Mitsubishi Electric has announced [JP] the LPV-HC3800 for the Japanese market today, a full HD DLP projector that features a contrast ratio of 3,000:1, 1,200 lumens brightness and a DDP3021 full 10-bit panel driver. The device comes with a 230W lamp that has a lifespan of 5,000 hours and depending on the operating mode, it can be as quiet as 25dB.
OLED has had issues gaining traction mainly because of the cost of manufacturing large screens. People like large screens. That’s the fact, jack. Anyway, Mitsubishi has developed a system that seems like it would help. It uses small, modular panels that can be combined to make a screen of nearly any size or shape. The system is intended for outdoor advertising, but if it matures enough, I don’t see why it couldn’t find a home in the home entertainment market either.
Mitsubishi Electric organized a big press conference today in Tokyo, unveiling two new series of LCD TVs, three Blu-ray DVRs and a new full HD video projector. The two TVs of the BHR series are the world’s first featuring both a built-in Blu-ray recorder and an HDD. No announcements regarding release dates outside Japan were made, but here are the main details for every device, all prices and release dates and some pictures.
If there is one country that really believes in the future of electric (battery-powered) vehicles (cars, bikes and even trains), then it’s Japan. And now the country decided it’s time to remove a major barrier to mass adoption: The lack of a large-scale infrastructure with highly standardized norms.
Both Sharp and Mitsubishi have announced new LCD TVs for the Japanese market, and both devices seem to be pretty interesting. They will be available over here as early as next month, with neither Sharp nor Mitsubishi having said anything about an international release yet.
Another day, another announcement for a projector. Today it’s Mitsubishi Electric Japan with their LVP-XD95ST [JP], a compact and (rather) inexpensive DLP Projector. The device goes on sale in Japan as early as next Monday and costs $1,000.
The battle of the EVs draws closer, and while I doubt it’ll the Ragnarok we all hope for, it should be an interesting fight. While Tesla is doing fine selling its high-end Roadster, the real competition will likely be around $40,000, give or take a few thousand. Of course, everybody’s ready for the Volt, but it seems that Mitsubishi is going to beat everyone to the market with the first consumer-oriented mass-produced electric vehicle (as opposed to enthusiast-oriented like Tesla’s models).
The iMiEV (bets on the name changing after the first year?) should be hitting the showrooms in Japan this Summer, and hopefully we’ll see it on our shores not too long after.
It’s new HDTV time from Mitsu! The company that brought you the LaserVue HDTV, now has 3D ready sets and flat screens equipped with 16 speakers. Thankfully, it seems that these sets are better priced for the fledgling economy. It’s hard to imagine that many American’s have enough available credit to squeeze the ultra-lux LaserVue onto the credit card, but these sets start out at $1,599 and max out at $4,999 for the big 3D 82-incher.
Mitsubishi today in Japan announced it has begun selling the Minicab CNG, a small van that can run on compressed natural gas (CNG). Japanese buyers can choose between a two- seater ($21,130) and a version with four seats ($21,430).
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags are widely used today to identify and track persons or objects using radio waves in a number of areas: payment systems, electronic toll collection systems, transportation systems, logistics etc. Existing RFID tag readers can only be used for tags moving several km/h, but now Mitsubishi has developed a device that’s able to read tags moving as fast as 100km/h.
During the Interaction 2009 [JP], a tech exhibition held in Tokyo last week, Mitsubishi Electric showcased a touch panel that not only reacts to the touch of a finger but is also able to measure its distance from the display.
The so-called 3D touch panel features a 5.7-inch VGA screen (640×480 resolution) and was prototyped with usage in mobile devices in mind. The panel is not only able to track the distance of a finger that approaches its surface but also the speed.
This just hit our inbox, folks. Looks like Mitsubishi has run into some manufacturing problems with their LaserVue televisions. Read on for the official word from Mitsubishi.
Japanese geeks get all the fun and the latest from Mitsubishi proves it. The DVR-BF2000 comes equipped with a 500GB HDD, two digital TV tuners, and a Blu-ray recorder drive. Amazing! Not only can it record two HD programs at one time (kind of normal), but can also burn recorded programs onto a Blu-ray disc. Best of all, it’s all wrapped up into a cute, soft white package that will certainly compliment Hello Kitty gear.
As the world’s first auto maker, Mitsubishi has announced it developed a technique that lets the company use bamboo fibers in automotive interiors for reinforcement. What may sound weird at first, has a serious background. Mitsubishi wants to reduce CO2 emissions by using plant-based materials in its cars.
The company is cutting bamboos into strips, removing the joints and finally crushing them. After that, hot steam is used to loosen the fibers, resulting in “green” material that can be used instead of artificial material. The first cars in which bamboo fibers were used as tailgate trim in several iMiEV models rolled out in February this year.
It seems that Japan is getting greener almost by the week. Now Japan Post announced it will start a field test with electric vehicles (EVs) for postal services and other business activities as early as next month. The company plans to convert all of its fleet of more than 20,000 cars to electric vehicles by 2016.
Mitsubishi’s mini car “i MiEV” (pictured above) will be used in the Japan Post office in Ginza in central Tokyo for about 2 months from Wednesday, December 3. The i MiEV is planned to be used mainly for client visits.
Such a tease you are, Mitsubishi.
When this hit my inbox I thought it was one of those small pico projectors crammed into a BlackBerry or something like the 3M MPro110, but it’s a 3.3-pound 7.5- x 8.1-inch projector for business types. It’s a DLP type so that’s a plus and it manages to throw a 2200 ANSI lumens 200-inch 1024×768 resolution image with a 2000:1 contrast ratio. The XD95U will retail for $1,495.
I love how Mitsubishi says this is an economical choice because it’s filterless and has an estimated 3000-hour lamp life (low mode). But then again we are in a recession.
Mitsubishi’s LaserVue HDTVs have been in the making for a while but the critically acclaimed high-def set is now available at select specialty retailers. You still might need a second mortgage – good luck getting approved – to foot the $6,999 MSRP, but the TV apparently produces a Pioneer Elite comparable picture at 1/3 the power consumption. Plus, you can tell your trendy poker buddies that you HDTV is powered by frickin laser beams. How sweet is that?
Not all projectors are created equal and Mitsubishi’s latest projector is geared for the non-theater crowd with the high-brightness 1080p 3LCD FL6900U. This new projector can throw 4000 lumens for a bright picture in a room plagued with ambient light. It has the standard high-end fare of projector gear including RS-232 inputs, RJ-45, remote control horizontal and vertical lens shift, and optional lens that all allow for a flexible installation. The projector even has built-in theft protection by way of a motion-sensitive anti-theft alarm that might deter the casual five-finger discount. All this could be yours, or your schools, for $9,995 at the end of October ‘08.
Mitsubishi Electric today said it has produced a polycrystalline-silicon solar cell that converts light energy to electrical energy with an efficiency of 18.6%. According to the company, the previous record stood at 18.3%.
The protoype is sized at 150×150mm and has a thickness of 180 microns. Mitsubishi structured the surface like a honeycomb in order to reduce reflections of sunrays. In addition, the electrodes are cut 50% in thickness ( to 60 microns) and doubled in size, expanding the surface to generate electrons while keeping electrical resistance at a low level.
It seems electric cars are slowly but surely gaining a foothold in everyday life, at least in Japan. Last week, local tech powerhouse TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Corp.) installed a total of nine charging stations for this kind of vehicles in Tokyo.
The launch marks the first time that owners of electric cars can charge their vehicles in battery stations located in basement parking lots where all of the new charging devices are located.
TEPCO says their charging devices will enable a Mitsubishi i MiEV, for example, to run for about 40km with one charge, which just takes 5 minutes. TEPCO itself owns 40 electric cars and will use the charging stations to investigate the environmental effects they have in big cities such as Tokyo.
Via Mainichi [JP]
