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Japan Inc Magazine Presents:<br>
G A D G E T W A T C H</p>
<p>READ GADGETWATCH ONLINE AT:<br>
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The Hottest Gadgets and Gizmos from Japan<br>
-----------------------------------------------------------<br>
Issue No. 308 Friday August 01, 2008<br>
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<p>-----------------------------------------------------------<br></p><p>This week's Gadget Watch checks out two new cams (video and<br></p>
still) plus a handful of miscellaneous geeky peripherals.<br>========================================================
<p>Wooo! Hitachi releases full Hi-Def Blue-ray cam </p>
<p>Name: Hitachi Blue-ray Cam Wooo DZ-BD10H<br>
Category: digital video camera<br>
Price: About JPY160,000<br>
Release date in Japan: August 9, 2008</p>
<p>Blu-ray, which won the format war over rival HD DVD in the<br>
next-generation disc wars, continues its victory laps, recently<br>
popping up in handheld digicams. The latest entry: Hitachi's<br>
Blue-ray Cam Wooo DZ-BD10H.</p>
<p>The Wooo (let's call it that; it's so much more fun than<br>
'DZ-whatever') is a lighter, higher-resolution upgrade to the<br>
earlier Blu-ray-equipped DZ-BD9H, and marks Hitachi's first cam<br>
to save full HD (1920x1080 High Definition) video to Blue-ray<br>
discs (BD-R/RE). Its 7-megapixel CMOS sensor records video to<br>
MPEG4 AVC/H.264 format, and takes still snaps at 2880ラ2160<br>
resolution.</p>
<p>The Wooo gives you four ways to save video: the internal 30GB<br>
hard drive, an SDHC memory card, 8-cm DVD-RAM/-RW/-R discs, or<br>
8-cm Blu-ray discs, one of which holds about 7.5GB of data. The<br>
hard drive or a 32GB SDHC card will each save over 4 hours of<br>
full HD video, while a Blu-ray disc will store about an hour.<br>
(Video saved to DVD is in non-HD MPEG2 format.) The camera<br>
includes a one-touch dubbing feature to transfer recorded video<br>
from hard drive or SDHC to a disc, for playback or further<br>
editing on a PC. </p>
<p>Other specs: 10x optical zoom, face recognition, optical image<br>
stabilization, 2.7-inch LCD display, HDMI connector for output<br>
to a PC or TV. About 575g with battery.</p>
<p>More info:<br>
<a href="http://av.hitachi.co.jp/cam/products_bd/bd10h/index.html" title="http://av.hitachi.co.jp/cam/products_bd/bd10h/index.html">http://av.hitachi.co.jp/cam/products_bd/bd10h/index.html</a><br>
(Japanese)</p>
<p>========================================================</p>
<p>New PENTAX Optio digicam selects shooting mode automatically </p>
<p>Name: PENTAX Optio M60<br>
Category: still compact digital camera<br>
Price: About JPY20,000<br>
Release date in Japan: August 22, 2008</p>
<p>Just about any modern camera, whether pocket-sized or big SLR,<br>
offers user-selectable shooting modes for easy one-step<br>
adjustment of numerous settings: Portrait to highlight skin<br>
tones, Sports to prioritize fast shutter speed, and so on. Some<br>
cameras strive to take even that decision-making out of users'<br>
hands, automatically selecting shooting mode for the user.<br>
Optics maker HOYA, holder of the PENTAX brand, claims that its<br>
new Optio M60 goes farther down that road than any other cam,<br>
with an unrivaled eight shooting modes that the camera will<br>
automatically select from each time you shoot.</p>
<p>The 'Auto Picture' modes are Standard, Lanscape, Portrait,<br>
Night, Night Portrait, Flowers, and Sports. Just point and<br>
shoot, and let Optio analyze whether you're shooting a face, a<br>
mountain, a rose, an athlete, and so on, and choose the best<br>
mode for you. Assuming the feature works well, it does sound<br>
useful for quick-draw shooting, shaving off those few seconds<br>
typically required to twist a dial from that little flower<br>
symbol to that little running guy symbol. In addition, automatic<br>
macro shooting prevents the common problem of shooters<br>
forgetting to switch back to normal focus after close-up shots. </p>
<p>The same computing power that analyzes scenery is put to use in<br>
heavy-duty facial recognition, of course: the Optio will detect<br>
and set ideal focus and exposure for as many as 32(!) faces at<br>
once, and when dealing with few faces, can perform its mug<br>
analysis in as little as 0.03 seconds. On top of that is 'Smile<br>
Capture', to hold back the shot until the subject smiles, and<br>
'Blinking Detection', to warn you when your smiling subject<br>
blinked mid-shot.</p>
<p>Other specs: 10-megapixel CCD sensor, 5x optical zoom, 2.5-inch<br>
LCD display, 'Digital SR' shake reduction, automatic ISO up to<br>
6400, 36MB built-in memory plus SD/SDHC memory card slot, and 80<br>
cheesy digital frame effects for post-shot editing. Silver,<br>
Light Pink, or Blue. 130-g with battery.</p>
<p>More info:<br>
<a href="http://www.pentax.jp/japan/imaging/digital/compact/optio-m60/" title="http://www.pentax.jp/japan/imaging/digital/compact/optio-m60/">http://www.pentax.jp/japan/imaging/digital/compact/optio-m60/</a><br>
feature.html (Japanese)</p>
<p>========================================================</p>
<p>Solid Alliance USB drive targets key Satou demographic</p>
<p>Name: Solid Alliance '...of the world' series USB drive<br>
Category: USB memory drive<br>
Price: JPY3200<br>
Release date in Japan: July 25, 2008</p>
<p>Tokyo-based Solid Alliance, fine purveyors of USB drives shaped<br>
like ducks and sushi, now has a USB drive with your name on it -<br>
if that happens to be Satou, that is. Which, fortunately for the<br>
company, is pretty often the case in Japan. </p>
<p>The 19-million-strong members of clan Satou often find<br>
themselves mistaken for 'that other Satou', and some have been<br>
known to wish for a more distinctive last name. But listen up,<br>
'sekai no Satou' ('Satous of the world')! It's time to display<br>
clan pride, says Solid Alliance. The company's new 1GB drive<br>
takes the shape of the two characters making up Japan's most<br>
common family name: 'sa' plugs into your PC, while 'tou' is the<br>
cap. Curvy Edo-era 'yose' script adds to its visual impact.<br>
Solid Alliance adds a loop for a chain or strap, so you can<br>
openly display to the world your membership in this most<br>
inclusive of clubs. </p>
<p>(You're paying for your branding here, though, Satou-san. A<br>
generic 1GB USB drive is easy to find for less than JPY1000;<br>
even a 4GB drive should cost less than this model.) </p>
<p>Solid Alliance also adds a fervent wish for any and all athlete<br>
Satous to bring home gold from Beijing, along with the hope that<br>
'all of Japan's Satous win gold medals in the Olympics called<br>
life'. </p>
<p>And if you're not a Satou? Solid Alliance is accepting votes<br>
online for the next name in the series. 'Yamadas of the world'?<br>
'Fujiwaras of the world'? Perhaps one day, electronics shops<br>
will display racks of USB drives in hundreds of names, just as<br>
ready-made 'hanko' name stamps are sold in stationery shops. So<br>
go ahead and vote for your lineage (though if you're not a<br>
Tanaka, Suzuki, Yamamoto, or Takahashi, you've got some waiting<br>
ahead of you). </p>
<p>More info: <a href="http://item.rakuten.co.jp/sastore/c/0000000336/" title="http://item.rakuten.co.jp/sastore/c/0000000336/">http://item.rakuten.co.jp/sastore/c/0000000336/</a><br>
(Japanese)<br>
Vote for the next name:<br>
<a href="http://www.solidalliance.com/cgi-bin/oftheworld/vote.cgi" title="http://www.solidalliance.com/cgi-bin/oftheworld/vote.cgi">http://www.solidalliance.com/cgi-bin/oftheworld/vote.cgi</a></p>
<p>========================================================</p>
<p>Short items</p>
<p>Spotted elsewhere in the news:</p>
<p>1) Okayama-based Sanwa Supply offers a wireless 10-key-pad<br>
mouse, the NT-WLMA2. A selector offers the option to make only<br>
the mouse or 10-key functions active, so you don't accidentally<br>
punch numbers while mousing around. JPY7329.<br>
<a href="http://www.sanwa.co.jp/news/200807/nt-wlma2/index.html" title="http://www.sanwa.co.jp/news/200807/nt-wlma2/index.html">http://www.sanwa.co.jp/news/200807/nt-wlma2/index.html</a><br>
(Japanese)</p>
<p>2) Recently we noted Thanko's USB Cooler Mouse with a built-in<br>
fan - a gimmick unfortunately able to cool only one hand at a<br>
time. Well, the company didn't waste much time addressing that<br>
shortcoming: this week, Thanko announced the USB Cooler<br>
Keyboard, an aluminum-topped full-size keyboard with no less<br>
than three fans blowing air out of ventilation holes in the palm<br>
rests. Two sweat-free palms can be yours for JPY6980.<br>
<a href="http://thanko.jp/coolerkeyboard/" title="http://thanko.jp/coolerkeyboard/">http://thanko.jp/coolerkeyboard/</a> (Japanese)</p>
<p>3) Sanwa Supply has a new stylus aimed squarely at Japan's<br>
legion of new iPhone 3G users, the PDA-PEN17. The JPY2097 stick<br>
has a conductive sponge tip, and is good for any touch or drag<br>
operation that you'd normally perform with a finger. (Once<br>
again, a free piece of advice to stylus manufacturers: Why not<br>
tell customers to buy and hold two pens, chopstick-style, to<br>
enable two-finger pinch operations?)<br>
<a href="http://www.sanwa.co.jp/news/200807/pda-pen17/index.html" title="http://www.sanwa.co.jp/news/200807/pda-pen17/index.html">http://www.sanwa.co.jp/news/200807/pda-pen17/index.html</a><br>
(Japanese)<br>
iPhone accessory collection:<br>
<a href="http://www.sanwa.co.jp/seihin_joho/iphone/index.html" title="http://www.sanwa.co.jp/seihin_joho/iphone/index.html">http://www.sanwa.co.jp/seihin_joho/iphone/index.html</a></p>
<p>4) Speaking of iPhones: If you're still trying to find one in<br>
stock in Japan, weekends may be your best bet. Neither Apple<br>
Japan nor Softbank Mobile are making big announcements about<br>
availability, but Business Computer News' analysis of sales data<br>
found spikes in iPhone 3G sales on July 18 (Friday), and July<br>
25-26 (Friday and Saturday), pointing to the timing of<br>
shipments. As reported earlier, the two iPhone 3G models snapped<br>
up 45% of all mobile phone unit sales in Japan on July 11, but<br>
plunged to single digits soon afterward due to simple lack of<br>
stock. On July 26, however, the 16GB iPhone 3G regained the<br>
top-selling mobile phone slot, with 8.8% of unit sales. (The 8GB<br>
model rose only to #16, at 1.6%.)<br>
<a href="http://bcnranking.jp/news/0807/080728_11375.html" title="http://bcnranking.jp/news/0807/080728_11375.html">http://bcnranking.jp/news/0807/080728_11375.html</a> (Japanese)</p>
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<p>In collaboration with Gadget Watch, Gadget blog Tekronomicon<br>
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from gizmo ground zero in Tokyo.<br>
See the gadgets introduced in Gadget Watch,<br>
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<p>-----------------------------------------------------------</p></div>