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<p>The Hottest Gadgets and Gizmos from Japan<br>
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Issue No. 285 Friday December 14, 2007<br>
Subscribers: 9467<br>
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<p>****OUT NOW: J@PAN INC MAGAZINE'S****<br>
IT SPECIAL (NOV/DEC 2007)<br>
J-SOX Software Solutions-Virtual Machines-Industry Analysis-<br>
PLUS A New Treatment for Cancer & Travel in Okinawa<br>
Read online at <a href="http://www.japaninc.com/" title="www.japaninc.com">www.japaninc.com</a></p>
<p>------Metropolis Magazine Valentine`s Glitterball---------------</p>
<p>Glitterball is back!<br>
Tokyo's favorite party makes its triumphant return on<br>
February 14, 2008-Valentine's Day.<br>
An institution for nearly a decade, the Metropolis-hosted<br>
Glitterball was on hiatus this year due to the closing of<br>
Velfarre nightclub, but 2008's version promises to be better<br>
than ever.</p>
<p>Roppongi hotspot Alife will host over 1,000 V-Day revelers<br>
for a night of eating, drinking, dancing, making friends-and<br>
who knows what else.<br>
Prize drawings, swag bags, and Tokyo's funnest crowd will make<br>
the reborn Glitterball the highlight of the Tokyo social calendar.</p>
<p>CORPORATE SPONSORS WELCOME<br>
<a href="http://www.metropolis.co.jp/glitterball" title="www.metropolis.co.jp/glitterball">www.metropolis.co.jp/glitterball</a></p>
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Name: Logitec LDT-1S30X4U<br>
Category: USB 1-Seg Tuner<br>
Price: Open Price; estimated around 16,800 yen<br>
Release date in Japan: Already available</p>
<p>The Gist: 1-Seg tuners are popping up in all kinds of consumer<br>
electronics nowadays and you're probably dreading even reading<br>
about yet another one. Especially yet another USB one as we've<br>
reported on such products in the past.</p>
<p>But the LDT-1S30X4U adds a new twist, or to be more specific,<br>
three twists. Not only does it contain two tuners, but it has<br>
two USB ports such that you can add two more tuners<br>
(not included), bringing your total number of tuners to four.<br>
What would you do with that? Watch four TV programs at the same<br>
time, of course. Or watch one program and record three others.<br>
Watch two, record two. You certainly have a lot of different<br>
options with this setup.</p>
<p>The 1S30X4U has a 'Triple Antenna,' or three antennas instead of<br>
just one. There's also an internal booster. Otherwise, says<br>
Logitec, you wouldn't have stable signals when watching more<br>
than one program at a time. While USB bus power is sufficient<br>
when using the two internal tuners, you'll need to use the<br>
included adapter if using three or four tuners.</p>
<p>Additional features include support for time-shift playback,<br>
EPG/iEPG support, subtitles, data broadcast support, and email<br>
recording scheduling. Video is recorded in MPEG-4/H.264 and<br>
audio in MPEG-2/AAC. </p>
<p>More info:<br>
<a href="http://www.logitec.co.jp/products/1seg/ldt1s30x4u.html" title="http://www.logitec.co.jp/products/1seg/ldt1s30x4u.html">http://www.logitec.co.jp/products/1seg/ldt1s30x4u.html</a><br>
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Name: Kenwood CLK-7i-S<br>
Category: Home Audio/Video<br>
Price: Open Price; estimated around 50,000 yen<br>
Release date in Japan: Already available</p>
<p>The Gist: From Kenwood is the new CLK-7i-S, a desktop audio<br>
system with a thin profile and support for CD, MiniDisc, and<br>
USB playback. The 'CLK-5i-S' and 'CLK-5i-W' will also be<br>
available ('silver' and 'white'), dropping support for MiniDisc<br>
for those not needing it, saving you 10,000 yen.</p>
<p>At its deepest point, the CLK-7i is 18cm thick. This makes it<br>
pretty easy to place on a kitchen counter, desktop, bedside<br>
table, mantel (do those even exist in Japan?), and similar<br>
positions. The speakers are also detachable from the main body,<br>
giving you still more freedom about how you want to setup the<br>
unit.</p>
<p>The 7i-S has universal support for MP3 and non-DRM WMA audio<br>
files. So if you insert a CD-R or RW disc with such files<br>
recorded on it, it can handle them. If CDs aren't your way of<br>
life, the integrated USB port allows you to easily connect USB<br>
storage devices (or other portable audio players) and play audio<br>
files from them. It can also read files from folders and read<br>
their ID3 tags, so organization shouldn't really be an issue.<br>
Additional magic comes from the integrated iPod connection port,<br>
right on the stand of the unit. This port, when used with an<br>
additional cable (the PNC-iP120, unfortunately not included),<br>
allows you to connect directly to some modern flavors of iPod<br>
for playing audio files and recharging. 'Some' is the key word<br>
here?the iPod touch and shuffle don't appear to be supported.<br>
Owners of Kenwood's own 'D.AUDIO' line of players will be<br>
pleased to know this unit also supports those, but also with a<br>
not-included cable.</p>
<p>Also included is an integrated AM/FM radio, 10Wx2ch speakers<br>
with 80mm full range units, and remote controller. </p>
<p>More info:<br>
<a href="http://www.kenwood.co.jp/newsrelease/2007/20071207.html" title="http://www.kenwood.co.jp/newsrelease/2007/20071207.html">http://www.kenwood.co.jp/newsrelease/2007/20071207.html</a><br>
================================================================<br>
---------------- ICA Event - Jan 16 ----------------------------</p>
<p>Event: New Year Mixer Party-Joint event with<br>
the American Chamber (ACCJ)</p>
<p>Overview: An evening of fun, games, salsa dancers, dancing,<br>
prizes, drinks, and delicious food<br>
Details: Complete event details at <a href="http://www.icajapan.jp/" title="http://www.icajapan.jp/">http://www.icajapan.jp/</a><br>
(RSVP Required)</p>
<p>Date: Wednesday, January 16, 2008<br>
Time: 7:30-9:30, includes open bar, finger food.<br>
Open ended nijikai at same location<br>
Cost: 6,000 yen (members), 6,500 yen (non-members)<br>
Open to all-venue is 57 - Roppongi 4-2-35, Tel. 03-5775-7857</p>
<p><a href="http://www.fiftyseven.co.jp/" title="http://www.fiftyseven.co.jp/">http://www.fiftyseven.co.jp/</a></p>
<p>----------------------------------------------------------------<br>
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Name: COWON A3<br>
Category: Portable Audio/Video<br>
Price: 30GB: 49,800 yen, 60GB: 59,800 yen<br>
Release date in Japan: December 20, 2007</p>
<p>The Gist: For a portable audio/video player that supports most<br>
formats under the sun, look no further than Cowon's new A3, due<br>
out in Japan on December 20th.</p>
<p>The A3 is available in 30GB and 60GB iterations. Either model<br>
features a 4-inch LCD of 16.7 million colors and a resolution<br>
of 800x480 dots. The list of supported formats is long. For<br>
video you'll have support of DivX (versions 3 through 6, even<br>
with DRM), XviD, WMV, MPEG-4 Simple Profile, MPEG-1, MPEG-2,<br>
and MPEG-4 AVC/H.264. Say that three times fast. Or not. The<br>
new chipset from Texas Instruments gives this player some<br>
impressive scaling capabilities ?you can run videos 'fullscreen'<br>
if they're smaller than 800x480 dots, and you can even play<br>
HD-level DivX files as large as 1280x720 dots (720p). Thankfully<br>
Cowon thought ahead here: the AV input/output allows for video<br>
output via S-Video, Composite, and Component interfaces, making<br>
this player a 'portable HDTV-outputter.' Since that's an AV<br>
input as well, the A3 is also capable of capturing video as<br>
large as 720x480 dots at 3Mbps in the ASF format.</p>
<p>Audio file support is in full force. You'll file support for<br>
MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, AAC, AC3, Apple Lossless, True Audio,<br>
Monkey Audio, MusePack, and Wavpack. Cowon said the A3 is the<br>
first portable player in the world to support MusePack,<br>
True Audio, and WavPack. Those formats sound obscure enough to<br>
remind me of Yamaha's VQF format from the days of yore, but I<br>
suppose this is great news for some people. For sharing your<br>
favorite songs with friends, the A3 has an integrated 2ch<br>
speaker of 1W. Not exactly huge, but it's a nice bonus. </p>
<p>Photographers will also love the A3 as it features support<br>
for not only the standard JPEG, BMP, PNG, and GIF images,<br>
but also RAW images from Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Olympus, Sony,<br>
and similar brand cameras. With USB Host support, you'll be<br>
able to connect the A3 directly to such cameras, copy image<br>
files, and continue shooting. The FM tuner doesn't even seem<br>
worth mentioning at this point, but there it is. </p>
<p>For still more entertainment, Cowon plans on releasing an<br>
A3-only 1-Seg tuner ('A3-OS1') for 9,980 yen. The A3 itself<br>
can record 1-Seg programs and features support for EPG, giving<br>
you the (mobile) freedom to record and watch programs whenever<br>
you so desire. </p>
<p>With all that functionality in a small package (133x78.5x22mm,<br>
to be exact), the battery life is a bit low. Video playback will<br>
last about 7 hours, audio about 9 hours, and 1-seg about 5 and a<br>
half hours. </p>
<p>More info: <a href="http://www.cowonjapan.com/" title="http://www.cowonjapan.com/">http://www.cowonjapan.com/</a><br>
================================================================<br>
================================================================<br>
STAFF<br>
Written by: Liam McNulty<br>
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<p>Japan's First Family Social Network is here! <a href="http://www.piqniq.jp/" title="www.piqniq.jp">www.piqniq.jp</a></p>
<p>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!</p>
<p>For more information: <a href="http://www.piqniq.jp/" title="www.piqniq.jp">www.piqniq.jp</a></p>
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<p>----------------- Travel 67 Photography ------------------------</p>
<p>Limited Edition Prints of Japan</p>
<p>Bring the spirit and beauty of Japan into your home<br>
or workplace with a limited edition print.</p>
<p>From the majestic Mt. Fuji to Okinawa's golden beaches<br>
we provide a selection of fantastic images produced<br>
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<p>Looking for that perfect gift, souvenir or work of art,<br>
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