Back in the early days of Engadget, everyone -- including us -- thought mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) were totally poised to be the next big thing. And why not? You get to be a wireless carrier without having to operate your own infrastructure (which is by far the most expensive, difficult part). Just what the doctor ordered for the big, stodgy wireless carriers, each struggling to balance differentiating themselves while trapping their customers in their walled content and services gardens.

What we got instead was failed business model after spectacular failed business model, leading to a domino effect of collapses that left just a precious few companies standing. Let's take a look at the carnage over on Engadget Mobile, shall we?

Outgoing Engadget editor-in-chief Ryan Block contributes Engadget Cares, a friendly advice column for the people who make your technology.

Hard to believe, but it's been a year and a day since Peter, Josh, and I published our intervention letter to Palm, wherein we rattled off a number of (admittedly unsolicited) suggestions on how we thought they might best turn things around at a time when Microsoft, RIM, and Apple were really eating into their slice of the smartphone pie.

Palm CEO Ed Colligan took the time to publicly reply, letting everyone know that he "forwarded [our letter] to [Palm's] entire executive staff and many others at Palm have read it. ...We are attacking almost every challenge [Engadget] noted, so stay tuned." When the dust settled, we were cautiously optimistic, if not a little hopeful.

In some ways that letter inspired Engadget Cares. And since it's my last day here at Engadget as editor-in-chief and all, it seems only appropriate to check in on things and see whether Palm really did "attack every challenge" from a year ago. Read on.

For obvious reasons, we're not really big believers in optimizing Engadget for individual devices or platforms. Despite the unrelenting number of requests for an iPhone-optimized version of Engadget, we thought we'd let Apple stand by its whole "the real internet in your pocket" thing. And then we ran the numbers. We could hardly believe it.

So far in 2008, the iPhone, iPhone 3G, and iPod touch account for some 95.8% of all mobile views on the full site. We're not even kidding. That doesn't factor the visitors who hit our current mobile version of the site, but it's pretty hard to argue with any number like that, so we're rolling out a new beta version of Engadget optimized for the iPhone at i.engadget.com. (Don't worry, we'll still be keeping original mobile site active at m.engadget.com.) Please feel free to let us know what you think in comments!

Oh, and for the stats nerds in the audience, you can check out Engadget's mobile device breakdown after the break.

Our Deutsch is a little rusty, but Spiegel's got a hard-hitting, um, sounding story on Segway safety -- specifically regarding what happens when one hits a stationary object or falls off of one while riding it at full speed. Hey der Spiegel, why don't you try the same test with one of those bicycle contraptions we hear Europeans are so in love with? We have a feeling you might be slightly more horrified by the results.

[Via AutoblogGreen, thanks Nate]

We're not going to get back into the Xbox 360 + Blu-ray debate, but Sony's HD format is clearly on Microsoft's collective mind, as it's begun prepping a new Windows add-on dubbed Feature Pack for Storage. The kit's set to contain modules for portable drive recognition and restriction, ICCD and CCID Smartcard drivers, but most notably an image mastering API for Blu-ray that enables "master style optical burning on Blu-Ray [sic] media." Expect it soon on Windows Vista, XP SP2+, Server 2008, and Server 2003 SP1+ -- or really soon if you get in on the beta.

[Via ZDnet]

It may be true that no one can hear you scream in space, but we'd be wagering that a whole lot of people can hear the yelling coming out of Houston-based Oceaneering International, Inc., who just lost their two month old $745 million NASA contract to build the next-gen space suit. Of course, the bid was not without its fair share of bitching and moaning by competing contractors (apparently long time space suit-makers Hamilton Sundstrand and ILC Dover made a big stink after the contract was awarded to their upstart competitor), but them's the breaks when your gear's headed to space. Too bad though, we were really looking forward to the gear -- especially since now we have absolutely nothing to wear to the astro-prom.

Of course, it all seems so obvious now! How did we not interpret El Jobso's true meaning of the iPhone kill-switch -- it actually kills you. We have noted iPhone expert Stephen Colbert to thank not just for this brilliant deduction, but also for sticking up for the lot of us and giving the iPhone 3G a cold staredown -- but not before declaring, "I knew I should have gotten a Zune! They can't kill me... or do anything else." Zing! Clip after the break (iPhone at 5:45).

[Thanks, Matt]

Tons of pics of Dell's new Precision and Latitude E series machines? You got 'em, including shots of the crazy-small E4200, which really takes us back to the days of the hot little Samsung-built X1. Hit the gallery below, marvel at some of the machines your IT department may be rolling out in the next 6-18 months.

After spending a few minutes with it, there's no question to us that the Touch Pro is HTC's most impressive handset to date (even if you count the Xperia X1). Okay, the phone is still a bit thick (roughly the same as a Tilt), and there's no 3.5mm headphone jack, but it's got a very small footprint and a very comfortably proportioned keyboard. We can also really definitely appreciate the lengths HTC is going to trying to make Windows Mobile a bit less doggish these days -- but were they to spice up the Touch Pro with a capacitive touchscreen and Android, HTC might just have a game-changer on their hands.

Like so many other devices made in China, we're convinced this Bird's Nest Stadium, um, "inspired" device is totally, completely authorized and legit. And hey, unlike Chinese bird's nest soup, it not only comes in capacities up to 4GB, but doesn't even appear to be assembled with avian saliva. Difficulty: 1.2, execution: 3.55.

The UK's National Oceanography Center in Southampton is prepping to launch a new autonomous underwater vehicle (also known as a robo-sub, landlubber) capable of exploring undersea volcanoes in the Cayman Trough up to 20,000 feet deep. It'll only run for about a kilometer at a time though, so while it does have quickly replaceable lithium polymer battery packs, it still won't exactly be roaming the briny deep for months on end without human supervision. And you know how we feel about unsupervised self-directing machines.

Just an FYI to the CPU geeks in the house: if you've been following Nehalem, you can officially start calling it Core i7 (which means that it's not getting the code name we all thought it'd carry: Core 3 Trio Quad Duo Pro Extreme Edition). Everyone else can feel free to continue scratching their head.

What with all this electric car business going on down on terra firma, it was clearly about time we all got to work flying the negatively-charged skies as well. The ElectraFlyer C, built by the Electric Aircraft Corporation, recently got some extended hang time on its maiden flight, powered by a 5.6 kWh lithium battery capable of flying for between 1.5 to two hours at a cruising speed of about 70 mph (and topping out at 90). Presumably close to silently. Read link hits EAC's site, more photos of the ElectraFlyer C here.

[Via Autopia, thanks Sam]

Well, judging by the dozens of tips we just got, it's time to once again get your Pwnage on with version 2.0.2 (which was released to counter the, um, "fixes" in iPhone firmware 2.0.1). As usual, hit up the read link.

Update: WinPwn 2.0.0.4 is out as well.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Sony, where's the justice? How could you mercilessly kill the nine month old PSP Extended Life Battery Kit -- capable of boosting the PSP's play time by up to 80% -- while UMDs continue to be the preferred method of distribution for the system's games and video content (thereby also heavily contributing to the device's juice-drain)? Worse still for Sony, why are we not surprised?