Repeat after us: Your gadget is not a pet

Upon learning what an outfit called VIP Fibers does, we weren't sure whether to laugh, cry, or get totally grossed out.

The Texas-based service will make cases for cell phones, MP3 players, and just about anything else out of--get this--your pet's fur. All you need to do is send off those hairballs you've been saving up, and VIP Fibers will knit them into a "lovely pouch," according to GeekSugar. We have nothing against pets, of course, but still find this disturbing on a number of levels.

Even though it involves living beings (we hope), this ranks high on the creepy scale alongside the "LifeGem" diamond created from the carbon of deceased loved ones and, worst of all, the "Breath Capture," which offers a novel way to "capture the breath of a loved one or friend and keep them close." But we don't think the latter would be terribly popular for pets--especially dogs.

Via CNET Crave

Fancy YouTube on your WM device?

Support for Flash videos has been pretty disappointing on mobile devices. This is because Adobe's support is not at the same level as on the desktop, so Flash sites on your PC browser don't look exactly the same as on your mobile phone. Flash Lite for mobile devices has been around for a while, but only the latest version 3 supports FLV, the most popular format for video streaming on the Internet, including everyone's favorite video site, YouTube. Though this version was announced more than a year back, it hasn't found its way into any device that's commercially available now.

Today, Adobe announced that Microsoft has licensed the Flash Lite 3.x plug-in for Internet Explorer Mobile. According to its press release, this will be available to manufacturers that license the Windows Mobile software worldwide. It doesn't say when the first WM devices with this plug-in will be available. But we do know that Flash Lite 3 has already been announced for four Symbian-based Nokia phones (those announced during the Mobile World Congress 2008), and that these will be in the market in Q2. These should give a good indication of what Flash Lite 3.x can do.

For those who don't want to wait, there are ways to get around the "can't play Flash" scourge for your Windows Mobile handhelds. These methods aren't elegant, but they'll get you your YouTube fix on-the-go. Perfect for showing your friends that hilarious "Ken Lee" video when outdoors without a computer. If you want the specifics, remember, Google is your friend.

Via One More Thing (CNET News.com)

LionKing800 claims to have one-year standby time

Once in a while we'll hear of some crazy manufacturers showcasing totally wacky stuffs. A lot of these admittedly come out of mainland China. There's simply nothing the Chinese cannot do, or clone.

Enter the LionKing800 that claims to have a 16,800mAh Lithium-ion battery with a standby time of one year and between three and five days of talktime. To put that into perspective, that's equivalent to more than 10 times the average cell phone battery capacity and a rated standby time of just 10 months more than Philips' Xenium 9@9k.

We are going to take this claim with a huge bucket of salt and strongly urge that you do, too.

Via Engadget | Picture credit: Solomobi

"Pink Beauty" LG Viewty aimed squarely at women

Just like we predicted, LG caved in and has just released a pink version of the Viewty KU990 targeted at women.

Nothing has changed except for the color, and the "Pink Beauty" is expected to make its way to Europe in the coming weeks according to Akihabara News.

There's no word on whether this pink Viewty will be available in Asia, but if the carriers or the retailers decide to bring it in, it should probably be sometime in April.

So just hang in there while we wait for updates from LG.



Credit: LG

A phone every panda would love

Bamboo has made its way into everything from mice to TVs, but for some reason it seems to have missed mobile phones. But MobileWhack has found a concept from this year's Greener Gadgets Design Competition that wants to bring everyone's favorite eco-material to the handset.

Shockingly named "Bamboo," the proposed phone would compete with the likes of Nokia's "Remade" concept in what could eventually prove to be a major eco-trend in the global marketplace. Despite its name, the handset would be made of corn and other natural materials as well for safe, degradeable disposal.

And how does it charge? By hand-crank, of course. Sorry, hemp lovers.

Via CNET Crave | Picture credit: MobileWhack

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