The mobile industry continues to boom with its uncanny ability to entice the public to get cell phones and constantly upgrade to the latest models. The pace has been so fast in terms of production and sales that there are now 3.3 billion mobile handsets in the world. That's half of the world's total population.

If you're the type who likes a some bling on your gadgets, then you may want to check out BenQ's new Joybook R43. This laptop sports a cool ornamental band that glows, making it an instant head-turner. Check out the full article for more details.

If you thought that playing NES games on your iPhone was impressive, wait until you get a load at what Lenovo's latest mobile phone model has to offer. The Lenovo i909 cellphone includes an on board NES emulator, complete with its own snap on controller.

Take a look at this innovative cellphone model right after the jump!

Taipei, Taiwan is home to Computex, the second largest computer show in the world, and the South China Sea island is responsible for the biggest chunk of laptop manufacture in the world. At the show, the theme, as far as manufacturers are concerned, seemed to be "smaller and cheaper."

Laptop makers are in search of the next big thing that will take the mass of consumers by storm. Most of them are in the same page as far as the core model is concerned. Designs presented in the show were sleeker and more low-cost, with the smallest units measuring only seven inches across and weighing in at about two pounds each. The most low-cost units were available for only about US$ 200.

The idea, manufacturers say, is to come up with something that has sufficient features, is lighter and smaller than a laptop, but is more reliable and versatile than a smartphone. The sleekest models exhibited in the show seemed to be closing in as most of them were small enough to fit in a lady's bag but could still house a full keyboard.

Alvin Kwock, an analyst for JP Morgan comments "computer companies are really boosting their industrial design capabilities to gain more business."

CMP Technology, the organizers behind GDC China, has unveiled a few more details about the upcoming developers conference. The event is set to take place in Shanghai this August and will focus on topics such as online gaming, outsourcing, recruitment and mobile gaming. A short list of speakers who have already signed up for GDC China include the following:

• David Coleman (EA Canada)
• Tom Leonard (Valve)
• Mark Ollia (Nokia)
• David Perry (Gameconsultants.com)
• Gordon Walton (Bioware)

According to GamesIndustry.biz, GDC China is being jointly produced with IDG and will be overseen by an advisory board that includes a number of Chinese developers from companies such as Epic Games China, Shanda and JDL International. GDC China will take place at the Shanghai International Convention Center on August 27 to 29.

It may be cheap, but cheap and adequate rocks in the other side of the globe, and that's all what matters. Nokia's cheap phone, aptly codenamed "Penny" seems to rock the Chinese world as its four-year life since its release in 2003 had rolled out 200 million units in sales (no shipping), placing it as the world's top selling consumer electronics product.

The LCD-display phone, sporting an additional high-powered flashlight, a no-brainer, no-slip grip and a dust-proof case, overtook even Apple's very own sensation, the iPod in a 100 million unit sales gap (Apple's iPod sold 100 million units).

It also managed to beat Sony's last phenomenon, the PlayStation 2, by 85 million units in sales (Sony's PS2 sold 115 million units).

The phone was able to catch the attention of introductory, low-end and entry-level markets, including that of China. Using the edge of practicality and affordability, it has continued to find demand in the most meager of markets.

The Nokia 1100 and its heirs have also spurred seven new models also aimed at the lower end, all priced below 100 (US$ 136). These new models hope to follow their predecessor in its amazing success.

The initial quarter of the fiscal year 2007 shows a slowdown in shipment sale as 252 million handsets were shipped in the first three months. That's a 12 percent overall increase, but analysts say that the figures are significantly below expectations.

The trend in the past few years has been a 20 percent increase in sales per annum. This year saw a slowdown in Q1 because of Motorola's decision to hold back on shipments. It flogged 45.2 million units worldwide, which is a 1.5 decrease compared to last year's first period covering January to March.

Other mobile giants, however, have kept the uptrend alive. Market leader Nokia has shipped a total of 91.1 million units shipped, jacking up a 21 percent total increase.

Motorola, however, said that it plans to capitalize on growing markets in the two most populous nations in the world: India and China. The company said that the two markets may account to about 60 percent of the total new phones sold this year.

  
 

Mobile phones are increasingly becoming popular in China. We know what happens when something becomes real popular, right? People come up with all kinds of crazy, and sometimes downright weird ideas to innovate and customize a product like this brick cell phone from China that thinks it's a brick. 

In the age when engineers rack their brains to make electronics as light and small as possible, the BW-A888 isn't the least bit ashamed to bulk itself up. And the brick add-on dress isn't there to just turn the phone into paperweight. It actually extends the battery life and gives you better sound quality with better speakers.

We hope to see the brick someday here in the US. it's not only a cool phone, people might start fending off muggers with it soon.

The "Green Ranking" by world-lovin' Greenpeace rates the world's consumer electronics industry to determine which company, in quarterly periods, is the most eco-friendly. After returning CEO Michael Dell challenged other electronics manufacturers to provide "takeback" policies on throw-away, useless hardware, it seems that China's laptop brand Lenovo outgreened just about everybody else, except itself.

Now while takeback policies aren't exactly new, only EU member nations have strictly enforced the recycle old hardware policy by asking electronics companies to offer discounts on newer hardware purchases as old, unusable parts were traded in. Greenpeace hopes that companies will adopt this policy worldwide, as did Dell.

Sony (and Sony-Ericsson) are now also complying with chemicals for silicon doping and fire resistance with their elimination of beryllium and phthalates. Unfortunately for Earth-lovers and Captain Planet, only 14 companies are currently included in the rankings.

As a big surprise to all, Lenovo, a China-based firm for electronics and mobile computing, has leaped from last place to top place, despite the massive amounts of e-waste that are generated in China. Greenpeace's International Toxic Campaigner Iza Kruszewska said:

Given the growing mountains of e-waste in China - both imported and domestically generated – it is heartening to see a Chinese company taking the lead, and assuming responsibility at least for its own branded waste. The challenge for the industry now is to see who will actually place greener products on the market.

Lenovo could possibly lose the number one spot if the next product that it puts out to market is not free from the worst of chemicals. The top five most eco-friendly of e-companies are as follows:

1. Lenovo
2. Nokia
3. Sony Ericsson
4. Dell
5. Samsung

The ranking takes into consideration the equal treatment of all customers, so if any double-faced takeback policies have been reported, companies suffer rank drops all across the boards. Unfortunately, Apple is the last of all the companies. But good news: Apple hasn't dropped a spot ever since!

Trying to climb the Mount Everest is already old news, so a Brit named Rob Baber has thought of a new gimmick in doing something on the world's highest peak. He wants to make a phone call on top of the world.

Three things make this deed not-so-easy to accomplish. One: the cell phone unit must be able to withstand the harsh environmental conditions on the pinnacle of the earth. Two: there might be no cellphone signal available at the summit of Everest. And three: climbing the world's highest mountain has never been easy.

Rob and his team has already taken care of the first two details. Motorola is sponsoring Mr. Baber in his herculean task. The phone he will use to make a call and send a text message from the summit has been tested by the American electronics company to be able to withstand very low temperatures.

A mobile base station located in China has line-of-sight to the north side of Everest, making it possible to call on the summit. But staying in contact with this base station requires that the climbers follow the north ridge to the top, also known as the toughest route to the summit of the mountain. Which brings us to number three.

Mr. Baber is extensively training to prepare for the phone call he is about to make on the world's highest place. He may be an experienced climber holding the world record for climbing more of the world's highest points than anyone else, but he still needs to prepare. He has to strengthen himself for the physical exertion of the climb, and he has to eat a lot. Putting on more body mass helps to survive the hostile conditions in the Himalayas.

But according to Rob, sometimes it doesn't matter how fit you are. The key reason to success is 80 percent psychological. Which may be why he'd like to make that phone call so much. Having someone you can speak to on the other end of the telephone can overturn those invisible obstacles.