The Xact XG2500 Headset Cordless Telephone is still atrociously ugly, but that won’t stop it from inevitably appearing in JCPenny’s Christmas catalog in my parents’ mailbox later this year. And now it’s on sale!

Seriously, I think I saw this thing in the Penny’s catalog back when I was growing up in the 90’s, and I know I saw it in Quantum Leap somewhere. And it’s heavy too with the .1-lb. weight drooping more than a few ears to the floor with its massive, eye sore bulk.

At least it’s only $20 now with free shipping. Get it for someone you hate today! [Gear Diary]

Some free advice if you’re ever walking down a dark street in Germany anytime soon: Be sure your cell phone is completely charged.

Why? Because the country is turning out all the lights to save energy, and they’ll only turn on if you point a cellphone at them and command them to do so.

So far, the program has been met with modest success. In the small town with a big name Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz, the citizens were given the ability to turn on street light with their cell. So far, they’ve managed to save $5,300. Not too bad for a town of only 900.

In Döblitz, resident Heinrich Frühauf tripped and fell in the darkness, and before you knew it, that town was turning lights on with their cellphones too. A timer shuts off the lights after 15 minutes.

The systems are so popular in Germany that a company called Dial4Light (so clever!) now charges the cost of a phone call to have the lights come on in the town of Dörentrup. In Rahden, 60 minutes of light costs about $4.65.

The problem with this system, of course, is that people have tendency to cut corners (i.e. not pay for as much light as safety would require). Light or bread? Light or heat? This could lead to a more than a few open manhole accidents, especially in this tough economy. Maybe this isn’t such a bright idea after all. Yes, you can groan about that pun now. [Dial4Light via Treehugger]

According to TechRadar, LG says they intend to develop a 12MP camera phone for later this year. The only other 12 megapixel camera slated for market is Sony Ericsson’s Idou, which was announced at MWC.

Jeremy Newing, LG’s head of marketing, said that they “absolutely” intended to go down this road:

However, we obviously can’t afford not to be part of the 12MP cameraphone infrastructure, and we will do that and add differentiation, through things like beauty enhancer and smile shot.

It should be noted, though, that more megapixels isn’t always better. [TechRadar]

BGR reports that the first few paid apps have infiltrated the bohemian mobile development commune known as the Android Market, just one week after the submission gates were opened.

The string of comments following the post indicate that most users won’t be able to throw their money at fart apps just yet (there are fart apps, RIGHT!?), but gradual, trickling OTA G1 updates are par for the course. The first (small) batch of apps will look familiar to users of Apple’s App Store—Unit converters! Breakout games! One dollar clocks!—though it is conspicuously (and unexpectedly) lacking of any marquee titles. It’s far too early to judge, and baby steps are fine, I guess, as long as I know I’m getting my Guitar Hero someday. G1ers, let us know what you find—good and bad—in the comments. [BGR]

Woman and guys with belt-holsters had it right—it’s better to keep your phone away from your body.

The NYT quotes the editor of Battery University as saying cellphone batteries last longer if they’re kept cooler. Cooler, as in not at your body temperature. So, if you’re really running low on juice during the day, get a holster or a purse. Plus, you should probably keep your junk cool and away from your cellphone if you ever want to have kids either. It’s win/win.

There are other tips such as shoving a wet phone in rice, putting a car alarm fob up to your chin and freezing a broken hard drive we’ve seen before, but head on over if you need a refresher. [NYT]

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After seeing the GSM Palm Pre at MWC this week, visions of the Palm Pre on AT&T might’ve started dancing in your head. Bummer for you, since the Pre is Sprint’s exclusively for 2009.

CNBC says that according to the usual “person familiar with the matter,” Sprint has locked up the Pre and thrown away the key in the US through at least the end of this year. Granted, if the Pre doesn’t come out till June, which is looking likely, that’s only about a six-month window of exclusivity, which is still much shorter than say, the iPhone, which is going on two years at this point.

Since the Pre is what’s gonna save Palm (if it can), you can bet they’re itching to put it on as many as carriers to make it available to as many people as possible to kickstart their new platform. Also, don’t forget that the Pre is just the first of many WebOS phones, so there’ll be plenty of other hardware running the multi-tasking wunderkind OS. [CNBC]