Japan certifies its first LTE device, LG says ‘whoa, ours?’

In a country whose carriers’ phone lineups are dominated by domestic giants like NEC, Sony, Sharp, and Fujitsu, you wouldn’t necessarily think that the road to 4G would begin elsewhere — strangely, though, South Korea’s LG has garnered the honor of becoming the first company to have an LTE device certified by Japan’s TELEC, a necessary, FCC-like step to getting cellular equipment deployed in those parts. NTT DoCoMo, which intends to launch commercial LTE service later this year, is undoubtedly stoked to hear that the LD100 external modem is the lucky recipient of TELEC’s seal of approval (following FCC certification last year, coincidentally), meaning the carrier now has the green light to use it in trials. Considering that TeliaSonera’s already beaten DoCoMo to the punch with a live, customer-facing LTE network, are the days of being shocked and awed by Japan’s mobile tech drawing to a close, or are we just witnessing a little fluke here?

Japan certifies its first LTE device, LG says ‘whoa, ours?’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Newswire  | Email this | Comments

Fujisoft’s PALRO humanoid robot in the running to be our new best bud

Fujisoft’s recently taken the wraps off its latest companion bot, and they call this one PALRO. PALRO’s 39 centimeters tall (just over a foot), and boasts a 1.6GHz CPU Intel Atom CPU, 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB of flash memory, a 3 MP camera, Wi-Fi, 802.11 b/g/n, and a lithium ion battery to top it all off. He’s also equipped with a 3 megapixel webcam, but don’t worry — his specs don’t make him unapproachable. As you’ll see in the video which is after the break, PALRO’s probably the kind of guy that you could spend a lot of time with… but see for yourself. Fujisoft plans to start shipping units in March for 300,000 yen (that’s about $3,300 ). Hit up the source link for a lot more video.

Continue reading Fujisoft’s PALRO humanoid robot in the running to be our new best bud

Fujisoft’s PALRO humanoid robot in the running to be our new best bud originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Plastic Pals  | Email this | Comments

Toshiba updates VARDIA line of DVRs with Blu-ray, VHS… wait, what?

Toshiba’s showing it has moved on from the horrors of the format war, today announcing Three Non-HD DVD Recorders and a few other Japan only Blu-ray products. The top of the line D-BW1005K DVR connects with the future via a 1TB HDD, several tuners and the aforementioned disc burning capability but also gives a nod to the past and our old copies of Days of Thunder, A History of Violence and The Young Teacher thanks to its included VHS deck. Ditching the tape player, 1TB HDD or recording capability saves a few yen, while all-in-one fans can opt for the R1BDP series of REGZA LCDs, an offshoot of the R9000 line in 32- and 26-inch sizes with Blu-ray burning drives tucked in behind just like Sharp & Mitsubishi’s HDTVs. All are due over the next few months, check Impress for the prices and dates, but we’d wait to see what kind of Blu-ray upgrade is heading the Cell TV’s way before buying, even with the potential return of sweet, sweet VHS to our lives (it’s amazing how a few years of nostalgia has made us forget all those worn out rentals, poor quality and the need for something called a “rewinder.”)

Toshiba updates VARDIA line of DVRs with Blu-ray, VHS… wait, what? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Impress  | Email this | Comments

Pink PSP 3000 official in Japan for March, get ready girls!

Hey — are you in love with the PSP 3000 but can’t stand the fact that a pink one doesn’t exist? Well, your life just got a lot better. Playstation Japan’s just officially outed the handheld in “Spring Blossom Pink” for a March 2010 launch. Other than its new, more girlish figure, this PSP 3000 is exactly the same as every one on the market, but you know, looks sure are important. Sadly, this beauty’s only been announced for Japan so far, but we’ll keep our eyes open for other availability. This one’s going to run ¥16,800 (that’s about $183). There’s one more looker after the break.

Continue reading Pink PSP 3000 official in Japan for March, get ready girls!

Pink PSP 3000 official in Japan for March, get ready girls! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 06:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Engadget Japan  |  Playstation Japan  | Email this | Comments

Sony Vaio T makes a comeback, and this time it’s a CULV with major battery life

The previously phased out 11.1-inch Sony Vaio T has shown back up over at Sony Style Japan. The good news is that this time, it’s a Windows 7 CULV on the inside, even if it looks the same on the outside. The new Vaio Ts come with processor options including a dual core 1.2GHz Celeron SU2300, a 1.4GHz dual core Core 2 Duo SU9400, or a 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo SU9600, and they boast Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics, plus 4GB or 8GB of RAM, an up to 512GB SSD or 500GBhard drive. There’s also optional extras like Blu Ray, 802.11n WiFi, a fingerprint scanner, and digital TV tuner. The laptop’s life is rated at about 11 hours when equipped with the standard battery, or 17 with the large capacity. So far, we’ve only seen these bad boys in Japan, where they’re retailing for ¥129,800 (that’s around $1400).

Sony Vaio T makes a comeback, and this time it’s a CULV with major battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Netbooked  |  Sony Style Japan  | Email this | Comments

Baby simulator surfaces in Japan, Devo wants its mascot back (video)

Continue reading Baby simulator surfaces in Japan, Devo wants its mascot back (video)

Baby simulator surfaces in Japan, Devo wants its mascot back (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Technabob  |  Uchiyamalab  | Email this | Comments

iPhone nabs 46 percent of Japanese smartphone market, the tiny Japanese smartphone market

Continue reading iPhone nabs 46 percent of Japanese smartphone market, the tiny Japanese smartphone market

iPhone nabs 46 percent of Japanese smartphone market, the tiny Japanese smartphone market originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista  |  Impress R&D, IDC Japan  | Email this | Comments

Nintendo trademarks ‘Zii’ over in Japan, Creative is like ‘zaywha?’

Here’s an interesting one. Siliconera has dug up what it claims to be a Japanese trademark for the term “Zii,” and contrary to what you may expect, the application wasn’t filed by Creative. We double checked the database, and sure enough, the paperwork went through on October 30th — which almost certainly means that this was more than just some day-late attempt to fend off the next-generation of KIRF Wii consoles. There’s obviously no way to tell what the Big N has in mind here, nor if this will cause any kind of friction between it and Creative, but we’ll certainly be keeping an ear to the ground for more. Who knows — maybe the Zii is that HD Wii we’ve all been clamoring for since November of 2006. Or maybe it’s nothing at all.

Update: We’ve done a bit more digging, and it looks as if this here filing may simply be a renewal of a 2006 trademark request. Moreover, we’ve found Nintendo trademarks in Japan for Cii, Bii, Oii and Yii, so it seems the company may just be on some sort of rampage in order to cover its tracks in one form or another.

Nintendo trademarks ‘Zii’ over in Japan, Creative is like ‘zaywha?’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slashgear  |  Siliconera  | Email this | Comments

Actroids go on sale in Japan, John Isidore not impressed

Continue reading Actroids go on sale in Japan, John Isidore not impressed

Actroids go on sale in Japan, John Isidore not impressed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Plastic Pals  |  MSN Japan  | Email this | Comments

Nao performs Star Wars homage, scores mad geek cred

While we’re still busy thinking up legitimate uses for a humanoid robot, Aldebaran Robotics keeps finding newer and zanier ways to play with its Nao. The latest is a pre-programmed Star Wars routine that should have all you aging loyalists positively moist with glee, and even includes a terrific R2D2 impersonation that is not to be missed. Past the break, you shall find it. Oh, and as to real world uses, there are further videos of Nao reading out your emails and doing balancing acts, which may be found at the source link.

Continue reading Nao performs Star Wars homage, scores mad geek cred

Nao performs Star Wars homage, scores mad geek cred originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Plastic Pals  |  Impress  | Email this | Comments

Hanwha SL-888 laptop cooling stand for casual, classy blogging

We’ve seen a laptop cooling stand or two in our day, so we’ll try not to belabor the point here: Hanwha — which may or may not be the same conglomerate responsible for the Shin-Gung surface-to-air missile and the Duo for Laptop — is proud to debut the evocatively named SL-888, a portable table for your notebook. Want to sit in a chair? The legs extend to about 12-inches off the ground. Want to sit on the floor? You can do that, too — the legs collapse. Want to rest it on your lap? Hope you have a big lap, but that too is an option. Featuring a mousepad, a cup holder (perfect for that Whiskey Sour), and a cooling fan for your notebook du jour, all this can be yours for ¥3,980 (roughly $44). Hit the source link to order — or get a closer look after the break.

Continue reading Hanwha SL-888 laptop cooling stand for casual, classy blogging

Hanwha SL-888 laptop cooling stand for casual, classy blogging originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Akihabara  |  Yahoo Japan  | Email this | Comments

Sony Snowflake DSC-TX1 comes with engraved holiday spirit

For a limited time only — and you should be able to guess how long that is — Japanese SonyStyle customers can order up the TX1 in the especially wintry attire you see above. Already available in a choice of five colors, the cam will also let you choose between black, silver and pink for the engraved models, and we also hear these snowflakes are part of a wider range of engraved designs. Options titled Safari, Race, and Heart are also available, and you can even add your own message to the front, or just tag it with your name if you’re feeling narcissistic. Either way, you can see the other color options after the break, or try out all the different looks using the interactive skinning tool at the source link.

Continue reading Sony Snowflake DSC-TX1 comes with engraved holiday spirit

Sony Snowflake DSC-TX1 comes with engraved holiday spirit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Sony Insider  |  SonyStyle  | Email this | Comments

Elevator operating robot janitor goes on sale in Japan

In one year alone we’ve seen robots shaking things up in such far-flung fields as fashion and interpretive dance. That said, our concerns are generally more prosaic — that’s why we’re most excited by the industrial strength autonomous sweepers developed by the likes of Fuji Heavy Industries, Sumitomo, and Subaru. Like last year’s model, their latest sweeps the floor, picks up the trash, is able to operate modded elevators, and comes equipped with laser sensors for avoiding obstacles and may even be outfitted with a camera. In addition, this new guy has slimmed down to about half the size (better for slipping into tight corners) and sports a twenty-four volt battery that gets about 2.5 hours per charge. The best news, however, is that it’s finally for sale! It should hit the streets of Japan by the end of next year for a price somewhere in the $35,000 to $46,000 range. We’ll take two. [Warning: PDF source link]

Elevator operating robot janitor goes on sale in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CrunchGear  |  Fuji Heavy Industries  | Email this | Comments

Doka Harumi’s robot dance routine fills us with shame for humanity, but mostly Japan

Have you ever felt guilty after watching a robot dance? Don’t worry, you will soon. Worse than that time you “accidentally” sat through four episodes of Sailor Moon. Worse than that time you watched the Helicopter Boyz video and then sent it to all your friends. Worse than that time you got a J-pop song stuck in your head and tried to hum it to Shazam so you could identify it and buy it on iTunes. So much worse. Video is after the break.

Continue reading Doka Harumi’s robot dance routine fills us with shame for humanity, but mostly Japan

Doka Harumi’s robot dance routine fills us with shame for humanity, but mostly Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hack a Day  |  BotJunkie  | Email this | Comments

Japan’s ‘Helicopter Boyz’ turn the Nikon S1000pj into something much more disturbing

We’re not going to chalk this one up to Japanese culture, the child rearing techniques of show-biz-addled parents, or the craze-inducing effects that come from the integration of a pico projector within a digital camera — this video is too big to have such trite little lines drawn around it. Basically it answers the age-old question of what would happen if you strapped a couple dozen Nikon Coolpix S1000pj cameras to two excitable children and had them work through an incredibly awkward choreography in front of hundreds of their astonished peers. Video is after the break.

Continue reading Japan’s ‘Helicopter Boyz’ turn the Nikon S1000pj into something much more disturbing

Japan’s ‘Helicopter Boyz’ turn the Nikon S1000pj into something much more disturbing originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Switched  |  designboom  | Email this | Comments

Nintendo DSi LL sells 103k in two days, ripped open in two minutes

The newer, embiggened Nintendo DSi LL (as it’s known in Tokyo Town) has been available to the kids in Japan since the beginning of the week, and Enterbrain, Inc. is reporting that Nintendo has pushed 103,524 units in its first two days. To perspectivize things, the DSi was snatched up to the tune of about 170,000 units in the same time period, while the PSPgo sold around 28,000 units. To celebrate, the kids at PC Watch have ripped one of these bad boys — and you’ll never guess what they found! (OK, maybe you will.) Check out the link below for the hardcore details — and don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Nintendo DSi LL sells 103k in two days, ripped open in two minutes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  PC Watch, Kotaku  | Email this | Comments

Battery-less remote gets power from button presses, aims for production in 2011

You know what you’ll be doing in 2011? Everything that you’ve ever wanted, that’s what, ’cause the world as we know will unquestionably end in 2012. Amazingly enough, one of those bucket list items that you’ll be able to achieve is to change the channel on your tele without ever slipping a battery into your remote. A prototype clicker was recently shown over in Japan utilizing technologies from NEC and Soundpower; essentially, the remote turns the small vibrations from button presses into power, which it then uses to beam out signals to the nearby set. If all goes well, the two hope to have battery-less remotes shipping with televisions in just two years — a proposition that surely exasperate the likes of Duracell and Energizer (and enraptures us to no end).

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Peripherals

Battery-less remote gets power from button presses, aims for production in 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hallods F43 MP4 player packs a 4.3-inch 720p screen, outed in Japan

Looks like the wait for a real HD PMP is finally over: Hallods of Japan has just released their F43 MP4 player featuring a 4.3-inch 1280×720 screen, easily beating other sub-5-inch, 480p screens found on big names like the Archos 5 and Viewsonic’s VPD400. Under that sharp screen is 8GB of internal storage and a hot-swappable microSD slot, along with a battery life of about four hours and ten hours for video and music, respectively. Like many PMPs out there the F43 supports videos encoded in MPEG4, FLV, RMVB and DivX-WVGA. Sure, there’s the ironic lack of HDMI output, but for ¥16,800 ($188) this is still a pretty good deal. Let’s just hope Hallods will send them over to the US soon.

[Via i4u]

Filed under: Handhelds, Portable Video

Hallods F43 MP4 player packs a 4.3-inch 720p screen, outed in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hikari to unleash iFrame Android tablet on Japan (video)

Continue reading Hikari to unleash iFrame Android tablet on Japan (video)

Filed under: Tablet PCs

Hikari to unleash iFrame Android tablet on Japan (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

NTT DoCoMo, Softbank announce grand total of 37 phones: Android, perfume holders, and more

When two of Japan’s largest mobile carriers conspire to release nearly 40 phones in the span of 24 hours, editors covering the story are sure to lose hair and a solid year of lifespan — but for consumers in the local market, it’s nothing but good news. Here are some of the highlights from NTT DoCoMo:

• Fujtsu F-02B: Described as a “jewelry quality” phone with a snap-on perfume holder for “an air of elegance.”
• LG L-03B: Has support for Korean, Japanese, and English for frequent travelers (in other words, English speakers, if you find yourself on this archipelago and you don’t speak a lick of the local tongue, seek out this phone).
• Sharp SH-04B: Designed to look like a melting chocolate bar by food-themed wardrobe accessory maker Q-Pot — for some reason we don’t fully comprehend.
• Fujitsu F-04B: Realizing the concept shown off at CEATEC last year, this one features a removable keyboard that operates via Bluetooth and a 12.1 megapixel camera.
• Panasonic P-01B: This flip looks like pretty much every other in the lineup, but its got a secret — the keypad doubles as a touchpad. Clever.
• Samsung SC-01B: Samsung’s Windows Mobile 6.5-powered entry here appears to be a remix of the B7330 sold globally, which makes it about 1,000 times weaker than every other phone in the lineup.

And from Softbank:

• Sharp AQUOS Mobile FULLTOUCH 941SH: All we need to say about this one is “4-inch 1024 x 480 display,” which, as you might be able to imagine, is a world’s first.
• Sharp AQUOS Mobile 943SH: Dual one-seg tuners let you watch one program and record another, and a mention of transferring Blu-ray content has us thinking that Managed Copy is along for the ride.
• Toshiba dynapocket X02T: Remember how NTT DoCoMo had previously gotten the TG01 as the T01A? Yeah, well, now it’s Softbank’s turn — and this time, it’s called the X02A. Not much more to it than that.
• Samsung X01SC: This looks to be a localized version of AT&T’s Samsung Jack, of all phones, meaning that it’s a Windows Mobile 6.5 Standard phone (no touchscreen) with a QVGA display and portrait QWERTY keyboard.
• Sharp 942SH KT: No lineup would be complete without the obligatory Hello Kitty marketing tie-in, and the 942SH KT does the honors this time around with a black shell featuring stylized pink text and graphics.
• Samsung OMNIA VISION 940SC: Samsung’s now-famous OMNIA brand comes to Softbank on the wings of a 3.5-inch AMOLED display, one-seg tuner, and kickstand for desktop viewing.
• Sharp Jelly Beans 840SH: We don’t think you’d want to try eating it, but the 840SH comes in seven colors — hence the name, we think.
• Android: The simply-named Android runs — you guessed it — Android with a 3.7 inch AMOLED display and 1GHz Snapdragon processor; unfortunately, it won’t be available until next Spring and the manufacturer isn’t being revealed right now.

Both companies are also adding wireless digital photo frames to the lineup, and in Softbank’s case, a pair of data modems with support for 7.2Mbps on the downlink. We’ll admit — we didn’t think we’d live to see the day when Canada had three live networks with data rates trouncing Japan’s.

Read – Softbank Winter ‘09 / Spring ‘10 collection
Read – NTT DoCoMo’s new series

Filed under: Cellphones

NTT DoCoMo, Softbank announce grand total of 37 phones: Android, perfume holders, and more originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Next Page »