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Last week, Sprint's Vice President of Strategy Russ McGuire admitted that carriers might be an impediment to growth and innovation in the cell phone industry. Speaking at the MobileBeat conference in San Francisco, McGuire said that carriers need to "let go" and allow the industry to move at a natural pace.

"You don't want to move at carrier speed," he said. "You want to move at Valley speed."

Russ McGuire.

(Credit: MobileBeat)

But McGuire didn't stop there. He also went on to discuss one of the more hot-button issues in the industry today. Technologies like the iPhone and the Google Android OS are challenging the long-held concept of the carrier-driven "walled garden" and changing the very role carriers play in the industry.

"Will carriers become pipes or will they continue to be media companies?" he said. "They're realizing it's not the worst end game if they are disintermediated of their desire to become giant media companies and instead become the best wireless backbone."

McGuires's comments are indeed surprising given the way the U.S. cell phone industry has operated for so long, and he acknowledged that, saying change would be fundamental. I asked Sprint for further commens on McGuire's talk, but a spokesperson declined.

Like many of my colleagues, I've long advocated for a more open approach to wireless development in this country. Breaking down the walled garden to allow for more third-party applications. I believe customer customization will benefit the end user. And I don't think that's it's the end of world if carriers become conduits for information rather than controlling the cell phone experience from beginning to end. McGuire's comments give me hope that carriers are beginning to agree.

Wilson Audio's latest, the Sasha W/P speaker.

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

Wilson Audio Specialties didn't invent high-end speakers, but its original WATT speaker, introduced in 1986, changed the rules of the game.

Up to that point, state-of-the-art speakers were all large beasts, but the WATT was a comparatively tiny stand-mounted speaker. Its distinctive pyramidal shape went on to spawn countless imitations.

The WATT was soon joined by the matching Puppy (woofer), and over the ensuing decades the two-piece WATT/Puppy system evolved, culminating in the WATT/Puppy 8 in 2006. Well over 15,000 WATT/Puppys have been sold since 1986, but rather than move to the W/P 9, founder David Wilson decided to start afresh, so now we have the Sasha W/P ($26,900/pair).

Wilson Audio Specialties' director of sales, Peter McGrath, came to New York City to present the Sasha W/P to the press at Wilson dealer Innovative Audio last week. The new speaker's sweeping curves and refined shape make for the best-looking Wilson speaker of all time.

(Credit: Brother)

Seamstresses may find themselves out of job soon if Brother continues to develop sewing machines like the Innov-is 6000D. This multitalented gadget commemorates the Japanese company's 100th anniversary, and is probably what clothes makers and fashion designers dream of at night.

The Innov-is 6000D can not only sew, it is also capable of embroidery, quilting, and crafting. But what really sets this machine apart from its competitors are the advanced technologies that aid users in operating it.

(Credit: Brother)

The Innov-is 6000D has three USB 2.0 ports to attach compatible peripherals (such as a computer mouse, which we will touch on later) or to plug a USB stick in to transfer downloaded stitching patterns or upgrade the firmware. It also has an 8.5-inch touch-screen LCD where the menu can be navigated by using a mouse.

There is a camera built-in near the needle which gives you a closeup look at the stitches on the screen if you need to reposition or make amendments to the work piece. Brother has also incorporated a row of LEDs below the sewing arm to illuminate the work space and to facilitate the view for the camera.

(Credit: Litracon)

The LitraCube lamp consists of four identical pieces of Litracon concrete.

(Credit: Litracon)

And today in news about concrete...

You may already have heard about Litracon, a see-through concrete developed by Hungarian architect Aron Losonczi. Filled with optical fibers that run from one end of a poured piece of concrete to the other, these prefabricated blocks and panels effectively transmit light from one side to the other.

The material can be used for artistic purposes, or in commercial or residential construction projects, where experts predict it could reduce heat loss in buildings. Needless to say, this stuff turns the traditional concept of cold, hard, gray concrete on its side.

Well, if you're interested in innovative building materials and you happen to be winding your way through New York City between now and April 25, you can view the see-through concrete as part of an exhibit at the American Institute of Architects' Center for Architecture. Previously, this eye-catching material has primarily been displayed in Europe.

The exhibit, called Make It Work: Engineering Possibilities, highlights inventive strategies for the built environment, and the ways in which multidisciplinary research and integrated practice take ideas from seed to blossom.

The Liv Inizio is a new electric sports car with Tesla-like specifications.

(Credit: EV Innovations)

Note: This story was corrected to fix a typo in the company name after it initially published.

The Liv Inizio, an all-electric sports car with specs similar to the Tesla Roadster, is making its debut at the 2009 New York auto show. This new electric car is made by EV Innovations, formerly called Hybrid Technologies, which showed off the Liv Wise, a Toyota Yaris converted to an electric power train, at last year's New York auto show.

EV Innovations claims a 200-mile range for the Liv Inizio and a 0 to 60 mph acceleration time of 5 seconds. Top speed: 150 mph. About 15 inches longer than the Tesla Roadster and 6 inches wider, the Liv Inizio still manages to come in 300 pounds lighter. It uses a lithium ion battery pack to power its midmounted motor, and it has a recharge time of about 8 hours. A touch-screen LCD in the cabin displays trip information such as remaining range.

With corporate headquarters in Las Vegas and development done in North Carolina, EV Innovations uses its own battery management technology to offer electric conversions of existing cars, such as the Toyota Yaris, Smart ForTwo, PT Cruiser, and Mini Cooper, and original cars and two-wheelers.

Jaime Oliver's Silent Drum is a drum shell with an elastic spandex head that uses shapes and shadows to compute and control sound.

(Credit: Georgia Institute of Technology)

Updated at 10:40 a.m. PDT, Wednesday, March 11, with more details on the instrument that took second place.

Imagine Keith Moon relentlessly pounding away with a set of drumsticks. Now imagine him making sounds simply by moving his hands around the head of the drum.

That's more or less what he'd be doing were he using inventor Jaime Oliver's Silent Drum Controller.

First place winner in the first Guthman Musical Instrument Competition sponsored by Georgia Tech's Center for Music Technology, it's a transparent drum shell, illuminated from the inside, with an elastic head. As one presses it, the head deforms and a variety of shapes with peaks are created reflecting the shape of the mallet or hand.

A video camera captures these shapes and sends the images to the computer, which analyzes them and outputs the tracked parameters.

Not a drum you'd find in the music shop at the mall, but that was exactly the idea behind the contest, which solicited new instruments--in physical or virtual manifestations, and played by humans, robots, or computers--that enhance music performance and creation.

Nearly 30 inventors from seven countries performed on Georgia Tech's campus to demonstrate their instrument's musicality, design, and engineering features and compete for prizes--$5,000 for first place, $3,000 for second, $2,000 for third, and free copies of the Rock Band for those nabbing fourth through sixth place.

PALM DESERT, Calif.--I think the most eagerly anticipated demo at Demo 09 here will be Always Innovating's Touch Book, slated for late Monday afternoon. It's yet another Netbook, granted, but it's got a cool detachable (and optional) keyboard, and a magnetic mount for sticking onto a refrigerator.

I got a quick demo video (left) with the company's CEO, Gregoire Gentil, who is French. He couldn't show me the user interface on the prototype hardware he had with him, but says it will be easy to use with big, fat American fingers (he didn't actually say that).

The product will run a Linux OS, Gentil said, and it's the first Netbook based on an ARM CPU, not the typical Atom found in most Netbooks. He says users can expect 10 to 15 hours of battery life. The product will be $299 without the keyboard, $399 with. It ships this spring, but you can preorder now.

The Always Innovating Netbook has a detachable keyboard.

(Credit: Rafe Needleman/CNET)

The back of the tablet is magnetic, so you can stick it on your fridge.

(Credit: Rafe Needleman/CNET)

The Samsung Innov8 passes through the FCC.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)

Though it's been slow in cell phone land over the holidays, the Federal Communications Commission has been hard at work clearing new handsets. One of the most notable additions over the last two weeks is a version of the 8-megapixel Samsung Innov8 camera phone with support for North American 3G networks. Because the FCC has to certify every phone sold in the United States, not to mention test its SAR rating, the agency's online database offers a lot of sneak peeks to those who dig. And to save you the trouble, Crave has combed through the database for you. Here are a selection of filings from the past week on new and upcoming cell phones. Click through to read the full report.

Alcatel OT-V570A
HTC DIAM400
Kyocera M2000
Kyocera S1300
LG GB125a
LG KB775
LG KT770
LG VX9600
Nokia (RM-4134)
RIM BlackBerry RBK41CG
Samsung Innov8 (North American version)
Samsung SCH-W720
Samsung SCH-W750
Samsung SGH-A657
Samsung SGH-S366
Sharp 830SHe
Sharp SH6010C
ZTE E810

BMW has been among the leaders in high-tech car innovation, occasionally even jumping too far ahead of what its older customers preferred to use.

So it should be no surprise that the German carmaker wants to lure in potential customers with another cool high-tech tool.

The BMW Product Navigator, which employs Microsoft's Surface computer, lets potential customers hand-pick options, then see a computer-generated video of their future car in action.

By placing mini discs on the computer table, customers at dealerships can add features like wheels in designing their customized BMW. Users can also use Microsoft's multitouch Surface gestures to rotate, move, and enlarge on-screen images.

Instead of showing the usual computer-generated image of a customized car, the program produces a video. The video, which is shown to users on a separate computer screen hung on a wall, shows the customer how their car will look from the inside and outside while being driven.

The results of each configuration a customer comes up with can then be printed, e-mailed, or saved to a USB drive to take home.

BMW has posted a video (above) on BMW-web.tv Web site and YouTube of Franz Wimmer, innovation manager at BMW Group, demonstrating how the Surface device works.

Don't go running out to your nearest BMW dealership just yet to check the technology out. The company has not yet specified when the BMW Product Navigator kiosks will be widely available.