<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="FR">--------------------------------------------------------------</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="FR">Japan Inc
Magazine Presents:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="FR">G A D G E T W A T
C H</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="FR"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">READ GADGETWATCH ONLINE AT:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.japaninc.com">www.japaninc.com</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The Hottest Gadgets and Gizmos from Japan</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">-----------------------------------------------------------</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Issue No. 283 Friday November 30, 2007</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Subscribers: 9467</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">SUBSCRIBE AND UNSUBSCRIBE TO GADGET WATCH:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters/free_sign_up">http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters/free_sign_up</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">****OUT NOW: J@PAN INC MAGAZINE'S****</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">IT SPECIAL (NOV/DEC 2007)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">J-SOX Software Solutions-Virtual Machines-Industry
Analysis-</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">PLUS A New Treatment for Cancer &
Travel in Okinawa</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Read online at <a href="http://www.japaninc.com">www.japaninc.com</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">================================================================</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">================================================================</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Name: IO Data Device HDMC-U16ZM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Category: Portable hard drive</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Price: 26,565 yen</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Release date in Japan: Mid-December 2007</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The Gist: Now that hard drive costs have
gone down, sizes gone </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">down, and capacities gone up, USB memory is
yet another </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">battleground for hard drives and flash
memory. In years past, </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">hard drives have always been found in a
certain set of </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">components, while flash memory was always
used in a different </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">set. But now we're beginning to see a great
deal of crossover </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">between the two formats: laptops with only
flash memory, mobile </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">phones with only hard drives, digital video
cameras with only </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">hard drives, and game consoles with only
flash memory. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">That said, each storage format has clear
advantages and </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">disadvantages, so don't expect there to be
a winner or loser in </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">this situation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">IO Data Device's new HDMC-U16ZM is good
evidence of this. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">While it qualifies as USB memory given its
size (not much larger </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">than a couple of matchbooks) and weight,
inside you won't find </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">any flash memory at all. It packs a tiny
16GB hard drive. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">One could certainly question the durability
of a hard drive </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">for such an application; hard drives really
aren't meant to </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">jolted around, thrown into pockets, slapped
on desks, or subject </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">to much of the abuse to which we regularly
expose our USB memory </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">devices. It seems IO Data Device has us
covered, though, as the </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">U16ZM is completely sealed and can be
dunked in water as deep as </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">1 meter. According to the company's tests,
it can also withstand </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">a drop as far as 122cm (4 feet). While there
have been plenty of </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">USB memory devices with hard drives in the
past, it's nice to </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">see a company understanding how much abuse
these things should </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">be able to take.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The U16ZM works under all modern versions
of Windows and Mac OS.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">More info: <a href="http://www.iodata.jp/prod/storage/hdd/2007/hdmc-uzm/">http://www.iodata.jp/prod/storage/hdd/2007/hdmc-uzm/</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">================================================================</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">================================================================</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Name: Sanwa Supply Optical Finger Mouse</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Category: PC peripheral</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Price: 3,480 yen</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Release date in Japan: Already available</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The Gist: For those who must mouse in small
spaces comes the </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "ＭＳ 明朝";">'</span><span lang="EN-US">Optical Finger Mouse'
from Sanwa Supply. It's hard to actually </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">call this a 'mouse' since it isn't meant to
be placed on a flat </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">surface, but it is a pointing device, so
maybe that's the logic.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Either way, the Optical Finger Mouse is an
optical pointing </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">device that's equipped with a belt and is
meant to be strapped </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">on the index finger of your right hand. You
then put your finger </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">on a surface, be it your desk, head, or the
palm of your other </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">hand. The optical sensor will read the
changes in that surface </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">as you move your finger across it. So while
a traditional </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">optical mouse involves moving the mouse
across a mousepad and </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">having the optical sensor recognize the
movement, the Optical </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Finger Mouse requires moving your finger
across any surface and </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">the optical sensor recognizes that
movement. To actually click </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">or scroll, you'll need to use your thumb to
click one of the </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">mouse's two buttons or operate its scroll
wheel.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Sanwa Supply gathers that since you move
your finger to operate </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">the mouse, rather than your entire
wrist/hand, it's a lot more </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">sensitive to changes and can thus be used
in smaller spaces. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">It will work under all modern versions of
Windows, and connects </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">via USB. The mouse won't be available in
stores, so you'll need </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">to visit Sanwa Direct ('More info') to get
your fingers on this </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">one. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">More info:
<a href="http://direct.sanwa.co.jp/ItemPage/400-MA006">http://direct.sanwa.co.jp/ItemPage/400-MA006</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">================================================================</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">================================================================</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Name: IO Data Device HDL-GS series</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Category: Network Attached Storage</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Price: 24,360 yen ~ 74,655 yen</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Release date in Japan: Mid-December 2007</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The Gist: Also from IO Data Device is a new
lineup of Network </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Attached Storage devices, the HDL-GS
series. The models range </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">from the 250GB 'HDL-GS250' at 24,360 yen to
the 1TB 'HDL-GS1.0T'</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">at 74,655 yen.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The HDL-GS series packs a nice set of
features for home </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">audio/video networking junkies. There's a
Digital Living Network </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Alliance (DLNA) server that allows the
drive to connect directly </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">to devices such as recorders, TVs, and
Playstation 3s. They can </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">also connect directly to Toshiba's REGZA
Z3500 series of LCD </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">TVs. iTunes users will also be delighted to
hear about the </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Streaming Server functionality, allowing
the drive to stream </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">MP3, M4A, or MP4 files directly a PC (or
Mac?) running iTunes. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">This magic all happens over a Gigabit
Ethernet port. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">For those without such desires, the HDL-GS
drives also feature a </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">USB 2.0 port for connection to your system.
Alternatively, the </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">same port can be used for connection to a
digital camera; you </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">can use the 'Digicam Copy Function' to load
pictures from your </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">camera onto the drive without use of a PC.
These pictures can </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">obviously be accessed normally, but they
can also be accessed </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">via your web browser, be it a browser on
your PC or your game </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">console. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">More info:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.iodata.jp/prod/storage/hdd/2007/hdl-gs/index.htm">http://www.iodata.jp/prod/storage/hdd/2007/hdl-gs/index.htm</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">================================================================</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">================================================================</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">STAFF</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Written by: Liam McNulty</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">READ PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Gadget Watch online archive:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/gadget_watch">http://www.japaninc.com/gadget_watch</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Check out our other Japan-specific
newsletters:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters_main_page">http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters_main_page</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">SUBSCRIBE AND UNSUBSCRIBE TO GADGET WATCH:</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">ADVERTISING INFORMATION</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">To advertise in this newsletter, contact:
<a href="mailto:ads@japaninc.com">ads@japaninc.com</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">FEEDBACK AND PROBLEMS</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We welcome your viewpoint:
<a href="mailto:editors@japaninc.com">editors@japaninc.com</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">NB Please do not reply to this newsletter</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">-- it's outgoing only, so we won't get it!</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Copyright (C) 2007 Japan Inc Communications
KK.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">All Rights Reserved.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">_______________________________________________</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">GadgetWatch mailing list</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">-----------------------------------------------------------</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Japan</span><span lang="EN-US">'s
First Family Social Network is here! <a href="http://www.piqniq.jp">www.piqniq.jp</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Are you raising a family in Japan? Do you
speak English?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Would you like to meet other English
speaking families in</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">your area? Piqniq is a Social Network
Service tailored</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">specifically for you!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Our concept is "Families helping
Families" and we invite</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">anyone that wants to meet other families,
help other families,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">or discuss family-related issues pertinent
to life in Japan</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">to come and join the Piqniq today!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">For more information: <a href="http://www.piqniq.jp">www.piqniq.jp</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">-----------------------------------------------------------</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>