While we're all patiently waiting for the download of Facebook Home to hit the Google Play store this Friday, it seems the folks at MoDaCo have managed to get their hands on a leaked pre-release version. And the best bit is that it can be installed on practically anything, including the Nexus 4 and even tablets like the Nexus 7. Read More >>

We've been talking about it for years now — half dread, half excitement — and now it's no longer just our imaginations. The Facebook Phone is as real as it's probably ever going to get: it's called Facebook Home a complete Android takeover that converts your smartphone. Read More >>

It would appear that Facebook is about to announce a very comprehensive new Android skin at tonight's event, with leaked images showing what appears to be a simplified Android OS with the social network's status sharing bar whacked atop Google's usual applications menu. Read More >>

A prolific Twitter tech spec leaker has published an image of a new smartphone going by the name HTC First, which, according to wild internet speculation we're happy to be part of, may well be the first proper Facebook phone to feature the social network's bespoke mobile software. Read More >>

Air conditioners are truly a technological marvel, cold-campfires of the modern era, or something. But they don't have to be limited to just keeping you cool. A new model LG is rolling out not only cools air but also keeps mosquitoes at bay. Read More >>

With some exceptions, when you think "gamers" you don't generally think "paragons of health and fitness." But maybe you should. There are already a lot of fitness games on the market, and they range from good to horrible, but this collaboration between Nike and Microsoft is something else. Read More >>

Nest was not the first smart thermostat to reach the hands of consumers. But it was the first that made our parents (and maybe even some of our grandparents) raise an eyebrow. It's cylindrical form and simple GUI are nothing, if not inviting to use, and it's ability to learn from your usage habits not only offers convenience, but possible savings when it comes to the power bill. Now with the second generation iteration of Nest—one that is slimmer and guaranteed to work with 95 per cent of home heating systems—the product wants to go from being a buzzy new product to a mainstream, must-have home gadget. Read More >>

If you're a camera person, you've already got one (or several) lying around. These Crystal DSLR bookends, however, might be able to bring something new to the collection. Read More >>

Let's say that you wanted to set up your living room so that everything looked like it was being subjected to a gale-force wind. Or one where everything looks like it's trying to escape at high speed. This is the perfect vase for your absurd fantasies. Read More >>

Nudity: it can make things uncomfortable in the gym sauna and the FCC does not condone it. But hey, it's funny! And it's even funnier when it's covered up by shoddy pixelation. The Censorship Towel brings to life the familiar blur used to conceal butts on television. Read More >>

Scientists from the institut polytechnique Grenoble INP and the Centre Technique du Papier have developed a novel new product so gratuitous, it almost seems necessary: a silver-crystal coated wallpaper that can block neighbours from freeloading off your Wi-Fi network. The silver crystals are arranged in such a way that they are able to block certain wireless frequencies including those of a Wi-FI router. Read More >>

You're getting classy. You've served your guests enough Miller High Life. When you entertain, you want to do it with style. You want to set up a proper home bar. Read More >>

Design fans will have another few objets d'art to add to their wishlists after scoping out Alessi's first-ever range of lighting solutions, which were announced today. Star of the show has got to be the Phylum lamp (above, £249), designed by Andrea Morgante, which is hewn from a single sheet of ultra-thin steel, folded and corrugated to represent a flower. Read More >>

Grey-haired James Dyson can do one for all I care. Why? Because I just bought a new Dyson a couple of months ago, and then they come out with a new range of vacuums which they're calling their best yet. Hmpf. Still, I guess it beats a Henry Hoover. Read More >>

Hi Britons. You might think Los Angeles is filled with American Starbucks sippin' celeb wannabes who are fake, plastic and vapid. Whatever. I think of Los Angeles as home. And since I'm not going home for the holidays, this time-lapse video is the closest I'll get to a lovely Southern California "winter". Read More >>