GW-252 -- Desktop PC, Navigation System, LCD TV

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J at 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. 252
Friday September 15, 2006
(Long URLs may break across two lines, so copy to your
browser.)

====CHARITY EVENT==========================================
The Tyler Foundation for Childhood Cancer presents:
Sports Extravaganza 2006, September 29 - October 1.

Cricket and rugby celebrities from the UK, South Africa,
India, Australia and New Zealand will come to Tokyo for
3 days of sport, fun and fundraising!
Sports Dinner at the Grand Hyatt, Golf Day and
Celebrity Cricket match.
All proceeds benefit children with cancer in Japan.

Shine On! www.tylershineon.org
For more information on the Sports Extravaganza 2006,
please see: http://www.tylershineon.org/index.php/events/sports_extravaganza

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Name: Sharp Internet AQUOS
Category: Desktop PC
Price: Open Price
Release date in Japan: Late September 2006

The Gist: Whether you want to call Sharp's "Internet AQUOS"
an LCD TV with a computer or a computer with an LCD TV is
your choice. Sharp has decided to categorize it as the former.

The new models feature a 20" widescreen LCD with a resolution
of 1366 x 768 dots. The TV has an integrated terrestrial, BS,
and 110 CS digital tuner, as well as an analog tuner, so
you're able to use the TV by itself. The TV offers a nice
variety of options, including DVI-I, HDMI, D4, S-video,
Composite, and Ethernet. Things then split off into two
different models for the computers --
the "Hi-Vision Recording Type," and the "Standard Recording
Type."

The Hi-Vision (High Definition) Recording Type has an
integrated terrestrial, BS, and 110 CS digital tuner
in addition to a standard analog tuner. Coupled with
the 500GB hard drive, you can record about 43 hours
of high definition content or 91 hours of standard
definition content. The Hi-Vision Recording Type also
has a Core Duo T2300 processor, 1GB of RAM, DVD Super
Multi drive, and price tag of about 340,000 yen.

Your alternative is the Standard Recording Type, offering
a Celeron M 420 processor, 512MB of Memory, 250GB hard drive,
DVD Super Multi drive, and only a standard analog TV tuner.

Both machines offer Windows XP Home Edition, four USB 2.0 ports,
one IEEE 1394 port, a memory card slot, Gigabit Ethernet, DVI-D
(with HDCP support), S-video input, Composite input, S/PDIF
output, and stereo input/output.

More info: http://www.sharp.co.jp/corporate/news/060905-a.html
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Name: Edia PONTUS EN-3700
Category: Navi
Price: Open Price; estimated around 74,800 yen
Release date in Japan: Already available

The Gist: Edia has released the "PONTUS EN-3700" SD card
navigation system. It's an interesting alternative to
systems that read their maps from DVDs or hard drives.
Instead, the EN-3700 reads maps from a standard SD card.

The 3700 adds on to the capabilities of the EN-3500 by
doubling the capacity of the included SD card to 1GB,
thereby allowing Edia to enhance the included map data.
You're now able to search as many as 9.9 million addresses
throughout Japan.

What's nice about the Pontus line is that everything is
integrated. You don't need a special antenna sticking out
the top of your car (the 3700's antenna is fold-up),
and you don't need to wire it directly to your car's
battery for power. Indeed, the 3700 offers a battery life
of about four hours on the internal battery. It's hard to
say how useful driving directions would be on foot, but
it's good to be able to take your navigation system with
you if the need arises. Of course, when you're in your
vehicle, feel free to power the 3700 via your cigarette
lighter with the included power socket adapter. Use the
device's 3.5" touchpanel to control your way through its
menus.

The 3700 also includes the capability to play MP3, WMA,
JPEG, and BMP files from the SD card slot, making it
quite simple to use the device as a music/photo player
for your car. Hopefully you have a spare SD card handy
for this purpose; the included card may have a 1GB capacity,
but the map data takes up virtually all of that space.
On the other hand, that also means you can't actually view
maps using the device while listening to music.

More info: http://www.edia.co.jp/np/pdf/060821.pdf
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Name: Sanrio Hello Kitty Apple-shaped LCD Color TV
Category: LCD TV
Price: 84,000 yen
Release date in Japan: September 27, 2006

The Gist: Hello Kitty fans should get a kick out of Sanrio's
latest, the "Hello Kitty Apple-shaped LCD Color TV." You
probably already know everything this product has to offer
by just looking at its name.

Two "slices" of the apple open up to reveal a 9.6" color LCD.
It's actually a respectable 800 x 600 resolution, too.
On the slices of apple are integrated 3W speakers,
so given the unit's 7kg weight, it's pretty compact and
transportable. It has Composite, S-video, and analog
audio inputs using the included "4-in-1 cable." A remote
control is also included.

More info: http://www.sanrio.co.jp/bus_info/news/h18/180904.html
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==================== ICA Events - Sept 21 =================

Speaker: Andrew Perons, Manager, Risk & Compliance, Strata Works K.K.
Topic: "Corporate Governance - The Changing Regulations and Implications"

Details: Complete event details at http://www.icajapan.jp/ (RSVP Required)

Date: Thursday, Sept 21, 2006
Time: 6:30 Doors open, buffet dinner included
Cost: 3,000 yen (members), 5,500 yen (non-members),

Open to all - Location is Foreign Correspondents' Club

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