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Keeping backup files can save you plenty of headaches if your Apple gadget starts bugging out. However, this long-winded download is just as hard to use as it is to say. The only reason to be impressed by 123 iPod iPad iPhone Backup is that it's somehow worse than iTunes in features, usability, and reliability.

When we put it in use, this ancient-looking download crashed and seized when it tried to recognize our gadget. When we finally made 123 iPod iPad iPhone Backup work, backing up wasn't slow, it's just wasn't particularly fast. There's also … Read more

There can be only one. The Samsung Galaxy S3 lopped the heads off of all comers to claim the top spot in CNET's roundup of the best tech products of 2012.

CNET editors placed the contenders in an imaginary fight cage and let them battle it out like so many boxing robots. Only five devices were still standing at the end. The iPhone 5 was left holding the tossed-off bridal bouquet while the Samsung Galaxy S3 hopped into a limo for its honeymoon with the "best tech product of 2012" designation.… Read more

Virtual PDF Printer is an app that lets you create PDF files on your iPad or iPhone. Available through iTunes for $19.99, Virtual PDF Printer installs easily.

Creating PDFs from files on your iPad or iPhone often means saving documents in a common file format, then opening another app to convert the file to PDF. With Virtual PDF Printer, you tell your iDevice to print to the virtual printer instead, which creates a PDF file directly from your office productivity or other app. For many people, this shortcuts the process and leads to a PDF file more quickly, and … Read more

Talking Tom Cat for iPad is a variation on the popular Talking Tom Cat app for iPhone. The basic app is available for free from iTunes, there are a number of add-ons and upgrades that cost between $0.99 and $24.99 each. Talking Tom Cat for iPad installs easily on the iPad.

Talking Tom Cat for iPad uses the same model as the other apps in the series. An animated tomcat appears on the screen. You say something and Tom repeats it with changes in voice and expressions. You can interact with the cat, such as patting his belly … Read more

Jet Set Radio, the cult classic Dreamcast title from 2000, is now available for iOS and Android, following its HD rerelease on PSN, XBLA, and Windows.

Easily one of the most creative, as well as subversive, video games ever conceived, gameplay consists mainly of "grinding" (aggressive inline skating) across a colorful neo-Tokyo, tagging walls, and recruiting new members, who then become playable characters, to your gang, the GGs -- all while while evading police, rival gangs, and listening to the pirate radio station from whence the game gets its name, hosted by DJ Proooooofesssoooooor KKKKKKKKKKKK.

Jet Set Radio … Read more

Key chips for the iPhone and iPad are being made in the U.S. -- future U.S.-made Macs, as disclosed today, notwithstanding.

This year, CEO Tim Cook has been talking about U.S. manufacturing more than usual. Partly to counter Apple's largely make-it-in-China strategy but also because of U.S. manufacturing strengths.

The same essential points he made in a Bloomberg interview today he made back in May.

To wit: "It's not known well that the engine for the iPhone and iPad is made in the U.S., and many of these are also exported.... … Read more

What the iPad 4 loses in style, it gains in performance versus the Mini.

As I wrote last week, the Mini's style, size, and weight make it hard to put down. But after upgrading from the third-generation iPad 4G/LTE model to the fourth-generation iPad with 4G/LTE and after a week of pretty constant use, I found the 4's performance compelling.

It feels fast and benchmarks fast. In most -- but not all -- cases, Web pages pop, apps load, and graphics render faster than the Mini.

And the 4's performance is supported by my own … Read more

Have you missed the weekly Crave podcast? We sure have. We are, therefore, very happy to tell you it's making a comeback with CNET producer Stephen Beacham! Catch the madness and mayhem below.

- Feeling jumpy? Bounce down a trampoline sidewalk

- Trotify puts Monty Python horse coconuts on your bike

- Chuck Taylors collide in nerdy shoe collection

- Geek out over Legend of Zelda playing cards

- DOE, NASA testing fission reactor for spaceflight

- Interchangeable clothing uses magnets to switch up the style

- $2.4 million air-conditioned limo submarine perfect for 007 … Read more

It's official: China will move into the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini era next month.

Apple announced this morning that the Wi-Fi versions of the iPad Mini and the fourth-generation iPad will be available in China on Friday, December 7, and the iPhone 5 on Friday, December 14.

Consumers in China will be able to get all three gadgets through the Apple Online Store, via select Apple resellers, and by reservation from Apple retail stores.

China is of huge significance for Apple, already accounting for about 15 percent ($23.8 billion) of the company's revenue for its fiscal … Read more