Ready for even more rumors about Windows Mobile 7 and Microsoft's mysterious "Pink" smartphone project? Good, cause we've got a few -- and the first is potentially huge. ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley says her best understanding of "Pink" is now that it's a Microsoft-branded phone running a custom UI on top of Windows Mobile 7, developed by what's left of the Danger team and targeted at the Sidekick market. Yep, Microsoft-branded -- as in, the exact thing Microsoft has been denying for ages now. What's more, Redmond wouldn't be letting third parties use this new UI -- Pink would be manufactured only by Sharp or Motorola, who've made Sidekicks in the past. It all makes sense, even if it does feel a bit like MS is knifing its partners in the back -- companies like HTC and Samsung have been equally aggressive in layering their own UIs like TouchFLO 3D and TouchWiz on top of WinMo, but it's another thing entirely to compete against Microsoft itself, especially now that AdWeek says Microsoft's selected an agency to develop a Pink ad campaign. Yeah, things are starting to get a little wild -- we haven't even mentioned the open questions of whether the Zune HD is running Tegra because it's based on Windows Mobile 7 Chassis 1, or whether Pink will launch on Verizon, or whether Zune will appear on other phones, or... you get the idea. Hey Microsoft -- you want to clear any of this up by shipping some products?

Read - ZDNet
Read - AdWeek

It's been quite awhile since we've seen a major recall surrounding volatile laptop batteries, but it looks as if HP is the company bringing the topic back to the forefront. Announced today, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with Hewlett-Packard, has issued a voluntary recall of about 70,000 Li-ion batteries. Reportedly, these cells can "overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers," and so far, the firm and CPSC have received two separate reports of batteries that have overheated and ruptured, resulting in -- wait for it -- "flames / fire that caused minor property damage." For a look at what units are affected, head on past the break -- oh, and if you're reading this on an HP lappie right now, go ahead and grab the fire extinguisher just in case.

T-Mobile's Sidekicks have been cult favorites stretching all the way back to the original grayscale model -- a device with a design only a mother could love, may we add -- when it launched nearly seven years ago. Though the unusual form factor with the addictive spring-loaded pivoting swivel has largely prevented it from attracting a mainstream audience, the countless teens and twenty-somethings who've latched on to the Hiptop ecosystem have cited many of the same reasons for loving it since day one: an easy, foolproof UI, push email, high-quality customizability, decent web browsing capabilities, and a stellar messaging-optimized layout (remember that QWERTY was little more than a twinkle in most manufacturers' eyes back in 2002).

At its launch, the first-generation Sidekick LX represented a new high end for the franchise -- big shoes to fill for the 2009 model of the same name. Does it live up to the hype? More importantly, could this be the first Sidekick complete enough and robust enough to reach new audiences? Head on over to Engadget Mobile's review to find out.

Okay, so first things first -- we all know the world's on track to end in 2012, so it's not like this really matters. But if, just if it manages to survive (à la Y2K), you can pretty much bank on a mass reversal of culture as we all push aside our netbooks and return to the playground. According to some "research" slated to be fully published "later this year," PCs and laptops are apt to "operate at a much reduced speed, rendering the internet an unreliable toy" from 2012 onward. The reason? Massive growth in internet demand, which is undoubtedly on pace to crush existing infrastructure that can't ever be improved upon by anyone, regardless of their market capitalization or determination to expand. It's noted that the internet itself will somehow survive, but that users will begin to see "brownouts," which are described as "a combination of temporary freezing and computers being reduced to a slow speed." Thank heavens for FinallyFast, right?

Psst... the solution to all of this is just past the break.

[Thanks, Colin]

Our first glimpse of T-Mobile's new 2009 edition Sidekick LX was all too brief, so we've jumped back in for some in-depth video hands-on (embedded after the break). One word of warning: this screen is truly incredible, and we can't be held responsible for any instances of sudden onset Sidekick envy. Traipsing through the OS, we found most everything to be responsive, intuitive and actually pretty feature-packed. The Facebook and Twitter apps are some of the best we've seen, and Laura our demo person was actually brave enough to shoot, upload and stream YouTube live on video with us. The browser had a bit of trouble with the visceral multimedia experience of Engadget.com, but overall seemed fairly together. The Download Catalog is a little barebones at the moment, but promising. Overall the hardware will be totally familiar to Sidekick users, but there are enough enhancements and refinements to make this lust worthy to folks on both sides of the Sidekick fence. It's comfortable in hand, with soft touch plastic and a super solid build, despite our best efforts at wrenching that swivel-and-tilt screen from its magical hinge. The phone hits T-Mobile on May 13th for $199 after rebates.

Fake corporate-marketing unboxing videos aren't anything new -- some of them are even pretty amazing -- but this latest one from T-Mobile is definitely the skeeziest we've ever seen. Follow along as a sex-crazed Sidekick LX attempts to limit access to his bubbly new owner's "spring break photos," pushes her into watching her "hot friends" play beach volleyball, and lament that he's ended up in the purse rather than her pocket -- yep, the Sidekick LX is the creepy little brother you wish you never had. No wonder she stashes it next to the pepper spray. Video after the break.

Sound familiar? Indeed, this isn't the first time T-Mobile has offered a Sidekick LX -- but much like last year's simply-named Sidekick, the carrier is once again carrying forward branding while totally revamping the hardware. The 2009 edition of the Sidekick LX is thoroughly new and pretty much nails every item on every Sidekick fan's wishlist: GPS, 3G data, an absolutely glorious 3.2-inch full wide VGA display, and super-tight integration with Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. You've also got a 3.2 megapixel AF camera with LED flash, microSD expansion (T-Mobile throws a 1GB card in the box), video recording and playback (including YouTube access), stereo Bluetooth, quadband EDGE, and HSDPA 2100 for high-speed coverage when you're galavanting around Europe. The ace up T-Mobile's sleeve, though, might be Exchange ActiveSync support, which will be coming via the on-device software catalog shortly after launch. It's available for pre-sale to current T-Mobile customers starting today -- everyone else will have to wait until May 13 -- but either way, you'll be paying $199.99 after rebate on contract in your choice of "carbon" or "orchid" finishes. Check out all the snazzy photography below -- and follow the break for our quick first impressions of the phone.

Occasionally, Sharp will pass a Japanese domestic market handset through the FCC for global roaming certification, but not this time. No, instead, we're seeing the PV300 -- and as any rabid Sidekick fan knows, Sharp's Sidekicks are referred to as "PV" followed by a three-digit number internally, so yeah, we're thinking this is probably the real deal. Of course, we've had no shortage of legit-sounding rumors in the past few months that there's a new high-end Sidekick on the way to T-Mobile shelves, and indeed, it should come as no surprise that this one is certified for AWS 3G -- the very kind T-Mobile uses -- along with the usual assortment of GSM / EDGE bands. Anyhow, see you shortly, dear Sidekick. Hopefully.

We still don't know whether to call it the Sidekick 2009 or the Sidekick Blade, but either way, T-Mobile's upcoming hiptop has finally been caught on camera, looking just as it did in a survey from last month and later via render. Unfortunately, we can't glean any specs from the image, but the aforementioned questionnaire listed 3G, a 3.2-inch WVGA display, 3.2 megapixel camera, microSD card slot, and GPS with turn-by-turn navigation. Alright, Danger, you've made us believers -- now give us some official press shots to gaze upon lovingly.

We're just days away from Mobile World Congress where Microsoft is expected to make a few notable announcements. Until then, we have to settle for all the hints and innuendo we can gather as Redmond attempts to win back the hearts, minds, and pocketbooks of consumers infatuated with Android, WebOS, and whatever Apple's got cookin'. Like these supposed 6.5 screenshots above, this time showing what looks like a Marketplace store a la the Zune. We also have CNET reporting today that Microsoft quietly split its Zune team in two on January 22nd: software and services under Enrique Rodriguez, and hardware under Tom Gibbons who just happens to heads-up hardware design at Microsoft's Windows Mobile unit. According to Rodriguez, "Zune the service needs to transcend Zune the device" adding, "The goal is to make non-gaming entertainment a first-class citizen within Microsoft's business." That includes expanding the Zune service beyond the Zune and onto more devices than just Microsoft's. Or, "a little further out than just in Redmond," to quote Rodriguez directly. While he wouldn't say specifically when it was coming to Windows Mobile, he did say to expect products other than the Zune player to be using the Zune service sometime this year. Now, armed with those Zune-centric WinMo 6.5 screenshots and project Pink leaks, it's not too much a stretch to expect a Zune-like WinMo experience to be detailed in Barcelona. Besides, isn't it about time that Danger made good on that estimated $500 million acquisition?

Read -- CNET interview
Read -- Latest WinMo 6.5 screenshots

If Danger's going to switch up its Hiptop platform strategy in the era of Microsoft ownership, you think that it might be to... oh, we don't know, something even remotely Microsoft-related. Granted, shoehorning Windows Mobile 6.1 onto a Sidekick LX sounds like a match made in hell, but at the very least, they could start with a Windows CE base and attach a bunch of Danger-specific stuff with wood glue until the end result looked familiar to users. Alas, Hiptop3 is reporting its own sources in combination with some telling open job positions and notes from Danger employees to suggest that the upcoming Sidekick LX 2009 -- possibly to be known as the Sidekick Blade -- will actually feature an entirely new kernel based on NetBSD. Our only guess is that this fancy little project started well before the acquisition completed, and in the interest of getting a thoroughly modern, 3G- and GPS-equipped Sidekick into the market as quickly as possible, maybe Redmond begrudgingly greenlighted the remainder of the project. Good on you, Microsoft.

Nintendo's Wii has been maiming careless gamers since the day it was launched, but an inexplicable uptick in Britain has professionals scratching their heads. According to Dr. Dev Mukerjee of Broomfield Hospital: "There has been a 100 percent increase in patients complaining of Wii-itis." Turns out, Wii-itis is their word for playing so much Wii that you injure yourself. Astonishingly, up to ten people per week are being "hospitalized with injuries caused by playing Nintendo Wii games," which has forced medical personnel to "issue warnings of the dangers associated with the video game system." Some of the most common injuries are Wii-knee (seriously) and tendon stretching / tearing, both of which could likely be avoided if gamers would bother to stretch before breaking a sweat. Sheesh -- what do folks even learn in Physical Education these days?

Ruh roh. We're really, really hoping this isn't just the first of another long string of laptop battery recalls, but the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with a slew of other outfits, has just announced a voluntary recall of around 35,000 Sony laptop batteries. As you'd expect, the Li-ions in question "can overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers," and there have already been 19 reports of overheating including 17 reports of flames / fire and two reports of consumers getting mildly burnt. For the full list (and it's pretty long) of affected laptop models from HP / HP Compaq, Toshiba and Dell, be sure to give the read link some serious attention. Oh, and stop using that battery pronto if yours is one of the afflicted.

According to the UK's Telegraph, mobile phones are responsible for yet another one of the great terrors of the 21st century: dermatitis. Apparently, "skin specialists" have discovered that certain metals used in cellphones are causing some users to suffer inflamed, reddened, dry, blistered, and cracked skin. Sounds awesome, right? It seems that about a third of heavy talkers are sensitive to nickel -- a substance commonly found in gadgets -- which can become irritating after repeated exposure. Says Brown University's Dr. Lionel Bercovitch, "Given the widespread use of cellphones, the presence of metal in the exterior casing of these phones and the high prevalence of nickel sensitization in the population, it is not surprising that cellphones can cause allergic contact dermatitis." There's probably little you can do to out-and-out escape the problem, so we suggest full face mask whenever a call needs to be made -- also, for dinner parties.

Let's be honest -- after sinking a few large on a new HDTV, a few hundies on some overpriced cables and even more on HD programming, you weren't about to cough up another month's paycheck for a decent TV stand. For the 48,600 customers out there who purchased one of four different King Pao Enterprise TV Stands (likely sold and distributed by Studio RTA), you now have a product known for tipping over and ruining lives. The E Series, Fierro, Madison DLP and Madison 3000 -- all of which were sold at Best Buy and other big box retailers from May 2004 to August 2008 -- have been deemed unstable and unfit for use in your living room, and it's suggested that you cautiously remove your set and wait for a "repair kit" before it does the removing for you. Godspeed.