Hasta La Gadget!

Using a laptop computer in a car can be uncomfortable, but no more. The Laptop Steering Wheel Desk hooks on to your wheel to give you a convenient place for the computer, your lunch, or whatever else you’re working on.

Clearly there are great uses for this product, but it’s also easy to imagine some dangerous abuses–especially considering all the recent hubbub about problems with people using cell phones and even texting while driving. And we’ve all heard stories of people shaving, putting on makeup, doing crossword puzzles, you name it.

You just know that someone will try to use their computer while they drive now that they have this table. Probably on a highway where the turns aren’t so sharp. It’s this image that inspired some of the hilarious user reviews and submitted pictures on the Amazon.com page for this product (check one out, after the jump).

Amazon.com seems to be the main place to buy the Laptop Steering Wheel, although the manufacturer, Mobile Desk, makes a wide variety of computer mounts and other work tools for cars. And the average police car these days seems to come with a computer designed for the driver to use.

Just as awareness of the dangers of distracted driving are increasing and laws are being developed all over to penalize users who phone or text while driving, the industry pushes the envelope more and more. Please keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel.

Verizon and its army of magical Christmas elves aren’t taking the latest lawsuit from AT&T lying down. The carrier issued a memorandum of law responding to AT&T’s temporary restraining order attempting to block its coverage map-based ads.

The statement reads, in part, “AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon’s ‘There’s A Map For That’ advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon’s ads are true and the truth hurts.”

Verizon insists that its claims are entirely true, depicting a 3G network that cover five times the area of its competitor. “Despite the far smaller size of its 3G network,” Verizon wrote. “AT&T has spent tens of millions of dollars making its 3G network, which it dubs the ‘Nation’s Fastest 3G Network,’ the centerpiece of its national advertising since at least the summer of 2008. AT&T now is attempting to silence Verizon’s ads that include maps graphically depicting the geographic reach of AT&T’s 3G network as compared to Verizon’s own 3G network because AT&T does not like the truthful picture painted by that comparison.”

Samsung has launched the Galaxy Spica i5700, the company’s latest Android-powered smartphone.

It offers an 800 MHz core–meaning it’s probably similar to the Samsung Moment inside–as well as first-in-class DivX video support. The Spica features a 3.2-inch touch screen display, dual-band 900/2100 MHz HSDPA support, and 128MB of internal memory.

The Galaxy Spica also comes with a standard-size 3.5mm headphone jack, a 1500 mAh battery, and the usual full compliment of Google-powered services.

It’s available beginning today in Europe and the CIS region, and will soon expand to the Middle East and Africa. No word yet on an American release.

As if a lawsuit wasn’t enough, AT&T is now taking its fight against Verizon’s ads to the court of public opinion.

In an unusual statement, AT&T attempted to “set the record straight” with respect to Verizon’s  ads campaigns, which have focused attention on the networks of the respective companies. Verizon’s ads have shown 3G coverage maps from both networks, representing Verizon, naturally, in the most favorable light.

In the most “Elves” spot, for example, note that the AT&T 3G map is decidedly less populated than the Verizon version. (My wife, viewing the ad last night, noted that the “Good luck surfing the Web with that” comment snidely implies that AT&T users can’t surf the Web outside of the 3G coverage area, while adroitly sidestepping actually making such a statement.)

T-Mobile has unveiled the Tap, a 3G touch-screen cell phone with a compact, slightly rounded design that’s oddly similar to the Samsung Highlight already in T-Mobile’s stable.

The Tap comes with T-Mobile’s web2go, a 2-megapixel camera, video capture, a music player, GPS, and stereo Bluetooth. It measures 4.2 by 2.2 by 0.5 inches (HWD) and weighs 3.7 ounces. A microSD slot is provided for sideloading media and storing photos.

The T-Mobile Tap available in berry and midnight blue beginning today online and in stores. It costs $79.99 with a two-year service agreement and after rebates. Hey, at least it gives you two new colors to contrast with the Highlight’s rather garish Fire and Ice hues. (And is it just me, or does that UI look an awful lot like Palm OS?)