Researchers from the University of Southern California want to use cellphones to help the obese shed weight. The idea is to hook up obese kids to a “mobile body network,” consisting of a device to measure the skin’s electrical conductivity along with a heart-rate monitor, accelerometer, blood glucose reader and GPS for location, and connecting it with a battery sensor on the child’s body.

The system uses a Smartphone to send the collected behavioral data to the university’s computers, where it is then figures out what the information means. If your kid is laying around, text messages will be shot his way to get him to do get off his ass and do something.

Alcatel and Lego teaming up to make a Lego handset? Earlier this year Lego and Digital Blue announced combined efforts that would yield a variety of Lego-electronics aimed at kids. The announcement included details on a digital camera, a walkie talkie and an MP3 player. The functional toys would fall into an affordable $20 – $60 price range.

Now Alcatel is apparently jumping into the mix and the trio is planning to get cell phones in the hands of children using Legos. This piece of Lego-electronics is rumored to be released by this summer along with the rest. Not sure yet if you’ll be able to connect a few of these Lego handsets together or not.

Google’s open-source Android cell phone operating system can be found on the T-Mobile G1, but soon the G1 will no longer be alone. The Agora from Australian cell phone maker Kogan will be the next to feature Android.

Sure, it looks like the lovechild of a Blackberry Bold, and a Samsung Blackjack, but that just means that phones are getting smart enough to mate and swap good genes. It will feature a 2.5-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G, and a nice Qwerty keyboard.

Do you ever have the urge to mess with your friends, but don’t, because your voice would give you away? Well, check this out. With the help of this simple and cheap device, you’ll be able to make a phone call without being recognized. It works just like other hands-free headsets. Just plug it into your cellphone, and you are good to go.

One drawback is that there aren’t many voice options. The device comes loaded with five voice modes, a robot voice, an old man for when you want to tell hippies to get off your lawn, a child, and a duck for when you want to do your own rendition of Disco Duck in someone’s ear. I’m not sure how long the fun would last, but the price is $29.99.

Samsung today put word out through the lands of tech about the availability of its Series 6 and Series 7 LCD HDTVs. These displays range in size from 19- to 52-inches and pricing from around $480 to $3,500.

The Series 6 displays should mostly be available now, with the Series 7 units come out in May. Samsung’s most touted design features with these displays is its “Touch of Color” which draws from “several artistic inspirations” and features “a hint of red color naturally blended into a semi-transparent piano black bezel.” Excuse us while we go wipe the marketing barf off of ourselves – you can read the rest of the Samsung love fest after the jump.

LocaModa and Touch Tunes are doing the nasty together and plan on having a monster love child. The idea is to hook up to 30,000 jukeboxes to social networks, allowing them to be controlled remotely by cell phones. The partnership allows users to let their handsets interact with flat panel screens powered by TouchTunes jukebox’s media server.

Social networks will display all interactions as data feeds. Online users can view and participate at their favorite locations. Is this taking social networks too far? Where does it all end? I don’t know, but it looks like that Jukebox is in the middle of a Bermuda triangle type deal. Hope it doesn’t disappear.

Is it a toy or a cell phone? In fact, it’s a cellphone. The dialing pad can be found underneath the car where the axle should be. I like the idea, but I would feel weird talking on this thing. I would feel like I was talking on a cell phone that looks like a Ferrari. That would mean that I am probably trying to live out a second childhood or maybe having a mid-life crisis by talking on said phone.

It will cost you 96 British pounds and maybe some laughter from those with iPhones. Some specs: 2.2” 260K color display, Music player, Video player, 1.3 Megapixel camera, Memory slot, USB connector.

Stores and malls in England have been using an ultrasonic device known as the Mosquito Alarm to keep kids from loitering. Because everyone knows that kids are just large insects with ipods and skateboards. It emits a high-frequency noise which is audible and unfriendly to young ears, but people over 20 usually can’t hear it. (I know there’s a Logan’s Run joke there somewhere.)

This is the same frequency that kids have been using for their cellphone rings, so older people don’t know when they have incoming calls. Anyway, there is now an uproar from the children’s commission for England and groups like civil liberties group Liberty. Their campaign is called “Buzz Off”. The device effects everyone under 25, and guess what? That includes babies. Then they site that it discriminates against all kids, whether they’re bad seeds or not. Obviously, they have some valid points. I propose that anyone who turns 30 needs to be introduced to carousel and euthanized. Should they run, a sandman needs to be dispatched who can shout, “We’ve got a runner.” and go for their blaster. Ah…There’s the joke.

P-Per was awarded for the Red Dot Concept Design. It’s designed by Chocolate Design Agency and is a simple mobile phone concept with features that were supposed to be incompatible: simple, advanced, green and unique.

Modeled after the E-Paper slap bracelet, it’s made of only 4 layers of sustainable materials, the “1 function, 1 part, 1 material” rule makes it easy to disassemble the materials for recycling. Too good to be true? Maybe not. This might be the best phone ever. It has a transparent display for camera mode and a browser that spans the entire surface of the display. Check out a video here and be thoroughly impressed.

Say you lose your car, dog or perhaps small child. You can either panic or, if you have a new Zoombak GPS locator attached to the missing item, you can try to find it via assisted GPS (satellite and GSM) technology. These new transmitters are priced at between $199 and $249.

The Zoombak GPS locators are design to use satellite and mobile phone networks to help you track lost pets and cars while they are outdoors. The products themselves are rechargeable, lightweight, water resistant devices (2.5 oz) that areeasily attached to a dog collar or can be outfitted to almost any vehicle. You register them through Zoombak and you can than find said lost items at any time from a computer, cell phone or mobile device.

Mickey and company are eyeing your wallet today as Disney Mobile and Samsung announced two new mobile phones for the Disney Mobile service. Expect these phones to run you about 20 Mouse Ears after a rebate and two-year detail picking up trash at Disneyland.

The Samsung DM-S105 (silver) and DM-S110 (pink) Disney Mobile phones are very much your garden variety cell phones housed in curved clamshell designs. You get your dual-band, tri-mode, a built-in VGA camera, Bluetooth and an internal and external display. There’s also a hands-free speakerphone to scream into as you ride the Matterhorn.

Do cell phones cause cancer? That is what the British government wants to know. Some recent studies have raised questions about the safety of cell phones after ten years of use. Specifically, does using a cell phone for ten or more years lead to an increased chance of brain cancer?

Many studies have been conducted over the years, some with conflicting results but the latest consensus is that cell phones are generally safe for use in the short term. The effects of long term usage have yet …

The Firefly is a mobile phone designed with kids in mind. The idea of kids having cell phones is becoming more popular, and the age at which kids are using cell phones seems to be getting younger.

Giving your child a mobile phone provides convenience for them and you, but being able to control how much the phone is used, especially with younger children, is important. Firefly has made a phone that is especially designed for use by young children. The phone has multiple ringtones and animations to choose from with different …