The latest must-have spec in high-end projectors are dual lamps. They offer better brightness control, longer lamp life, but are somewhat hard to find. The latest from Sanyo does, however, sport the dual-lamp goodness and features the standard set of large venue projector features: 5,000 ANSI lumens, 1,100 contrast ratio, 1024 x 768 resolution, and because of the dual lamps, up to 6,000 hours of lamp life. The LP-XTC50 is going to bow at CES ’09 with availability starting January 9, 2009 for 1,050,000 yen ($10,731 USD). → Read More
A new blue laser diode, developed by Sanyo, could help increase the capacity of Blu-ray discs. Even if it does, however, we’re still a few years away from seeing any such discs. The new diode emits a beam of 450 milliwatts, which would be powerful enough to write onto two additional data layers on a Blu-ray disc. While current Blu-ray discs max out at two, 25GB layers, discs produced using this new Sanyo diode would see their capacity double—four, 25GB layers adding up to a total capacity of 100GB per disc. Write speeds would also increase, moving up to 12X. That means you’d be able to write an entire disc in just 10 minutes. But again, this fancy new diode was just developed, meaning it won’t used in the production of Blu-ray discs for at least one year, if not two. And they say physical media has no future, ha! → Read More
Behind that unassuming Sanyo exterior lays an impressive assortment of projection technology. The 1080p LP-Z3000 achieves 5:5 pull-down at 120Hz for baby-butt smooth video playback, while the incredibly high 65,000:1 contrast ratio busts out the blacks. The 1,200 lumens takes care of the brightness and two HDMI inputs, two component, one S-Vid, along with one composite handles the inputs. If you can get past the ‘beige box’ look this projector sports, it can be yours for ¥483,000 ($4,588 US) when it ships in Japan on November 28th. PR and images from Akihabaranews → Read More
The successor to the also-waterproof Xacti E1 that’s been out for about a year and a half, the Xacti E2 from Sanyo doubles its predecessor’s frame rate to 60 FPS and adds about an ounce of weight as well as a few new features under the hood. → Read More
Here’s a new projector from Sanyo that’ll be here sometime in September for $1,295. It’s got two HDMI inputs, 1200 lumens brightness, a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, and a 12-bit digital processor. Sanyo is touting the PLV-Z60 as a “price breakthrough” at just under $1,300. While that’s a good price for a projector that does 720p and has such a high contrast ratio, you can find competing 720p projectors for under $1,000. The PLV-Z60 can project a 100-inch image from between 9.8 and 20 feet away thanks two a built-in 2x optical zoom. Other inputs besides the two HDMI ports include two component inputs, composite and S-Video connections, and 15-pin VGA port. → Read More
Also making its way into CG HQ is the Sprint Katana Eclipse from Sanyo. This too is a simple, yet effective flip phone. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s the tiny details that make this particular device stand out from the crowd. Said tiny details are the two light bars on the front flap that can be customized for contacts, messages, phone calls, etc. in one of 40 different variations that range from simple blinks to elaborate light shows. The colors include, red, green, blue, yellow, purple, orange and light blue. The 1.3-megapixel camera is nothing to write home about and neither is the camcorder. It’s GPS enabled and has the ability to stream video via the Sprint TV service. It’s a simple device that makes and receives phone calls with a few added bonuses from Sprint’s array of services. I do, however, like the three external MP3 player controls. It’s available now for $100 with a 2-year agreement. Specs after the jump. → Read More
The Sanyo Katana was just one of those phones that just stayed on the shelves for way longer than anyone expected. But why? Sure, it had some pretty well-marketed TTY features, but that’s nothing unique. Oh – and it was Dr. Turk’s phone on Scrubs. Whatever the cause, it’s one of the few phones that Sprint might still pitch at you two years after launch. Well, it’s time for a revamp, with the soon-to-be-released Katana Eclipse. While it’s not out for us US-dwellin’ folk just yet, Bell Mobility started hawkin’ it up in Canada as of this morning. If you’re itchin’ to be the first with the phone that they’ll be selling for the next few years, look for the Katana Eclipse at $49.49/99.95/224.95/274.95 on 3-year/2-year/1-year/no-contract, respectively. → Read More
With all this talk about lightweight video cameras, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Sanyo has updated its lightweight Xacti line. The HD1010 records in 1080i HD and offers 300 frame-per-second slow motion recording along with 12-subject face recognition. Sure it will cost $799.99 in July, but just think of the elevator pitches Erick could record. Quick tip: Lay off the pancake make-up and get some botox, entrepreneurs, because we’re all going to look ugly in 1920 x 1080 pixels. Read more about the camera on CrunchGear. → Read More
W62H from Hitachi (equipped with a 2.8 inch OLED display featuring 480×240 resolution) → Read More
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