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Children have a habit of destroying electronic devices. Ask any parent who has loaned their iPhone or iPod touch to a kid so they could play games. Wouldn't it be better if you could protect the iOS device while providing educational entertainment to the little spuds?

iBuku Pets provides just that, a protective and friendly contraption shaped like a bear that cradles the iPhone inside and prevents damage. Apparently, you can even throw your iBuku Pet down the stairs without harming the iOS device inside. The toy is made of completely non-toxic material, unlike some toys out there today.

With the iPhone being a portable computer, people are finding new things to do with it every day. Beyond iOS software there are now a number of iPhone accessories that extend the device's hardware as well. Lapka offers a series of five sensors that expand your iPhone's capability to measure certain aspects of your surrounding environment.

Besides having a stylish design comprised of wood and plastic, each sensor delivers information to the Lapka iPhone app through the headphone jack of your iOS device. You can monitor your environment continuously and log data for later retrieval, or take a one-time reading when needed. Each of the five sensors is small because the processing and display of data is all accomplished on the iPhone.

The market for third-party iPhone 5 accessories continues to grow, and Lightning-compatible options are no exception. We've already seen an illuminated iPhone 5 Lightning cable as well as some less expensive versions of the standard Lightning to USB cable. Now you can purchase an iPhone 5 dock stand just in time for the holidays.

USB Fever has two different options for those looking to conveniently dock their iPhone 5. The first model is the Charging & Sync Dock Cradle for iPhone 5. This basic version is pictured above and accepts your Lightning to USB cable in the rear port. Available in black or white, the price with no cables included is $15.99 plus shipping.

Apple has released the App Store Best of 2012 list, which includes this year's Editor's Picks for best app and game, and the most downloaded free and paid apps of the year. The Editor's pick for App of the Year is Action Movie FX, with the $0.99 music app Figure nabbing the runner-up slot, and Rayman Jungle Run was voted the best Game of the Year.

Rovio Entertainment once again topped the paid charts with Angry Birds Space, and YouTube was the most downloaded free app (I wonder why?). Paper was announced as the iPad App of the Year, and The Room was chosen as the iPad Game of the Year by Apple. Read on for the complete App Store Best of 2012 results.

Google has finally released a new Maps app for the iPhone after the Apple Maps fiasco.

iPhone users have been clamoring for the return of Google Maps since the release of the iPhone 5 and iOS 6, when Apple replaced the app with its own mapping software. Apple Maps has been widely ridiculed for giving inaccurate information, and has even become the butt of many jokes after Australian police claimed it was dangerous.

The new Google Maps features turn-by-turn navigation and the popular Street View and transit direction options missing from Apple Maps. David Pogue of The New York Times writes: "The brand-new, completely rethought design is slick, simple and coherent. Google admits that it’s even better than Google Maps for Android phones, which has accommodated its evolving feature set mainly by piling on menus."