Buffalo's stylish Skype speakerphone on the cheap

Headsets for making internet telephone calls, particularly for Skype, are ten-a-penny, but there aren’t a great number of speakerphones and certainly none is as stylish or cheap as the latest from Buffalo Japan.

For ¥9,800, Tokyo businesses operating on a shoestring can avail themselves of Buffalo’s elegant BSKP-CU202/SV. As with most products from the firm, the naming is a mess, yet the functionality is anything but.

The desk-phone needs no drivers, simply plugging into a USB port. As it’s bus-powered, there’s no need for an AC adapter either. In addition, a total audio output of 6W through three channels makes the setup a reasonable speaker system for most machines.

Lastly, with both echo- and noise-canceling circuitry installed, the CU202 should put paid to those annoying quality problems that dog Skype and its 171 million users worldwide. Oh, and we should probably point out that there’s absolutely no reason not to plug in and fire up an alternative/better VoIP app, such as Gizmo.

Golden Week in Japan: Showers predicted...

This weekend sees the sticky old Golden Week public holiday period begin in Japan, with a mad rush to do exactly the same thing as everyone else and sit in traffic jams or visit incredibly crowded 'attractions.' Naturally, we can't help ourselves and will be doing the same, as will all the tech companies in this fair land.

New desktop computers from Hewlett Packard

Update immediately three series of its desktop computers presented by Hewlett Packard. Ей были представлены новые модели серий s3000, a6000 и m8000.It had before new models s3000 series, and m8000 a6000.


Все новинки выполненные в интересном и привлекательном дизайне.All new items performed in an interesting and attractive design. Модели серии a6000, в минимальной конфигурации будут стоить около 350 долларов США.Models series a6000, as a minimum configuration will cost about $ 350. Модели этой серии построены на базе процессоров Intel, и оснащены, по умолчанию, 512 Мб оперативной памяти.Models in this series are based on Intel and equipped by default, 512 Mb RAM.

Modei, s3000 series, are based on processors from AMD and a default 1 GB of memory. Эти модели обойдутся пользователю в 500 долларов США, в минимальной конфигурации.These models cost a user $ 500 in a minimum configuration.
And the most expensive and advanced, m8000 will be equipped as Intel, and AMD. Иц цена начинается от 950 долларов.Its price starts at 950 dollars. Модели этой линейки будут поставляться с HD DVD приводами.Models this line will ship with HD DVD drives.

Все новинки уже доступны в продаже.All new items are available for sale. Их цена изменяется в зависимости от конфигурации, которую можно варьировать в самых широких пределах.Their price varies depending on configuration, which can vary in a wide range. Компьютеры всех трех серий будут поставляться с предустановленной Windows Vista.Computers of all three series will ship with Windows Vista preloade

New Robot Looks Strikingly Human

The ultra-lifelike robot Repliee Q1 made quite an impression at the 2005 World Expo in Japan. Shown below (at left!) with co-creator Hiroshi Ishiguru, the robot is so lifelike that roboticists may want to start working on a Bladerunner-style Voight-Kampff test now.


The ultra-lifelike robot Repliee Q1 made quite an impression at the 2005 World Expo in Japan. Shown below (at left!) with co-creator Hiroshi Ishiguru, the robot is so lifelike that roboticists may want to start working on a Bladerunner-style Voight-Kampff test now.


(From Ultra-Lifelike Robot Debuts in Japan)

Repliee Q1 has silicone for skin, rather than hard plastic. It has a number of sensors to allow it to react in a manner that appears natural; it appears to flutter its eyelids, chest movements correspond to breathing, and other tiny shifts in position that mimic unconscious human movement. The android can mimic actions made by a human; this helps the robot's movements appear more lifelike. By facing a person with reflective dots placed at key points (like wrist, elbow, palm), the robot can try to match those points on its own body with those of the person who is "modeling" human movement.

The greatest limit to the lifelike movement of the robot is that it has only 31 actuators in its upper body; a nearby air compressor provides the energy needed for articulation.

In his excellent novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Philip K. Dick explores what happens in a society when android replica humans cannot be physically distinguished from human beings. Only the Voight-Kampff empathy test can make the distinction, when used by a trained officer like Rick Deckard:

"I'm not a peace officer," Rick said. "I'm a bounty hunter." From his opened briefcase he fished out the Voight-Kampff apparatus, seated himself at a nearby rosewood coffee table, and began to assemble the rather simple polygraphic instruments...
(Read more about the Voight-Kampff test)

San Francisco's Wave magazine recently wondered whether or not candidates for their mayoral elections were humans or androids; they applied an empathy test to make sure. See Is Your Candidate Human?. Read more about Repliee Q1 in Ultra-Lifelike Robot; more materials available at Android Science. Thanks to Andy Gowland for contributing the tip on this story.

Analysts predict no dominant next-gen console

The games industry has long been acknowledged as a lucrative business to be involved with, which is why reports from market analysts on the prospects for new consoles command such attention.

The latest, from respected analysts IDC, comes to the conclusion that none of the next-generation games machines currently on sale is likely to lord it over the others. The report excerpt (the full hit will cost you $4,500 – see what we mean about the cash in all this?) does, however, conclude that Nintendo will be top of the pile in the short run.

Analyst Billy Pidgeon says, “…none of the three new consoles will dominate the market in the next five years like the PS2 dominated last cycle; however, Nintendo's Wii will outship and outsell the 360 and PS3 in 2007 and 2008.”

Considering that we’re already seeing the Wii forging ahead, that much doesn’t bring a great deal to the table, although we can't help but wonder if the soon-to-be rumbling PS3 might spring a few surprises.

Students recreate building-sized Donkey Kong in Post-it notes

Lightly whisk 6,400 colored Post-it notes into a team of ten geeky engineering students, top with a fetish for retro arcade games and bake on a four-storey building overnight and whaddya get?

Yep — a Technicolor paper-based recreation of Donkey Kong circa 1981 at the University of California. Boink.

Is e-cash killing real money in Japan?

Next month in Japan sees the beginning of the endgame in an ambitious scheme to entirely do away with paper tickets across Tokyo’s complex public transport network. The new the Pasmo IC-card ticketing system will work seamlessly with several existing smartcards to make life incredibly easy for the busy Tokyoite.

Pasmo is the latest RFID/IC card on the scene – it joins Suica, Edy and their variants embedded in a host of mobile phones to complete a comprehensive cashless network for both travel and shopping. A typical day for a hypothetical Tokyo resident might see him use such e-cash technology a dozen or more times, as follows:

• 7:00am: Bus to station from home using Pasmo.

• 7:15am: Wave Suica card over ticket gate to begin commute.

• 8:30am: Arrive at Shinjuku station, exiting using Suica again.

• 8:15am: Pick up morning snack at convenience store, paying with either Suica or the Edy or Osaifu-Keitai (mobile wallet) in phone.

• 11:00am: Canned coffee from Edy-enabled vending machine.

• 1:00pm: Lunchbox from local shop with new Osaifu-Keitai reader.

• 6-7:30pm: Suica into station, to buy evening sports paper and a dried squid snack from kiosk on platform and out again at home station.

• 8:00pm: Pay for new sofa on credit using phone’s iD credit-card chip at furniture store.

• 8:15pm: Fork out for few rounds of sake at local bar – oops, cash only.

• 9pm: Family dinner at chain restaurant – Edy does the trick.

• 10:30pm: Pasmo home again on the bus.

At first, this futuristic lifestyle is undeniably fun, and there’s no doubt that IC-card technology is convenient. However, on the downside, many of these services are available only to people able to secure credit, as the final charges appear on the monthly phone bill.

As more deals are thrashed out to allow interoperability and a single IC standard draws closer, could we be facing a future where anyone without credit or the desire to embrace technology faces becoming a second-class citizen? ‘Ugh – real money? No thanks, it’s filthy.’

WiMax wireless pushed to handle HD TV

Mobile WiMax continues to make rapid strides in the race to establish a long-range alternative to Wi-Fi, with the latest breakthrough being a demonstration of wireless high-def TV broadcasts.

Using a tweaked IEEE802.16e setup, Japan Radio Company (JRC) and Runcom Technologies recently showed HD TV video being transmitted at 30Mbps, which was more than enough throughput for the HD vids.

The two companies combined their wireless expertise to create a base station and user terminals using WiMax IEEE802.16e-2005 on the 2.5GHz portion of the spectrum.

Emphasising the significance being placed on WiMax to challenge other technologies, JRC general manager Fumio Murakami said: “Japan … is expecting superior performance from the WiMAX networks to compete with the existing broadband wireless networks in the country; The collaboration with a pioneer … such as Runcom supported JRC in its plan to demonstrate such performance to the leading operators in Japan.”

While any large-scale commercial deployment of WiMax specifically for video broadcasts remains uncertain, it’s clear that, whatever it is used to transmit, the standard has a bright future.

PSP gets trial at Arsenal and firmware upgrade in Japan

Just as the PlayStation Portable has had its firmware updated to make it that little bit more useful, so we receive news of an unusual trial involving the Sony handheld system in the UK.

So far, only Japanese PSPs have been able to download the update to firmware version 3.30, which adds a range of new screen resolutions for showing H.264 MPEG-4 videos. The usual release pattern should see the update released first in the US within days, then in Europe in a few weeks.

Aside from adding high(ish)-resolution 720 x 480-pixel playback (among other sizes), the new firmware also adds menu thumbnails for videos and RSS items and better performance from downloaded PSone games.

Elsewhere, Arsenal FC’s Emirates Stadium is about to host an unusual field test using PSPs in the hands of football fans. The new S.PORT system will be tested by wirelessly beaming replays and statistics to PSP screens during Arsenal games at the stadium.

Reports suggest that the new technology could be used in other venues for different sports, so don’t be surprised to see legions of nerds fumbling with their toys blissfully unaware of another goal bursting the net or a streaker at Wimbledon.

Logitec transforms iPod into alarm clock with bells on

No, it’s not a late April-fool joke – the iPod/alarm clock combination you see above is a real product, announced today in Japan by Logitec, with speakers cunningly disguised as bells.

The Dialive will be available in the middle of this month in either black or white for around ¥8,000, adding bells and a snooze button to any full-size iPod from 4G on or either model of nano. There’s a refreshingly low-tech plastic dial on the back that adjusts the size of the dock connector.

As for the specs, the snooze button adds nine minutes to your kip, the speakers output 6W total, there’s a dinky little volume control on the back and the Dialive even charges the player via a mains connection.

Suvil Bluetooth handsfree — does what it says on the box

Suvil is one of those firms that produces plenty of the little bits and pieces you never knew you wanted. One case in point is the Hong Kong company's ClipFree iAudio BT (top) Bluetooth add-on for pretty much any piece of kit with an audio output. We took a quick look at the gear this morning and were pleasantly suprised.

The ClipFree does the whole BT thing just the way it should — the package includes a dongle for a stereo, cellphone or whatever, a clip-on receiver, both in- and over-ear headphones and a couple of different audio jacks, so connectivity is simple.

Performance is fine over 5m or so, but you might not want to push it to the claimed 10m range, and audio is generally clear. The auto-switching ability — between an audio source and an incoming call, for example — is smartly done and battery life is reasonable at four hours of use or 120 on standby.

Suvil also has a range of Wi-Fi necessities, such as the Wi-Fi Hunter (below), a bare-bones key-chain 802.11 b/g detector. Currently, we only have pricing in Euros (€89 for the ClipFree and €15 for the key chain) but US and Japan readers can expect to see Suvil gear in the stores any day now.

Mobile phone sales grow — except in Japan

Worldwide mobile phone sales grew 21.5 percent year on year to 251 million units in the third quarter, with India and China driving growth, according to research from Gartner.

Gartner predicts that sales for the year will fall just shy of one billion phones. Sales should reach 986 million units by the end of the year, the research group said.

Europe, one of the most mature mobile phone markets in the world, showed just 1.9 percent growth over the same quarter last year.

Asia Pacific experienced the most dramatic gains, with sales of 80.8 million units during the third quarter, an increase of 54.7 percent over the same period last year. That significant growth happened despite a decline in sales of 4.7 percent in Japan compared to the third quarter in 2005. An increase in retail outlets and better distribution channels in emerging markets such as Indonesia, Philippines and India significantly offset that loss though, driving growth in the region.

Other regions of the world also reported solid growth. In Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, sales grew 19 percent compared to last year, to 48 million phones. North American sales reached 40.8 million units, up 12 percent. Sales in Latin America grew 13.7 percent over the same time last year, to 29.8 million phones.

Gartner reported that the smaller phone makers will increasingly struggle to compete against the giants. In the third quarter, Nokia, Motorola and Samsung together accounted for 68 percent of phone sales.

Among those three, competition is fierce. While Motorola increased its market share during the quarter, it lost its number one position in Latin America, to Nokia, and also lost its number two spot in Western Europe, to Samsung. Nokia has the largest market share worldwide, but failed to grow its market share in North America during the quarter.

Nokia's worldwide market share was 35.1 percent, up from 32.5 percent in the same quarter last year. Motorola had 20.6 percent, compared to 18.7 percent during the third quarter in 2005. Number three vendor Samsung had 12.2 percent market share, just slightly down from 12.5 percent last year.

Man thrown in the slammer for selling bad ringtones

Next time you fancy getting the theme from The Godfather or Close Encounters as a cellphone ringtone, just be careful where you buy it — you could be helping put the seller behind bars.

It's pretty hard to believe, but the Malaysian press is reporting that some half-assed market trader who has been selling unlicensed ringtones has been arrested by their equivalent of the RIAA.

He faces up to five years in jail and a massive fine just for peddling annoying crap — personally, I'd pay him not to sell that junk ever again to anyone.

Legs everywhere rejoice as dog humps USB port silly

The outrage — how could they? One of those USB ports in the video is clearly exposed for the world and his wife to ogle. Filth.
Update: We have the dogs in stock — over 1,000 shipped so far!

Wireless USB finally arrives on the desktop in Japan

After several months, Y-E Data’s YD-300 WUSB hub is finally on sale in Japan — for ¥39,800, or almost $350.

If that seems like a lot for a four-port USB hub, that’s because it is. Also, it’s not technically complaint with ‘official’ WUSB, so Y-E Data has to call it an Ultra-Wideband Wireless Hub (UWB), but that won’t stop Japan’s computer nerds lapping it up.

The technology promises wireless USB transfers between anything connected to the hub and a dongle that plugs into a PC over up to 10m. Speeds are similar to those from regular, wired USB 2.0 connections (480Mbps), so the attraction is in clearing up a little cable clutter.

That and being first on the block to use yet another new wireless technology of course.

Digital photo frame plays MP3s, video, does laundry

Over the years we’ve seen plenty of photo frames that include LCD screens for displaying digital photographs but few have been as cheap or as versatile as the Exemode DPS700 from KFE Japan.

KFE has plenty of prior for selling simple camcorders and the like for £50, so JPY10,000 for the DPS 700 photo frame isn’t too much of a shock – its abilities, however, are.

The white plastic frame, which looks like it would nicely complement an iMac, encloses a 7in widescreen TFT that has a resolution of 480x234 pixels. That screen is used for viewing JPEG photographs stored an any of five different card types – SD, MMC, Memory Stick, CompactFlash or xD-Picture Card.

Look closely at the bottom of the frame and you’ll spot a clue to the most surprising part – speakers. They are present because the DPS 700 can also play back MP3 and WMA audio files, as well as video files ranging from the various flavors of MPEG (not the black sheep MPEG-3 of course) through to DivX 5.0.

As if that weren’t enough, the menu software can display both English and Japanese and there are video and audio outputs, a headphone jack and a USB port for connecting a digital camera or another slab of media if those multiple card slots aren’t enough. It even comes with a remote control. Has there ever been a more feature-packed cheapo gadget?

Update: As ever, anyone outside Japan interested in getting one of these should drop us a line and we'll see if we can arrange something for you.
We're at usb-dog [[att]] digitalworldtokyo.com or just use the comments.

CEATEC: NEC to sell water-cooled PC with Blu-ray drive

Japanese users won't have to worry about a noisy cooling fan disturbing them while they watch high-definition movies on NEC's newest computer — the PC, equipped with a Blu-ray drive, uses water-cooling instead.

A prototype of the PC, called the Valuestar X VX780/GD, was on display this week at the Ceatec exhibition in Chiba, Japan.

As most Japanese live in small apartments, PCs often do double-duty as both a computer and an entertainment system. But the use of cooling fans means that PCs are not as quiet as standalone DVD players, often interrupting the movie-watching experience. The use of water-cooling means NEC's Valuestar X runs quietly, making just 31 decibels of noise, or slightly more than a whisper.

Priced at ¥543,000 (US$4,612), the PC is clearly not intended for people on a budget. But for those willing to pay more for a high-end system, the Valuestar X, which is due to go on sale in December and runs Windows XP Home Edition, offers some impressive features.

In addition to the Blu-ray drive and water-cooling system, the PC offers a digital television tuner, a 3.4GHz Pentium D 945 processor, 1GB of RAM, and dual 250GB hard drives. It also includes a remote control and a 20in widescreen LCD with internal flat-panel NXT speakers that provide surround sound.

Terabyte drive without the terrifying price

Hitachi reckons its groundbreaking 1TB hard drive will be ideal for storing the ever-increasing libraries of home movies, photographs and other media we all have these days, but it's a fairly safe bet that consumers of 'arthouse' cinema, illegal warez and pirate movies will be beside themselves with glee too.

The Deskstar 7K1000 from Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST) is the world's first unit to offer 1TB on a single 3.5in hard drive. It goes on sale this quarter for $399, which is a surprisingly low price, given that two 500GB drives currently cost more than that.

On the technical side, the new drive uses perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) on five platters spinning at 7,200 rpm and has a large 32MB data buffer — that's about twice the size of the buffer on current large drives. Predictably, the 7K1000 is likely to end up not just in general home PCs and specialist gaming rigs, but also, rebranded as CinemaStar, in Tivo-like digital video recorders, in which it will be able to hold over 120 hours of HD TV.

JVC's semi-pro video deck with MiniDV drive

We can't get enough of hard-core A/V products like this HDD/DVD/MiniDV video-recording deck that JVC has just released in Japan. For ¥200,000 owners of the SR-DVM700 get to take home hardware that will set them up as serious videographers - or at least as YouTube superstars.

The onboard hard drive is a replaceable 250GB, the DVD burner supports DVD-R/RW/RAM and the MiniDV deck allows, of course, for importing that precious high-definition video from cameras such as Sony's HDR-HC3.

The myriad input and output options include S-Video, composite, various analogue and digital ports and RS-233-C. On-deck controls are limited to comparatively simple dubbing back and forth between media but connect the machine to a PC and a whole world of non-linear editing is at your fingertips.

British firm helping shape the future of computer displays

This one sneaked in under the radar last week, but a medium-sized company from Cambridge, England, called DisplayLink has landed a significant contract with Toshiba that is almost certain to change the way we look at our computer monitors.

The contract sees DisplayLink’s technology powering Toshiba’s latest Dynadock range of laptop PC docks to enable them to deliver high-resolution images to full-size monitors via a USB 2.0 connection.

The £129.00 Dynadock PA3542E-1PRP that’s available now in the UK plugs into a single USB 2.0 port on a laptop. It can drive a monitor up to 1680 x 1050 pixels while simultaneously powering a sound system and standard USB peripherals and while powering phones, PDAs and the like.

The advantage of the USB method is initially in reducing cable clutter by cutting out the standard VGA lead monitors have always used, but the next generation of DisplayLink technology is the one to look out for, as it will use wireless USB to drive displays with no cables at all.