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December 31, 2004
 BBC UK reports on possible long-term health damage to Workers in factories that make flat screen televisions. This news comes from Scientist after a 30 year old man developed a serious lung disease (pulmonary fibrosis) after being exposed to an aerosol containing indium-tin oxide (ITO) used in liquid crystal displays or plasma display panels for TVs, computers and video monitors. Doctors at Toranomon Hospital in Tokyo found tiny deposits of the metal in the man's lungs who worked on flat screen TVs for four years, during which time he was repeatedly exposed. According to a spokeswoman for the Information, Technology, Telecommunications and Electronics Association by the time the units reach the UK, they are totally sealed. "There is no health risk whatsoever to UK buyers."
Doctors who made the discovery called for more research on the possible toxic effects of ITO in order to protect industry workers against future health damage.
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December 30, 2004
SorobanGeeks points to the Sigma Bluebox HD II a low cost HDTV converter for your PC. Experience the magic of High Definition on your PC. The plug & play portable Sigma Bluebox HD II features include ATSC support (1080p/i/720p/480p), NTSC support (analog TV), Digital audio support (SPDIF), Multi aspect ratio(16:9/4:3/letterbox), RGB or DVI-out port, High color on screen display, Auto channel scan/programming, Programmable OSD transparency, PC to TV mode switching, PVR functions with PCs, Closed caption/V-chip support, USB1.1/2.0 compliant, 1394 support (optional), EPG support (optional) and Universal remote control. $310 USD available in Korea. Will be on display at the 2005 CES show in Las Vegas.
Also Seen at Engadget
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SEGA Logistics Service has announced a reissue of the "Neo Geo Stick 2" controller for the Playstation 2. The controller will be available in Japan on Feb 17th 2005 - expected price 6,090 yen (including tax). The Neo Geo Stick 2 is a bears concept of the original controller, which gave the control feeling of an arcade game. Four buttons have been added to go with the PS2. It does not support analog control or vibration functionality. Measures 280 x 195 x 85mm and weighs 1.2kg.
- TechJapan
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The DR-BT1 is a new wireless headset system from Sony that works with your Bluetooth enabled mobile phone. The wireless headset system allows you to talk on your mobile phone without the hassle of wires. Features include to 32 ft. (10M) distance between the headset and the phone range, fits on either your right or left ear, powered by built-in Lithium ion rechargeable battery, charger with belt clip and Air vent clip.
- Engadget
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December 29, 2004
Sony Corp. has established Connect Company, a new division which will exclusively develop products and services to rival Apple's iPod players and iTunes Music Store service. Connect Company established on Nov. 1 2004. will enter into operations early next year and will eventually employ 300 to 400 workers. Engineers will work on new hard disk based portable audio players equipped with the first product expected late 2005. Connect Company will also operate a personal computer-and cellphone-compatible music download service. Video and game distribution services planned as well.
The Sony PSP expected to hit our shores March 2005 should jump start Sony's plans for 2005. The PSP is a game machine and multimedia player designed for music and movies. The PSP portable device incorporates high-quality, full-motion video similar to PS2 that can be played anytime and anywhere.
The Play Station Portable features a 4.3-inch 16:9 widescreen LCD TFT screen with a 480x272 resolution, button layout similar to the PlayStation with a digital control pad, an analog stick, circle, square, triangle, x, and 2 shoulder buttons, supports a Wi-Fi wireless connectivity that allows up to 16 PSPs to play together and uses a new, Sony-developed optical media called the Universal Media Disc (UMD), which offers game software, full-motion video and other digital content
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December 27, 2004
Matsushita Electric (Panasonic) has announced two additions to their 4:3 flat front tube "2SHOT T" line. The new televisions with built-in VHS player will be available in Japan January 20th 2005. Models include the 21inch "TH-21VFA60" which features HiFi/ stereo speakers -- expected to be around 49,000 Yen, while the "TH-21VFR60" also with a 21inch screen features monaural speakers -- expected to cost around 47,000 Yen. Other key features include VHS player capable of 50x Fast Forward and 600x rewind (a 120 minutes tape rewinds in 36seconds), SuperDrive mechanics and Large-sized indicatory window.
Both models measure 512x478x507mm. The TH-21VFA60 weights 25.3kg and the TH-21VFR60 weighs 25.2kg.
- MORE
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Toshiba in partnership with CANON Inc. JP has announced plans to shift development of their 40 inch flat panels televisions and up to the "SED (Surface-Conduction Electron-emitter Display)system. Since SEDs apply the same light emission theory as CRTs, they can provide dynamic color expressions, a sharp picture, and perform faster video response than LCDs and plasma display panels (PDPs). In addition, SEDs do not require electronic beam deflection unlike CRTs, which makes it possible to create screens of more than 40" in size that are only several centimeters thick. Low power consumption is another main feature of the new display technology.
Toshiba models 40 inches or less will continue as before. Toshiba also rebutted claims that they intend to pull out of the plasma market completely, even though they have not marketed new plasma display panel television products in Japan since last year. Mass production of the SED panel will start from around August 2005 - purchase availability is expected in the latter half of 2005. A company jointly established by Toshiba, Hitachi, Ltd. and other firms will mass-produce display panels for liquid crystal televisions.
- via impress.co.jp (japan)
- MORE on SED at Canon.com
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December 25, 2004
Tiger Telematics UK has announced their Gizmondo handheld game console will make its American debut at the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
While the console has a solid Windows CE.NET based hardware backbone, the games department falls short, which could affect overall success of the console, when compared to the Nintendo DS and the PSP (set for launch in March 2005). The company's web site currently lists four released game titles, with eight more in the wings. Microsoft recently committed to three titles. The UK version also features, MP3 playback, Video Playback, SMS, MMS and GPS technology which should hold some gamers over until release of the new games. The company also announced the Gizmondo console will make its commercial debut late Q1 2005. Could Microsoft's taking of the Gizmondo under it wings be a sign of a possible re-brand of the console?
Specifications - 240 x 320 pixels TFT screen, 400 Mhz ARM9 Samsung processor, Nvidia 128-bit 3D Graphics accelerator. GPS technology, MP3 playback, MIDI/WAV formats, Speaker, Windows Media Player 9, MPEG 4 video playback, JPEG camera, SD flash card reader, Mini-USB client, Bluetooth class 2 for multiplayer gaming, Removable SIM card, Removable battery, Stereo headset socket for MP3 and games, Flight Mode, GSM tri-band, GPRS Class 10 and WAP 2.0
Priced at 229 Euro.
- MORE
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December 24, 2004
Sharp JP has announced the CE-MR01 their new network player which gives you the ability to output files from your PC onto your TV or stereo via Ethernet. The CE-MR01 will be available in Japan - February 3rd 2005 - price is expected to be around 40,000 yen. Works Windows XP. The 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX network media player corresponds to high-speed wireless LAN IEEE802.11a/b/g. When the included server software is used, video and pictures can be played back via LAN. The CE-MR01 network player features include MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video format support, 720x576 dot resolution support, BMP, JPEG and PNG picture support, MP3, linear PCM, WAV and WMA audio format support.
Measures 125.7x148.1x221.6mm and weight including stand approximately 660 g.
- MORE via impress.co.jp
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Bydsign has announced the introduction of a 50" plasma television "d:5032GJ" with 1,366x768 dot resolution. The d:5032GJ goes on sale December 27th, shipment starts January 20th 2005. Priced at 399,800 Yen. Features include 700:1 contrast ration, 700cd/m squared brightness, GENESIS MICRO CHIP and CATV corresponding BS analog and terrestrial analog tuner
Measures 1,430x832x287mm and weighs 68 kg.
MORE via imprss.co.jp
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