Smaller. Sleeker. Ceramic.

Sized at 39mm, the new Bell & Ross BR-S Ceramic Black Dial is a much more understated timepiece than its larger brothers (46mm) - some of which serve as a helicopter landing pad in a pinch.

That is, of course, appropriate for this more urbane Bell & Ross timepiece, covered in gorgeous black ceramic. My only qualm with the BR-S Ceramic is its quartz calibre ETA instead of a manual or automatic mechanical movement - somewhat of a departure for the venerable brand.

Editor’s Note: The Bell & Ross BR-S Ceramic is also available with a diamond encrusted bezel, but let me tell you now that I’ll never give one iota of respect to any man with diamonds on their timepiece (unless you have a stunning R&B album). Also, for those men looking for a “this lady is mine” timepiece, a white ceramic BR-S is also available.

Cost: $2,300

Just when you thought that there were enough extra gizmos and doodads for the iPhone and iPod Touch, one European company has released the ultimate in wearable gadget accessories. Say hello… or WTF… to WTFJeans.

The jeans, which are being produced in limited supply of 1000 pairs, are specially designed to hold and protect your portable gadgets, particularly Apple’s popular touchables — special pockets are designed to hold the toys snugly and feature microfiber lining to protect the devices from scratches and clean them when they’re taken out.

Don’t have either one? WTFJeans may still be right for you, whether you’re a guy or a girl, as they protect (or show off) your own personal touchables. iPhones and iPods aren’t the only things protected, as the mens’ version features extra padding to protect the family jewels; the womens’ version features Sexyass™ (that’s right, it’s trademarked), so that “the pockets … are positioned in such a way to make your ass stand out in a crowd whether you’re slim or big.” Meaning that the guys aren’t going to be poking your iPod. “Never been groped? There’s always a first time.”

Not enough for you? There’s even a pocket specifically designed to hold a stick. A USB stick, that is. They haven’t taken it that far.

A first “beta” group of 100 pairs has already sold out (they sold at €59, or about $80, each), and the next of 400 are available at €79 ($108) through August 1st. After that, the final 500 will be available for purchase at €109 ($149).

Interested in paying more for your iPhone’s (or rear end’s) carrying case than you paid for the plaything itself? Head on over to wtfjeans.com and order a pair. (And hopefully they do cost more than your rear. That would just be… weird.)

A couple of years ago Ronnie James Dio, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Vinnie Appice reformed the group that was once known as Black Sabbath and started releasing stuff under the name Heaven and Hell. It’s only appropriate since while Dio was the lead singer for Sabbath during the early eighties and then again for a brief time in the nineties, classic Black Sabbath isn’t Sabbath without Ozzy.

That doesn’t mean I don’t like this lineup. On the contrary, I love it and they have released a new album. TODAY! It’s entitled The Devil You Know and you can click on the album cover to purchase it at Amazon.

Up until recently I’ve been purchasing all of my music via iTunes but the biggest problem with that has been that 90% of the stuff I would buy from them is completely unusable for me on my Blackberry Storm. That has been changing recently since they are ditching DRM but in the meantime Amazon MP3 has been making quite a few improvements. One is that the Amazon MP3 downloader automatically adds my purchases to my iTunes playlists (or WMP if that’s your flavor of choice) AND it’s cheaper to shop at Amazon. For instance, The Devil You Know is 9.99 from iTunes but only 9.90 from Amazon. 9 cents may not seem like a lot of money but I can tell you as a small business manager that the way you make (and save) money is by watching the pennies you spend. Pretty soon it adds up and considering bewteen my wife and I we buy probably five albums a month that adds up over the course of the year.

So on to the album. I bought the single, Bible Black, a couple of weeks ago and it’s OK. Nothing great but it’s pretty rocking. I am about halfway through listening to the album and just finished syncing it to my Blackberry so I can go work in the yard. So far it’s somewhat reminiscent of Dehumanizer but maybe a little harder. Once I’ve listened to it a couple more times I’ll be able to post a full review here.

 

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• Heaven and Hell Feeling Devilish on New Album (hardrockhideout.com)
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Further complimenting recent studies that have discovered many smartphone users are using their handset for social services, popular Internet service Skype has released software for Nokia’s Symbian operating system, expanding its reach to more than 200 million smartphones around the world.

The new Skype for Symbian application allows users to make free Skype-to-Skype calls, for potentially huge savings on domestic and international calls by using data rather than voice minutes.

Skype for Symbian software is available now and can be downloaded free of charge from Nokia’s Ovi Store and is compatible with any device running the latest version of the Symbian mobile platform.

Last week turned out to be the best round in 2010 for the Australian Super 14 teams, with all three sides in action tasting success.

Queensland Reds provided the biggest highlight when they downed the previously unbeaten Chiefs in Hamilton, ending a run of four straight losses to the men from Waikato. Without Wallabies James Horwill, Digby Ioane and Peter Hynes, the Ewen McKenzie-coached Queenslanders showed what passion and commitment can do for a team. They played their hearts out and gained plenty of confidence from their first win on the road this year.

The Brumbies and  New South Wales Waratahs each, meanwhile, picked up a win against South African opposition in their first home game, but both looked to be struggling from the effects of the long flight back from their road trip to Africa. Both failed to pick up a four-try bonus point, and that might come back to haunt them later in the season.

The Brumbies’ faithful didn’t have any real cause to voice their disapproval of the team’s performance, but the Sydney fans let the Tahs know they are not going to tolerate a safety-first game plan this year.

It wasn’t nice to hear the crowd booing the Tahs’ kicking tactics in the second half, but people close to the team tell me the players were out on their feet and, in the end, were just grateful just to get a win against a Sharks team full of internationals.

I was just as frustrated as the people who disagreed with the Tahs’ tactics, but I’m prepared to give them another chance to show what they can really do on attack against the Lions this week.

Elsewhere, the Cheetahs took a leaf out of the Reds’ book to upset the previously unbeaten Hurricanes in Bloemfontein. That meant that the Bulls held onto top spot on the table even though they had a bye. The Crusaders won the big Kiwi derby against the Blues, and the Stormers proved yet again that they are genuine contenders this year with a huge win over the Highlanders. If the men from Cape Town can win on the road, they will be hard to beat at the business end of the tournament.

So let’s take a look at this weekend. The Cheetahs and Blues have a bye so there are six games.

Chiefs v Crusaders
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, Friday, 5.35pm (EDT)
We start with what looks to be the game of the round. The Chiefs have the home-ground advantage in this Kiwi derby, and they’ll be desperate to bounce back to winning form after allowing the Reds to recover from 15-0 down last week. That was the Chiefs’ first game at home this season, and they, too, looked like they were struggling after their three-match road trip to Perth and South Africa. Mils Muliaina returned from his extended leave, and he will be much better this week now he has a run under his belt. Sione Lauaki will be back from suspension to boost the pack.

The Crusaders wore down the Blues in Christchurch last week to make it three from three at home this season. Dan Carter was in great touch with the boot, and his general direction was spot on most of the time. This is their second match on the road, and, after the shock loss to the Reds in Brisbane, there won’t be any complacency. Both teams reached the semi-finals last year, and it’s a tough one to pick this time round. The Chiefs have won two of the past three against the Crusaders. If they can reproduce some of their early form, I think they can win it. The Chiefs have a great backline, but their forwards need to move up a gear. Chiefs for me, but only just.

New South Wales Waratahs v Lions
Sydney Football Stadium, Friday 7.40pm (EDT)
There can be no excuses for the Waratahs this week. They’re at home and they’ve had time to get over their jet-lag. There were no major injury concerns from last week’s match, and star back Berrick Barnes has given his teammates a boost with news that he’s extended his contract for another year. Now let’s see if they can put it all together against one of the lowly-ranked sides.

The Lions are winless this season. They’ve been able to score plenty of points but they’ve also conceded plenty. They’ve never won in Sydney, and they recorded their only win over the Tahs way back in 2001 in Johannesburg. They’re playing with much more spirit under the coaching of Dick Muir, but, on paper, they don’t have the personnel to match the Waratahs.

I’m expecting the Tahs to win with a bonus point because there is simply too much at stake. If they fail to entertain the crowd this week, the fans who have threatened to abandon them just might carry out their threat. Waratahs to take maximum points.

Brumbies v Sharks
Canberra Stadium, Saturday, 7.40pm (EDT)
The Brumbies might have what looks to be a “dream team” on paper, but they haven’t played like it so far. We are still waiting for them to put it all together for the full 80 minutes, and they will need to do so this week if they are to beat the desperate Sharks from Durban. The Brumbies looked good at times in the wet against the Lions last week, but they failed to score a fourth try to pick up a bonus point despite having plenty of opportunities. They have plenty of experienced players in the squad, but they were impatient at times - and that cost them dearly. They only led by seven points at the break and the Lions got within four points at one stage in the second half - and a boilover was looking possible.

The Sharks were unlucky not to pick up their first win of the season in Sydney after leading 14-6 with two men in the sin-bin. They were down by 11 points in the second spell before getting within four of the Tahs, but that’s how it stayed. With 14 Springboks and one England international in their squad, it’s hard to work out why the Sharks aren’t doing better. They will always be a threat but they’ll be up against a Brumbies side determined to make it happen this week.

The Sharks haven’t won in Canberra since 1998, but they’ll take some confidence out of the fact that they beat the Brumbies very easily in Durban last year. They must be getting close to breaking their drought this year, but I’m sticking with the Brumbies.

Bulls v Highlanders
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Sunday 2.05am (EDT)
The form guide says this is a “no contest”. The Bulls are fresh as they are coming off their bye. They’re unbeaten this year and they’ve now won 13 straight in Pretoria. They’re the defending champs with one of the best forward packs in the tournament, and they have speed to burn out wide. Fly half Morne Steyn is the leading points-scorer this season, and he will boot goals from anywhere within 60 metres. He’s also turning out to be a very good attacking pivot as well.

The Highlanders, meanwhile, are coming off a 33-0 hiding by the Stormers in Cape Town, and they’ve lost their captain Jimmy Cowan to injury. They are one from four this year, and they haven’t won in Pretoria since 2002. They did, however, beat the Bulls in New Zealand last year, and they did draw in South Africa in 2004.

The Highlanders can be competitive on their good days, but I can’t see them matching a rampant Bulls team in front of a big crowd at Loftus Versfeld. Bulls to win with a bonus point again.

Stormers v Hurricanes
Newlands, Cape Town, Sunday 4.10am (EDT)
This should be a cracker.

The Stormers are at home, where they are two from three this season, and they’re coming off a very good win over the Highlanders. The Hurricanes never got into top gear in last week’s loss to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, and they’ll be much better this week now they’ve had a chance to settle into the South African tour.

The Stormers looked a better side with captain Schalk Burger back from injury last week, and high-profile recruit Bryan Habana thrilled his new fans with another freakish try.

The Hurricanes have been hit pretty hard with injury, and they’ll be hoping to get some key players back this week. They have a competitive pack but they failed to play to their potential last week. They have strike weapons in the backline, and the Stormers will have their hands full on defence if they fire this week.

The Stormers have a great draw with five of their first six games at home at Newlands, as well as two of their last three. They know they’ll be in a good position to push for a semi-final spot if they can win the next two home games before heading off on a four-match Australasian road trip. I’m going to pick the Stormers to win this one but it should be a close contest.

Queensland Reds v Western Force
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Sunday 5.30pm (EDT)
It’s hard not to like what the Reds are doing. Written off by most judges pre-season, they’ve now beaten Kiwi giants the Crusaders and the Chiefs. The Tahs beat them on the bell and they gave the Blues a fright. They’ve been hit hard by injury, but they still manage to go out each week and have a real dig. Coach Ewen McKenzie has managed to create a very good atmosphere in the squad, and the players are now starting to believe in themselves. With Will Genia and Quade Cooper calling the shots, they’ve been a pleasure to watch. They are one from three at home in Brisbane, and they’ll want to make sure of this one before their bye and then a three-match tour to South Africa. 

Western Force are coming off their bye, and they are in dire straits as they sit at the bottom of the table with no win this season. Like the Reds, they have more than their fair share of injuries but they can’t use that as an excuse every week. They need to find some winning form in a hurry or their season could be an embarrassment. They’ve lost to three of the title contenders in the Brumbies, Hurricanes and Chiefs. After this week, they play another three of the more-fancied teams in the Waratahs, Bulls and Stormers. Lose this one and they could still be winless at the halfway point of their season.

This match is being played on Sunday afternoon at Suncorp Stadium, and the heat shouldn’t affect either side. The Force will be desperate while the Reds will be feeling confident. Aussie derbies can be dour affairs as both sets of players know each other so well and they try to smash each other. But with so much to play for, I suspect this one could be an exception. The home team has won all four games they’ve played. I’m picking the trend to continue with the Reds edging out the Force.

Platform: PS3
Genre: Action/Adventure
US Release: October 23, 2007
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Alcohol Reference, Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Language)
Developer: Insomniac Games
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Number of Players: 1
Trophy Support: No
Hard Drive Space Needed: At Least 512 MB

The Good

• The story is interesting. Ratchet, the last Lombax in the galaxy, must fight Tachyon whom is attempting to bring Ratchet to his demise. Fun characters all around in the story, with family friendly content and great voice acting.
• The graphical approach is great. Though the graphics may be cartoonish, they look spectacular. Smooth framerate, high resolution - Superb.
• Gameplay remains the same from previous Ratchet & Clank games, which is a good thing. Easy to learn, guns-a-blazing, chaotic gameplay. Very fun.
• Your arsenal is incredible. From the default Combustor blaster pistol and Ratchet’s trusty wrench, to the far-fetched Tornado Gun, and Groovitron (Makes enemies dance). The weapons are just plain fun.
• A good variety of different gameplay elements are included. You can control Clank in some parts, there are sky diving and hang gliding areas, as well as other vehicles and gizmos.

The Bad

• There is little to no replayability in the game. Sure there are skill points (Achievment-like system), and the unlocked difficulty mode, but that is not much to get you to play the game again.
• Multiplayer made appearances in previous Ratchet games, but for some reason this one doesn’t have this feature. It would have been nice for it to be included.
• For gamers looking for more of a challenge, this is quite an easy game. Once you get familiar with your weapons, beating it is a breeze.
• Tools of Destruction is also quite short. Maybe only a few days is all it takes to complete the game.

The Verdict - MUST OWN. I would highly recommend anyone with a PS3 to purchase this game. Despite it being short, this is a fantastic addition to any gamer’s collection.

The Nokia 6650 is a rarity among U.S. phones, a carrier-supported phone running the Symbian S60 OS. You don’t have to know that Symbian is the world’s leading smartphone OS to benefit from all the potential locked away in this device, especially for business users who will find a range of e-mail and address book synchronization options with some simple digging. Unfortunately, most of the out-of-the-box apps are either dull, like the multimedia player, or buggy, like the GPS in AT&T Navigator, and the Symbian S60 interface design is convoluted and unfamiliar to American eyes. Still, great battery life and solid phone features make this a great choice for business users who want a capable, casual phone. Release: November 2008. Price: $70.

Pros: Thanks to Symbian S60 this phone has surprisingly developed business features. Love those color-changing LED backlights.

Cons: Symbian is not a great-looking or well-organized interface. Keys are kind of flat. Multimedia apps are kind of dull. GPS was buggy.

Design - Very good

Call us a sucker for shiny objects, but we actually liked the simple, understated design of Nokia’s 6650 fold. It’s a classic Nokia look, and we love the color-changing LED backlighting. It’s a gimmick we can get behind. Nokia offers a choice of colors, and you can change the keypad to match your mood. If only these settings weren’t buried under layers and layers of menus and settings screens. That’s the problem with the Nokia 6650 in a nutshell. It’s a sleek, modern exterior design with a clunky, aging interface.

The phone has Nokia’s classically sharp internal display, but the external screen is no slouch, either. Forget its postage stamp size; it can handle plenty of vivid color and looks great animated, as well. The external screen made for a nice viewfinder for the camera, as well, though we would have cut all that enhanced functionality short just before the touch-sensitive buttons. We like hardware keys, and the Nokia keys were unresponsive and a bit clunky to use.

We also had trouble with the volume rocker. It had a strange shape, not an intuitive see-saw. Also, it ran very close to the PTT button, so one wrong move and the phone was asking us to subscribe to AT&T’s push-to-talk service. This happened quite frequently. Just as frequently, we would miss the “down” action on the 4-way button at the center of the phone, causing us to activate AT&T Navigator, which gets its own dedicated key right below the 4-way. So, buttons placement is something of an issue on this phone. Otherwise, the phone puts all the important stuff where you need it, mostly behind tiny closed doors. The microUSB port (nice choice), the additional power port, the microSD card slot and the 2.5mm headphone jack were all hidden behind 3 little doors, though the phone still maintains a sleek and nearly seamless look.

Calling - Very good

Calls on the Nokia 6650 sounded very good in our tests. We even tried the phone barreling down the highway with our windows down, and callers had no trouble hearing us over the wind noise, though we couldn’t say the same on our end. Still, under even the worst conditions, the Nokia 6650 delivered a satisfying, clear sound. We had no trouble picking up full reception on this device, which uses AT&T’s 3G HSDPA network. For battery life, we taxed the phone heavily using GPS navigation, and it never died before our trip was over, even with the screen set to remain bright. Nokia estimates 4 hours of battery life, but we managed calls that came closer to 6 hours, so we think those official estimates are conservative.

We didn’t bother entering much contact information by hand, as Nokia has some nice software to take care of all this. The Nokia PC Suite software isn’t included in the box, but since this phone is, almost covertly, a Symbian S60 Series 3 device, there’s plenty of great software out there that doesn’t come in the box. We started with the PC Suite, which let us synchronize our Outlook contacts and calendar items to the phone.

Otherwise, the phone has an adequate speakerphone, though it was not quite loud enough for our taste. The phone uses speaker-independent voice commands software, but it was difficult to find, buried under a few menus and folders. We always like voice dialing to have its own button, or at least a quick, preset shortcut.

Messaging - Good

Depending on how you look at it, the Nokia 6650 is either a consumer-level simple messaging phone, or a full business smartphone. Out of the box, it comes with access to AT&T’s Xpress Mail client, which only has a basic list of e-mail presets. While trying to set up Gmail, we stumbled upon a separate e-mail client for POP3 and IMAP4 accounts, and we were able to tweak the settings to work with Gmail’s IMAP setup. So far so good. But then consider Nokia’s Mail for Exchange app, which works with any Symbian S60 phone. We were warned during installation that the AT&T version of the Nokia 6650 wasn’t supported, but it worked very well on this phone. Nokia’s MfE app let us check our corporate e-mail, and it also synchronized our corporate address book and calendar entries. For the price of this phone, it’s a remarkably smart device, and perhaps its being underestimated even by AT&T as a boon to casual business users.

Otherwise, the phone has good SMS and MMS messaging options, but nothing outstanding. Likewise the instant messaging client. The Nokia 6650 has IM for AOL, MSN and Yahoo, but if you want more you’ll have to find a third-party Symbian developer.

The keyboard on the Nokia 6650 wasn’t great, but it wasn’t too bad for simple T9 text input. The keys are glossy and flat, and we missed our choice plenty if we tried to type to quickly. Still, did we mention it lights up and changes colors? It’s pretty cool in person, especially typing in the dark.

Multimedia - Good

The Nokia 6650 has a fairly simple music playback app, but it gets the job done nicely. There are a few audio enhancement options, including an equalizer with a few presets, but without a 3.5mm headphone jack, these were harder to take seriously. The phone doesn’t have any real onboard memory, but can accept microSDHC cards up to 8GB, and the slot is at least external, with easy access. On the Windows side, we’d recommend the Nokia PC suite for music transfer. On the Mac side, we simply turned on the phone’s mass storage mode and copied MP3 files directly to the storage card. The library found them with no trouble, but our album artwork didn’t make the journey.

The external screen gets in on the act with music playback, and it actually does a fine job handling things. You can start the music player without opening the hood, and you can browse the music library or control playback, all with the three touch keys and the volume rocker. There’s even an EQ-like visualizer that dances on the crisp, small external screen while songs play.

Web browsing - Very good

Again, the Nokia 6650 surprises for such a small device, as the phone gets the full Nokia browser treatment. The Nokia S60 browser renders complicated pages cleanly. It isn’t the best on the market, but the browser does have a great mini map tool that makes scanning through long pages a breeze. The phone was also fairly speedy over AT&T’s 3G network. We think Wi-Fi would make this a real powerhouse device, and the phone certainly has the battery to support the extra radio, so we’re disappointed the Nokia 6650 didn’t come equipped.

GPS - Good

The Nokia 6650 uses AT&T’s Navigator app, which is essentially TeleNav’s turn-by-turn directions. The phone had some trouble with GPS. At least on our test unit, the phone would occasionally lose our signal at predictable moments, going through the Holland tunnel, for instance. The problem was that it would never find us again. A quick power-down restart of the phone always solved the problem quickly. Otherwise, AT&T Navigator worked well on the device. Maps loaded quickly over the 3G network, though the app leaves plenty to be desired in GPS response. Still, traffic re-routing is a nice feature, and helped us out during some of our more harried commutes.

Camera - Mediocre

The camera on the Nokia 6650 takes images that are noisy and completely unusable. Here, Nokia’s own crisp cell phone screen can reveal the defects in the images, and when you can see how bad a cameraphone picture is on the phone itself, you know there are serious problems. Noise was like a circus in low-light shots, and even in cloudy mid-day photos. The camera couldn’t capture a sharp image, and under the bright LED flash, images were only bled dry of their color and life.

Smaller. Sleeker. Ceramic.

Sized at 39mm, the new Bell & Ross BR-S Ceramic Black Dial is a much more understated timepiece than its larger brothers (46mm) - some of which serve as a helicopter landing pad in a pinch.

That is, of course, appropriate for this more urbane Bell & Ross timepiece, covered in gorgeous black ceramic. My only qualm with the BR-S Ceramic is its quartz calibre ETA instead of a manual or automatic mechanical movement - somewhat of a departure for the venerable brand.

Editor’s Note: The Bell & Ross BR-S Ceramic is also available with a diamond encrusted bezel, but let me tell you now that I’ll never give one iota of respect to any man with diamonds on their timepiece (unless you have a stunning R&B album). Also, for those men looking for a “this lady is mine” timepiece, a white ceramic BR-S is also available.

Cost: $2,300

Until now, AT&T has been without a phone sporting Google’s Android Operating System. Android has finally joined their line-up, with the new Motorola Backflip being the first chosen to sport the OS in AT&T’s wide list of smartphone models.

The Backflip, which is slated for a March 7th release date, features Motorola’s Motoblur, which delivers contacts and social media and networking content directly to the homescreen. There is a touchscreen and a full QWERTY keyboard (in a “reverse flip design” that leaves the keyboard exposed when closed), as well as a BACKTRACK™ navigation pad behind the screen.

Other notable features are a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, GPS navigation, 802.11 b/g WiFi connectivity, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, meaning no need for adapters for music listening. Motorola boasts a battery life of 13.5 days on standby and 6 hours talk time.

Rachel King at ZDNet says that the price for the phone will start at $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and will require a contract with a smartphone data plan. AT&T’s smartphone plans start at $30.00/month for unlimited data usage with no texting, and go up to $50.00 monthly for unlimited data and messaging.

Another good thing about Android? BeerCloud was available for the Android OS before it was available for the iPhone. Typing out your search for the nearest brewpub is so much easier on a QWERTY keyboard than the iPhone’s touch screen. Sounds like a win-win combination!

View the full list of specs for the Backflip on Motorola’s website.