Scorchingly hot laptops may soon be a thing of the past if Compal has anything to do with it. The Chinese laptop maker demonstrated its new lid-cooled laptops at last week’s IDF and if the technology proves popular, it should lead to lighter, quieter – and cooled – laptops for all.

The technology uses heat pipes to transfer heat from a laptop’s processor to the laptop lid, which contains heatsink. This is much larger and therefore much more efficient than a heatsink that would otherwise fit in the laptop and while the lid gets warm as a result, the rest of the laptop stays cool.

The European Union has given the final rubber stamp for mobile phones to be used on flights. The ruling applies across the EU, paving the way for passengers to make calls on their own phones. The new regulations come in on Monday. Air France has already begun its trial using satellite-based OnAir. RyanAir will begun its roll-out of the service in the summer.

Samsung calls this 'one' of the slimmest Bluetooth headsets in the world but having looked at the specs, we think there may be prizes for anyone finds one thinner. At just 5.9mm it's the Jacobs Cream Cracker of hi-tech ear-wear.

Not surprisingly, the WEP350 doesn't have the longest of battery lives, managing 100 hours on standby and five hours of talk time but it weighs a mere 7.1g and comes with its own charging stand to keep it topped up.

It's been announced alongside the 'premium' WEP700. Both should be arriving next month.

[Press release]

Getting something for nothing is always a bonus - getting even more for nowt extra is even better. The gadget charging specialists behind the solar powered Freeloader have now added a bright green Supercharger to the original pocket cell, to create the Freeloader Globetrotter pack.

The increased surface area, and some new technology, means the two units combined will charge up Freeloader's internal battery in under four hours, giving enough juice to keep a mobile going for up to 44 hours on standby - all from zero cost sunlight.

The combined package costs £49.95 from ethicalsuperstore.com - or you can add the Supercharger to an existing Freeloader for £20. Sunshine unfortunately not guaranteed.

Many wireless mouse and keyboard users have long since twigged to the benefit of rechargeable batteries – they’re much cheaper than disposable batteries, not to mention more environmentally friendly. Remembering to keep a set of cells topped up in a mains-powered charger is something else though, which is why this latest gadget from Energizer is so handy -- it’s a charger that’s powered by a PC’s USB port.

'iPhone' and 'sale' aren't two words that generally live together but T-Mobile in Germany has just announced drastic price cuts for its 8GB mobiles. Tumbling to as low as €99, around £78, they're now the cheapest anywhere.

Granted, Germans will have to sign up for a two year deal at a hefty €89 per month to get that deal, but it's still a €200 cut on the usual price. All other price plans are getting the same treatment with the phone still only costing €249, around £196, on the new low-end €29 a month tariff. compare that to O2's £269 for the same 8GB model on an 18 month contract at £35 a month.

There's speculation in the States that iPhone stocks are being run-down to make way for a 3G model landing this summer. Most people, though, are putting this fire sale down to disappointing sales figures for Apple in the land of the bockwurst - which could yet prompt it to rush out to rush out a 3G model even sooner for us HSDPA spoiled Europeans. Here's hoping.

Just as we suspected it might, Microsoft's announced that Windows XP won't be completely pulled from the shops in two months' time after all. Instead, a special XP Home for ULCPCs (ultra-low-cost PCs) will live on in OEM form until 30th June 2010.

If you’ve got 40 minutes to spare and have more than a passing interest in the soon-to-be-launched Windows Mobile 6.1, Microsoft has a treat for you. Mel Sampat, Program Manager for Windows Mobile, has posted a video on the Windows Mobile Team blog that shows this latest revision of the operating system in action. There are already lots of screenshots of Windows Mobile 6.1 in circulation, but the video provides a much better look at how the new tweaks work, including:

• The new Sliding Panel home screen (aka "Bronze")
• All new home screen plug-ins
• Threaded SMS
• Copy & Paste support for non-touch devices
• New Task Manager
• Clock & Alarms
• Windows Live and Live Search Mobile

You can watch the video after the cut.

Centrino Atom is only one part of Intel’s mobile platform roadmap for the next few years and while the new line up of Atom processors are understandably getting all the attention at the moment, even bigger things are due for 2009. That’s when the Moorestown platform is scheduled to launch. Moorestown is even more frugal than Atom and judging by the sneak peek Intel gave at the IDF earlier today, it’s a dramatically smaller package, too.  Watch the brief video clip after the cut.

Air France has begun a trial of what it's calling the first 'full' in-flight mobile phone service. That means the full combo of voice, text messaging and emails, plus attachments. The last two have already been in-place since December but now its tentatively dipping its toe into mobile phone calls.

Don't go reaching for the ear-plugs just yet, though. It's only being offered on one Airbus A318 operating on routes in Europe for three months and, tellingly, there'll be customer feedback cards to gauge reaction. So if your trip to Paris is peppered with insufferable shouts of, "I'm on the plane! I said I'm on the plane... The plane!", you'll be able to let them know.