Any big city bicyclist knows that being small and silent on the street is a deadly combination. Drivers of 2-ton cages are simply immune to anything but the sights and sounds of combustion engines riding four on the floor. This issue affects silent-running hybrids and compact electrics too, something Japan's government is taking seriously in a new government review that could result in a mandate for the inclusion of "a sound making function" in their future eco-rides. Safety aside, we presume Japanese manufacturers would choose a sound that's as tasteful and unassuming as their locally brewed hybrids. Imagine if GM was to make a similar decision... oh, right.

Philips may be dodging the North American sector with its flashiest of products, but it's still showing the Yanks in attendance a little love on the home entertainment front. Today in a meeting in NYC, the outfit revealed US pricing and availability for its entire 2009 family, most of which was quietly introduced in January. Starting things off are the 6000 and 7000 Series of HDTVs, which just so happen to pick right up where the previous models left off in 2008. The 6000 Series will arrive in 32-, 42- and 47-inch flavors for $799, $1,399 and $1,699, respectively, while the 7000 Series goes 42-, 47- and 52-inch for $1,499, $1,799 and $2,299, also respectively.

While checking these very sets out, we noticed that the factory settings left the colors a bit blown out and overly sharp -- though, this practice is far too common in HDTV companies anyway. Nothing like wowing those Best Buy shoppers at first, only to sear their retinas at home, right? All kidding aside, the panels looked superb, and the A-B comparison mode made tweaking the settings a breeze. Hop on past the break for the rest of the details, and give our gallery a glance for a closer look at the whole lot.

As automobiles become more eco-friendly, they're also becoming increasingly quieter... which is a good thing, if, like us, you want to live in a completely silent world (the blaring of Mastodon notwithstanding). The obvious problem with quieter vehicles is, of course that they can pose a real danger to unsuspecting pedestrians. To combat this terrifying prospect, Senators John Kerry (D, MA) and Arlen Spector (R, er... D, PA) have introduced The Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. This bill requires the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a study on what effects of hybrid, electric and other silent engine vehicles are having on pedestrian injuries and deaths in the US. The bill specifically focuses on the perils of quiet engines to blind pedestrians, but notes that the dangers are likely wider spread than that. While there are no possible solutions mentioned, may we suggest writing into law that you have to have a bullhorn strapped to your car and yell "vroom vroom" the entire time you drive?

When Home Theater Specialists of America (HTSA) executive director Richard Glikes wanted a home theater system, he didn't just max it out with the best high definition equipment. He also thought to run it entirely from solar energy from four roof-mounted panels that produce an aggregate of 700 watts per hour in sunlight. It'll reportedly run things for 19 hours straight without having to dip into your traditional power grid. Hardware-wise, we're talking about a 100-inch screen, Sharp projector, six SpeakerCraft in-wall speakers, Integra AV receiver, Lutron lighting, and a universal remote. See how it was made, with the help of time-lapse photography and 1980s infomercial-genre background music, in the video after the break.

This year's edition of the Hitachi Wooo line of flat panels look a lot like their predecessors on the outside (120Hz IPS LCDs, 250GB HDD equipped models with iVDR slots for additional hard drives and Wooonet DLNA network support) but it's what's inside that counts. The four new XP plasma models range from 42- to 50-inches and promise even better contrast ratios, as high as 40,000:1, with better color reproduction and the promise of greater energy efficiency. The ultra-thin 35mm / 1.4-inch thick LCDs are back in four new models, with UWB wirelessly connected tuners, auto sensing/adjusting brightness and aforementioned "eco" power sipping improvements. The relatively fat XP line of LCDs consists of just three displays, but just like all the rest, buyers can still hook up to the 'net and pull down video on-demand or Yahoo! Japan's web TV portal -- features unlikely to make the jump when we see U.S. versions of these later this year. The XP plasmas and LCDs go on sale in Japan later this month or next, while the ultra-thins will be crash dieting until October.

Read - Hitachi, recording double-35mm-thin LCD TV "Wooo UT800"
Read - Hitachi, 7 new plasma / LCD

Well, so much for that: our friends at Laptop have discovered that the ATI Mobility Radeon HD3200 listed on the Wind U110's spec sheet was a typo, and that the machine's 1.6GHz Atom Z530 is actually paired with the dramatically more boring Intel GMA 500 graphic chipset. That makes the claimed nine-hour battery life slightly easier to believe, even if it is super-disappointing -- looks like we're still waiting on that dream netbook.

If you're like us, you're probably taking an ever-increasing interest in gadgets with an eco slant. If that's the case -- and we think that it is -- you'll want to check into Greener Gadgets, a day dedicated to the quest for sustainable consumer electronics and better solutions for our industry, launched by Jill Fehrenbacher, Editor-in-chief of Inhabitat. This Friday (February 27th, 2009), you can join "innovators, entrepreneurs, visionaries, and eco-designers" in New York City to explore some of those solutions, take a look at green gadgetry, and hear from a handful of speakers on the cutting edge of Earth-friendly electronics. Oh, and there's that killer design competition to round it all up. This year, our own Editor-in-chief, Joshua Topolsky, will be moderating a panel on gadget recycling called "Closing the Loop In Cradle to Cradle," so if you needed some added incentive to attend, you've got it. Today is the last day for registration, so follow the read link and sign yourself up!

If syncing your phone with a workout routine isn't your cup of tea, Nokia has unveiled another N79 variant, the Eco. For the same cost as the standard version, you'll get smaller packaging, a petrol black casing with dark gray / steel gray / deep plum covers, and no charger whatsoever. The company is hoping you'll reuse your old charger instead of throwing it out. As for the outdated phone that came with that adapter, we're sure they'd love you to send that back for spare parts. The Eco is now available for pre-order from Nokia UK, with £4 of each purchase going towards the World Wildlife Fund.

[Via All About Symbian]

Panasonic ended its press conference today with a bang as it debuted the 0.33-inch thick Neo PDP Eco plasma display. We're still scrambling to find out how close this thing is to production, but good heavens, it's sexy. Have a look below.

Dell VP of Communities and Conversations Bob Pearson is ragging on Apple for its MacBook "Greenest Family of Notebooks" ads. In a post titled "The Real Meaning of Being Green," Pearson accuses Apple of not discussing environmental issues, making inaccurate claims and stating no goals, while touting Dell's energy efficient Latitude E-series and use of PVC / BFR-free components. Of course, the PC maker has had its fair share of eco-unfriendly practices over the years, including accusations from the ever-fickle Greenpeace last month that the company has withdrawn from its commitment to stop using PVC / BFR in its computers by the end of 2009 -- but why let little details get in the way of a good schoolyard fight?

Since hearing about Nokia's foray into the world of home automation, our curiosity has been seriously piqued. Thankfully, our girl-on-the-scene Drita has captured video of the new software / hardware combo in action on the Nokia World show floor. It looks like a fully decked out system is going to run you a hefty fee (given all the components required), but can you put a price on the extreme laziness it will enable? We didn't think so. Check out the thrilling video out after the break!


[Via Engadget Spanish]