This R2D2 droid we wrote about a few days ago had a few surprises in store once I opened the box.

It's smaller than it seems in pictures. I'd say its about perfect scale to the old Star Wars action figures. I would have killed for one of these back in the day. Not sure if it'll fit in the X Wing from Hasbro, but I'm guessing a yes. The Japanese import has an IR lightsaber remote which controls the action.

When operating, the lightsaber can make R2D2 move forward and back but when it moves back, he spins. That's how the little guy turns. While on the move, his dome pivots a little bit side to side, and an a red LED goes off, as if he's looking around for trouble or a terminal interface to jack into. The whistling and purring R2 does while moving is emitted from the lightsaber.

Overall, its a fine piece of gear. At $30 bucks, it might make a good gift, cat toy, or a good friend to have when you're trying to get the Hyperdrive working. –Brian Lam

VIDEO: R/C R2D2 [Thinkgeek]

I just took this UI video of Nokia's N95.

But, man, the wave of N95 coverage here and elsewhere, is slowing. Everyone says the beautiful phone is powerful, but too expensive for most to buy at $750. Many of you are left dreaming.

That's why I've tried to show you all I can, partially to help a buying decision, but mostly to show you the ins and outs as if you owned the thing. First the hardware shots, the 50 screenshot gallery, and then the review.

That's a lot to sort through, but then I thought about the OS lag, and the navigation, and the other interface details: that stuff you just can't see until you see it in motion. Which is why I took a 1/2 hour long video of every single bit and piece of the damn phone's interface so you could play some more make-believe.

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This USB Memo Holder is really just a glorified USB extension cable, but who am I kidding, crazy USB peripherals will sell, including this one. It does light up when a memo is placed, which can be convenient for the forgetful types. An additional USB port is on the backside for plugging in useful gadgets. –Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via EverythingUSB]

Last week, Mossberg, Caesar of the WSJ's Gadget Empire, declared war on PCs shipping with Craplets, the bloatware that comes with new computers. It was the most popular story on the WSJ's website that day, and so this week Mossy followed up with a post for the people about how to smite those annoying little apps. Yes, Mossberg for the People!

He's mentioned the crapware hunter-killer software Decrapifier. And that Dell's XPS line can be ordered clean. Which all sounds... familiar. Very familiar. cough*backlink*cough!

He also talks about reinstalling the OS as soon as you get a new PC, which he doesn't recommend because a) most newbs don't know how b) install discs, if a PC comes with, often come with crapware on the install discs. And he lists buying from white box vendors and requesting a virginal OS installs, but only if they're reputable.

Beyond that, it was interesting to see Walt mention that it was the most popular story on the WSJ that day, AND that lots of websites linked to the story. Somehow, I'm pretty sure the two are related. –Brian Lam

Ways You Can Avoid Getting Junk Programs On Your New Computer [WSJ]

This cross between a speedboat and what could be Paul LeMat's '32 Ford Coupe is called the Front Runner. In theory, this water speed demon designed by Joey Ruiter is made of aluminum and is powered by twin 225hp motors in the front. Don't know how that will work out, but who cares? Being a concept, it's just cool for the sake of it. There's no more details available, so I have made up my own specs to post them with the extra picture of the front after the jump.

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We've seen plenty of case mods, including some built to look like humans, but this is a one of a kind. This tale revolves around a case modder, a hunter and a taxidermist (sounds like one hell of a sitcom). This once-living stuffed beaver now houses a complete computer that includes a Core 2 Duo processor, 160GB hard drive, 1GB of memory and a mini-ITX motherboard. There definitely needs to be more real animal case mods. So loyal Gizmodo readers, ready your guns, knives and clubs and get modding. (This post has been deemed vegetarian and PETA approved.) –Travis Hudson

Compubeaver: Nastiest Case Mod Ever [Gadget Lab]

This clever little door handle glows red when the room is occupied or green when it isn't. Perfect for rooms you need privacy in, such as bathrooms and torture dungeons, it's powered by wiring directly through the door, so it's not something you'll be able to hook up all too easily on a door not wired already. If it seems like too much work for a gimmicky idea, just stick to locking your door. It's easier. –Adam Frucci

Product Page [via Nerd Approved]

Okay, so it's been four full weeks since I started using the HairMax laser comb to, uh, buff up my hair. Since the last video, I haven't noticed any difference, but next week is the big week. Week 5-6 is when the manual says I will notice a difference. I'll let you guys be the judge of that when we post our video next Friday. Meanwhile, Dan Costa over at Gear Log has put his noggin' on the line too. He's on week 2 of his HairMax adventure. Good luck, bro! If we both fail, we'll duct-tape both combs and create an uber-laser comb. –Louis Ramirez

Lab Rat Week 1 [Gizmodo]
Lab Rat Week 2 [Gizmodo]
My Head on HairMax [Gear Log]

According to the good folks at AppleInsider, Steve & Co. plan to throw a few "top secret" features into Leopard, which may be the real cause for the operating system's four-month delay. In the report, American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu is quoted as saying that Apple will be good enough to reveal those secrets at the WWDC conference on June 11. In the meantime, we can only guess at what they might be.

Ricavision's remote is the first to display Vista's Sideshow interface on its big LCD.

If you haven't been keeping up, SideShow is a Vista feature that when paired with the right "gadget" gives you the ability to read email, listen to music, or browse through photos from an external screen, like the 2.5 inch QVGA LCD on this remote. The advanced clicker also has the basic IR blaster and Bluetooth.

Before we tell you what we think, check the gallery below.

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Rumor has it that Apple is planning to release a Wi-Fi–enabled iPod by the end of the year. Component manufacturers in the far east claim that Apple has orders in for Wi-Fi modules for the music player, which would set up the iPod to compete directly with the Zune in the not-exactly-crowded Wi-Fi-enabled DAP market.

An iPhone-esque, widescreen iPod with Wi-Fi? Sounds good to me, as long as Apple learns from Microsoft's mistakes when it comes to implementing Wi-Fi on a music player. –Adam Frucci

DigiTimes [via Apple Insider]

This sweet environmentally friendly house spins to face the sun, helping it stay nice and warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It does this by using triple-glazed glass on one side of the house to keep it warm in the winter, and by super-insulating the other side to keep the house cool in the summer.

In addition, it's got solar vacuum tubes that heat water using the sun. In the end, the house creates more energy than it uses, which is a pretty remarkable feat. Where can I order one? –Adam Frucci

Tree Hugger [via Sci Fi Tech]

What happens if you take a camcorder and completely destroy it in a blender, then try to return its blended-up remains to Best Buy? Well, there is a 14-day return policy, isn't there? In a spinoff of its "Will It Blend?" series that promotes Blendtec blenders, one of the show's brave souls attempted just that. Would Best Buy, just about to be stung by its notorious peeping geek incident, relent?

"I tripped, and it fell into a blender."
"Did you get the, uh, accidental plan on it?"
"No."

Will It Return? [Blendtec] (Thanks, Dan!)

So apparently a patent has just been filed for a PDA with a detachable cellphone. It works like this: The phone sits in a recess behind the PDA. When they're docked, you can transfer contacts from one to the other. When detached, the mobile works like a standard cellie, relying on its own battery.

An idea like this would have been cool maybe 15 years ago (before smartphones came into the picture). Today, I can only see it being (slightly) useful if it's a slim camera attached to a smartphone, so that taking pictures won't suck up my phone's battery life. –Louis Ramirez

Patent Filed for PDA with Detachable Mobile Phone [Mobile Whack]

Philips, always on the bleeding edge of the consumer electronics industry, has decided to buy DLO, makers of all sorts of iPod accessories. Do you think iPod accessories will be popular? Philips is like the Nostradamus of gadgets, so I bet this means that this sector is really going to take off, although it might take some time. In the meantime, they can always make loads of money by manufacturing accessories for their own line of mindblowing DAPs. -Adam Frucci

Press Release [Philips]

These Whoomp earbud enhancers make your ordinary iPod earbuds kick some serious ass. In case you missed them when when they were rolled out a couple of months ago, we wanted to show them to you because they're an improvement on Griffin's EarJams (some evocative imagery in that name; at least they didn't name them EarCheeses). Snap these Whoomps onto your iPod earbuds and suddenly you're dealing with an in-the-ear design, rattling your skull with jaw-jarring bass.

We're big fans of Griffin's EarJams, astonished at the increased fidelity you can get with a good seal in your ear canal. How do Whoomps improve on Griffin's design?

They take that idea a step further with their soft "Comply" foam tips that are pliable and comfy, molding themselves to the unique shape of your ears. Plus, you get a choice of earpiece sizes, offered in a package of two pairs of either large or small Whoomps, or a pair of each size, for $19.95. Good deal, because you only get one pair of EarJams from Griffin for that same price.

Whoomp. I like that name. Ari Gold from Entourage and Steve Jobs should start saying that instead of "Boom." Whoomp! –Charlie White

Product Page [Hearing Components, Inc.]

Check out this unusually designed webcam, branded GE but made by Jasco. Introduced last year, it can either be clipped to your laptop screen or stood up on its pedestal that collapses into a smaller lens-protecting package to take on the road. It is also four LEDs surrounding the lens, bringing out the twinkle in your eye, or maybe even smoothing out a wrinkle or two.

Yeah, this is a cheap webcam that sells for $31.95, but it still packs nominal specs such a 640x480 resolution, a built-in mic and 30fps video. They've been spotted with either a black or white finish. Might be a nice addition to your travel kit if your laptop doesn't already have a built-in webcam. –Charlie White

Product Page [X-treme Geek]

Those loveable patent sifters have discovered that Motorola, entering into some kind of twisted competition with Samsung and NTT Docomo, will consider development of its own "smell-o-phone." Motorola says its phone would heat up a packet of scented gel, presumably one that you're guaranteed to never grow sick of. It was apparently inspired by those popular plug-in-the wall air freshener/night-lights. In this case, the heat source is the phone's own power amplifier, so it should be a quick mod, though probably not a help in extending battery life.

Note: STNKR is my own hastily crafted moniker for this would-be device, and should in no way reflect badly on the awesome creative naming power of the people who brought us RAZR, SLVR, ROKR, KRZR, RIZR and PEBL. –Wilson Rothman

Motorola's Mobile Smell-O-Phone [New Scientist]

AMD has been teasing us with glimpses of ATI's next-gen DirectX 10 video cards, and the latest peek is the most tantalizing. The cards will all fall into the HD 2000-series umbrella (the HD stands for their Avivo HD technology).

At the top of the line is the Radeon HD 2900 XT with 320 stream processors (each one reducing dependence on the CPU), native CrossFire support (making it easier to pair two of these babies up), and integrated HDMI out with support for 5.1 surround sound. They will also support

128-bit HRD rendering and 16x anti-aliasing. The RV630-based cards will fall under the Radeon HD 2600 umbrella with Pro and XT versions and finally the budget RV610-based models will carry the Radeon HD 2400 name. There's no word on what kind of power consumption to expect from these cards, but hopefully we'll hear the official word from ATI soon. The cards are expected to roll out starting this month (which is around the same time we expect Nvidia's new 8800 Ultra card and their mid-tier cards as well). Let the war begin. –Louis Ramirez

Ed: There's no HDMI in either of these pics.

ATI Releases More R600 Details [DailyTech]

Sony's getting desperate to goose the street cred of its slow-selling PS3, digging deep into its idea basket to catch up to the popularity of the Nintendo Wii. Apparently the company's plan of attack is to develop a VR/3-D controller, illustrated in this patent application for a "handheld computer interactive device" spotted today.

It takes the abilities of the Wii controller a step further, where in addition to determining where your hand is in 3D space, sensors in the glove can be triggered by individual fingers, letting you grasp objects or assign each finger to a different function. Added to that is tactile feedback. Hmm. Teledildonics, anyone? –Charlie White

VR/3D Controller for your Sony PS3 [Unwired View]

Okay, so today's UMPCs are nowhere near being as cool as the ones in this video, but supposedly this is the direction they're heading. You got voice recognition, ultra-thin profiles, touchscreen displays, the works. There's no QWERTY keyboard, but if my UMPC can do everything that these can (and direct me to secret raves), I don't care. –Louis Ramirez

Intel: Future of UMPCs [TechEBlog]

BenQ Siemens jumps onto the shiny clamshell bandwagon with its SF71, not wanting to get left behind by its rivals at LG with its latest Shine phone, that LG VX 8700 clamshell launched on Verizon last week. But this tri-band GSM (900/1800/1900 MHz) + UMTS cellphone doesn't have that elegant brushed aluminum look of the LG clamshell. No, its design incorporates the shiny chrome of a '57 Chevy with a face that looks like the front of that Honda Aibo robot's helmet.

The SF 71 has mildly respectable specs that could've been reflected from the burnished aluminum of its LG counterpart, where it's just about the same height, has Bluetooth and microSD card support, a 320x240 screen and a 2-megapixel camera. It does take a baby step further with an additional VGA camera, but it's got a bit of baby fat, too, at 19mm to the LG's svelte 13mm thickness. Follow us inside for a peek at the SF71 opened up for all to see.

Nobody's talking about when the BenQ Siemens SF71 will be available yet, or at what price. –Charlie White

BenQ Siemens SF71 [Unwired View]