Recently in Mobile Oddities Category

If you think that this is just a concept device, then be prepared to be amazed because you’re completely wrong. LG has decided to come out with the GD910, the first ever 3G-capable watch phone that likewise boasts of having a touchscreen display, front-facing camera for video calls, Bluetooth, and HSDPA connectivity that maxes out at 7.2Mbps. While I highly doubt you'll be able to take hi-resolution pictures using this, the GD910 does make for a pretty handy 3G modem that you can pair with your laptop through Bluetooth and will definitely be an interesting conversation piece at gatherings. Details pertaining to its availability and price will probably be revealed at CES 2009 where it is expected to make its grand debut. As for the here and now, it has definitely caught my attention though I really wouldn’t consider getting one if it does go on sale in the local market. How about you guys? Will you buy the LG GD910 watch phone if it becomes available locally?

Out of all the many devices that have evolved out of the USB phenomenon, this has got to be the icing on the cake. Shinhan, a Korean company, has come up with the first ever USB type credit card. It aims at providing users with the ability of making easy transactions via its built-in IC chip which allows for no-touch payments in IC card reader-equipped establishments as well as the convenience of having pertinent credit card information entered automatically for online transactions just by simply plugging it into the USB slot of your computer. However, as grand as their announcement to the public, they are quick to note that they won’t go full steam ahead with this project and will still provide the conventional plastic cards until a greater number of establishments become equipped with the IC chip readers. I guess when this does become mainstream, online fraud will be as easy as plugging in a hijacked USB credit card, but I guess they've already thought of this possibility, or have they?

We’ve seen USB flash drives, USB-powered fans and lights, and even some not-so-wholesome gadgets that easily plug in to a USB port. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, here is another USB device that might prove to be a bit more useful than all the rest albeit looking like it came straight out of a Barbie doll house set. The USB-powered desktop vacuum cleaner provides you with a handy tool to sweep your desk and laptop clean of all those dirt that gets accumulated from daily use. Standing 8-inches tall and mimicking the features of a classic vacuum cleaner, it might not seem as durable and powerful as the full size cleaner, but it can’t sure make a fine Christmas present that can be put to good use and will more likely than not be an entertaining topic of discussion at the party as well.   Via Pocket-Lint

I thought the whole point of the shuffle was to make the most affordable, minimalist digital music player around, but apparently some folk think otherwise. See the Heyerdahl special edition diamond-encrusted, pink and white gold iPod shuffle called the iDiamond. Currently on display in Oslo until October 1, the not-for-sale, one-of-a-kind digital music player's casing and earbuds are made of white and pink gold and are studded with 430 diamonds (they'd have fitted it with more, I think, but it was too small.) It's currently valued at US$41,000, or almost PHP1.9M. Would be a mighty shame to load this up with pirated MP3. More details here. (Cross-posted in Mac-A-Doodle)

Ha. The pic got your attention, didn't it? I think this marks the first time underwear is prominently featured in the Mobile blog - legitimately, mind you. A company called Cramer Japan has created peek-proof underwear for women. In recent years night-vision features on today's cameras have been modified to be able to see through dresses and clothes to get a peek at underwear, and is a popular mobile geek-perv pasttime in the land of used-underwear-vending machines. This is done using special filters and lenses that attach to video and digital still cameras that work in conjunction with the infra-red light that modern cameras emit to enable people to see in the dark - or in this case, see through clothes. While the resulting pictures are dark and unclear and not titillating at all, some folk still find a cheap thrill in achieving this dubious trick. In Japan, women are constantly on guard against sexual harrassment of this sort, especially in crowded trains or lonely city streets. Cramer Japan has developed ShotGuard Inner Shorts, beige-colored panties made of a special polyurethane-nylon material impervious to perverts. The cameras are unable to penetrate the clothes and distinguish between outer and inner wear. Cramer Japan is now working on a similar brassiere to protect the upper regions of the fairer sex.

China's cloning industry is as entrenched and as widespread as it is ubiquitous, and has reached a scale so vast that entire factories are being cloned down to the last nut and bolt from stolen blueprints so these can reproduce exactly what the original factory was manufacturing, reports popsci.com. How's that for piracy? One of their more interesting "products" is the Meizu M8 MiniOne, which is for almost all intents and purposes, the Chinese version of the iPhone. The M8, like the iPhone, also comes in 4- or 8GB versions, with or without a camera, and runs off an ARM processor, but this phone runs off Windows instead of OS X. The features mimic (albeit poorly and incompletely) Apple's unit but, unlike Apple's iPhone, at least it runs anywhere in the world. The screen resolution is 480 x 720, running on a 3.3" 24-bit display. The physical dimensions of the Chinese iPhone is 10.5" x 5.7" x 1.2". The various models cost from US$200 to US$400, a clear case of getting what you pay for. Me, I'll think I'll wait.

One of the many reasons why we should always have our mobile phones adequately charged is that we never know when an emergency might arise. Who knows when we might need to make an emergency phone call or text someone in our time of need. But in the case of doctors in Argentina, the emergency came in the form of a failed generator during a blackout in the middle of an appendix operation. Reuters reported that surgeons managed to complete the operation with the aid of mobile phones supplying the needed light as a substitute. A family member gathered some phones from willing people in the hallway to provide adequate lighting for doctors to finish the operation in time before the anesthesia wore off. Wow! Who would have known your mobile phone can literally save someone’s life? But I sure wouldn’t want to be the one on the table only to realize later on that I was operated on in the dark with a handful of cell phones as lighting.

While Transformers the movie rules over the box office and fan boys of all ages, at the end of the day, it’s still fiction. Toys may be available at the local mall that may resemble the movie characters, but after all is said and done, it will still be a toy. The latest convergence of technology and children’s entertainment (that may appeal to some adult Hello Kitty fanatics as well), however, has resulted in the Hello Kitty robot. This robot is more than your average light-up and talk robot as it is equipped with a CMOS sensor for face-recognition and can converse in three different situations: close-friend, family and guessing game. It has a moving head and pair of arms. Lower limb movements, however, are not possible (safe to say this robot won’t walk out on you). Priced at US$6299.99, this is one expensive toy. But, hey, look at it this way, if you’re looking to own a robot, at least this one’s a more useful robot than the Aibo.

Art Ilano is trying to get you to shake your booty - by getting you to set your phone to vibrate. The fact is, he says, "the ring tone on your MP3-enabled phone that you think is so cute is actually annoying to just about everyone else around you." Well, Art, this bit of news just might kill you - now you can make your ringtone play on the phones of the people you call. Nope, this isn't the ringback option offered by our local telcos - you don't listen to the ringing tone set by the person you're calling. This is an entirely different animal. Emotive's Push Ringer "allows a caller to push an outgoing ringtone to a receiving phone allowing the caller, not the called person, to set the tone and override the phone's pre-set ringer." Yup, you can call somebody and force them to listen to your favorite love ballads until they answer you call. The service isn't available here yet, but I'm dreading it already.

So now that Apple has released a new iPod Nano, expect vendors to come out with new cases to take advantage of the sales it's sure to generate. Belkin is trying to be first to the game, by releasing new cases for the media player:

• Acrylic Case (Pictured)
• Hard Flip-Top Case
• Neoprene Holster
• Canvas Flip-Top Case (Pictured)
• Canvas Holster
• Sports Armband
• Slider Case

Some of these cases are also available for the iPod Video (see the press release for more details). Belkin is also coming out with the Kickstand II, a display stand for the iPod Video. These accessories aren't available locally yet, but expect the local distributor of Belkin to pick it up soon. Rico Mossesgeld also writes for The Smart PDA. Check out his personal blog, Fool for Five.