Despite Samsung's best efforts, perhaps you haven't found the perfect balance of pocketable size and a capacious? Sure, it sounds pretty counterintuitive, but QP Optoelectronics may have exactly what you're looking for with the LightPad, a folio-styled peripheral that combines a keyboard with an 11-inch rear projection screen. The built-in pico projector lights up the screen with a resolution of 854 x 480 in the first generation model, with a future model promising the same display size at a high-definition 1280 x 720 resolution. The built-in projector also flips around to create a 60-inch display, and will play nice with any smartphone that has an available MHL or HDMI port. While that three-part footprint doesn't make it a particularly viable option for airplane viewing, office types may appreciate the two different form factors. We'll be staking a claim to a hands-on when it makes its debut next month at CES 2012. Until then, satisfy yourself with a brief video demo after the break.

We already knew that Chinese search giant Baidu's been cosying up to Dell to kick-start its very own smartphone ecosystem dubbed Yi (which means "easy" in Chinese), but so far both parties have been mum on the specifics of the hardware. Thankfully, a lucky lady -- some sort of microblogging goddess on Sina Weibo -- managed to get hold of an engineering sample and was kind enough to share some details. Eagle-eyed readers may recall that this is actually Softbank's upcoming Streak Pro 101DL, which has also conveniently just showed up in the FCC database with a V04B moniker and 1,700MHz WCDMA radio -- we've attached its FCC label diagram after the break.

The specs here match what we've seen before: a 4.3-inch AMOLED 960 x 540 display, Corning glass (presumably Gorilla Glass), dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8260, 8GB of ROM and microSD expansion. For those interested, Tencent Tech has reported that we could see the launch of this phone in China as soon as tomorrow, along with a competitive, unsubsidized price tag of CN¥3,000 (about $475). Well, Yi will sure make a fun playmate for its counterpart from Alibaba -- did you know that Jack Ma once called his Aliyun OS an ugly baby? True story.

It's been just over a year since we first heard about Orbotix's little smartphone-controlled cue ball named Sphero, and since that time, we've seen a couple of pre-production units strut their stuff. Apparently, we weren't the only folks left intrigued -- there were so many folks wanting one that production capacity couldn't meet demand. So, while the company can't deliver every pre-ordered orb by its initial December delivery date, the first few Spheros are going out today and will be in the hands of some owners by the end of the week. Whether you're waiting for yours to arrive or are debating whether to get in on the robotic ball action, join us after the break to find out if it's a techno toy worth $130 of your hard-earned cash.

Qualcomm's Mirasol display technology was supposedly inspired by butterfly wings, and its progress over the past year has been appropriately erratic. It was happening, then it wasn't, then it was again -- but only in the Korea-confined Kyobo e-Reader. Despite all the flitting about, however, some consistent promises have been made: a 'converged' screen that's like E Ink because it requires no backlight and lasts for "weeks" on a single charge, and like LCD in its ability to refresh quickly and handle color video. Thanks to Netbook News, we now have some eyes-on of the 5.7-inch, 1024 x 768 Kyobo in action, powered by a 1GHz single-core Snapdragon S2 and Android 2.3, and it's yours for the glimpsing right after the break. There's room for improvement, especially with color saturation, viewing angles and reflectiveness, but we're not quibbling -- this ₩349,000 ($310) device evidently lives up to its central claim.

If you were wondering when you could pick up Sirius XM's latest touchscreen touting receiver, you can scoot just a little closer to the edge of your seat -- the Lynx just made its way through the FCC. An accidental Best Buy listing in October outed the satellite radio as a possible Android device. The FCC teardown didn't betray what version of the dessert themed OS the receiver might be running, but a tidy Immersion logo suggests that the radio's touchscreen might support some of the outfit's haptic feedback tricks. Rumors and scuttlebutt aside, the Lynx passed through its federal inspection with flying colors. We'll let you know if we ever get a bead on its release date.

The welfare of Chinese workers is back in the spotlight after an explosion at Shanghai-based Riteng Computer Accessory Company left 23 people in hospital with burns and another 34 with more minor injuries. Local government officials said the explosion happened on Saturday afternoon at a workshop on the fourth floor of the facility. Riteng is a subsidiary supplier to Pegatron Corp and the Chinese newspaper Yi Cai Daily reported it was in the middle of trial production of aluminum iPad 2 back panels. A separate explosion at a Foxconn factory back in Spring was attributed to poor extraction of combustible aluminum dust.

ASUS' Eee Pad Transformer Prime has already suffered a few setbacks on its march to the US market and unfortunately, it looks as if another obstacle may be on the horizon. According to a handful of tips we've received this morning, Best Buy has been sending out emails to users who pre-ordered the new tablet for delivery this week, informing them that shipments have been "back-ordered," and delayed by one to two weeks. This means, of course, that some buyers may not receive the device until after Christmas. In its email, Best Buy gave its customers the option of canceling their orders outright, replacing it with a similar device, or searching the product at a brick and mortar location (a customer service rep told us that the Transformer Prime is not in stock). Some who ordered the slate on Amazon, meanwhile, have received emails informing them that their orders were "inadvertently canceled," and offering them the chance to pre-order it again today, along with a $10 gift card to make up for the inconvenience. We'll be following this story closely, so check this space for any further updates. Here's ASUS's official statement:

"ASUS started filling the inventory pipelines this past week for our new Eee Pad Transformer Prime and will continue to do so on an expedited basis for the foreseeable future. We will reach normal inventory levels in January for the North American market based on current orders and forecasts. Based on forecasted supply schedules to our valued partners we expect pre-order allocation fulfillment to occur shortly and online or in-store availability in the very near future. We will continue to work closely with our partners to fill customer orders as quickly as possible."

We wouldn't bet the farm on those "Apple is building an HDTV" rumors just yet, but tonight the Wall Street Journal reports the company is still interested invading the living room in a real way, based on "vague" talks with media executives. That vision includes a TV that packs wireless streaming with AirPlay to deliver TV shows and movies as well as technology it's developed to tie-in DVR storage and iCloud, but also focuses on personalized, synchronized access across other devices including phones and tablets. Naturally, voice and gesture recognition are mentioned, although the reports indicate Apple itself is staying cagey about what devices it's working on and that it hasn't tried to license content for any new products -- yet. Getting media and telecommunications companies to play ball with any solution will be the key (just ask CBS why it turned down Apple once before) to making this all go -- or at least beating efforts by Google and Microsoft to the punch -- so there will likely be more boardroom leask before we find out exactly what hardware plans may be in store.

The past week saw several groundbreaking developments in climate news as the Chinese government said that it will control rainfall to generate 10 percent more precipitation by 2015. Stanford researchers developed a new type of concrete that removes CO2 from the atmosphere, and Facebook teamed up with Greenpeace to power future data centers with renewable energy. Japan also announced the cold shutdown of the damaged reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant and the US solar industry got a giant boost as it grew more in the third quarter of 2011 than in all of 2009. Wind power in Scotland had a rocky week as a turbine burst into flames during hurricane force winds.

In other news, it was an intense week in the world of architecture as renowned firm MVRDV apologized for its "Cloud" skyscrapers, which many people found to resemble the form of the exploding Twin Towers during the 9/11 attacks. We also brought you two high-profile architecture interviews - one with Gensler's Chris Chan on the tallest skyscraper in Asia and one with HOK's Bill Odell on the world's largest LEED platinum project. Meanwhile, BIG unveiled a luxury resort topped with a functional ski slope and we saw a winter wonderland of LED topiaries pop up in Atlanta's botanical garden.

As the holiday shopping season reached its peak we also highlighted some of our favorite green gadgets - don't miss these 10 great green gizmos and these 7 eco-chic gifts for techies. We also shared an exclusive tutorial on how to make your own pair of texting gloves, and we checked out Pong's iPhone and iPad cases, which reduce exposure to cell phone radiation. Finally, we saw scientists in Japan create the world's first renewable bio-based polyester and we brought you N-product's iPod watchbands, which are made from discarded backpacks and inner tubes.

Another day, another patent lawsuit against Google. FOSS Patents reports British Telecom filed suit Thursday in Delaware over six of its patents it says Google is infringing upon with Android and other services like Maps and Music. Feel free to avail yourself of the text of the suit embedded after the break, which is heavy on terms like "telecommunications apparatus and method" and "navigation information system". We're not hearing any official response from Mountain View yet, but until we do you can probably pencil in platitudes about innovation and bogus patents.

Remember Sony's sugar high from a few years back? Sony has been trying to get electric results from glucose-based batteries for some time. But with the competition showing off cool concepts like Coke-powered phones, Sony's Bio Battery program brought its latest development to Eco-Products 2011 in Tokyo. This info just might be worth the paper it's printed on because, well, the battery runs on paper. By using the enzyme cellulase, the device can break down the glucose from cellulose-rich paper or cardboard, which generates enough energy to run a small fan. It's not quite ready for prime time, but given the potential of easily turning junk mail into electricity at a more portable scale, this is certainly worth a continued look.

Facebook's Timeline feature has only just begun to roll out across the globe, and now an iOS version has sidled up next to its Android counterpart -- making it even easier for us to recheck our social network back stories. The new app is currently only available for the iPhone, but Facebook states that an iPad-friendly update will arrive soon. You will need to have already activated the timeline function on the web-based original, but downloading the latest version will also grant access to your friend lists and subscriptions. Some requisite performance improvements are also promised too. Cringe at some portable post-millennial fashion mistakes by grabbing the download at the source.

[Thanks Christoph]