Gadget Report
August 19th, 2004
proudly presented by
PC World
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Electronics made fun again. Reports on the hottest new gadgets,
including the latest high-tech products making their way from Japan.
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August 19th, 2004
Tokyo Edge: More Video Options
Martyn Williams
Tokyo Bureau Chief IDG News Service
The summer months are proving good for Japan's electronics vendors.
The Olympic Games in Athens are pushing many people to finally buy
that plasma or LCD television that they've been dreaming about. Also,
the time difference between Japan and Greece is helping sales of video
recorders, particularly those that use hard drives or DVDs.
Even the weather is helping promote technology sales: A brilliant
start to the summer with central Tokyo temperatures hitting a record
high of 103 degrees, followed by more than a month of 80-degree days,
has helped Fujitsu and Hitachi sell air conditioners.
The gadget front has been quiet, as is typical for summer, but the
season hasn't been without some interesting introductions. At the top
of the list is Hitachi's latest hard-drive video recorder. It supports
HDTV, which is exactly the market that Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD are
pursuing, but as a hard-drive player it can offer basic recording
functions at a lower price. You can't back up the recorded shows onto
disc, because DVD doesn't support HDTV--but hard-disk support for
high-definition content may actually slow the demand for
next-generation optical disc recorders.
Hitachi HDTV Recorder
Hitachi has developed a hard disk-based video recorder that supports
HDTV recording. Two models are available: the DV-DH400T has a 400GB
drive, and the DV-DH250T has a 250GB drive. The 400GB model has enough
space for 40 hours of HDTV or 555 hours of standard-definition TV
programming.
The device also has a DVD recording function. But because DVD doesn't
support HDTV, users are limited to recording standard-definition TV.
The recorders will become available in Japan in October. Hitachi
expects to price the DV-DH400T at $1820 and the DV-DH250T at $1443.
The company has no plans for an international launch.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P150 Digital Camera
The megapixel race continues, with Sony announcing its budget-priced
7-megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-P150.
The camera is proudly trumpeted as the first pocket-size model to
offer 7-megapixel resolution, although that capacity may be overkill
for the average amateur photographer. Other features include a 3X
optical zoom and support for PictBridge, which allows the camera to be
directly connected to a printer without needing a PC. Start-up time is
1.3 seconds and shutter lag--the delay between pressing the button and
the shutter releasing--is 0.3 seconds. Sony will ship the DSC-P150 in
both Japan and the U.S. in September, priced around $500.
For more information, read "Sony Readies 7-Megapixel Digicam":
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/197676/21421684/722341/0/
An image of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P150 is here:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/197676/21421684/722342/0/
NHJ Digital Jukebox
Digital music players from Apple and Sony may be stealing all the
headlines, but if you want lots of features you might be better off
looking elsewhere.
NHJ's VHD-1500 is a digital music player equipped with a 1.5GB hard
drive and support for MP3, WMA, and Ogg format music playback. You can
hook it up to a CD player and rip songs directly into MP3 format, and
the device even has a built-in FM radio tuner. It uses USB 2.0 to
connect to a PC, and NHJ says the battery lasts 18 hours.
It's available now in Japan and costs $253. Sony has revealed no plans
for an overseas launch.
An image of the NHJ VHD-1500 is here:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/197676/21421684/722343/0/
Toshiba Qosmio Notebook
Toshiba's Qosmio is optimized for multimedia.
Features include a Toshiba-developed image processing chip and other
enhancements such as the addition of a second backlight in the LCD to
offer a brightness equivalent to that of a flat-panel television. The
Qosmio includes a TV tuner and has a Linux-based system that enables
the notebook to begin showing TV images almost immediately. Without it
users would have to wait for about 30 to 60 seconds for Windows to
start, then log in and launch the TV software.
Three models are scheduled to be on sale in Japan by the end of
August; they are to ship in the U.S. in mid-August. They'll also be
available worldwide by October. Street prices begin at $1864. Toshiba
is also developing two additional models for release by year end.
For more information and a picture of the notebook, read "Toshiba
Unveils Multimedia Notebooks":
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/197676/21421684/722344/0/
Kyocera Finecam SL400R Digital Cameras
Kyocera is issuing five new models of its Finecam SL400R digital
camera with a tip of the hat to Apple's IPod Mini, which recently
launched in Japan.
The specifications are unchanged from the basic version of the camera,
but the SL400R now comes in the same five colors as Apple's music
player: silver, gold, pink, green, and blue.
The new cameras will be on sale from late August through Apple Japan's
online store and its retail store in Tokyo. The 4-megapixel camera has
a 3X optical zoom and measures 2.5 inches high, 3.9 inches wide, and
just 0.6 inches thick. No price has been announced, but the standard
version of the camera can be found priced as low as $245.
For more information, read PC World's review:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/197676/21421684/722345/0/
Onkyo DVD-Audio/SACD Player
Audio equipment-maker Onkyo is launching in September what may be one
of the least expensive players to support both the DVD-Audio and Super
Audio CD formats.
The DV-SP502 also supports DVD-Video and recordable DVD and CD media,
and plays discs with MP3 and WMA audio files and JPEG image files. It
is scheduled to launch in Japan in early September priced at $439.
Onkyo hasn't announced any plans for an overseas launch.
The DVD-Audio and SACD formats offer a higher quality sound than is
available from conventional CDs, although they have failed to make any
major inroads into the CD market. Recordings in these formats are most
often found in the classical or jazz sections of music stores.
NTT DoCoMo F900iC 3G Mobile Phone
NTT DoCoMo's latest Wideband Code Division Multiple Access handset is
the first 3G phone from the company to support its new all-in-one
"electronic wallet" service.
Embedded in the F900iC is a contactless integrated circuit card based
on the Mobile Felica system that was developed by NTT DoCoMo and Sony.
The system is used in several electronic money and prepaid
transportation systems in Japan, allowing consumers to buy goods or
ride the train by passing a card over a sensor. Users now must carry a
card for each application. The F900iC consolidates these cards,
allowing users to pass the handset itself over a sensor to pay for
various goods or services. The appropriate amount is deducted from a
balance loaded into the handset in advance.
Developed by Fujitsu, the handset is available in Japan now, priced at
about $236. An overseas launch is not planned--and it is unlikely,
since phone networks differ worldwide.
An image of the NTT DoCoMo F900iC is here:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/197676/21421684/722346/0/
Sony Qualia MDR-EXQ1 Headphones
If the first word that comes into your head when you think about
Sony's Qualia brand is "expensive," then this new pair of
headphones--sorry, "stereo ear receivers"--won't do much to change
that impression.
The headphones offer a frequency response between 5 Hz and 24 kHz,
rated power of 100 milliwatts and sensitivity of 101 decibels per
milliwatt. As you might expect they weigh almost nothing: 0.3 ounce.
The MDR-EXQ1 is the same model that's bundled with the Qualia MiniDisc
player, and it carries the rather impressive price tag of $191. The
headphones are available in Japan now and have not been announced for
other markets.
For more information on the Qualia MiniDisc player and a picture of
the player and headphones, read "Designer Cell Phones Debut" (the
write-up is in the middle of the page):
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/197676/21421684/722347/0/
HD-DVD Prototypes
Previewed in Tokyo this summer were a couple of prototype machines
that support the High Definition/High Density-DVD next-generation
optical disc format.
The system, which is intended for high-definition video content, is
being developed largely by Toshiba and NEC, and both companies showed
off prototype hardware during an event in July. An HD-DVD can store
15GB of data, which is enough space for 180 minutes of high-definition
video. Commercial products are due to ship in 2005, when they are
likely to compete with the Blu-ray Disc format, which is being
developed by Sony and 13 other companies.
For more information on the HD-DVD format, read "Toshiba, NEC Promise
HD-DVD in 2005":
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/197676/21421684/722348/0/
For more information on Blu-ray Disc technology, read "New Blu-ray
Details Emerge":
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/197676/21421684/722349/0/
Read Martyn Williams' regularly published "Tokyo Edge" columns:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/197676/21421684/364231/0/
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