Name: Nikon Media Port UP300x
Category: portable AV player
Price: JPY69,800
Release date in Japan: Mid December, 2008

Sorry for the odd article title, but this one's not easy to describe. Out of nowhere, staid Nikon suddenly announces a "multimedia playback headset device" dubbed the Media Port UP, or UP for short. (Pronounce that as individual letters, not as "up". As always, there's English-language imagery behind the name: Nikon offers a half-dozen derivations, including "universal port", "ubiquitous player", and "U (your) pleasure".)

In Nikon's words, "This innovative product, which incorporates display, headphones, mobile A/V player, Wi-Fi capability, high-capacity memory, and power source in a single compact unit is the first of its type. The UP allows users to easily enjoy high-quality images, videos, and music anywhere."

In short, the UP takes the media player out of your hands and puts it all on your head. It's a set of full-ear padded headphones with a tiny arm-mounted video screen that sits in front of one eye, like something from a sci-fi flick. Nikon says that despite the tiny 0.44-inch, 640x480-pixel size, the 16-million color backlit LCD display offers the experience of viewing a 50-inch screen at a 3-meter distance. (Viewed with one eye only, that is, an experience that sounds decidedly odd.) Nikon is serious about the hands-free aspect, too: an internal motion sensor lets you control volume and other features with head movements alone.

Media is transfered via USB and stored on internal 8GB flash memory; 802.11b/g WiFi allows downloads of new media, with Nikon promising a content download service ("UPLINK") and video sharing site ("UPLAB") in the near future. (There's even a web browser available in that eyepiece; no word yet on how you'd actually use it.) Formats handled include WMV9, MPEG-1, and MPEG-2 movies, and MP3, AAC, and WMA9 audio files. An AV input jack lets you enjoy media played back from other devices.

It's certainly interesting, but is it useful? The internal memory holds less than 3 hours of MPEG-2 video, so you could take along, say, a single "Lord of the Rings" installment on a flight - but be prepared to swap AA batteries after only 2 hours. And will you actually enjoy watching video in one-eyed, military heads-up-display style?

Maybe, if you're a male aged 25-35; that's the target Nikon is gunning for. To help Nikon reach its sales goal of 3 million units by 2013, head to http://www.upstore.jp/ and get UP. (Japan only, for now.) If you're short JPY10,000, there's the cheaper UP300 model: only 4GB memory, no motion sensor controls, and no AV jack.

More info (English):
http://www.nikon.com/about/news/2008/1007_up300_01.htm

Take the "intelligent" car key, a wireless fob which allows unlocking your car and starting the engine by simple proximity to the vehicle. Build that functionality into a mobile phone. That's the innovative gadget convergence which Nissan, NTT Docomo and Sharp, stumped for a catchy name, have dubbed "Mobile Phone with Intelligent Key". As long as you've got your phone with you, the open road belongs to you and your Nissan. Simple as that. The companies are rushing to put the concept into production.
More info (Japanese):
http://tiny.cc/6x1SU

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/

Don't let your car full of gadgets get stolen, like over 30,000 vehicles in Japan last year. Here's a gadget that may help: Kato Denki is offering a new Stealth Tracking System that places a PHS-based tracking device in your car. Utilizing the Willcom PHS network, the tiny 31-g box lets you (or the cops) track your car's location by PC or mobile phone should the need arise, for a rental cost of JPY735/month. It'll report details right down to the car's current address and the route it traveled, even in garages and basements that give GPS pause, says Kato Denki. For an extra JPY105/month, the service will send an alert when the car is detected outside of a prescribed geographic region.
http://www.kato-denki.com/products/stealth/index.html (Japanese)

Okayama-based Sanwa Supply offers a wireless 10-key-pad mouse, the NT-WLMA2. A selector offers the option to make only the mouse or 10-key functions active, so you don't accidentally punch numbers while mousing around. JPY7329.
http://www.sanwa.co.jp/news/200807/nt-wlma2/index.html (Japanese)

Name: PLANEX BT-HP01AD
Category: audio peripheral
Price: JPY6980
Release date in Japan: Early June, 2008

Wireless headsets are nifty, but can be pricey. Here's a solution just about any Bluetooth-equipped audio player owner would find handy: PLANEX Communications' new stereo audio Bluetooth adapter for any normal headphones, the BT-HP01AD.

Plug your favorite 'phones into the little lozenge-shaped BT and slip it into a pocket. Play audio from your Bluetooth gadget, whether mobile phone or PC, and enjoy the sound without the annoying tether. With a range of up to 10m, it's perfect for someone who wants to use headphones while roaming about the room.

While most PCs these days sport Bluetooth, not all audio players do; iPods are notably 'toothless. PLANEX fixes this with the BT-DockT (JPY6980), which transmits iPod audio over Bluetooth to your new BT.

The BT also sports a built-in microphone, letting it handle hands-free voice chats while you pace the floor. Yet another trick: the BT acts as a wireless remote control for your player, with play, pause, forward/reverse, and volume control.

As most readers will know, you have to "pair" Bluetooth devices to each other (otherwise, you'd get a mess of promiscuous devices trying to interoperate with every other device in range). The BT will "pair" with up to two devices, such as an audio player and a mobile phone. If you're listening to the player's audio when a call comes in, the BT will switch to the paired phone, letting you take up the conversation from there.

PLANEX is throwing in one more incentive for buyers: a free download of "Keitai Bannou Lite" software for backing up, editing, and managing mobile phone address book data on a PC.

Other specs: Class 2 Bluetooth. Up to 6 hours operation (or 200 hours standby) on 2-hour recharge. Size 4.4 x 2 x 1.8 cm; weight 14 grams, or half an ounce.

More info: http://www.planex.co.jp/product/bluetooth/bt-hp01ad/index.shtml (Japanese)
http://www.planex.co.jp/product/bluetooth/bt-dockt/ (BT DockT iPod adapter, Japanese)

Name: I-O DATA CPKB/BT Bluetooth keyboard
Category: keyboard
Price: JPY16,485
Release date in Japan: June 11, 2008

Those kids are fast with the thumbs on those mobile phone keypads; no question there. Give me a good keyboard, though, and I'll show 'em what typing is.

My weapon has arrived. The CPKB/BT keyboard - that's Cellular Phone KeyBoard Blue Tooth - talks to your DoCoMo SH906i or SH906iTV Bluetooth mobile phone, letting you switch from one or two thumbs to ten fingers. It's perfect for long email messages, blogging, or address book clean-up.

As you'd expect, I-O DATA plays up the "use your mobile phone like a PC" marketing aspect. Increasingly, mobile phones are powerful enough to take the place of PCs for many a user, yet for all the thumb dexterity of determined users, a keypad's physical limitations do slow down input. I-O DATA says the CPKB brings back true touch typing - though at a scant 15-cm width, it's definitely a compact 'board. Don't expect full desktop keyboard speed and comfort.

In addition, how often do you expect you'll be seated at a desk, wanting to type something long into your mobile? If that's not often enough to justify purchase, here's one more feature that may tempt you: add the I-O DATA USB-BT20 Bluetooth adapter (JPY4200) to your PC, and you can use the CPKB as a wireless PC keyboard.

Caveats: The CPKB works with phones using HID1.0 profiles, and so far is limited to the two SH phones above (as well as the PlayStation 3). The company promises that more supported phones are on the way. Another concern is buried in the small print: possible interference with IEEE 802.11g/b communications, i.e., your WiFi network setup.

Specs: Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, aluminum body, 15.2 x 9.2 x 1.4cm, 170 grams. Runs on two AAA alkaline batteries, from which you can expect 30 to 60 hours of use. Pairs with up to 5 devices. 59-key; based on the 109A Japanese keyboard layout, though without hiragana printed on the keys. Comes with plastic keyboard cover.

More info: http://www.iodata.jp/prod/mobile/keitai/2008/cpkbbt/ (Japanese)
http://www.iodata.jp/prod/mobile/keitai/2007/usb-bt20/index.htm (USB-BT20, Japanese)