The Daily Slash: May 17th 2010

Did anyone else notice it's Monday? We sure did. It just has an air about it, doesn't it? Well, we're happy that you chose to start your week out with us, and welcome to this latest edition of the Daily Slash. Tonight, in the Best of R3, we've got a CDMA HTC Hero showing up somewhere it doesn't belong, and Samsung wants to give you money for developing applications. And then in the Dredge 'Net, Blue Ant's got a new speakerphone for your Bluetooth pleasure, a new report shows cell phone shipments around the world are growing, and finally, a LEGO robot that can raise its own bridge.The Best of R3 MediaAn HTC Hero with Cox Branding: We love when things get sold on eBay, or especially Craig's List. It's just a sneaky way to show off something we never thought would happen, in some cases. Like this one. Someone managed to sell a Cox (as in the cable company) branded CDMA HTC Hero. It looks exactly like the Sprint version, but this one had no physical branding on it. There's plenty of branding on the software side, though, which even includes a boot screen showing the Cox label. Definitely interesting stuff, especially considering Cox wants to launch their own wireless service. Testing in progress, perhaps? [via Android Community]Samsung Wants You to Make Apps for Bada: Yes. If you're a developer, and you want to get on yet another platform, then maybe you should start thinking about Samsung's Bada mobile Operating System (OS). It's the proprietary one that became famous when the company unveiled the Samsung Wave handset, and sure, it probably won't make you rich, but perhaps winning this developer's contest will. You see, if you get to the second round, not only will you get a new Samsung Wave of your own, but you'll also have a shot at winning upwards of $300,000. A lot of money for you developers out there, so if you've got the chops, go for it. And let us know how it goes, yeah? [via SlashPhone]The Dredge NetBlueAntS4 Bluetooth Speakerphone Available (soon?): There's plenty of options out there if you're in the market for a Bluetooth speakerphone, but this one from BlueAnt is definitely one of the more attractive approaches. Sure, it's still just a Bluetooth speakerphone, but it has a few features worth mentioning. Like, for example, voice activated features. You can turn it on by saying, "BlueAnt speak to me." You can also turn on the Vlingo SafeReader application by saying, "Start SafeReader." (Tricky, right?) That feature will read you your own text messages and emails. It will go for $99 at Best Buy locations, and AT&T stores across the nation. The Vlingo app is currently compatible with BlackBerry devices, and Android-based handsets running Android 2.0 or later. [via Ubergizmo]iSuppli Says Worldwide Shipments of Cellphones is up 13.8 Percent: Good news all around for the cell phone industry, but perhaps not so much for a few companies out there. For example, Motorola has dropped from the sixth spot to the eight spot in worldwide cellphone sales. They sold 14.7 million handsets in the first quarter of 2009, but managed to only push out 8.5 million in the same period this year. Sony Ericsson was the only other company worth mentioning that didn't sell as many handsets. Samsung, Nokia, and LG Electronics are all at the top of the list, still. Which, incidentally, isn't surprising at all. [via Engadget]This LEGO Contraption Can Lay Down its Own Bridge: You read that title correctly. This LEGO creation of awesomeness is created from LEGO Technic pieces, which means it has a bunch of motorized pieces in there. And, while we aren't putting the video here, you definitely need to check it out. The vehicle can lay down its own bridge, which takes roughly about a minute, and then move aside to let other LEGO vehicles by. It can then traverse its own bridge, before it reverses, and picks the bridge back up, which folds nicely over its back. The process is slow, but it's still one of the coolest things to watch, considering the LEGO prowess involved. [via TechnaBob]