We're still looking at another 3 to 5 years of development here, but transparent OLED lighting panels are definitely on the way. This 12-centimeter prototype panel developed by Philips Research is transparent until flipping the switch for illumination. Unfortunately, the panels are currently limited in size due to complexities in the manufacturing process that necessitate a clean-room environment. Ultimately though, larger panels will replace "dumb glass" in household windows and stall dividers in trendy Germany toilets. What, haven't been to Berlin lately?

[Via OLED-Display]

Think your house is green? Think again. Japan's own Nihon Telecommunication System has just revealed a line of windowpanes that actually include integrated photovoltaic cells. The windows are aimed at the (ritzy) residential housing market, and folks that snag a few will reportedly be able to power a PC and recharge their cellphones simply by tapping into the energy generated by these units. Additionally, the glass is designed to shun most of the sunlight from coming into your abode, thereby lowering air conditioning costs and satisfying your needs as an introvert. So, what's the pain for helping out Mother Earth? Around $1,900 per square meter of windowpane -- ouch.

[Via CrunchGear]

Oh sure, we've most certainly seen window-based advertising used to lure the untrained eye to any manner of wares, but Scion's latest iteration certainly takes interactive promoting to new heights. In order to market its limited edition tC Release Series 4.0, it partnered up with InWindow to cover a series of street-side windows with bubbles which reacted to movements made by captivated individuals walking by. Granted, the installation isn't nearly as addictive as say, trying to wrangle up every single Pokémon, but it definitely managed to hold the attention of a few geeked-out civilians. Check it out for yourself, the video's right after the jump.

[Via Digg, thanks Andres]

Not to be confused with Samsung's other new 19-incher, the newfangled Soda-Lime LCD panel sports a 1,280 x 1,024 (SXGA) resolution, 1,000:1 contrast ratio and 300 cd/m2 brightness, but it stands out from the posers by utilizing "ordinary window glass that contains sodium to produce the panel." Reportedly, this approach will enable the company to reduce manufacturing costs, and while you may expect this stuff to be miles away from commercialization, it's actually slated to "enter volume production soon" at Sammy's fifth-generation plant. Sadly, there was no word on just how low pricing would go on these new units (nor any indication of an actual ship date), but here's to hoping we see Soda-Lime displays a bit much larger in the not-too-distant future.

While we initially felt Wal-Mart was being a bit old fashioned by not allowing Wii demo kiosks to be setup in stores due to "safety concerns," Walton and friends apparently had a good bit of foresight that we weren't aware of. After numerous reports of television sets getting the axe, and an innocently bystanding HP iPAQ getting all cracked up, we're wondering if folks aren't just staging their own Wiincidents at this point. Apparently warning everyone of how jeopardous these free-flying Wiimotes can be wasn't really taken to heart, as now a butterfingered gamer has quite an interesting tale to tell to the presumably skeptical insurance adjuster. While busting a few moves in Wii Sports, the nonsensical user let the controller fly, but instead of landing softly (and harmlessly) on the couch, it rocketed straight through his window, leaving a fairly dangerous scene as proof of gaming negligence. C'mon folks, we've warned you all enough by now, either strap on that thoughtfully included wrist strap, grab some sticky gloves, or tape up the windows -- your property, your call.

[Thanks, Sean]