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<p>The Hottest Gadgets and Gizmos from Japan<br>
----------------------------------------------------------------<br>
Issue No. 291 Friday March 21, 2008<br>
Subscribers: 9467<br>
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-----------------PBXL IS DIFFERENT-------------------------</p>
<p>PBXL, Japan's leading Cisco hosted telephony provider,<br>
is easy to use and understand.</p>
<p>1) Pick a plan for your office (Knight, Bishop, King)<br>
2) Pick your phones (Standard, Advanced, Premier)</p>
<p>and your ordering is complete!<br>
One week rush orders also available for that 'just-in-time'<br>
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<p>Get new phones in three simple steps: <a href="http://www.pbxl.jp/plans" title="http://www.pbxl.jp/plans">http://www.pbxl.jp/plans</a></p>
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---------------------------------------------------------------<br>
================================================================</p>
<p>Name: DoCoMo NM705i<br>
Category: Cell phone<br>
Price: Open price<br>
Release date in Japan: March 19, 2008</p>
<p>Global roamers will be interested in NTT DoCoMo's new Nokia<br>
Japan-made FOMA NM705i 3G + quad-band GSM cell phone. DoCoMo<br>
promises that the small and slim 'straight type' (non-clamshell)<br>
device operates in 156 counties with the company's WORLD WING<br>
international roaming network for DoCoMo FOMA handset users. </p>
<p>Additional fun for the traveler includes a 'World Clock' that<br>
packs the time in 15 cities onto one screen, unit and currency<br>
conversions, and a two-way Japanese-English dictionary with over<br>
160,000 words. </p>
<p>Tech specs boast a 2.0 inches 320x240 TFT display, 1.9 megapixel<br>
camera, microSD/microSDHC card memory (up to 4 GB), an 89-gram<br>
heft, and Bluetooth for wireless headset connection. Fashion<br>
hounds can ponder the choice of a Stylish Black, Noble White,<br>
or Bitter Orange exterior.</p>
<p>You'll be wanting that WORLD WING capability to make the NM705i<br>
your phone of choice, though. There's a good list of features<br>
not offered on the cellie: 'osaifu keitai' contactless IC card,<br>
one-seg TV, bar code reader, PDF and document viewers, and GPS,<br>
as well as some of DoCoMo's fancier music download and text<br>
editing features. </p>
<p>Nokia is betting on products like the NM705i and its N95 for<br>
Softbank (expected next month) to boost its modest position in<br>
Japan's crowded handset space. You'll have to check your local<br>
DoCoMo shop in Japan to give this latest offering a test;<br>
there's no word yet on the unit becoming available outside Japan,<br>
though bloggers have pointed to an FCC application in the works. </p>
<p>More info:<br>
<a href="http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/foma/705i/nm705i/index.html" title="http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/foma/705i/nm705i/index.html">http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/foma/705i/nm705i/index.html</a><br>
(Japanese)</p>
<p>================================================================</p>
<p>Name: EXEMODE ER-250<br>
Category: Home audio/video<br>
Price: Open price (around JPY10,000)<br>
Release date in Japan: March 22, 2008</p>
<p>Vinyl isn't dead; it's just being copied onto solid-state memory<br>
by EXEMODE Inc.'s new ER-250 audio system. The Tokyo-based<br>
digital device maker's system weighs in at a compact 3.3 kg<br>
(plus two 1.28 kg speakers) and only delivers 2W of sound, but<br>
promises to neatly straddle the analog and digital worlds. The<br>
unit will play LP/EP records and audio CDs, recording the output<br>
to MP3 file format on digital memory (USB, SD, miniSD, or MMC).<br>
There's an AM/FM tuner as well, for more analog joy. </p>
<p>If you'd rather stick with playback from digital media, the<br>
ER-250 accommodates MP3 or WMA audio files in addition to CDs.</p>
<p>Best of all, the ER-250 is expected to cost you only about<br>
JPY10,000. As a low-cost way to liberate vinyl - say, turning a<br>
parent's classic collection into a format the next generation<br>
can enjoy - it's worth checking out. (Sounds to me like the most<br>
fun to be had with record albums since the time we kids<br>
discovered mom and dad's 'Hair' LP. That was better than<br>
Saturday morning cartoons.) </p>
<p>More info:<br>
<a href="http://www.exemode.com/product/er250.html" title="http://www.exemode.com/product/er250.html">http://www.exemode.com/product/er250.html</a> (Japanese)</p>
<p>================================================================</p>
<p>Name: SONY PS-LX200USB<br>
Category: Home audio/video<br>
Price: JPY28,350<br>
Release date in Japan: April 15, 2008</p>
<p>SONY will tempt platter-spinning old-school audiophiles with its<br>
own offering a few weeks after the ER-250 hits shelves, giving<br>
its device the SONY touch (and SONY price). The PS-LX200USB is a<br>
3.1-kg LP/EP player that you can add to your component stereo<br>
system for vinyl record playback, or connect via USB to a PC for<br>
transfer to digital format. </p>
<p>The PS-LX200USB caters to the music fan wanting to move vinyl to<br>
digital without losing the warmth of the original format. While<br>
the unit includes a tool to reduce analog noise at the digital<br>
recording stage, SONY claims that its compression-less recording<br>
preserves the 'soft sound quality' of vinyl. From there, you'll<br>
use the included Sound Forge Audio Studio LE music mastering<br>
software (Windows XP/Vista) to edit your recordings and then<br>
burn them to CD-R/RW or convert them to ATRAC or MP3 for<br>
playback on other devices (such as a Walkman, SONY suggests). </p>
<p>But SONY is pitching the player not just as a way to turn your<br>
recordings digital but as a way to keep enjoying the records<br>
themselves. Some key words for the LP-philes out there:<br>
phonoequalizer amplifier, fully automatic play, die-cast<br>
aluminum alloy turntable, diamond needle MM cartridge, dynamic<br>
balance straight-type tone arm, and more. </p>
<p>More info:<br>
<a href="http://www.sony.jp/CorporateCruise/Press/200803/08-0312/" title="http://www.sony.jp/CorporateCruise/Press/200803/08-0312/">http://www.sony.jp/CorporateCruise/Press/200803/08-0312/</a><br>
(Japanese)</p>
<p>================================================================</p>
<p>Name: SONY MDR-NC500D<br>
Category: Headphones<br>
Price: JPY49,350<br>
Release date in Japan: April 21, 2008</p>
<p>Digital technology can not only preserve analog signals, it can<br>
destroy them as well. That's the premise of SONY's 'world's<br>
first' digital noise-canceling headphones, the MDR-NC500D. </p>
<p>Noise-canceling 'phones not only block outside sounds that<br>
strive to reach your ears, they actively reduce it by picking up<br>
sound waves through a microphone, processing the analog signal,<br>
and generating opposite-polarity sound waves that cancel the<br>
outside noise via destructive interference. SONY's innovation in<br>
the new 'phones is to first convert the incoming analog noise to<br>
a digital signal, and then perform high-level processing not<br>
possible on an analog signal. The company claims the device's<br>
DNC (digital noise canceling) software engine kills an unequaled<br>
99% of surrounding noise, while a digital equalizer compensates<br>
for flaws in low-frequency playback sound quality common to<br>
conventional noise-canceling headphones. </p>
<p>The 195-gram circumaural (ear-covering) cans offer three sound<br>
filters, each optimized for specific conditions: one ideal for<br>
aircraft interiors, another for bus or train interiors, and<br>
another for the office environment with its noisy computers and<br>
air conditioners and what not. If you like, press the AI Noise<br>
Canceling Mode Button to let the 'phones sample the outside<br>
world and automatically select the optimal filter from among the<br>
three. </p>
<p>Other features: 40mm CCAW voice coil drivers, 102 dB/mW<br>
sensitivity, 5-24,000Hz frequency range, 100mW maximum output,<br>
AC and airline power adapters, and 16-hour operation with<br>
included rechargeable batteries (10 hours with alkalines). And<br>
for those times when you do want to hear the outside world, a<br>
muting feature silences the music and uses the microphone to<br>
boost the outside sound - no need to yank off the 'phones and<br>
shout 'what?'. </p>
<p>More info:<br>
<a href="http://www.sony.jp/CorporateCruise/Press/200803/08-0313/" title="http://www.sony.jp/CorporateCruise/Press/200803/08-0313/">http://www.sony.jp/CorporateCruise/Press/200803/08-0313/</a><br>
(Japanese)</p>
<p>================================================================<br>
STAFF<br>
Written by: Timm Tuttle<br>
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