Samsung's Bada Mobile OS to Launch in Early 2010

Samsung's non-smartphone OS, which is surprisingly named Bada (rather than "Why?"), has already been announced, but now we hear that the first Bada phone should arrive in the first half of 2010. Given Samsung's recent dalliance with Android skins, maybe this is a new attempt to create something people might actually want to use. Still, we're just not that excited about another dumbphone OS, which is why news about Bada winds up here in the dark, forgotten corner of Gizmodo we call Remainders. [Engadget]

Google Talk Knows When You're on Android, and Likes It

The thing about Android is that we all depend on Google for all kinds of things, whether or not we ever plan on using an Android phone. So if Google wants, they can exert some pressure, through sweet exclusive features (like the Droid's turn-by-turn Maps) or little cues like this one. Google Talk now adds teeny adorable icons for Android users in the GTalk buddy list—but only Android, not iPhone, WebOS or BlackBerry. I'm not concerned about the "Google creep," but Google haters may find this seemingly innocuous feature a sign of trouble to come. [TechCrunch]

California Passes New Efficiency Standard for TVs

California, in a decision that's the first of its kind, passed a law requiring new, stricter efficiency standards for all TVs sold in the state. By 2011, they'll have to reduce energy requirements by 33%, and by 2013, that number goes up to 49%. It's not a huge deal, nor something consumers are likely to notice—but higher energy efficiency standards are okay in my book. The law has passed only in California, and is seeing a fair bit of opposition, so don't hold your breath for nationwide adoption—hence its place in Remainders today. [Mercury News]

Acer Ferrari Netbook's Tackiness Burns My Eyes

Okay seriously you guys, who the hell buys Ferrari versions of gadgets? They pop up with pretty alarming frequency given their eye-searing tackiness, and the latest victim is this humble Acer netbook. The netbook packs expected specs, including an AMD Athlon Neo processor at 1.2GHz, up to 4GB memory, 160GB hard drive and snoooooore. But why ruin that solid, sleep-inducing mediocrity with such shockingly garish styling? It'll be available in Japan on November 27th. [Akihabara News]

Eriksson, whose story reaches Mark Sanford levels of ridiculous, is famous for crashing a rare Ferrari, escaping at least one prison sentence, possibly having a movie made about him, leading some sort of mafia in Sweden in the 1990s and making a product nobody ever wanted, ever. Referred to in his native Sweden as "Fat Stefan," because he's fat, Eriksson will serve 18 months in prison for his multitude of mafia and gadget-related crimes. Eriksson is a hilarious dirtbag the likes of which we rarely see in the tech world and he'll be missed, at least theoretically, maybe. [The Local via Engadget, photo credit AP]

We don't know much about this mini-Modena, except that it's got netbookish guts and some definite kid appeal. And the people who made this thing really committed to it, custom-molding the body and optical drive tray, all in the honorable service of whimsy. For this, I cannot fault them. [Engadget]

The iPod touch is only a 16GB model, presumably because the convertible's name is the 16M and not because a bump to the 32GB would have broken the bank. But if you want to listen to a digital Ferrari engine in your real Ferrari on a Ferrari-branded iPod, you better jump on it quick: Only 499 are being made, and each is likely to cost $325,000. [Thanks, Noah!]

Extra note: Al & Ed's have been doing these custom installations for a few years now, and note that it's strange that Ferrari doesn't support an iPhone instead. That way you can have a GPS actually in your dash. They also claim that the price is $325k, not $225k.

The lucky guy riding the car is dutch kids TV presenter Leon Krijgsman, who went through the streets driving this Lego kart.

No need to build this beast to get into our Lego minifig contest, but you definitely need to race now, with only two weeks go to. If you want to participate and win one of the priceless classic vintage sets we are giving away. You only need to send your entry to us as soon as possible because the end of the month deadline is quickly approaching. Entries keep pouring in, but it's never too late. You still have 15 days to go.

If you want to participate, check the contest rules here and send your video now. [Comunicadores via Geekologie]

"As far as how fast it goes and how much the bike would cost, we can only speculate about very big numbers in both cases," Glinik says. Cold, Glinik. Cold. [Industrial & Art via Luxist]

The degrees of separation go thusly:

The xten chair is the spawn of Pininfarina, an Italian design firm. Pininfarina designs many things, like cell phones and alarm clocks, but chief among them is the ultra-rare Ferrari Enzo. Eriksson is probably best known for wrecking his Enzo on a highway, sawing it in half, and walking away relatively OK so he could continue to make shitty portable gaming devices. And scene.

We have no idea whether or not Eriksson has an xten in his office, but if he does, we're certain its days, like Gizmondo's, are numbered.

[xten via DVICE]

[RaceChairs via Geekologie]

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
122 grams
58 x 108 x 16.8 mm
2.8-inch screen
Touchscreen GPS
Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 OS includes Pocket Outlook, MSN, Word, Excel and the new Power Point Mobile.
SirfStarIII LP GPS receiver
Navteq pre-installed maps (latest 2006 issues)

The peeps at Acer haven't put a pricetag on it, but expect it to be too 'spenny for what it is. [Acer via MobileWhack]

[Gizmag]

The authorities believe Trevor Michael Karney, the true identity of the fictitious Dietrich, hid in Ireland for a time after the famous crash, then snuck back in to the United States via Mexico. He was arrested today and charged with drunk driving, resisting arrest, lying to a police officer (about his involvement in the ordeal) and, potentially, violating federal immigration code. Some people never learn. [LA Times]

In case you were wondering, yes, the frame is "subject to cataphoresis anti-corrosion treatment prior to being painted" - so you'll be okay submerging it in salt water for a few weeks. Now if you guys can convince Blam to let me into his mansion to try it out, maybe we can get a proper review going. [Product Page]

So now there are laptops, a handful of cellphones, and a few other assorted gizmos with the Ferrari logo all over them. That said, this is a fine-looking phone with that Ferrari logo on board. Come to think of it, we're getting tired of our Michael Graves toilet brush and want one with the Ferrari logo on it now. – Charlie White

SonyEricsson K800i Ferrari Edition (Italian) [MobileBlogit, via Textually]