Sources “briefed on the matter” have informed the Wall Street Journal that a cheaper model of the iPhone is in the works. Although this isn’t the first time such a rumor has surfaced, never before has it seemed so possible: Apple has already waged war on the 7-inch tablet with the iPad Mini, so who’s to say they aren’t ready to compete with the cheaper Android smartphones on the market?

As a Canadian, I think I may be legally obligated to enjoy Jack Lumber. I mean, the game is filled to the brim with references to the Canadian wilderness; maple syrup gives you super powers. Patriotism notwithstanding, however, it also happens to be a wonderfully frantic title that combines puzzling with twitch instincts. This week, developer Owlchemy Labs released an update,  and celebrated with a genius promo video...and wouldn’t you know it, both the Canadian and gamer in me are giddy.

If you play mobile games, I have some unfortunate news for you: you might just be a bad person. Don’t despair just yet, though! Before you quit your job, abandon your family, and go to live in the woods with the rest of the world’s bad people, let’s make a proper diagnosis. After minutes - hours, even! - of thorough research, the following list of behaviors has been compiled to save mobile gamers from the worst fate of all: becoming “that guy” (or gal).

What do you get when you remove bots and UDID as your standard to identify devices but replace it with nothing else?

An App Store that is getting more costly to acquire new customers and less lucrative to make money on ads. That, at least, is what the leading marketing and ad mediation companies are suggesting.

One of the most under-reported stories relates to the amount of money being spent by kids in iPhone games, unbeknownst to their parents until they see a bill for hundreds of dollars.

This story is about to blow up, thanks to a judge’s decision in a San Jose court not to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed by disgruntled parents against Apple about what they term as “bait apps” but what we call freemium games, or games that are free to play but require purchases of virtual goods to progress.

Oh no, Apple you dUDIDn’t! Kim Mai Cutler at Techcrunch is reporting that Apple is starting to reject apps that access the UDIDs, which is essentially the identification number that is unique to every iPhone and iPad.

This is a meaningful development for game companies and players because the UDID is the key for how games and apps make money. Think of UDID as your phone or tablet’s fingerprint. Mobile ad, game network, and analytics company use the UDID to target ads, save game data, and track usage. Take away the UDID, and it’s no longer business as usual in the world of mobile games.

People like to play mobile games. . . in bed. That, according to a recent survey by MocoSpace. In response to the question, “Where u play?” (clever mobile text slang but oh so grammatically incorrect), 96% of 15,000 respondents answered in the home and 53% of those responded in bed.

You constantly hear app developers talking about how they’re trying to crack the American market, but if current trends hold then it may be Chinese users who everyone will want to woo in the near future. According to a new Flurry report, China has now surpassed the US as the nation with the greatest percentage of new device activations (24 percent vs 21 percent). Furthermore, new device adoption in China is growing at a very fast clip, while smartphone sales seem to go through peaks and valleys in the US.

How would you spend billions in cash? Maybe you'd go on a heck of a bender, or buy a clockwork pony engineered with gears of gold. There's no bender or golden pony in store for Apple, though. Earlier today, the company announced that it will be launching a $10 billion dividend and share repurchase program. Hooray for responsible choices.

Building off the exciting news that the App Store now has over 25 billion served, Apple has unveiled the most popular app downloads of all time, region by region. Unsurprisingly, games are at the fore. Even less surprisingly, Rovio's Angry Birds ranks as the top paid iPhone app of all time in the United States. Fruit Ninja, Doodle Jump, and Cut the Rope occupy spots two, three, and four.