This little PC is packed full of mobile computing goodness. From 3g/3.5g wireless, to GPS, you can do access your data worldwide, and never get lost. The 3G/3.5G is pretty impressive, but we’ll see how that affects the battery life of the device. The R50A also has a TV tuner built in so you can catch your favorite terrestrial television networks.

This could be a mobile power user’s dream come true. We’ll have to wait and see if it lives up to the Asus name, or if it’s just another novelty like most other UMPCs. No pricing info is available yet. The R50a should be available some time early next year.

Asus R50A UMPC, official info [via JKKmobile]

The ink is stored in microscopic capsules that will burst and dissipate upon laser treatment. Only one laser session is required to remove the Freedom-2 based ink tattoos, unlike traditional ink which can take 7-9 sessions. Now you won’t feel so bad the next time you wake up with a tattoo of your ex-girlfriends name across your chest. Not that I have any experience with that sort of situation…

Freedom-2 ink [via Discover Magazine]

Don’t worry, South Korea’s got you covered. Military-like obstacle courses, poetry, music and the ever popular “My name is (insert name),  and I’m addicted to the Internet” group meetings. The boot camp, called Jump up, encourages youngsters log out of Yahoo Messenger, Everquest, or Myspace and get outside. There are also 140 new Cyberspace addiction counseling centers thought South Korea, for those who relapse.

I would say the average US citizen spends more than two hours a day on the Internet. Whether for work or play, a lot of communication and socializing has been taken over by cyberspace. Maybe we should start a few Internet addict boot camps here in the US. We could get celebrities to come out and speak, we could sleep in tents, run obstacle courses - and when we get home we’ll blog about it.

In Korea, a Boot Camp Cure for Web Obsession [via Kotaku]

Only one match has a power chord and all of the others are powered through induction. You may not burn yourself, but don’t take these into the swimming pool with you. You can check out the designer’s blog here; Chetan Sorab.

Come on baby light my fire…[via YankoDesign]

Representatives at 3 are promising more shipments to come, but with every shipment come more demand. I can understand the popularity of the Skypephone. Prepaid service is a good chunk of the market in the states right now, and it’s not cheap to keep a prepaid phone. Most services here have daily access fees, whether you use the phone or not plus whatever minutes you use. To pay only $20 a month to have access to unlimited Skype calling would be a huge hit anywhere it was released.

Let’s hope 3 picks up the shipping in the UK, and the major US cell phone companies pick up the fantastic idea.

As mentioned in the unboxing, this computer has no spining hard drive. Just two 32GB RAID 0 Solid State Drives. This makes booting the device, and loading large files a super fast process. It’s fairly comparable to a 7200 RPM drive, but without the loss in battery life (and without all of the extra heat). There are a few other options available from Alienware including two 64GB drives in RAID 0, for a combined capacity of 128GB.

With 2 GB of DDR2-667 RAM (up to 4GB available), and a Intel Core 2 DUO T7200 2.0 GHz processor, you won’t have any problems running the latest memory hungry applications (or operating systems). And the 512MB Nvidia GeForce 8700m GT GPU will boost your imaging, 3D rendering, and general visual experience in the Windows Vista environment.

Form wise, the computer has a solid build. It has a glorious 17-inch screen crowned with a 1.3 megapixel webcam. The matte black finish throughout most of the device keeps fingerprints to a minimum. A full size keyboard makes typing, or gaming a lot easier. There is a classic Alienware “grill” on the lid, with a wicked glowing alien head, that will have the less informed approaching you in coffee shops asking “What kind of laptop is that?” The speakers and optical drive are both located on the front of the notebook. There were a couple times where I bumped against the front of the laptop and inadvertently popped the optical drive open.

There are plenty of inputs on the device. Four USB 2.0 – two on the left side, one on the back, and one on the right. One IEEE 1394 for all of your streaming media. The Express card slot is located of the left side, next to the SD/Memory stick reader. This model also came with a TV tuner card which added an S-video input, Coaxial input, and Composite video input.

Output wise you have all of the industry standards with a couple nice surprises. VGA will connect to most monitors these days, while DVI output is generally reserved for higher end models with better resolutions (and most LCD televisions also have this – imagine Crysis of a 52 inch screen). The S-video output is nice if you need to give a presentation in a pinch, as most televisions and projectors will have this input. The real treat is the Optical Audio output. Optical connections are top of the line, and it’s the best audio quality you can get. Forget 5.1 surround, this notebook’s pumping out 7.1 surround sound. The Bluetooth wireless connectivity is very clean. It was very easy to connect it with a variety of devices, from cell phones, to headsets. The wireless 802.11 card from Intel was above par, receiving a, b and g protocols.

While the SSDs, and the Core 2 DUO processor lend to longer battery life, the M9750 isn’t really meant to be a mobile computing solution. It’s more of a desktop replacement notebook. With that said expect to get about an hour and a half in Vista’s “Power saver” energy profile. On top of that the notebook weights around 9 pounds, plus a 3 pound power adapter.

Overall, this is a stellar device for gaming and media. If you’re looking for a desktop replacement notebook, you can not overlook the Alienware Area 51 M9750. With all of the options available you can create the perfect system for you, and your budget. Our system spec’ed out at around $3700, but you can pick one up starting at $1699. Check out Alienware’s website at Alienware.com.

The name has been changed from the QuickCam Orbit MP, to the QuickCam Orbit AF. Adding auto focus to the Orbit, and dropping the ‘megapixel’ denotation because the cam now operates on a 2 megapixel sensor. The new webcams also feature streaming ‘HD’ video, at 960 by 720. New software also makes for a smoother experience, allowing you to upload video directly to Youtube.

I can’t say that I’ve ever really had use for a webcam, and at $129, I don’t see myself picking up the QuickCam Orbit AF anytime soon. But for people who frequently use their webcams, this cam really takes the cake as far a video quality goes.

Logitech QuickCam Orbit Gets Carl Zeiss Lans & Autofocus [via Everything USB]

Apple could be using the data collected for any number of reasons. Maybe Mr. Jobs just wants to know when you buy or sell Apple stock. Some have suggested that it is a method of tracking the number of unlocked iPhones. Whatever the case maybe, I’m sure it’s nothing malicious. So I don’t want to hear anyone running around calling Apple “Big Brother,” or any of that nonsense.

If it bugs you enough to do something about, there are already many hackers who have found ways to send false IMEI numbers. Although you need a hex-code editor, and it will void your warranty if Apple ever catches your little modification.

Apple Secretly Tracking IMEI and Usage (with proof) [via 9 to 5 Mac]

The Supratherm can be used as a free standing radiator or you can wall mount it to make it feel even more like fine modern art. Sprinz shows the Supratherm in many different uses, from the family room to the bathroom. If you can read German you can check out Sprinz website to see all of their designs. No pricing information is available yet.

Supratherm Glass Radiator [via GeekAlerts]

From Guitar Hero III to the LG Venus, we covered a lot of ground this past week. With the holidays fast approaching, the gadget news seems to be overflowing. We covered plenty of cool gifts for your Mom, Dad, Son or Daughter. Whether your looking to buy a modest stocking stuffer such as the Mood beams, or truly splurge on luxury. Lets not forget one of the biggest announcements of the week, with the launch of the Android SDK and platform, the potential future of the mobile world, don’t forget to check out AndroidCommunity.com, you could be one of the lucky recipients of a portion of that $10 million in developer cash Google is ponying up.

We touched on a few of this fall’s must have gadgets, like the LG Voyager, the new Zune, and the USBConnect 881, and warned you of shortages (Zune, Wii) and trends. With all of the new products on the market for fall, we’ve had plenty to review: The HTC Shadow, Palm Series 3 BT headset, T-mobile Razr2, AT&T Pantech Duo, and the Parrot Boombox, and the T-Mobile Sidekick LX.

This being my first week as an associate editor has been pretty hectic, and I want to thank the rest of the staff here for all the support. But most importantly, I want to thank all the readers who enjoy our hard work, and visit SlashGear for all of the latest technology news. Keep checking in throught this week to get full, hands-on reviews of the LG Voyager, the impressive LG Venus and the Alienware M9750.

The Venus from LG offers up two screens, the larger a standard LCD, the lower, and slightly smaller, a touchscreen. But what else does this sleekly attractive device have to offer?

It has a 2MP camera, Bluetooth with several profiles including A2DP wireless stereo streaming. On top of that there’s a microSD card slot that will support up to an 8GB card which you can store all your music, photos, and videos on.

It has Mobile IM, email and chat clients, V Cast music, video, and music manager, and is VZ navigator capable. It runs on EVDO and the camera takes both stills and video. The lower touch screen changes what functions it offers based on what you’re doing, making it almost unnecessary to slide the number pad out except for typing or dialing.

Overall this seems to be a pretty amazing phone. Keep watching for our full review of the device later this weekend.

Make sure to check out our 64GB Samsung drive that we revealed earlier this month.

I’ll be testing the drives out over the weekend. Check back for our full benchmark and review of the drives.

Look for these BD-Rom drives at the end of November under the Liteon brand name. The disks are single write, so you better make it count. They will write at 4x speed, and it’s reasonably priced at $186 – with most current BD drives running around $300-$500.

Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions to offer BD-ROM Drive [via DigiTimes]

JkOnTheRun is reporting that the Kindel eBook reader may be able to connect to Sprint’s high speed EV-DO network for retrieving new eBooks wirelessly. But I just can’t imagine a text file so huge that it requires EV-DO. Not to mention service charges. Who wants to pay $399 for the device, then pay for the book, and on top of that pay Sprint to download it?

Amazon firing up Kindel sales on Monday? [via jkOnTheRun]

This slick little tri-band phone from Philips has sixty days of standby! It’s simple candy bar form factor is deceiving. It has all of the extras that you would find on phones here in the US, such as microSD i/o and bluetooth. Philips, please come to the states.

Philips Xenium 9@9 lasts longer, much longer! [via unwired view]

With an Intel GM965 chipset, all of your mobile computing needs should be met. The integrated X3100 GPU will boost your visual experience in the included Windows Vista Home Premium operating system. You’ll get maximum distance with an 802.11n wi-fi receiver, or you can hardwire with a Gigabit Ethernet port. Higher end features like 3GB of RAM, HDMI output, and optional TV tuner add to the luxury appeal of the PR200.

It has a 250GB HD, 1.3 megapixel webcam, and a 4-in-1 media card reader. Sounds like a high end ultra slim notebook to me. The release date and price have not been announced. If it’s over $2300 I would be pretty surprised. But then again, it does have crystals.

MSI Announces PR200 Crystal Collection Ultraportable [Via Laptoping]

T-mobile has modified the Windows Mobile environment a little bit. By adding hints of classic T-mobile GUI into Mobile 6, T-mobile has made the phone much more user friendly. T-mobile address book backup, ‘myfaves,’ and T-mobile hotspot setup were all conveniently located in the start menu for quick access. The Connection Manager made switching wireless connections (Wi-fi, Bluetooth 2.0) easier than any other Windows Mobile phone I’ve ever used.

The Bluetooth set-up and use was a breeze. I was connected to my stereo Bluetooth speaker and seven minutes deep into my playlist in the same amount of time it takes with other phones I’ve used.

Email was also quick to set up, and receive. The big vibrant screen made email pleasant, and I didn’t find myself straining my eyes trying to read the text. Sending email wasn’t as easy on the modified QWERTY keyboard (al la BlackBerry 8100). I would have preferred a full QWERTY keyboard.

Navigation was made easier with the scrolling d-pad. The scroll wheel comes in handy when you want to quickly scroll through websites, or adjust the volume in Windows Media Player 10. It’s easy to quickly access the media player once you have music going. A mini-player appears on the homescreen, that lets you shuffle through your play lists, pause/play, and adjust volume.

The Shadow held amazing reception everywhere I went. In areas where both of my other phones were unreachable the Shadow had at least two bars.

The phone has a MicroSD I/O slot so you can store your music, videos, and pictures. Speaking of pictures – the 2.0 megapixel camera was nothing short of impressive. It has many different shooting modes, including a video capture option.

Overall, the Shadow beat my expectations. Its form factor is perfect, its hardware is optimal, and its delivery is solid. Now if we could get a touch screen on this little guy, it would be a 5-out-of-5.

[rating: 4.5]

Evan Wilson, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities reported to Gamestop that unnamed sources deep within the Japanese powerhouse that is Nintendo slipped the details of their third revamp of the DS. “It is thinner (it has no GBA port), has on-board storage, and larger screens.” Sounds legit, and apparently Harrison left his poker face at home during a phone interview with Next-Gen.biz.

“We don’t have any imminent plans for an upgrade for the DS,” Harrison responded to the allegations, and then continued with a few more vague statements. “I’m not sure what [Evan Wilson's] source was for it, but it’s not something you’re going to hear about anytime soon.” He probably should have stuck with “No comment.”

Harrison: No “Imminent” Plans for New DS [via Kotaku]

Have you ever forgotten your phone at home? The rest of the day you worry about all the missed phone calls, distressed text messages, and frustrated voice mail. Unless you have Dashwire. You can sign in from any computer and instantly receive, and reply to your text messages before they become frantic. Missed a call? Dashwire will let you know when, and who it was from. Can’t remember your boss’s cell phone number? Dashwire stores your contacts, picture I.D. and all. It also lets you create contacts and edit existing contacts that it will automatically update to your phone.

You can also use Dashwire to pull videos and pictures that you’ve taken from your phone. Once they are on Dashwire, you can organize them in folders, rotate, zoom and then download to your computer.

Want to change your ringtone or set your speed dial? It does it all, and here’s the best part – it’s free. The only catch is that it’s still in beta, and you’ll have to jump on a list to be invited. Needless to say, my name is on that list. You can sign up here, and watch the video tour here.

[press release]

Forged of aircraft grade aluminum, titanium, and carbon fiber, the bike is super durable. You might notice the six LED lamps on the front end. All of the lamps and lights are low power consuming LED.

Confederate describes the Renovitio as “original, impacting, alluring and elegant.” I couldn’t have said it any better. It’s only a project design, so there is no pricing information right now. Everyone keep your fingers crossed for a production run.

Check out Confederate Motor Company’s website, at Confederate.com.

Stereo buds would store and charge in your phone. When they are in the phone they act as speakers for speaker phone, and music playback. You can then remove them from the phone and use them as stereo bluetooth headphones. When you receive a call one ear piece acts as a speaker, the other switches over to a microphone.

This is a really cool idea, but I don’t know if it will ever see the light of day. Consumers are often picky about headsets (size, weight, in-ear, over-ear, ect.), and unless they would be upgradeable or interchangeable, LG would end up with a lot of unhappy customers. I can also see these little buds being misplaced left and right. I guess they would make good money selling replacement parts.

Removable speakers/earphones for your mobile from LG [via Unwired View]

The images were shot by the Kaguya lunar explorer on November 7th, and released by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on November 13th. The images above were shot while the explorer was near the moon’s south pole. 

It’s really quite amazing. Congratulations to JAXA on a successful mission. The pictures alone were worth the effort.    

KAGUYA (SELENE) Image Taking of Earth Rise by HDTV [via BoingBoing]

It looks like it will be pretty light and portable, but don’t take it out into the rain unless you want a soggy boom box. The website says it will work with different MP3 players. I’m assuming it uses a 3.5mm audio jack, so don’t expect it to charge your iPod when not in use.

This cool little speaker station will be released in the UK later this month, and at this time there is no price point. The Card Mini Boom Box is a Suck.UK design, check out their website for a lot of cool, tech inspired gear.

But realistically, it is a functional phone/fax machine with some cool, innovative functions built in. NEC will be releasing the SP-NA640 in Japan later this month for an as of yet undefined price. If this hits the states it should be pretty popular with small business owners, and people stuck in the year 1990.

The latest FAX and Phone combo from NEC which sends handwriting documents to mobile phone [via AkihabaraNews]

In many states Comcast has illegally entered into long term contracts with apartment complexes and home owners associations. This forces residents to switch to Comcast services, and has started an uproar in many communities.  Communities like those of blogger ’pshapiro’ from PC World, who isn’t going down without a fight.

SaveTheInternet.com has recently formed a coalition for “net neutrality” that is taking on Comcast, and other large corporations who have violated it’s customers. They want Comcast to be fined $195,000 for every customer affected by the recent BitTorrent scandal.

If you haven’t already read about it, Comcast is being accused of limiting bandwidth to customers who frequent P2P downloading websites. With around 12.9 million customers surfing the web through Comcast, this could be a big hit to the telecom giant.

To take a stand against this kind of behavior you can file a complaint with the FCC. SaveTheInternet.com also has some good resources. Take the figurative hammer to Comcast, not the literal hammer like this lady.

You’re Switching My Apartment to Comcast? I’m Moving Out [via PC World]

I’m always impressed with the speed of these hackers. The new Zune has barely seen the light of day, and Zunerama has already cracked it open.

I’m left wondering why Microsoft wouldn’t include this feature from the start? Tricky, tricky, Mr. Gates. Good thing we have all of these 14 year old prodigies around to hack, crack and unlock our gadgets for us.

Zune firmware hacked for USB drive goodness [via CrunchGear]

Recently unveiled at the METS 2007 Exhibition in Amsterdam, Holland, Lantic announced that they will be begin shipping orders in December.

Honestly, who is creating a demand for such things? Are people really going to drop $55,000 for a golden hockey puck that allows you to flip between CNN, and Bravo? And you thought your $500 Harmony remote was extravagant.

World’s Most Expensive Remote Control in Pure Gold [via BornRich]

You’re going to have to drop some coin if you want to pick up the N82. It has a 5-megapixel camera, Wi-fi, Bluetooth 2.0 and a whole slew of technology crammed in. But you still have to deal with Nokia’s slow operation and the occasional White Screen of Death.

It’s a trade off really. I mean, you do get an FM receiver. Which is pretty cool, right? Maybe I just don’t buy into the hype.

Nokia N82 camera phone gets official. Available in shops today [via Unwired View]

The Vaulter can store your computer’s OS, almost eliminating the painstaking process of booting your computer. It will also carefully select frequently used files and store them for instant access. All the while your hard drive can still be used for mass storage, and for files and applications that don’t require the speed that flash delivers.

This is a perfect solution for digital pack rats like myself, who need lots of storage space for files that are rarely accessed. But, the important stuff loads lightning fast. The drives will come in 8gb and 16gb capacities. We should get a lot more information on this cool innovation at next years CES, in Las Vegas.

SanDisk unveils vaulter disk [via coolest-gadgets]

Those of us lucky enough to have one can kick back and play Mario strikers all season long, but this is going to be Nintendo’s second consecutive holiday season will shortages for the Wii. You may even call it a trend, as last year Nintendo’s DS, DS lite and Gameboy SP were all rarer than gold.

The Wii system is an elusive beast, and with the release of Mario Galaxy, it’s sure to be the gift to give this December.  Hopefull, Nintendo is pulling our leg in an attempt to stir up some extra sales, and everyone will have the opportunity to injure themselves during a vigorous game of Wii Golf on Christmas day.

Nintendo sounds Wii-free X-mas warning [via Register Hardware]

With a price point around $11,000, you’re sure to see these catch on with at least a niche group. It’s fuel efficiency also adds to the cars appeal at 40-45 MPG.

If you want to get behind the wheel, you should probably jump on that every growing list. Check out SmartUSA.com for more details.

Tiny Smart cars aiming to make it big in USA [via physorg]

The flash drives are available in many different styles including a set that looks like Master Chief from the Halo series, Star Wars and Happy Tree Friends. Pricing is very fair, with 1GB capacities starting at $49.99.

Pick up one of these little monsters from select retailers or online at MimoCo’s website.

The Bongo like design looks relatively functional, but it would take someone truly dedicated to bizarre technology and design to get used to it. Wolf King typically designs with gaming in mind, and I can see how this would a more ergonomic setup for a hardcore gamer.

Wolf King’s bongo keyboard [via Crave]

The paint uses Iron oxide crystals that react to the level of current producing a wide array of colors. The paint requires a constant current to maintain any other color than white. So, good luck 20 years from now trying to find your car in a parking lot.

This is Nissan’s second attempt a revolutionizing car paint. Their original “Scratch Guard Coat” keeps paint from showing minor scratches, and is currently available on some of their higher end models.

Look for color changing cars to roll off the lot sometime in 2010.

Nissan Develops Color Changing Paint for Vehicles [via DailyTech]

Using the joystick on the front of the receiver, you can control volume and change tracks. The device looks fairly small, but you run the risk of looking a little geeky having this clipped to your shirt pocket.

If you’re in the market for a stereo Bluetooth headset, this is a steal at 89.95. Comes with a set of headphones, charger with euro adapter, and a few extra cables. No software required.

IOGEAR debuts Bluetooth Audio Transport with SRS WOW [via macnn]

The red ball ornament has a 1.5 inch screen that will display any one of 50 images you load through a USB input. If you run out of Space on the tree it also comes with a display stand.

It runs off of AAA batteries, so expect to change them every couple days if you leave the ornament on. Pick up the Santa’s Slide Show Ornament from firstSTREET for $34.99.

USB Taking the Digital Photo Album to the Tree [everything USB]

Microsoft is a little late in the game on this one. Wii’s virtual console has been selling antiquated NES, SNES and N64 games for the past year, and Sony has some sort of game downloading platform for the PS3 that nobody really uses.

The download will run you about $15. Not bad considering you would pay more than that for a used copy at the local video game re-sell store.

Autum Xbox 360 update to enable downloadable Xbox games, including Halo 1 [engadget]

The control scheme has been boiled down to one knob, that displays your current tuning as well as remaining battery life. Changing the tuning is as simple as setting the knob and strumming the strings – the servos then take over.

The guitar will enter into full blown production in late 2008. But if you really want to get your hands on one, special dealers will soon begin carrying limited production models.

Here’s my question: Can I use it to play Guitar Hero? … Didn’t think so.

The Gibson Les Paul Robot Guitar [coolest gadgets]

Research in Motion is suing LG claiming the names ‘Black Label’, ‘Strawberry’ and ‘Black Cherry’, infringe on the BlackBerry name. Next thing you know they’ll be suing Sharp because the Sidekick receives emails, sends messages , and has a trackball.

Come on RIM, quit being a bully. I’m sure there are more important things to do. Maybe design a new phone, instead of refreshing two year old models?

RIM sues LG over their phone names being too close to the BlachBerry name [techdigest]

Starting off with the body and form. The solid metal body makes the phone nice and heavy. All the external keys are pretty small and it’s hard to tell if you’re pushing them or not. Motorola solved this by adding Haptic feedback – a small vibration whenever it registers a key indentation. But lack of dedicated camera button, made accessing a bit of a chore.

I got a chance to take it out on the town and test the call quality. The Incoming-outgoing voice quality was great in almost all areas, and overall reception was strong.

The audio quality for the MP3 player was a little below par in my opinion, but when the speaker is being used in a call it sounds pretty solid.

I really like the big, bright internal, and external screen. They make navigation a snap and they perform relatively well in direct sunlight. The external screen also has a strip along the bottom edge that is touch sensitive that allows you to control your music playback.

The element that really sets the T-mobile Razr2 apart is its lack of an expandable memory card slot. The phone actually has two gigs of storage built right in for all your storage needs. You may or may not like this, it’s pretty easy to fill two gigs these days. But it’s nice to be able to load the phone with music without dropping an extra chunk of change on a micro SD card.

Overall, I was impressed with the speed of the phone. It has the killer aesthetic that everyone loved in the original Razr. If you’re in need of a super compact phone, with basic functionality, you might want to pick up a new Motorola Razr2. I give it a 3.5 out of 5.

[rating: 3.5]