The box itself.

The contents of the box itself. Note the inclusion of playing cards and a puzzle. These will be collector's items when Ballmer dies.

This looks like a poster, but we believe it to be the "table top centerpiece." Some third world manufacturer took Microsoft for a ride on that mark-up.

One tote bag. Actually, I'd gladly carry around my yuppie organic groceries in this thing.

Ohh, now the good stuff. We're talking four streamers, some balloons and cute Win 7 cocktail napkins. What, no piñata?

On the plus side, you do score a free copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. That awesome token basically puts all of our petty comments to rest. [Thanks Rico!]

The box itself.

The contents of the box itself. Note the inclusion of playing cards and a puzzle. These will be collector's items when Ballmer dies.

This looks like a poster, but we believe it to be the "table top centerpiece." Some third world manufacturer took Microsoft for a ride on that mark-up.

One tote bag. Actually, I'd gladly carry around my yuppie organic groceries in this thing.

Ohh, now the good stuff. We're talking four streamers, some balloons and cute Win 7 cocktail napkins. What, no piñata?

On the plus side, you do score a free copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. That awesome token basically puts all of our petty comments to rest. [Thanks Rico!]

We get a good look at the interchangeable lenses, the rig itself, as well as a shot of the pretty pedestrian box. As we've said before, it's what's inside that counts with this sexy beast. [Recently Reviewed via Engadget]

The sharp, colorful packaging isn't quite what people will see on launch day, but it's close. Enter the demo guy again, who says it's "almost launch day packaging." Presumably this means Michael Arrington still has to bless each unit or anoint them with oils before they're shipped out the door.

And lastly, while it is billed as such, this video is not a true unboxing, as the CrunchPad in this video is covered from head to toe in filthy fingerprints. This one's been sleeping around already. Harlot. [YouTube via CrunchPad Fans - Thanks, Trooper]

It's from CES says Josh T. It's the same difference to me, because I am indifferent to unboxing, but if this isn't a final retail package, etc, it apparently has no ceremonial value. [Thanks, shopperciti.com!]

Judging from all those CB radios car stereos in his Flickr set, this D5000 might be stolen. I kid, Kadath, honestly.

But seriously. Send the D5000 my way or I tell the Princeton police. [Flickr via Engadget]

Here are the two sides of the argument. On the one hand, we feel that unboxings convey no real information (who cares about people taking things out of boxes), and a gallery with closeups shows off the product much better than watching a doofus try and open some plastic bags.

On the other hand, unboxings are supposed to be emotional and experiential, showing off what it's like to open up a Kindle 2 or a MacBook Pro for the first time. It's not supposed to be like a regular post, instead, letting readers into our living rooms in order to "feel" a product they otherwise wouldn't buy.

How do you feel?

Poll results from "Are Car Alarms More Trouble Than They're Worth?"

Yes: 73%
No: 27%

Arriving in 275-pound crates, the pair of tables were unloaded off a truck before being pried open with a crowbar. Inside, it look like the unboxing of many other gadgets, just a lot bigger. This sucker is huge. I still kind of want one, as impractical as that would be. Maybe someday. [Amnesia Blog]

[Duncan Riley on Vimeo, Gallery Courtesy of Dylan Jay on Flickr]

[iPhonePortugal]

Personally, I don't get much of a thrill out of unboxings. Besides, we have already seen the Eee PC 901 topless, so the mystery is all but gone. Still, if you cant get enough of this strange gadget strip show, Laptop Magazine has the filthy images you so desperately crave. And if you are not interested in unboxings, they also came up with some initial impressions saying that they were generally pleased with what they saw so far—despite an initial problem with a bent keyboard. Hit the link for the full gallery of photos. [Laptopmag]

In nine years, I've gone through five mobiles. A Nokia brick my dad gave me (left in the back of a taxi), an Ericsson flip T28 (the flip eventually flopped), an Ericsson T68 (honestly, the best phone ever, lasted three years), a cheapo, tiny Panasonic I picked up at Dubai airport for 50 bucks, and the RAZR.

Perhaps its because, as phones have become more sophisticated, they have become more fallible. The RAZR promised so much—and I'm not talking about bumping into Beckham at the supermarket checkout here—and failed to deliver.

As my first cameraphone, it made pictures that looked like something I drew on Etch-a-Sketch a couple of decades ago, but I can live with that. What I can't live with is the sluggy interface. Or the buttons that don't work, with their eerie backlight that just shows up all the hideous detritus that my phone has picked up from being chucked into the black hole-esque dustbin that is my bag. Or the seemingly random volume control. I can't see a thing on the screen when the sun is shining. And I have room for just 13 incoming SMS messages at any one time before I have to start deleting them.

So, let's talk about the good times with my RAZR. *tumbleweed blows across the page* I was pissed off the day I bought it because the shop didn't even have the black one I wanted. I'd liked the look of that when it came out, but by the time my Panasonic gave up the ghost, all that was available was silver. Why did I go through with it? It was small enough to fit into my pockets without making me look like a ladyboy, and I'd heard good things about Motorola from other friends. They're not my friends any more.

I asked myself what I liked about it, and there was one thing: the wallpaper is a picture of Jesus taken the day after he asked me to marry him, and I'll be sad to see that go. But the quality is so shite—honestly, I'd have got better results from a pinhole camera—I know that it won't travel. Plus, for some reason, I can't send photos via SMS.

I can't even lose it, like older more beloved phones. I left the RAZR in a club a couple of months ago, and I'd made it halfway down the block when some guy came running up behind me. "You left this on the bar," he wheezed. (Everyone in Spain smokes, and I'm a fast walker.) As he palmed the RAZR back into my hand, I could swear there was a look of pity on his face.

In truth, this isn't about the RAZR, but what comes after. I bleeding know it's time for a new phone, but which? No prizes for guessing which one Jesus wants me to get. But even when the 3G model of the iPhone eventually deigns to park its arse at an Apple Store near me, I am still digging my heels in over certain issues—internal memory too small, eminently crackable screen for my klutziness, a rather larger size than a closed RAZR, etc etc. I also know that the largest-capacity 3G iPhone would be molto 'spensivo, and I don't know whether I really want to spunk that much on a phone. Pathetic, isn't it?

So here I am, willing but unable to put the RAZR out of its misery. Until it breathes its last, when the ringtone that sounds like J-Lo bellydancing sputters to a halt, as the little screen with the M logo fades to gray, when the buttons lie dull and unresponsive beneath my desperate fingers, that will be the time to replace it. Got any recommendations?

It has been an OLED fantastic week here at Gizmodo, and this just polishes off all the dinky display shenanigans. The 1000000:1 contrast ratio has us all dizzy with excitement, but we cannot but help notice that hefty base. We did not make much of it the first time we heard word of the XEL-1, but it seems as though Sony are trying to push a pseudo-skinny on us. We shall excuse them, as we just can't get over that ridiculous contrast ratio. Did we mention it? 1000000:1! That's just crazy talk. If it wasn't Sony, we'd say it's black magic at work. We wait for our own XEL-1 to arrive...oh, it's a long dark wait, with a comparatively pathetic contrast ratio to boot. [TV Snob]

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Update 3: New video up!

Update 2: It's done. Sorry about the lack of audio. We'll try and update later with a better video.

Update: The stream's up, but there's no audio.

Stick around kiddies, because we've got a live unboxing of the iPhone here coming up in about 20 minutes, right at 6:15 PM Eastern. This is super, super beta stuff, so it may be kinda glitchy, but we've got our best trained monkeys on the job.

Live unboxing, here, on Gizmodo. iPhone. Be here.

New Mercury Free MacBook Pro Unboxed! [GeekSugar]

After the jump, watch it being tested by the reviewer's four-year-old son, who seems to really like it!

It's easy enough for a four-year old to figure out, well, with a bit of coaching. Too bad it won't play protected WMA files. – Charlie White

Sandisk Sansa Shaker Unboxing and 1st Look [Mobility Site]

We like its 5-inch screen, its Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and especially that thin little keyboard that attaches magnetically. But why are they calling it a Dopod U1000? Laughable name, but who cares? There's nothing dopey about it. See more pics and specs here, our hands-on impressions here, and check out the massive gallery of pics below by Dovid Feldman. – Charlie White

HTC X7500 (Advantage) [On The Go Solutions]

This is probably the the third time in history we were jealous we weren't in the UK. The first being the first time we saw Hugh Grant and the second being the the first time we saw Clive Owen. – Jason Chen

LG Prada phone unboxed [T3 via Crunchgear]

UREN V1 Unboxing Video [Ultramobilelife.com]

Avent Isis IQ Duo Unboxing [via SmugMug]

Vicarious Consumer Thrills [via WSJ]
WSJ Drools Over Gadget Unboxings [Gizmodo]

"It is an art," he says. "You have to unbox it quickly, and talk about it at the same time."

At New Video Sites, Opening Up the Box is a Ritual to Savor [via WSJ]

Yeah, that's how we felt, too. But then we saw how sweet the box it came in was. Congrats Microsoft. You've finally created packaging even cooler than the iPods. As far as the player goes, it's close, but still too close to call until the fat lady sings. We will say this: it's competitive with the iPod.

Click on to see the whole thing unboxed, the black and brown side by side, and the beautiful packaging that Microsoft went to great lengths to build. I think I'll paint my apartment these colors.–Brian Lam

The Wii comes with Wii Sports, a game that shows off the Wii's Wiimote functionality, but is also a great party game you can play over and over even with Uncle Steve (the drunk) and Grandma Darla. The PS3, on the other hand, comes with Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, a movie that although does feature Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen of Borat fame, isn't a game.

Winner: Wii. – Jason Chen

Even with the Sizmodo, it was hard for us to appreciate just how tiny the Wii is compared to the PS3. All that "next-gen" graphics makes Sony's console twice as tall and twice as fat.

Take a look at the gallery to see the consoles, controllers, accessories, movies, games, and connectors. If you want to know what your Nintendo and Sony experience will be like on launch day, this is the only place to see it. And if you want to know what it looks like when I stick the Wii down my pants, well, you can see that too. – Brian Lam and Jason Chen

Wii and PS3 Synchronized Unboxing Gallery [Gizmodo]

Well played. Hit the jump for a few stolen pics, and hit the link if you are completely obsessed with Styrofoam peanuts, the carpeting at Kotaku HQ and every angle of this beast we call a gaming console.

PS3 Debug Unboxing [kotaku]

What's also interesting is that the T-Mobile guy at that store said he was in the process of getting the stock to T-Mobile workers so they can eBay them for $1,000. Not anymore, compadre! – Jason Chen

Oh, to be British...and also working for Microsoft. We recommend you don't look if you want to have the full impact of your unboxing. – Jason Chen

Video [CBS via Engadget]

It's only a matter of time before gadgets get desperate and start taking off their clothes for attention. Just this week you may remember us talking about the new Neuros OSD video recorder. It's the fully-hackable, nay, encouraged-hackable Linux flash memory video recorder/web server/whatever-you-want machine offering some nice cash prizes to innovative users.

Apparently reader tnkgrl has gotten the OSD to strip down and be photographed in what she delicately refers to as an "unboxing". Yeah, and that happy-finish massage artist is really my "chiropractor". This stuff is gadget-smut of the best kind. Hit the jump for a few pictures we stole from her collection. – Mark Wilson

Nueros OSD Unboxed [flickr]