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The LG Prada II

(Credit: Boy Genius Report)

Last month, we showed you a sneak peek of the LG Prada II, which will supposedly have a slide-out QWERTY keyboard as well as touch-screen controls. Well, the Boy Genius Report has dug up some supposed specs of the Prada II, and it looks to be quite good. Features include quad-band GSM/EDGE as well as dual-band HSDPA (!), a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with flash and VGA recording, Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi, a motion sensor, and an FM radio.

We're pleased with the dual-band HSDPA announcement, as it means we'll probably see it stateside. Whether it'll be picked up by a U.S. carrier remains to be seen, however. The 5-megapixel camera is also very promising, as is the addition Wi-Fi. Do keep in mind that these specifications haven't been confirmed yet, but if they are, we're extremely excited to see the real deal when it does come out.

Is Yanko's concept design for a Zune smartphone intriguing, or frightening?

(Credit: Yanko Design)

It's a fake, folks. The "Zune Contact" phone dreamed up by Adam Huffman from Yanko Design is pure fantasy, and it's not the first.

If you like what you see, don't hold your breath. With the Zune brand still recuperating from its awkward first attempt to unseat Apple's iPod, the chances of Microsoft developing a new phone under the Zune umbrella seems unlikely. Still, it's fun to think about, if only to guess at the countless ways it would likely flop in the face of the iPhone.

Then again, with all the iPhone headaches people are experiencing these days, maybe a smartphone newcomer would be just the thing to stir things up. God knows the touch-screen iPhone clones spewing out from all the usual places aren't quite up for the challenge.

So what do you say? Would Zune's hypothetical phone suffer the same fate as its MP3 player, or is the company that brought you the Xbox 360 the perfect manufacturer to humble the iPhone?

As someone who regularly councils consumers to avoid overpriced after-market repair services for computer hardware, I was intrigued by a report from Glassdoor.com (a Web site where employees anonymously dish about their employers) that compares the purported average salaries for Apple and Best Buy front-line tech-support personnel.

Both the Geek Squad and Genius Bar offer carry-in service for your hardware, although the Genius Bar is more focused on in-warranty service for your Mac stuff, while the Geek Squad sells a variety of upgrades, security, installation, and maintenance services.

The Glassdoor.com data is based on submissions from people who claim to be employed by the respective companies, so it's far from scientific. That being said, the reported average hourly salary for a Genius Bar tech was $18.30, while the reported average hourly salary for a Geek Squad Agent was $11.58.

Anecdotally, the Genius Bar seems to have a better reputation than the Geek Squad, which has been busted stealing data from customers' computers (hence the nickname "Peek Squad"), but I'm sure plenty of people have both good stories and horror stories about both.

Is the Genius Bar attracting better people with better pay? What experiences with one or both services have you had?

Buyers of most new Lenovo laptops and desktops will get to relive the good old days of free music via Napster--for a couple of weeks, at least.

The PC maker and the once notoriously embattled digital-music pioneer announced Friday that Lenovo customers will get a free, 14-day trial subscription to Napster To Go. The service lets users listen to songs on their PC and transfer an unlimited number of music tracks to any compatible MP3 player or music-enabled cell phone without paying per track.

The beleaguered online-music company is clearly looking for ways to attract new subscribers. After a high-profile court battle silenced the free peer-to-peer service, its attempts to resurface as a legitimate subscription-based music service haven't put it back on top. The addition of 6 million DRM-free MP3s would've been more impressive, if Amazon MP3 weren't doing the same.

Napster announced to shareholders last month that it's still employing investment bank UBS and may be positioning itself for "strategic alternatives" to keeping the company public--i.e. a sale.

The LG gets approval from the Feds.

(Credit: LG)

Last week, Nicole Lee told you about the rumored LG LX600 for Sprint, and this week we see that it has received the official nod from the Federal Communications Commission.

Only the most passionate cell phone geeks know that the FCC holds a treasure trove of information on upcoming handsets. Because the FCC has to certify every phone sold in the United States, not to mention test its SAR rating, the agency's online database offers a lot of sneak peeks to those who dig. And to save you the trouble, Crave has combed through the database for you. Here are a selection of filings from the past week on new and upcoming cell phones. Click through to read the full report.

Alcatel OT-V570A
Casio Hitachi W63H
HTC PDA phone (POLA 160)
Huawei U1307
LG CP250
LG LX600
LG VX9600
Motorola
NEC FOMA KMP7N2R1-1A
Pantech C630
Pantech C740
Samsung S9402
Samsung SGH-T919

(Credit: Nyko)

At first glance, the new Wing Wireless Classic Controller from Nyko looks like it's everything the original Nintendo Classic Controller should have been. While the Nintendo controller is oddly rounded, the Wing looks much more ergonomically satisfying with its edgier sides and form factor. It's almost as if they combined the Nintendo Classic Controller with a PlayStation DualShock.

Most noteworthy, the Wing will use a wireless dongle system, similar to the Kama Wireless Nunchuk setup where a dongle is attached to the Wii remote. This will eliminate the awkward wired connection that the Nintendo Classic Controller uses, but will also require two AAA batteries to work. However, if you decide to use rechargeable batteries, Nyko has fitted the Wing with a mini USB port that will allow for convenient charging.

Like the original Nintendo Classic Controller, the Nyko Wing will work with all Virtual Console games, select Wii games, and the recently added WiiWare library of games.

The Nyko Wing Wireless Classic Controller will ship sometime in October for $30, about $10 more than the Nintendo original. Check CNET in the coming weeks for a full review. For now, click through for some more photos of the Wing.... Read more

Touching Lenovo's new concept external hard drive shows its capacity.

(Credit: DesignLaunches.com)

I reviewed the WD My Passport external hard drive recently and thought it was really cool with the storage gauge that lights up when plugged in to show how much storage space has been used. Lenovo has gone one step further with an external hard drive concept that can reveal the same information without even being plugged in.

The concept external hard drive features a finger-touch access button, much like a biometric reader, and an external display. Once you touch the button, the display will show the remaining storage space in the form of simple digits.

It's unclear how this works but I would assume that the drive must have a battery of its own that recharges when the hard drive is plugged in.

While this seems rather unnecessary feature to some, it's actually very nice to know how much space left on the media. Personally, I've run into many cases where I ended up having to re-copy a huge amount of data just because the free space ran out before the copying process was done.

(Via DesignLaunches.com)

When Crave editors Leslie Katz and Erica Ogg asked me to mastermind the inaugural Crave Friday Poll™, my first reaction was, "Get the hell outta my office! I'm trying to sleep in here!!" After a visit from HR and a few tears--mostly on my part--I agreed to come up with something.

I suggested the "Best Comic Book Movies of the Summer." Thing is, comic book movies are way too mainstream these days to be considered "geeky." Also, The Dark Knight would predictably clean up, followed by Iron Man and then everything else.

So you wanna get really geeky? We'll get really geeky. How about the "Most Faithful Comic Book Adaptation of the Summer"? So here it is. The scary thing: I could have gone geekier. But this is Crave, not Wizard, for crying out loud. We're much cooler than that (points and laughs at all the geeks at Wizard...).

Anyway, this poll will probably still be a popularity contest. Oh, and remember to check back next Friday--and every Friday thereafter until the end of time--to vote in our Crave weekly poll.

Find your way around the Big Apple.

When my colleague Josh Lowensohn wrote his original and well-received 10 Absurd iPhone Apps blog, I agreed with most of his picks. Yet there was one application with which I rather sheepishly had to take issue. I love maps of all kinds so I was dismayed when I found "public transit maps" in the No. 8 slot. Yes, Josh makes good arguments that transit maps are free online, and that you can plan your route before you leave the house, but I thought it sounded like a cool idea. So, during a trip to New York City last week, I packed CNET's iPhone armed with the CityTransit NYC Subway Guide by Magnetism Studios. I put it to heavy use during my stay and definitely thought it was worth the $2.99 price. Here's why.

Don't look like a tourist
I know New York somewhat well, but if I need to get from 39th Avenue in Long Island City to 14th Street in Manhattan, I'll need to look at a subway map to do so. While I can plan out the route before hand, my short-term memory seems to vanish while on vacation. With the complete subway maps on my iPhone, however, I can check my route while on the train (remember that you can't get the Internet while underground), but I can do so on the sly. I can avoid being the gawking tourist, craning my neck around seated riders to read the map on the side of the car. For all they know, I'm just reading my e-mail.

You also can look at a list of all stops on each line--very useful if you get on an express train accidentally. My only suggestion is that you can't zoom in on the maps very far. And even when you can zoom in, the maps can be blurry.

Motorola U9

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

Though Motorola has succeeded in making a series of reliable, practical cell phones this year, the company hasn't been working the style angle that hard. Sure, the Z9 and Rokr E8 are attractive, but even those handsets put function over form.

The Motorola U9, however, wears its style on its sleeve. Sporting a glossy surface and curvy lines, the attractive U9 reminds us of the Motorola Pebl U6. Beyond the pretty face, it offers a brilliant display, decent call quality, and a functional music player. On the downside, its controls are flat and slippery, the camera takes poor photos and its menu interface was a bit sluggish. We also were hoping for a 2.5mm headset jack or better yet, a 3.5mm jack. Still, the U9 remains a stylish phone with substance.

Read our Motorola U9 review for the complete report or check out our Motorola U9 slide show.