You know when you hear an artist for the first time and think “Wow, this kid is gonna go far”? That’s what happened when I first heard a blues guitarist by the name of Joe Bonamassa in a radio interview two years ago. I immediately went out and bought the CD (unheard of for me) and was blown away by this guys talent.

He’s that good, that he opened for iconic blues legend BB King when he was just a wee lad of 11, which is an achievement in itself. He has since gone on to produce some excellent music that he writes himself.

Last year, my partner and I and a couple of friends went to the Doheny Blues Festival to specifically see this guy (double bonus as The Animals were playing, too!) and while we were waiting for him to come on stage, we heard a few people saying they’d never heard of him. We sat there silently waiting for the crowds reaction. As soon as Joe got into the first bars of the title song from his album Sloe Gin, the crowd erupted.  And we sat back with a sense of smug satisfaction that we’d heard him before and will be seeing him many, many times in the future.

It seems that our friends at Samsung had some environmentally happy news to share at the Mobile World Congress.  They announced their first eco-friendly smartphone, the Blue Earth.  It is made from a recycled plastic called PCM, which itself is made from plastic bottles.  Plus, there are no harmful chemicals in either the charger or the phone casing.  One of the coolest new features is the fact that the back of the device is a solar panel.  This will give you enough power to make a call from any place at any time.  I do love this feature!!!  I cannot tell you how many times I have accidentally left my phone charger at home.  If this solar panel is strong enough to keep your phone charged, it would make life so wonderful.  As long as I am not in the Artic during the 6 months of darkness, the sun will be there.  The Blue Earth phone is a five-star Energy Star rated product, using less that 0.03W in standby.  The phone also has an extra special feature to promote healthy living, a built-in pedometer.  It displays your step account, as well as, how many trees you have saved by walking versus driving.  Overall, this phone has some outstanding features.  There is no time table for its release, but I look forward to seeing it in the wild.  I hope this is the first of many greener products we will be seeing.  I know the pandas are very happy to see major companies like Samsung joining the fight for a better planet.  Check out the press release after the break….and a cute picture of pandas….

Via SlashGear

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It’s here, a Google app for Windows Mobile, Android and the iPhone’s poor cousin, so it seems. it’s new you have to agree to some huge contract that you’re not even going to read, and if you’re in Australia you don’t even exist at this point. Just say you’re in the states and avoid the confrontation!

What though do you actually get for your lack of bucks, a configurable desktop/today screen plug in.

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I’ve been using in-ear headphones for a while now, and it’s been a really long time since I’ve tried the over-the-head style. Luckily for me, ZAGG (makers of InvisibleShield and the Z.buds) also decided to make a big ol’ set of headphones and I’ve been lucky enough to test them out over the last couple of weeks. I tell you, I’ve gotten so used to hearing myself walk while wearing in-ears that this style has been a real delight if only for the fact that I hear all the music minus the thumping sound of my own skeleton as I walk around

Hit the jump for more pics and a full review!

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I’m going to let this video speak for itself for the most part. I plan on going over the interface you see for the HP Mini Mi in a video sometime over the next few days, so keep an eye out for that, but for now here’s a couple links: