When it hits streets in Asia around the end of October the kit will include a special back battery cover with RAOUL signature stripes, a leather pouch and leather dangler. Unfortunately for cows, the whole package is sold in a big leather bound box, all for about $590.

Because the phone is only being released in Singapore, you might as just wait for the inevitable knockoff and save yourself hundreds of dollars. Still want one? Head to Asia and snatch up one of the 1,000 going on sale after October 29. [GSM Arena]

It looks stunning in the concept pictures and the stadium is actually two-in-one after a two-step process according to Inhabitat:

Designed by Populous (formerly HOK Sport Venue Event) and Heerim Architects and Planners, Incheon's new stadium is designed to hold 70,000 people for the Asian games in 2014, after which it will downsize and transform into a 30,000 seat stadium and public park.

I dread to see how much of the original design will be lost after that conversion, but until that happens I'll keep speculating over just which alien species submitted the yin and yang inspired concept. [Inhabitat]

According to Digitimes, Benson Lin, president of Asustek Computer's Asia-Pacific division said that 10-inch models account for 95% of the company's sales. 7-inch models make up the other 5%.

To be honest, I'm surprised 8.9-inches is not a popular option. Maybe I'm just weird, but I always though that screen size hit the sweet spot between fitting into a purse and still having a somewhat usable keyboard. [Digitimes]

The 1800 comes in two models, a dual-band 850/1900MHz and the 900/1800MHz for Europe and Asia, and works worldwide. A Hop-On press release promises local SIM card compatibility for more than 40 domestic wireless carriers. Both phones feature a talk time of up to 4 hours with 150 hours of standby time. Trash can not included, so please recycle. Hop-On even encourages the practice by offering a $5 rebate on returned phones. [Press release via Slashphone]

The 3G Chocolate has a 2-megapixel camera, a secondary VGA camera for video calls, UMTS, Bluetooh 1.2, and a microSD slot. Not that much has been changed, but it's enough to make real Chocolate lovers drool. It's bad the phone doesn't support EV-DO and the unsubsidized price is $638, but there may be hope for Verizon customers yet. – Jason Chen

LG KU800 Chocolate 3G launched in Asia [Unwired View]

A lot of the reasoning behind keeping Japan's gadgets in Japan and such lies within the manufacturer. They like to keep their gadgets in their own country to discover problems before exporting, and a lot of the time bringing something over to the States requires jumping through hoops, which isn't always financially sound for the manufacturer. The patent laws are very different over here in the US, and new products have to get the anal-rape approval from the FCC before selling over here.

The higher-speed wireless networks in Japan and Europe also explain why they have more unique cellphones than us in the States. Follow the linkage below to get the full rundown on why some of the best gadgets overseas never see the light of day here in the good ol' US of A. – Travis Hudson

Tech Gadgets Banned in the USA [Yahoo!]

The ROKR E2 has a now-common 1.3-megapixel camera and an FM radio tuner for good measure. There's no word on the battery life, which is important for music phones. (I know that in my experiences, the Chocolate lasts about 23.5 seconds while playing music.) It should cost around $300, but it's unknown if it'll make its way over here. – Nicholas Deleon

Motorola Singapore Announces the ROKR E2 [Slashphone.com via CrunchGear]

Also, Digitimes is reporting that Microsoft will not launch a next-gen format globally until a winner is decided and if Blu-Ray wins in the long run, then Microsoft will adopt that format. O RLY? – Travis Hudson

Microsoft Taiwan: Xbox 360 external HD-DVD drives will not be available in Asia [Digitimes]

I'm not sure about that last part, since my Chinese is rusty and both Babelfish and Google translate aren't working for this page. Oh god, the shame. All those wasted years as a child spent learning Chinese only to have it fail me now when it's most needed, translating copy for an Asia-only phone. I'll do better!

Update: Reader Joe informs us this is available in the UK, so it's not Asia-only.
Black & Sweet! LG KG800 [phonedaily (Chinese)]

Gotta give Bill Gates credit where credit is due. I mean, look at that face? It's obvious that the guy does know what he's talking about sometimes. Like his prediction that Asian software piracy will be under control in 10 years time. We all know piracy is never going away full stop, but Gates talks about a time when piracy starts hurting Indian and Chinese tech markets, rather than helping them (at our expense of course). And this seems, well, logical. Obviously, these countries are going to make sure pirating is cut down when they start losing money. Always a key factor in every market. It's called greed.

Gates gives Asian piracy 10 more years, tops [Ars Technica]