Update: ASUS has provided the following update…

“Regarding the bootloader, the reason we chose to lock it is due to content providers’ requirement for DRM client devices to be as secure as possible. ASUS supports Google DRM in order to provide users with a high quality video rental experience. Also, based on our experience, users who choose to root their devices risk breaking the system completely. However, we know there is demand in the modding community to have an unlocked bootloader. Therefore, ASUS is developing an unlock tool for that community. Please do note that if you choose to unlock your device, the ASUS warranty will be void, and Google video rental will also be unavailable because the device will be no longer protected by security mechanism.” – ASUS

ASUS has started to respond to the concerns about the Transformer Prime having a locked bootloader. Earlier today we reported that ASUS had opted to secure the bootloader by putting 128-bit encryption in front of it which prevents users being able to install custom ROMs on to the device.

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Over the last week of 2011 (December 25 to December 31), there were more downloads made than ever before by iOS and Android users. The stats company Flurry has reported that 1.2 billion apps were downloaded through that week.

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Apple is planning to hold an event this month in New York City. The event will be held towards the end of the month and is believed to be regarding electronic publishing and media content.

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Google has launched Scribbles for Gmail. The new service works on Gmail on the web browser and within the iOS app and allows users to scribble a message to someone rather than typing.

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Skype in the US is offering free wifi access for those travelling in the US between December 21 and December 27. The wifi access from Skype will be offered free in over 50 airports in the US.

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Last week, Facebook launched Timeline in New Zealand. The reason New Zealand was first to get the new update was that the country speaks English and provides enough data for Facebook to test that all works well.

We now see that Facebook has rolled out Timeline to the rest of the world.

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We like the idea of AirPrint and the ability to print wirelessly from the iPad or iPhone to a wireless printer. The problem is that not all printers are compatible. To get AirPrint working you need to choose one of the supported printers.

For those that don’t want to replace a printer just so it works with AirPrint, there is another way. The xPrintServer allows you to connect it up to a printer and then print wirelessly to a printer.

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Google [GOOG] has updated the web version of the Android Market to include a few new handy features. The first, pictured below, allows you to filter app reviews based on devices that are connected to your account. This will let you more easily spot if a particular app has a bug for your particular device.

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Apple has announced that the Mac App Store has just hit a milestone. The company has commented that over 100 million downloads have occurred on the app store which launched less than a year ago.

The App Store was originally launched on iOS devices and quickly became popular on the iPhone and then on the iPad. Over 500,000 apps are available which have been download 18 billion times since launch. This number now averages around the 1 billion downloads each month. The Mac App Store works on a similar principle in that you use your Apple ID to log in with and can find apps from various categories to download on to your Mac.

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Google has created Google Doodles since 1998 when Larry and Sergey attended the Burning Man festival. Since then, the company has created doodles sporadically to indicate the anniversary of large events or people. The latest Google Doodle was launched today (12 December 2011) and shows a Chip. The reason for it is that it’s the 84th birthday of Robert Noyce who is one of the Intel co-founders.

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As planned, HP has announced the future of webOS and what the plans are for it. Meg Whitman announced that the underlying code of webOS is being made open-source which means it will reach a large amount of people who can in turn develop the platform as needed.

Initially there were two options that HP considered with the first being to sell the OS and the second to make it open-source. The latter was selected and is perhaps the best option.

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Apple [AAPL] has launched a new version of iBooks for iOS devices. The new update brings several new features to the app which make it more friendly to use. Although most, if not all, of the features are already available on other eBook readers and have been for a while they are still a welcomed addition.

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