Hasta La Gadget!

In Engadget’s ongoing quest to get you, our lovely readers, as up-close-and-personal with the electronics of the future, we’re partnering once more with Panasonic to take a couple (hundred) of lucky readers into an otherwise media-exclusive hands-on event. As these events tend to be, it’s taking place in Jay-Z and Robert DeNiro’s backyard, downtown Manhattan, and there’ll be ample time to learn about Panasonic’s 2013 lineup. Moreover, it’s a chance to be among the first to preview Panasonic’s 2013 product lines, including the new Smart VIERA ZT Series Plasma TVs and WT Series LED TVs, as well as new home audio, imaging, home appliance and personal care items.

You’ll need to get yourself into the bit city and over to the shindig by 6:30PM ET, but there’ll be no need to arrive early and line up — if you receive a confirmation email, you’re in. We’ll also be in attendance, giving out friendly conversation and the occasional hug. To enter, shoot an email to nycevents [at] engadget.com, and we’ll get you all squared away.

Beyond just getting first hands-on with Panasonic’s HDTVs and myriad other unreleased electronics, one very lucky attendee will give a forever home to the devices on hand in the form of a “techover” — that means Panasonic wants to give you a whole bunch of stuff: a VIERA HDTV, Home Theater, Home Audio, LUMIX Camera, Personal Care and Home Appliance products. There’ll also be other giveaways, of course. We just wouldn’t feel right inviting you out and not sending you home with something to remember us by!

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, Household, HD

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If you’re still using an automatic coffee-maker, you’re doing it wrong. We test five different manual coffee-brewing systems.

It’s not quite a minivan fit for a technophile, despite the standard lineup of 2014 in-vehicle gadgets, such as HondaLink with a smartphone interface, HD Radio and an updated center stack. But Honda’s 2014 Odyssey does ship with one very practical addition: a built-in HondaVAC, designed with assistance from the good folks at Shop-Vac. The integrated vacuum cleaner lets you tidy up around the van and outside as well, and with integrated power, it doesn’t need to be plugged in for use. It can suck indefinitely when the engine’s running, or for up to eight minutes with the car turned off. It’s integrated within the rear cargo area, and includes a replaceable filter and a canister bag, for easy rubbish disposal. The Odyssey just made its debut at the New York Auto Show, and pricing and availability have yet to be announced. You can check it out for yourself this week in NYC, however, or take a closer look in the promo video embedded just past the break.

Filed under: Household, Transportation

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Via: Autoblog

Source: Honda (YouTube)

LG is no stranger to mixing together patents and white goods and this time its trying to bridge the gap between recipes and those all-too-often underwhelming results. One of its patents, granted today, outlines the idea of two RF tags that would offer food information and appliance specs, with a reader located on a terminal (say, an oven) that would attempt to bridge the gap between the two. This (likely wireless) device would then connect to a server, which would return operating details for cooking that specified “food information” on your appliance of choice. LG also hints at the ability of expanding the remit of a book when enough info can’t be given due to the space limitations of the printed word, hopefully offering up some added value to any compatible future cookbooks. Well, you’ve got to try and explain those connected fridge and oven costs somehow, right?

Filed under: Household, LG

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Source: USPTO

Looking to save some coin on your tech purchases? Of course you are! In this round-up, we’ll run down a list of the freshest frugal buys, hand-picked with the help of the folks at Slickdeals. You’ll want to act fast, though, as many of these offerings won’t stick around long.

Mondays serve as a cruel reminder that the weekend is over, but a few gadget deals could ease the transition a bit. Nest’s first-gen Learning Thermostat hits the list today alongside a 42-inch LG 3D HDTV and much more. A quick jaunt past the break will reveal all of the selections and the requisite purchase info.

Filed under: Displays, Misc, Home Entertainment, Household

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Source: Slickdeals