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Japan posts

Silver Satin PS3 and Xbox 360 Arcade now loose in Japan

by Thomas Ricker posted Mar 7th 2008 at 1:34AM

Announced in early February, both the Silver Satin PS3 and Xbox 360 Arcade are now on sale in Japan. The SS PS3 is a spec-for-spec equivalent of the existing black and white Japanese models. However, this is the first time the entry-level Xbox 360, already available outside of Nippon, makes an appearance on Japanese soil. Guess which one Japanese gamers are more likely to buy? Right, the Wii.

Read -- PS3
Read -- Xbox 360 Arcade

Kodak's 8-mm thin KTEL-30W 3-inch AMOLED TV

by Thomas Ricker posted Mar 6th 2008 at 2:01AM

If you're fortunate enough to be living in Japan then this new Kodak ELiTe Vision KTEL-30W AMOLED TV can be yours sometime later this month. Measuring just 8-mm thick, this 3-inch 1Seg TV features a mono speaker, headphone jack (naturally), and a lithium polymer battery good for about 3.5 hours of continuous TV playback. Thing is, It'll cost you about ¥29,800 or about $287 for functionality already integrated into many Japanese phones.

Gallery: Kodak's 8-mm thin KTEL-30W 3-inch AMOLED TV

[Via Impress]

Logitec's LIC-iREC01 puts a stereo mic on your iPod

by Darren Murph posted Mar 5th 2008 at 4:29PM

There's no shortage of microphones for one's iPod, but Logitec is looking to earn the business of those still on the hunt with its LIC-iREC01. Put simply, this dock connector appendage is said to work on "all generations of iPods" (with dock connectors, obviously), and provides a built-in stereo mic for voice recording on the fly, an additional audio input for connecting something more sophisticated, and a mini-USB port for keeping your PMP synced while this thing is plugged in. At the moment, pricing details are unknown, but those camped out in Japan can look for it to land in their neighborhood later this month.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

Nintendo launches TV Guide Channel in Japan, enables Wiimote to control TV

by Darren Murph posted Mar 4th 2008 at 11:05AM

For Wii owners not located in Japan, get ready to weep. Why? Because users in the aforementioned nation now have access to an incredibly fascinating new channel and you, well, don't. Details on the TV Guide Channel are still a bit fuzzy (read: lost in machine translation), but based on what we've pieced together, users can surf through shows on the EPG, share their favorites with friends, see how popular a program is (using demographic data, too) and even receive an e-mail / SMS alert 30 minutes prior to a flagged show's start time. Best of all, however, is the ability to use your Wiimote as a television remote. You heard right -- owners can use their Wii controller (via the sensor bar) to dictate volume, switch channels and flip back and forth between their shows and the TV Guide Channel. Now, how long must the rest of the free world wait? Check out the gallery for a few more looks at what you're (probably) missing out on.

[Via NintendoWiiFanboy]

Gallery: Nintendo launches TV Guide Channel in Japan, enables Wiimote to control TV

Greenhouse's 22-inch GH-JEF223SH-LB LCD monitor picks HDMI over DVI

by Darren Murph posted Mar 3rd 2008 at 9:20PM

Nothing too spectacular here, but Greenhouse has introduced an all new 22-inch LCD monitor over in Japan. Aside from the perfectly average WSXGA+ (1,680 x 1,050) resolution, 300 cd/m2 brightness, 1,000: contrast ratio and two-millisecond response time, the GH-JEF223SH-LB actually does away with DVI in favor of HDMI. Granted, there's still a VGA port in case you're in a pinch, but we would've preferred all three considering the somewhat steep ¥45,799 ($438) price tag.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

Mitsubishi tapping out of the phone market? UPDATE: Yeah

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 2nd 2008 at 8:16PM

A lot of readers might be surprised to learn that Mitsubishi even makes cellphones, but yeah, it sure does. Its domestic Japanese market has typically been the recipient of its impressive wares, selling models on NTT DoCoMo using the "D" model name prefix -- but maybe not for much longer. Nikkei is throwing out some rumors today that Mitsu will be exiting the dog-eat-dog cellphone manufacturing biz and possibly doing so very swiftly, even withdrawing models due to hit DoCoMo in the next few weeks. Despite raking in over 100 billion yen (about $958M) annually from its mobile division alone, the company has apparently been unable to make it profitable and recently downgraded its handset sales forecast for the current fiscal year. Frankly, we wish Mitsu had sold enough handsets abroad for us to be really upset about this. Nikkei says an official announcement could come as soon as today, so we'll update you when we know more.

[Thanks, rinse]

Update: Nikkei was dead on. Mitsubishi has just announced that it is ending its cellphone manufacturing business, a venture that goes back some 25 years with the introduction of car phones on NTT's network. For what it's worth, the company says that it'll continue to support its devices and move the 600-odd employees in the business to other parts of the company. It also says that it will "work to maintain and further strengthen the partnership with NTT DoCoMo through the communication related business [it aims] to expand," so don't get too teary-eyed, DoCoMo. Hit the link for the official release.

Sega Toys' Body Trainer headset coaxes you into working out

by Darren Murph posted Feb 29th 2008 at 11:36PM

Oh sure, we've seen gadgets used as motivational tools before, but Sega Toys is apparently banking on you not being a hothead. Otherwise, you just might fling its Body Trainer headset from your dome as soon as you hear "please exercise a little bit harder" over your incessant panting. Nevertheless, those with oodles of self-control may actually benefit from having a personal trainer (of sorts) in their ear while working out, and by monitoring the wearer's heartbeat via a sensor, it can blurt out messages at the appropriate time to help users through their session(s). Reportedly, this nifty exercise buddy is set to launch in Japan this April for ¥5,775 ($54), and while we've no idea if this thing is destined for US soil, we can definitely see it being used more so for its musical abilities and less for its steadfast encouragement.

[Via CNET]

Wii outsells the PS3 4-to-1 in Japan, Sony execs "not psyched"

by Joshua Topolsky posted Feb 29th 2008 at 4:53AM

Sony, we know you're trying hard, which is why we think it must sting all the worse when you wake up to sales figures like this. According to a report, the Wii outsold PS3s in Japan 4-to-1 in the month of February, and its games dominated bestseller lists. What does that look like in cold, hard numbers? Nintendo moved 331,627 consoles over the month, while Sony only managed 89,131 units in the same time. But wait, there's more: in January, the ratio was 3-to-1, which means that Nintendo's lead seems to be growing as the year moves forward. Still, Sony could have it worse, the Xbox 360 only scraped up a paltry 14,079 Xbox 360 sales in that same span of time.

Japanese plastic dirt is half as dense as real dirt, over 100 times more plastic

by Nilay Patel posted Feb 26th 2008 at 2:22AM

We've seen quite a few efforts to use gardens and terrariums in cities to order to bring down overall CO2 emissions and reduce temperatures, but Tokyo's earthquake-prone location means that structures there have to meet strict load requirements -- so a company called Suntory Ltd., has developed a synthetic dirt substitute called Pafcal it says weighs less than half as much as real soil. The fake dirt, which is made of urethane, can reduce the internal temperature of a building with a roof garden up to 10 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit). Of course, there's considerable irony in trying to save the planet by covering concrete buildings in fake plastic dirt, but then again, such a solution is about as Japanese as it gets, no?

Japan launches Kizuna satellite, hopes it will deliver high-speed internet

by Darren Murph posted Feb 23rd 2008 at 2:28PM

Granted, most of us here in America would turn our noses up at receiving in-home broadband via satellite -- after all, cable and DSL seem to be treating most of us quite alright -- but Japan is hoping to provide access to more regions in Asia-Pacific with its recently launched Kizuna. The experimental satellite is not yet intended for commercial use, but if all goes well, it will enable data transmissions "of up to 1.2 gigabytes per second" at a low cost across Japan and 19 other locales in Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, we've no idea when it will escape the bondage of testing and actually be put to good use, but at least Japan's well on its way to actually establishing that wireless island, eh?

[Via CNN, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Teraoka's Deli Touch pen delays human interaction in restaurants

by Darren Murph posted Feb 23rd 2008 at 6:04AM

When talking menus just aren't futuristic enough, we reckon Teraoka's Deli Touch pen -- which strongly reeks of LeapFrog's Tag -- is the next best thing. The system works with barcode-laden menus and enables customers to simply swipe their choices and have them beamed directly to the kitchen. Besides hastening the order process and keeping the interaction between customer and waiter / waitress at a minimum, the device may also give you a solid reason to skimp on the tip -- not that we'd recommend such a thing, of course. Unfortunately, we've no idea if this setup is built to play nice with picky eaters and their laundry list of special requests, so we'd probably recommend steering clear unless you're totally cool with the standard fare.

[Via PopGadget]

Bandai's Mirai Scope gets Ms. Cleo in your pocket

by Darren Murph posted Feb 22nd 2008 at 9:46PM

Not that we'd put any stock in a prognosticator -- digital or otherwise -- but for those looking for a bit of fun, Bandai's Mirai Scope is apt to deliver. Reportedly, this digital fortune teller starts out by dousing you in pixie dust and asking a myriad questions about your personal life. After that, we're told it somehow aligns with galactic bodies and helps you figure out your true purpose in life. Hopefully, it's pretty clear that this thing is marginally more than a novel heap, but hey, what else did you expect for ¥2,980 ($28)?

[Via Technabob]

Sony's colorful M1-series Bravia LCDs

by Richard Lawler posted Feb 21st 2008 at 5:23AM

Rounding out this morning's new Bravias is the diminutive M1 series. The 20-inch ¥110,000 ( $1,020) and 16-inch ¥90,000 ($835) LCDs match 1366x768 screens with 1,200:1 or 1,800:1 (respectively) contrast ratios, Bravia Engine 2 image processing, 24p True Cinema 1080p-compatible HDMI inputs, plus VOD and DLNA connectivity. Coming in various combinations of bezel colors, expect these HDTVs in the background of your favorite J-pop vids beginning March 25. Still waiting for price/date info on the U.S. Bravia's Sony announced at CES? So are we.

[Via Impress]

Sony's Bravia F-series is no wallflower

by Thomas Ricker posted Feb 21st 2008 at 4:27AM

Sony Japan just announced their Bravia F-series of thin LCDs. We're talking 46-inches with just 7.4-cm of non-protruding, wall-mountable goodness when these go live in Japan on March 25th. Available in 1080p resolution ¥400,000 (about $3,700) 46-inch and ¥290,000 ($2,685) 40-inch configurations or a ¥200,000 ($1,852) 32-inch model offering 1,366 x 768 pixel resolution. Each set features Sony's 120Hz Motion Flow tech, a 3,000:1 contrast ratio, 24p True Cinema mode, Bravia Sync HDMI control, Bravia Engine 2 processing, and a bevy of jacks including 3x HDMI, 2x S-Video, 3x composite and yes, Ethernet. Sony's 2.4GHz Bravia Link remote allows the controller to be used without pointing it directly at the set. More Sony sets on the way in a few.

Gallery: Sony's Bravia F-series is no wallflower

[Via Impress]

Sony gets on the stick with new E-series Walkmans

by Thomas Ricker posted Feb 20th 2008 at 4:44AM

If your primary motivation in choosing an MP3 player is its ability to match your shoes then you're in luck, sissy. Sony's newest NW-E-series of Walkman USB sticks come in ¥16,000 (about $149) NW-E026F (4GB), ¥13,000 ($121) NW-E025F (2GB), and ¥11,000 ($102) the NW-E023F (1GB) flavors with plenty of interchangeable shells to keep up with your wardrobe. They support ATRAC/MP3/WMA/AAC and Linear PCM with an FM tuner thrown in for good measure. But hey, nobody as hip as you listens to FM now do they? Look for these to go global with the addition of DRM'd WMA but without Sony's proprietary ATRAC format sometime after the Japanese launch on March 8th.

[Via Akihabara News]