Back in April, Panasonic was the first company that announced a Blu-ray player for installation in cars, and today [JP], the CY-BB1000D – and the even cooler “Strada CN-HX3000D” navigation system – finally got a price tag and a release date. But first the specs and some pictures.

CY-BB1000D Blu-ray player (pictured above)

• world’s first in-dash Blu-ray drive
• HDMI port
• AVCHD and AVREC support
• SD card support

Strada CN-HX3000D navigation system

• “world’s first navigation system of its kind” (Panasonic)
• GPS and Bluetooth
• 80GB HDD
• CD/DVD drive
• 7-inch WXGA screen with amazing 1,280×720 resolution
• Yahoo Japan Maps and Google Maps support
• 50W×4ch amplifier
• iPod/iPhone 3G connector
• One-Seg digital TV tuner
• HDMI port
• CY-BB1000D connectivity

Both devices go on sale in Japan on September 10. And quality has its price: Expect to pay $1,000 for the Blu-ray drive and $3,800 for the navigation system.

Sony Japan today announced the NW-X1000 series [JP], consisting of two Walkman, the NW-X1050 with 16GB internal memory and the 32GB NW-X1060. The so-called X-Series was introduced to the general public for the first time back in January (during the CES 2009).

Both models will be available in Japan from April 25 (in black and red). Sony hasn’t said yet when American and Europeans will be able to lay their hands on the devices. In Japan, the 16GB model will cost $400, while the 32GB version will be priced at $500.

The Walkman comes with a cool 3-inch OLED touchscreen (240×432 resolution), WiFi (IEEE 802.11b/g), YouTube support, noise cancellation function and a One-Seg digital TV tuner (that only makes sense in Japan and Brazil). You can play your audio files as MP3/HE-AAC/AAC/WMA/linear PCM/ATRAC/ATRAC Advanced Lossless and video in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 and MPEG-4/WMV formats.

Sized at 97.4×52.5×10.5mm, it’s considerably smaller than an iPod Touch (see the picture above).

Watch it in action in the video below.

Via Impress [JP]

Toshiba Japan announced a new portable DVD player today [JP], the SD-P93DTW, which is equipped with a One-Seg digital TV tuner. The device is Japan-only at this point. But Toshiba sells the SDP93S in the US, which is essentially the same player minus the TV tuner (the tuner is useless outside Japan and Brazil anyway). And Americans have to pay a lot less for their player.

Japanese buyers will be set back a whopping $520, while the SDP93S costs just $180 at Amazon. The Japanese version is also equipped with an analogue TV tuner and supports SD/SDHC/microSD/micro SDHC cards but apart from these features (the American version supports SD cards only), it seems to be the same model: a swiveling 9-inch TFT LCD screen with 800×480 resolution, DivX support, JPEG viewer, virtual surround sound and built-in speakers.

The SD-P93DTW will hit Japanese stores at the end of April.

Epson today in Japan announced the Na01 Endeavor Mini White [JP], a variation of a netbook the company released in Nippon back in November. It’s unknown whether the white or the older black model will ever be available in the rest of the world.

Spec-wise, Epson didn’t change anything. Buyers still get an an Atom N270  processor (1.6Ghz), 1GB RAM, a 160GB HDD, Ethernet, Wifi, Bluetooth, three USB ports, a multicard reader, a One-Seg digital TV tuner, Windows XP and a 10.2-inch LCD screen with 1,024×600 resolution.

Epson said the white Na01, which went on sale in Japan today, also gets 6.4% ($33) cheaper, making it now available for $480.

Bandai in Japan announced a very special kind of netbook, the Gachapin and Mukku ultramobile PC [JP]. Gachapin is the green monster (a dinosaur, actually) and huge on Japanese kids TV, just like his sidekick Mukku, a red Yeti.

The netbook, which reminds me a little of the OLPC, is Japan-only, unfortunately. It’s equipped with an N270 Intel Atom processor  (1.60 Ghz), a 120GB HDD, Wifi, a webcam, a One-Seg digital TV tuner with an antenna, a webcam and a 8.9 TFT screen with 1,024×600 resolution.

Bandai uses voice samples from the show, which are supposed to help kids get used to the PC. For example, users will be greeted by Gachapin’s voice after booting with him saying: “Goood morning! Goooood morning! Let’s try to work hard today!”.

Bandai will start selling the netbooks (in Gachapin-green only) in March for $880.

Following KDDI, Japan’s No.3 telecommunications company SoftBank today also presented the new cell phone line-up for this spring. The company presented a total of nine models and will start selling the first handset of the line-up (the Panasonic 930P) from tomorrow.

Here are all cell phones SoftBank announced today [JP]:

Sharp 932SH
(equipped with three speakers and the world’s first One-Seg double digital TV tuner for viewing and recording two TV programs at the same time)

Casio 930CH
(Exilim handset with the world’s fastest activation time (0.99 seconds) in a 8.1 megapixel cell phone camera)

Panasonic 930P
(Viera handset optimized for watching TV and playing games)

NEC 830N
(extra-stylish and slim (13.9mm) handset)

Panasonic 831P
(3-inch QVGA display)

Sharp 831SH
(featuring an extra-compact body)

Sharp 831SH KT
(same as the 831SH but with Hello Kitty design)

Samsung 731SC
(usable in 5 different languages)

Sharp 830SH for BIZ
(recommended for business use)

I blogged about SoftBank’s 2008 winter cell phone line-up here. The summer 2008 models can be found here.

Fujitsu Japan has developed the F-01A [JP], the world’s first cell phone that’s waterproof and also features a security function utilizing fingerprint biometrics. In Nippon, it’s part of the line-up of NTT DoCoMo, the country’s biggest telecommunications company.

The fingerprint technology is developed by AuthenTec, a provider of fingerprint sensors and solutions. The Symbian-based F-01A comes with a 3.2-inch VGA display (touchscreen), a 5.2-Mpixel camera with autofocus function, GPS (it also displays Google Street View images), a One-Seg digital TV tuner, an e-wallet function and microSDTM／microSDH slots. Users can use it underwater for about 30 minutes in up to one meter.

The Fujitsu phone is already on sale in Japan where it’s available as part of DoCoMo’s PRIME series since November last year. But for some reason AuthenTec waited a long time to make the collaboration with Fujitsu official.

It’s not really a representative poll but the geeky readers over at Keitai Watch [JP] at least say Sharp’s absolutely awesome Aquos Fulltouch 931SH is the best handset Japan got last year. And I agree. Over 12% of all the 3,000 geeks asked gave their vote to the 3.8-inch handset with the gorgeous 1024 x 480 touch screen.

The Japan-only device, which is offered by Softbank over here, features the world’s highest resolution. It comes with 3G (Japan recently canceled 2G support), a 5.2-megapixel camera with image stabilizer function, a One-Seg digital TV tuner, Bluetooth with A2DP, a media player, an accelerometer, and a microSD expansion slot.

It’s unknown yet whether the slider will ever make it officially outside Nippon. It came out in Japan just a few weeks ago.

The iPhone 3G was voted at No.1 among smart phones, raking in a whopping 61% of all votes.

Renesas, the world’s biggest manufacturer of microcontrollers, is planning to unveil a processor that will make it possible to view full HD video in 30fps on cell phones during the ISSCC 2009 (International Solid State Circuits Conference) that will take place in San Francisco from February 8 to 12, 2009.

The Renesas CPU features a maximum operating frequency of 500MHz and measures just 6.4×6.5mm. It supports video in MPEG-4AVC/H.264/MPEG-2 and MPEG-4.

By way of comparison, One-Seg, the standard for digital TV on mobile devices in Japan and Brazil, has a maximum video resolution of just 320×240 at a video bitrate of 220 to 320 kbit/s.

Via Tech-On

Japan’s biggest telco NTT DoCoMo today announced 4 new cell phone series (STYLE, PRIME, SMART and PRO ), which are part of the company’s fall/winter product line-up. Docomo will offer a total of 22 new handsets.

As Japanese handset makers have recently vowed to internationalize more agressively, there is a good chance at least some of the new models will become available outside Japan at some point.

Here is the complete line-up.

STYLE series (focus on design)

1)
Fujitsu F-02A (equipped with a pedometer, waterproof, 3-inch VGA display)

2)
NEC N-02A (One-Seg digital TV with 30fps)

3)
NEC N-03A (designed with fruits as themes)

4)
Panasonic P-02A (6,000:1 contrast ratio)

5)
Panasonic P-03A (can be opened horizontally (”W Open Style”))

6)
Sharp-02A (supports specially designed fonts, 3-inch ASV display)

PRIME series (focus on features)

7)
Fujitsu F-01A (waterproof)

8)
Fujitsu F-03A (touch panel)

9)
LG L-01A (touch panel/hard glass)

10)
NEC N-01A (can be opened horizontally or vertically, also features a touch panel)

11)
Panasonic P01-A (”W Open Style”)

12)
Sharp SH-01A (features Dolby Mobile, 3.3 inch-ASV display)

13)
Sharp SH-03A (features a special touchpanel system called “Touch Cruiser”)

SMART series (focus on “productive” handsets for busy people)

14)
Fujitsu-F04A (waterproof)

15)
NEC N04-A (Amadana design)

16)
Panasonic P04-A (9.8 mm thickness)

17)
Panasonic P-05A (no camera!)

PRO series (focus on advanced handsets)

18)
HTC HT-01A (HTC Touch)

19)
HTC HT-02A (HTC Diamond)

20)
SH-04A (full keyboard, touchpanel, 3.5-inch ASV display)

21)
Blackberry Bold (CrunchGear review)

22)
Nokia E71 (CrunchGear review)

Softbank Mobile today announced the release of a One-Seg digital TV tuner for the iPhone [JP] for the middle of December. One-Seg is a digital TV system only available in Japan and Brazil and usually stands for great picture and sound quality.

The device makes it possible to watch digital TV via WiFi by converting TV signals into IP-based data. Buyers can use the TV tuner (weight: 80 grams) continuously for three hours and can get a free One-Seg application from the AppStore. The device doubles as a battery extender when plugged into the iPhone 3G’s dock connector.

SoftBank hasn’t officially put a price tag on the tuner but Japanese media are reporting it will cost around $100. This is a smart move by the company, considering the lack of a TV tuner was one of the main weak points of the handset in Japan, but I doubt this will have a huge effect on future sales.

Japan’s second biggest mobile phone carrier KDDI au yesterday unveiled new cell phones for its year-end sales campaign. Priced between $400 and $550, the first handsets will be sold in early November.

Here is the complete line-up:

Hitachi Wooo 63H
(featuring a 3.1-inch OLED display)

Casio Exilim W63 CA
(equipped with a 8.1 megapixel camera, more info)

Sharp Aquos W64SH
(featuring a 3.5-inch screen with 854×480 resolution and 2,000:1 contrast ratio)

Toshiba W65T
(equipped with a “Mobile Regza Engine” for improved energy conservation)

Kyocera W65K
(featuring a wireless music function and a waterproof One-Seg digital TV tuner at a thickness of 15.8mm)

Sony Ericsson W64S
(equipped with a built-in antenna for One-Seg digital TV at a thickness of 14.9mm)

Panasonic W62P
(12.9mm thin, featuring a “cosmetic conscious” design)

Here are all models from KDDI’s spring line-up presented in June.

Sony Japan today added the XDV-W600 [JP], a mini TV (145×42×98mm, 302g) to their Bravia brand. The new device is waterproof and supports the Japanese digital TV standard One-Seg.

The 4-inch LCD TV (16.7 million colors, 272×480 resolution) boasts an IPX7 and IPX6 waterproof rating, meaning that you can theoretically watch TV under water (at a depth of up to 1m) for around 30 minutes. After a full charge (internal battery and two AA batteries), the XDV-W600 can be used for 23 hours.

The mini Bravia also features an AM/FM tuner and 2GB of internal memory, enough to record about 10 hours digital TV broadcasts.

The Japan-only XDV-W600 goes on sale October 30th (in pink, blue and white) and costs $370.

In Nippon, Panasonic has actually been selling Mini Viera TVs (also waterproof) since June this year.

The findings are not representative for a number of reasons. There were only 402 respondents, but Japan has a population of 128 million. They were asked after Softbank annnounced they will release the iPhone in Japan, but before the presentation of the 3G iPhone. The 3G version will launch in this country on July 11th. Also there is no detailed information on pricing and other important factors available yet.

Judging by my experience as a geek living in Japan, I can however think of 10 good reasons why the iPhone might have a hard time in this country’s cell phone culture:

1. No One-Seg digital TV tuner
2. No Felica (e-wallet) function
3. Weak camera
4. Only one panel color available
5. Display of cute emoticons, emoji, is difficult
6. Japanese cell phone contracts are long-term (2 years standard, almost no pre-paid) and expensive to terminate
6. A lot of Japanese already own an iPod Touch (launched in October 2007)
7. Japanese women with long fingernails will not buy it (and there are a lot of them)
8. High-school kids use cell phones mainly for emails using one thumb, a dialpad and a jog dial (ideal for Japanese character input)
9. Softbank will probably charge a lot of Yen for the handset itself, accessories, data plans etc.
10. Japan is the toughest cell phone market in the world
(high level of technical sophistication, critical customers, high innovation rate etc. )

Despite these factors, the iPhone has good chances of playing a good role in this country. Softbank and Apple will surely spend a lot of marketing money to make sure every Japanese will know about their new product. And people over here love Apple. So my guess is the iPhone will do OK, but not spectacularly well – we will see next month.

Today Sony announced new Bluetooth headphones [JP] for the Japanese market. The company will offer the DR-BT140QP in white, pink, black and silver. It can be used for music players, cell phones and One-Seg digital TV receivers.

The headphones, with a range of 10 meters, feature Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, frequency response of 16Hz-24,000Hz and support A2DP/AVRCP/HFP/HSP profiles. Sony says the built-in Lithium Ion battery provides 12 hours of continuous playback (standby time: 200 hours).

The earphones pack in a microphone for hands-free communication and come with a 30mm driver unit. The Japan-only DR-BT140QP will be priced at $100.

In light of the end of analogue TV broadcasting in Japan in July 2011, the Japanese government today announced that it’s considering providing up to 1 million households on welfare in this country with digital TV tuners – for free. Another 15.8 million households consisting of elderly or disabled people may receive aid in the form of vouchers, cash, or free hardware.

It is estimated that 75% of Japanese households still use non-digital televisions and wouldn’t be able to watch television in 3 years unless they upgrade. The government wants to urge hardware makers to offer digital TV tuners for prices under $45, down from $185 currently charged.

Digital TV is already available in most of areas in Japan. Most of mobile phones now sold in Japan are equipped with One-Seg digital TV tuners.

Japan’s second biggest mobile phone carrier KDDI au yesterday followed DoCoMo and Softbank with their presentation of 12 new cell phones to be released this summer. The first models will be sold at the end of June.

Here is the complete line-up:

W62H from Hitachi
(equipped with a 2.8 inch OLED display featuring 480×240 resolution)


W62SH from Sharp
(equipped with an FM transmitter and a 3-inch screen)

W63SA from Sanyo
(featuring “global passport CDMA” for business people who travel worldwide)

W63T/Sportio from Toshiba
(designed in collaboration with Adidas and featuring a calorie-counter function)

W63K from Kyocera
(extra-simple to use handset aimed at Japanese men over 40 years of age)

G’z One W62CA from Casio
(designed for outdoor use with waterproof and extra-sturdy body)

W62PT from Pantech
(featuring illuminated buttons to facilitate operation of the phone)

W62K from Kyocera
(with trimmed-down functionality for users over 40 years of age)

W64SA from Sanyo
(the panel can sparkle in different colors via the “shake illumi” function)

W63S from Sony Ericsson
(with expanded options for exchange of damaged phone parts at au stores)

W62T from Toshiba
(standard model with aluminum panel)

W64K from Kyocera
(featuring optimized access to One-Seg TV)

In addition to this impressive line-up, au also announced the start of their new “Lismo Video” service by which customers can playback movies downloaded from KDDI’s PC web site on their cell phones. The Lismo Video store [JP] currently features over 2,000 different titles.

Today Panasonic Japan [JP] unveiled a new mini TV specifically aimed at Japanese women in their 20s and 30s. A marketing research company conducted a large-scale survey asking this target group what they would like to do while taking a bath (Japan has a unique bathing culture). 64% responded with “listening to music”, while 51.5% said they want to watch TV while sitting in their bath tub.

From June 20th, those J-girls can do both with the mini Viera TV SV-ME75 (165×90.2×14.3mm). The device will be available in white, black and – of course – pink.

The SV-ME75 is waterproof (up to 1 meter for 30 minutes), compatible to One-Seg digital TV and also comes with a recording function (on SD memory). The 5 inch screen boasts a resolution of 480×272. The device also supports audio files in MP3, AAA and WMA format. JPEGs can also be displayed.

The price is expected to be around $450 (Japan-only). Panasonic will also offer a trimmed-down version (SV-ME70), which comes without a recording function, for $380.

Nothing amazing here, but some of the handsets come with a couple of cool features.

Sharp’s 923SH, for example, is quipped with a 3.3 inch Aquos screen, a 5.2 megapixel camera (29 mm wide angle) and a 6-way motion sensor (pictured above). It also features a lexicon- and a map-key for direct web access to Wikipedia and Yahoo! Japan Maps.

The so-called “PREMIUM WATERPROOF 824SH”, also from Sharp, is the world’s slimmest cell phone capable of receiving One-Seg Digital TV (at 15.3mm thickness).

NEC’s line-up includes the super-slim 820N (11.3mm thickness) and a limited “extra-glamorous” model, which was designed in cooperation with a Japanese fashion magazine (821N GLA, pictured above).

Panasonic’s so-called TROPICAL 823P features the world’s biggest screen for waterproof cell phones with One-Seg compatibility (3 inches) and comes in 3 different trendy bodies.

Toshiba mainly focused on design with both their 823T and the 824T. The former model is targeted at males in their 30s and 40s. It comes with a special button, which after being pushed delivers news specifically filtered for Japanese men in this age group. Both phones feature One-Seg-TV compatibility.

Tokyo-based telecommunications company Willcom presented its newest smartphone today.

The WILLCOM 03, which seems to be an iPhone competitor in some ways, was developed by Sharp. It comes with a 3 inch WVGA LCD touch screen (480×800 resolution), measures 50×116x17.9mm and weighs 135g. Other functions include compatibility to One-Seg-TV, a 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth and a micro SD card slot.

The WILLCOM 03 uses the Japanese edition of Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Classic. Users can surf the web with Opera Mobile 9.5. Web sites can be enlarged by tapping the screen with the finger.

Willcom says their new smartphone is targeted at the general public rather than business people. The selling point seems to be the sleek design and usability of the device.

There is no button on the front side. Instead, users can toggle between the so-called “cursor key mode” and the “dial key mode” pushing a button located on the side of the phone. In the cursor key mode, the WILLCOM 03 is operated by touching a cross symbol shown on the screen. When the user chooses the dial key mode, numbers from 0 to 9 are displayed. Alternatively, the phone offers a full sliding keyboard.

Willcom plans to offer the WILLCOM 03 in Japan starting in late June for $610. The phone will be available in pink, lime green and gold.