Product recalls and other goofs:

Who: ASUSTeK Computer
What: ASUS EeeBox B202 PC
Why: Ships infected with Windows virus
What to do: Call 0800-123-2787 in Japan for replacement. Do not use USB memory or other writable media (virus can be copied)
More info (Japanese):
http://eeepc.asus.com/jp/index.htm

Kitty is moving up in the world of floor-cleaning devices! Previously, she appeared in a special edition of the RoboMop, a low-cost, low-tech cleaning "robot" (essentially a randomly-rolling ball topped by a floor-dusting "hat"). Now she's hitting the big time, gracing none other than the famed Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner. Based on the standard Roomba 530, the "Hello Kitty model" is offered by American manufacturer iRobot and Japanese distributor Sales On Demand Corp. The first Roomba to sport a character theme, the model shows Kitty holding an apple against a red background. 500 units go on sale September 30. JPY84,500.
More info (Japanese):
http://www.irobot-jp.com/kitty/index.html
Hello Kitty RoboMop (English):
http://www.tekronomicon.com/gadget/2008/03/robomop

Name: GREEN HOUSE GH-JEF223SH  
Category: computer display
Price: JPY36,800
Release date in Japan: Late September, 2008

Still computing on one small screen? Once in a while the tech blogs will go a-twitter over the latest study linking screen real estate to productivity. Findings vary with the tasks and the physical setups measured, but the reported numbers are always impressive. A University of Utah study earlier this year, for example, claimed that compared to office productivity tasks performed on an 18-inch monitor, a 24-inch screen sped up those tasks by 52%, while two 20-inch monitors granted a 44% improvement. More screen space can save workers as much as two and a half hours a day, concluded the study.

(Big caveats: those findings assume eight hours of tasks that are dependent on screen real estate - and the study was funded by display manufacturer NEC.)

Even if your productivity gains don't stand to be as impressive, few people who move to big and/or multiple monitors care to switch back to small. Fortunately for upgraders, screens keep getting cheaper. Case in point: the low-cost 22-inch GH-JEF223SH display from GREEN HOUSE. It's a WSXGA (1680x1050), 24-bit (16.7 million colors) screen with a luminance of 300cd/m2, contrast ratio of 1000:1 (10,000:1 in enhanced mode), HDMI and regular mini D-sub 15-pin connectors, and built-in 2W+2W speakers.

If you're willing to spend a little more, BUFFALO will release the FTD-HD2232HSR/BK around the same time. It's also 22 inches, but sports WUXGA (1920x1200) resolution, and has a DVI-D24-pin connector for HDCP-protected content. Luminance, contrast, and speakers are similar to the GREEN HOUSE display, but there's no HDMI. JPY42,800.

More info (Japanese):
http://www.green-house.co.jp/products/lcd/jef223shc/

BUFFALO FTD-HD2232HSR/BK (Japanese):
http://buffalo.jp/products/catalog/display/ftd-hd2232hsr/index.html?p=spec

Another oddball USB gadget from Thanko: to complement its fan-equipped mouse and keyboard for cooling your hands, Thanko also has a fan-equipped seat for cooling your... er, seat. The "USB Cooler Cushion" straps onto your work chair and, taking power from a USB cable to your computer, sends cooling air upward through pores in the cushion. With a USB adapter for your car's cigarette lighter, it'll keep you comfy on the road too. Says the company's English page: "No more sweaty nasty seat for me!!" JPY4800 (JPY5280 with car USB adapter).
More info (Japanese):
http://thanko.jp/usbseatair/
(English):
http://www.raremonoshop.com/us/product-information/usb-cooler-cushion.html
USB Cooler mouse and keyboard (English):
http://www.tekronomicon.com/gadget/2008/07/usb_cooler_mouse
http://www.tekronomicon.com/gadget/2008/08/usb_cooler_keyboard

Name: Sony BRAVIA ZX1, W1, XR1, and X1 series
Category: digital TVs
Price: see below
Release date in Japan: October 10 and November 10, 2008

Sony recently announced its new BRAVIA flat-panel TV lineup: 8 new models in 4 categories, with some impressive bragging points.

The first models to hit shops will be the X1 and XR1 series, screens with Full-HD (1920x1080) resolution and a contrast ratio of 3,000:1. The two series' shared selling point is "BRAVIA ENGINE 2 PRO" technology, incorporating what Sony calls the most advanced realization of its "Digital Reality Creation" technology for rendering pictures. The XR1 series further tweaks its RGB LED backlighting to increase dynamic contrast to an impressive 1,000,000:1. It also offers an improved version of Sony's "Motionflow 120Hz" technology, which interpolates frames to boost 60 frame-per-second video to an effective 120 frames per second.

Next up: The W1 series further upgrades the Motionflow tech to "Motionflow 240Hz", what Sony calls the "world's first 4-speed display" offering unmatched crispness and smoothness of display for sports and other fast-moving scenes.

Finally, the ZX1 series' claim to fame is a record-setting 9.9-mm slim profile; the ultra-thin 40-inch TV is an amazing 12.2 kg light. Of course, that svelteness leaves less room for internal components. The ZX1 lacks the above series' video enhancements, and in its quest to downsize, outsources the usual gaggle of input/output connectors to a separate "Media Receiver" box that sends video to the screen  via "BRAVIA 1080 Wireless". There's nothing on the display unit itself but a power cord and single HDMI connector. With its barely-there thinness and lack of cables, Sony calls the ZX1 the ultimate big-screen TV for freedom of placement in any room layout.

The X1 and XR1 series go on sale October 10, and the W1 and Z1 series on November 10. Model names and prices are below. (It's easy to decode: after "KDL-" comes the screen size in inches, followed by the series name.)

KDL-40ZX1: JPY490,000
KDL-46W1: JPY400,000
KDL-40W1: JPY290,000
KDL-55XR1: JPY750,000
KDL-46XR1: JPY600,000
KDL-52X1: JPY530,000
KDL-46X1: JPY430,000
KDL-40X1: JPY320,000

More info (Japanese): http://www.sony.jp/CorporateCruise/Press/200808/08-0828/

Name: Panasonic TH-50PZR900
Category: Hi-Def TV
Price: About JPY540,000
Release date in Japan: September 10, 2008

Panasonic Corporation's latest Viera Hi-Def TV further narrows the gap between TV sets and PCs: it boasts a 1-terabyte drive for recording shows and a LAN Ethernet port to access Internet content, particularly YouTube.

What will a terabyte of storage hold? Not quite as much as you might expect, given the heavy storage needs of digital broadcast: about 86 hours of BS digital TV, or 121 hours of terrestrial digital TV. (That same 1 TB drive could store several hundred hours of current analog broadcast TV; alas, that's what's being phased out in Japan by mid-2011, and the Viera won't even deign to record such old-timey signals.)

There's no dual-recording capability, so you can record only one channel at a time; there's also no external DVD player/recorder. So while the built-in hard drive is a nice feature, you'll probably end up getting a dedicated HDD/DVD recorder to go with the Viera. (Panasonic suggests its own line of DIGA BluRay DVD recorders.)

The flat-panel wide-screen plasma display with "Dynamic Black Layer" technology has an impressive contrast ratio of 30,000:1. Supporting that is a huge laundry list of color management technologies that Panasonic says provide the best picture you've seen in a plasma screen that size.  

On the network side, a custom built-in YouTube player (like that on the iPhone) brings funny cat videos and the like to your Viera starting September 30. (What does YouTube video, which is grainy even on an iPod screen, look like at 50 inches? One shudders to imagine.) The Internet connection also brings in expected features such as electronic program guide and viewing recommendations, though there's no general web browser, video/music store, etc.

Other specs: Full-HD (1920x1080) resolution, digital and analog TV tuners, 36W speakers, and connection ports for HDMI, i.Link (FireWire), composite video, S-video, analog audio, monitor, optical audio, analog RGB, and headphones.  

Panasonic introduced two smaller models at the same time: the 46-inch TH-46PZR900 and the 42-inch TH-42PZR900, with key tech specs the same as the 50-incher. The former is available from September 10 for JPY480,000; the latter, from September 20 for JPY420,000. (And if none of that impresses you, ask your Panasonic dealer about the new special-order TH-103PZ800: 103 inches (!) of plasma goodness for about JPY5.6 million, before considerable shipping and set-up fees.)

More info: http://panasonic.co.jp/corp/news/official.data/data.dir/jn080826-3/jn080... (Japanese)

(Incidentally, if you're still using the name Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, you've got just one month left. From October 1, it's officially Panasonic, with both the Matsushita company name and the National home appliances brand disappearing under the Panasonic nameplate.)

Name: TEAC Reference380
Category: home audio system
Price: see below
Release date in Japan: August 25, 2008

Tokyo-based TEAC, a maker of professional and high-end consumer audio equipment, is renewing its presence in the consumer component stereo system market in Japan with a new "hi-component system", the Reference380. TEAC says the Reference series, already available overseas, incorporates the expertise of top European sound designers, and marks the first new TEAC consumer brand sold in Japan since the 10-year-old high-end ESOTERIC consumer line.

The black aluminum-paneled system has four main components:

* Analog amplifier (A-H380): 45W+45W, Signal-Noise Ratio 100dB (IHF-A), frequency response 10Hz-65kHz, Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) 0.1%. JPY47,250.

* CD player (PD-H380): Also plays MP3 and WMA files on CD/CD-RW discs or USB drive. JPY42,000.

* Digital AM/FM tuner (TH-380): 30 AM/FM presets. JPY26,250.

* 2-way speakers (LS-H250): 2.5-cm silk dome tweeters, 13-cm carbon cone woofers, 50W. JPY31,500.

Included with the amp component are an iPod docking station to play your Pod tunes through the system, and a remote to control the amp, CD player, and docked iPod. 

The Reference line will appear at general electronics retailers and specialty audio shops. TEAC plans to introduce additional higher- and lower-end Reference branded components by the end of the year.

More info: http://www.teac.co.jp/audio/teac/ref380/ (Japanese)