Panasonic must have thought that a 2.5 millimeter speaker is not thin enough to get the "world's thinnest speaker" tag. So the company sliced it up some more and came up with an ultra-thin 1.5 millimeter speaker (to go well with a super tiny mobile device, perhaps?).

And how's the sound quality, you ask? Well, if we are to believe Panasonic, we should be getting adequate enough sound quality for the little thing's size. As some of you know, when a magnet in the speaker is made thin, the sound quality degrades. We'll spare you the techie explanation, but Panasonic came up with a mechanism that supposedly solves that particular problem.

We'll know if the sound quality is good enough when production starts in May 2007. No word yet on applications, pricing and availability.

Move over, Roomba, there's a new toy in town sweeping off dirt and dust from hardwood floors. Enter the Lamborghini Gallardo RC floor sweeper. Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories has created a handy household helper using a US$ 15 radio-controlled car, an electrostatic dust mop, and a blank printed circuit board.

The Evil Mad Scientist detailed the steps on his website. What's really great about this nifty Roomba-replacement (sort of) is that it's quite easy to build. You just got to figure out how to attach the dust mop to the RC without breaking it. The Lamborghini happens to be the perfect car for this project as it has a little ledge with screw hole where a little plank can be attached to hold the dust mop. If you're planning to create one yourself, you can use other car types, a 4WD even.

While a Lamborghini and a dust mop don't quite look good together, they do a good job of cleaning up the dust on the floor. Watch the Lamborghini Gallardo sweeper in action!

Finding a cab during rush hour is bad. Finding a cab during rush hour in the middle of a heavy downpour is worse. It's a sad situation: just you and your umbrella.

Enter Pileus, the umbrella that entertains. Researchers at Tokyo's Keio University has built a system that allows YouTube videos and Flickr photos to be projected on your opened umbrella via a Wi-Fi connection. The umbrella grip houses the RFID reader, RFID tag, rotary sensor, camera, and the projector.

Users can take photos or videos and the Pileus WebService uploads them to Flickr or YouTube. Users can start browsing just by simply twisting the grip. With a nifty device such as this, singing in the rain becomes an obsolete form of entertainment.

The Pileus might just catch on, if only for the entertainment factor. But it does bring up the issue of sidewalk accidents. Pileus users might get too caught up with the device and miss the open manhole just a few steps away. That, or people missing work due to a severe case of stiff neck.

Microsoft is hoping to steal customers away from iPod and iTunes when Zune hits stores on November 14. In fact, Zune.net is now up and running - a clear sign that the portable player is ready to take on the iPod.

But it seems there's trouble brewing in Zune paradise. Music junkies who've been getting their music fix via Microsoft's MSN Music store could face compatibility problems if they decide to buy the Zune. That's right folks, MSN Music store tracks will not play with the new Zune. As such, Microsoft will stop selling tracks from MSN Music to make way for Zune.net.

Still, this is a big letdown for customers who are eager to try out the new Zune only to find out that their huge library of MSN-bought songs wouldn't be supported by Zune.

The problem doesn't stop there. It seems the move could also mean trouble for MP3 players that are built to play MSN-bought tracks. To cut the long story short, Zune content is not supported on devices that are compatible with the Plays For Sure initiative (e.g. Archos, Dell, Iriver, Creative, etc.).

But there's a "work around" to this problem, as suggested by a Microsoft spokesperson, "The changes to MSN Music do not mean that users will no longer be able to listen to the music they have bought via the store. Users will be able to burn files to a CD for their own use or put them on compatible players."

Existing MSN Music customers hoping to transfer their files to the Zune may just as well forget about the idea. For sure, they'd want to stick to Plays For Sure-compatible devices, which would somehow hurt Zune. The least Microsoft could have done was to offer something that would allow existing MSN content to be playable in Zune.

File this one under the "weird-but-sort-of-useful" gadgets folder. We're talking about a 12-year old Ryota Yamamoto's patented invention that helps forgetful folks to remember to bring their umbrellas. The electrical device is said to detect people as they pass. Once they are detected, the gizmo opens and closes a built-in umbrella.

If the device is designed to be set up at building entrances, we sure hope people don't think that the umbrella is possessed by some evil spirits lurking in the building...

Seriously, countries with longer rainy season (such as Japan) might find this device useful. You'd think that the most technologically-advanced country would come up with a more advanced device, but then again this was thought of by a little boy. Perhaps before he reaches the legal age, he'd have developed a more sophisticated device.

Oh well, it's way better than tying a ribbon 'round your finger.

Consumers and couch potatoes have been investing on flat-screen technologies to keep up with the times. A couple more years (or less) and we'd probably say goodbye to bulky home theater screens. Plasma display and a variety of flat-screen inventions are the way to go.

While plasma displays are basking in their glory, laser TV is slowly getting into the picture, thanks to a laser technology created by Novalux. A laser TV is a flat-panel display that uses high-powered (you guessed it!) lasers to light up the screens. We'll spare you the technical babble, but the important thing to know is that it can produce more vivid colors. Plus, it's said to be cheaper.

But this is no reason for people to suddenly dump their plasma screens in favor of laser TVs. Apparently, TV manufacturers have no immediate plans to incorporate the new technology in their products. As such, plasma and LCD still have the market advantage. Word has been going around that Mitsubishi will start rolling out laser TVs by Christmas 2007, but the company claims that they have no knowledge of the laser TV product.

Whether Mitsubishi ships laser TVs in 2007 or not is a different matter altogether; after all, other big electronics companies will eventually make use of the new technology and churn out different version of laser TVs.

Although there's no guarantee that laser TV would be declared king of the home entertainment screens market, the consumers would have a "brighter TV" future ahead.

While the Blu-ray vs. HD DVD war rages on, VidaBox quietly introduces the world's first dual HD-DVD and Blu-ray Media Center lines: the LUX and MAX systems.

This is good news to people who are bent on supporting both high definition disc formats. More so for people who have lots of extra cash in their pockets.

The Dual HD LUX and MAX systems allows users to play both Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs at their native 1080p high-definition resolution. What's more, the systems feature HDCP-compliant outputs, which translate to visually stunning images plus the the ability to record four TV shows in one go.

This early in the HD format war, there's no clear winner, and until one format becomes the standard, VidaBox's Dual HD LUX and MAX systems would remain a very appealing option. If you're willing to shell out US$ 4,000, that is.

Watching a big football game in your lowly 21-inch TV set isn't really going to give you the ultimate viewing experience. But let's face it, big game tickets sell out fast. That and the fact that the Panasonic 103-inch Plasma display is just way over your budget. And even if you are rich enough to secure one, you'd have to worry about it being hit by bouncing objects (i.e. a ball) when the kids play in the living room.

Well, Smarthome has a solution in the 8-foot Inflatable Home Theater. Yes, you read that right, the operative word is inflatable. As such, it can easily be set up in the backyard or near the pool area, or on the grass. What's more, you don't have to worry about your home theater being too "fragile" as it's made of durable PVC frame and screen. The full-size screen comes with a pair of 100-watt amplified speakers to give that "drive-in" experience. It can connect to any projector and has room for additional outdoor speakers.

The Inflatable Theater with speakers retail for $899.99 over at Smart Home. It's probably the next best thing to watching big games in a jam-packed stadium.

If the Panasonic 103-inch HD Plasma display will eternally remain in your wishlist for the simple reason that you can't afford it, perhaps you'd want to take a look at some of the alternatives.

Hitachi is on an all-out "Wooo TV" campaign by unveiling not one, but three HD-Ready TVs aimed at the financially-challenged market. If you're part of that population, then start saving up for the 26- and 32-inch HD-Ready LCD TV and the 37-inch HD Plasma Display Panel.

The Wooo TVs boast of high screen resolution that will completely change your viewing experience, especially if you're used to your ho-hum TV sets. The ultra slim design would make you wonder why you still have those CRT monitor-like TVs.

While Hitachi is marketing the cheap HD TVs, oddly enough there was no mention of the prices. But if you go to play.com (and perhaps several other online retailers), the 32-inch Wooo TV is going for £679.99 ($1288). Still pretty steep for the budget-conscious public, but at least you know, it wouldn't take a lifetime to save up for it. 

  

In the land where people are crazy about watching TV shows on their mobile phones and other portable devices,it's not surprising that Korean electronics manufacturers continue to churn out portable media players capable of Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB). Koreans just can't get enough of them. So, Curon unveiled yet another device for the DMB-crazy Koreans - the QCOX DMB/PMP.

The QCOX runs on Windows CE 5.0 on an AMD Alchemy CPU. It features a big enough screen to enjoy Korean soap operas. It has 30GB HDD, DMB tuner, and Macromedia Flash UI and TV Out. While the features are pretty standard, the intriguing wheel on the side of the device would surely get curious folks asking what the cool looking thing is. Well, it's said to be a mode-switching wheel that allows you to choose different functionalities. It's quite a step back from the usual digital buttons, but we think it's quite an interesting feature.

No word yet on pricing or whether the device will become available in the US.