Lighter than Air: Anorexic models might no longer be PC on the catwalks, but laptop computer makers believe that consumers just can't keep their hands off them. As usual, Apple is seen as the trendsetter, thanks to its ultrathin MacBook Air model, which is trumpeted as the thinnest laptop of them all with a minimum thickness of just 0.4 cm. How does it achieve such stylish thinness? Essentially, by leaving out such seemingly essential items as an optical drive and extra ports. Kouziro follows the less-is-more concept, but with a far lighter price tag, on its FRLN series of ultralight laptops. Boasting a body as thin as 1.25 cm, the FRLN models weigh just 1.24 kg, beating the 1.36 kg Air, which does have a slightly bigger screen. The entry-level FRLN11 sells for ¥130,000, undercutting the Air's cheapest setup by ¥100,000, but the specs are none too exciting: 800 MHz Intel A110 processor, 1 gigabyte of RAM, 80 gigabytes on the hard-drive, 12.1-inch screen and Windows XP Home operating system. The four-hour battery life can be boosted to 8 1/2 hours with an optional battery pack. A fingerprint reader, waterproof keyboard and the durability to survive a 1-meter fall onto concrete dress up the slim package. Check it out at: www.frontier-k.co.jp/note/
Wider the better: Compact cameras tend toward the generic. One defining characteristic is that their lenses typically offer 3x optical zooms, going from 35 to 105 mm, or slight variations thereof. Panasonic is breaking the mold with its new Lumix DMC-FX500. The camera's Leica zoom lens starts from a distinctly wide-angle 25 mm, and goes from 25 to 125 mm with its 5x optical zoom. Another headlining feature of the 10.1-megapixel camera is a 3-inch touch-screen LCD. Then there are the now popular offerings of image stabilization and face detection. Coming out in black and silver models, the FX500 will carry a price tag of ¥46,800 when it debuts April 12. Get the inside scoop at: panasonic.jp/dc/fx500/index.html
HD printers: Sony tweaks the compact photo printer business with a new pair of offerings, the DPP-FP95 and its cheaper sibling, the DPP-FP75. Typical of this kind of printers, the two sport 300 × 300 dpi resolutions and produce standard snapshot-size photos. The extra dimension is that the printers can be connected to a TV via HDMI to display photos on a full HD screen and operate wirelessly via Bluetooth. The DPP-FP95 has a 3.6-inch screen, comes in white or black and will cost ¥24,800, while the DPP-FP75 has a 3.2-inch screen, will be available in white only and costs ¥19,800. They hit the market April 18. Details at: www.sony.jp