Hasta La Gadget!

If Samsung’s Soul had your innermost emotions shakin’, wait until you wrap your retinas around this. The S8300, which is said to be an upgrade from the aforementioned mobile — will reportedly come stacked with 7.2Mbps HSDPA connectivity, a 2.8-inch AMOLED touchscreen, 8-megapixel camera, inbuilt GPS, an FM radio with RDS, 60MB of onboard memory, DivX playback and an “anti-scratch / anti-fingerprint coated duraluminium chassis.” There are no promises that it’ll be ready for a CES showcase, though we’re hearing that a MWC launch is expected in a worst case scenario. Lots more images are hiding in the read link.

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung’s S8300 slider packs AMOLED display, 8-megapixel camera originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic already has a few powerline networking products to call its own (including the adapters pictured at right), but it looks like it’s going to be expanding things in a fairly big way at CES next month, with it even set to bring some electric cars into the mix. That latter bit comes in the form of a prototype networking system that promises to let a variety of devices connect to an electric vehicle as it charges in the garage, letting you ensure that everything is set just right for when you drive out the next day. Other devices apparently on tap include an HD-PLC adapter for a security camera, and an electrical monitoring system of some sort. As you might expect, however, details on any of them are pretty light at the moment, but you can be sure that we’ll be digging up what we can as soon as Panasonic officially takes the wraps off ’em.

[Via Digg]

Filed under: Networking

Panasonic set to unveil powerline networking prototypes aplenty at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG’s announced its W2486L LED BLU display, which will be on hand for all to see at CES next week. The LED backlit 24-incher is super slim — at about 20mm (about .79-inches) thick — with a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. It boasts an automatic brightness control feature, a 2ms response rate, and LG claims it consumes about 50 percent less power than like-minded CCFL models. No pricing or availability info as of yet, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled for this puppy in Las Vegas.

[Via HD TV Space]

Filed under: Displays

LG announces CES-bound W2486L LED BLU 24-inch display originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mercedes-Benz plans to make the world’s first drowsy-driver detection system standard on next year’s new E-class sedan, AutoWeek reports. The system could aid in reducing the 100,000 crashes and 1,500 deaths that fatigue causes in the U.S. every year.

Demand for digital TV converter box coupons is up–and while that signals an increased awareness of the impending DTV conversion next February, the surge might require an additional $330 million in government funds, according to the Commerce Department.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is housed within Commerce, projects that it will receive 6.5 million requests for DTV converter box coupons in December, which is a significant jump from previous months.

If requests continue at this pace, the department could receive up to 60 million coupon requests by March, 2009. One problem: NTIA has only enough money for 51.5 million coupons, according to a letter the agency sent to Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee.