If there is a better way to celebrate our nation’s independence than by downloading a few awesome paid iPhone and iPad apps for free, we don’t know what it is. Tons of developers have made their paid apps free to celebrate July 4th, and we’ve sifted through them all to pick out three gems. We even have a game in today’s batch, which is rare for this series. It’s a great one that harkens back to the days of NES though, and there is no better day to get nostalgic than Independence Day.

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Earlier this week, we posted some absolutely gorgeous renders of the iPhone 6 created by designer Mark Pelin that were based on leaked pictures of iPhone 6 dummy models. While these new renders adhered to the basic contours of the iPhone 6 mockups we’re all familiar with, they also added some finishing touches that made us really see how great the device will look when it’s finally released. And now TheTechBlock has posted some new renders created by designers Tomas Moyano and Nicolàs Aichino that show us how terrific the iPhone 6 will look in both gold and space gray.

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Samsung is a company that has a long history of both leading and following, though it is difficult to argue that the success the company is currently enjoying with its smartphone business can be attributed in part to its uncanny ability to do the latter. In fact, the company’s handset sales didn’t really start to take off until executives created a confidential 132-page internal document detailing exactly how engineers should copy the iPhone pixel by pixel. Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones improved by leaps and bounds after their software was reworked in the iPhone’s image, and since then, the company has worked to veer away from iOS and carve out its own path.

When it comes to allegations that Samsung may have stolen various physical design elements from Apple devices, however, it looks like Samsung’s biggest iPhone ripoff is yet to come.

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We’ve had more than our fill of iPhone 6 mockups, which is why we’re happy to see that mockups for the next-generation iPad Air have started popping up on the Internet as well. Japanese website ASCII Plus has posted several high-quality pictures of a next-gen iPad Air dummy that show us some of the subtle design changes that Apple is planning to make with its next tablet.

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Samsung is perhaps best known for its market-leading smartphone business but more so than any other technology giant, Samsung operates across a wide range of businesses. It makes televisions, appliances, computers and even the components that power them all. As a result, Samsung is perhaps better equipped than most to take stabs at shaping futuristic environments, because it can develop and build almost all of the relevant tech in-house.

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Is EA itching to reclaim the crown from Comcast for the title of America’s worst company? That’s the impression we get from a GamesIndustry interview with EA COO Peter Moore, who dismissed concerns about the gaming industry’s move toward a new “freemium” model where games are free to download but can be miserable to play unless you pony up for in-game purchases.

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Just a few short days after a report surfaced suggesting that Microsoft is planning to release a wearable smartwatch or smart band this coming October, yet another report has emerged to state that the company is indeed getting ready to go head to head with Apple’s upcoming iWatch. This time, word comes from Paul Thurrott, who is often a reliable source for information surrounding Microsoft’s unannounced plans.

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Thanks in part to sales of its flagship HTC One (M8) smartphone, HTC has delivered on its promise and returned to profit in the second quarter. The struggling handset maker on Thursday reported preliminary unaudited financial results for the June quarter, noting a narrow $75 million profit on revenue totalling just under $2.2 billion. The good news is that the company finally managed to return to a profit, but the bad news is that revenue is still sliding. In other words, sales are still sputtering but HTC’s recent cost-cutting measures have had a clear impact.

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It might not surprise anyone to learn that not all Microsoft employees use Windows Phones and PCs in their personal lives, but Lifehacker’s interview with the Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, danah boyd (and no, I didn’t forget to hold down shift) shows that it’s not all-Windows all the time. When asked about her current mobile device, danah admitted that her “primary phone is an iPhone, but I despise the device.” She only uses it to test apps in development and she really misses her old-school Sidekick.

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