In the midst of Sony's We Love MP3 campaign yesterday - NW-HD3 mp3 playing network walkman, news that their 'VAIO pocket" (VGF-AP1) will also be able to play MP3s with a free download was released. The download will be available dec 24th, so just in case all you get are gap sweaters for gifts you could have something to cheer you up on the big 25.

The VAIO pocket, released in June, is a portable audio/photo player that features a 2.2" color LCD. It contains a 20GB hard drive, and audio format support was ATRAC3 and ATRAC3plus o­nly. MP3, WAVE, WMA, and other formats were converted to ATRAC3/ATRAC3plus during transfer using the included "SonicStage Ver.2.0" software. With this update, users can now transfer MP3 files without converting them.

- MORE via Impress.co.jp

Also Seen at TechJapan

BenQ Japan has announced their first home theater projector "PE5120" and data projector "PB7230". The new projectors will be available December 1st. The "PE5120" is expected to cost 148,000 yen & the "PB7230" should be around 548,000 Yen. Both projectors adopt a 5 color segmented wheel - yellow added, this allows for a richer picture.

The BenQ "PE5120"
- 6.4 Lbs.
- DLP™, Projection System
- Native 16:9 WVGA Resolution
- 1100 ANSI Lumens
- 2000:1 Contrast Ratio
- 5-Segment Color Wheel

DLP data projector "PB7230"

- 5.9 Lbs. Portable design
- DLP Technology, Superior Digital Picture Quality that won't fade over time.
- 2500 ANSI Lumens - Superior brightness, and clarity.
- 2000:1 - Ultra-High Contrast Ratio
- 5 Segment Color Wheel
- 8 Preset Performance Mode
- 30db Whisper Quiet
- Wireless Mouse
- Picture-In-Picture

- MORE via BenQ

Thin is in. The Prosolid(Panasonic) from Docomo is a new super thin phone set for release DEC 3rd in Japan. The 49x108x16.7 millimeter aluminum body phone weighs just 98 grams. Features include a 2.2 inches (132x176 dot) TFT liquid crystal display, 125 mins talk time, 480 hours standby, available in black or silver. And that's about it for the phone called the Prosolid aimed at the older folks (30-50)- no camera in case you were wondering, older people do not take photos with a phone.

- MORE via itmedia.co.jp

Looking to rehash childhood memories of that little yellow ducky that did nothing but float around in the tub, well "i-Duck Wasurenb" by SolidAlliance could be the answer to your umm dreams, while this little duck does not go into the tub, it can take up space on your desk, add a dash of color & use up your free USB slots -- all just for $9. Available in Yellow, Pink, Blue, Juicy, Peace, and Strawberry. Aside for taking up space, it flashes red (because it is ashamed that it does nothing) .

- MORE

Sony has released 4 new AV selectors to give you an additional reason to get more home entertainment equipment to fill the imputs on this thing. The 4 New AV Selectors are available now in Japan. 3 of the models are active (- SB-RX100P / RX200S / RX300D) which prevents deterioration of signals during division & one passive (SB-V60). The SB-RX100P / RX200S / RX300D features Loop Protection Technology, Multi Output Function & Parallel Output Functio. The SB-V60 features include ability to switch between S-Video, Composite, and Analog Audio signals, 5 input jacks for 4 inputs (one switches between back and front), and has two output jacks.

Pictured back of SB-RX200S

- Impress.co.JP
Also Seen at TechJapan

When you reach a certain age (30 in new york) life can sometimes get a little lonely, if you can no longer spend nights doing substances with your friends for pleasure, find stairs hard to climb, and at times you find yourself talking to yourself (depends I do this)- the ifBot (Japan) could be just want the Doctor order, if you have $5600 that is, the ifBot robot developed primarily for older folks will help keep you company, it reacts to your motions and if you just happen ah need a doctor, the ifbot can alert emergency services.

- MORE via Impress.Co.JP

Also Seen at UberGizmo

- The NHJ Che-ez V:U2 MPEG-4 movie camera announced back in July 2004, we will finally see the light of day -- at least in Japan anyway. Expected early December - speculation 12,800 yen - (125US). Features of the Che-ez V:U2 include records mpeg-4 movies at 640x480 dot/12fps and 320x240 dot /20fps, 16MB of built-in Memory, SD memory slot for additional memory, 3MP CMOS sensor, picture resolutions 2,048x1,536/ 1,600x1,200/ 800x600 dot, 4x Zoom, 1.4inch LCD display, USB 1.1 interface & supports TV output.

Now for the good stuff it will be available in black & silver and there is a Hello Kitty version. yeah, ah add 6,000 more yen for the Kitty one. The Che-ez V:U2 measures 86x34x74mm and weighs 109 g.

Say Cheese. that was my cheesy attempt at making a joke

- MORE

Sony also announced the 1GB flash memory 'NW-E99 ' Network Walkman today, same press release as my previous post on the NW-HD3, however I think the NW-E99 deserves its own post simply because it looks like I could get a sip of something from the device. Pre-orders for the brilliant silver NW-E99 starts Nov 30 - for about 29,000 Yen. The yen should give away the location of those pre-orders. Features include MP3 playback, ATRAC3plus - ATRAC3plus support & 1GB flash memory.

The NW-E99 measures 59.5 x 41.1 x 16.1mm & weighs 51 g.

- MORE SONY

In my little world, I believe anything titled Walkman belongs in the museum - Sony however believes otherwise and they just might convince me that the Walkman has a place in my life with their new network Walkman. The new NW-HD3 is an update to the NW-HD1 & NW-HD2 which were announced sometime ago. The new Walkman comes in 4 fabulous colors to match your various outfits - red, black, silver & blue -- available in Japan (of course) -- DEC 10. for about 42,000 yen. Features include a 1.8 inches 20GB HDD - keeping their word the NW-HD3 supports MP3 playback (Sony is intent on getting some of iPod pap market share), ATRAC3plus & ATRAC3 support & blue LCD on the blue, red & black models, white LCD on the silver model.

The NW-HD3 measures 90x13.8 - 14.8x62.1mm and weighs approximately 130 g

- MORE via impress.co.jp

The Mju-40 is a new compact digital camera from Olympus set for release in Japan on Dec 10. Big brother of sorts to the Mju-30 released in march. The new camera is expected to be priced within the 40,000 Yen range. The new camera adopts special names relating to color, The diamond dust (the silver), the eclipse knight (the navy), & the lead moon (the lead-lead).

The Mju-40 features a 2.5 inch LCD, JIS (waterproof) -- , 3x zoom, 5MP, includes album function for image navigation & a calendar -- continuing the trend of having one device do multiple things, images can captured at 2,560x1,920/ 2,048x1,536/ 1,600x1,200/ 1,280x960/ 1,024x768/ 640x480 resolutions. 64 - 400 ISO Sensitivity ISO400, ability to record video in QuickTime Motion JPEG at 320x240 pixel -- 15fps, USB 1.1 interface, uses XD picture cards available in 16MB / 32MB / 64MB / 128MB / 256MB / 512MB sizes. (comes with 32MB)

The Mju-40 measures 99x31x55.5mm & weighs 165 g

- MORE Olympus jpn

If you still use a floppy drive Imation has announced a new floppy Disk Drive that is 2 times as fast as the standard FDD on your PC. The FD2X-FG will be available December 15th for about 6,800 Yen. The new device will work with Windows 98/Me/2000/XP.

The FD2X-FG uses USB 1.1 interface and reads the SD card, the miniSD card and the multimedia card, the memory stick, memory stick Duo, memory stick PRO and memory stick PRO Duo cards.

Available in piano white and piano black. Measures 103x163x18mm and weighs 320g.

- MORE

Dell JP has a new TV Tuner equipped with a 19 inch LCD display or the other way around - . The Dell W1900 as it will be called features include 1,280x768 dot (WXGA) resolution, the built TV Tuner allows you to use the LCD as a TV, you can also use without starting up your PC. The W1900 incorporate "DCDi" technology which is supposed to give high quality pictures , 600:1 contrast ratio, 450cd/square m luminance, 170 degrees visibility.

The W1900 measures 604 x 168 x 424 mm and weighs approximately 9.7 kg. Available from November 29th - price 88,200 Yen

- MORE via impress.co.jp

I am totally addicted to the expensive products of Luxman. A few days ago I touched on the $8000 Luxman Du-10 universal player, today I will bring it down to $6000 with the Du-80 (winner of 2005 Audio Excellence Award). I know the Du-10 is available via AudioCubes, I could not find a US retailer or import shop carrying the Du-80 so you might just have to fly to Japan to get this one.

The Du-80 is another universal digital player, the player supports play back of DVD audio, DVD video, SACD (multichannel, stereo), CD, video CD, CD-R and MP3 files. Like with the Du-10 the Du-80 adopts technology to ensure you get the best audio for your buck - 4Hz - 45KHz (DVD audio, SACD), 4Hz - 20KHz (CD) play back frequency. The Du-80 uses DVD audio multichannel and SACD multichannel, Dolby Digital and DTS audio decoder.

The Du-80 measures 467 (W) x148 (H) x399 (D) mm & weighs 21.0Kg

- MORE via Luxman JPN

"Doctor let's use the Sony one, its so pretty & new."
"Yes, nurse Ron, you are on the money the new medical-grade digital imaging products and peripherals ranging from image recording to advanced archiving solutions by Sony are WOWers"
"I am not sure about that WOWer factor Doc "
"Cut guys that was horrible." "You are Fired Ron - Doc you can stay, my wife wants to see you in the back"

Back to the Grind. Doesn't that sound like a really bad attempt at Spamming? I am just trying to follow Amazon's footsteps you know the whole product placement thing, is hot right now.

Sony introduced a line of digital imaging products and peripherals designed to capture, display, print, store and archive images for radiology professionals. New Products include the UP-D55MD, UP-D72XR & UP-897

Well if I was into risking my life snowboarding and wanted to be in style the new R. E. D. Audio HiFi Helmet would help me stay fashionable & practical. The new head gear uses an in-mold construction process that fuses the shell and protective foam together, to help protection your skull while remaining light weight.

The R. E. D. Audio HiFi Helmet also features the Quick Clip, removable ear pads with built-in speakers. The speaker's chord, with volume control, plugs into any MD, CD or tape player and automatically unplugs from the speaker if you crash. See I knew snowboarding was dangerous -- how on earth do you talk about a product release & crash in the same paragraph.

- MORE

via Cool Hunting

Ah Sony has introduced two new players. The MD/CD/cassette player - CMT-A01MD will set you back about 42,000 Yen. Features of the CMT-A01MD include mini disc, CD (supports playback of CD-R/RW (ATRAC3plus and MP3 ), cassette player, AM/FM tuner & you can record from CD to MD. The CMT-A01MD will be available in black, white & silver. Pretty Cute Player

The CD/cassette player CMT-A50 will set you back 21,000 Yen is not nearly as cute as the CMT-A01MD. Features of the CMT-A50 include CD-R/RW playback (ATRAC3plus and MP3) & 4 line blue liquid crystal display. Everything else is pretty standard

- MORE via impress.co.jp

Bi-Dsign has a new plasma television for you to spend some hard earned cash on (if you live in Japan that is) -- the 42inch "d:4222GJV3" operating on the SamsungSDI V3 panel features include 852x480 dot resolution, 1,000cd/m2 brightness & 3,000:1 contrast ratio. The new TV uses the GENESIS Microchip which is supposed to give a high quality image according to press release.

The "d:4222GJV3" measures 1,245x79x645mm & weighs 34 kg. Available now in Japan for 299,800 Yen.
- MORE via impress.co.jp

- Visit ByDsign JPN

Via UberGizmo

It has been reported that Cingular sent a full color catalog in which the Siemens X66 (also refered to as SX66) was featured.

Neither the launch date nor the price was given, but the presence of the device in the catalog can only mean that it is coming soon.

Mobile tracker also notes that those phones were also in the catalog:
Sony Ericsson Z500, Sony Ericsson S710, Motorola A630.

Specs
- Windows Mobile OS
- 240 x 320 pixel TFT with 65K colors
- Mini slide out keyboard
- MMC/SD cardslot
- Candy bar model
- EGSM tri-band (900/1800/1900)
- GPRS Class B, multislot class 10 (4+1, 3+2)
- Voice Dialing, Voice Memo, SMS, EMS 4.0 and MMS with T9
- i-mode mail available as webmail
- Li-Ion 700 mAh battery, 100 - 360 minutes talktime and 60 - 300 hours standby
- Memory for > 500 names, phone numbers and addresses
- Modem for CSD and GPRS
- Picture CLI (Calling Line Identity)
- No SSL security
- IrDA infrared and Bluetooth connectivity
- MMS
- MIDP 1.0 JAVA Client with vendor specific extensions

[via mobile tracker]

EECS has added another player to their Joycoder Series. The new PMP model called the PV395 - features include Built-in, SD card slot and 1.8" 20GB HDD storage, CIF (320 x 240 pixels) resolution, Support AVI, JPEG, RM, and MP3 format, Support high-speed USB2.0, Embedded with RealOne player, Built-in 3.5" LCD panel & a Removable and rechargeable Li-Ion battery.

- MORE

The folks at ThanKo sure love the USB port, they have a new USB device, this time a humidifier (Japan) that will make you go cool or never. According to SorobanGeeks, many people in Japan have heating problems & use their air conditioner for heat, which results in the need for a humidifier. ThanKo is to the rescue for those folks, you plug the humidifier into your PC USB port and you are on your way to a very moist PC place. Why does that laptop pictured look like it belongs in a museum ?

I would have never guessed heat was a problem in Japan, one would think that with all the developments in technology they could develop some type of heat paper or something.

Humidifier is 4,980 Yen.

- MORE via ThanKo

A week ago visitors to qoolqee.com were teased with a short flash presentation -- many speculated on what the qoolqee was from space ship theories to the Super MP3 Phone went through the rumor mill. The Qoolqee turns out to be nothing more than a mp3 player, great press this player got. I am sure lots of other companies will follow suit with a small tease to at fire to rumor mills. The Qoolqee K7 Digital Music player will be available in 128MB,256MB, 512MB and 1GB models. Features include MP3, WMA and OGG playback, Dual Headphone jack, FM tuner and a 128 x 128 Pixels, 1.5 Inch, Color STN 65,000 Display.

The Qoolqee measures 45.9 x 79x 25.1mm and weighs 52.1g. No word on price, release date or potential markets.

More details on the Qoolqee site (Korean).

via i4u

The EVERGREENANC-01 - Everg's new noise canceling headphone is now available in Japan for 3,979 Yen. via Rakuten. While the EVERGREENANC-01 is certainly not the most attractive headphone, is should do the job, the headphone analyzes noise from outside using it's built in microphone, the head phones creates a sound wave which cancels the sound out, the setup will work with sounds on the 20 Hz - 20 kHz frequency. The Headphone has a on-off function for the noise cancel feature.

The EVERGREENANC-01 features approximately 50 - 60 hours of continuous action time & 70 Hz - 20 kHz playback frequency. The headphone has a foldable design to enhance the ability to carry it around.

- MORE via impress.co.jp

And the USB craziness creativity continues, Thanko will introduce the USB Flowerpot Speaker on Nov 29th for 2,980 Yen to the Japan market place. If you are looking for a speaker that will brighten up your work space this holiday season -- this could be the answer, and hey it even has the Christmas colors. Connect the flowerpot to your computer and you are on your way to great sounds via your flowerpot, no water required, the USB Flowerpot speaker is powered through the USB port. Works on Windows 98 SE/Me/2000/XP and Mac OS 9x ( Mac OS X) . Measures 11.5x11.5x120mm & weighs 620 g.

- MORE

In what I can only imagine was numerous complaints from fashionistas on how much of a no no a black device is, iRiver has announced it will offer a white N10 MP3/WMA player model in Japan the middle of December, and Rose-Lead colored model in January. The new colors will be available on the N10 256MB - 19,800 Yen / 512MB - 24,800 Yen & 1GB - 29,800 Yen models. Fashionistas rejoice you can now match the N10 with your white Gucci classic sneaker

- MORE

Looking for a cheap, lightweight screen made of paper for your foam/home theater. Good, well Pigeon has introduced a new screen made of paper, the screen is available in two sizes, the 80 inches * wide (16:9) Paper screen - PSW-80CF & the 60 inches * wide (16:9) Paper screen - PSW-60CF. Ah so you are wondering what good is a paper screen in your home where the cat rules, well since it is cheap you could easily replace, one other good thing is that because of the light weight it should not be a burden on your paper roof & it is easy to install. The screen has an embossing finish which prevents the reflection of light.

80 inch wide including tax 6,300 Yen
60 inch wide including tax 4,700 Yen

- MORE via itmedia.

Recent complaints about the Treo 650 having storage issues due to the use of non-volatile RAM, (used to prevent lost of data if your battery dies) - has resulted in PalmOne giving out FREE 128MB SD cards to keep the treo 650 owning geeks quiet until an upgrade to correct the problem.

- MORE via theregister.co.uk

Via Ubergizmo.com

Gateway has recently launched its M210 Series of laptop. The M210S is the higher end model, starting at $1100.

Highlights
- Pentium-M up to 1.6Ghz
- 512MB RAM
- 40GB hdd
- Wifi (centrino)
- Full-size keyboard
- 14.1" Wide XGA screen
- Intel Integrated Graphics 9

MORE ubergizmo.com

More at Gateway

Let's try this again - Philips has quietly (not so quiet now) reentered the PC market after a ten year absence. In a partnership with British retailer Dixons earlier this week 6 new models were released.

Nothing special on the new models except the ability to stream music from your Philips PC to your Hi-Fi set or television over a wireless connection.
- MORE

LG plans to show Samsung that 6 Megapixels is better than 5, they might even do 7 with a new camera phone that is in the works. LG plans to use Canon's 6-Megapixel Camera phone module for the new phone. -

- MORE VIA telecomskorea

Come December 15th the "ATH-M2Z" - Audio Technica's new headphone will be on sale in Japan for 3,990 Yen. The 40 mm in diameter head phone weighs just 190 g, so after many hours your ears should still feel like yours, adopts the large-sized housing, other features include 20 Hz - 22 kHz playback frequency, large-sized housing & high sensitivity treble quality.

- MORE

Here is another 5GB HDD MP3 player. The Ozzio will be available via PC Depot Japan on December 18th for about 19,900 Yen ($194) . According to the press release this price is like really low. The iPodish looking Ozzio will be available in black or white. Features include 8 line, 128 X 128 dot resolution liquid crystal screen, languages Japanese, English, Korean and Chinese, MP3/WMA/OGG playback support, built in microphone ( good for voice recording feature that the Ozzio has), 18 hours playback time, USB 2.0 & FM tuner. The new player measures 50x17.2x87.5mm and weighs 84 g.

- MORE via impress.co.jp

Impress.co.jp has a pretty in-depth look at Hitachi's new 400GB hard-disk-drive-based video recorder that supports HDTV recording - The recorder released in Japan late October is available in two models? The 200,000 yen ($1,820) DV-DH400T has a 400GB drive, and the 160,000 yen DV-DH250T has a 250GB drive. The DV-DH400T has enough space for 40hours of HDTV recording or 555 hours of standard-definition TV. The DV-DH400T also supports DVD recording for the SDTV - DVD doesn't support HDTV.

No plans at this time for an international launch of the new recorder.

Everg has introduced the "MP3 watch" as the name suggest it is a watch that can playback MP3. The flash memory analog watch will be available any day now in Japan. The MP3 watch is available in a 128MB model (EG-MPW128) for 7,980 Yen, a 256MB model (EG-MPW256) 10,980 Yen. Features USB 1.1 interface, 10 hrs battery life (3hr charge time) & 32kbps - 256kbps MP3 bit rate. The MP3 watch weighs 160g. You connect your headphones to the watch and you are all set for private noise.

- MORE via impress.co.jp

Icuiti Corp. (an American company) yeah - winner of the Best Invention prize from CES 2005 (Show is in January Vegas) - will release the 70,000 Yen "VIDEO EYEWEAR" in Japan December 1st. Video Eyewear is a portable video viewer of sorts that you wear like glasses for viewing, you could connect your dvd player for a private viewing etc. for example, features include 640x480 dot resolution , 32 bit full color, indicatory size 4: 3 in 2D&3D, NTSC Video signal input, VGA standard output, 5 hour battery life, Stereo headphones attachment, light weight, frame measures width 2 cm & weighs 70 g, display can load a 42 inch virtual picture about 2 meters in front of you.

- MORE

JAL (Japan Airlines) recently demonstrated a new service called "JAL SkyOnline" which will allow you to use the Hi-Speed Internet onboard, you can even do wireless, and get this electrical outlets, so very soon you could setup your entire office onboard your flight from Tokyo to London. An IEEE 802.11b corresponding wireless LAN access point is installed on the inside of the plane which makes this all possible -- speeds up to 200Kbps. The service is available for a flat fee system based on flight time. Under 3hrs - 14.95. 3-6 hours 19.95 over 6 house $29.95 or a metered rate.

Right now this service is for the entire plane first & economy. First class customers get the electrical outlet.

While the service is currently on one aircraft flying between Tokyo - London (Starts December 9th 2004 it is the start of something beautiful ) - I think

- MORE via impress.co.jp

Victor Jpn AKA JVC has introduced a new 50inch plasma display recommended for business places, ah they used a karaoke setup as an example for this new display (ok). The GM-X50R the big brother of sorts to the GM-X50 features include 1,366 x 768 dot resolution , 2,000:1 contrast ratio & supports image input at the following sizes 480i/480p/576i/720p/1080i. While the GM-X50R has many similar features to the GM-X50 one key difference is that the GM-X50R has a front filter which decreases the amount of infrared ray given out from the picture.

Measures 1,232x103x743mm and weighs 50 kg. The GM-X50R goes on sale in Japan on Nov 26 . Expected price 147,000.

- MORE via impress.co.jp

Kenwood has announced the "E series" -- a new line of car audio products.

New products of the E. Series include the E505 a 29,400 Yen system available January 2005. The E505 supports MP3/WMA playback, CD playback frequency 10 Hz - 20 kHz & features a FM/AM tuner.

The 21,000 Yen E303 available in late December features MP3/WMA playback, CD playback frequency 10 Hz - 20 kHz.

The 16,800 Yen E202 available early December features CD playback frequency 10 Hz - 20 kHz. The E202 does not support MP3 or WMA

The 27,300 Yen E303MD available late December features MiniDisc player that supports MDLP and Net MD. Playback frequency 20 Hz - 20 kHz

- MORE via impress.co.jp

Stockist - The Luxman DU-10 is a $8000 Digital Universal Player - you read that correctly not $800 people -- $8000. While I could in no way explain to my Mom why I would consider purchasing a DVD player for $8000 - I am sure some of the readers here at Ployer will understand the urgent need for this baby to rest in my living room. The DU-10 supports playback of DVD Audio, DVD Video, SACD and CD formats -( CD-R and Video CD) -- essentially the player can playback just about every 12 cm optical disc you can throw at it. The DU-10 is the epitome of a high-end player and according to reports will bless you with unbelievable quality -- plus the pride of knowing that you are probably the only person with the player in your city.

- Purchase the du-10 at AudioCubes

Alan Epstein, director of MIT's gas turbine laboratory has developed a chip based turbine that is designed to produce enough power to operate handheld devices, etc. -- so very soon (years) you could be saying good but to heavy batteries and hello to new small jet turbine powered handheld. The prototype jet engine measures less than the size of a five-cent piece, spins at 1,000,000 revolutions per minute. As reported Oct 20 when this story was featured at tecnology review the mini-turbine emits "a tiny stream of hot exhaust gas," so putting it in your pocket could leave you clothes with holes.

Related - Jet Engine Please

- MORE

Ah with all the hot new phones Cingular is exclusively offering, plus the recent AT&T merger one would think Cingular was rolling the money. Word is that after the holiday season Cingular will start to cut 7000 jobs over 12 months (sad) -- here is a the new phone offered exclusively by Cingular that will probably help pay severance packages -- the Motorola v551. A new EDGE enabled Clamshell handset. The GSM flip phone is $99.99 with a two-year plan. Other features include video capture and playback, MP3 format ringtone capability and Bluetooth wireless technology.

Motorola v551 via Mobile Mag

Rollei has announced two new digital cameras, the four megapixel DK4010 and the five megapixel wideangle DR5100.
Features of the DK4010 include a 10x zoom lens, 1.5-inch LCD display, 3.3 fps burst capture and 640 x 480-pixel movie mode. The DR5100 features a 1.8-inch LCD display, aluminum-body & 16MB of internal storage. Th DK4010 & DR5100 use SD/MMC cards for storage.

DR5100 - $448

DK4010 - $524

- MORE via dpreview

OK so I am sure we all want to take the TV remote in the bath tub for a swim - or maybe not but say you are using the LG Wireless LCD TV - 15LW10 while in the tub and you want to change something without moving your body -- you will need a remote that can work even when wet right? AudioTechnica Corporation has announced the 3,360 yen waterproof "ATV-554" TV & Video remote control, and 2,940 yen "ATV-553" TV remote control December 1st. Will work with TV models from 17 different companies.

Side Note - It is not recommended that you leave the remote in the tub for a swim. the water proof thing according to techjapan is just surface water.

- MORE via techjapan

The 52,290 Yen "HDPX-U100" is a new portable 100GB 2.5 inches HDD from Eye O. The new drive available at the end of this month works with Windows 98/Me/2000/XP and Mac OS 9.1 - 9.2, Mac OS X 10.1 - 10.3.5. Features include USB 2.0, 4,200rpm, write protection function, includes the data elimination software "DiskRefresher LE" and data backup software "EasySaver LE."

The HDPX-U100 measures 76x122.5x16.2mm and weighs 200 g.

- MORE via impress.co.jp

Sony has announced a new one-inch Microdrive available in 4GB and 2GB sizes. The 4GB "RHMD4G" - 279 dollars & the 2GB "RHMD2G" - 179 dollars.

So now you can take more pictures and not have to worry about storage for a few more mintues. When I see stuff like this I wonder why the Treo 650 for example could not have 2 built in 4GB hard drives. I mean these things are small enough to fit into the treo. Both cards are compatible to the Compact Flash+ Type II Standard. With a PC adapter and the Microdrive can also be used in devices that have a PC card type II slot (Windows Me and 2000 or XP are required for use with PC).

- MORE via Sony

Creative JP has announced some new speakers to help you make more noise - First up the "travel sound series" as the new suggest this is a portable line of speakers. The 8,680 Yen "TravelSound Notebook 500 [TSN500)" & the 4,179 Yen "TravelSound Notebook 200 (TS200)" white model "TS200-W." The new models will be in middle of December.

The TSN500 unit can be clipped onto the top of your notebook with the SnapAttach feature it has. Playback frequency zone of 150 Hz - 20 kHz. So your laptop could provide music for your entire dorm room. Measures 213 X 33 X 47 mm and weighs 243 g.

The TS200-W is a combination of looks think ipod, ibook & MuVo2 series rolled into one. Measures 157x57x68mm and weighs 294 g.

- MORE via impress.co.jp

I saw a small blurb on the XaviXPORT in Business Week or Newsweek when I started writing for Ployer back in September - I made a note of it but somehow never got around to doing a write up. I just got a refresher from Al (thanks). Due to bad coordination, my amount of video game playing is usually reserved when no one is around, I find however I am good on the games at the movie arcade-the shooting ones. I am all for any game that will make me look like I can play -- remember Duck Hunter - I loved that game. Meet XaviXPORT which will allow you to interact you with your TV a la the Duck Hunter days. Based on the XaviX multiprocessor chip, XaviXTechnology you can finally play that tennis game with racket to boot in your own home -- the technology can also be used for home security solutions. You hook the XaviXPORT to your TV, then you can play games such as XaviX baseball. XaviX Tennis & XaviX Bowling.

The XaviXPORT Console is $80 at target -

Now Available in Japan via Visa Vis

- MORE at itmedia

TORICA has announced a new portable Audio player -- available later this month in Japan . The "Twin" comes in black or silver in 256/512MB Models. Other features include MP3/WMA/WAV playback, 13 hours of batter life, LCD with 7 colors, FM radio tuner, voice recorder and a direct recording feature using the in line input to say record directly from your CD player. Thanks for putting me onto TORICA Al - are you the Star Jones Al ? -

The OTO" series Twin measures 83 x 30 x 12 mm & weighs approximately 38 grams

- MORE via itmedia

If you are one of the folks craving a iPod Cell here is a new iPodish phone with scroll wheel to boot -- by Nokia. This should hold you over until the pPod or cPod comes out. The Nokia Neo AKA Nokia's Music Phone features include SD/MMC-Card expansion slot for its music storage, 7 MB internal memory. While the Neo does not have an onboard harddrive as rumored - there is hope that a later edition could have one with Nokia's recent announcement of plans to add harddrives to their handsets.

RANT - OK my fingers are heavy - when I use my iPod it still takes me forever to scroll to a track, I could only imagine the hell I would go through trying to scroll to 911 , Does the Neo have panic button - How cool would it be if that scroll wheel flipped up to reveal a keypad

via ubergizmo

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Next summer KDDI Corp will start marketing a cellphone based diagnosis system for cerebral infarction, (death/damage of part of the brain caused by a sudden insufficiency of blood supply AKA stroke) - since it is important that within 2 - 3 hours of a stroke you should receive treatment - this new phone system will allow you to send diagnostic images to your neurosurgeon's phone - who probably would be on holiday somewhere in the Caribbean in your time of need -- from the images your doctor (if sober) should be able to make a precise diagnosis.

- MORE via sorobangeeks

Sony's new high end (not only quality the price too) MDR-SA series will be available in Japan - DEC 10. The 77,700 Yen MDR-SA5000 is the titanic of the new series with a playback frequency of 110 kHz. So you could like kill your ear drums -- funny I was just saying I need new headsets - OPEN ENTRY to Sony I want to review the MDR-SA5000 - I will say nice things. The other 2 models 38,850 Yen MDR-SA3000 (100 kHz) & the 25,200 Yen MDR-SA1000 (80 kHz). The MD-SA series is not only light weight but comfortable (according to release), can also playback of audio from your SACD ( super audio CD ) player.

- MORE via Impress.co.jp

The folks at LiveDigitally spent some time wondering the halls of the Electronic House Expo show held in Long Beach, CA - the result "the Sonos multi-room audio solution is almost as great as peanut butter & jelly"

LiveDigitally In-depth coverage of the show - Other Notables the multi-room PVR solution from DigitalDeck & Epson TV-based photo printing

See full coverage on LiveDigitally.