disaster responders. Created in a few days using the Appcelerator Titanium platform, which converts web code into native iPhone apps, Oil Reporter enables members of the public as well as professionals to report oil on beaches and animals harmed by the spill. From within the free app, those wishing to help the recovery effort can upload pictures and videos, tag them with a GPS location and share them via social networks. The app also includes access to the Oil Reporter Twitter feed for live updates on the crisis and its recovery. For those wishing to sign up as a volunteer, the Oil Reporter app includes links and contact details for volunteer programs in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.

The app’s simple Report screen makes posting a report easy, with a text field to explain what you see, the option to add an image of your find and sliders to explain the level of oil and its effect on the wetlands. A drop down menu allows you to update on the effect the oil is having on the local wildlife. An additional Adopt-A-Beach option is coming soon which will offer training to those who wish to monitor a section of beach and provide updates via the web. No experience is required and you can sign up from the oilreporter.org website.

The Oil Reporter app has been built for iPhone and Android so far and interested organizations can use the existing Application Programming Interface (API) to create their own service or monitor their own recovery efforts.

Those wishing to help the recovery are asked not to touch anything they observe on beaches affected by the oil spill but simply to report it using the app or by calling (866) 448-5816. The app also needs GPS positioning in order to locate your observation and therefore requires you to turn on Location Services from your iPhone’s settings so that your report can be pinpointed on the Oil Reporter Reports page. All reports will be posted on the Oil Reporter RSS feed, found here, to avoid overlaps and help recovery teams reach affected areas. Intridea is also keen to point out that all data sent via the app will be kept private.

If you live near to an affected or likely to be affected area, downloading this application and using it if needed will play a key role in the cleanup of the oil spill which is currently leaking at least 5,000 barrels per day and poses a great risk to wildlife and local fishing industries.

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This last week, Chris, Tony and I made the trip to CES to take a look at some of the best new gadgets and accessories for the iPhone. After walking 743.9 miles, shaking 16,984 hands, and trading business cards with 3.5 gajillion people, here's are some of the highlights of what we saw.

FloTV Mophie Battery Case - Mophie announced an interesting new version of their great juice pack. This new version will include a FloTV receiver allowing you to watch broadcast TV right on your iPhone. They include the FloTV receiver yet the unit is only 2mm thicker than the usual Juice Pack. So far the only downside we've heard is the price of the FloTV service which is expected to be about the same as it is for other devices. Full details are still short, but we'll let you know more as soon as we find it out.

Tunebug - Tunebug is a tiny little interesting speaker for your iPhone. Not much larger than a couple matchbooks stacked on top of each other, this isn't a normal speaker. Tunebug uses a patented technology called SurfaceSound that turns anything you set it on into a speaker. The coolest implementation is a Tunebug that straps to you bike helmet and connects to your iPhone using Bluetooth allowing you to listen to music while riding your bike without plugging up your ears and tuning out all of the sounds around you. Obviously a huge breakthrough for biker safety. The other implementation connects to your iPhone (or any device) with a normal speaker wire and sets on your desk, turning your desk into the speaker. The Tunebug will be available soon at $119 for the Bluetooth version, $69 for the wired version.

Zoll PocketCPR - As amazing as the iDevices are, they really don't do much in the ways of saving lives. Sure, there are some apps that are probably helpful in the medical community, but life saving isn't quite the iDevice's forte. The Zoll PocketCPR changes this with an app that shows how to perform CPR with accuracy by using the accelerometer to judge compression depth. At the booth, we heard a story or a doctor who used the app and was complimented by a nurse who hadn't seen proper CPR done by a doctor in a long time. The app hasn't been officially approved by the FDA yet, but Zoll expects the approval to come shortly. [More Info]

Blio Reader - we got a chance to get a demo of the iPhone version of the much talked about Blio Reader. A multi-platform ebook reader announced at CES. Blio does a few things that other ebook readers don't do. For one, there's text to speech technology. Also included are some pretty good options for different ways to read text on the device including both as printed and text versions. Obviously this will be a much more interesting app if the rumored tablet/slate is released. Blio is still a few weeks off, but it looks to be a great platform. We'll bring you more as soon as we can.

L5 Universal Remote - The L5 Universal Remote, while not quite as universal as the Logitech Harmony due to its lack of bluetooth connectivity (PS3), but is quite an amazing remote replacement unit. With the included IR attachment, the L5 Universal Remote instantly learns your remotes features without needing to plug in those pesky product codes. To me, there's really nothing that excites me quite as much as the prospect of controlling my entire house with my iDevice. The L5 will be available soon.