Metropolis - Tech Know

INSIDE

Home

Podcast

Feature

Photo of the Week

The Small Print

Faces & Places

The Goods

Tech Know

Travel

Cars & Bikes

Horoscope

Mailbox

The Last Word

Body & Soul

Global Village

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The Agenda

Art

Books

CDs

Clubbing

Dance

Japan Beat

Music

Sports

Stage

LISTINGS

Concerts

Jazz/World

Classical

Stage & Dance

Clubbing

Exhibitions

Sports

Others

Metropolis League

MOVIES

Reviews

Times

Theater Maps

DINING OUT

Restaurant&Bar; Search

Restaurant Review

Bar Review

International Dining

Local Flavors

Table Talk

Tastemaker

Sake

Wine

Beer

Archive

About Us

Distribution Points

Classifieds

Jobfinder

Horoscope 2007

Glitterball 2006

Select screen settings

1024 x 768

800 x 600

Increase Text Size

Decrease Text Size

Past Issues

702: Brave new world
698: New dog, new tricks
694: Unwired, unnecessary
690: SK Telecom hooks a whopper
686: Pioneer’s friends are indeed electric
682: Sony snapper shakes things up
678: Gotta hand it to Fujitsu
674: Gentlemen, take your pics
670: Scale speedster
666: In living color
662: Peace of mind
658: Samsung’s swollen snapper
654: Much more than ringtones
650: Where in the world
646: Where there’s a Will(com)
641: Buckets of bits
638: Sony’s small stunner
634: Sony coming back off the ropes
630: High def, high stakes
626: Fully loaded
622: Heavyweight handset
619: Greener and cleaner
614-615: All on board
610: Talkie Walkie
606: Gadgets, gear and good things…
603: Viva la Revolution
599: Bigger just rocks, K?
595: Double data dose
591: Turtle-tastic Takara
587: Spies like them
583: Remotely entertaining
579: Tick tock, ya don’t stop
575: Two-in-one
571: Camera superba
567: Tourist-tastic
563: Square eyes
558: Small screen
554: Muscle power
550: Fat off the lamb
546: Long lens
542: The Weird and the Wonderful from Japan's Gadget Gurus
540: Picture perfect
J Mark Lytle rounds up some good-looking gear-appealing MD players, attractive iPod companions, and a svelte little cellphone.
538: High spirits
J Mark Lytle hits the high-tech sauce once again.
536: Six of the best
J Mark Lytle gets half a dozen lashes of the high-tech cane.
534: Soup’s on
J Mark Lytle tucks into another feast of innovative concepts.
532: Worth its wait?
J Mark Lytle checks in with the electronics big boys.
530: Rich itch
J Mark Lytle checks out some financially demanding gadgetry.
528: Telly addicts
Televisual entertainment is never far from the hearts of the Japanese and the ledgers of the electronics big boys, so we’ve had a twiddle with a couple of the newest gadgets in the field and pondered a groundbreaking new recording medium. Elsewhere, music soothes the savage breast.
526: Future perfect
J Mark Lytle comes to grips with a few of the more out-there gizmos around.
524: Digital delights
J Mark Lytle cooks up a storm of high-tech desirables.
522: Chips with everything
J Mark Lytle does the rounds of the nation's smartest companies once more.
520: Coming soon…
J Mark Lytle rounds up the new and the soon-to-be-great of the gadget world.
518: Ides of March
J Mark Lytle plucks some fragrant seasonal flowers for your high-tech enjoyment.
516: Coming up roses
J Mark Lytle returns with a few new takes on familiar technology.
514: What you need
J Mark Lytle uncovers a hatful of gadgety gems for the pre-spring fallow season.
512: A kind of hush
J Mark Lytle shakes himself from the post-holiday slumber to get wired all over again.
509/10: Wrapping up 2003
J Mark Lytle gets all nostalgic and picks the cream of this year's crop.
508: All kinds of everything
J Mark Lytle reports on five products that'll get your tech-hungry heart racing.
506: Apple picking
With the launch of its first retail shop outside the US, a resurgent Apple takes aim at a market that loves its gadgets. Steve Trautlein goes shopping.
504: Cleaning up
Our latest gadget grab-bag includes some odd ofuro entertainment, the world's most losable MD player, and several ways to fill that USB-shaped hole in your life. J Mark Lytle reports.
502: Show and tell
The recent CEATEC show for the electronics industry produced a treasure trove of Good Things, including Sony's PSX do-everything machine and a credit-card-sized digital video camera. J Mark Lytle reports.
500: Corn-y for you
J Mark Lytle separates the high-tech wheat from the low-grade chaff.
498: Bits and pieces
J Mark Lytle delivers the latest and greatest from Japan's high-tech wonderland.
497: Gadgets ‘r’ us
J Mark Lytle brings you more of the best from the nation’s biggest and cleverest electronics manufacturers.
494: Talkin' 'bout a revolution
J Mark Lytle checks out all that's new in the ever-evolving world of high-tech consumerism.
492: The right stuff
J Mark Lytle gets the latest word on the street from the gadget paradise that is Akihabara.
490: Good to go
J Mark Lytle tracks down more of the latest gadgets that make our stay-at-home pals green with envy.
488: Summer breeze
J Mark Lytle rounds up five of the hottest new pieces of high-tech kit to keep you looking cool this summer.
486: Space odyssey
Carlo Niederberger combs the city for spots to visualize the future.
484: Air time
As three big wireless LAN projects race to hook up Tokyo, cable-free Internet connections are as close as a local café, hotel or train station. Martin Webb reports.
480: Keep your cool
Cathy Frances scopes out some high-tech devices for the dog days of summer.
478: All blogged up
Weblogs offer users the chance to post their lives online. Steve Trautlein checks in with the Tokyo bloggers.
476: Future Wave
Today's technological fantasies are fast becoming reality. Cathy Frances peeks at the wonders that wait just around the corner.
474: Small wonders
Somewhere between not-so-totable laptops and impossibly tiny PDAs, ultraportables offer an appealing alternative. Hanna Kite scopes out five of the latest miniature PCs.
472: Paws for thought
Cyber-pets are coming out one after another. Cathy Frances tracks down the home-entertainment companions that may give you a run for your money.
468: Photo finish
Digital cameras are getting smaller and packed with even more features. Sachie Kanda zooms in on the latest models.
466: Keitai kool
Camera-equipped cell phones have spawned a generation of gadgets that make digital photography even hipper. Hanna Kite takes a peek.
464: Mini mart
On the 10th anniversary of the MD, a new generation is hitting the shelves. Sachie Kanda listens in.
462: Internet to go
Cybird is leading the mobile Internet content revolution with help from Star Wars and SIM cards. Chris Betros reports.
460: Green Machines
Used PCs are piling up in landfills and ruining ecosystems around the globe, but innovative manufacturing techniques and NGOs are here to save the planet. Hanna Kite reports.
456: Strange days
Gadgets are becoming increasingly communicational, multifunctional, technically advanced and environmentally friendly, right? Or “goofy,” as Cathy Frances finds.
454: Match point
Teachers and students are coming together for online education—and old fashioned community-building
452: Mobile classroom
Want to brush up your kanji skills but just can't find the time to knuckle down with a decent textbook?
450: Future space
Tokyo is teeming with high-tech showrooms and technology museums
448: Virtual battlefield
Mike Lloret finds out how to meet new gaming friends online and then get in a fight
446: Fair game
Highlights from the Tokyo Game Show.
444: Clothes encounters
Technology comes out of the closet with the latest generation of wearable devices
442: Back lighting
Akihabara's hottest deals have moved from the big stores to the side streets-and even online. Justin Gardiner shops on roads less traveled.
440: Get the picture
A snapshot of the best camera-equipped keitai and the increasingly international cellular maarketplace
438: ABU Robocon 2002
Humans and machines alike head to Tokyo for the first annual Asian robot competition
436: Thin is in
Steve Trautlein looks into plasma TVs, whose flat screens are cropping up all around town
434: Nihon-GO!
Feeling shut out because you can't rap with the locals? David Chester plugs you in with online Japanese lessons
432: Byte size
A new wave of handy little digicams enters the picture
430: Lost in translation
Your ISP has just sent you an email in Japanese. Is it a service announcement? Kristen McQuillin shows you three ways to find out
428: Robots on the pitch
While the World Cup stars battle it out, their future competitors gear up
426: Class action
ESL teachers stuck for a lesson plan can turn to the web for some fantastic classroom ideas and ways to boost student interest
424: Book binge
Techpert Kristen McQuillin picks the best titles on today's shelves
422: An Apple a day
Mac gadgets galore were on display at Macworld 2002
420: Geek speak
Two years ago this month, safe passage through Y2K and dot-com hype had tech-types celebrating Geek Pride with festivals and events
418: Hot commodities
Kristen McQuillin collects gadgets for spring.
416: Smart appliances
Kick your feet up with the latest in high-tech kitchen gadgetry
413: Internet on air
Tune into international favorites with streaming audio
412: Spy story
Sneaking around with the latest in undercover gadgetry
410: PDA Personalities
The Ins and outs of digital assitants
408: Design intervention
The top tech books
406: 2002 Tech must haves
Japan's new gadgets and gizmos
404: Broadband Business
Internet World Japan 2001
398: High-tech hospital
The university of Tokyo Hospital
396: Big game hunting
Tokyo Game Show 2001
394: Wire tap
wireless networking
392: You've got mail
390: School's in session
From earning an MBA to making a webpage, online classes
388: Diaries go hi-tech
Up-to-date diarists have chucked the avocado leatherette versions
386: Why Upgrade?
Kristen McQuillin explains when to upgrade
384: Gadgets to go
Get the goods on the latest mobile devices
382: Hot software
The season's best new releases
380: Peripheral vision
How to purchase computer toys in Japan
378: In safe hands
How to avoid repetitive strain injury (RSI)
376: Kill spam
How to minimize your junk email
372: In for repair
Computer repair options in Tokyo
370: Game for a laugh
Semi-annual Tokyo Game Show
368: Knowledge is power
Empowering women in technology
366: Generation next
Cutting-edge keitai
364: MacWorld
Exploring MacWorld Tokyo 2001
362: Online translation
Simultaneous E-to-J and J-to-E translation... online
360: DIY Star Wars
Recreate your own sci-fi epic at home
358: Network gaming
Play games with friends on your keitai
357: Bad it online
Japan's burgeoning e-commerce market
355: Robotic revelations
Japanese robots leading the way
352/3: Get the point
beenz.com - a new kind of points system
350: Talk is cheap
Internet telephone technology
348: Tsukumo
RoboconMagazineKan
346: Digital Stadium
Innovative computer-generated art on NHK
344: Tokyo Game Show
The latest releases at this fall's show
342: WonderBorg
The mechanical insect
340: Fun and games
There's a new game console in town...
337: Dream on
Tokyo Dream Technology Fair 2000

Tech Know

by J Mark Lytle

In living color
High-definition camcorders making the breakthrough

It seems we can barely get through a day (or a “Tech Know” column, eh?) without a mention of high-definition TV, so why disappoint this time? The HD spotlight this month falls squarely on Panasonic, whose latest video cameras just happen to record in 1080i high-def glory.

The most noteworthy of the new camcorders is the ¥180,000 HDC-SD1, which shuns tapes, DVDs and even hard drives to record its footage to SD memory cards (a 4GB card is included with the cam). HDTV generally can be recorded only onto MiniDV tapes or next-generation Blu-ray Discs or HD DVD, but this camera can manage it on a memory card because it uses a new encoding technique, known as AVCHD, designed to fill the gap before the arrival of the fancy new discs in camcorderland sometime next year.

At the same time Panasonic also launched another AVCHD camcorder, the ¥160,000 HDC-DX1, which does the same trick but on mini 8cm recordable DVDs. Additionally, both models feature triple CCD sensors that should result in hyper-realistic color reproduction. http://panasonic.jp/dvc

Green and clean
Saving the planet Sanyo style

What a wonderful idea for saving the planet—
rechargeable batteries juiced up in a charger that draws its power from the fiery ball of fusion that is our own solar system’s Sun. The batteries in question are called Eneloop and have seen sales of 10 million units (end to end, they’d stretch from Tokyo to Osaka) since coming out in 2005. But the charger is new.

The ¥20,000 solar-powered charging unit handles both AA and AAA cells and hit the market in early December, along with a kairo pocket hand-warmer that costs ¥4,000 and has its own internal rechargeable battery. The charger also has a USB port for powering up your—let’s be honest—iPod, and there’s a battery checker shaped for some reason like a dog. www.sanyo.co.jp/koho/hypertext4-eng/0610/1031-1e.html

Midget gem
It’s cool as hell, but will iRiver’s new audio player succeed?

We’ll keep this one brief—it’s a YAiC (Yet Another iPod Challenger) that’s technically superb but which will fail miserably because it isn’t made by Apple and, therefore, is Not Cool, Dude. The iRiver S10 is the size of a postage stamp, costs ¥16,980 for 1GB or ¥19,980 for 2GB, plays most any audio format and has a great 1.5-inch color screen and voice recorder, yet will be history in a year. Still, we like it, even if no one else does. www.iriver.com

Spys don’t like us
NEC’s newest laptop is best kept undercover

OK, this is nuts—NEC just got
together with Takara Tomy to create the fugliest laptop PC this side of 1983, the Himitsu Kichi (“Secret Base”) Type-NO1 (uh-huh). For ¥145,530 and up anyone insane/childish enough to want to do their Excel spreadsheets on a sticker-festooned Fisher Price-alike computer will find deep, warm satisfaction.

Aside from the stickers, there’s an emergency shutdown button (it’s, uh, like pressing the Windows key, then the letter U on the keyboard) and a flashing “Glitter Panel,” whatever that is, stuck on either side of the case. Thankfully, NEC is limiting its production run to just 300 units, which makes you wonder what on earth the point could be. www.necdirect.jp/himitsu

In training for real life
Train sim game comes to the commute at last

You know how most young people (read, “younger than me”) in Japan prefer to fiddle with their phones rather than get stuck into a good book on long train journeys? Well, now they’ll be able to pretend they’re driving that very train, thanks to games firm Taito.

The arcade classic Densha De Go! (“Let’s Go By Train!”) has finally made it to the small(est) screen and can be downloaded for a spot of phone-tastic fun on any of the major cellphone networks. The idea, of course, is to drive a virtual train and keep to the timetable while avoiding flying off the tracks into apartment buildings (is it too soon to say that?). Get your JR on by hitting the mobile gaming menu on your keitai. www.taito.co.jp/game/lineup/h_keitai.html

His Master’s Boombox
Ever seen a robot speaker on wheels?

Finally this month, we have something rather odd—a robotic speaker on wheels that likes to follow its master around the house while rocking his block off. The ¥108,800 Miuro from ZMP was announced a few months ago but has only just gone on sale in Japan. The vaguely egg-shaped pseudo-bot is about a foot wide and can communicate with a PC (and, naturally, an iPod docked therein) via Wi-Fi to bring the musical goodness to you, wherever you may be. Save us now—this is just too much. http://miuro.com

Got something to say about this article? Send a letter to the editor at letters@metropolis.co.jp.

Listen to the Metropolis Podcast, the coolest guide to what goes on this week in Tokyo.

Looking for international friends? Check Japan, Inc. Friends now - it's 100% free!