Ulf Waschbusch, who was Google's Mobile Product Manager until he recently left for MySpace Mobile, thinks the T-Mobile G1 sucks for a variety of reasons. He also points out the good stuff, but after seeing what's wrong in terms of interface, enterprise integration, data plan and its other flaws, especially compared with the competition, I absolutely agree with his views:

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If you're flying one of Europe's many discount carriers and you're not violently hungover, you're probably doing something wrong--the cabins of those single-class A319s are bubbling tempests of unshowered, throbbing rage that always seem a fraction of a degree away from boiling over. Now on your sunrise flight from Krakow to Berlin, you can enjoy constant mobile phone blabbing from up to six surrounding seats thanks to the good folks at Ryanair, 3, and O2.

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Say what you will about Windows Vista, but we think it's a little outlandish to advertise the product on a toilet. In an unnamed Russian city, ads for Vista appear right on the porcelain reading, "Windows Vista - the digital future starts here." We really hope it's an advertising agency's version of a prank. Otherwise, Microsoft appears to be after that "I pee standing up and often drink so much that I puke" demographic...which is probably pretty broad, honestly. [English Russia via CrunchGear]

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Nine of the top ten selling notebooks on Amazon right now are netbooks. (The other spot is taken by Apple.) Call them underpowered, complain about their screens, but there's a reason why every PC manufacturer in the world has jumped on the netbook bandwagon.

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In a stunning move, the folks at Asus appear to be adding a fairly significant feature to one of their netbooks--built-in 3.75G HSUPA connectivity to the Atom-powered 8.9" Eee PC 901--without spinning off another 5 different model designations. The 3.75G chip will be in all 901s that ship from October onward.

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According to the South China Morning Post, in China the iPhone 3G won't have 3G or Wi-Fi. China Mobile wants Apple to disable these two features. The first because they don't have a 3G network in place. The second nobody knows or can imagine why, but it simply makes the iPhone an almost-useless shiny brick. [Cellular News via Gadget Lab]

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While SanDisk has made no official announcements, their 16GB MicroSD cards are popping up for sale at various internet retailers (at various prices, we might add). Ranging from $US80 to $US220 (we'd go with the $US80), prices will settle with more availability. But we're pretty excited to toss an iPhone's worth of flash storage into any fancy smartphone we like. Plus, whenever we pop a tiny MicroSD card into one of our gadgets, it always feels like we're in the future. [mymemory via internettabletalk Thanks tipsters!]

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Content producers of pretty much any ilk were excited to get news of the highly refined, newly hardware-accelerated CS4 product line, but probably missed this key feature buried deep in the release notes: multitouch trackpad support.

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Motorola doesn't seem to have a great plan for the mobile space in the next few years, and these spy shots do little to assuage our fears of imminent crappiness. I mean, there's nothing immediately wrong with what we've heard and now seen of the Q11—GPS, Wi-Fi, and 3G are standard fare for smartphones (and even feature phones) of the day—but there's almost definitely nothing exciting.

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Rail-happy Japan, a country that probably takes great joy in watching America's embarrassingly slow and fitful adoption of high-speed and maglev trains, will be graced with new breed of green, 300+ kph trains by 2010. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the designer of these new trains, isn't promoting speed as the main selling point—Japan railways have seen much faster hardware fly down the tracks before—but instead is emphasising its environmental benefits.

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If the fantastic Large Hadron Collider rap was too esoteric for your tastes, Oort Kuiper's Astrobiology rap, commissioned by a European astronomy magazine, probably won't find its way onto your prestigious and exclusive "muzic 4 drivin' 'n' shit" playlist. But, in the spirit of science, consider the facts:

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Fresh from the arms-races-that-I-didn't-even-know-were-happening department comes Casio's latest venture in ultra-high density LCD panels, which has resulted in a 546ppi, 960x540, 2.0-inch TFT. To put that into real-world terms (or "iPhone terms" as they're called around here), that means that this display is over three times as dense as the iPhone's already lush 160ppi panel. A less useful (but more entertaining) way to explain this would be to say that if the tech could be scaled to suit a 40-inch widescreen TV, it would have a stunning resolution of 10800p.

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Jesus had a nice up close look at the ZX1 TV from Sony back at IFA a few weeks ago, and his response was pretty similar to our own after seeing it at UCHI this week: Wow.

The TV, which manages its ultra-slim body by outsourcing its TV components to a separate box, only needs a single power cable to power the screen. It connects to the other box - which includes all the same connections and controls you'd find on a Bravia TV - using a proprietary wireless technology from Sony. Apparently it doesn't interfere with any of your other wireless techs (like your garage door or wireless headphones), and the box can be hidden away up to 15 metres away.

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So we've been inundated with Android stories over the past couple of days from the US, but there is one question that they haven't bothered asking: When's Android coming to Australia?

Well, the guys over at ZDNet have done a heap of research into the matter, and it turns out the answer is that nobody knows anything. They spoke to all four of the mobile carriers, plus reps from the major handset manufacturers, and they couldn't glean a single droplet of information.

The best response they received was that the carriers were "investigating the issue internally". Even Google was quiet about when we might see some Android action. Apparently HTC - who make the G1 handset for T-Mobile in the US - gave the Zedders a "watch this space' quote, which could mean anything at all.

So, if you're dying to test out Android, best pull out your deck of cards and start playing solitaire - it might be a bit of a wait before we see anything here.

[ZDNet AU]

HappyWakeUp is a new mobile phone alarm app developed for S60 (the other open platform) that only wakes you when it knows you're in a light sleep cycle. How does it know? Well, Computerworld says HappyWakeUp actually uses the microphone from your phone to statistically analyse your sleep habits based on noises you make, and when placed under your pillow, it determines what phase of sleep you're in.

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Seen at the Valley Fair Apple Store here in the Bay Area, some guy's protesting Apple for something or other while wearing a homemade iPhone costume. Did your mum help you make that costume, sir? Because you should really ask her for help—she'd be able to pick out a nicer typeface and better looking icons. Best of luck to your cause, whatever it is. [Thanks Michael!]

Even as Android lights up developers' eyes with the sparkling promise of total openness, Apple's grip continues to tighten around iPhone app development. After being blocked from App Store for "duplicating" iTunes functionality—a dubious argument, for many reasons—Podcaster's developers turned to a loophole in Apple's ad hoc app distribution program (mainly for education and testing) to unofficially distribute the app. For $US10, they'd register your iPhone or iPod touch and you'd get Podcaster, totally legit, no jailbreaking or anything. Apple has just blocked the developer, Alex Sokirynsky, from making new ad hoc licenses, effectively killing any further distribution.

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The large elderly population in Japan has manufacturers clamouring to develop devices to assist them. Not surprisingly, they are coming up with some pretty unique ideas. Take this human airbag for instance. The airbag system is strapped onto the body and inflates in 0.1 seconds when it detects rapid movement toward the ground. Strangely, one pocket will be behind the head and another behind the hips—but there is no protection for a forward fall. So, Grandpa is on his own if he should trip and fall face-first in the street. Walk it off, Grandpa...walk it off. [BBC]

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Not satisfied with the amount of boob-touching going on in real life (shocking!), a Japanese programmer after our own hearts created paiTouch (oh wit! pai = slang for boobs)--an iPhone touchscreen version of his much more intensive Flash simulator complete with motion physics algorithms for "realistic" jiggling and plenty of customisable parameters. The iPhone webapp port runs in javascript and is a little jerky--if it looks like you're pushing an unresponsive milk puddle around a black screen, you would be right--a far cry from the "oppai enjinia's" promised "Tits always in the pocket" (Google Translate's words not mine!). But hats off for trying. Check the Flash version here (pretty much SFW, aside from the creep-o factor) for the true experience. [Technohippy (Translated) via Crunch Gear]

T-Mobile's just rolled back on their 1GB usage cap on their 3G plans for upcoming G1 Android customers, instead going to a hold-up-while-we-figure-this-out route. The statement they give now states that they can reduce throughput for "a small fraction" of users who are using too much data, but exact terms and limits are still being reviewed before they're finalised. Statement after the jump.

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Some very talented individuals at the Japanese company Hot Toys have developed 1:6 scale Iron Man Mark I, II and III figures that feature an absolutely extraordinary level of detail. Seriously though—just look at Stark's face. Sure he looks kind of Japanese but I'll be damned if that is not the best Robert Downey Jr. has ever looked in tiny plastic form. Details are scarce, but more info is expected to be released sometime "soon." I can't wait to find out how much I can't afford to buy this!

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Google made the Android 1.0 SDK available today, following the announcement of the G1 phone yesterday. The 1.0 signification means it's technically out of beta, and you can develop without fear of major changes to Android's core programming. According to Mobile Whack, the only changes from the 0.9 release are some bug fixes and API inclusions. Download it here. [Mobile Whack]

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Tinker, a game available right now for free through the Windows Vista Ultimate Extras program, is probably the first Ultimate extra that people actually like. The previous couple—Sound Schemes and DreamScene moving wallpapers—were nice, but hardly worth the extra money people paid for the premium version of Vista. Download the 60-level obstacle course game right now from your automatic Windows Update. Here's hoping there are more Extras coming before Windows 7 hits.

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WowWee's Rovio Roving Webcam Detailed in Videos
How many workplaces do you think will get one of these for board meetings?

Stop-Frame Animator Makes Amazing DSLR Movie The Old-Fashioned Way
Sometimes I wish I had this kind of creativity. Then I just have a beer and play some Xbox. Gotta play to your strengths.

Halo Energy Sword Makes You Unstoppable/Arrestable
It's also rumoured to be a Covenant aphrodisiac.

Third Parties Are Ditching the PSP
What's a platform gotta do to get some games around here?

Drum Kit Shirt Turns You Into a Robotic Bobby McFerrin
Don't Worry, Be Happy. There - now it's in your head as well...

T-Mobile G1 Info Dump
Want to know about the new Android phone? Click this link!

Obviously, six Mac placeholders showing up in Future Shop's inventory system isn't a reason to jump to conclusions about new Macbooks—but it certainly doesn't do anything to dispel any of the other rumours floating around out there either. [Future Shop and Macrumors]

For die-hard Yankee's fans like myself, this has definitely been a year to forget. I think everyone would agree that the season itself was a total disaster, and I'm sure that there are a lot of people that are sad to see the old stadium go. Lego artist Sean Kenney is one of those people, which is why he and a Manhattan grade schooler spent three years building a replica (1:150 scale) using 45,700 bricks. As you can see, the result of their efforts so far is impressive. When completed, the stadium will be populated with tons of miniature spectators and vendors. A full gallery is available after the break.

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After yesterday's information explosion covering the good, the bad and the ugly about Android and the T-Mobile G1, I can't help but wonder whether or not public perception of the platform and its first phone has changed. Are you more excited, less excited, or have your feelings remained the same? Did you even care in the first place?

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