Toshiba Unveils In-Car HD DVD Player

From the gadget file: We're not sure anyone's been asking for it, but Toshiba is apparently prepping an in-car HD DVD player, due for release sometime in 2008.

The company unveiled a prototype of the player co-developed with Alpine Electronics, Inc. at last week's Automotive Engineering Exposition 2007 in Japan.

As demo'd, the player was controled via a newly-configured touchscreen LCD panel, which removes the thin layer of transparent film now standard on such panels. Instead, Toshiba has integrated an optical sensor along with a transistor formed on each pixel on the panel, enabling the same functionality without the reduced contrast ratio that currently plagues current touch-screen devices.

Toshiba hasn't set a timeline for release of the new device, but a company spokesperson said to expect a 2008 arrival.