GW-105

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J@pan Inc Magazine Presents:
G A D G E T W A T C H
The Hottest Gadgets and Gizmos from Japan
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Issue No. 105
Thursday, June 26, 2003
(Long URLs may break across two lines, so copy to your browser.)

Name: Thirdwave NC602
Category: Portable MP3 player
Price: from 9,800 yen
Release date in Japan: June 13, 2003

The Gist: We're kicking off with a couple of portable MP3 players and
memory storage gadgets this week ・ the Japanese seem to love 'em,
that's for sure. This one here's a music player and (detachable) USB
Flash RAM key drive, permitting the playback of MP3 files at
32-320kbps and going strong for eight to 12 hours on a single set of
batteries. There are actually two different versions available: the
128MB NC602-128MB, which costs fewer dineros, obviously, and the
obviously named NC602-256MB which, oh, never mind. Both work with any
flavor of Windows and, because Apples are way cool until they start
horribly and irretrievably crashing for no reason seven million times
a day, any Mac too. Their dimensions are a lithe 73x35x16mm and,
thanks to the USB 1.1 interface, won稚 be needing any tiresome cables
or drivers to get working. Looks-wise, they're identical to the Nomad
MuVo in every respect ・ but Creative's machine won稚 be suing or
anything cuz the NC602s are much bigger and harder (at least the 256MB
one is) and will kick its head in.

More info: http://info.twave.co.jp/index_j.html

============================= EVENT ==================================
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Economist Conferences presents:
THIRD INTERNATIONAL JAPAN AUTOMOTIVE ROUNDTABLE
Mapping the road ahead
July 17th 2003, Tokyo
http://www2.economistconferences.com/doc/ap/jpauto03/i.htm

Join senior decision-makers and discuss the best strategies for
reversing the slide and to debate new directions for the industry.
Meet industry leaders from Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan Motor,
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Special offer exclusive for J@pan Inc readers!
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Name: Creative Zen CNJBZ60F
Category: Portable MP3 player
Price: Open (but approx. 49,800 yen)
Release date in Japan: end June 2003

The Gist: Talking of Creative, stand by for a new, seriously
chilled-out model from them. The CNJBZ60F is a 60GB model of the
popular Nomad Jukebox Zen MP3 player. That's as big as the hard disk
in the desktop PC I'm writing this week's newsletter on. It can store
an incredible 16,000 songs, connects using either USB 2.0 or 1.1, has
dimensions of 75.9x24.5x112.6mm (so big and square compared with the
Thirdwave, or even Creative's own MuVo) and will work on just about
any computer. It can handle more formats than the last gadget, adding
WMA and WAV files to the list, and has a 132x64-pixel LCD readout,
which can also display Japanese characters. You pay a bit more money
but, come on, that's a humongously gigantic hard drive and it makes
Apple's iPod -- even the new, improved 30-gig one -- look silly.

More info: http://japan.creative.com/company/press/2003/030612-zen.asp

============================= EVENT ==================================
Empire www.empire.net.nz - Property Investment Exhibition
Quality Development by Sanctuary Group

Venue: Tokyo American Club, Azabudai, Tokyo
Date: 28th - 29th June 2003
Time: Saturday & Sunday 11:00am - 7:00pm
Contact: Towry Law International (Japan) Ltd -
Ivan Doherty 03-5210-5503 or ipd@towrylaw.co.jp

If you're looking for success in investment property in Auckland,
New Zealand - this is an opportunity not to be missed.
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Name: Matsushita Electric (Panasonic) GPS-equipped Electric Bicycle
Category: Transport
Price: 74,800 yen (BE-SHS 632 and BE-SHS 432)/ 94,800 yen (BE-SHD 63A
and BE-SHD 43A)/ 124,800 yen (BE-SHE 63A and BE-SHE 43A,)
Release date in Japan: mid August 2003

The Gist: This week's "world痴 first" is an interestingly weird one,
as the title above suggests. Here we have the first ever GPS-equipped
electric bicycle. Beats reading about another MP3 player, eh?
Panasonic reckons that sales of electric bicycles will soar by a
further 25 percent this year, but owners are getting increasingly
worried about having their new pushbikes stolen. Not surprising,
really, given that most bikes are nicked by completely pissed (in the
English sense of the word) businessmen after they致e thrown up on the
train, staggered out of the station and thieved the first mode of
transport they lay eyes on.

So, Panny has come up with a new electric bike that's hooked up to
Secom, Japan痴 leading security company, allowing recently bereaved
owners to connect to Secom痴 Web site or phone them and try and track
down the dastardly drunken thief. The bastard.

There are three models of National Bicycle, all available in two
different sizes. The SHD models are a bit lighter (under 20kg), and
the top-of-the-range SHE models can go farthest, at up to 62km, on a
single charge. And, happily, the battery and charger come included at
those prices.

More info: http://www.panasonic.co.jp

============================= EVENT =================================
The Entrepreneur Association of Tokyo - For our July seminar
Andrew Silberman, President & Chief Enthusiast for the AMT group,
will inject us with a dose of "success serum."
A presentation about "Guerrilla Marketing", Jay Conrad Levinson's
term for improving business results (like sales and profits) through
unconventional means -- without spending a lot of money.
Wednesday July 2nd, City Club of Tokyo.
www.ea-tokyo.com E-mail: info@ea-tokyo.com
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Subscribers: 3,629 as of June 26, 2003

STAFF
Written by: Max Everingham (max@everingham.net)
Edited by: J@pan Inc editors (editors@japaninc.com)

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