There is nothing quite like the feeling of satisfaction after you have saved your money for a rainy day, and here we are with a concept thanks to the brains of Wang Chao, Maggie Kuo and Jordi Parra. This piggy bank works differently than the rest, as it is more or less like those virtual pets that live on a physical device (Tamagotchi, anyone?), save that you just need to give it some cash to keep it happy – and this is achieved by inserting your credit card. The concept will rely on an iPhone that is stowed away the laser cut wood pattern facade that makes sure it is capable of expressing itself via animated eyes, while being hooked up to an Arduino BT helps it detect whether a credit card is inserted into the slot or not. The whole idea behind this is to detect people who are nearby, demanding for some money like a hissy, spoilt kid who has been deprived of his/her monthly allowance. Not too sure whether the interest charged per credit card transaction is worth the effort though. Image from OhGizmo.

Piggy Bank with a modern twist, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : LG Optimus 2X Review, Nexus S Review,

Here is a concept that will definitely light up your life, pardon the pun. Known as Starrynight, this idea plays on the merger of light and nightlight to recreate the starry night sky without sipping too much juice to cause you a heart attack when you take a look at your power bill. It will boast a transparent light-collecting module courtesy of Mechanical and Systems Research Laboratories [MSL]/Industrial Technology Research Institute [ITRI] which functions as an exterior lampshade, while a photovoltaic layer will charge a battery to power the night light function which will then see the “stars” light up. Hopefully this concept will see the light of day (pardon yet another pun) in due time.

Starrynight concept brings energy efficient lighting to the home, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : LG Optimus 2X Review, Nexus S Review,

While we have unboxed the Motorola XOOM and are working feverishly to roll out a review on this particular tablet, some people are wondering why it is so expensive compared to other tablets in the market? Well, perhaps a cost breakdown would make things easier with UBM TechInsights estimating that the Android 3.0-powered device actually costs $278 in raw material compared to $235 for a similarly equipped 3G-enabled, 32GB iPad. You can already tell right from the start since Verizon actually slapped a $800 price point on the Motorola XOOM sans contract, where its Apple equivalent was $70 cheaper. Of course, all the extra money pumped in were for very good reasons, among them a 5-megapixel rear and a 2-megapixel front camera, not to mention a more spacious 10-inch, 1280 x 800 display. How much are you willing to fork out for a tablet not only for now, but the future?

Motorola XOOM is pretty expensive to make, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : LG Optimus 2X Review, Nexus S Review,

Silicon giant Intel is pleased to announce that they have finally finalized and completed their acquisition of computer security company McAfee, where the latter has taken its wings under the Intel Software and Services Group as a subsidiary. This deal has been touted to be within the $7.68 billion region, and it did take a fair bit of convincing on Intel’s part to touch base with the European Commission that McAfee’s products will not violate antitrust laws, maintaining compatibility with hardware which rolls out on competing platforms such as AMD devices. No idea on how Intel intends to bring McAfee forward as a company, but one will most probably keep his/her fingers crossed that the firstfruits of this union will arrive in store shelves (digital or otherwise) sometime before 2011 is over.

Intel finalizes McAfee buyout, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : LG Optimus 2X Review, Nexus S Review,

Another day, another leak – this time around it is the new Samsung Galaxy S i9000 that will see its Android 2.3.2 Gingerbread update fall through official cracks to the Internet, so do proceed at your own risk. Frankly, trust nothing other than an official update, and even that can go awry, so if you’re one who is less than adventurous, this might not be the post for you. Folks over at XDA Developers claim that this leak will include Touchwiz 4, while retaining the download mode. Guess Samsung has fallen into temptation and are now using the ext4 file system, where it will most probably boost the performance to a certain extent similar to the Nexus S, although later on in the day, that has been refuted. Sorry guys (and girls).

Android Gingerbread for Galaxy S i9000 leaked, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : LG Optimus 2X Review, Nexus S Review,

Are you a huge fan of LEGO and love DIY projects? If the answer is in the affirmative and you love computers, then you will most probably be interested in the Coobeeo HELLO-Q PC case. Granted, it won’t look suitable if your office is full of suits, but this Taiwan-based PC tower case manufacturer case will definitely be a whole lot more at home in your living room for your toddler, since the front face plate features building block studs ala LEGO style that lets your imagination run free according to its limitations, of course. It really depends on how you decide to use those bricks – you can spell out messages with them or even construct an impromptu pen case on the outside. There is no word on pricing, but this wins big on the cuteness factor.

Coobeeo HELLO-Q PC case for LEGO fans, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : LG Optimus 2X Review, Nexus S Review,

Scouring through the Internet for juicy bits of information isn’t too easy, but here we are with a potential gem – word that Sony is going to heat up the CMOS sensor market with a 17.7-megapixel sensor which boasts a bandwidth of 34.8Gbps as well. Just what does this mean for the end user? Well, how about knowing that you hold the power of a CMOS sensor that is around five times faster compared to previous versions, and to translate such potential into the real world, it would mean being able to capture 120 fps video at full resolution. Of course, many other factors come into play to make sure that no bottleneck happens, so in this case, one might have to wait until mobile processors and the like are able to work in tandem without slowing down the processor. No idea on when this processor will be made available to the masses though.

Sony has 17.7 megapixel sensor in the pipeline, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : LG Optimus 2X Review, Nexus S Review,

Ever heard of NUU before? No? Well, we’re pleased to inform you that they are a manufacturer of mobile device accessories, and most recently picked up the nod from the FCC for their MiniKey Bluetooth keyboard for the iPhone 4. This is pretty much a self-explanatory accessory, as it will slip over the iPhone 4 just like a case, connecting to it via Bluetooth with but a simple push of a button. Since the case is self-powered, you don’t have to worry about it draining more battery power from your phone any more. Capable of running for up to 72 hours on standby mode, it isn’t too hot when used continuously as it runs out of juice in just 2 hours. No idea on pricing or availability, but we would have preferred to see it last a whole lot longer instead of just 2 hours – could it be a typo on the source’s part?

NUU MiniKey Bluetooth keyboard picks up FCC approval, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : LG Optimus 2X Review, Nexus S Review,

Remember the confusion and panic that set in earlier yesterday morning simply because thousands of GMail users saw their inboxes reset to what it was when they first signed up, losing all of their labels and starred items in the process? Well, we are pleased to know that Google has done their bit in resolving this issue for 150,000 affected users or so. According to the Internet search giant, “Google Mail service has already been restored for some users, and we expect a resolution for all users in the near future. Please note this time frame is an estimate and may change.” Well, this just goes to show that there is nothing certain in life, what with Vodafone’s service getting disrupted earlier this morning and all. If you haven’t made a backup of your email accounts, perhaps this is a good reminder to do so.

Google fixes GMail snafu, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : LG Optimus 2X Review, Nexus S Review,

Before reading this further, what did you think when you first heard of Windows 8? We would venture to say that the majority of folks out there would have thought of it to be too soon to be an operating system upgrade for notebooks and desktops, especially when Windows 7 has been doing so well in terms of sales and stability compared to its predecessor, Vista. Well, more light has been shed on the situation now with us knowing that Windows 8 is a tablet-oriented operating system, one where Microsoft hopes to parade it before the end of its fiscal year in June 2011. It will apparently rely on concepts from the “Metro” interface which has been developed for Windows Phone 7. ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley also claimed that Microsoft recently passed an internal marking point known as “Milestone 2″ for Windows 8.

Microsoft intends to parade Windows 8 tablet interface before 2011 is over, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : LG Optimus 2X Review, Nexus S Review,