Beam me everywhere, Scotty: Laziness is an industry in itself, and, judging by the gadgets that we crave, we are working rather hard to not work hard. Or maybe it is just the pursuit of versatility; why have just one way of doing something when we can create dozens of ways of fulfilling our wishes? Whatever the motive, NEC is pursuing it with its new Lui system, which was shown off at the iEXPO event in Tokyo last week. In essence this is a central server that allows you to stream media such as music, photos and videos to other devices in your own personal network. Initially at least the system will hook up with just two special "client" computers, a hand-held device and a notebook computer. These won't have their own operating systems but will be able to access Windows Vista via the server. The hand-held device will have a 4.1-inch touch-screen and weigh a suitably light 250 grams, with the notebook sporting a 10.6-inch WXGA screen and weighing 650 grams. The server, which looks like a stylish black and silver stereo deck, but which is almost devoid of buttons and lights, will include a pair of high-definition TV tuners and be able to record programs for beaming to the client devices. An expansion in the pipeline would allow the server to be accessed from a regular TV or video-game console. The system, which will use WiMAX to communicate to its constituent parts, is expected to hit the shelves in the first half of 2008 for an as yet undisclosed price. NEC has more information on Lui at: www.nec.co.jp.
Simple sounds: Speakers have come a long way from the fake-wood-style boxes with black-metal mesh on the front. Elecom pays tribute to Apple's influence with its new ASP-S750-series stereo speakers. Intended to work with computers or digital audio players, they come in pairs of simple white or silver rectangles with their square black front ends projecting up at an angle. Spare but stylish. The speakers, which measure 60x133x84 mm each and put out 2.5W a piece, are about to go on sale for ¥5,040 a set, with details from Elecom.
iPod extras: Polaroid looks to ride the iPod's coattails in a different way with its new DVD player, the DPJ-08480B. The device doubles as an iPod dock, allowing video from fifth-generation iPods to be shown on its 8.5-inch, 234x480-pixel screen. The dock does extra duty as a storage bay for your iPod when your miniature wonder is not needed. Also able to play regular DVDs, the gadget's screen can swivel through 180 degrees, and the 1.1-kg device can also be clipped to the back of a car seat for mobile viewing. The battery tops out at 150 minutes, suggesting that directors of some Hollywood epics weren't part of the design team. The unit is on sale from this week for ¥28,000, with details at www.polaroid.co.jp.