<div dir="ltr">This week's Gadget Watch mirrors the past few days of the<br>Japanese gadget scene: no big announcements calling for long<br>write-ups, but plenty of interesting short items - a super-thin<br>TV phone, a super-high-res pocket camera, yet another strange<br>
mouse, and more. <br>--------------------------------------------------------<br>Japan 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>
The Hottest Gadgets and Gizmos from Japan<br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br>Issue No. 307 Friday July 25, 2008<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>
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<br>CORPORATE SPONSORS WELCOME<br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br>===========================================================<br><br><br>1) NTT DOCOMO has released the new 'P706iu' (that's 'mu'), which<br>
the company claims is the slimmest mobile with One-seg TV on the<br>market. The Panasonic-made 'Extreme Slim' phone is just 9.8 mm<br>thick and builds in 'Osaifu Keitai' e-wallet, FOMA High-Speed, a<br>3-inch QVGA screen, and a 2-megapixel camera. Around JPY40,000. <br>
<a href="http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/foma/706i/p706imu/">http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/foma/706i/p706imu/</a> (Japanese)<br><br>2) DOCOMO adds another to the growing ranks of mobile phones<br>doubling as fitness buddies: the 'Raku Raku Phone V' (that's V<br>
as in 'Five'). You can hold a fingertip over the camera to<br>measure your pulse, and count your steps with the pedometer<br>powered by a three-axis accelerometer. Aimed at beginners and<br>seniors, the clamshell 3G phone also features an easy-read<br>
screen, 'Super Hakkiri Voice 2' sound enhancement to enhance<br>listening, and easy one-hand opening. About JPY40,000, from<br>August.<br><a href="http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/easy_phone/foma_rakuraku5/">http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/easy_phone/foma_rakuraku5/</a><br>
index.html (Japanese)<br><br>3) Matsushita is claiming a 'world's first' for its new LUMIX<br>DMC-FX150: the highest pixel count - 14.7 million - in a<br>'kondeji' ('compact digtal') camera. That's a pixel count<br>
unmatched even by a lot of digital SLR cameras. Specs include<br>28mm lens, 3.6x optical zoom, and 2.7-inch display. Choose from<br>Blade Silver, Mirage Gold, or Esprit Black - colors designed to<br>appeal to the male demographic, says the company. About<br>
JPY47,000, from August 22.<br><a href="http://panasonic.jp/dc/fx150/">http://panasonic.jp/dc/fx150/</a> (Japanese)<br><br>---------- Metropolis and eigoTown.com Party --------------<br><br>July 26, 2008 - Hundreds of party people out for a good time<br>
@ Alife, Nishi-Azabu. Alcohol, food and music!<br><br>What you get:<br>All-you-can drink<br>Live Shows<br>Prizes: **Trip for two to Macau courtesy of Viva Macau**<br>DJs<br>+ Single people<br><br><a href="http://www.metropolis.co.jp/iparty/">http://www.metropolis.co.jp/iparty/</a><br>
<br>Nearest stn: Roppongi. <a href="http://www.metropolis.co.jp/party">www.metropolis.co.jp/party</a><br><br>CORPORATE SPONSORS WELCOME<br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>4) Tokyo-based toy maker Cube Co. Ltd. has new Star Wars-themed<br>
4-port USB hubs. Choose from an R2-D2 replica or a bust of Darth<br>Vader. Each turns its head, flahes lights, and makes noises:<br>R2-D2's trademark beeps (which Cube transliterates as 'pico pico<br>pico') and Darth's notorious heavy breathing ('co-ho-' is how<br>
Cube writes out that one, and it works for me). Each is 15 cm<br>tall and goes for JPY7140.<br><a href="http://www.cube-works.co.jp/works/index_sub.html?/works/starwars">http://www.cube-works.co.jp/works/index_sub.html?/works/starwars</a><br>
/index.html (Japanese)<br><br>5) Sweaty palms a problem while working on the computer? If the<br>cause isn't the web sites you're viewing, maybe it's just the<br>summer heat. Cool your mouse hand with Thanko's 'USB Cooler<br>
Mouse'. The 5-button desktop mouse incorporates a two-speed<br>internal fan and ventilation holes to pamper your hand with a<br>refreshing breeze. JPY1980. <br><a href="http://thanko.jp/coolermouse/">http://thanko.jp/coolermouse/</a> (Japanese)<br>
<br>6) Kingston Technology has announced the 'DataTraveler Terra<br>Cotta', a 4-GB USB thumb drive with an image of the famed terra<br>cotta warrior statues of China embossed into its gold-colored<br>zinc shell, along with a dragon silhouette in the cap.<br>
'SecureTraveler' encryption software helps keep contents safe.<br>Although Kingston is a US company, the artful gadget will be<br>sold in limited quantities in Asia only. Release date and price<br>not yet announced. <br>
<a href="http://www.kingston.com/japan/flash/dtterra.asp">http://www.kingston.com/japan/flash/dtterra.asp</a> (Japanese)<br><br>7) Ishikawa Prefecture-based I-O DATA has a new tuner to bring<br>terrestrial digital TV to your laptop or other PC, the<br>
GV-MVP/HZ. (Name origin: Graphic Video Magic TV Products / model<br>HZ.) Connected and powered by USB, the compact tuner and its<br>bundled software can record Hi-Vision TV to your internal or<br>external hard disk, or to DVD. It's compliant with the new<br>
'Dubbing 10' system allowing up to 10 copies of digital TV<br>broadcasts, and has one more trick up its sleeve: if your PC's<br>power is up to the task, you can plug in as many as eight<br>GV-MVP/HZ tuners to record multiple channels simultaneously.<br>
JPY15,700. <br><a href="http://www.iodata.jp/prod/multimedia/tv/2008/gv-mvphz/">http://www.iodata.jp/prod/multimedia/tv/2008/gv-mvphz/</a> (English)<br><br>8) Robo Japan 2008 promises to be one of the more interesting<br>
gadget trade shows you can visit this year. Industrial robots<br>will be in abundance, but the show organizers are placing<br>emphasis on robot assistants for health care and the home. Meet<br>the latest 'bots at Pacifico Yokohama on October 11-13. (Don't<br>
miss the 14th ROBO-ONE event on the first two days, featuring<br>gladiatorial matches between two-legged walking robots.)<br><a href="http://www.robo-japan.jp/index_e.html">http://www.robo-japan.jp/index_e.html</a> (English)<br>
<a href="http://www.robo-one.com/">http://www.robo-one.com/</a> (Japanese)<br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------<br>STAFF<br>Written by: Timm Tuttle<br>READ PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS<br>Gadget Watch online archive:<br>
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<a href="http://mailman.japaninc.com/mailman/listinfo/gadgetwatch">http://mailman.japaninc.com/mailman/listinfo/gadgetwatch</a><br><br>--------NEW GADGET BLOG: TEKRONOMICON.COM------------------<br><br>In collaboration with Gadget Watch, Gadget blog Tekronomicon<br>
offers a detailed look at select gadgets - shiny and strange,<br>from gizmo ground zero in Tokyo.<br>See the gadgets introduced in Gadget Watch,<br>with photos and more at: <a href="http://www.tekronomicon.com">www.tekronomicon.com</a><br>
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