J@pan Inc Magazine Presents:<br>G A D G E T W A T C H<br><br>READ GADGETWATCH ONLINE AT:<br><a href="http://www.japaninc.com">www.japaninc.com</a><br><br>The Hottest Gadgets and Gizmos from Japan<br>-----------------------------------------------------------
<br>Issue No. 271<br>Friday August 24, 2007<br>Subscribers: 9467<br>SUBSCRIBE AND UNSUBSCRIBE TO GADGET WATCH:<br><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters/free_sign_up">http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters/free_sign_up
</a><br><br>*****OUT NOW J@PAN INC MAGAZINE'S SUMMER ISSUE*****<br>
Featuring our Real Estate Special, Web 2.0 Marketing and more!<br><br>=================================================================<br>=================================================================<br>Name: SD-HDC032GT4, SD-HC016GT4, SD-MH008GA
<br> Category: Flash memory card<br> Price: Open Price<br>Release date in Japan: January 2008<br> <br>The Gist: It seems as though technology randomly got ahead of <br>itself with Toshiba's recent announcement of the impending
<br>release of 32GB SDHC cards, 16GB SDHC cards, and 8GB microSDHC <br>cards. This was somewhat unexpected as finding even 4GB SDHC <br>cards still presents something of a challenge, let alone 8GB <br>cards. Now Toshiba have announced 32GB cards coming out in
<br>the early part of next year.<br><br>For those of you not familiar with SDHC, it's an acronym for <br>'Secure Digital High Capacity', or the next generation of <br>everyone's favorite SD cards. Along with Sony's Memory Stick Duo
<br>developed in conjunction with SanDisk, SD has essentially sealed <br>the coffins of competing flash memory formats like CompactFlash <br>and FujiFilm's xD-Picture Card (at least for common <br>applications). The original SD standard rather lagged behind
<br>though, officially supporting cards only as large as 2GB. SDHC <br>was created to address these problems, especially the capacity <br>limitation, and SDHC cards now have a theoretical capacity of a <br>whopping 2048GB. Save your money. Of course, to use SDHC cards,
<br>you'll need a device that supports them; devices with only "SD <br>1.0" support can't read the new cards. <br><br>Toshiba is also aiming to release 16GB SDHC cards as early as <br>October of this year, as well as 8GB microSDHC cards for your
<br>mobile phone in January 2008. All of the cards are Class 4, <br>meaning they have a sustained write speed of at least 4MB per <br>second. Toshiba estimates that with the 8GB microSDHC card, <br>you'll be able to record about 57 hours of 1-Seg broadcasts on
<br>your mobile phone, presuming it has such a feature. Expect the <br>32GB card to be about 80,000 yen, the 16GB card about 40,000 yen,<br>and the 8GB microSDHC about 20,000 yen when they're released.<br><br>More info:
<a href="http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/">http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/</a><br>press/2007_08/pr_j2201.htm<br>=================================================================<br>=================================================================
<br>Name: Buffalo BRHC-6316 series<br> Category: Peripheral<br> Price: USB 2.0 model: 78,540 yen, Serial ATA model: 73,290 yen<br>Release date in Japan: Early September 2007<br> <br>The Gist: In last month's Gadget Watch, we mentioned an ongoing
<br>format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD. This week Buffalo has <br>announced a product that sort of straddles the fence and offers <br>a middle ground between the two. The BRHC-6316 series of optical <br>drives, available in both external and internal versions, provide
<br>both Blu-ray reading/writing and HD DVD reading in a single <br>device. Not bad for something that still manages to stay under <br>80,000 yen.<br><br>The list of supported formats is a mess of letters, so get ready.<br>
For reading, the drives support CD-ROM/-R/-RW at 40x, DVD-RAM at <br>5x, DVD?R DL/-ROM DL at 8x, DVD?RW at 10x, DVD?R at 12x, DVD-ROM <br>at 16x, HD DVD-ROM/-ROM DL/-Video at 3x, BD-RE/-RE DL at 2x, <br>BD-ROM DL/-R DL 4.8x
, and BD-ROM/-R at 6x. For writing, the <br>drives do CD-R at 40x, CD-RW at 24x, DVD?R DL at 4x, DVD-RAM at <br>5x, DVD-RW at 6x, DVD+RW at 8x, DVD?R at 16x, BD-R at 6x, BD-R DL<br>at 4x, and BD-RE/-RE DL at 2x. Put plainly, these drives support
<br>reading <i>any optical disc currently on the market</i> and <br>writing <i>any optical disc currently on the market besides HD <br>DVD</i>. As we mentioned last week, HD DVD hardware seems to be
<br>lagging a few centimeters behind Blu-ray hardware, which may be <br>the reason why LG Electronics (the manufacturer of the optical <br>drive itself) opted not to include HD DVD burning capabilities. <br><br>Hardware is worthless without software, so Buffalo is throwing in
<br>'CyberLink PowerDVD 7.3 Ultra' for playing Blu-ray and HD DVD <br>movies, 'PowerPowerProducer4 DVD' for DVD authoring, and <br>'PowerBackup2' for file backup. <br><br>More info: <a href="http://buffalo.jp/products/new/2007/000547.html">
http://buffalo.jp/products/new/2007/000547.html</a><br>=================================================================<br>=================================================================<br>Name: Yamaha Digital Surround Projector YSP-4000
<br> Category: Home Audio<br> Price: Open Price; estimated around 179,800 yen<br>Release date in Japan: Late October 2007<br> <br>The Gist: Yamaha's latest "Digital Surround Projector" is the <br>YSP-4000. Like previous models, the 4000 features a series of 40
<br>full-range units, each with 4cm diameters, and two 11cm <br>subwoofers. By utilizing the array of units, the YSP-4000 can <br>essentially project a 'beam' of sound to specific locations, even<br>bouncing these beams off walls and such, greatly enhancing its
<br>abilities as a surround sound speaker. At least that's the <br>marketing pitch.<br><br>While the basic concept of the Digital Surround Projector has <br>remained the same since the first model, each new model obviously
<br>offers some improvements. This new YSP-4000 adds two HDMI inputs,<br>an HDMI output, and 'Regza Link' for linking to Toshiba's 'Regza'<br>line of TVs. 'VIERA Link' for Panasonic TVs is also supported.<br><br>The inclusion of HDMI means connecting the unit to your system
<br>should now be a no-brainer. Since HDMI is a single interface that<br>carries both digital video and audio signals, you simply use the <br>YSP-4000 as a "pass-through" device; you connect your Blu-ray <br>player, HD DVD recorder, video camera, or whatever to the
<br>YSP-4000, then the YSP-4000 to your TV. As a result, you'll also <br>be able to automatically turn the YSP-4000 on or off when your TV<br>is turned on or off. The YSP-4000 can even handle video <br>upscaling; standard definition videos can be jacked up as high
<br>as 1080i.<br><br>Five different beam modes are available: 'Intellibeam' which <br>automatically adjusts to the environment after about 3 minutes <br>of measurement and calibration, 'My Surround' that makes surround<br>
sound possible in places where the beam effect isn't too great, <br>'5 Beam' for 5ch surround, 'Stereo+ 3 Beam' for when the speaker <br>is placed in a corner, and finally 'My Beam' that directs a <br>single monaural beam to a specific location so even quiet sounds
<br>can be heard. <br><br>The decoder can handle Dolby Digital, DTS, AAC, Dolby ProLogic <br>II, and DTS Neo: 6.<br><br>More info: <a href="http://www.yamaha.co.jp/news/2007/07082001.html">http://www.yamaha.co.jp/news/2007/07082001.html
</a><br>=================================================================<br>=================================================================<br><br>++EVENTS<br>-----------------------------------------------------------
<br>Start a Company in Japan<br><br>Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar 6th of October, 2007<br><br>If you have been considering setting up your own company,<br>find out what it takes to make it successful.<br>Terrie Lloyd, founder of over 13 start-up companies in Japan,
<br>will be giving an English-language seminar and Q and A on<br>starting up a company in Japan.<br>This is an ideal opportunity to find out what is involved,<br>and to ask specific questions that are not normally answered
<br>in business books.<br>All materials are in English and are Japan-focused.<br><br>For more details: <a href="http://japaninc.com/terrie_lloyd/">http://japaninc.com/terrie_lloyd/</a><br>-----------------------------------------------------------
<br><br>RidgeRunner Niseko<br>International Cricket Competition 15-17 September 2007<br><br>This is your invitation to three days of fun at an<br>international cricket tournament in Niseko being held to<br>the benefit of the Tyler Foundation for Childhood Cancer.
<br><br>Cricketing legend Dennis Lillee will be attending the event<br>which is being co-hosted by the Higashiyama Prince Hotel and<br>includes two days of cricket, a golf match and charity<br>dinner dance and auction.<br>
For more information, and the chance to win a<br>dinner with Dennis,<br><br>please visit <a href="http://www.ridgerunner.jp/cricket">www.ridgerunner.jp/cricket</a><br>or contact Simon Jackson<br>(<a href="mailto:simon@rad-development.com">
simon@rad-development.com</a>, 011-876-3704)<br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>Japan's First Family Social Network is here! <a href="http://www.piqniq.jp">www.piqniq.jp</a><br><br>
Are you raising a family in Japan? Do you speak English?<br>Would you like to meet other English speaking families in<br>your area? Piqniq is a Social Network Service tailored<br>specifically for you!<br>Our concept is "Families helping Families" and we invite
<br>anyone that wants to meet other families, help other families,<br>or discuss family-related issues pertinent to life in Japan<br>to come and join the Piqniq today!<br><br>For more information: <a href="http://www.piqniq.jp">
www.piqniq.jp</a><br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>