We’ve covered more than one electric bike over the years, but the so-called PAS Brace-L Yamaha introduced last year on the Japanese market is probably the nicest looking. And now the company announced [JP] an improved version of its flagship sports bike (which is, for some reason, also called PAS Brace-L).

The new model’s 8.1Ah/25.2V lithium-ion battery can be charged and discharged as often as 700-900 times, twice as often as the battery used in the 2010 model. It takes four hours for a full charge and provides an assisted travel range of 36km in standard mode, 31km in power mode and 47km in auto-eco mode.

Yamaha also used its S.P.E.C.8 system in the new bike, which tracks the driver’s riding behavior (for example how they shift gears or in which intervals they accelerate) and adjusts the level of electric assistance accordingly.

The company also claims it’s the first electric bike in the world whose LCD indicates the assisted travel range, by constantly tracking the mode chosen and battery life.

The Pac-Brace L 2011 is sized at 1,760×530mm (tires: 26 inches) and weighs 23.5kg. It went on sale in Japan today and costs $1,950.

The new model can now be charged 700 to 900 times, as opposed to the 350 to 450 times the previous models could be used. Yamaha says that the new devices are smaller and now feature a display to show the driver how much battery life is left. It takes about four hours to fully charge the battery.

One of the first bikes to come equipped with the new battery is the PAS CITY L8 (pictured above), which has a travel range of 29/35/40km in power/automatic/eco mode. Yamaha plans to start selling it (in Japan only) on March 31 for $1,600.

If you’ve ever been in a situation where discretion is important when speaking, then you may want some help from this guy. It’s the Yamaha VSP-1 and it is a little speaker device that plays sounds to cancel speech — up to 89% effective — allowing secret “deals” to be made while thwarting eavesdroppers.

There are 8 different sounds that cover conversations and they’re all earthy (Forest, River, Beach and more). Price is near $1,200 when Yamaha releases it in April.

[via dvice]

Yamaha Japan announced [press release in English] the EC-03 today, an electric 50cc scooter that’s powered by a 50V/14Ah lithium ion battery. The vehicle has a driving range of 43km (at 30km/h on flat roads) per charge. A charge takes six hours, with Yamaha saying that a household electrical outlet (100V) is all you need.

Marketing the e-scooter as a “Smart Minimal Commuter”, Yamaha claims that each charge will set you back only $0.20 in electricity costs. The vehicle is sized at just 1,565 mm × 600 mm × 990 mm, weighs 56kg and has a minimum turning radius of 1.7m.

The zero-emission e-scooter will go on sale in the Tokyo metropolitan area in September, followed by the rest of Japan one month later (price: $2,850). Available in either white or brown, the EC-03 is expected to cost $2,800. Yamaha is yet to announce international sales plans.

We’ve covered plenty of electric bicycles from Japan in the past, but there’s a significant problem with most of them: usually they’re really ugly, for example this one or this model from Toshiba. But just today, Yamaha has announced [JP] the PAS Brace-L, a nice-looking electric bike that’s specifically towards the young and male part of the population.

Yamaha says it especially targets men who’d buy an electric bike for fun (but never did because of the design of most of the models out there) or need a cool, practical vehicle to commute to work. The bike is powered by an 8.1Ah/25.2V lithium-ion battery, features an assisted travel range of 47km in standard mode (37km in power mode), with the battery taking four hours for a full charge.

The PAS Brace-L will go on sale in Japan on July 15 and will cost $1,630.

While electric bikes are gaining more and more ground in Japan, the situation in the rest of the world (at least for highly advanced models) is quite different. These vehicles seem to have a hard time in America in particular, although there’s anecdotal evidence the concept does have the potential to catch on in the US as well – basically speaking.

But most of the makers of these bikes, powerhouses such as Panasonic or Sanyo, never tested waters outside Japan. Yamaha, another such company, now announced [JP] a total of five electric bikes over the weekend, all of which are likely to never find their way outside Japan. The new models are part of Yamaha’s series of PAS electric bikes.

Yamaha says the main selling point of these new models is their “smooth” driving behavior, especially when accelerating or going up a hill. Weighing between 23.2kg and 27 kg, all bikes are powered by a lithium-ion battery. Drivers can choose between three modes: automatic, “power” and “auto-eco plus”.

The flagship model, the PAS-CITY M, for example, weighs 27kg and boasts an assisted travel range of up to 32km in auto-eco plus driving mode. It takes two to three hours to fully charge the battery.

Yamaha says they are targeting women in particular with the new PAS lineup that includes bikes in “cherry pink” and “cosmetic orange” (both are pictured). Prices vary between $1,100 for the most basic model and $1,300 for the PAS-CITY M. But, as indicated above, don’t expect these to become available outside Japan anytime soon.

The 120W（2W×40＋20W×2) projector sports five HDMI interfaces, an iPod port and an additional sub woofer connection.

It will be out at the end of this month in Japan (price: $2,280). The projector has both Japanese and English menus so we can expect it to hit international markets soon, too.

You set up the dock unit wherever you like, and attach a small transmitter to your iPhone or iPod, and voila! You’re connected to those speakers like it’s nobody’s business! The big selling point behind yAired is that it uses Linear PCM encoding. So unlike Bluetooth, it doesn’t compress the audio stream before flying it through the air. So you get to hear your compressed MP3s uncompressed. Yay.

The woofer is only rated to 60 Hz, so don’t expect a booming bass response. It supports all flavors of iPod (Phone, nano, classic, etc.). It’ll charge, playback, even let you control them with the included remote. My stereo system is centered around my computer, so listening from my iPod is something I only do on the subway. But if you really want one, you can pick it up at your local consumer electronics retailer in any of four fantastic colors for $299.95. 

Yamaha has support for air tags in their new disklavier. This means that you can play a song on your Yamaha disklavier and tag the whole thing. When you look at the area using Sekai Camera, you can see the tag for the song you recorded. Click it, and FingerPiano Share can execute to show you the fingering for that song, allowing you to practice it or play along on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

The demonstration I saw was really neat, and I think this is a really exciting new technology. It introduces a whole lot of wonderful new ways in which we can interact with our world over time (and hopefully paves the way toward the technology that Vernor Vinge posits in his novel Rainbows End). Unfortunately, my experience trying the live demo was less than stellar:

If air tagging really takes off, I can see augmented reality failing before it even starts, as locations get filled up with the augmented versions of “Kilroy was here” graffiti and countless iterations of Chopsticks.

In case you are an avid runner and don’t like to carry an iPod with you during your exercise, Yamaha Japan might have developed the right device for you. The so-called BODiBEAT (notice the small “i”) portable music player is specifically geared towards joggers.

Yamaha says the player tracks how fast you move and changes the pace and rhythm of the music stored in it accordingly (the tagline of the device is “Body. Music. In sync.” for a reason). It can show you for how long you have been running, how many kilometers you still need to run and how many calories you have burnt.

The problem is the size of the internal memory. 512MB is close to nothing. The battery life stands at 9 hours. Sized at 75.7×38×20.1mm, the BODiBEAT weighs 65g.

The device was first shown back in January and has now been announced by Yamaha for the Japanese market [JP]. It will go on sale in this country within this week and costs $300. Plans for overseas markets haven’t been announced yet.

If you are impatient and ready to deal with a Japanese device, contact specialized online stores Japan Trend Shop, Gizmine or Geek Stuff 4 U to get one for you.

Watch the video below for a quick demo.

http://blip.tv/play/grExgYK6NonkVA

It seems that electric bikes have gained significant momentum in the last few months on the market for “green” products, especially in Japan where Yamaha just announced a total of three new models [JP].

The company already offers a number of Japan-only electric bikes and is now to release the PAS Lithium S (pictured above), the PAS CITY-S and the PAS CITY-F on February 5.

All bikes will come with the same price tag: $1,200 and the differences between the different models are miniscule. For example, there will be slight differences in the colors the bikes are available in, sizes (versions from 24 to 27 inches are planned) and weight. All models are powered by a lithium-ion battery (25.2V / 4Ah).

With one charge, the assisted travel range can reach up to 39km when riding in standard mode, 21km in power mode and 67 km in auto-eco plus mode.

It may sound bizarre at first but Yamaha’s portable rooms, dubbed myroomII [JP], do make sense. Yamaha says it’s the perfect product for all people wanting some alone time without having to move into apartments with more rooms.

In the product catalogue [JP, PDF], the company suggests watching movies, working on your PC, reading, studying, Karaoke, listening to music and playing instruments as the main examples for use. The room could be especially useful in Japan (where it’s available exclusively at this point), where apartment buildings with super-thin walls are not really rare.

The myroomII is made of dark wood, soundproof, air-conditioned, pretty heavy (340kg) and quite big (1385×1826×2065mm).  One room costs $7,000.

Via Digital World Tokyo

Yamaha started selling a lithium-ion battery-powered electric bike in Japan in August (Panasonic followed up with its Vivi RX 10-S soon thereafter) and now presents the PAS CITY-C [JP].

The new Yamaha bike, which was manufactured in cooperation with Tokyo-based design company Plus Minus Zero, bike will be Japan-only.

Yamaha claims the bike can reach an assisted travel range of up to 65km with a single battery charge (that takes around 2 hours). Aimed mainly at Japanese homemakers, the PAS CITY-C comes equipped with an extra-large shopping basket that can be attached above the front wheel.

The bicycle measures 590×1540×715～850mm and weighs 21.8kg. Yamaha says it’s limited to 20 units and will cost $2,000 (colors available: green and grey). It can be pre-ordered in Nippon starting November 28 and will be delivered to buyers at the beginning of next year.

I am just wondering why no Japanese company seems to plan to export electric bikes to foreign markets.

Integra tends to put out very nice, abet pricey AV equipment, so the CE companies first Blu-ray players low price surprised the CEDIA out of me. According to one of their product minions, the DBS-6.9 is going to hit all Integra distribution channels for $599. Expect the normal Blu-ray tech of HDMI 1.3a output, bitstream compatibility, and unfortunately Profile 1.1. Sorry, no BD Live here, but it’s only 600 bones, unlike Yamaha’s $1,199 overpriced monster. Available shortly.

More pics after the jump.

via EngadgetHD

Yamaha collaborated with lighting company Koizumi to release the YST001 [JP], a set of speakers with built-in lighting. Koizumi developed 3 Halogen lights (with 25W power each), the brightness of which can be adjusted via a remote control.

The speakers are 47 inches high and come in black. They feature a frequency response of 70Hz-35,000Hz, an impedance of 6Ω and a maximum output of 120W.

The companies say they wanted to cross sound and light with the YST001 (“Koizumi-Yamaha Versus Project”). Placed next to a TV set, the light coming from the speakers is supposed to “soften” the TV picture during night time.

The light speaker set is already available in Japan and costs $1,240.

I doubt Yamaha will be able to sell this thing but it’s interesting to see them move into the music player market, however small a share of said market they currently own. Who knows? Maybe I’ll pick one up and, given my current state of health, rock out to “The Chicken Dance” while walking to to the fridge. It should be available in the next few months.

Product Page [Warning: Horrible Flash Ahead]

THX Loudness Plus, an audio technology to be built into various AV receivers, including Yamaha’s upcoming RX-Z11 (more on that later), should help those of you who have to watch TV and movies *extra quiet* for whatever reason: baby in the next room, having a fight with the wife… The technology boosts bass, surround and ambient sounds so that you don’t have to turn the volume up of your entire rig. In other words, you’ll get surround sound, but without having to violate local noise ordinances.

Speaking of that Yamaha…

Yamaha’s latest receiver goes to 11. That is, it has 11.2 channels of sounds, a number I can’t even wrap my head around. I remember when 5.1 made you the Man. It supports just about every AV format out there, with a special focus on HD—both audio and video, though calling audio “HD” is still a little strange to me—including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. A rear USB port allows for connection to various DAPs.

It’s really kinda silly to try to talk about all of its features in a quick blog post. Let me put it this way: if you can imagine the technology, it’s probably compatible with the RX-Z11. It better be, what with its $5,500 price tag.

THX Loudness Plus Delivers Reference-Level Sounds at Lower Volumes [Electronic House]

With all the talk about screen resolutions on HDTV sets, people tend to forget about the other important part of the high-def experience: 5.1-channel surround sound. So if you’ve got yourself a sweet plasma, LCD, projector, or rear-projection HDTV and you’re rocking the built-in speakers (though we know there are some good ones out there) you’re doing you and your loved ones a serious disservice by using them.

To help you out, ‘cause that’s how we do, we put together this run down of eight of our favorite home-theater-in-a-box systems (HTIB, pronounced “HTIB”). Are they as good as buying individual components to handle your media needs? No, probably not. True audiophiles and film freaks will probably want to go with individual specialized components, especially if you’re trying to fill a large room with mind-blowing, bone-rattling sound. Will they pump out satisfying surround sound for the average music-and-movie enthusiast? Absolutely.

To make things easier, we broke them down by a single, unique feature—be it price point, looks, size, or connections/options. They’ll all provide good sound for movies and music, but as always, some perform better than others. Also, we didn’t load this feature up with products that are so new you won’t be able to find a deal on them come next week when Black Friday rolls around.

The well-rounded one: Yamaha YHT-670
There always has to be that one system that does a little bit of everything at a decent price with no sacrifices in quality and sound. The Yamaha YHT-670 is it. The package includes a 5.1-channel speaker setup, but the receiver can handle an additional rear, center-channel speaker for 660 watts of 6.1 surround sound.

Along with having plenty of I/O options, though HDMI is unfortunately absent, the receiver is XM Ready and there’s an iPod dock available for a direct connection to your MP3 collection. Oh, and you get a five-disc DVD changer as well that’s compatible with DVD video, VCD, SVCD, Picture CD, Audio CD, MP3, JPEG, and WMA discs. $599 yamaha.com

The budget one: Panasonic SC-HT940
A home theater system for less than $500 that’s actually worth buying? Yep, and a quick Internet search will net you one for as low as $350. The SC-HT940 features two wall-mountable tall-boy speakers, a center-channel, a subwoofer with a 6.75-inch speaker, and two rear satellites that can be connected wirelessly with Panasonic’s $100 SH-FX60 wireless radio receiver.

The five-disc DVD player/receiver combo is light on inputs and outputs, but does have an HDMI out that supports upconversion of 480p content to 1080i/720p. And while you shouldn’t expect super sound quality at this price, this set shouldn’t disappoint the average listener. $449 panasonic.com

The high-end one: Onkyo HT-S990THX
If you’re looking for the best sound, stop here. The speakers are bigger than most satellites you’ll find in HTIB sets, but if you don’t care, neither do we. You don’t get a DVD player, but that just means Onkyo put the money towards better things.

For instance the 7.1-channel speakers and full THX processing capabilities (THX Cinema2, THX Music Mode, THX Games Mode). And while other receivers might not have the punch to support four surrounds, rear and front center channels, and a 12-inch cone subwoofer, this one does. Even at high volumes.

Connections are plentiful, but sadly HDMI is nowhere to be found. It is XM ready however, and can be used with an optional iPod dock. $1,099 onkyousa.com

The next-gen one: Samsung HT-TQ85
Samsung’s got a real winner with the HT-TQ85: Lots of features (XM ready, five-disc DVD changer, USB port for connecting an MP3 player), good looks, and, as far as we know, the only HTIB with HDMI output and input.

The HDMI output allows the DVD player to upscale standard DVDs to 1080i/720p and supports all manner of discs including DVD-Audio and DivX discs. The input means you can connect your PS3 or high-def cable box directly to the unit for single-cord throughput of video and audio. $699 samsung.com

The single-speaker one: SoundMatters FULLstageHD
There is a handful of good, single-speaker, virtual 5.1 surround sound units on the market, but SoundMatters’ is one of the smallest. The set combines the company’s MAINstage speaker/amplifier combined with its low-profile SUBstage 100 subwoofer.

It has two digital inputs (coaxial and optical), one analog stereo input, and one 3.5mm input jack for connecting an MP3 player or other audio device. The virtual surround works remarkably well, especially in a small room where the sound can accurately bounce off walls. But if you decide you want to add more of an actual surround sound, you can connect another MAINstage and SUBstage. $599 soundmatters.com

The tiny-but-full-featured one: Denon S-301
If you’re really tight on space and looking for a solid, if expensive, solution to most every media need, the Denon S-301 is what you want. The compact DVD player/receiver is combined with a sweet-sounding set of stereo speakers and a 7-inch subwoofer. You won’t get full surround sound, but it does a convincing job of creating virtual surround.

You can output video and audio via HDMI and the player will upconvert to HD resolutions. There is a nice selection of other I/O ports, including a USB connector for digital audio players and when used with an iPod, you can view your collection on screen, and control it with the included remote. $1,399 usa.denon.com

The sexy one: Philips HTS9800W/37
A setup that’ll make people ohh and ahh when they walk in the room, the Philips HTS9800W/37 combines unique design, a good feature set, and 6.1-channel Dolby Digital EX sound.

The speakers are wall-mountable and the rear speakers are wireless, so there’s fewer cables running across the room. You’ll find many of the same features as the other systems here (HDMI out with 1080i upscaling, support for multiple disc types including SACD), but they’re packed into a slim, streamlined component that can also be mounted to a wall. $799 usa.philips.com

The wireless one: Sony DAV-FX900W
Yes, we know there are other sets here with wireless rear speakers, but the Sony DAV-FX900W is the only one that doesn’t use radio signals to handle the task. Radio signals can pick up interference and potentially suffer from audio degradation. Not so with Sony’s Digital Infrared Audio Transmission (DIAT) technology.

DIAT uses infrared, and although the speakers rely on line-of-sight to work, signal integrity of HDTV and SACD audio remains intact. This HTIB doesn’t skimp in other areas either, and looks pretty great to boot. $899 sonystyle.com

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