Quick Version: The V550 Nano from Logitech is by no means the first cordless mouse to be produced, nor will it be the last. But it is one of the better ones that have come out in recent years.

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The CG boys are taking a well-earned break tomorrow but thank you for another great year of CrunchGear. We wake up for you guys, whether it seems like it or not, and we could have made it through without your diligent visits to our little kingdom of jollity and mirth. Have a great Turkey day and we’ll see you on Friday.

Ericsson has big plans for cell phones – big plans. Ultimately by the 2012, the company sees 100+ Mbps connection with 12-20MP cameras as you can see by the chart above. Plus, your lowly phone will be able to record HD video and sport a 1GHz CPU. So in less than four years all this is suppose to happen, Ericsson? M’kay. The megapixal camera is within reason, and even the HD video part doesn’t seem that wacky within four years, but while Euro snobs and Japanese tech geeks might see the fast data speeds, chances are we here in the States will not see those quick speeds before flying cars.

I like Sonicare brushes. They don’t tear up your gums – too badly – and they make funny noises when you brush your teeth. Philips updated their Sonicare line with this interesting new system which is much more like traditional motorized toothbrushes although it does offer considerably more vibration and three buzz settings – regular, gentle, and the erotically-themed massage.

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Hot on the heels of the D90 we find the 21-megapixel EOS 5D Mark II, a $2,699 monster with a 50-25,600 ISO range with a full-frame 24×36mm CMOS sensor. The kit with lens costs $3,499.

Most interestingly is the 1920 x 1080 pixel HD video at 30 fps. While these new video features are a bit hard to stomach – DSLRs take pictures well but rarely take good video – but clearly some of this tech is getting more and more impressive. It’s basically a nice value-add.

The camera also has live view on screen along with standard views through the viewfinder. Let’s call it a “really nice camera” for professionals and the rich and leave it at that, shall we? That doesn’t mean I don’t covet this camera. I covet, friends. I covet.

Press release below.

Sony just launched two new notebooks, the VAIOen VGN-CS180J/R and VGN-NR485E/L. Both light laptops come in multiple sexy colors including, but not limited to pink and “nightfall blue.”

The NS series, shown above, is a 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo laptop with 15.4″ display. It has a 200GB hard drive and up to 4GB of memory. It costs about $600
Read on for info about the CS series

Swype is an amazing gesture-based data entry system that truly blew our collective minds at TC, CG, and MC. To type, you simply connect letters together using a stylus or finger and predictive text to pick letters and words out of seemingly unintelligible squiggles.
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While most of us would call a making a slurry of processed vegetable oil a fun weekend but the boys at Make call it an alternative fuel source. The best part? It involves caustic chemicals and alcohol, just like my wedding.

While you may not want to do this around the kids, it might be a fun weekend project for green enthusiasts.

Sprint started pushing firmware updates to Samsung Instinct users yesterday; applications as they are opened will prompt users to download the update. Though Sprint warns that “applications are updated by the vendor, and vendors set their own schedules.”

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Next in our 10 Days of CrunchGear giveaway we have the Casio G’zOne Boulder on Verizon. This ultra-rugged, waterproof phone is great for people who spend lots of time behind a desk typing. Best of all? There are two! That means multiple winners! Don’t say we never gave you nuttin’.

How do you win?

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We’re fast approaching our super fun CrunchNetwork Prague Meet-up and getting ready for the big night. We’re going to have some surprises coming up so watch this space but until then feel free to RSVP by email or on Facebook.

Remember the event is on Friday, May 23, 2008 from 7pm until ?? at Restaurace Zvonařka.

The program will be fairly basic but I’m planning an elevator pitch face-of, allowing 10 start-ups the chance to do a 2 minute presentation to the entire audience using limited tools. We’ll then pick the best pitch and that team will get an as-yet-to-be-undetermined really great prize (think plasma TV). If you’re interested in participating, please contact Jack DeNeut at jack @ nelso dot com.

If you have something you want to discuss with me for consideration on TechCrunch, MobileCrunch, or CrunchGear, please have a paper presentation handy with a detailed description of your project — powerpoint and business plans are right out. Consider creating a press-release for the event.

Special thanks to all these sponsors:

Nelso – Multi-language local search for Europe

Geewa – Multiplayer games for PC and mobile

Newstin – Connecting people through news to create global communities
of interest

Wirenode – Simple-to-use tools that allow anyone to create a mobile website

GoodData – A complete, on-demand business intelligence platform

I’ll be in Pittsburgh until Wednesday of next week for RoboBusiness and a visit to the alma mater and then I’ll be Columbus, Ohio until the weekend. I’d love to meet CG readers in both locations. Drop me a line at john @ crunchgear dot com or leave a note after the jump.

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I saw this at MWC 2008 this year and just got around to posting it. TWATR.NET is a social network for adults. It’s very similar to Twitter but you can share photos, video streams, and audio along with the standard “What are you doing” fare. It’s based in Amsterdam and they’ve secured 2 million euro in funding so far from angel investors including some folks from AOL and Yahoo!. Apparently you can get a beta invite by emailing twatrlord@gmail.com. I haven’t worked with it very much but the live video streaming was in HD when I saw it and they said it should work with any webcam on almost any browser — including the ultra-small Nokia N810. WiMAX streaming porn anyone?

I can’t say much about this right now but you will be amazed and trust me, it’s not what you think. Ben has one as well.

As we quick approach zero hour for CTIA this year, let’s look at what we can expect from the big boys in the months to come. This week’s trade show, CTIA Wireless, is the “business” head of the CTIA hydra and where most of the big handset announcements for U.S. carriers happen. Notice I italicized U.S. Because of our backward and Soviet-style carrier system here in the U.S., we very rarely get cool phones. This is why, on the hole, every phone we have here pales in absolute comparison to even a nicely outfitted Nokia N95, let alone the iPhone.

That said, don’t expect any crazy NTT DoCoMo phones with a built-in robot dog. Instead, set your sights on something like a pink RAZR with a special Gwen Stefani charm hanging from it and you won’t be disappointed.

Here’s what else to expect from this show of shows.
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