It’s been a while since the last one, but Sony announced a new PS3 package for the Japanese market over the weekend. Buyers will get a special 160GB HDD model bundled with Tales Of Xillia, an RPG made by Namco Bandai (and the newest addition to their hit “Tales Of” RPG series that kicked off in 1995). → Read More
Intel is using the yearly Computex Taipei exhibition in Taiwan as a platform to pitch a new category of laptops. Dubbed Ultrabooks, these devices are supposed to have three distinct features: they are thinner (less than 20mm/0.8 inches) and lighter than most existing laptops, and they should be priced below $1,000 in order to become mainstream. → Read More
Today, on the first day of the yearly Computex Taipei exhibition in Taiwan, Asus took the wraps off the Android tablet/phone combo it teased last week. Dubbed Padfone, Asus is relatively mum on details (specs, pricing, availability) at this point. → Read More
Pioneer has been working on “Floating Vision” displays for quite a while, and now the company has shown the technology used in embedded systems. The naked-eye 3D display Pioneer recently showed at an exhibition in Tokyo lets users view images or videos “floating” in space – embedded in a prototype car navigation system. → Read More
Panasonic Japan announced [JP] a special Lumix camera yesterday, the LUMIX DMC-FP7D (where the “D” stands for Disney). Unlike many other cute special edition cameras from Japan, the design on this model is rather subtle. → Read More
Kenwood is making portable music players, too. The company announced [JP] the so-called Media Keg MG-G608 for the Japanese market today, the newest addition to their Media Keg series of DAPs. → Read More
Another month, another special edition camera from Casio: this time it’s blue cartoon cat Doraemon (super-popular in Japan and many countries in Asia) that gets the Exilim treatment. Technically, the so-called Doraemon’s Bell×CASIO EXILIM EX-Z800 [JP] is nothing special, but it’s – as you can easily see – designed to be a hit with kids. → Read More
Panasonic announced [JP, PDF] a new electric bike for the Japanese market yesterday, the so-called Lithium Bibi F BE-ENSF63. And while the bicycle looks rather bland, it has own distinct selling point: at just 19.9kg, it’s the lightest e-bike out there, according to Panasonic (among those that come with a shopping basket, at least). → Read More
They have dropped the Xacti brand name, but the three new camcorders Panasonic (which bought Xacti maker Sanyo in 2009) announced [JP] today are essentially Xactis. All models feature full HD resolution and will be released in Japan on June 25. → Read More
Japan-based Ubiquitous has developed [JP] a power strip with a built-in Wi-Fi module. Dubbed iRemoTap, the strip allows you to do two things: you can track which of the connected devices consumes how much energy on a PC or cell phone in real-time, and you can turn on or off each of these devices remotely. → Read More
Nissho Electronics in Japan announced [JP] the BDL5231-3D2R today, a 52-inch glasses-less 3D TV that boasts full HD resolution. Dutch electronics venture Dimenco Displays, founded by four former Phillips employees, has provided the 3D technology. → Read More
Tokyo-based crap gadget maker Thanko has outdone itself yet again: the company has announced the so-called Fanbrella [JP] today, a combination of a fan and (you guessed it) an umbrella. → Read More
Last week Thursday, Sony introduced “SmartAR”, a so-called integrated Augmented Reality technology that looked pretty decent in the demo video big S uploaded that day. The company produced a new video over the weekend, and if you’re into Augmented Reality, the new footage will blow you away. → Read More
This is either completely stupid or I am missing something major: Tokyo-based crap gadget maker Thanko strikes again with the so-called “iPad Flexible Arm” [JP]. The idea here is to make it easier for owners to use tablets (both in a vertical and horizontal position) while lying in bed. → Read More
Sony has been working on Augmented Reality technologies since 1994, and today the company took the wraps of “SmartAR”, a so-called integrated Augmented Reality solution. The company says their technology has four distinct advantages when compared to existing AR solutions. → Read More
The dual 7-inch screen Android tablet that NEC introduced during CES earlier this year is finally ready to ship (in Japan, at least). The company today announced [JP] that it’s now called LifeTouch W, and that it’s scheduled to hit stores over here sometime next month. → Read More
Can you imagine owning a TV with 16 times the resolution of HDTV (or, in other words, about the same resolution as IMAX)? That’s 7,680×4,320 pixels, and today Sharp (in cooperation with Japanese national TV broadcaster NHK) showed a 85-inch LCD TV boasting that spec, also known as Ultra HDTV or Super Hi-Vision. → Read More
Resistive random-access memory (RRAM) is something various electronics companies have been working on for years, but now Panasonic seems to be ready to be the first to start mass-producing the next-generation memory chips, according to a report in Japan’s biggest business daily The Nikkei. → Read More
It’s not the first flexible screen we have covered in recent years, but it’s the first one from Toshiba. The company has developed a 3-inch OLED panel that’s 0.1mm thin and weighs just 1g (pictured). Apart from the size and weight, the main selling point of the OLED is that it can retain picture quality over a long period of time, according to a recent report in The Nikkei (Japan’s biggest… → Read More
Electronic paper as a technology somehow evolves relatively slowly, but it evolves. Today Epson and E Ink announced they have co-developed a new ePaper display that’s sized at 9.68 inches and boasts 2,400 x 1,650/300 dpi quality. By way of comparison: the Kindle DX (9.7 inches) comes with 1,200 x 824 pixel resolution at 150 ppi. → Read More
We’ve covered quite a few rescue robots in the past, but Helios IX, developed at the Tokyo Institute of Technology is certainly one of the most versatile models. The robot is designed to be used in post-disaster situations, as it can climb up and down stairs, overcome uneven ground, open doors and pick up objects. → Read More
Japan-based Ortus Technology has developed what it calls the world’s smallest 3D display with full HD resolution – after announcing the world’s smallest full HD display in 2D last October. Also sized at 4.8 inches, the new screen is basically the 3D version of that model. Unfortunately, users need to wear glasses to view pictures in 3D. → Read More
I am guessing we will see more of these in the near future: Fujitsu today officially announced [JP] the LIFEBOOK TH40/D, a tablet featuring a slide-out keyboard. The tablet has a 10.1-inch LCD screen with 1,024×600 resolution and is powered by Windows 7 Home Premium. → Read More
Yesterday, Pioneer unveiled the WWS-DT101 Discussion Table [JP], which is essentially the company’s answer to Microsoft’s Surface – just bigger and better. The main component here is the 52-inch multi-touch “interactive” LCD display with full HD resolution that supports up to 10 points of contact simultaneously. → Read More
Here we have another Windows 7-powered tablet from Japan: NEC announced [JP] it yesterday, and it’s called the VersaPro Type VT. Details are scarce at this point, but NEC does say its tablet will sport a 10.1-inch LCD screen with 1,280×800 resolution. → Read More
It kind of leaked yesterday, but now Panasonic made the Lumix DMC-G3 official. The micro four-thirds camera is the successor to the DMC-G2, and apart from improving just about every technical feature, the new model is more compact and now boasts a touch-based UI. → Read More
If you’re a robot otaku who happens to be a Star Wars otaku, too, then this video is for you. Japanese robot maker Yaskawa recently showcased its Motoman 7-axis robo arms at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Shanghai (which ends this Friday). → Read More
Apart from being uber-cute, Julie Watai from Japan has many talents: she is known as a model, singer, photographer, “multimedia artist” – and a genuine otaku. As such, she recently recorded and uploaded a video on YouTube that shows her modifying a Furby. → Read More
Sony Computer Entertainment Japan announced [JP] a set of 6 earphones for PSP users today. The earphones are nothing special technically (100dB/mW sensitivity, 16Ω impedance, 1.2m cable length), but their colors match the PSP’s color variations, plus they feature the PSP logo. → Read More
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