Double vision: Nintendo's two-screened DS is set to become even more of a must-have product thanks to the DSVision, which will allow users to watch videos and read e-books and manga on the portable console. Users simply download the media to their computer, transfer the content to a microSD card, and then load the card into a DS via a custom cartridge. The DSVision set includes a 512-megabyte microSD card, USB card-reader and the cartridge, with AM3 putting the sets on sale in January 2008 for ¥3,980. Downloadable media is set to follow in March in conjunction with e-book distributor Dai Nippon. Of course, sets such as the R4 have allowed DS users to run media and home-brew software for ages — not to mention illegally downloaded games. Whether the DSVision will somehow defy the pirates is yet to be seen.
Phone home, please: A driving force behind the cell-phone revolution in Japan has been kids. The junior consumers migrated from pagers to the joys of texting in something of a stampede. Cell phone provider DoCoMo is looking to keep the distinctly younger generation happy with a 3G phone intended for kids. Apart from a keyboard specifically designed for children's smaller fingers, and its bright color scheme, the F801i sports a yellow "amulet" that users wear around their wrist. If the distressed kid hits the panic button, the phone lets out a 100-decibel alarm. Then again, surely your average small child is capable of uttering a scream that easily tops this. If that is not enough to draw attention, the phone also sets off a series of LED lights and calls three numbers, which the child's parents have previously selected. It can also send a text message to inform those responsible of where the child is. If the child loses their phone, a touch of a button on the amulet will have the handset beeping for attention, as long as it's within 10 meters of the amulet. If phone and amulet are too far apart the phone will shut down and will itself phone in the alarm if it is not reunited with its owner within five minutes. The phone, which is also waterproof, goes on sale Thursday in choices of light blue, orange, black and white.
Cheap shots: At the leaner end of the digital-camera spectrum is the Exemode DC1000, a 10-megapixel offering with a 2.5-inch screen that supports SD memory cards of up to 2 gigabytes and captures video at up to 30 fps. The design is a pretty standard compact vision decked out in silver and weighing in at 121 grams, with more information at www.exemode.com. The main selling point is its ¥20,000 yen price tag; as for performance and image quality, it might be best to remember that you get what you pay for.