Ugh, what have we started? After showing you that Chinese cellphone with a reported 1-year standby, Solomobi returns with yet another dubious discovery from China. How does 666 days of standby tickle your noxious, soul-eating fancy? This dual-SIM, GSM900 / DCS1800 candybar with 3.0-inch display is said to achieve that milestone with the help of a 32,800mAh "super battery." Yours now for $128 and the blood of one fetal goat. We've got the phone on order and will get back to you in 616 665 666 two years with the results... right. Picture of the 87 x 51 x 10-mm / 0.12-kg lithium battery and the devil's own credit card after the break.

[Via Mobile Bulgaria, thanks Georgi]

We have no way to confirm the claim, nevertheless the LionKing800 boasts a remarkable 365 days standby or 3-5 days talk. The source of that power is a 16,800mAh lithium battery -- that's about 10x the juice of a standard cellphone battery. Take that Philips! As to the rest of the specs, the GSM900 / DCS1800 dual-SIM phone costs $145 and packs a 3.5-inch, 320 x 240 pixel display, 256MB of microSD memory, Bluetooth 2.0, and a pair of rear and front-facing cameras into a 120 x 65 x 20-mm shell. Picture of the battery after the break.

[Via Mobile Bulgaria, thanks Georgi]

The environmentalists in the UK have certainly been earning their paychecks of late, as it's been the Brits who have looked at outlawing standby buttons, offered up a way to kill power en masse, and now, officials are readying the launch of free household energy monitors to bring wasteful habits to light. As a part of the upcoming Energy White Paper, England is hoping that the real-time monitors "will help cut greenhouse gas emissions and the amount of energy wasted by appliances being left on standby." The devices are supposed to give dwellers a quick look at just how much energy is going to waste by leaving the bathroom light on, and a handheld extension allows you to view the killowatt-burning action from all over your domicile. Of course, it should be noted that while citizens can request one for free starting sometime in 2008, "the cost of the scheme will either be recouped through taxes or their energy bills."

[Image courtesy of MoreAssociates]

The British government is fed up with standby mode; according to a recent energy review, devices left in standby account for 8% of their annual energy usage. In an attempt to curb waste, combat rising energy costs, and apparently annoy citizens, the government is set to outlaw switches that allow TVs, DVD players, and who knows what else to go on hiatus -- mandatory redesigns to remove sleep functions from numerous devices are supposedly on the docket. Whatever comes of this, keep a close eye on the next Windows Update: you might just reboot to find your precious "Stand By" option MIA.

Remember that report in late 2004 that stated that as much as 10% of our energy draw could come from aggregate power use of devices in standby? Well, Scotland's mad as hell, and they're not gonna take it anymore. ScottishPower, Scotland's biggest power company, is calling for standby-free devices -- you know, like back in the good old days when an off device meant the device was off. In fact, according ScottishPower, gadgets in standby cost Scottish consumers over £62 million (about $108.5 million US) and produce 360,000 tons of CO2 annually. Of course the influence on the global consumer electronics market ScottishPower wields is, um, less than knightly, but if more power companies and government energy conservation programs (like EnergyStar) in more countries get behind ScottishPower, we might just be able to slow down this global warming thing (a little) with some clear(er) conscience devices.