Weekly News Roundup – 21 December 2012

Once again the week is coming to an end and that means it’s time for a roundup of the past weeks news!

Gradiente ‘iPhones’ Launched In Brazil – A Brazilian company has begun selling smartphones with the iPhone brand after winning the legal right to use the name in Latin America’s biggest country.

Apple Reminds Developers of App Store Freeze During Holidays – Apple has sent reminders to App Store developers that the annual shutdown of iTunes Connect is scheduled to take place from Friday, December 21, 2012 to Friday, December 28th, 2012.

The New 2012 iMac May Be Thin And Sexy, But It’s Not Mountable – VESA is the standard for display panel mounting, and Apple’s desktop displays have supported it for years. Unfortunately, the completely redesigned and ultra thin 2012 iMac can’t be legitimately mounted, according to a comment from Apple given to MacTrast.

Apple appeals ruling that shot down Samsung injunction – In a court filing on Thursday, Apple announced its intent to appeal a ruling handed down from Apple v. Samsung Judge Lucy Koh denying a Samsung product ban, saying that the issue will be taken to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Apple, Google & Microsoft in talks to acquire home automation company – Apple is said to be considering the purchase of a home automation company called R2 Studios, but both Google and Microsoft are also said to be potential buyers.

IMDb Hits Version 3.0 With Fresh Look, Recommendations, And More On iPad – The IMDb app is one of my favorites on the iPad, so I was pleased to see that it received a pretty big update today with a lot of new features. Version 3.0 brings a new user interface that focuses on showcasing movies and TV shows in a visually appealing way. There’s a full-featured Watchlist and recommendations that are tailored to each user.

Instagram Responds To Backlash Over Selling Photos By Reverting To Old Terms Of Service –  Instagram has had quite a week since legions of disgruntled users voiced complaints over the app’s shady Terms of Service (TOS) update. One clause in particular caused many users to jump to the conclusion that Instagram planned to outright sell its users’ pics without explicit permission. Instagram quickly responded to the outcry by reassuring that it has no plans to sell photos. An update to the TOS was also promised.

Tim Cook named runner-up for Time’s Person of the Year – Time on Wednesday announced President Barack Obama as the magazine’s Person of the Year 2012, with Apple CEO Tim Cook being a runner-up next to Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, and scientist Fabiola Gianotti.

Holiday iOS game sales: Sega, Square Enix and plenty more – We told you to expect more holiday sales, and here they are. First up, Sega is hosting a round of holiday drops, including Jet Set Radio for just US$1.99, Crazy Taxi for the same price, and the new Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing for just 99 cents.