As we light the fires and pour the cocoa, as we curl up in our easy chairs and pass the plates of cookies, as the news slows, the apps freeze, the accessories lay wrapped and waiting, and the podcasts stay warm in their queues, Team TiPb is still here to help you and the iOS Nation through the holidays. Free to follow along with us right here, on the forums, on Twitter, and on Google+. You’ll get advanced word on what editors and writers, contributors and podcasters, administrators and moderators are doing and where we’re going, and… you might just score some fun holiday giveaways.

• TiPb: @TiPb | +TiPb
• Rene: @reneritchie | +Rene Ritchie
• Georgia: @GeorgiaTiPb | +Georgia TiPb
• Leanna: @llofte | +Leanna Lofte
• Chris O: @chrisoldroyd | +Chris Oldroyd
• Ally: @iMuggle | +Ally Kazmucha
• Andrew: @andrewwray | +Andrew Wray
• George: @jorjlim | +George Lim
• Chris P: @bla1ze | +Chris Parsons
• Michelle: @phishgirl3 | +Michelle Haag
• Jared: @jdipane | +Jared DiPane
• Seth: @sethclifford | +Seth Clifford
• Cory: @cstreater | +Cory Streater
• Adam: @azeis | +Adam Zeis
• Alli: @alli_flowers | +Alli Flowers
• Leo: @garz76
• Chris V: @skeetobite | +Chris Vitek
• Jessica: @JBaby_9783 | +Jessica Moss
• Justin: @justin_horn | +Justin Horn
• James: @jamesus | +James Barry
• Kevin: @CrackBerryKevin | +Kevin Michaluk

Phew! If you made it to the end, please throw your Twitter and/or Google+ ID in the comments below. We’ll pick a dozen or so of you at random and give you a #FollowFriday of your very own later tonight!

Pad & Quill, purveyors of exquisitely hand-crafted cases for iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air are having a Black Friday sale for their Octavo for iPad today, and a Cyber Monday sale for their Contega on Monday. If you haven’t read our review yet, the short version is that when the latest in Apple aluminum and glass meets the best in old world Baltic birch and Italian leather, well… pure hipster heaven ensues.

Hurry over to padandquill.com to get the sale price while it lasts. Seriously, don’t wait on this one. And if you want a chance to win an Octavo and Contega of your very own, Pad & Quill will be giving each away to a lucky Twitter and Facebook follower today and Monday. All you have to do to enter is:

1. Follow @padandquill and @TiPb on Twitter
2. Friend Pad & Quill and TiPb on Facebook

We’ll notify the winners via Twitter DM and Facebook message, so make sure you’re following!

Now hurry up an enter!

Not following TiPb and our staff on your favorite social networks? You’re missing out on half the fun! (Actually more than half, but we’re only allowed to say “half” here or risk blowing your minds completely!) For all the behind the scenes, backstage, after hours, on the loose brutal opinions and bare facts — and often extra prizes and give aways you can’t get anywhere else — you simply must follow:

• @mobilenations

• @TiPb

• @reneritchie – Rene

• @GeorgiaTiPb – Georgia
• @llofte – Leanna
• @jfsikora – Jeremy
• @imuggle – Ally
• @chrisoldroyd – Chris O
• @andrewwray – Andrew
• @jorjlim – George
• @bla1ze – Chris P

• @phishgirl3 – Michelle

• @azeis – Adam

• @cstreater – Cory
• @Alli_Flowers – Alli
• @garz76 – Leo
• @skeetobite – Chris V
• @justin_horn – Justin

• @jamesus – James

• @crackberrykevin – Kevin

And please be sure to throw your Twitter name into the comments so we know where to find you — and you can find each other! — as well!

Some conversations are just too big, or too small, to be held here on the TiPb front page so for anyone wishing to converse with any of us one-to-one, after hours and off the record, here’s where you can find us:

• Rene Ritchie
• Georgia
• Leanna Lofte
• Jeremy Sikora
• Ally Kazmucha
• Chris Oldroyd
• Andrew Wray
• George Lim

Give us a follow, give us shout, and please leave your Twitter handle or Google+ coordinates in the comments so we know where to find you. We’ll raise a virtual glass together.



1. Follow @TiPb on Twitter. (Wouldn’t hurt to follow our staff as well: @reneritchie, @GeorgiaTiPb, @iChadman, @JFSikora, @llofte, @iMuggle, @andrewwray, @Brian_Tufo, @chrisoldroyd, @farbod_21, @jorjlim)
2. Friend TiPb on Facebook.
3. Subscribe to TiPb on YouTube

The more ways you engage, the more chances you have to win. It’s just that simple! (See our big contest announcement for all the details)

This week’s winner

Facebook friend Corina Cultecean! Congrats and enjoy your EXCLUSIVE leather Keru Short Circuit Pocket Pouch for iPhone 4** courtesy of the TiPb iPhone and iPad accessory store, of course!

Want to be the next winner?

Hurry up and follow, friend, post and subscribe!

1. Follow @TiPb on Twitter. (Wouldn’t hurt to follow our staff as well: @reneritchie, @GeorgiaTiPb, @iChadman, @JFSikora, @llofte, @iMuggle, @andrewwray, @Brian_Tufo, @chrisoldroyd, @farbod_21, @jorjlim)
2. Friend TiPb on Facebook.
3. Subscribe to TiPb on YouTube

The more ways you engage, the more chances you have to win. It’s just that simple! (See our big contest announcement for all the details)

This week’s winner

Twitter follower emtal233! Congrats and enjoy your mophie juice pack air for iPhone 4! courtesy of the TiPb iPhone and iPad accessory store, of course!

Want to be the next winner?

Hurry up and follow, friend, post and subscribe!

If you want to keep up with the latest iPhone and iPad news, reviews, and how-tos, right from the comfort of your very own Twitter app, follow the site. If you want to get in on some behind the scenes action, follow the writers.

(Plus you never know when we’ll give something cool away just to show our appreciation!)

• @TiPb
• @reneritchie (Rene)
• @backlon (Dieter)
• @iChadman (Chad)
• @JFSikora (Jeremy)
• @llofte (Leanna)
• @GeorgiaTiPb (Georgia)
• @iMuggle (Ally)

Add your Twitter ID to the comments and we’ll pick some at random for #FF shoutouts later today as well.

To go along with our spiffy new TiPb.com digs, we’ve transitioned our Twitter ID from @theiphoneblog to @TiPb as well. If you follow us on Twitter, you shouldn’t have to do anything on your end — Twitter should automagically transition you to following @TiPb from now on.

However, if you want to tweet in our general direction via an @mention, you gotta use @TiPb. And if you want to contact any of us directly, here’s where we are!

• @reneritchie (Rene),
• @backlon (Dieter),
• @iChadman (Chad),
• @JFSikora (Jeremy),
• @llofte (Leanna),
• @GeorgiaTiPb (Georgia),
• @jamesus (James),
• @JHamilton24 (Josh),
• @justin_horn (Justin),
• @msproductions (Matt),
• @skeetobite (Chris),
• @tramain360 (Derrick).

Twitbit [$2.99 - iTunes link] is the iPhone Twitter client that just won’t quit — pushing updates and new features almost as fast as notifications. The latest is Twitbit 2.3:

• Support for Twitter’s new retweet feature.
• Support for Twitter’s new geotagging feature.
• Support for Twitter’s new lists feature.
• Support for Twitter’s new user search feature.
• Trends tab.
• Trend explanations.
• Account management redesigned.
• Search bar added to timeline.
• User profile added to tabs.
• Connect Twitter accounts to iPhone contacts.

I’ve been lucky enough to have a beta to try out for a while and 2.3 feels really solid. Overall the interface is fluid and intuitive, the functionality is very well balanced with usability, and the Push Notifications are typically crisp and well-concatenated given the limits of the iPhone modal popup system. If you want a fast, friendly, and pushy iPhone Twitter client, Twitbit might just be for you. And if you’re not sure, give Twitbit Lite a try first [Free - iTunes link].

And this being Follow Friday, if you need anyone to try it out with, give Team TiPb a shout:

• @theiphoneblog,
• @reneritchie (Rene),
• @backlon (Dieter),
• @iChadman (Chad),
• @JFSikora (Jeremy),
• @jamesus (James),
• @llofte (Leanna),
• @GeorgiaTiPb (Georgia),
• @JHamilton24 (Josh),
• @justin_horn (Justin),
• @msproductions (Matt),
• @skeetobite (Chris).

Screenshots after the break!

We’ll save you the preamble this time; suffice it to say iPhone+Twitter = peanutbutter cuppy goodness. And now Twitter is rolling out new features to either make it dark chocolatey super good, or just to give us a sugar headache, we’re not sure which (though we’re fairly sure we’ve strained the confectionary metaphor well beyond the point of painful, so moving on…)

Twitter Lists aims to help with discovery — to let more users find more interesting people to read and follow. Basically, if you follow hundreds, thousands, or more, it was nigh-impossible to keep up with a few specific ones, or to organize them in any way (sort of like iPhone apps on the home screen, don’t get us started!). With lists, you can create groups/categories and add the people you’re following to those lists. Family, friends, co-workers, fellow gadget enthusiasts or movie geeks, pretty much any system you can think of. Then, to see what that list is up to, you just go to the handy list view and voila, all their tweets, nice and separate. You can also follow other people’s lists if you find a group you really like.

We’ve set up a few already:

• TiPb Staff, for all our editors, writers, reviewers, and moderators.
• SPE Network, for TiPb sibling sites and their Android, BlackBerry, Nokia, Palm, and Windows Mobile coverage.
• SPE Site Editors, for behind-the-scenese commentary and random thoughts from those who manage the above-mentioned sites.
• SPE Everybody, for the master-list of everyone involved with Smartphone Experts.

We’ll be adding more if/when they make sense, so if you have requests, send them our way!

New-style retweets is more controversial and potentially confusing. As Twitter rolls these out, when someone you follow retweets something, you no longer see them and their retweet, but the original tweeter, (even if you don’t follow them), along with a note saying which of the people you followed retweeted it. Again, it’s supposed to help with discovery, but it’s already driven Justine Batement into curse-riddled outrage, and depending on how it’s implemented on the web and in clients, could jut be a bad of Twitter hurt. (Techcrunch posted the above screenshot of how Tweetie 2.1 will be handling them, pink corners and all).

If you’ve tried them, let us know what you think, either in the comments below, or on Twitter:

@theiphoneblog, @reneritchie (Rene), @backlon (Dieter), @iChadman (Chad), @JFSikora (Jeremy), @jamesus (James), @llofte (Leanna), @JHamilton24 (Josh), @justin_horn (Justin), @msproductions (Matt), @skeetobite (Chris).

The iPhone and Twitter go together like peanut butter and chocolate, so it’s no wonder we enjoy an unparalleled quantity and quality of Twitter apps for the iPhone. From the earliest jailbreak version of Twitterrific to the latest releases of Tweetie and Twitbit, with everything from TweetDeck, Twittelator Pro, Birdfeed, SimplyTweet, Echofon/Twitterfon, and even Twitter.com‘s mobile site thrown in-between (and that’s not counting the specialty clients like Birdhouse, qStatus, and Reportage), it’s really an embarrassment of riches at this point.

So, to help us sort through all the amazing Twitter apps, we want to know which one you use. Granted, like us you might have several installed — you might even have them all! — but we want to know your primary, number one, go-to Twitter client. If you could only have one, today, which would it be? (And feel free to tell us why, and drop your Twitter user name for Follow Friday in the comments below).

TiPb Twitter Team: @theiphoneblog, @reneritchie (Rene), @backlon (Dieter), @iChadman (Chad), @JFSikora (Jeremy), @jamesus (James), @llofte (Leanna), @JHamilton24 (Josh), @justin_horn (Justin), @msproductions (Matt), @skeetobite (Chris).

In addition to our main iPhone blog, iPhone forums, and iPhone Live! podcasts, there’s a number of other ways you can follow TiPb and get all the latest iPhone news, reviews, and how-tos:

Twitter

You can follow our feed via @theiphoneblog on Twitter, and keep up with our staff including @reneritchie, @backlon (Dieter), @iChadman, and @JFSikora (Jeremy).

Our nimble forum staff can be found at @jamesus, @llofte, @JHamilton24, @justin_horn, @msproductions, @skeetobite

And if you’re on Twitter, you can even show your TiPb colors with this handy, dandy Twibbon! (Yeah, we totally stole this idea from CrackBerry!)

Facebook

TiPb has both a Facebook group and Facebook page. We’re not sure which one is best for helping our readers stay in touch and up-to-date, so if you have a preference, let us know!

LinkedIn

Professional much? Join TiPb’s iPhone group on LinkedIn to network with like-minded mobile accomplishers.

RSS

Subscribe to TiPb’s RSS feed via your favorite reader, add it directly to Google or Yahoo!, or get updates sent directly to your email.