author

 
 

Meta

Peter Crookes
For Peter Crookes's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
May 26, 2010
Casio cell phones in the frame; Panasonic pushing Blu-ray angle for TVs
Mobile snaps: Casio's latest cell phone, the CA005, just released by KDD's mobile phone service "au by KDDI," offers two products in one. A typical glossy clamshell mobile phone, the CA005 also packs a 13-megapixel camera into its sharply rectangular form. The phone's camera features smile detection and a fast "burst-shooting" (continuous shooting) rate, which is rare even for compact cameras. Being a cell-phone camera, there is no room for an optical zoom but the wide 28 mm lens does have a 3x digital zoom. Despite Casio's deserved reputation for good optics, however, the camera mode's megapixel count isn't enough to make this a camera replacement. The lens is limited and sensors in cell phones are a shadow of those in a compact camera. This is still a distinct upgrade on camera modes in rival cell phones, and is good enough to use to take simple snapshots.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
May 19, 2010
Sony makes the NEX move, Pioneer's iPod docks double as home theaters
Fashionably late: Sony has finally released its alternative to the already popular Olympus EP-2 and Lumix DMC-GF1 micro four-thirds, interchangeable lens cameras. Using the same technology that Olympus and Panasonic pioneered, the Alpha NEX-3 and NEX-5 are effectively compact DSLR cameras, light enough to carry around at all times but still capable of taking high-quality RAW files. Panasonic, which brought out the first micro four-thirds camera in 2008, made the mistake of creating a bulky, conservative-looking camera. Sony, however, has made compactness its priority, emphasizing one of the key benefits of a micro four-thirds system — it's light. Both of the cameras undercut their rivals in the weight stakes. Without batteries, the NEX-5 tips the scales at 229 grams and the NEX-3 is just an extra 10 grams. Panasonic's most recent micro four-thirds, the Lumix DMC-GF1, weighs 285 grams, and the Olympus EP-2 is 335 grams. The two Sony models are also demonstrably smaller, although both the Panasonic and Olympus cameras are slightly thinner.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
May 12, 2010
Buffalo accelerates in speed and price; Sony's mug pours out more sounds
Revving up the hard drive: Solid-state discs (SSDs) are the sports cars of external hard drives. But running an SSD on USB 2.0 is akin to buying a Ferrari with only three gears. Buffalo is putting the foot down by revamping its lineup of external SSDs to run on the much faster and newer USB 3.0 connections. The difference is a speed limit of around 480Mps compared to 5Gbps. The new drives, the SHD-PEHU3 series, hit the market May 10 and come in a selection of three storage sizes — 64-, 128- and 256-gigabyte models. The devices fit in the palm like a mobile phone and draped in a glossy black finish they even look the part. Beyond speed, the devices also put a premium on portability, weighing a slight 66 grams and measuring 97 mm in width by 57 mm in height and a slim 12 mm in depth.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
May 5, 2010
Sony ups sound for 3-D TV sets; iPad gets a challenger
Change of view: The 3-D steamroller is far from flattening the opposition, but it is picking up pace. Sony is giving it a nudge by paying some attention to the sound that goes with it. It has just unleashed a pair of 3.1 channel sound bars, the HT-CT350 and HT-CT150 3.1. The big innovation is HDMI 1.4. This latest version of the must-have digital video connection is something of a leap forward from the previous 1.3 version. The newest flavor of HDMI includes an Ethernet connection, allowing the three new Sony products to share the broadband connection of another broadband-capable device, such as a high-grade TV. Of greater interest to TV fans is that 1.4 does a much better job of supporting 3-D television image resolution and sound. In using this connection, the trio can fulfill the audio potential of 3-D and also serve as a communication bridge between different 3-D devices, so a DVD player can pass its image through one of the HTs and get a maximum image quality on a 3-D TV. It brings 3-D gaming and home-theater systems closer to reality.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Apr 28, 2010
Toshiba television to stream its content from the Internet
Change of view: Traditionally, the preferred methods of delivering content have been over the airwaves or on video tape or disc. In the wings, though, is the rival technique of watching TV footage sent into homes via the Web. Toshiba is trumpeting this newer method with its latest Regza LCD televisions, the Z1 series. Featuring LED lighting for the screens, the Z1 quartet offers the ability to watch TV via a LAN hookup or USB connection. As part of the package, the Z1s include support for watching video-on-demand. Users can also record footage using the LAN or USB methods, but none of the sets come with built-in memory and thus need to be connected to an external storage device. The lack of memory is a drawback, but the ability to bypass the traditional distribution methods of airwaves or disc is an early peek into the future. It is an innovation that holds as much (if not more) promise as 3-D imagery. Using the Web to get your TV opens up myriad sources, everything from amateur clips on YouTube to the latest Hollywood flick. Quality also comes into it as the likes of 3-D and other technical marvels are going to demand huge amounts of bandwidth. Such demands will challenge the physical limits of the likes of Blu-ray.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Apr 14, 2010
Sony brings the world's radio into your room
FM flight: In the old days, listening to the radio meant turning a dial and hunting out a few signals amid waves of static. FM stations in particular have moved beyond such primitiveness, but it is on the Internet that radio has made its greatest strides. Internet radio is one of the less obvious features Sony brings to the table in the form of its new NAS-V7M all-in-one dock station. The device includes the vTuner and SHOUTcast applications. Once set up with an Internet connection, the NAS-V7M can receive more than 7,000 radio stations from all over the world. The stations cover more than 50 genres, some 120 countries and 50 languages. Helping to sort through the plethora of choices are more than 500 schedules. The music plays through a pair of 7.5-W speakers encased in a curvaceous device that does no harm to Sony's reputation for style.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Apr 7, 2010
Softbank's brings a smartphone named Desire to Japan's shores
Object of desire: Not content with having the famous Apple iPhone in its stable of smartphones, Softbank is now bringing the HTC Desire and its Android 2.1 operating system to the local market. Also known in Japan as the X06HT, the new phone has already created waves overseas. It seeks to live up to its more interesting name by cranking up both hardware and features. The physical standout is the 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen, which with its 800 × 480 resolution looks primed for multimedia usage. Backing it up is an unusually powerful 1-GHz Snapdragon processor that promises to give the unit real power and speed, making it a viable option as a mobile Internet platform.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Mar 31, 2010
Onkyo notebook offers up new DIY features
Made to order: Onkyo's latest notebook computer, the DR511, is a built-to-order creation that offers something different. Onkyo highlights its own heritage with the option of an FM/AM tuner, an almost unheard of feature. The other interesting feature, which comes as a standard inclusion, is an actual numeric pad.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Mar 24, 2010
Sony steps back from 3-D rush; Panasonic reworks CD-blaster
LCD price system: Amid the expensive scramble to sell 3-D televisions, Sony has come up with a new series of high-definition LCD TV sets that are fairly reasonably priced.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Mar 17, 2010
Sony sets up 3-D for homes; Music Planet makes bathtime groovy
To 3-D, or not 3-D: Despite the dearth of content to watch (Avatar and Alice in Wonderland aside), 3-D television is quickly rising to the top of the hype parade. Sony is determined to remain leader of the 3-D pack, despite rivals LG and Panasonic also coming out with significant offerings. Sony's latest products are four new models for the LX900 series. The cutting-edge LCD sets can show 3-D images in full 1,080p resolution, with the aid of RealD's active shutter glasses. In welcome contrast to Panasonic's move to offer a single pair of glasses with its own top-end 3-D sets, Sony is including a pair of the special glasses with its TVs.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Mar 10, 2010
Onkyo's computer stands in for TV; Thanko aids shy phone users
Budget computing: Onkyo opts for a very different form of computer in the shape of its new DE411. Apart from being an all-in-one design, the DE411 also nixes a high-powered processor in favor of the low-powered, 1.6-gigahertz Atom 330 chip, one of those that netbooks favor. It compensates somewhat for the lack of computing muscle with a Nvidia ION chip set. In line with its all-in-one brethren the Onkyo product would look at home in a lounge room, with a digital TV tuner to help in the process and a simple stand at the back to prop it up to a watchable angle. Weighing just 7 kg also helps to make it reasonably portable. It measures 537 mm in width with a height of 374 mm and a thickness that varies from 76.3 mm to 210 mm, depending on the positioning of the stand. The 21.5-inch screen is on the small side for use as a television but it does come with full HD 1,920 × 1,080 resolution. Starting out with 2 gigabytes of memory, it can top out at 4 gigabytes with a 320-gigabyte hard disk for storage. Similar to Sony's versions, the DE411 comes with a DVD drive and Windows 7 Home Premium. Although it has both B and G versions of wireless, it lacks the more-powerful N type of wireless.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Mar 3, 2010
Cowon puts sound before vision; Nikon camera zooms ahead
Sound choice: Korean maker Cowon is known for portable media players that have exemplary audio reproduction. Its V5HD, which is due to hit the Japanese market on March 5, follows the formula. It employs Cowon's new JetEffect 3.0 technology, which is intended to maximize the sound performance by offering users greater customization, such as in its reverberation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Feb 24, 2010
Retro-looking dongle ups the sound; Sony slims down new Vaio
Back to the past: The word "retro" is inadequate to describe the appearance of the X-Tube AS301DTS. The USB dongle looks like a refugee from a museum. The gadget is intended to provide a decent impression of DTS surround sound on laptop computers. Using a VIA VT1610 chip set, the dongle plugs into a USB port and delivers a simulated five-speaker surround-sound system through any pair of stereo headphones plugged into it. It is also capable of recording sound via any microphone connected to it. Measuring 45 × 23 mm, it weighs a mere 12 grams. It supports 16Bit 16KHz / 32KHz / 48KHz in both playback and recording modes. The dongle also has a choice of movie and music modes to specialize its audio- enhancing abilities. Interestingly, it not only works with Windows (being compatible with XP, Vista and 7), but also with Macs and Linux systems. It is available now in Japan through Rakuten.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Feb 17, 2010
3-D TV provides solo viewing fun; Canon camera hits at Nikon
Gotta wear shades: As 3-D entertainment conjures up images of goofy glasses from the 1950s, Panasonic hopes to remedy the style with its 3-D TV sets. It is touting its upcoming Viera VT2 series as the world's first full high-definition sets with 3-D ability. The series is expected to consist of a set of four plasma models. The first two in the series, the 50-inch TH-P50VT2 and the 54-inch TH-P54VT2, should hit the market April 23. The key innovation for the VT2 sets is the "frame sequential" technology. In this system, the viewer wears special glasses (of course) that alternately display images to the left eye only and then to the right eye only. The images switch back and forth every 1/120th of a second, twice as fast as the speed of a 2-D display. The alternating images create the 3-D effect. Historically, 3-D technology has also suffered from an afterglow that results in blurry pictures and tires the eyes. The VT2 aims to combat those effects by reducing the typical afterglow by more than 60 percent.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Feb 10, 2010
Fujisoft provides some robotic tenderness
Need a friend?: Artificial intelligence may remain stuck on the computer screen, but aritifical companionship seems to be rolling ahead.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Feb 3, 2010
Sony forges on with Transfer Jet; Planex device tries to do it all
Easy access: Big things have small beginnings, or at least Sony hopes. The company has launched the much- anticipated Transfer Jet system with a wafer of plastic at a miniscule 2 grams, and it comes out this month. The principle behind Transfer Jet is that the technology can transfer data at high speeds, rivaling USB 2.0 standards, between gadgets without cables. Simply sit a pair of properly equipped cameras next to each other and pictures can be moved seamlessly between them. The "next to" part is crucial as Transfer Jet has a range of only 3 cm. Interestingly, 3 cm is the same length of Sony's new 8-gigabyte MS-JX8G Transfer Jet Memory Stick , which is the first device to support a proximity-wireless system. Apart from the limited range, the speed claims behind Transfer Jet are also optimistic. There is a hoped-for 560 Mps, but Sony admits the initial speeds are going to be more like 40 Mps before the technology matures.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jan 27, 2010
Toshiba Blu-ray recorders, mCube90 make life more compact
Blu-ray recording: If you can't beat them, don't join them — just copy their ideas and improve them. Toshiba is endeavoring to do just that having abandoned its HD-DVD format and instead opted to craft versions of Sony's brainchild, Blu-ray. Nobody can accuse Toshiba of not doing a wholehearted about face, what with three new Vardia- branded Blu-ray recorders to hit the market next month. The best of the bunch is the D-B1005K, which sports a prodigious 1-terabyte hard disk for recording up to 500 hours of high- definition TV footage. The smaller D-B305K comes with a still spacious 320-gigabyte hard disk, while the bulky D-BW1005K is in essence a D-B1005K with a VHS video recorder mixed in for good measure. All three of them are intended to make it easy to record from DVDs to Blu-ray discs, using the hard disk as temporary storage while the footage is moved from one type of disc to the other. They also come with the AVCREC format for recording high-definition content on regular DVDs. No doubt this is useful, but if the device already has Blu-ray why use such a compression format to keep using an inferior recording method? Unless it is to save cash on the pricey Blu-ray discs?
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jan 20, 2010
Buffalo dock serves dual purpose; Panasonic's compact cam
Dock 'n' lock: Innovation and iPods go hand in hand, but the creativity rarely extends to iPod docks. Buffalo bucks that trend in the form of its unusual HDD Dualie. In essence, this is a standard docking station paired with a 500-gigabyte hard disk. Unlike run-of- the-mill iPod docks, the Dualie does not come with speakers to provide a better listening experience for your iPod. Instead, when the Dualie is connected to a computer via USB 2.0, FireWire 400 or 800 cables it allows the user to recharge their iPod and to sync it with the computer. The secondary purpose for this is to serve as a backup hard drive for the computer. Interestingly, the hard disk is formatted to work with Apple Mac computers out of the box and requires some work to pair with a PC. The hard disk is primed to work with Apple's Time Machine backup program.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jan 13, 2010
Kindle upgrades, but DX e-reader is just the start of a boom
E-inking a deal: Ghosts of U.S. TV makers past would find it amusing. Sony produced the world's first e-ink device for reading books, some six years ago. While Sony is still in the e-ink reader game, U.S. giant Amazon now leads the global market. Amazon is set to land a second blow against Sony in the form of its much-anticipated Kindle DX.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Dec 30, 2009
CJK recruits Android for new Camangi Webstation tablet
Going tablet: Android is Google's shot at hitting Microsoft where it hurts — mobile devices. Windows might still dominate PC operating systems, but it has never duplicated this overwhelming presence on the small screens of mobile phones, PDAs and the like. So far, Android has shaken things up by becoming the brains of an emerging group of cell phones. But, electronics maker CJK is using the Google creation to power its new Web tablet, the Camangi Webstation. Marketed as a diverse device capable of fulfilling a user's mobile Internet needs, the Webstation sports a 7-inch touch screen with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. The screen size is adequate for portability, but not so small you'll need to squint to read.

Longform

High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?