Hasta La Gadget!

A second iPhone credit-card reader has emerged from mophie, an iPod and iPhone accessories company, and it will make its debut this week at CES. The above photo shows a mock-up of the device. The gadget will pair with a new iPhone application to make easy transactions on the go.

Mophie’s product theoretically goes up against another reader announced by Square in August, but Square’s product is still in limited beta and not readily available to consumers. No pricing or availability for mophie’s device was announced.

The LG Expo isn’t the only projector phone in the US any more. Tiny manufacturer Logic Wireless has a new version 1.5 of their Bolt projector phone – and they’re selling it through Skymall, of all places.

The Logic Bolt 1.5 (called merely “Projector Phone” on the Skymall Web page) is a Symbian-powered smartphone with two SIM card slots, a feature that is common in some foreign countries but very rare in the US.

According to a spec sheet sent to us by Logic Wireless, the phone has a 2.6-inch, 240×400 TFT LCD resistive touch screen; dual cameras (three megapixel on the back and one on the front), “Live TV & FM Radio,” and a built-in LCOS projector that can project images 64″ wide. The phone is supposedly only .66 inches thick.

So what’s the catch? No 3G. That may be one reason Logic’s COO Miran Maric told us they’re focusing on overseas sales right now, targeting carriers in countries where 3G isn’t a big deal yet.

A flaw in two recently released versions of BlackBerry Messenger appears to be the cause of Tuesday night’s BlackBerry e-mail outage, Research in Motion said in a Wednesday morning statement.

“Root cause is currently under review, but based on preliminary analysis, it currently appears that the issue stemmed from a flaw in two recently released versions of BlackBerry Messenger (versions 5.0.0.55 and 5.0.0.56) that caused an unanticipated database issue within the BlackBerry infrastructure,” according to RIM. “RIM has taken corrective action to restore service.”

RIM released a new version of BlackBerry Messenger (version 5.0.0.57) and encouraged any user who upgraded their Messenger since Dec. 14 to download the lastest version.

“RIM continues to monitor its systems to maintain normal service levels and apologizes for any inconvenience to customers,” the company said.

Research in Motion on Tuesday night confirmed a BlackBerry outage affecting some users in North and South America – the company’s second in several days.

The problems do not appear to affect calling or text messaging, but users are not receiving e-mails. Others have reported problems with BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), an instant message program available on the devices.

“Some BlackBerry customers in the Americas are experiencing delays in message delivery,” RIM said in a statement. “Technical teams are actively working to resolve the issue for those impacted. RIM apologizes for any inconvenience experienced by customers.”

The outage is the second for RIM in that past five days. For several hours on Thursday, users were once again not able to receive or send e-mail messages.

RIM did not provide any details on what caused the outages on Thursday or Tuesday night.

Verizon has responded to a recent FCC probe into the carrier’s doubling of its early termination fees. The company said that the new fees are necessary in order to help keep the prices of handsets low.

“This pricing structure enables Verizon Wireless to offer wireless devices at a substantial discount from their full retail price,” Verizon told the FCC. “By reducing up-front costs to consumers, this pricing lowers the barriers to consumers to obtaining mobile broadband devices. It thus enables many more consumers, including those of more limited means, access to a range of exciting, state-of-the-art broadband services and capabilities.”

The carrier added that the price covers the cost of the handsets, marketing, and support costs. The new $350 fee has lead to recently proposed Senate legislation curbing the price of cancellation charges.