While watching TV last night, this new product commercial for the ladies came on:

The new Schick Quattro TrimStyle For Women. Trim Style. Nice. Hehe.

Did you catch what’s so funny about this commercial? Watch again and pay close attention to the various hedges and bushes as the women walk by them.

*snicker*

It’s Amazing that this TV commercial made it past the sensors. I don’t mind, however I wonder how long it will remain on TV? Funny as hell though…

If you’re a Verizon Wireless or Sprint customer and have longed for the chance to get your hands on the BlackBerry Pearl Flip, there’s some good news. The FCC has recently given the green light to a CDMA variant of the Pearl Flip.

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip has been available from T-Mobile for several months. RIM took the basic design of the original Pearl and turned it into a clamshell phone, which is a form factor that many Americans happen to like. For the last few months, if you’ve hankered for some hot Pearl Flip action, you’ve had to choose T-Mobile.

Thanks to the FCC, it looks like that is about to change.

The government has approved a new version of the Flip for use in the U.S. This CDMA variant will work with Verizon Wireless’ and Sprint’s networks, and adds EVDO 3G to the mix, something the GSM version of the Flip lacks.

The only other feature confirmed by the FCC at this time is that the Pearl Flip will also have Bluetooth on board. We can probably expect most other features of the Pearl Flip to appear on the CDMA version. It has a 2 megapixel camera with video capture, microSD card slot and 3.5mm headset jack.

RIM has not officially acknowledged this phone, nor has Sprint or Verizon. Even so, it’s likely to be coming to a Verizon or Sprint store near you in the not-too-distant future.

Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and Google CEO Eric Schmidt must have new plans to attack the competition, or they just like to fly really, really fast. Whatever the reason, they recently bought a fighter jet.

Today, The New York Times is reporting that a company controlled by the top three Googlers recently bought a Dornier Alpha Fighter Jet. The company, H211 LLC, is controlled by Sergey Brin, Larry Page, and Eric Schmidt, and it is responsible for managing a fleet of private aircraft for the three men.

The company already manages a Boeing 757, a Boeing 767, and two Gulfstream V’s. These four aircraft, plus the new fighter jet, all have landing rights at Moffett Field, which is a located near Google’s main offices.

According to a Google spokesperson, the Alpha Jet is being outfitted with scientific instruments for NASA missions, including instruments that the other planes could not carry.

The Times says that Google CEO Eric Schmidt is “an avid pilot.”

The Dornier Alpha Fighter Jet is made by Dornier in Germany and Dassault-Breguet of France.

Now that the news is finally out, we can sit back and take a longer look at what makes the Storm by Research In Motion a compelling handset. Here are five reasons why it should be a success.

1. The Camera

The Storm’s camera rates 3.2 megapixels. It also has autofocus, the ability to zoom, and a flash. These are all characteristics the iPhone lacks. Megapixels aren’t everything, but having software on the phone that allows the user to configure the phone’s settings is a bonus. It also records video at half-VGA resolution.

2. Rev. A

The Storm is not the first smartphone to have access to EV-DO Rev. A 3G speeds, but it is a really, really good thing. Why? The Storm is a BlackBerry email device. That means users will be sending emails from it. Some of those emails will have attachments (such as pix taken by that nice, 3.2MP camera). Rev. A allows for much faster wireless upload speeds compared to Rev. 0. I say hooray for Rev. A.

3. Euro 3G

The Storm not only has access to super fast 3G in the U.S., but in Europe as well. By including a 2100MHz HSPA radio, RIM has made the Storm the perfect business device for mobile professionals who find themselves on both sides of the pond. Whether in the U.S., or in Europe, you get the best 3G. Even if you’re not in Europe, but elsewhere in the world covered by GSM networks, you’ll still be able to roam.

4. Enterprise Integration

RIM’s bread and butter never tasted so good. The Storm is a BlackBerry. Your corporate email will be a snap to wade through and retrieve. The new user interface makes it easy to tap the message you want to open, rather than using the trackball or scrollwheel to find it.

The Storm also syncs to Outlook, so your calendar and contacts are all included. You’ll also be able to edit Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents right from your smartphone — something the iPhone can’t do. Oh yeah, and the Storm will support Java applications.

5. Cut-and-Paste

You’ll be able to cut information (phone numbers, URLs, email addresses, etc.) from one application and paste it somewhere else. This is something that all BlackBerries can already do, but for that capability to show up on this touch device is welcome indeed. Eat that, Apple iPhone.

The basic home screen of a Windows Mobile 6.1 device gives you a nice overview of your recent missed calls, messages, calendar appointments and other items.

Looking at a recently-granted patent, looks like Apple may be taking a page from Microsoft’s playbook.

The “today” screen in Windows Mobile is one of the better features of the OS, especially in the 6.1 version of Windows Mobile.

At a glance, you can see what you’ve missed while you weren’t minding your phone, and what you might still have to accomplish in a given day.

MacRumors saw a patent that was granted to Apple, and the drawings accompanying the patent clearly show an “at a glance” style screen on the iPhone. MacRumors reports:

“The proposed screen would allow users to quickly jump to the desired notification simply by pressing on the corresponding notification. At present, the iPhone’s notification lists is a list that disappears when the phone is unlocked. This sort of notification system may become more important once 3rd party ‘push’ notifications are activated, as the number and variety of these notifications will likely increase significantly.”

The idea of being able to see a list of all your missed calls and messages is not privy to just Windows Mobile. Nokia’s S60 platform can be set up to provide a similar display of notifications.

I think this would be a welcome addition to the iPhone’s software. If and when it will ever be included in a future firmware update is unknown.

You might think that the world’s best mobile e-mail devices would also be killer instant messenger devices. Though users were able to use GChat, Yahoo IM, and Windows Live Messenger, AOL’s AIM was AWOL.

RIM and AOL have teamed up to offer a native AOL Instant Messenger application for BlackBerrys. Time to break our your thumbs and get your IM on!

Mobile instant messaging has been catching on in a big way in the last year. Many people use AOL’s AIM program, and it seems to be the IM client rigueur, especially in the United States.

Now the power of AIM has come to the BlackBerry. AOL and RIM announced the availability of AIM and ICQ instant messaging services, as well as AOL Mail on BlackBerry smartphones.

The BlackBerry press release notes:

“The deep integration of AOL’s popular communications services with BlackBerry smartphones will allow consumers around the world to seamlessly access AOL’s most popular services directly from their BlackBerry smartphone and communicate in real-time with business associates, family, friends and other contacts.”

From their BlackBerry smartphone, AIM and ICQ users can also:

• Access Buddy List features including the ability to see if contacts are online and available to chat (i.e. presence);
• Set customized away messages and manage their AIM or ICQ online status (e.g. available, away, in a meeting, etc.) directly from the BlackBerry smartphone’s home screen without launching the AIM or ICQ application;
• Set alerts to notify them when a contact’s online availability changes;
• Select the Auto Sign-In option which will automatically sign them into AIM or ICQ when their BlackBerry smartphone is powered on;
• Use Picture IM to send and receive images;
• Log and save IM conversations for personal records or to email them to other contacts; and
• Select from a collection of pre-set emoticons to further customize their instant messages.

This is all very good stuff. What’s even better is that the software is available starting today for free, though it requires BlackBerry OS 4.5.

The AOL Mail offering will be well-integrated into the BlackBerrys e-mail application. It will sync just as corporate e-mail would, and will be pushed to the handset in real time. This is a good move for BlackBerry, which is proving to be more consumer-friendly every day.