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Everything is in line to be a convergence device, and now the boring rear view mirror has stepped under the lights to get stuffed with extra equipment. The Azentek SmartMirror has a four-inch touchscreen on the right for a 2D and 3D text-to-speech GPS display. It’s also offers Bluetooth connectivity, a call log, and caller ID. It has two video inputs, one that can be used for a rear view camera, and an SD card slot in case you want to record… well, whatever you might want to record with your rear view mirror.

The only thing missing from the mirror is availability — it’s been so popular that Azentek can’t supply enough of them. The company says that will change later this year when you’ll be able to get it at major retailers. The other potential hitch: it’ll cost you $800 to do what your phone, TomTom, and regular mirror already do.

Upon first inspection, MR2forum.de member LaroCroft’s second-generation (SW20) Toyota MR2 is simply a tastefully modded example of a cult favorite. However, peer inside and all preconceived notions are immediately thrown out the targa top.

Any “For Sale” thread that requires “Knowledge in electronics, skills in PC technology and knowledge of programming (especially Visual Basic)” is a clear indication that things inside have gotten thoroughly out of hand. Just check out the gallery and you’ll see what we’re talking about.

The entire instrument cluster and center console have been replaced with three screens displaying every conceivable function and parameter of the MR2’s systems. The trio of displays are controlled by either a touch screen interface or a center console-mounted knob (ala iDrive), and allows the drive to manipulate everything from fuel consumption to engine temp; climate control to GPS functions; mirrors, radar/laser, the wireless transfer of music from a home computer, lights, fog lights, and on and on and on.

It’s pure insanity and incredibly cool. And the best part: it’s for sale in Germany – assuming you’ve got the programming chops to actually leave your driveway.

Not even James Bond has one of these: a watch that performs the functions of a keyless entry fob for your car. Developed by (or for) Chinese car manufacturer BYD, the gadget is made only for the F8 model. Press the top button on the right, and the car is locked, press the bottom button, the car is unlocked.

 The watch also has a starter function, but it’s not labeled on the bezel like the others. Since it has a manual movement, you don’t need to worry about a battery going dead as long as you wear the watch… and move. No word on whether you need to wind it in case you don’t wear it. But come on now, it’s not like you could stay away from your BYD F8 long enough for the watch to stop, is it? And as the brochure states, it even tells time — which is not a bad thing for a watch.

[Source: The Tycho]

It’s only taken about a million years, but someone has finally decided that improvements are possible in automobile braking lights. Students from Virginia Tech have developed a new system that can show not just whether you’re stopping, but if you’re slowing down, when you’re about to stop, and how quickly you’re pressing the pedal. The concept uses an array of horizontally arranged LED lights — when you begin to slow, lights in the center glow orange, after a certain threshold side lights turn to red, and if you’re slamming on the brake, they’ll all flash red. The team, led by mechanical engineering Professor Mehdi Ahmadian, has plans for the system beyond the lab, though they speculate that it will be easier to add them as additional indicators on commercial vehicles at first. If this pans out, someday soon we may all be tailgating a totally psychedelic light show.
source:engadget

Hitachi’s in-plane switching technology’s been making the rounds of late, and LG Taiwan’s the latest to pick it up for use in future LCD HDTVs. Doubling frame-rate, providing a wider field of view, and supposedly upping durability (among other things), apparently we can start to see some IPS-enabled TVs from Korea’s #2 in the not too distant future.

source:engadget