Smartphones are the top growing mobile phone category. The Apple iPhone may be at the top of the sales charts, but it has many competitors looking to take that top spot away. One of the smartphones that hoped to steal some of the iPhone thunder was the HTC Touch Pro.

When the Touch Pro first launched it was a Sprint exclusive handset. Verizon Wireless has announced that it is now offering the HTC Touch Pro to its subscribers as well. The features of the handset are the same as the Sprint version with Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro as the operating system. Users get access to Word, Excel, and Outlook on the device.

As I am sure you are all aware, Verizon Wireless is launching the much-anticipated BlackBerry Storm tomorrow. This device is RIM’s first delve into a touchscreen mobile phone and swing at taking some of the market share away from Apple and the iPhone. We had a chance to get our hands on the Storm on the eve of the launch day and had some fun playing with the touchscreen and its unique clicking technology.

Obviously the most interesting part of the Storm is the single big button of a screen so we’ll just cut to the chase. The touchscreen in general works as you would expect, sensing your touch on the glass and allowing you to scroll through things like lists, menus and across maps. What’s different about the touchscreen on the BlackBerry Storm which sets it apart from other touchscreen phones is that the glass display is like a single large, mechanical button.

We got a chance to get our hands on Griffin’s new Simplifi desktop device recently and we feel they really got the name right on this one. The Simplifi is a small Swiss Army Knife of accessories packed into a smooth silver box that adds some convenience and maybe even a touch of sophistication to your desk.

For starters, the device is a dock and charger for your Apple iPhone and/or iPod. It has the docking port right on top and comes with little plastic adapters to custom …

Sometimes going green can be a real pain. Take this green concept for instance. This iPhone hand grip charger will give you Hulk hands before you even get a full battery. Great for a hand workout, but you’d have to be pretty dedicated to your iPhone to stick with it.

This concept is called “You can work it out” and it was designed by Mac Funamizu, who must have huge beefy clown hands and an always working iPhone. Apple should offer some accessories like this ala Wii Fit. Various exercise gadgets to power up Apple products owned by the obese. It would be green and lean. That’s the slogan right there.

Maxell Japan has just released a successor to the MXSP-1000 cradle speaker for all of Apple’s DAPs. It measures in at 425mm x 75mm x 61mm and weighs 630grams. This latest MXSP-1100 is compatible with all versions of the iPod and iPhone and offers an output of 2 x 4.2Watts with a frequency response of 80Hz to 20kHz. It doesn’t look half bad. No word on pricing just yet.

There’s always room for dessert and nothing beats a fresh and cleverly made geek cake. In recent years “Geek cakes” have become an art form, hopefully not your pet name used by your significant other. One thing is certain, if geeks love a thing, chances are it will become a cake. So, we wanted to take a look at some of our favorite geek desserts and celebrate the clever bakers and icing artists that make geek birthdays and weddings just a bit more fun. Click through for cake and prepare to get hungry.

Google has officially announced the availability of Google Earth to use straight from your iPhone or iPod Touch, and so far reports are that it’s not too shabby. When a good data connection is available the geographical software streams to the device relatively quickly and not only makes use of the phones full display but also it’s functionality.

Multi-touch enables users to zoom in or out of a map with ease and even rotate the map on the screen. A compass in the corner helps keep your bearings. Tilting the iPhone will change the angle of the view to better see the topology of the current terrain, and “My Location” feature will bring the map right to your current location on Earth. Google also of course incorporated their search engine to find information on local businesses and the surrounding area, and built in Panoramio and Wikipedia to get articles and pictures from near your current locale.

As our devices get smaller and smaller, the idea of a capsule-sized gadget looks more and more likely. This capsule may be one of your next iPods one day soon. Though I’m not sure anyone will be able to use the buttons. Luckily, there’s only one button on it called ‘Home’ where users can touch it and browse the same way they do on the iPhone.

When the capsule is docked to the mini speaker cradle, data in the iPod capsule can be sent and received from the cradle at the same time. The speaker cradle also functions as iPod docking speakers and a charger. After this thing, the next step will be to swallow the player and somehow manipulate it using thought sent to your stomach acids.

There are a million eye-catching iPod accessories, but this one manages to stand out nicely. This odd looking iPod dock/speaker combo is from designer Jean-Michel Jarre and resembles something you would charge your lightsaber in that also doubles as a heater. It’s called the AeroSystem, retro in name and design.

It’s currently available only in France, and costs about $580, complete with an iPod-inspired remote. Seems to me that it’s more of a suicide station for when your iPod hears about the state of the economy or that Apple has released a new model. Stationed high atop it’s high-rise, it is free to make the decision to jump or not jump.

According to some recently discovered fine print in the Android Market terms of service, it appears Apple is not the only one implementing a remote kill switch for applications on their phone. In this case however Google has openly stated that they may “discover a product that violates the developer distribution agreement”, and in such cases they reserve the right to “…remotely remove those applications from your device at its sole discretion”.

This all comes after somewhat of an uproar when a developer happened upon a feature that allows Apple to remotely remove applications from the iPhone. This type of remote kill feature is meant to help with security and privacy in the event that some malicious application finds its way onto your mobile device, but many find it a little intrusive since it certainly does not give you free reign to run whatever applications you would like on your Google phone with Android.

You can bet that there are lots of iPhone fans out there counting down the days until Christmas hoping ol’ St. Nick will be stuffing an iPhone in their stocking. Last year there was a glut of holiday purchases for the original iPhone along with problems finding devices in some areas and crowded stores.

AT&T has announced that it is already gearing up for holiday sales of the iPhone 3G by streamlining the buying process and allowing shoppers to do the glut of the work online. AT&T has started a system that allows customers to pre-qualify for the iPhone online.

One thing that has been a concert going tradition as long at power ballads have been around is holding your cigarette lighter above your head with the flame going. This can be a problem if you want to partake in the tradition but don’t smoke. Zippo has just the thing for non-smokers who want to participate.

Zippo and software firm Moderati have launched a new App for the iPhone that is available free on the Apple App Store. The application is called the Virtual Zippo Lighter and will work on the iPhone and iPod touch.

What can you say about an iPhone that is an amazing feat in creativity and in all likelihood magically delicious at the same time? It’s obviously a set of 12 cupcakes decorated to look like the iPhone. All I can say is that if this amazing treat was sitting in front of me, the decision to eat it or just admire it would fry my geek brain. They are the product of a Cupcake Decorating Championship at Ignite NYC, and they rightly took the first place prize last night. No word on whether creators Danielle and Nick Bilton are going to eat them now or not.

Sony has created a somewhat original looking and refreshing third-generation iPod/iPhone clock radio dock, the ICF-CD3iP, according to an apparent leak by a Sony Insider. The dock has a unique circular design that holds a clock, AM/FM radio and a CD player, with simple controls in front for playback.

A side dock holds the Apple device. It can play MP3′s, CDs and CD-R/RW audio discs. The iPhone or iPod are integrated with the alarm clock and it comes with a remote so you don’t have to get out of bed to turn it off. Looks like it has nice big numbers as well, for those that need them. The ICF-CD3iP will reportedly be available in October. Price is estimated at $100.

When Moti Barzilay had to design something iconic in the Apple universe of products, something he felt was missing, the iShow was the end result. It’s a portable projector designed for Apple’s line of iPods, iPhones, and MacBooks.

The body turns on when you pull the two discs apart to reveal a pico projector and some ports. The projection system is LED based. Not very many details other then that, but since it’s a concept we can hope for HD resolution and the ability to roll itself around and take a charge by becoming a yo-yo and offering up some nice tricks with the string. That would be something to see Steve Jobs play with on stage.