News On Japan

Android set to launch in Japan, 1.5 deployment 'nearly complete'

ZDNet — 2009-07-03 13:19:26

The first Android-powered phone will launch in Japan on July 10th. New Japanese customers will have immediate access to free applications in the Android Market, with paid apps following sometime later. That's according to a notice sent from Google's Eric Chu to Android app developers late Wednesday. Bulgaria and Romania are on the target list after Japan, first with phones and free apps and then with paid apps. (ZDNet)

Panasonic cuts TV recycling time

Japan Times — 2009-07-02 23:15:08

Panasonic Corp. and its fully owned unit Panasonic Eco Technology Center Co. said Thursday they have developed new technology that makes it possible to recycle old-style TV sets three times faster and leaves less waste than previous methods. (Japan Times)

Apparently the Japanese like Wii Sports Resort

endsights.com — 2009-07-01 06:55:00

After having been on store shelves in Japan for only four days, Wii Sports Resort has become one of the region's top selling Wii games to date. The game sold 353,000 copies putting it in third place behind Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Mario Kart Wii. (endsights.com)

'Eco-points' ready for registration, exchanges of goods

AP — 2009-07-01 00:44:47

The government on Wednesday began accepting from consumers registrations for "eco-points" introduced recently to stimulate purchases of more efficient electric appliances as well as applications for exchanging points for merchandize, gift coupons and electronic money. (AP)

Windows 7 pre-orders sell-out in Japan

engadget.com — 2009-06-30 00:14:35

Often companies will claim a "sellout" in order to hype incredible demand for its product. However, these claims are pointless without any firm numbers -- after all, there's a big difference between moving 100 and 100,000 units. Now we're getting word from Japan that the heavily discounted Windows 7 upgrades that went up for pre-order on Friday are sold-out. (engadget.com)

Is Sony developing a playStation phone?

BusinessWeek — 2009-06-30 00:13:25

Is Sony finally taking aim at Apple's iPhone? Over the weekend the Japanese business daily Nikkei reported that Sony plans to form a skunkworks team whose job it will be to design a hybrid video game-cell phone gizmo-one that taps the company's years of producing PlayStation Portable gaming consoles and Sony-Ericsson handsets. A spokeswoman at Sony wouldn't confirm whether the report was true, and would only say that executives were considering "various possibilities." Combining elements of a PSP and handset would seem a "natural process of thinking," the spokeswoman said, without elaborating. (BusinessWeek)

Net-enabled TVs strike a spark in consumer electronics market

Japan Times — 2009-06-29 23:56:57

Manufacturers are promoting sales of flat-screen TVs through discounts and other incentives, and thanks to their efforts sales are rising. However, now the TV makers have to stem the ongoing fall in prices. To address the issue, the manufacturers are turning out a new generation of television sets that allow consumers to view videos transmitted via the Internet, while Net companies deliver a wider range of movie and drama titles through their video-on-demand services. (Japan Times)

Windows 7 prices announced; pre-order, upgrades start Friday

seattlepi.com — 2009-06-27 02:13:28

Microsoft Corp. announced pricing for its upcoming Windows 7 operating system, and the best deal you can get is $49.99. That's if you pre-order Windows 7 from Microsoft. The Redmond-based company announced today that pre-ordering will start Friday and run through July 11. (seattlepi.com)

Hundreds show up to buy latest iPhone

Japan Times — 2009-06-26 23:55:56

About 200 people lined up Friday morning in Tokyo's Omotesando district for the chance to buy Apple Inc.'s new iPhone 3GS, the latest model in the iPhone series and Softbank Corp.'s mobile phone lineup. (Japan Times)

Sharp launches Brain PW-AC900 e-dictionary in Japan

engadget.com — 2009-06-26 06:04:18

Sharp's really been stepping up the e-dictionary game of late -- what with the MID-looking RD-PM10. It's latest offering -- the Brain PW-AC900, however, is a little less exciting. It's very similar to its predecessors in the PW line -- PW-TC930 physically, but has a host of new features, including a simple text editor, multi-lingual dictionary, pronunciation, and vocabulary drills. (engadget.com)

Apple's new iPhone model goes on sale in Japan and Australia

Bloomberg — 2009-06-26 01:08:10

Apple Inc. started the second phase of the worldwide release of the iPhone 3G S with the handset going on sale today in Japan and Australia. The iPhone 3G S, which went on sale in the U.S. on June 19, is debuting to stiffer competition from devices by Google Inc., Palm Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd. (Bloomberg)

Japan store pilots new face recognition system

securityinfowatch.com — 2009-06-25 02:21:38

A system that instantly searches images stored on a database and compares them with those taken by a security camera is being piloted at an electronics store in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. The system will be used to combat crime by recognizing individuals whose images have been captured previously, as well as by analyzing customer buying patterns. Until now, searching for a specific person required someone to look at every image filmed. However, the new system developed by Hitachi, Ltd., is capable of dramatically narrowing down likely matches from a list of about 10,000 faces in only a second once a specific face from the camera is selected. (securityinfowatch.com)

Toshiba's 1GHz smartphone now available in Japan

CNET — 2009-06-24 04:48:30

The Toshiba TG01 was announced earlier this year as the first Windows Mobile device to sport a 1GHz Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm. It was spied at various tradeshows but hasn't been commercially available anywhere, till now. DoCoMo is currently offering the smartphone as the T-01A in Japan. (CNET)

Nintendo Wii adds advertising to family time

CNET — 2009-06-22 07:10:09

The Nintendo Wii has already changed the face of video games and recently started breaking new ground in advertising and social gaming. With the recent launch of the Wii-no-ma service in Japan, Nintendo has figured out how to make gaming a family event. According to Cyber Media Japan, Nintendo researchers found that 87 percent of Wii users use it on the biggest screen in the house, which is still the one in the living room. (CNET)

Computer makers ramp up attempts to plug data leaks

Japan Times — 2009-06-20 23:52:35

Japanese electronics makers are stepping up efforts to plug information leaks in computers on rising demand from financial institutions and other clients concerned about losing customer data. (Japan Times)

List of goods qualified for Eco-points now out

Japan Times — 2009-06-19 22:47:10

The government revealed a list of products and services Friday that can be exchanged for Eco-points, a type of currency to stimulate consumption and promote use of energy-efficient goods. (Japan Times)

Toshiba to speed up system chip shrinkage

Reuters — 2009-06-18 08:26:53

Toshiba Corp, Japan's largest chip maker, said it plans to mass produce 28-nanometre system chips in the next business year as it fights to stay relevant in an area dominated by the likes of Intel Corp and Texas Instruments Inc. (Reuters)

Can an Android conquer Japan's finicky mobile phone culture?

Japan Times — 2009-06-17 22:58:27

Google Inc. is taking aim at Japan's cell phone market, but whether the search giant can win over the nation's notoriously picky consumers is very much an open question. (Japan Times)

Black Wii shown off in Japan

Bloomberg — 2009-06-17 12:16:37

After nearly three years on store shelves, Nintendo is finally rolling out a Wii that isn't an iPod-like shade of white. This one's black, and like this spring's red Xbox 360 tied in with Resident Evil 5, the newly darkened Wii will arrive bundled with a new Capcom release. (Bloomberg)

Big in Japan: Apple Retail Experience

SeekingAlpha — 2009-06-15 22:47:02

At the Apple Store, a focused family of products sits proudly atop gorgeous display tables that don't threaten to topple when you touch the machines. Using the machines is encouraged, too, because there's no risk of them blowing up in customer faces or freezing or running through a kaleidoscope of error messages, as happens routinely in PC shops. (SeekingAlpha)

Japan's government to increase stockpiles of rare metals

MarketWatch — 2009-06-15 22:47:02

Japan's government is planning to bolster its stockpiles of rare metals used in the production of liquid-crystal displays, solar panels other high-tech goods, taking advantage of the fall back in prices. (MarketWatch)

Wii overtakes PS3 in Japanese hardware sales for 2009

examiner.com — 2009-06-15 06:19:18

In late April, the Playstation 3 overtook the Nintendo Wii as the top selling home console in the Japanese market for 2009. That achievement didn't last long, however, as the Nintendo Wii has overtook the Playstation 3 for hardware sales in Japan for 2009, according to the latest Media Create numbers. (examiner.com)

Fujifilm Announces FinePix Z300 Touchscreen Digital Camera in Japan

cameratown.com — 2009-06-13 01:00:45

Fujifilm has announced a new digital camera in Japan, the FinePix Z300, that features a large 3.0" touchscreen display with new touch shutter control. This feature gives users the ability to touch the screen to select a focus area and to actually take the picture. The camera features 10-megapixel resolution and a 5x optical zoom lens (36-180mm). (cameratown.com)

Sony develops mercury-free alkaline button cell

AFP — 2009-06-10 23:12:13

Sony has developed a new type of alkaline manganese button-cell that contains no mercury and will put it on sale later this year, it said Wednesday. Alkaline manganese cells are commonly used in cameras, remote controls and calculators and are one of several types of button-cell batteries, so-called because the small, round, metal-cased batteries look similar to buttons. (AFP)

Flat-screen TV sales in Japan jump 42.9% in May

AP — 2009-06-10 13:30:22

Unit sales of flat-screen televisions in Japan shot up 42.9 percent in May from a year earlier thanks to a government program providing incentives to consumers for the purchase of eco-friendly home electronic appliances, according to data released Wednesday by a market research firm. (AP)