Name: Hello Kitty Face-Shaped DVD Player Category: DVD player Price: JPY31,500 Release date in Japan: October 16, 2008
No gadget category stands untouched for long before Kitty muscles in on the action. This time, her famed head forms the screen of the 7-inch portable "Hello Kitty Face-Shaped DVD Player", an entry in the "Original Kaden" (orginal appliances) series from Sanrio. Switch it on, and Kitty and her twin sister Mimmy entertain you on the screen until it's time to view DVDs, at which time Kitty's good to go with most DVD media including CPRM-protected discs.
Kitty offers 2.5 hours of play after a 3.5-hour recharge, ships with a remote control, and weighs 890 grams. She'll only take Region 2 discs (drat those finicky cats!), so stock up on local DVDs when you pick up Kitty at a department store or Sanrio shop in Japan.
Portable DVD players aren't too compelling for all-day computer users, but they can be a big help at times - namely, quelling the kiddies' screams in cars, airports, and so on. Here's a recent trio of market entrants, ready for that five-hundredth viewing of The Little Mermaid. (As well as digital broadcast recorded to DVD; they're all equipped to handle CPRM content protection.)
Nippon Polaroid KK offers the DPJ-08546WBB player with 16:9 (widescreen) ratio 8.5-inch screen on a swivel mount. Bundled accessories include car headrest holder, remote control, headphones, and AC and car power adapter. Formats handled include DVD, CD, JPEG, MPEG and DivX. DVD playback time is about 2.5 hours after a 5-hour charge. 930 grams. JPY26,800 from September. More info (Japanese): http://www.polaroid.co.jp/product/ce/dvd/dpj-08546wbb.html
GREEN HOUSE brings us the GAUDI GHV-PDV751ST, with widescreen ratio 7-inch screen, One-seg TV tuner, antenna, SD memory card slot, AC adapter and car power adapter. It'll handle video, audio, and images: MPEG1/MPEG2/Xvid/MP3/JPEG, DVD, CD, CD-R/RW, DVD±R/RW, DVD+R DL, and more. DVD playback time is about 2.5 hours after a 3.5-hour charge. 824 grams. JPY22,800 from late September. More info (Japanese): http://www.green-house.co.jp/products/gaudi/portabledvd/pdv751st/index.h...
Finally, Tokyo-based BLUEDOT gives us the BDP-2705WD, with widescreen 7-inch display and faux wood-paneled body. Formats handled include DVD, DVD±R/RW, CD-R/RW, DivX, MP3, and JPEG. Features include SD/SDHC memory card slot, 27-second commercial skip button (for disk recordings of TV shows), double headphone jacks, remote control, and LED screen backlighting that BLUEDOT claims raises playback time to 5 hours. 680 grams. JPY26,000 from October 10. More info (Japanese): http://www.bluedot.co.jp/products/bdp2705.html
Stunning video, pristine audio - and the luxurious feel of leather. Now that's multimedia! To celebrate domestic sales of over 500 million DVD media disks, Hitachi Maxell is set to release DVD-R/-RW media whose label side is coated with a leather-like material. (A blank stripe running through the faux cowhide provides space to write disk information.) A box of 10 disks (in five colors) will run JPY1200 from October 25. More info (Japanese): http://www.maxell.co.jp/jpn/news/2008/news080918.html
These days, DVD players are cheaper than some of the new Hollywood DVD releases. Case in point: the GREEN HOUSE GH-DV100S, on sale around now, has all the basic features - the usual DVD and CD formats, remote control, composite and S-video connectors, and even coaxial digital audio connector - for a mere JPY3980. (Don't look at me, though, if the unit barely makes it to the one-year warranty mark.) http://www.green-house.co.jp/products/av/dvd/gh_dv100s/
Name: Nikko Home Electronics Star Wars R2-D2 DVD Projector Category: projector / robot Price: JPY388,500 Release date in Japan: April, 2008 (next shipment in July)
This is on of the craziest gadgets you'll find, and caused a stir when announced in 2007. Though it's not new, it's worth mentioning again for anyone who's missed it so far. Japan sales began only last month; an online order now will get you a unit in July.
What is it? It's a rolling, reclining, chirping 1/2-scale replica of Star Wars' R2-D2 'droid, and it's come to Earth to entertain. The key feature of the robot (shared with the movie character) is a projector: not for Princess Leia holograms, but for beaming images to your home theater screen. Play movies or music from the internal DVD/CD player. Beam photo slideshows to a wall via USB and memory slots. Project your video console games larger than life via input connectors. There's even a nifty pop-out dock to accept video, images, or audio from an iPod.
You don't just unceremoniously plunk this projector down into place for movie time; this is R2-D2, after all. You'll pick up the infrared remote control and steer R2 around the living room to your heart's content. He goes forward and backward, turns left and right; his head turns, and he can recline backward to a 60° angle (good for movies on the ceiling, if that's what you like). A 7.2V nickel hydride battery keeps him rolling while he beeps 11 different R2 noises and flashes messages on a display panel.
The remote control really takes things over the top. Tastefully designed as a detailed replica of the Millenium Falcon spaceship, its cockpit and engine lights glow while the voices of Han Solo and Chewbacca converse over the whine of hyperspace engines.
It's all terribly expensive for either a projector or a toy robot, but the list of features (both useful and goofy) and the level of detail have gizmo lovers and Star Wars fans salivating. One caveat: some specific product details appear to vary by web page or user report, and the Nikko America product page shows even more differences; it's possible that the manufacturer continues to make changes with each production run. If you're going to lay down the cash, you might want to contact NHE and confirm any unclear details.
Some specs from the current Japanese NHE web page:
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