GW-282 --The Hottest Gadgets and Gizmos from Japan

[gadgetwatch at mailman.japaninc.com]

Japan Inc Magazine Presents:
G A D G E T W A T C H

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The Hottest Gadgets and Gizmos from Japan
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Issue No. 282 Friday November 16, 2007
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Name: Sony ICD-UX70, UX80
Category: Digital Voice Recorder
Price: Open Price; 1GB: ~15,000 yen, 2GB: 20,000 yen
Release date in Japan: November 21, 2007

The Gist: Sony must be listening to someone's complaints as
their newest digital voice recorder is the company's first to
record audio in the MP3 format. Previous models have used Sony's
proprietary LPEC or TRC formats, making installation of
additional software on your PC necessary to handle the files.

No longer; the new UX70 and UX80 feature respective capacities of
1GB and 2GB, and will be available in pink, black, and silver.
This direct support for the MP3 format not only makes copying
files to your PC as easy as drag-and-drop, since no special
transfer software is required, the devices can now interface with
Macs. That interface is USB, and the USB connector is found on
the device itself so no additional cables are required for
connection.

The units feature an integrated stereo microphone and stereo
connector for an external microphone. Five recording modes are
available: ST at Stereo 44.1kHz/192kbps, STSP at Stereo
44.1kHz/128kbps, STLP at Stereo 22.05kHz/48kbps, SP at Monaural
44.1kHz/32kbps, and LP at Monaural 11.025/8kbps. With the 2GB
model, Sony estimates you can get 24 hours and 10 minutes under
ST mode, or a mind-numbing 581 hours and 20 minutes under LP
mode. MP3 playback and ID3 tags is also supported, and luckily
the units have an integrated monaural speaker. Another nice
feature is 'DPC,' which allows one to adjust the playback speed
from 0.5x to 2.0x without greatly affecting the pitch of the
audio.

Power is supplied by a AAA battery, which will last for 11 hours
of recording if it's a NiMH battery.

More info: www.sony.jp/products/ic-recorder/ux80ux70/index.html
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Name: Buffalo RSDC-GC6
Category: Memory card
Price: 8,505 yen to 47,775 yen
Release date in Japan: Mid-November 2007

The Gist: Buffalo is releasing a new set of SDHC cards that range
in capacity from 4GB to 16GB. All of the models in the 'GC6' line
support SDHC Class 6, meaning they offer a minimum transfer speed
of 6MB per second. The maximum transfer speed is 20MB per
second, so for those in a rush, this is a good place to start.

The 4GB G4GC6 costs 8,505 yen, the 8GB G8GC6 is 13,650 yen, and
the 16GB G16GC6 is priced at 47,775 yen.

Also available is the 'SC4' series, which qualifies as Class 4.
Using Class 4 instead of Class 6 drops the minimum data transfer
rate down to 4MB per second.

More info: http://buffalo.jp/products/catalog/flash/rsdc-gc6hc/
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Name: Mustardgiga Visuals
Category: PC peripheral
Price: Open Price; estimated at 5,980 yen
Release date in Japan: Mid-November 2007

The Gist: Mustardgiga may be small at 12 employees, but the name
is tough to forget. They'll be handling the Japanese release of
the 'Visuals' PC gauge, developed by Taiwan's Gigabyte Technology
for use with the ODIN GT series of power source.

The 'Visuals' concept isn't very new; plenty of previous devices
have allowed users to control their fan speed, monitor core
temperatures, and plenty else. But this may be the easiest. The
Visuals looks like it belongs in the dashboard of a car, since it
can show three different readings from your ODIN GT power source:
wattage, temperature, and fan speed. Instead of using something
fancy like OLED screens, Gigabyte has followed KISS concepts and
made the Visuals device as straightforward as possible. The
advantage of being able to visualize such statistics on a device
rather than on your computer screen is for games. While there's
plenty of software that can fulfill this same role, having a
dedicated piece of hardware that you can keep an eye on enables
you to stay focused on what really matters.

The Visuals connects via USB, and it has three buttons that
enable you to switch between the monitored element. Since there's
only one dial, and only one needle, it's unfortunately not
possible to monitor all three elements at the same time. That
said, pushing the button in the middle three times makes the
Visuals periodically switch between the elements automatically.

More info: http://www.mustardgiga.co.jp/product/option/visuals/
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STAFF
Written by: Liam McNulty
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------------------ ICA Event - Nov 21 ---------------------

Event: Recent Trends in the IT Job Market -
Essential Insights for IT Career Management

Overview: A Round-Table Discussion with Industry Specialists
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Date: Wednesday, November 21, 2007
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Cost: 3,500 yen (members), 5,500 yen (non-members)

Open to all - venue is daynight in Otemachi
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