May's coolest gadgets
Last year Japan's number three cellular telephone network operator, Vodafone KK, was faulted by analysts and customers alike for not having a wide and attractive enough range of handsets. Now it's seeking to put that right and in early May launched six new phones that will go on sale in the middle of this year. Two of them caught my eye.
Visit a cellular telephone retailer in Japan and you'd be able to see what are undoubtedly some of the world's most technologically advanced handsets. Packed with megapixel cameras, high resolution color screens, music players, radio tunes and televisions, the handsets on offer from ten-or-so companies can satisfy a consumer's every wish -- unless that wish is for something that looks a little unique. Clamshells rule the roost here and have done for several years. Aside from a few styling lines on the cover and the placing of the sub-display the most ambitious most phones get is a small number of different colored cases.
That's all changing now thanks to the surprise success of a series of telephones for the Au network that featured design as their biggest selling point. The "Au Design Project" produced the first candy-bar type cell phone that has been a success in Japan for several years and also a number of other funky designs that have attracted consumers who care more about looks than megapixels or Java applet size.
Now Vodafone Japan is getting in on the act with one of its new handsets, called "Koto." Produced by Toshiba Corp., the telephone was designed to blend traditional Japanese and modern design elements based on the concept of universal beauty, according to Vodafone. The outside of the phone is smooth and shiny with a very discrete Vodafone logo embossed into the front while the inside has a matte finish.
It's good news for customers who want their cell phone to be a little more unique than the mass-market models crowding shop shelves. Better news yet is that it's the first of a number of telephones planned for the design project range, said the carrier.
Vodafone V303T Koto Handset
For a handset that is so much about design, I almost feel I shouldn't be paying attention to the technical specifications but they are probably just as important for the majority of users. So, what's inside the cool looking case? The telephone has the now standard QVGA (320 pixels by 240 pixels) 2.2-inch screen and there's also a 1-inch sub-display. The camera has a 300,000 pixel resolution sensor -- a little on the low resolution side these days -- that can be used to take photos or video images. The internal 8M-byte memory can accommodate up to 3 minutes of video, said Vodafone. Talk time is 120 minutes and standby time is up to 360 hours. The phone measures 48 millimeters by 96 millimeters by 26 millimeters and weighs 108 grams. It will go on sale in Japan in May at a price yet to be determined and won't be offered for sale outside of Japan.
Web: http://www.vodafone.jp (Japanese)
Sharp V602SH Handset
Sharp Corp.'s latest cell phone probably comes closer than any other phone to duplicating the functions of a standard digital still camera. The V602SH will go on sale in late June and combines a 2-megapixel CCD (charge coupled device) image sensor and optical zoom. A 2X optical zoom can be realized with a single button push when the phone is in digital camera mode, while a second push returns it to no zoom. Positions between these two settings are not available. It's the first time a cellular telephone has featured an optical zoom, Vodafone said. Optical zoom requires the position of the lens to move, and that makes it more difficult to fit into small devices such as cellular telephones where space is limited. Sharp installed the camera module behind the hinge on the lower half of the clamshell phone, to make use of the extra space at the thickest part of the case. It measures 50 millimeters by 98.5 millimeters by 24.9 millimeters and weighs 132 grams. Talk time is 130 minutes and standby time is 400 hours. No price has been set for the phone at present and it will not go on sale overseas. However, Sharp has recently been taking technology from its Japanese handsets and offering it in GSM handsets for the European market.
Web: http://www.vodafone.jp (Japanese)
Sony Qualia Mini-Disc Player and Headphones
For the first time since it unveiled its initial four Qualia products, Sony Corp. has added some new devices to the highly-priced range of gadgets. If you're not familiar with Qualia, it's Sony's attempt to touch the hearts of consumers with high-quality design and manufacturing and differentiate its products in an increasingly mass-produced consumer electronics world. It's also Sony's attempt to hijack an emerging word from philosophy that is used to refer to individual feelings associated with particular experiences. The MiniDisc player can be largely differentiated from its cheaper cousins by its design while the headphones can reproduce high-frequency sound up to 100kHz and so are said to be perfect for use with high-resolution audio systems like DVD-Audio. As for the price ... well, you shouldn't ask because you probably can't afford it. The MiniDisc player costs $1,900 and will be launched in June while the headphones will be available from the middle of the year and cost $2,600. Both will be sold in Japan and the U.S.
Web: http://www.sony.co.jp/SonyInfo/QUALIA/
Olympus AZ-1
Olympus Corp. will put on sale in late May a digital still camera that is the first device to feature a recently launched LCD (liquid crystal display) developed by Sharp Corp. Called the Mobile Advanced Super View, the 2.5-inch display uses technology developed by Sharp for its popular range of LCD televisions and is said to offer a wide 160-degree horizontal and vertical viewing angle, three times the contrast of conventional LCDs and fast response. The camera has a 3.2-megapixel CCD (charge coupled display) sensor and JPEG images of up to 2,048 pixels by 1,536 pixels can be recorded. The camera also has software that allows the user to organize images into up to 12 photo albums of 100 images each on each memory card. It measures 94 millimeters by 67 millimeters by 22 millimeters and weighs 160 grams excluding the battery and memory card. It will cost around