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Sure, Lady Liberty and a bald eagle are great symbols of American freedom, but they’re also perfect covers for keeping tabs on your friends. Ajoka’s cigarette lighter video camera discreetly records 640 x 480 or QVGA in AVI format at 30 frames per second and supports microSD up to 8GB. It’s got a lithium ion battery for 6 hours of filming and is charged via USB. Best of all, it’s still a working lighter — perfect for cheering up your favorite band’s love ballads and simultaneously bootlegging the performance. Your local spy shop can order these wholesale for $150 apiece.

Better late than never, we suppose — joining Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Palm, RIM’s officially opened the BlackBerry Application Storefront to submissions, just a hair after the December launch we’d originally heard. It sounds like RIM’s going to be doing more an Apple-style closed market than an Android-style free-for-all: apps will be “considered” for inclusion in the Storefront, which is scheduled to go live in March at CTIA. The lockdown’s not a big shocker considering RIM’s corporate userbase, but we’re can’t say we’re huge fans of this new trend toward closed stores. In any event, it sounds like RIM’s seeing big potential for its fledging shop — co-CEO Jim Balsillie recently told a panel that he’s expecting “dozens of music apps” in the store, which he thinks will be able to capitalize on the (sigh) “birth of digital music 2.0.” We’re not sure exactly what Jim means — he mostly said things like “remarkable revenue enhancement strategy” and “radical and dramatic enhancing set of opportunities” — but we’re all for shaking up the music business, so bring it on. It can’t be any worse than SlotMusic.
[Via Boy Genius Report]

Since Oakley can’t be the only company controlling the fashionable Bluetooth sunglasses market, TriSpecs has unveiled its own technetronic eyewear compatible with Bluetooth-equipped phones and PMPs. The eponymous shades sport two uni-directional mics, one touch dialing, and retractable stereo earbuds that hang at the tip of the temples when not in use. They’re expected to hit retail sometime this month for just under $200 and come in black, white, and metallic options. Attractive model companion is, as always, not included.

T-Mobile USA has a pretty solid relationship with HTC, considering it sells the Shadow, the Wing, and the G1 at the moment — and seeing how the G1’s doing a nice little spot of business for them, it stand to reason that they’d be looking to continue the good times through ‘09. We’re hearing from TmoNews that one HTC devices leaked today — the Sapphire — is the G2, while another source is telling us that the Rhodium is the Wing II, giving T-Mob solid, high-end Windows Mobile and Android devices alike in the new year. The original Wing is older than your grandmother (bless her heart), and as for the G1… well, let’s be honest, these guys can take as much Android gear as HTC will give ‘em right now. Bring it, fellas.
[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

We’d never pegged the S740 as the kind of phone HTC would be looking to bring to the New World; it’s an oddball by modern Windows Mobile standards, shucking the touchy, feely trend for a traditional numeric keypad that reminds us of a simpler, more innocent time. Miracles can and do happen from time to time, though — and on that note we give you the S743, a dead ringer for the S740 that’s had its Euro-friendly 3G gutted and replaced with HSDPA 850 / 1900 for North American use. It’s got WinMo 6.1 Standard, a 2.4-inch QVGA display, and faceted styling inspired by the Touch Diamond, but the S743’s real claim to fame is its slide-out QWERTY keyboard for those moments when triple-tapping and predictive text just aren’t going to cut it. Look for this sucker to invade US retailers some time this quarter.

Apple’s corporate font isn’t Arial, if you catch our drift.