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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

Gentlemen, take your pics
Panasonic’s Lumix lineup swells by six

As regular readers will know, Panasonic caters well to the lower end of the digital camera market, offering a vast variety of candy-colored simple snappers for the beginner along with its well-appointed prosumer models with huge 12x optical zoom lenses. The company’s latest lineup sees six new cameras join the fray during February and March, most with 7.2-megapixel sensors.

At the top end, the latest 12x model, the FZ8, costs ¥50,000 and can take the uncompressed RAW-format images serious photographers insist on. The entry level is catered to with the LS7 and LS75, which cost around ¥33,000, take two AA batteries and differ only slightly in terms of LCD size. And the basic, ¥30,000 FS1 is for real newbies. In the middle of this procession come the ¥47,000 TZ3, the world’s smallest camera with a 10x optical zoom and the FX30, which is a slim model with a wide-angle lens for ¥40,000. You pays your money, you takes your chance. http://panasonic.jp/dc/index.html

Mammon in Nippon
Digital price tags help spread the gospel of wealth

People who say Japan has no religion are dead wrong—they’ve obviously overlooked the spiritual power of making and spending money. Sharp, in its infinite wisdom, knows this well and is helping both vendor and consumer with a little technological blessing.

The firm’s new LCD price tags should be appearing on supermarket shelves right about now, making it easy for stores to adjust prices store-wide and giving shoppers access to more product information than normal paper tags can manage. Sharp’s cut? Oh, about ¥10 billion in tag sales over the next financial year. www.sharp.co.jp/corporate/news/070117-a.html

Wireless tunes roam free
Sony’s Wi-Fi boombox swings every which way

In spite of its troubles and recent bad rep, Sony actually produces tons of good products each year—take its Vaio VGF-WA1 wireless speakers for instance. The ¥35,000 box is a relatively simple method for wirelessly moving music from a PC to a more atmospheric spot than the home office.

Using Wi-Fi, the WA1 can dial into iTunes, SonicStage or Windows Media Player running on a computer and blast it out (8W x 2) wherever you like. Add in a little internal memory (128MB), a touch-panel screen and an alarm clock and you have a pleasant, surprisingly open Sony gem. www.vaio.sony.co.jp/Products/WA1

Make your own entertainment
Highcraft says those speakers won’t build themselves

Recidivists among you may prefer the old-school audio approach over new-fangled wireless speakers, which we understand fully, and if industrial-strength glue and a saw are required to achieve audio nirvana, so much the better.

Highcraft Japan’s Yosegi-Kit is a DIY speaker system that results in two 15W high-end enclosures with titanium magnets, Hakone Odawara mosaic inlays and all the rest. For ¥30,000, unless you manage to glue your leg to an oscillating board, you just can’t go wrong. Trust us. http://highcraft.ocnk.net/product/4

Sunglasses at night
Hang out at your local JR with Softbank

As dull as it is these days, we have a duty to report on the wacky world of Japanese cellphones from time to time, and the latest is the attempt by Softbank Mobile (memo to self: gotta stop calling it Vodafone) to woo DoCoMo’s masses over to the dark side.

Of the Yahoo Japan stablemate’s spring lineup of 11 new phones, the standout is the 911T from Toshiba—a chunky number with a pair of sunglasses thrown in. The shades are more than just an ’80s throwback, however—they are 21st-century Bluetooth wireless headphones as well. Contain your excitement, please.

The 911T, which could well be available for free to anyone committing to a long-term contract in March, is actually pretty interesting in its own right, with fast 3.6Mbps downloads and 1GB of internal memory for music storage. Still, we bet those wraparounds will be a hit with the legions of Japanese guys who love to make like Corey Hart and wear sunglasses at night. http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/special/07spring

Reach out and touch (your local Wi-Fi)
Buffalo brings the equivalent of a telescopic sight to your PC

RTokyo residents with laptops—and let’s face it, that’s most of us these days—are bound to be familiar with the frustrating situation where you’re in a café and lift the lid to be surprised by an open Wi-Fi signal flickering away somewhere unknown. However, the problem is that unless you’re very lucky, the PC won’t hang onto the signal long enough for even the shortest of emails, which is where Buffalo comes in.

If you’re prepared to stick the firm’s ugly ¥3,700 Wi-Fi adapter and antenna to the lid of your lappy, you’ll be blessed with a Peter-Parker-like ability to sense that wireless goodness from miles around.

We exaggerate—it stretches to 170m actually, but if doubling the normal Wi-Fi range like that makes the difference between being able to keep up with the ball game from Staba or not, then knock yourself out. Either that or stop being a cheapskate and stump up for one of those Air H wireless data cards, y’know? http://buffalo.jp/products/catalog/network/wli-u2-sg54hp

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

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