dottocomu

Turbolinux's wizpy media player/portable PC

Japanese firm Turbolinux is showing off an interesting device called the wizpy, which doubles as a portable media player and as a take-anywhere Linux box that you can hook up to a PC via USB to access your apps and settings. As a media player it handles OGG/mp3/WMA/AAC audio and DivX video and includes an FM radio, voice recorder and still picture/text viewer; in PC mode, you get access to Firefox, Thunderbird, Skype, wordprocessing and other applications and about 2.5G of storage space on flash memory.

The wizpy comes in at a pretty compact 84x42x12mm and a featherlight 60g, with battery life claimed at 10 hours. It's only a prototype at the moment (though the Turbolinux folks had one connected to a Windows laptop to give the launch presentation, so it's certainly beyond the Photoshop stage), but they indicate it should be out next February for under Y30,000.

[Via Impress PC Watch (Japanese)]

Plantronics Bluetooth stereo headphone mike

Plantronics Japan have announced their Pulsar 590A Bluetooth stereo headset is now available here in electronics retailers and Apple Stores, and online via Amazon Japan. This has been out in the US for a while -- MobileMag reviewed it last December--but it bears repeating that this looks like a worthwhile unit to consider if you want something that'll pair up with your phone and audio player and cut out the music when you answer calls. One caveat is that the profiles it uses for streaming music aren't supported by most cellphones yet -- K-Tai Watch reckons DoCoMo's new Panasonic P902i is about the only one in Japan that does -- though it does come with a Bluetooth adapter whose cable terminates in a 3.5mm jack, so compatibility with audio players ceases to be a problem. Amazon Japan has it priced at Y19,800.

[K-Tai Watch (Japanese)]

NEC's VoToL media player

News is hitting the wires about NEC's latest, a video/audio player called the VoToL which supposedly is modeled on the shape of a perfume bottle, with a jog dial forming the "cap".

Specs: Storage is taken care of by a 30GB hard drive, and there's also an SD card slot. Supported file formats are MPEG2/4/WMV9 for video and JPEG/GIF/PNG/BMP for stills, plus MP3/WMA/WAV/Ogg/AAC audio. It's possible to copy data back and forth between an SD card and the hard disk, and there's also a textfile reader included. Display is a 2.7-inch, 320x240-dot colour LCD. Battery life is pretty disappointing, at 4 hours playback for video and 8 hours for audio.

The other noteworthy feature is voice-recognition-based translation software called Transpeech that handles English<-->Japanese.

Size is 61 x 18-22 x 123 mm, weight is 188g. Price is Y39,900 (around US$340); goes on sale late March via NEC's online shop.

[Via Impress PC Watch (Japanese)]

[CORRECTION: Yes, we did have the headline saying "Toshiba" there for a while...]

iPod underwear

Not tremendously new, apparently, but we have to post this: the fetishization of the iPod taken into cosplay territory. iAttire offer a range of underwear and other clothing for iPods of all sizes.

[Via Engadget Japanese]

iTunes Music Store Japan launches today

Well, we were right to believe the Nikkei's prediction of an iTunes Music Store launch in Japan in August (and ignore some sloppy reporting by The Reg); Steve Jobs announced at a press conference in Tokyo this morning that iTMS Japan is live, today, with a million songs. Pricing is Y150 per song.

[Via Bloomberg wire and Impress AV Watch (Japanese)]

Inrou-type iPod mini case

This is without doubt the best iPod mini case we have ever seen. Brought to us by Solid Alliance (they of the food-shaped USB drives and infamous Ghost Radar), the INROU is shaped like, well, an inrou (a small lacquer medicine box hung from a kimono sash). Best of all, they've had the decency to actually make it out of lacquer rather than plastic, which means it's naturally germ-resistant and should take on a deeper shine as it ages (so they say). Cost is a rather pricey Y9,800; went on sale yesterday on Solid's website.

[Via Impress AV Watch (Japanese)]

Brighton Net's iPod mini remote

Brighton Net, yet another intrepid maker of iPod peripherals, have a wireless remote for the iPod mini coming out tomorrow. Called either the B-AUDIO Wireless Remote or the BI-RECON, for some reason, the remote allows access to the usual play/stop/forward/rewind/volume functions. Two quibbles: One, it come in white "to match the iPod" -- right, it'll go great with that white iPod mini we have lying around; and two, the remote control is perilously close to being the same size as a mini. Costs Y6.980.

[Via Impress AV Watch (Japanese)]

iTunes Music Store Japan: Wheels within wheels

Following our recent coverage of the Nikkei report of an imminent iTunes Music Store launch for Japan, we were directed to an article in The Register that effectively said the Nikkei report was a load of hot air. The Reg cites an Internet Watch report that, so they say, quotes an Apple spokesperson saying that the Nikkei report is "completely untrue".

Sounds like the Nikkei really got it wrong. Until you actually read the Internet Watch report. What the Apple spokesperson really said was that "the Nikkei did not contact Apple either in Japan or the US for an interview regarding this story. We are not in a position to comment about the article." Given how famously tight-lipped Apple is about more or less everything, that's about the only response one would expect whatever the truth actually were. If you're looking for information that casts doubt on the Nikkei story, it's rather the comments Internet Watch obtained from the record labels, which say that they are still in negotiations and haven't inked an agreement with Apple yet. However, given that corporate agreements in Japan are routinely denied at breakfast and trotted out with pomp and ceremony shortly after lunch, we'd be hesitant to write iTMS Japan off so soon. Indeed, Sony Music Entertainment, supposedly the least enthusiastic of the Japanese labels, is quoted as sounding quite positive on iTMS as a new channel through which to distribute their music.

More as we get it.

Japan iTunes August launch report 'untrue' | The Register

iTunes Music Store to hit Japan in August

Seems the recent news that the iTunes Music Store would finally hit Japan in 2005 was right on the nose: according to this morning’s Nikkei Shimbun (which will only print stuff like this if it’s damn near a dead cert), Apple has most of the major labels signed up and is planning to launch iTMS Japan in August this year. No surprise about who won’t be coming to dinner, though: Sony Music Entertainment has yet to ink a contract, presumably because it runs a (soon-to-be-doomed?) rival service, Mora. Price per song is unsurprisingly going to be higher than $0.99, with the Nikkei reckoning Y150 (about $1.40). However, that still lops a healthy chunk off the Y210 SME is charging for its ATRAC3-only badness.

[Via ITmedia (Japanese)]

Rio's new Unite 130 MP3 players

We were convinced we'd seen Rio Japan's Unite 130 MP3 players somewhere before, but it looks like they're actually a new product, if not a great departure from what goes before. You get the standard pack-of-gum form factor, with a four-line organic EL display, a neat slideout USB connector on the back, line in and headphone sockets, and an IR port to allow the Unite to double as a remote; also includes an FM receiver and inbuilt mic and will record from either of these or the line in. Supported formats are MP3/WMA/ASF/WAV/OGG, and comes in sizes from 256MB to 2GB. Prices range from Y15,800 ($150) to Y37,800 ($360); out late March in Japan.

[Via Impress AV Watch (Japanese)]

[Crossposted to Engadget]

iBe@r shipping now

OK, so not news exactly, but just a note that Medicom's latest iPod-holding figure, the iBe@r, is on sale and can be acquired at HMV stores in Japan or via the HMV website. Ours arrived late last week.

An interesting variation versus the iKub is that the standard iPod mini belt clip is the thing used by the iBe@r to actually embrace your 'Pod: the clip slides into a plastic piece that slots between the iBe@r's legs. Neat, but we've never liked the iPod mini's clip -- we can almost feel it shaving the finish off the sides of the 'Pod each time we use it.

[iBe@r @ HMV Japan (in English, but no idea if they ship overseas)]

Stick-on decorations for your iPod shuffle

Earlier it was a Photoshopped iPod shuffle with a screen, now it's a bunch of Japanese iPod lovers who've been busily grinding the pixels to produce print-out labels that turn your shuffle into anything from a pack of breathmints to a miniature 3G iPod. (Hint: click the buttons at the very bottom of the screen to navigate.)

[Read]

[Via Slashdot J]

(Crossposted to Engadget)

iPod mini gets its own Kubrick holder

Following on from last year's iKub robot iPod stand (one of which we have to confess is on our desk at the moment), Medicom is coming out on Valentine's Day with the iBe@r, a colour-coordinated stand for the iPod mini. Given the pace at which the iKub was gobbled up they've sensibly opted to make this a regular product rather than a limited edition (though it's listed under "limited" to confuse us), but they kindly note that "depending on when you visit our shop you may find it to be sold out without prior notice". We assume they mean their own web shop, though Medicom has a habit of selling Kubricks and suchlike in great big wholesale packs, so if you want to pick a site to sit obsessively refreshing your screen over on February 14 you may want to make it a retailer rather than Medicom themselves.

[Medicom]

[Via Gizmodo]

iPod shuffle: Great, but not sure we want one

ITmedia reports on a survey by Japanese company Infoplant about the new iPod shuffle. The results are interesting given that Japan has been one of the most enthusiastic markets for the iPod mini: while most respondents rated the shuffle very highly, 35.9% of them fell into the 30% or less segments on the "desire to purchase" scale, while 20.7% came in above 70%. 25% indicates "probably won't buy" while 75% is "probably will buy", so we're not looking at a stellar result. However, it's hardly cause for outright pessimism; there are always bound to be naysayers standing resolute before the juggernaut of an oncoming hit, especially one that's part of the can-do-no-wrong iPod franchise, even if they and their data ultimately end up as roadkill.

[Via ITmedia (Japanese)]

Please don't buy a Yamaha Internet keyboard if you're inviting us over

Yamaha's latest “home keyboard” models (if you were going to diss on them you’d definitely be calling them organs rather than synthesizers) come with the ability to hook up to a DSL modem and download new songs to pick out on said keyboard, karaoke tunes with lyrics to sing along to, or just muzak. We'd just love it if you invited us over to your house and you ineptly picked out a couple of songs for us, then set it to muzak mode to provide us with some relaxing background tunes. So please, get one as soon as possible. There are a just a few minor things that concern us, such as why it needs a DSL connection to download MIDI files with some text attached, or why it costs two hundred and twenty fricking thousand yen, for example. For that sort of money, you could rig up a bunch of Angelshare wine coolers filled with Taittinger and into a twenty-one-gun salute and still have enough change to post bail when the Feds caught you for unlawfully having fun (maybe).

[Crossposted to Engadget]

[Via Japan.CNET.com]

[Yamaha product page]

iTunes Music Store Japan launch to be delayed?

Scanning the business section of the Nikkei we came across an article on the music download market worldwide, naturally focusing on Apple. One snippet that comes up toward the end of the article is that Apple is facing even stiffer opposition from record companies here than it did elsewhere; apparently they're saying that without some form of "content protection" measures (read DRM) they are unable to supply their music to the Store. In the words of Apple Japan's VP in charge, despite Steve Jobs' assertion that the Japan launch would happen within 2004, things are still at square one.

Given that most of the record companies in question are part of the few remaining global conglomerates, it doesn't make sense to us that their suits should have agreed to the Music Store in some regions but not others. Unless the refusal veils a different reason, such as that Apple's pricing doesn't sit too well with them. Download services here--none of which have seen any significant success--thus far have priced songs at Y200-Y300 per download, and bringing in $0.99 per song pricing would mean roughly halving that.

[Via the Nikkei print edition]

Toshiba decides to help out Sony

Toshiba has announced a chip for audio equipment that handles both MP3 and ATRAC formats. Is this a subtle way of telling Sony (the innards of whose PCs Toshiba has famously supplied) to get with the program and offer MP3 support in their products? While the initial chip is apparently for CD players, usage in other types of player (hint, hint) is on the way. They're shipping samples for Y2,000. A dual WMA/MP3 version is also in the offing.

[Via ITmedia (Japanese)]

[Crossposted to Engadget]

Kitschtastic MP3 wristwatch

Japan's Rare Mono Shop, who are leagues ahead of the pack if you're in the market for a dubiously styled MP3 watch, have outdone themselves with their latest. After the previous MP3 SuperDisk Watch and MP3 UltraDisk Watch we were hoping for at least an MP3 PimpinDisk Watch, but no--this one's all smooth understatement (until you look at it, that is). The Analog MP3 Watch comes in 128MB and 256MB versions, is waterproof (whoo!), and also proves that these days, everything has better battery life than an iPod: nine hours. Looks like these are only available in Japan at the moment, but given that they’re probably made by someone else, all it needs is for some other kind retailer to pick them up and they’ll be massive all over the globe in no time. Mark our words.

[Via Impress AV Watch (Japanese)]

Foldup mini-speakers

We suspect the promo photos show these looking the best they're ever going to, but these mini speakers with 2ch x 3W amp from Princeton have two things going for them: one, they're cheap, and two, the speakers slide in and out and the stand folds up. And as members of the generation that grew up playing with Transformers, we roll over and fall asleep for anything that doesn't either slide in and out or fold up.

Size is about 17 x 6 x 9 cm folded up, weight is a slightly heavy 400g, and they only run off AC power; however, they only cost Y4,000.

[Via Impress AV Watch (Japanese)]

Handheld mp4 video player

Japanese firm System Talks has a fairly neat, compact-looking mp4 video player coming out on June 1. You can record direct from a TV or from a PC via USB2.0, and there are a variety of storage options including CompactFlash cards, a 20GB 1.8-inch hard disk that clips onto the rear, or Microdrives of up to 4GB. It's also possible to play back mp3s and display JPEG images. The life of the internal lithium-ion battery is a touch disappointing at 2.5 hours using a CF card or 1.5 using a hard drive--it would have been nice to get enough to watch one movie, at least. Price should be around Y35,000, though it looks like the 1.8-inch hard disk attachment will cost you an unspecified amount on top of that.

[Via Ascii24 (Japanese)]

Sony's latest assault on the download market

Sony seems intent on trying our patience recently with gadgets that offer cool hardware but are hopelessly hamstrung by DRM and own-brand lockins. Latest of the bunch is the NetJuke stereo it's launching as part of the Any Music joint venture (background), which is based on the model of living-room multimedia PCs masquerading as home audio, tied to a music download service, that can also be hooked up to a TV or a separate LCD screen for web/mail functions. The thing we find tedious about the whole deal is that it seems you can only stream music to the stereo over a home LAN from one of Sony's Vaio PCs, and that you can only check out music to portable players via MemorySticks or NetMD. The other uninspiring aspect is that the NAS-A1 costs Y90,000 (about $830), which seems like an awful lot. If you have a broadband line you likely have a PC and a stereo already, in which case you'll probably be looking to hook the two together rather than buy a box like this.

[Read: Product page (Japanese)]

Sony's latest superexpensive toys

The latest additions to Sony's stunningly expensive Qualia range, which it also launched in the US yesterday, are on the way. We're really in "if you have to ask how much, don't bother" territory here, but let's get the pricing out of the way: the 010 headphones are Y189,000 (about $1,800) and the 017 MD player is Y262,500 (about $2,400). The MD players are, however, "individually crafted from a solid brass block" and include an "exquisitely crafted" charging stand, so you can draw comfort from the fact that you're not just buying an MD player, you're buying a work of art.

[Via ASCII 24 (Japanese)]