GW-212

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G A D G E T W A T C H
The Hottest Gadgets and Gizmos from Japan
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Issue No. 212
Friday October 28, 2005

1. PQI mPack P600
2. Sanyo Xacti C6
3. Panasonic SV-SD750V

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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Name: PQI mPack P600
Category: Portable audio/video
Price: 49,800 yen
Release date in Japan: November 12, 2005

The Gist: A Taiwanese company called "Power Quotient
International" (PQI) has introduced a new portable media player,
and "Power Global Index" is responsible for releasing the product
in Japan. But the "mPack P600" comes pre-loaded with a few
surprises. That's one reason we're introducing it in this edition
of Gadget Watch.

The mPack P600 features a 480 x 272 dot, 4"-widescreen display,
which just happens to be the same resolution and size of the
screen of Sony's Playstation Portable. The unit features no card
slot of any sort, but that shouldn't bother you too much with 20GB
of hard drive space and a USB 2.0 connection at your disposal.

Supported audio formats are MP3, WMA, Dolby Digital (AC3),
M4A, WAV, and Ogg Vorbis. For video, you'll be able to play
MPEG-1/2/4, DivX, XviD, and AVI. Windows Media Video is not
supported.

Here's where things get interesting with the player. The maximum
supported resolution for display of video on the LCD is 800 x 576 dots,
so the device will downscale video as necessary. However, using
the included Composite/Component video output connection cable,
it can output video at 480i, 576i, 720p, and 1080i resolutions. That's
right -- a portable audio/video player that features the ability to play
HDTV (known as Hi-Vision in Japan) content. There is no upscaling
going on here; the palm-sized device actually supports decoding of
video streams of these resolutions and bitrates.

Audio wasn't left behind. With an optical digital output jack, the unit
can output 5.1ch audio, ensuring that HDTV quality video goes with
HDTV quality sound. Another nice feature of the unit is its USB
OTG (On-The-Go) support, so you'll be able to connect your digital
camera (and other devices that support the USB Storage class),
copy the pictures over from its card, and be on your way. You can
view JPEG, GIF, PBM, PGM, XPM, PNG, and RAW format images
on the screen, so the mPack P600 can certainly double as a photo
storage device for those overseas trips where you don't feel like
packing a laptop.

More info: http://www.pg-index.com/

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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Name: Sanyo Xacti C6
Category: Video camera
Price: 75,600 yen
Release date in Japan: Late November 2005

The Gist: The latest model of Sanyo's "Xacti" video camera has
been announced, dubbed the "DMX-C6." As the successor to the
"C5" released only in March of this year (Gadget Watch #183),
the C6 will be available in silver, red, and black body colors.

The C6 packs an SD card slot like its predecessor, but improves in
a number of areas. First and foremost, the CCD has been upgraded
from 5MP to 6MP. "9 Pixel Mixture Technology" also increases
the photographic sensitivity 9-fold, helping for recording indoors.
Another interesting addition to the camera is its ability to play
recorded videos at 60 frames per second, versus the standard 30.
Sanyo wasn't very specific about how they accomplished such
a feat without making videos half as long, but they did say it makes
video playback smoother. Unfortunately, the camera is unable to
record videos at 60 frames per second. Maybe they're saving that
for the Xacti C7?

That 6MP CCD isn't going to waste on video with a maximum
resolution of 640 x 480. Sanyo's new "Pure Force Engine" image
processor allows still images with a 6MP resolution (2816 x 2112)
to be taken while recording video.

The design of the C6 takes after that of the C5 with its "Cutting
Edge Design." With the included battery, it should see about 60
minutes of video recording, or 140 still images.

More info: http://www.sanyo.co.jp/koho/hypertext4/0510news-j/1020-2.html

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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Name: Panasonic SV-SD750V
Category: Portable audio
Price: Open Price; estimated around 20,000 yen
Release date in Japan: November 19, 2005

The Gist: Despite fierce competition, Panasonic continues to
lunge forward with their digital audio players. This past week,
the company announced the "SV-SD750V," a business card-shaped
player with an SD card slot and SD card slot alone. That's part of
the reason the player can be had for 20,000 clams; unless you
have spare SD cards lying around your house, you'll need to pick
one (or however many) up.

The SD750V supports MP3, WMA, and SD-Audio (AAC) files.
The latter is the format of "MOOCS," a new electronic music
distribution service by Nifty set to be launched on October 31st.
This service uses Toshiba's own "MQbic" digital rights management
technology.

If you were to hold the SD750V like a (Western) business card, on
the left half would be the OLED screen, and on the right half the
buttons to control common playback functions. Immediately behind
the OLED screen is the SD card slot. The SD750V also features
an internal FM tuner and voice recorder, where both can be recorded
in the G.726 audio format. Panasonic also loaded the player with the
"D.Sound Engine," as they seem to be doing with every product of
late. It has an 11mm (0.43") thickness and 53g (1.86 oz) weight,
so it should go nearly unnoticed in a pocket or purse.

One particularly nice playback feature of the unit is called "Ippatsu
Register," where you can mark your favorite tracks with a single
button push. When you want to play the tracks that you've marked,
they're also only a single key press away through "Ippatsu Playback."

Panasonic's portable audio products are known for their battery life,
and the SD750V is no exception. Using the included battery, it
manages to play audio for nearly 45 hours. When using the included
case for additional AA batteries, the playback time jumps to an
almost unheard of (for the digital audio player world) 105 hours.
Battery life is one of the few specifications of portable audio devices
that everyone is in agreement about: more is better.

More info:
http://panasonic.co.jp/corp/news/official.data/data.dir/jn051018-2/jn051...

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STAFF
Written by: Liam McNulty
Edited by: Burritt Sabin (editors2@japaninc.com)

(C) Copyright 2005 Japan Inc Communications KK. All Rights Reserved.