TheTopBlog

TOKYO EDGE - April’s coolest gadgets

The month has been notable not just for some of the cool new products
that will be hitting store shelves soon but for a few interesting
prototype products.

Four PC makers offered a glimpse of their upcoming Mobile Internet

Devices (MIDs). The PCs are part of a push by Intel and the
manufacturers to extend portable computing beyond laptops to even
smaller devices that are a couple of steps up from a cell phone. MIDs,
offering full Internet access, should be appearing soon.

Next up, Toshiba’s cute ApriPoco robot is promising a future where

you’ll no longer be confused by all of the buttons on the remote
control. Digital technology has brought us so many advantages in the
living room but 100-button remote controls certainly isn’t one of them!
ApriPoco will just listen to what you want to do and follow your
orders.

Once you don’t have to stress about controlling your gadgets it’s

time to take your relaxation to another level with NTT’s fragrance
communications system. Select a desired fragrance and your in-room
fragrance emitter will mix up essences to produce and waft it into the
room.

Toshiba ApriPoco robot

If you’ve become hostage to a
clutch of remote controls in your living room, then Toshiba’s ApriPoco
might be the answer. The prototype robot can act as a voice gateway to
just about anything in the room that has a remote control. When
activated it watches for the infrared signals emitted by remote
controls and asks the user what each one means. From the voice reply it
learns the meaning of each signal and eventually can imitate the remote
control when commanded by voice. So all it takes is to say “switch on
the TV” and the set should spring to life. In a demonstration the
ApriPoco was able to switch on and off a TV, air conditioner and lamp
in response to commands. Toshiba wants to develop the robot into a
commercial product but more development work needs to be done, so at
present there are no plans to put ApriPoco on sale.

Samsung Anycall Haptic

Samsung’s Anycall Haptic looks
like a thinner version of Apple’s iPhone, but adds a new dimension to
the touch interface. For example, when the volume of the radio is
changed, the phone simulates both the sound and feel of the “clicks” on
an old-style volume knob on a real radio. There are 22 kinds of
vibration in total built into the phone. There’s a 3.2-inch widescreen
display, a 2-megapixel digital camera, full Internet browser, Bluetooth
2.0 and terrestrial digital TV reception. It will cost between 700,000
won and 800,000 won (US$700 to $800) in South Korea. There’s no word
from Samsung on when it might be available elsewhere.

Sony High-def Handycam

Sony has developed what it says
is the smallest high-definition video camcorder. The HDR-TG1 is 32
millimeters thick by 119 millimeters high by 63 millimeters wide and
weighs 300 grams. It’s a tall and thin camcorder with a fold-out
display — a design along the same lines as Sanyo’s Xacti line of
high-def camcorders, but the Sony camcorder is about two-thirds the
volume of Sanyo’s latest full high-def model. One of the secrets of its
thinness is the lack of a DV tape desk, hard-disk or optical drive.
Instead the TG1 records to a Memory Stick Pro Duo or Pro-HG Duo memory
card. The camera lays down AVCHD format video at 1,920 by 1,080
resolution (so-called “Full HD”) and can also take 4-megapixel
resolution still images. Like some of Sony’s still cameras the TG1 has
face detection and can track up to eight people in the shot. Other
features include an optical 10X zoom, 2.7-inch widescreen touch panel
LCD monitor and HDMI connector. It will be available in Japan from
April 20 and will cost around ¥130,000 (US$1,300). In the U.S. it will
appear in May and will cost about US$900.

Panasonic, Fujitsu Mobile Internet Devices

Fujitsu and
Panasonic unveiled a couple of prototype computers at an Intel event
that are based on the chip maker’s Mobile Internet Device platform. MID
is the name that Intel has given to handheld devices based on Centrino
Atom that are expected to be produced in a range of form factors, with
many using touch screens or slide-out keyboards. Both the Fujitsu and
Panasonic devices have keyboards and the Panasonic model is a Toughbook
version, built to withstand harsh handling and conditions. Also on show
were a couple of other MIDs, one from Clarion that will feature a
personal navigation function, and one from Toshiba, that were
previously shown at CES in Las Vegas in January. Look for product
launches later this year.

Sharp blogging phone

Japanese bloggers have a new tool
with which to update their sites with the launch of a new Sharp phone
that packs a small QWERTY keyboard. The 922SH has a 3.5-inch display
that folds out to the side so the phone can be used more like a
miniature laptop than a traditional clamshell phone. The widescreen VGA
display has a resolution of 854 pixel by 480 pixels. The phone has an
RSS reader and a PC-style Web browser in addition to one more adapted
to mobile use. There’s a three-row QWERTY keyboard above which sit hot
keys for functions such as digital mobile TV and the camera. There are
also buttons for phone functions, navigation keys and a shortcut key to
Yahoo Mobile. The phone is locked to the Softbank network in Japan and
there are no plans at present to launch it overseas.

R&D: NTT Fragrance Communications

After satisfying
the senses of sight and sound through video streams and music
downloads, NTT Communications aims to tap into the sense of smell with
a new system that allows users to send fragrances from their cell
phones. A trial of the service will take place later this month during
which users will be able to select and send certain fragrance recipes
to an in-home unit that is responsible for concocting and releasing the
various fragrances. The system involves selecting a scent from those
available through an I-mode site on a cell phone. Once chosen the
instructions on how to make the scent are then transmitted to the
fragrance device through infrared or email from the phone, and from
there the scent is quickly mixed and emitted. NTT Communications
believes that fragrance is the next important medium for
telecommunications, as more value is placed on high sensory
information. NTT hopes the fragrance emitter will cost about ¥20,000
(US$195) when eventually launched commercially. Cartridge refills
should cost about ¥1,600 it said.

Source: Macworld UK

Popularity: 1% [?]

Posted in Technology