We swore we wouldn't fall for tech demos of Toshiba Matsushita Display's sexy optically compensated bend LCDs and their CRT-like ultra wide viewing angles and high refresh rates ever again but by adding autostereoscopic 3D (read: no glasses necessary) we're falling in love all over again. By adapting a 3D film for use with 3- and 9-inch displays, this year's CES demo promises simultaneous 2D and 3D viewing on the same display in high res. How close is OCB's curved, rather than horizontally or vertically aligned liquid crystal approach to reality? Your guess is as good as ours but for now we'll wait for some eyes-on time and throw it on the wait-and-wait-and-see heap with SED and the rest.

Though wireless is probably better positioned to weather a historically weak economy than many other industries, it's not bulletproof by any stretch of the imagination -- and following years of double-digit year-over-year growth, a slowdown of some sort is all but inevitable. The extent of the slowdown is a subject of endless debate among analysts, with some suggesting year-end contraction as low as 3.5 percent and others saying the market could slow down by as much as 10 percent or more, but one thing everyone seems to agree on is that smartphones are best positioned to continue to grow. Interestingly, the changing economic picture seems poised to entrench the big players like Nokia and Samsung and put the little guys even further behind, with Nokia -- despite its forecast of negative growth in '09 -- possibly adding to its already immense share of the global market. Sucks to hear that mobile sales are going downhill along with everything else, but hey, at least smartphones are continuing to win big, and 2009's shaping up to be another breakout year.

Now that the holiday season is officially over (CES notwithstanding), there's officially no better time to get inebriated and wash away the sorrows of not having another government-recognized holiday for like, ever. After you've drug that dead tree out to the roadside and filled a few buckets with tears, why not try constructing your very Serv O'Beer in order to bring just a sliver of that joy back into your heart? Put simply, the project pictured above utilized Construx as the mechanical platform, a servo driving the action and ioBridge controlling the system; a so-called "perfect pour" was executed by linking an iPhone accelerometer to the system and turning it up. Have a look at the demonstration vid just past the break -- dollars to donuts it'll make you smile.

[Thanks, Hans]

Well, the year has come and gone, and with it, our 365 -- or in this case, 366 -- days of posting. We've seen some pretty amazing stuff, gotten to play with a stack of awesome gear, and watched the site grow by leaps and bounds. We thought we'd cap the year off with a look back at the posts that got the most heat. Check out the top 20 of the year below, and be sure to truck over to Engadget and Engadget HD for their year-end round-ups!

Top 20 most trafficked posts of 2008 (in order)

1. BlackBerry 9000 in the wild
2. Samsung Omnia review
3. Verizon tells us all about the BlackBerry Storm's "WOW factors"
4. Nokia e71 review
5. Blackberry Bold release dates, pricing leak out
6. LG enV2, Motorola W755 in glorious detail
7. The better part of Nokias smartphone roadmap goes on display
8. Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 review
9. HTC Touch Diamond hands-on
10. Verizon's Samsung Glyde gets even clearer
11. Hands-on with Sprint's Touch Pro
12. HTC's Raphael and Diamond: coming to Sprint and looking good
13. BlackBerry Storm 9530 for Verizon gets boxed
14. iPhone 3G from AT&T: unlimited data for $30
15. Nokia's E66 and E71 in the wild!
16. RIM's BlackBerry Bold / 9000 gets official
17. Hands-on with Sony Ericsson's world-beating XPERIA X1
18. Verizon's XV6900 Touch, in all its shockingly white glory
19. Samsung Glyde in pictures
20. Verizon surprises no one with XV6900, Motorola Q9c, and LG enV(2)

Top 20 most trafficked posts during 2008 (in order; non-2008 posts in bold)

1. BlackBerry 9000 in the wild
2. Samsung Omnia review
3. Verizon tells us all about the BlackBerry Storm's "WOW factors"
4. Nokia e71 review
5. Blackberry Bold release dates, pricing leak out
6. LG enV2, Motorola W755 in glorious detail
7. The better part of Nokias smartphone roadmap goes on display
8. Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 review
9. HTC Touch Diamond hands-on
10. Verizon's Samsung Glyde gets even clearer
11. Hands-on with Sprint's Touch Pro
12. HTC's Raphael and Diamond: coming to Sprint and looking good
13. BlackBerry Storm 9530 for Verizon gets boxed
14. iPhone 3G from AT&T: unlimited data for $30
15. Nokia's aeon "full surface screen" cellphone concept
16. Nokia's E66 and E71 in the wild!
17. RIM's BlackBerry Bold / 9000 gets official
18. Hands-on with Sony Ericsson's world-beating XPERIA X1
19. Verizon's XV6900 Touch, in all its shockingly white glory
20. Samsung Glyde in pictures

A few other interesting numbers for you:

Total posts on Engadget Mobile in 2008: 4,171
Total number of comments: 48,471 (and counting)
Average comments per post: 11.6

The words "job security" and "Motorola" haven't coexisted in a non-sarcastic manner for quite some time, and things just seem to be deteriorating by the day. Not even two full months after the flagging company announced that 3,000 employees would be sent packing, a new Reuters report has it that the axing process in Q4 will be accelerated. Specifically, some 1,900 (versus 1,500 as originally predicted) will be cut in an attempt to save $800 million in 2009, though there's no word on how damaging the inevitable productivity losses will be given the markedly low morale. To no one's surprise, most of the Q4 cuts will be in the mobile devices segment; we're beginning to think Sad Moto Face™ here will never, ever vanish.

[Via UnwiredView]

It certainly isn't for everybody, but if you've found yourself regretting your choice of handset and are still stuck on a lengthy contract, you may want to look into upstart Rentobile, which will let you try out a phone for a month or more and switch to another one whenever you get tired of it. Things could get a tad pricey if you decide to stick with the rentals for the long haul, however, with most of the phones running $24 a month for members or $36 a month for non-members, while some unlocked phones like Nokia E90 or even a 16GB iPhone will run $34/month for members and a hefty $51/month for non-members. According to RCRWireless, while the company has been around for three months already, they say they've only managed to sign up 50 members to date, although they're apparently planning to step up their marketing and advertising efforts in the not too distant future, and even hope to work out some special deals with manufacturers to sweeten the deal a little.

[Via RCRWireless]

Believe it or not, this latest study on how cell phones are killing you doesn't invoke the dreaded c-word. Instead, scientists at the European Research Institute for Electronic Components in Bucharest found that exposing red blood cells to low-level radiation -- lower than what emanates from your mobile buddy, apparently -- caused them to leak hemoglobin, which they say can lead to kidney damage and heart disease. The Federation of the Electronics Industry have already come out swinging, saying there is still no consistent evidence the mobile devices are physically hurting us. If history tells us anything, expect to see a report in the near future on how inconclusive these findings are, followed by separate findings on how beneficial a healthy kick of radiation to the kidneys can be.

[Via textually]

We've heard that this here Rolls-Royce has been rolling throughout India for a good while now, but it's just too absurd to not pass along. As you can clearly see above, this high-end automobile has been thoroughly abused with a paint can and a slew of decals, but it's easily the most unique cellphone store we've ever laid eyes on. We mean, who wouldn't be interested in buying a gently used handset out of the back of a Phantom?

[Via Autoblog]

Gee, willickers. More App Store madness. In case you needed even more evidence that the whole approval process in Cupertino was in complete disarray, David Carnoy's "contemporary medical thriller" has been rejected from Apple's App Store twice now. The first time it was returned to sender due to a few bugs in the coding; the second time, it was rejected due to the inclusion of "obscene content." Despite all of this, certain apps like iFart and Pull My Finger are allowed to remain, though it stands to reason that those programs are just as "obscene" as a few dirty words and sexual innuendos. Alexandru Brie, a developer and one of the first publishers of e-books to the App Store, feels that "each of Apple's reviewers can interpret the obscene, pornographic or defamatory content clause in a different way." Clearly, he's right.

Way back in autumn of last year, AT&T agreed to give up seven markets in its Dobson Communications buy in order to get the all-important FCC stamp of approval; just a few months ago, Verizon Wireless was forced to sell licenses in six markets in order to improve competition in the Rural Cellular markets that it was acquiring. Now, that whole nightmare of red tape has been all wrapped up, as suits and cube dwellers no doubt frantically tried to tie up loose ends before the New Year that should've been knotted weeks ago. Essentially, the deal means that AT&T Mobility has acquired some former Rural Cellular properties previously acquired by Verizon Wireless, while VZW has acquired from AT&T Mobility some former Dobson Communications properties. All the nitty-gritty details are in the read link below should you care to venture down.

[Via phonescoop]

No, we're not talking about Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC Phone Edition or iPhone firmware 2.0, we're talking moderately more diabolical stuff here: explosions, international intrigue, fancy casinos where everyone wears suits and plays baccarat, the whole nine yards. Echelon Conspiracy is a movie about... well, who cares, really? Point is, there's an all-knowing phone that tells you what to do and brings you both great fortune and great tragedy, making for a modern King Midas tale that has Critic's Choice Award nomination written all over it. The flick probably would've made more sense back when phones actually looked evil, but yeah, sure, we'll add it to our Netflix queue in a few years -- somewhere between Death Race and The Transporter 3. Catch the spellbinding trailer after the break.

[Thanks, A. Razaq]

Nokia has already taken upon itself an initiative to cull the widespread adoption of knockoff handsets (also referred to as Fokias in the underground) in India, but now it seems the nation's government is stepping up to help out. Reportedly, over 25 million Chinese-sourced handsets in India are making / receiving calls without an international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) number to identify it, and authorities believe these phones enable terrorists to communicate more easily in undetected fashion. Recently, it moved to delay a ban on IMEI-less handsets from January 6, 2009 to March 31, 2009, though it seems as if a special IMEI-loading software could enable those with knockoffs to continue using them lawfully. Way to think green, India.

[Via OnlyGizmos, thanks Annkur]

According to reports today, Palm has managed to snag another $100 million from Elevation Partners (the private equity team co-owned by Bono). The new figure gets tacked onto Palm's existing $325 million buy-in from the firm. The previous sum was put towards the struggling handset / software-maker's "strategic recapitalization," and we can only assume this latest infusion is being used for the home stretch into that New OS and those New devices we're expecting see come CES. It's not completely surprising you'd want to juice your previous large investment, but if Palm's numbers keep shifting downward, it seems unlikely this will be anything other than a Hail Mary. Even if Bono loses $100m in his couch cushions, it doesn't mean Elevation Partners is in for the long haul.

Not that the whole using-cellphones-for-disease-detection is completely fresh, but the latest handset hack for medical purposes is still mighty impressive. UCLA researcher Dr. Aydogan Ozcan has essentially converted a standard cellphone into a portable blood tester of sorts, which is capable of detecting HIV, malaria and various other illnesses. Put as simply as possible, the device works by analyzing blood cells that are placed on an integrated off-the-shelf camera sensor and lit up with a filtered light source. Said light source exposes unique qualities of the cells, and from there, the doc's homegrown software interprets the data and determines what's what. So, has anyone given this guy the main line to NTT DoCoMo, or what?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Oh noes! The European Union is reportedly mulling a tax increase on handsets that boast TV receivers or GPS modules, and we're not talking just a few pennies (or whatever you folks use over there). The European Commission has put forth a proposal to "reclassify some phones as multi-functional devices, which would trigger a 14-percent tax on mobiles with TV receivers and 3.7-percent on navigation-enabled phones." Needless to say, both Sony Ericsson and Nokia are vehemently against the increase, with an SE spokesperson noting that "these new duties would inevitably lead to a high increase in consumer pricing at a time where we are all struggling to keep prices as low as possible." We're told that a final decision won't be made for at least six months, and honestly, we hope the whole initiative just gets lost in the shuffle along the way.

[Via mobileburn]