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May 02, 2024
 

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IGADGET

Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Dec 23, 2009
Audio-Technica helps block sound; Panasonic watches the door
Quiet please: Audio-Technica has come out with a pair of lightweight, folding headphones featuring noise-canceling technology. The company claims its newly released ATH-ANC1 QuietPoint can cut out background noise by 85 percent when its noise-canceling abilities are enacted. The extraneous-noise killer can operate for up to 40 hours off an AAA-size alkaline battery. When users are not listening to music, the headphones can work solely to block out ambient sounds and the company claims the ATH-ANC1 can reduce noise by 18dB. The battery is kept in a small control box that looks like the kind of remote control sometimes attached to regular headphone cords.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Dec 16, 2009
Buffalo targets gamers with new USB stick
Game fiends: Buffalo is catering to Internet gamers with its new USB dongle, the WLI-UC-GNT. The simple and small white gadget plugs into a user's PC and allows them to connect gaming devices to the Internet without wires. In particular it is designed to work with Nintendo's DS and Wii, and Sony's PSP and PS3.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Dec 9, 2009
Sony's finger on the pulse with vein reader
Security point: Sony's new FVA-U1 is a finger-vein reader that plugs into your computer via a USB. The device is meant to protect computers from unauthorized users, externally at least. The rising popularity of vein-reading technology in Japan as a better means of securing data is praiseworthy, but a tad odd considering this country is one of the world's safest. Regardless of unintended incongruity, Sony's device is a league ahead of the usual password protection. The company is promoting the FVA-U1 as the world's smallest and lightest USB finger-vein reader. Sony markets the biometric method used in the FVA-U1 as Mofiria with the user placing a finger on the small screen and an infrared LED checking the veins in the finger. This is then compared to a prerecorded pattern and if they match, the computer is free to use.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Dec 2, 2009
King Jim puts pen to screen; Phiaton turns red
Jot it down: While the typewriter has pretty much become extinct, the notebook and pen combination has shown greater resilience. This is mainly due to to their simplicity, something computers are not known for. But they can do color touchscreens, multimedia and other surplus features. In the form of its new Pomera DM20, King Jim has created an electronic version of the notebook and pen. The PDA-like device serves one main function — to make written records. It has a simple 5-inch, VGA monochrome screen and data entry is via an attachable full-size QWERTY keyboard. King Jim produced a similar device last year, the DM10, but its 128-kilobyte internal memory left it rather hobbled. The DM20 fixes that with 89 megabytes of memory. This would be useless for digital photos, much less video, but is fine for text. The device goes a step further in the memory stakes with a microSD card slot.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Nov 25, 2009
Hallods puts definition on its screen; Maxell turns volume up
Screen saver: Putting genuine high definition in portable-media players is a bit like trying to craft the perfect diamond. If you pull off the act it looks brilliant, but the difference between it and the normal article is nearly impossible for laypeople to actually see. Despite doubts over whether the effort is worth it, electronics makers have been lining up to claim the honor of producing a real high-definition portable media player.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Nov 18, 2009
Ricoh snaps up a small first; Sharp's new mobile needs more memory
Snap shot: Despite photography's scope for creative flair, camera makers generally shy away from doing things different. Ricoh, however, has bucked the trend with its new GXR digital camera. The GXR is intended to compete with the so-called micro four-thirds cameras from Olympus and Panasonic as cameras that mix small size with interchangeable lenses. The shock value is in how Ricoh shrinks its camera. Instead of changing lenses, the GXR employs a slide-in mount system to switch lens, sensor and image-processing engine all in one unit. Ricoh claims the radical concept amounts to the smallest interchangeable-lens camera in existence. The greater benefit is the potential for photographers to tailor their cameras to match their needs. Ricoh is starting its new system with a pair of units. The A12 consists of a 50-mm F2.5 macro lens with a 12.3-megapixel CMOS sensor. It can do HD video with a resolution of 1230 × 720 P, has a burst speed of 4 frames per second and weighs 263 grams. The other unit is the S10 with a 24-72-mm F 2.5-4.4 VC lens and 10-megapixel CCD sensor. It can shoot VGA video at a resolution of 630 × 480 P, has a burst speed of 5 frames per second.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Nov 11, 2009
Sony-Ericsson phone ups its appeal; Bluedot treats the ladies
Going mobile: Sony, in the guise of its partnership with Swedish maker Ericsson, is combining the much-touted Android phone platform from Google with its traditional feature-rich offerings in the form of the Xperia X10. Sporting a larger than normal 4-inch, TFT-capacitive touch screen, the candybar-style phone also runs on a hefty 1-gigahertz Snapdragon processor. The headline features are on the software side, though, in the form of its UX interface and the Timescape and Mediascape applications. In essence, UX is a Sony-Ericsson customization of the 1.6 version of Android. Timescape organizes all of the phone's communications, such as Facebook, Twitter, e-mail and text messages into a single assembly organized in chronological order that can be searched by source or person. Mediascape serves a similar purpose, collecting all the media content on the phone, such as music, or available online via networking services. The ambitious aspiration is to spare users the onerous task of sorting through multiple files and locations looking for content and so making the user experience easier and more enriching.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Nov 4, 2009
Dynario helps gadget-users on the move; Kyocera makes phone for kids
Charging ahead: The promise of fuel-cell technology has conjured visions of cars powered by hydrogen. This promise also offers the ability to "recharge" batteries in your gadgets without a power point. Toshiba is bringing this part of the dream to life with its new Dynario, a methanol fuel-cell recharger for gadgets. The palm-size generator is loaded with methanol via a specialist cartridge. Once fueled, the Dynario immediately starts generating electricity, which is fed into a lithium-ion battery for storage. The device is connected to a gadget, such as a mobile phone or digital media player, via a USB cable and recharges the gadget. Each shot of methanol empowers the Dynario to recharge the equivalent of two average mobile phones.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Oct 28, 2009
JVC says looks aren't everything; Nikon readies for closeups
Not just a pretty face: Looks before substance may be an unfair slogan to pin on JVC's newest home-theater combination, but there is no denying the emphasis on looks. Pairing two speakers, the combination of the SP-FT and the AX-FT 4-channel amplifier is designed to match the latest breed of flat-screen televisions in being absurdly thin at just 31 mm in "thickness." The amplifier emphasizes the minimalist style by confining the controls to a thin rectangle running along its top. The aim is to allow the home theater system to hang on a wall, like today's favored slim-line TVs, but it can also nestle in the supplied stand.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Oct 21, 2009
Sony, Fujitsu computer models embrace Windows touch
The digital touch: Windows 7 is entrusted with delivering the Microsoft vision that Vista spectacularly failed to conjure. One promise of the new operating system is to help take the touch interface of Apple's iPhone and iPod products to a bigger stage. Sony has joined the ranks of computer-makers offering touch-screen computers with its new Vaio L Series lineup of 24-inch, all-in-one PCs. The centerpiece is the touch panel, which is intended to complement Windows' key element of touch-screen support. Sony's Media Gallery software allows users to create movies, look at photos, watch videos and listen to music by using simple finger gestures to flip, zoom and rotate.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Oct 14, 2009
Panasonic rethinks iPod dock presentation
Clunky look, original concept: Panasonic ditches the traditional concept of an iPod dock in the form of its new MW-10.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Oct 7, 2009
Gearing up for a Windows update
In the dock: Sony's new CMT-E350HD music system boasts a 160-gigabyte internal hard drive for storing digital music, enough to store a stack of audio libraries, and is the latest swipe in the company's rivalry with Apple. The CMT-E350HD has left out an iPod dock in preference for a WM-PORT, which in effect is a dock just for Walkmans. You can still hook up your iPods to the Sony stereo, but only via a USB connection. The lack of an iPod dock might deter Apple fans, but Walkman owners will feel the attention is overdue. The CMT-E350HD can play back MP3, WMA, AAC, ATRAC and PCM files and can record from CD to hard drive. It has a pair of 20-watt speakers, an FM/AM radio tuner and a prominent 8-line LCD display.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Sep 30, 2009
Perks enhance Sony headphones; Epson pushes postcards
Sound investment: Sony may have long ago surrendered the portable music-player war to Apple, but it still wins in the battle over headphones.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Sep 23, 2009
Sony scores with basic Walkman
Sony goes back to its roots: After trying to copy Apple's touch screen, Sony has gone back to basics with the latest addition to the A-Series Walkman line, the NW-A840 series. The new Walkmans don't do touch or the Internet. Instead the emphasis is on playing music and videos. They do this with a beautiful, albeit small, 2.8-inch WQVGA OLED screen. Moreover, the included software automatically converts video to the codecs that the NW-A840 models use. You can also hook up the NW-A840 models to a TV and play video straight off them at a standard digital 720 × 480 resolution. On the audio front the new Walkmans come with digital noise canceling, with a choice of settings such as for riding on a train or bus. Actual audio playback quality is a weak point for the various iPods, and Sony goes for the jugular by including top-drawer MDR-EX300SL earphones with the new models. While they are still not proper headphones, they do offer a distinct upgrade on the mediocre ear buds that Apple typically offloads on iPod buyers. The new Walkmans also display JPEG photos, but without slide shows.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Sep 16, 2009
Creative gets touchy; Canon enters gray zone
Creative orientation: Survival in the gadget market can often come down to the smallest of tweaks in a product.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Sep 9, 2009
Sharp puts faith in resurrection
Sharp faith: Belief in resurrection is not restricted to religion. Sharp has a real faith in the power of bringing gadget ideas back from the dead. Its new PC-Z1 looks like a reborn version of Sharp's Zaurus brand of PDAs. The PC-Z1, marketed under the NetWalker brand, is a clamshell device with a 5-inch widescreen 1024 × 600 resolution LCD, shrunken QWERTY keyboard and optical mouse. Apart from the physical likeness to Zaurus, the PC-Z1 also emulates its predecessors by running on an ARM-based processor and Linux operating system.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Sep 2, 2009
Kohjinsha monitors get moving; Sony hits Blu-ray potential
Now screening: Netbooks too often are like a range of cars. The varying bodywork makes them look deceptively different from each other, but turn the key and you find that where they count, under the hood, the differences are all but nonexistent. Maybe the engineers at Kohjinsha are into motorcycles. Their newly released EX netbook maintains the company's reputation for going down the road less traveled. The EX has an 11.6-inch 1,366 × 768 resolution LED backlit screen, which is a tad larger than the netbook average. Moreover, it's possible to rotate the screen independently of the keyboard thanks to a swivel mount. The screen is also touch sensitive, making it function more like a tablet computer than a standard netbook. Apart from possessing a beefier than typical screen, the EX also breaks from the netbook mold because it has an optical drive, in this case a DVD-RW. As usual for Kohjinsha, the EX is beautiful sporting a refined silver and black color scheme.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Aug 26, 2009
Green House puts pen to screen; iPod docks into the TV
Mightier than the mouse: Historic, certainly; ideal means to facilitate communications between people and computers, less certain. Such is the likely verdict on the future role of the keyboard and mouse. Wacom has carved a market for itself by producing graphics tablets that provide the creative ability the traditional pairing lacks. The downside is the hefty price tags Wacom slaps on its innovative products. Local gadget-maker Green House is offering a bit of Wacom's magic, at hopefully a considerably lower price, with its GH-PTB17-E. The new device is a 17-inch LCD screen paired with a wireless pen. Digital documents and photos can be viewed on the screen and then embellished with the pen. Green House offers the example of loading a map into the device, cropping it, scribbling a message on top and then e-mailing the result to a friend. Another typical use would be making handwritten notes on a Microsoft Word document. In effect it allows a user to indulge in the kind of creativity that touchscreens and other tablet devices serve up.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Aug 19, 2009
Sharp rides the Blu-ray; iPhone catches up
More bang from the Blu-ray: Sharp aims to beat a storage restriction problem with its second-generation Aquos DX series of LCD televisions. Notable for combining a built-in Blu-ray recorder with an LCD TV, the key improvement for the new range is a 7× extended HD recording mode. Sharp claims that this mode has the same quality as the original TV broadcast. In its normal recording mode, the DX Series sets record two hours and 10 minutes of TV per 25-gigabyte Blu-ray disc. The 7× setting can cram in 15 hours and 10 minutes of HDTV broadcasting. The idea of extended recording has been around since the VCR, but there was always a loss of quality. The trick is to limit the degradation in picture quality to the point that it is not too noticeable. The caveat is that it uses the MPEG4 AVC/H.264 codec that is beloved of small-screen devices like the iPhone, not the real screens of a TV. If the 7× is too much, the new DX sets also offer less ambitious 2×, 3× and 5× modes that also boost recording time, but likely with less image challenges.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Aug 12, 2009
Cameras that project pics; Apple ups its dominance
Projecting innovation: Up until this past year, imagination in the field of digital cameras was largely reserved for how you used them, not in the design of the devices themselves. But the threat from mobile phones with built-in cameras has triggered innovation. Nikon's Coolpix S1000pj, for example, comes with a built-in projector, possibly the first of its kind. Marrying a camera with a projector in retrospect looks like one of those "why didn't I think of that?" ideas. But good ideas need equally good execution. The S1000pj can throw an image up to 1 meter in diameter onto a flat surface up to 2 meters away with a modest resolution of 640×480 pixels. It can project still images, slide shows and video. Brightness is another matter as the camera's projector bulb puts out a miserly 10 lumens, far below low-end projectors, which put out 600 to 800 lumens.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Did Japan intervene to prop up the yen? Analysts think it did.
A man walks past an electronic board displaying the exchange rate for the yen against the U.S. dollar (right) in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Number of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million
A vacant house in Tokyo is seen demolished in January 2020.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

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