Two big Japanese electronics companies, namely Hitachi and Mitsubishi, are to stop producing parts of their product portfolio domestically: Hitachi announced [JP] it will end production of plasma and LCD TVs in Japan, marketed under the Wooo brand, by September this year.
The company owns a plant in Gifu prefecture in central Japan that churns out about 100,000 TVs per month (pictured: a Hitachi Wooo plasma from 2009). Citing price competition in the TV business as the main reason for the move, Hitachi said the plant will be used to produce projectors and chips instead. → Read More
At the Tokyo Motor Show 2011, Mitsubishi took the wraps off EMIRAI, a near-future concept that will become reality in about 10 years (if the company is to be believed). The core element is a large-sized, curved dashboard that combines rear-projection to display various operations with touch control support.
The steering wheel features shape-changing buttons that only raise when the system expects the driver to push them. Cars equipped with EMIRAI identify drivers and keep track of their facial temperature and heart rate. Passengers sitting in the rear can kill time by using naked-eye 3D screens that are built into seats. → Read More
The CEATEC 2011 exhibition started today in Chiba (just outside of Tokyo), and what I saw was either disappointing (like gear that’s already available in stores) or already widely covered, as most Japanese companies pre-announced almost all novelties (for example, Docomo’s awesome smartphone jackets).
One exception was Mitsubishi’s so-called “Diamond Vision OLED”, a semi-spherical display boasting a diameter of 2.7m. It’s very similar to their huge OLED globe that’s currently on display in Tokyo’s National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. → Read More
Mitsubishi Electric yesterday showed a “Laser Backlight LCD TV” [JP] the company plans to release within this year. At the press conference in Tokyo, Mitsubishi showcased a 46-inch prototype TV with a red laser and a cyan LED integrated into the backlight unit. → Read More
Today, Mitsubishi announced that it plans to bring the Euro-spec i-MiEV to 15 European countries. As you know, production started last fall, and Mitsubishi is trying to make it out faster than the Volt or Leaf; and with the Leaf’s recent productions problems and Volt’s low December sales, it may not be too hard. → Read More
Existing GPS systems usually achieve an accuracy of about 10m, but that will change soon, according to a recent report in Japanese business daily The Nikkei: a new technology developed by Mitsubishi and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) improves that number to an unbelievable 3cm. → Read More
The EV wars, they be heating up! Or at least they promise to heat up, a year from now or so. We’ve already got the Leaf coming out, the Volt (though not strictly speaking an EV) on its heels, Honda’s Fit EV coming in 2012, and now Mitsubishi is entering the game in a modest way with the i EV. → Read More
3D TVs that don’t require without glasses, short-focus projectors that work with touch screens and dual touchscreen phones: all these gadgets are currently being showcased at CEATEC 2010 in Japan, and all of these might be cool, but nothing can beat big sized screens. What you see on the picture (and in the video embedded below) is Mitsubishi’s so-called Diamond Vision OLED display. → Read More
It was just a matter of time, and now we are about to get them: Mitsubishi Japan announced [JP] TVs that not only are 3D-enabled but also come with an integrated Blu-ray recorder and an HDD. The TVs in the so-called REAL MDR1 series will be available in three sizes: 40, 46, and 55 inches (the biggest is pictured again below). → Read More
Mitsubishi Japan today announced [JP] the LVP-HC4000, a new full HD DLP projector whose biggest selling point (according to the company) is the native contrast ratio of 3,300:1. Thanks to the so-called DarkChip3, Mitsubishi was able to boost the contrast ratio by 10% in comparison to the previous model. → Read More
One of the biggest hurdles on the road to make electric vehicles attractive for the mass market is the long time it usually takes to charge batteries. But a Japanese company called JFE Engineering now claims it has found a solution for that problem. According to JFE, even so-called “quick battery chargers” often take 30 minutes to charge a car’s battery to 80% of its capacity. → Read More
Mitsubishi Electric has announced [JP] the LPV-HC3800 for the Japanese market today, a full HD DLP projector that features a contrast ratio of 3,000:1, 1,200 lumens brightness and a DDP3021 full 10-bit panel driver. The device comes with a 230W lamp that has a lifespan of 5,000 hours and depending on the operating mode, it can be as quiet as 25dB. → Read More
OLED has had issues gaining traction mainly because of the cost of manufacturing large screens. People like large screens. That’s the fact, jack. Anyway, Mitsubishi has developed a system that seems like it would help. It uses small, modular panels that can be combined to make a screen of nearly any size or shape. The system is intended for outdoor advertising, but if it matures enough, I don’t see why it couldn’t find a home in the home entertainment market either. → Read More
Mitsubishi Electric organized a big press conference today in Tokyo, unveiling two new series of LCD TVs, three Blu-ray DVRs and a new full HD video projector. The two TVs of the BHR series are the world’s first featuring both a built-in Blu-ray recorder and an HDD. No announcements regarding release dates outside Japan were made, but here are the main details for every device, all prices and release dates and some pictures. → Read More
Both Sharp and Mitsubishi have announced new LCD TVs for the Japanese market, and both devices seem to be pretty interesting. They will be available over here as early as next month, with neither Sharp nor Mitsubishi having said anything about an international release yet. → Read More
Another day, another announcement for a projector. Today it’s Mitsubishi Electric Japan with their LVP-XD95ST [JP], a compact and (rather) inexpensive DLP Projector. The device goes on sale in Japan as early as next Monday and costs $1,000. → Read More
The battle of the EVs draws closer, and while I doubt it’ll the Ragnarok we all hope for, it should be an interesting fight. While Tesla is doing fine selling its high-end Roadster, the real competition will likely be around $40,000, give or take a few thousand. Of course, everybody’s ready for the Volt, but it seems that Mitsubishi is going to beat everyone to the market with the first consumer-oriented mass-produced electric vehicle (as opposed to enthusiast-oriented like Tesla’s models).
The iMiEV (bets on the name changing after the first year?) should be hitting the showrooms in Japan this Summer, and hopefully we’ll see it on our shores not too long after. → Read More
It’s new HDTV time from Mitsu! The company that brought you the LaserVue HDTV, now has 3D ready sets and flat screens equipped with 16 speakers. Thankfully, it seems that these sets are better priced for the fledgling economy. It’s hard to imagine that many American’s have enough available credit to squeeze the ultra-lux LaserVue onto the credit card, but these sets start out at $1,599 and max out at $4,999 for the big 3D 82-incher. → Read More
Mitsubishi today in Japan announced it has begun selling the Minicab CNG, a small van that can run on compressed natural gas (CNG). Japanese buyers can choose between a two- seater ($21,130) and a version with four seats ($21,430). → Read More
