TOKYO -- Nothing's worse than delays when you're waiting for a hot new gadget. Just ask the tens of thousands of people who queued up all night for the PlayStation 3 when it made its global debut here on November 11. The console had originally been due out in the early part of the year but was held up by several problems. Judging by the lack of stock in stores, it's still difficult for people who want it to get hold of one before the end of the year.
So it's nice to see Panasonic living up to the promise it made at this fall's CEATEC electronics show with the HDC-SD1 camcorder. This small, high-definition video camera records straight to an SD (Secure Digital) card. If you hate dealing with tapes but want home movies in high-def glory, this might be just the thing--if you can afford it. By comparison, you could pick up three PlayStation 3 consoles for the price of this $1500 camcorder, assuming you could get your hands on them! What would you get for that $1500? See below.
Panasonic HD Camcorder
As noted above, the HDC-SD1 from Panasonic records AVCHD-format video directly to an SD memory card. A 4GB memory card, which costs around $200, can accommodate about 90 minutes of video when recorded at 6 megabits per second. The 1080i video (1080 horizontal lines, interlaced scanning) is just below the 1080p (progressive scanning) system judged to be the highest of several video quality levels that fall within the high-definition bracket. It also has a 3-CCD sensor behind the lens. The camcorder goes on sale in Japan in December for $1527 with a bundled 4GB card. Overseas launch plans have not been announced.
Kenwood Media Keg
Kenwood's Media Keg provides yet more evidence that music players will get smaller and smaller until we can't see them anymore. The device, which has the snappy HD10GB7 model name, contains a 10GB hard disk, measures just 1.7 inches by 2.4 inches by 0.7 inches, and weighs 2.7 ounces. It has a 1.5-inch OLED (organic light emitting diode) display on its front with a small keypad positioned directly under the display. You can play MP3, WAV and Windows Media audio files, including those with Windows Media DRM10 digital rights management. It will go on sale in Japan in early December for around $344. While no international launch plans have been announced, the on-screen menu supports Japanese, English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, and Spanish.
TurboLinux Wizpy
TurboLinux, perhaps best known for its Linux operating system, has a new MP3 player that is sure to interest geeks everywhere. The Wizpy does all the kinds of things you'd expect from a music player these days--MP3, AAC, Ogg, JPEG images, and Divx videos--and has a surprise: A partition with an install of the TurboLinux Fuji operating system. This means you can hook the device up to a PC's USB port and boot into Linux and access installed applications. TurboLinux advertises it as your own OS in the palm of your hand, and it certainly looks that way. The Wizpy will be out in Japan in February with no word yet on availability in other markets, although the Web site says, "Global release will be later in 2007." There's no word yet on price. It weighs just 2.1 ounces, which makes it lighter than most cell phones.
Toshiba 8GB SD Card
Hot on the heels of Panasonic's SD Card camcorder (see above) comes word from Toshiba that it will soon begin selling an 8GB high-speed SD memory card. The card will be available in January and supports the "class 4" high-speed data-writing specification. Toshiba's new card should be able to hold about three hours of high-definition video from the Panasonic camcorder. The card will cost about $340 in Japan. It will go on sale in Japan, North America, and Europe in early January.
NEC Tough Laptop
Drop it, freeze it, drench it--do whatever you want to this new laptop from NEC. Well, almost anything. The "Shield Pro" FC-N21S laptop can withstand dust, extreme temperatures (between minus-20 and 50 degrees Celsius), water, and drops of up to 3 feet--just make sure that the machine is switched off and the lid closed. The convertible-type PC has a 12.1-inch touch-panel, LED-backlit screen and runs on an Intel Core Solo processor at 1.2 GHz. It will be available in January for between $2165 and $2600. A model with an 8GB solid-state disk made up of flash memory chips will also be available.
IOData Bath-Proof Hard Drive
So, you're in the tub and have an urgent need to back up data? Not to worry, IOData Device's latest hard drives are just the thing. There's a 1-inch hard disk inside the case, which is water-resistant to 3.2 feet and impact-resistant from a 4-foot drop. Connection is via USB 2.0. There are two versions, the HDMC-U8 with an 8GB capacity and the HDMC-U12 with a 12GB capacity. Both will be available in Japan in mid-December for $133 and $177, respectively. IOData didn't announce international launch plans.
R&D Corner: Samsung Develops Thinnest LCD
Holding out the promise of even thinner cell phones, Samsung Electronics says it has developed a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen that is no thicker than a credit card. The panel is 0.82 millimeters thick and, according to the company, will let manufacturers trim up to 2.4 millimeters from the thickness of a cell phone. That's good news for consumers looking for slimmer and sleeker handsets. The LCD panel should be in production in the second half of 2007, so it will likely turn up in cell phones late in 2007 or in 2008.
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