Depending on who you talk to, some view Bluetooth headsets as a novelty, while others heavily rely on the rich features they bring to the table in being a supplemental item to any mobile handset. We've recently managed to acquire one of LG's latest Bluetooth headsets, the LG HBM-585, and put it through its paces to find out what unique features it packs to make it stand uniquely amongst the vast offerings. At a first glance, the LG HBM-585 looks considerably longer versus the average looking Bluetooth headsets on the market, but upon closer inspection, you'll begin to notice its streamlined approach. Sporting a full metal body construction, it's dubbed as being the world's slimmest Bluetooth headset – measuring in at 3.8mm thick. We definitely adore the gunmetal finish on the headset which adds to its overall durable and light weight feel, but we weren't too thrilled with the connection between the earpiece and body – it jut felt a little too brittle for our taste. On the frontal surface, there is a Multi-Function Button which enables you to power it on/off, pickup/end phone calls, activate voice dialing, redialing, and transferring a call. Toward the rear you'll find the volume button which can even announce the battery level with a mere long press. On the opposite end of that, there is a pinhole for the microphone and the charging contacts for the headset. Thankfully, the packaging includes three different sized ear buds, two attachable ear clips, microUSB cable, wall adapter, small charging cradle, and a vehicle power adapter.

When using one of the ear buds, we didn't find it snug enough to close out any gaps – so we preferred using the ear clip to make sure it stayed tight on our ear. Fortunately you don't even notice the headset too much when you have it on thanks to its relative light weight. The LG HBM-585 employs a built-in DSP that supports noise reduction and echo cancellation, however, it already falls behind some of its rivals with its lack of complete noise cancellation. When we encountered windy conditions, the sound of it was prominent to our callers – thus making it rather difficult for them to comprehend our words. In addition, our callers did state that our voice sounded like it was in a cave with a slight echo being distinguishable at the end of our words. On top of that, there is a faint static sound in the background whenever we spoke, but it quickly disappears when there is silence. Since it's main physical attraction is its thin profile, it lacks a built-in port for charging – so that means you'll be required to dock it into either the small charging cradle or vehicle power adapter. Even though it will prominently stand tall while it's recharging and look good while doing so, you'd better make sure to not lose either of them since they are your sole options for charging the headset. One thing worth nothing with the vehicle charger is that it tucks away a USB port on its side which enables you to charge any USB handset simultaneously. The manufacturer has it rated for 5 hours of talk and up to 200 hours of standby time.

Samsung has a real chance of being a player in the tablet game. From what we've heard so far, their offering will be basically a larger version of the Galaxy S cell phone, called theGalaxy Tab. It will run Android, presumable 2.2, on a 7-inch screen. There might even be a phone function, something the iPad lacks.

A Reuters report published today echoes pretty much all of that but notes that Samsung is shooting for a Q3 release. Interestingly enough, shortly after that report hit, I got a fancy invite to some big Samsung event scheduled for August 11. Imagine that.

Notice that Tim Baxter, President of Samsung America is speaking and there will be an opportunity to “see new products.” It’s not that much of a stretch to think that the Samsung tablet will be announced at this event. That will give the press a couple of months to build-up the device before it launches at the beginning of the Christmas spending spree. It will also give developers some time to jump on the Android tablet bandwagon and tweak their apps for the device.

Or I could be totally wrong and Samsung will show off some random 3D TV or clock radio. We’ll find out on the 11th.

You loved Visa and Device Fidelity's attempts at turning your iPhone into a credit card. You were dazzled by the possibility of leaving behind that 1mm of inconvenience next time you go out for burritos. However, you lamented the possibility that such a dream may never come true.

Lament no more, friends, for today, Bloomberg reported that AT&T, Verizon, and T-mobile are plotting together to bring near-field communication payment systems to their phones in a big way.

So big, in fact, that reports are saying that they willcompete against credit giants Visa and Mastercard, partnering instead with Discover Financial Services to process the payments, and Barclays Plc to handle the accounts.

This will, of course, require not only new payment equipment in retail outlets, but also a new piece of technology integrated with a phone that people actually use (cue Visa’s iPhone case), but with the three biggest phone carriers in the US getting behind the project, expect a solution to this problem to come soon.

A pilot program is about to start in Atlanta and three other cities, where people will be able to pay with a wave of their “smartphone”, but I have no idea if this will involve a whole new phone, a case for their existing (and compatible) phone, or a sticker for the back of any phone/thing (which Mastercard have already started trialling).

Who knows which company or solution will win out in this war, but there’s one thing you should expect: your phone will eventually replace your wallet.

Analysts outline difficult resolution to UAE ban for BlackBerry manufacturer RIM

Moves by two Gulf states to limit the use of certain BlackBerry applications will force manufacturer Research In Motion (RIM) to reassess its operations in the region, analysts have warned.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have announced plans to limit some services, notably email, web browsing and messenger services. In the UAE, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the UAE.

BlackBerry services operate outside regulation introduced in the UAE in 2007 by transmitting data out of the country to a commercial organisation.

TRA director general Mohamed Al Ghanim said: “As of October 11, Blackberry messenger, Blackberry email and Blackberry web browsing services will be suspended until an acceptable solution can be developed and applied.”

Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi said RIM has faced this issue before in other markets where there is a high level of government control, principally in Russia where it had to get clearance to operate because the Russian government didn’t like the way it encrypted and handled data.

This required RIM to agree to an arrangement on the way it routed and handled data in the country.

IHS Global Insight Middle East and North Africa analyst Shardul Shrimani said a similar agreement could be a way for RIM to overcome its new issues in the Middle East, perhaps installing BlackBerry servers in the area.

However, he said there is a genuine risk that the situation could snowball as other countries in and around the UAE look at the decision and decide whether to impose their own stipulations on BlackBerry use.

This could make any resolution an expensive option for RIM, both in terms of capex and damage to its customer base as some users defect to other handsets and systems to avoid losing services.

“Halting services will be very detrimental to BlackBerry. RIM needs to negotiate with the regulators to allow them access to its servers. This needs to happen quickly otherwise existing customers will switch and the damage will be done.”

Ovum principal analyst Tony Cripps said RIM may even consider pulling out of troublesome markets as its key clients remain governmental and financial organisations, which demand the type of security that would be undermined by conceding to local regulatory requirements in the Middle East.

Cripps said: “The BlackBerry architecture is optimised for security, but it is now being asked to remove this service.

“One idea is that RIM might give up on these markets so it doesn’t lose its key customer markets.”

Regardless or not we'll end up seeing some kind of new hardware from Palm this year, it's not stopping developers from fine tuning and enhancing apps created for the platform. It's evident in the most recent release of the Facebook app for webOS version 1.2.30 beta which continues to emulate the desktop experience on a mobile level. Although this isn't a groundbreaking update, it does add some new features such as the support for selectable news feeds, toggling feed comments on/off, and the ability to clear multiple notifications at the same time. In addition, you'll find the customary amount of enhancements and bug fixes to better the overall experience. Since it's not yet available to download through the App Catalog, you can basically just click the source link to get yourself a copy of the update.