Cool New Notebooks Lead Gadgets in May

TOKYO -- Perhaps it's because summer is around the corner and people will be getting outside more, but the month of May brought several new digital still cameras and video cameras to the shelves of Japan's electronics stores, and a couple of very cool new subnotebook computers.

Sony Vaio U and C

Not to be outdone by Toshiba, Sony has released a couple of very cool notebooks -- one that can be used as a digital video recorder, and the smallest Windows XP notebook on the market to date. The first machine, the Vaio C1, is based on Transmeta TM5800 processor and can double as a digital video recorder, using an external TV tuner unit and the bundled GigaPocket software to record TV programs to its 40GB hard disk drive. It's the first time Sony has put that software on a notebook PC. The second new machine, the Vaio-U, is the smallest Windows XP notebook we've seen to date and measures 7.2 inches by 1.4 inches by 5.4 inches, and weighs less than 2 pounds. Because it is so small, the machine is easy to hold with one hand on each side of the main body, gripping it with thumbs positioned on the top of the body just below the screen; Sony has included a couple of keys to allow for thumb navigation. The Vaio C1 costs $1,755 and the Vaio U costs $1,145.

Toshiba Libretto

Toshiba has updated its cool Libretto subnotebook computer range with two new models. Both are based on an 800-MHz version of the TM5800 Crusoe processor from Transmeta, have a 10-inch wide-screen thin film transistor LCD capable of 1280-by-600 pixel resolution, 256MB of main memory, a 20GB hard disk drive, ATI Technologies' Mobility Radeon M graphics accelerator, an Ethernet port and slot for Toshiba's Secure Digital memory card. The new machines have a battery life of 4.5 hours on the standard battery, said the company. They are on sale for around $1,300 for a wireless LAN model.

Kyocera Pocket Cosmo

This new PDA from Kyocera is something different. Unlike the multitude of devices being rolled out based on Microsoft or Palm operating systems, the Pocket Cosmo runs Personal Java 1.2 on top of the Elate real-time operating system from Tao Group. The device is based around a 206-MHz Intel StrongArm processor, has a 3.5-inch color TFT display capable of 65,536 colors, 32MB of memory, and a Compact Flash card slot. A business software suite allows users access to Microsoft Word and Excel documents as well as the ability to view all major graphics formats, and the whole thing weighs just 5.9 ounces. It will go on sale in Japan in July at a price yet to be decided.

Sony Ericsson C3014

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB has come out with its first CDMA2000 1x cell phone for Japan's Au network. The telephone supports data transmission at up to 144 kbps and includes a built-in GPS receiver for navigation services, support for WAP 2.0, and can run Java applets up to 50KB in size. The TFT display can display up to 65,536 colors and the handset has a 40-tone ringer. It weighs 3.85 ounces and the battery provides up to 160 minutes of talk time and 250 hours of standby time.

Hitachi I-mega Digital Still Camera

Hitachi has come up with a hand-size digital still camera that is light on the wallet. The I-mega camera features a 1.3 million-pixel CMOS image sensor, and so is capable of producing 1280-by-960 pixel images, but costs just $102. That makes it one of the cheapest 1-megapixel-class cameras on the market and an especially attractive option for people who want to take their first step into the world of digital photography. The camera has 8MB of memory built in and a slot for Smart Media cards. It also features a 2X digital zoom and Universal Serial Bus interface for connecting to a personal computer.

Canon Ixy DV3

To many people, the Ixy name is best associated with small digital still cameras, but Canon, with the launch of the Ixy DV3, is hoping people will soon think about digital video cameras as well when they hear the name. The new camera has a 680,000-pixel image pick-up, which is great for video but easily outclassed by most dedicated still cameras. Still, the camera will do nice snapshots at 1024-by-768 pixel resolution and store them on an SD memory card. The video format is Mini DV and the camera features both DV and USB interfaces. The basic battery provides for up to 55 minutes of use with the 2-inch TFT LCD monitor switched on a 75 minutes when using the digital viewfinder.

Casio Exilim Digital Still Camera

A digital still camera that "fits your body"? That's what Casio is promising in advertisements for its new Exilim model, which is due out sometime in June. The camera is just less than half an inch thick, weighs 3.2 ounces, features a 1.6-inch TFT LCD and has a 1.3 million-pixel CCD (charge-coupled device) image sensor. This delivers a respectable 1600-by-1200 pixel image that can be stored on internal memory or an SD memory card. Casio says it has been able to squeeze all of this hardware into such a small package by combining several chips and circuits into smaller chips, which take up less space inside the device. It will cost $274 in Japan.

Takara Bowlingual

If you want to know what your dog is barking about, let it wear toy maker Takara's "Bowlingual" device. A wireless compact microphone, which is placed on a dog's collar, will pick up and send its bark to a separate terminal with an LCD. The terminal will then analyze its voiceprint, categorize it into one of six feelings (frustration, menace, insistence, fun, sorrow, and desire), and translate it into words such as "I'm happy" and "cool!" The device can either display them on the screen or voice them from the speaker. Takara is planning to roll out Bowlingual in August at $119.