With only a matter of days to go before 2012 arrives, Apple is taking a familiar stroll down digital memory lane.

Last night, Apple updated iTunes to highlight the 2011 edition of iTunes Rewind, which gives the company an opportunity to shine one last moment of glory upon the best music, movies, TV shows, mobile apps, books, and more from the last twelve months.

Among the big winners according to Apple:

Apps:

• iPhone App of the Year: Instagram
• iPhone Game of the Year: Tiny Tower
• iPad App of the Year: Snapseed
• iPad Game of the Year: Dead Space for iPad

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Fiksu, maker of a user acquisition platform for mobile apps, has released new data indicating free iOS app downloads have shown a first-ever decline following Apple’s decision to halt incentivized app installs through things like virtual currency offers, etc.

Looking at the aggregate volume of downloads per day achieved by the top 200 free iPhone apps in the U.S. App Store last month, Fiksu reports that downloads dropped to 4.25 million per day in July, down from 4.505 million a day in June.  At the same time, Fiksu’s Cost per Loyal User Index–which measures the costs facing brands who proactively market their apps in an attempt to attract loyal users (defined as consumers who open an app three times or more)–slipped 5.5 percent in July to $1.20, its first decline following four months of increases.

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With nearly a half million apps currently residing in the Apple App Store, it’s safe to say that most will get lost in the mix, blamed mostly on over-simplicity and/or sheer irrelevance.  Many apps we see today are just like the hundreds before it, or perform a novelty function that only gets used once before being deleted.

What does it take to stand out from the noise?  How about a military grade GPS tactical navigation system that can call in air support, direct artillery fire and relay real-time information from the battlefield.  Yeah, there’s an app for that.  Army Capt. Johnathan Springer used his knowledge and experience from serving as an artillery specialist with the 101st Airborne Division to create what’s most likely one of the most advanced iPhone applications to date.

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The stage is set to see some pretty impressive mHealth technology debut at CES next week, and we’re already getting a preview.  A company called AliveCor has created an iPhone app and sensor technology that combine to produce “clinical-quality cardiac event readings,” otherwise known as a Electrocardiography or “ECG.”

The system is relatively simple; it uses a slim, low power sleeve with electrodes on the back to get readings, and communicates with a corresponding mobile app installed on the device.  It also works wirelessly via Bluetooth to track and organize readings without being attached to the device.

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Mobclix, the mobile ad-exchange that was recently acquired by Velti, does an excellent job at creating monthly infographics that detail stats from its network — many of which we’ve covered in the past.  For December, the company takes a look at mobile shopping apps on the iPhone, and the impressive growth in impressions for such apps during November.

In addition to pulling data from its ever-growing in-app mobile advertising network, Mobclix also surveyed over 600 smartphone owners on their usage of mobile shopping apps as we enter the busy holiday shopping season.  According to the data, Mobclix reports that shopping app usage in November 2010 increased 249% over 2009, although the number of shopping apps only increased 52 percent in roughly the same time period.

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The retail LBS market is heating up fast, and even though many question how many people are actually consistently using such apps, the market is poised for substantial growth in the coming years.  As such, we’re beginning to see startups tailor their solutions specifically to in-store mobile retail customers.

The most recent is an innovative startup out of St. Louis, Missouri who has created an app called “Aisle411.”  Dubbed the industry’s first “retail navigation app,” Aisle411 allows anyone with a mobile phone to find products and promotions quickly and easily, down to specific placement on store shelves.  Through the help of voice recognition technology powered by Nuance, aisle411 offers a unique in-store search and comprehensive mobile retail shopping solution that’s unique to the droves of other retail apps that have hit the market recently.

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How’s this for interesting — Flurry is reporting that iPhone social gaming apps garner a larger audience than many prime-time TV shows, including the likes of Sunday Night Football, CBS’s Undercover Boss and NCIS Los Angeles.

In a blog post published today titled “Is iPhone the Next American Idol,” Flurry estimates iOS social gaming apps have a daily audience of 19 million viewers and are averaging more than 22 minutes per day, per user.  The fact that these numbers alone represent a larger audience than many of the most popular TV shows combined is intriguing, but then there’s the fact that Flurry’s numbers are just from it’s network, representing only a small portion of the total audience.

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