Sanyo is in the news today, and again it’s about the company’s green tech power. The company today announced [JP] it will do everything to become Japan’s top player in the domestic solar industry by 2012 and eventually one of the top three solar companies on a global level. At the same time, the Nikkei reports [registration required, paid subscription] that Sanyo has succeeded in developing a solar cell that’s thinner than a human hair.
I know this thing looks like a …curling iron, but it’s not. The so-called Stick Booster [press release in English] is Sanyo’s newest addition to it’s ever-growing series of green, “eneloop”-branded products. You can use it to battery-charge your mobile devices.
Short version: An excellent casual HD camcorder with superior image quality to pocket cams and a flexible focus system, making it useful for bloggers like me as well. At under $200 this thing is absolutely a steal.
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Yesterday I lamented Apple’s decision to establish its own video standard, which, while little more than a suggested resolution and bitrate, does not fit will with any devices anywhere. The steady progression of VGA or WVGA, 720p, and 1080p are perfectly fine for the moment. That’s why every camera in the world shoots to one of them. 1080p is too much for most people to work with, but 720p isn’t that bad (though render times can be long), and VGA is really not that bad at all (Doug swears by it). So why the hell put a new one in there between WVGA and 720p? I don’t like the idea of Apple bullying companies like Sanyo, who make perfectly good camcorders already, to add an option which needlessly complicates things.
But let’s just get these camcorders out of the way, because they’re worth taking a look at.
Good for Sanyo Japan that the word “portable” isn’t really strictly defined in the projector space. Because I have no idea why the company calls its new projector, the LP-XM150 announced today [press release in English], portable: The thing weighs 9.7kg. Last month, Sanyo presented a device that somehow deserved the name, as the LP-XU106 weighs just 4kg.
Sanyo has today announced a new mobile projector for the Japanese market, the LP-XU106 [press release in English]. The device is the brightest in its weight class (under 4kg), producing a respectable 4,000 lumens. It’s sized at 334.2×257.5×78.4mm and weighs just 3.4kg.
Sanyo has been offering Xacti camcorders shooting 720p video (1280×720) for quite a while now, and today Sanyo Japan announced the DMX-CG11 [JP], another (enhanced) 720p model. The new device features a mini HDMI interface and Eye-Fi support.
Casio Japan unveiled [JP] two new Exilim point-and-shoot cameras today, the EX-Z450 and the EX-Z90. The main selling point of the devices is the ability to detect objects (not only human beings) and to then automatically set the focus and exposure area to give you high-quality pictures.
The EX-Z90 can be considered weaker than the Z450. It features a 12.1MP sensor, a 2.7-inch LCD screen, 3x optical zoom, an ISO range of 64 to 1,600, an SDHC/SD memory card slot and 35.7MB of internal memory. The camera weighs 102g and will be available in gold, silver, pink, blue and black (release date in Japan: September 11, price: $210).
The swine flu (aka H1N1) isn’t really a hot topic anymore (when compared to the situation a few months ago), but it still remains a big problem. Today Sanyo of all companies made an announcement in Tokyo (press release in English), claiming their “electrolyzed water technology” has proven to be actually effective in fighting the nasty virus.
Sanyo landed a huge hit with its eneloop brand that includes a number of “green” products, such as lamps, batteries or even Wii controllers. In the past few months, the company also introduced electric bikes that featured eneloop technology, one of which it wanted to sell outside Japan as well.
Now Nippon gets another two eneloop-branded bikes [JP], a carbon fiber model and a foldable bicycle. The way both models work is the same: Every time you drive downhill or decelerate, the electric motor switches to a dynamo, allowing for regenerative charging. Both bikes are pretty cool but have one disadvantage: The hefty price tag.
Sanyo Japan today announced the strange, vase-like “eneloop lamp” [press release in English] that can be used both as a regular interior light or as a flashlight (when you pick it up and hold it like one). As a third option, the device also serves as a “healing lamp” once you switch from white to blue lighting.
The eneloop lamp can be charged wirelessly by putting it on its charging stand. Sanyo says two eneloop AA batteries are enough to power the futuristic device for 6 hours in flashlight mode, up to 45 hours in white light mode and up to 16 hours in blue light mode.
Sanyo seems to now entirely focus on projectors targeted at professional customers and businesses. After announcing a $6,000 Wi-fi enabled projector last month, the company today said in Japan [JP] it’s about to roll out two additional models with some great specs.
Today Sanyo Japan announced a new high-end projector, the LP-WXU700 [JP], which is the world’s first WiFi-enabled projector supporting the IEEE802.11n standard (and thus the fastest). Sized at 334.2×78.4×257.5mm (weight: 3.6kg), the device is marketed by Sanyo as a mobile projector.
In Japan, Sanyo is not only known as a maker of home electronics and eneloop, rechargeable batteries, but also as a maker of home appliances. Their Aqua AWD-AQ4000, which will go on sale in Nippon only on June 1 [JP], is the fourth in a series of washing machines that feature a built-in ozone generator to deodorize and disinfect laundry.
Sanyo has released a new “eneloop”-branded and battery-assisted bicycle [JP] that’s aimed at people (in Japan only for the time being) wanting to replace motorbikes and mini vehicles with a “green” alternative. The so-called CY-SPG226’s battery is powerful enough to let the bike travel about 85km with a single charge (which takes 3.5 hours).
As far as picture quality in home cinema goes, nothing can beat laser projectors, which use lasers as light source. And today, Sanyo in Japan made another leap forward by unveiling a new model that boasts 7,000 lumens [JP], which is the world’s highest brightness level.
If you’re lookin’ for a barebones QWERTY candybar on the cheap, Sprint and Sanyo have a handset you should see. Well, they will in May.
We’re not quite sure why they announcing this one a whole month early, but Sprint and Sanyo have let it be known that the SCP-2700 will be hitting the shelves (exclusively at Sprint) come May 10th.
Electric bikes are becoming more and more popular in Japan as top electronics brands such as Panasonic, Toshiba and Yamaha are rolling out new models monthly.
In December last year, Sanyo announced an electric bike and said it may even be exported to overseas markets soon. Today, the company said [JP] that from March on, the local government of Tokushima Prefecture in Southern Japan will get three Sanyo eneloop bikes and the electricity they need from a special solar parking spot.
