GW-186

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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. 186
Thursday March 31, 2005

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Name: Hagiwara Sys-Com UD-Internet
Category: USB flash memory
Price: Open Price; estimated around 5,000 yen
Release date in Japan: Already available

The Gist: Hagiwara Sys-Com has released two "Auto-run USB
Flash Memory" products, and we will be covering the
"UD-Internet" in this issue of Gadget Watch.

The UD-Internet is, at first glance, a normal USB flash memory
device. It even has 256MB of storage space just like many other
products in its class. However, when you insert the device into a
Windows machine, you will be prompted with a launcher. And what
can you launch? Mozilla's "Firefox" web browser, "Thunderbird"
mail software, and the "Removable Lock" password locking software.
For someone who doesn't like to use Internet Explorer, Hagiwara's
UD-Internet provides a quick and easy way to have access to one
of the world's most successful "alternative" browsers, Firefox.

Furthermore, Firefox and Thunderbird are loaded on the USB device
in such a way that all history and favorites for Firefox as well as
received emails for Thunderbird are on the stick itself. Handy, if
you ask me. Here's where the Removable Lock software joins the
party, too.

More info: http://www.hscjpn.co.jp/new_article.php?ar_id=210&s=0
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Name: Wacom FAVO Bluetooth Wireless
Category: Graphics tablet
Price: 19,824 yen
Release date in Japan: Already available

The Gist: The Wacom FAVO Bluetooth Wireless may not be the first
graphics tablet to support Bluetooth, but it is the first such
product from renowned graphics tablet maker Wacom. Supporting
Windows XP and Mac OS X, the "FAVO Bluetooth Wireless" works by
attaching a Bluetooth adapter to the computer's USB port. The
signal is delivered using Bluetooth, eliminating something many
graphics artists have had problems with: wires. The tablet will
operate within about 10 meters of the transmitter, so something
like this may also be useful for bedridden individuals unable
to type.

The tablet itself has everything you would expect from Wacom:
a 0.0125mm resolution, accuracy within 0.5mm, and reading of
100 points per second. The included pen has 512 level of pressure
sensitivity.

Moreover, don't worry about battery life on this unit, either;
a rechargeable lithium polymer battery provides about 25 hours
of life to the tablet on a full charge.

More info: http://tablet.wacom.co.jp/what/detail/detail_press.html?nno=339
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Name: Panasonic TH-LB30NT
Category: Data projector
Price: 522,900 yen
Release date in Japan: June 10, 2005

The Gist: Panasonic's "TH-LB30NT" is a new data projector
scheduled to launch in June, with a few features that really
set it apart from other projectors being released these days.

The TH-LB30NT, an XGA resolution (1024 x 768) projector with
brightness of 3,000 lumens, features 802.11g wireless LAN support.
Note the "g" here -- since the projector uses 802.11g rather than
802.11b, it manages to deliver videos as well. The now antiquated
802.11b projectors have been unable to deliver audio/video content
effectively because of bandwidth limitations. Supported video formats
for the TH-LB30NT include "everything playable by Windows Media
Player," besides DRM-laden content.

A second unique feature of the TH-LB30NT is called "Delight View,"
for displaying images and video in bright areas (we can thus see
"Delight View" is a play on "Daylight View"). Delight View will
automatically recognize the ambient lighting situation and adjust
the brightness and coloring of the projector. The result is a
projector that can be used "without having to turn the lights off,
so people can actually see the presentation materials that have
been distributed." A decent idea if you ask me; it only makes sense
that the lights be turned on when someone needs to refer to
information on paper.

As with many other projectors in this day and age, the TH-LB30NT
is equipped with a "Multi-Live Mode" for connection to four or
sixteen PCs at once. It also has a speed start function that will
begin projection within two seconds of power-on.

More info: http://panasonic.co.jp/corp/news/official.data/data.dir/jn050323-2/jn050...
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STAFF
Written by: Liam McNulty
Edited by: Burritt Sabin (editors2@japaninc.com)

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