So HTC's holding down London on Tuesday, the 6th of May for some sort of product reveal that's presently cloaked in mystery. The invitation invites us to "witness the next wave of HTC Innovation," so it's gotta be good, right? One possibility is an unveiling of the Dream, the rumored device that hopes to usher in the Age of Android with a bang; we're not so sure, though, since the first production devices to run Google's everything-killer platform aren't expected until the second half and there's still plenty of work left to do on the software side. Another plausible launch would be the spiritual successor to the Touch, a device that may be either the Diamond or the Raphael; the 3G-less Touch is getting a little long in the tooth, after all, having been outdone in the spec sheet by its keyboarded cousins. We're guessing HTC's going to be staying pretty tight-lipped about this one right up until zero day, so let the speculation run wild in the meantime.

We had a sneaking suspicion that the world hadn't really come to strapping pads around lampposts in order to keep walking texters safe, and sure enough, the whole shebang was more of a stunt and less of a bona fide trial. Reportedly, only a few pads were put in place and photographed for around 36 hours -- afterwards, the PR firm responsible for putting them up simply took them back down. It seems as if the scheme was meant to "test out [the idea] and gauge people's opinions," according to a 118 118 spokesman, and safe to say it certainly accomplished that.

[Via textually]

According to a recent report, human beings are becoming so incredibly stupid that they require cushioned lamppost bases so that when they run into them they don't mess up their idiotic faces. Apparently, a study in the UK found that one in ten people actually managed to hurt themselves by walking into a post while peering down at their mobile phone screen. The mishaps -- called "walking and texting" injuries -- have spurred the charity Living Streets to launch the padded-post-pilot scheme in Brick Lane, London. It seems that if all goes well, there are plans to roll out the idiot-proof system in Birmingham, Manchester, and Stupidton.

[Image courtesy Yahoo! News]

The latest of eight stores now open globally, Nokia has officially unveiled its London flagship retail spot at 240 Regent Street (Hong Kong pictured). The location could very well end up being the crown jewel in Nokia's direct retail strategy, lying within earshot of Apple's impressive London location at 235 Regent Street and covering two full stories of consumer space. As we've seen in the other spots, LCDs and color-changing walls cover the perimeter, while the floors and ceilings are clad with rich woods. A separate "Product Zone," "Solutions Zone," and "Retail Zone" all guide shoppers to different areas of the store depending on their needs, while a dedicated Vertu lounge lets the nouveau riche do their thing in privacy. If anyone has a chance to check out the digs this weekend, be sure to send us some impressions!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

If you've ever found yourself stuck in London with the insatiable urge to urinate in an alleyway, help is on the way. Believe it or not, a new SMS-based toilet finding service actually has the aforementioned predicament as a top priority to solve, and the Westminster City Council is hoping that people utilize the system to keep streets a bit cleaner. Cleverly dubbed SatLav, the technology enables individuals passing through London's West End to text the word "toilet" to 80097 in order to receive a (hopefully hasty) reply with details to get to the nearest public restroom. Unfortunately, the service will cost users £0.25 ($0.52) each time they use it, so we're a bit skeptical that alleyway urinators will happily cough up some coin rather than just sticking to old ways.

[Image courtesy of BBC]

UK Drivers caught texting or operating a range of gadgets behind the wheel -- including MP3 players and GPS systems -- could face a new maximum of two years in prison. Currently the crime is punishable by £2,500 fines or community orders, although the most common offense is using a mobile phone whilst driving, which results in a £60 fine and three points on a license. Shifting to a higher category of dangerous driving from the previous category of careless driving might not solve the problem of people ignoring the current restrictions: if the current problem is poor enforcement, then it's hard to see extra deterrence making a difference. But hey, the cops over there seem to think that hovering drones and unbridled surveillance does the trick in other areas of criminality, so who are we to argue?

[Via PocketPCThoughts]

These days, it really takes something special to catch to eye of the desensitized market, and Nokia's shifting the focus back to the consumer with its lighthearted touchscreen game at a London bus stop. The interactive advertisement requests that the player flip the pockets in order to find matches, but it also insinuates that the sleek Nokia N95 smartphone is just too slim and inconspicuous to readily pick out. Of course, we highly doubt it's all that difficult to spot after a flip or two, but the idea here is novel nonetheless. If nothing else, it sure breaks up the boredom (or frustration) felt whilst waiting on the next bus, so be sure to click on through for a video of the thing so you'll know it when you cross it.

[Via FreshCreation]

If you're ready for that precious uninterrupted cellular service while traveling under the ground on the London Underground mass transit service, your day may be coming. The Underground has announced a six-month trial starting in 2008 that will determine if it is economically and technically feasible to bring wireless service to all underground portions of the railway, which does not currently feature wireless service in the underground sections; first to get the treatment will be the trial in the Waterloo and City lines.

[Via Slashgear]

Looks like Sony Ericsson is caving to the peer pressure to open a flagship retail location where eager shoppers can get brainwas... er, immersed by the brand. Announced in conjunction with the joint venture's 5th anniversary, the store will find its way onto London's Kensington High Street some time in November, offering 7,300 square feet of retail space devoted to Sony Ericsson goodies on the main floor and meeting areas (for those high rollers) in the lower level. Carrier signups will be offered -- though presumably not required -- in-store in conjunction with Carphone Warehouse, which will also be tasked with managing the store's day-to-day operations. No word on whether other flagship facilities will be popping up around the globe, but we'd pay good money to see a good, old-fashioned brawl between Sony Ericsson and Nokia on Finnish turf.

Losing reception can be a downright nerve-wracking experience for some of us, but if there's one place no one wants to hear a ring -- much less take a call -- we have to believe it's in live theater. It really comes as no surprise then that a recent poll conducted among theatergoers in London suggests that a full 72 percent would like to see jamming equipment installed to prevent calls from interrupting performances (if anything, we're surprised it's not higher). For the record, said equipment is currently illegal in the UK, but support is growing to legalize it for these kinds of environments. If it can all go down without jeopardizing legit signals, we suspect they'd find support for similar measures virtually everywhere in the world.

[Via Techdirt]

Solving a problem that we didn't even know existed, staff at the London Zoo have trained their resident squirrel monkeys not to snatch visitors' cellphones while they attempt to photograph the little rascals. Apparently unable to resist the cacophony of sounds and blinking lights that emanate from today's handsets (especially those that have been modded with aftermarket "enhancements"), the monkeys were taking advantage of their barrier-free environment to reach out and touch unsuspecting guests and their mobiles. Instead of lecturing the monkeys on the possible health risks of cellphone usage, or scaring them with tales of bloated roaming charges, zookeepers decided to go the Pavlovian route and simply coat several old phones with an unappealing goo -- which we've tried several times to break our own gadget addiction, but we always just ended up getting addicted to the goo.

[Via textually]