While Apple may have moved on to selling the 4th generation iPod nano, consumer protection agencies are still focused on gen-1. For good reason too, apparently, as there's mounting evidence that those early white and black plastic players have a tendency to overheat, swell, and possibly burst into a nasty chemical fire. Responding to four formal consumer complaints made between December and June, the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards sent a request to Apple on June 25th recommending that Apple "aggressively" collects first generation iPod nano with Lithium Ion batteries made by the Chinese company ATL. Initially, Apple agreed to replace faulty units as they did in Japan upon request by the consumer. However, KATS is now reporting that Apple will recall the players under its own initiative making this the first formal iPod nano recall we can, uh, recall.

Right around this time last year, we actually had lofty hopes that Motorola would get its handset business in gear and shock us all with an ultra-potent, completely refined smartphone. Here we sit today, still waiting. Still, we can't pass up an opportunity to throw Moto's hardware design team a bone, as the ROKR ZN50 is downright sexy from any angle. The music-centric, full touchscreen slider packs a 3.2-inch panel (427 x 240 resolution), automatic screen rotation, shake to switch tracks, a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack, Bluetooth stereo headset support, SRS WOW HD audio tech and a battery good for 30 hours of audio playback. There's also a T-DMB TV tuner, 4GB of inbuilt memory, a microSDHC card slot, 3.2 megapixel camera, an e-dictionary and support for 7.2Mbps HSDPA. Sadly, it seems as if the phone is being reserved for the Korean market, but seriously, can you imagine this hitting North America with Android loaded on? Motorola: you're this close.

[Via Unwired View]

It's no secret that some of our US editors have been feeling a bit of tech-envy toward our cousins from the far East, who consider 7-inch PNDs commonplace. Doing nothing to allay those emotions, Hyundai has announced the Provia A7+, which is -- you guessed it -- a 7-inch GPS-slash-PMP soon to be available in South Korea. The device comes with an integrated TV tuner (DMB), 800 x 480 resolution, video and audio playback, Navi-in-Picture functionality, and USB and SD connectivity to expand its abilities to match your imagination. If this thing's routing abilities are even half decent, it should sell like hot cakes in the middle of a particularly cold winter.

[Via Navigadget]

To say that the Chocolate was a hit for LG would be similar to saying the PlayStation 2 went over well for Sony. Indeed, the outfit's best selling handset ever (21 million units worldwide) holds a special place in the hearts of suits and shareholders alike, so it's hardly a shock to see the company issuing a next-generation version of the device. Slated to fall into LG's Black Label series, the phone -- which is simply dubbed the 'second generation LG Chocolate' for now -- will be fully unveiled in August, with bits and pieces to be strategically dropped during the run-up. The only real hint at features that we're given is the following: "The new LG Chocolate will be a disruptive force in conventional mobile screens in an effort to maximize usability while inheriting the original minimalist-inspired style and iconic design of its predecessor." Haptics? OLED? A portal into the future? Only time will tell.

Update: The typically reliable Tweakers.net has come through with a few more details, namely that this here phone will become the first of its kind with a 21:9 aspect ratio display (much like Philips' 56-inch Cinema HDTV). We're also told that the model number will be BL-40, the screen resolution will be pegged at 800 x 345, the display itself will be over 3-inches diagonally, the inbuilt camera will be 5 megapixels and HSDPA will be included. Now, if only we knew how the UI would handle...

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Maybe it's just the disco-inspired wallpaper that has our motors all revved up, but whatever the case, we're pretty jazzed about LG's newest 55-inch duo. The 55LH95 and 55LH93 are the company's latest ultrathin LED-backlit sets, both of which slim down to 24.8 millimeters and pack a grand total of 3,360 LEDs -- a number that LG claims is around seven times that used in most edge-lit LED TVs. There's also a 5,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, a 240Hz refresh rate and -- potentially most intriguing -- a mysterious wireless feature that enables DVD and game consoles to transmit information sans an HDMI cable. There's no mention of what technology is baked in (AMIMON's WHDI, perhaps?), but either way, we're hoping the same stuff remains once these get announced for North America. Estimated pricing on the July-bound (in South Korea) sets is pegged for $5,500 and $5,900, respectively, and LG is apparently planning to issue 42- and 47-inchers with the same amenities here soon.

Update: SiBEAM pinged us to confirm that it's WirelessHD included here.

We can't quite figure it out, but it seems the navigation makers in North America just can't muster the courage to develop something such as this for our market. We could very well be wrong here, but seriously, is there no pent-up demand for a TV tuning GPS system with a spacious 7-inch display here in the US / Canada / Mexico? Anywho, the South Koreans are scoring once more with the downright beautiful Thinkware iNAVI ES300, which arrives with a sweet side-panel control system, integrated battery, 2GB / 4GB / 8GB of internal storage, 3D maps and a DMB tuner. Oh, and this is considered "low-end" by its standards. Those in the right places can snag one soon for ₩329,000 ($263), ₩379,000 ($303) or ₩429,000 ($343) from least capacious to most.

[Via NaviGadget]

LG's certainly been known to dabble in the third-dimension, and while we're still waiting for it to ship those "one or two" 3D TVs this year, at least we're confident that it's getting closer. Over in South Korea, the company has showcased a new Full HD (1080p) 3D monitor with what it says is the highest brightness level of any competing panel. Sadly, viewers are still required to don glasses when ingesting the action, but this take on the tech enables said eyewear to be somewhat thinner and less cumbersome. Have a peek at the vid down in the read link.

Check it, North Americans -- yet another PMP that'll never arrive here in this form. The T-DMB-equipped B30 just popped up over on iriver's Korean website, complete with an FM tuner, 2.8-inch QVGA display, a microSD expansion slot, 4/8/16GB of inbuilt memory, white / black / silver color options, USB 2.0 connectivity, a user-selectable equalizer and a list of supported file formats too lengthy to cover in this space. Furthermore, we're told that the battery is good for 40 hours on audio and 5.5 hours with video, and while a ship date has yet to be revealed, we're expecting 'em to go for around $155, $183 and TBD from least capacious to most.

[Via PMP Today]

The jury's still out on whether inbuilt DVRs are good for HDTVs, but LG's obviously hot to trot on the whole idea. Nearly a year after first introducing sets with an integrated Time Machine, the outfit is hitting back with two new big-screen plasmas that each posses a 160GB internal hard drive. The X Canvas 50PS70 (50-inch) and 60PS70 (60-inch) panels also boast 600Hz dejudder technology and can record overflow onto external drives connected via USB 2.0. Additional details (price, screen resolution, availability, etc.) are scant, but we'll be sure to keep an ear to the ground.

[Via Akihabara News]

Sadly, we're still no closer to understanding when iriver will allow its striking P7 to escape the chains of "pre-order status" here in North America, but geeks in South Korea can now feel free to indulge. 4.3-inches of luscious screen real estate slapped onto an 8GB PMP will set you back just under ₩200,000 ($160), and we're guessing the more capacious 16GB variant will cost just a wee bit more. So yeah, we're going out on a limb here and assuming that a homeland launch foreshadows a splashdown on US soil -- don't let us down, iriver.

[Via PMP Today]

On the surface, the new SCH-W760 looks like a totally typical midrange Korean domestic market slider: 3 megapixel camera, DMB reception, Bluetooth, and a semi-notable 2.8-inch AMOLED display. You know, the usual. A closer look reveals one very interesting feature, though -- it features a front cam sensitive to infrared spectrum so that you can hold grayscale video calls in complete darkness. Beyond scaring the poo out of friends with your spooky, grainy, low-res visage and holding the occasional video conference from the confines of an unlit closet, we have absolutely no idea what practical value this offers -- but look, ridiculous features are what exotic new handsets are all about. Well played, Samsung. The W760 hasn't yet been officially announced, though it'll apparently be coming to SKT, so keep an eye peeled (and bring a flashlight).

The plasma industry may be teetering on the edge of certain doom (okay, so maybe that's exaggerating it... a little), but Samsung's still pushing the envelope. Over in South Korea, the company just outed its latest PDPs, the 850 PAVV lineup. Aside from being 40 percent more power efficient, 20 percent lighter and 120 percent more seductive than the prior generation, the new 50- and 58-inch sets also boast DLNA support, a USB 2.0 socket, DivX compatibility and a rather striking stand. The real kicker? The 29 millimeter depth, which equates to just over one inch thick for those who abhor the metric system. There's no word on when these beauties will hit the streets, but we're guessing Panasonic will be keenly interested in knowing.

Korea Telecom really wants to get you on the WiBro tip. The aptly-named (if a wee bit uninspired) Egg is essentially a router for connecting WiFi devices (such as the Nintendo DS or iPod Touch) to the company's wireless broadband network. According to the Korea Times, both KT and SK Telecom (the country's two main WiBro operators) have mere 170,000 WiBro customers total, "making a mockery" of its "most wired nation" aspirations -- so they can certainly stand to expand their customer base a little bit. Subscribers to the company's flat-rate data plan will get the device for free (trust us, they've paid enough). Or you can pick one up for yourself at the Apple store in Samseong-dong or Myeong-dong, the next time you're in Seoul. This guy should be hitting the shelves sometime in May for ₩220,000 (that's about $163).

[Thanks, Stafford]

Not that we haven't seen MP3 players integrated into earbuds before, but we've yet to see any that give us more inspiration than these. Seriously, just look at this guy above -- pumping iron, resisting the urge to shoot up a fine dose of 'roids and getting all the motivation he needs from the Rick Astley jams that are undoubtedly streaming through. ANTARES' KPMP316 DAP consists entirely of two enlarged earbuds and a cord to keep 'em close; as you can imagine, the 1/2/4GB of internal capacity, play / pause button and volume rocker are all positioned just millimeters away from the actual drivers. Folks over in Asia can supposedly snag one in yellow, green, orange, blue, purple or black, but we've no idea what kind of outlay you'll be looking at.

[Via PMPToday]

Ah, now this is the spirit. Rather than concocting yet another handheld tablet that's good for nothing more than checking email and wowing onlookers, designers Soonkyu Jang, Chung Lee and Yonghuk Yim have come together to put linguists on the front burner once again. This here touchscreen concept is a calligraphy board that enables you to practice your stroke without ruining reams of paper and blasting through countless bottles of ink. Initially, at least, the board would only come loaded with teaching tools for the Korean language, but you know Leapfrog could hook this thing up with Lithuanian, Maltese and Slovak should it ever get involved.