Gifts From the Technological Edge

Looking for a high-tech Christmas gift for your family (or to treat yourself)? How about a digital camera, Internet TV, or DVD player?

by Noriko Takezaki

Technology doesn't stand still. Some of the products that were hits last Christmas are already "obsolete," and many of this year's hot products weren't available just a few months ago. Three types of new products that promise to be near the top of this year's holiday hit list are digital cameras, Internet TVs, and DVD (digital versatile disc) players. (Prices given below are manufacturers' suggested retail prices.)

Digital cameras

Although they were introduced to the market last year, it is only in the past few months that digital cameras have become popular with consumers. While image quality is not yet topnotch, particularly for the lower priced products, it is clear that the caliber of image output has improved considerably over earlier product releases.

The attraction of a digital camera is that it does not require film and photo development; instead, you can use your PC to view (and, with the right software, manipulate) the stored images. In line with the growing number of PC users in Japan, and the Internet/WWW boom, brisk sales of digital cameras are expected during this Christmas/New Year holiday season.

More than ten companies are now competing in the "digicam" market. If you're in the market for a digital camera, check out the following units.(The listed weight excludes batteries.)

Canon's PowerShot 600 features a 570,000-pixel, 1/3-inch CCD, and 1MB flash memory or PCMCIA/ATA PC card (Type II or III). Weighing in at 400 grams, the PowerShot 600 retails for JPY128,000. Casio's QV-100, one of the earliest entries to the digicam market, has a 360,000-pixel, 1/4-inch CCD. The lightweight (180 gram) QV-100, with 1.8-inch TFT LCD color monitor and 4MB flash memory, lists for JPY63,000. The 300-gram Epson CP-200, with 350,000-pixel, 1/3-inch CCD, 1.8-inch TFT LCD monitor, and 2MB flash memory (expandable to 4MB) is priced at JPY69,800.

Fuji Film is marketing a 240-gram unit with 350,000-pixel CCD, 1.8-inch TFT LCD monitor, and 2MB SSFDC card. The Fuji DS-7 retails for JPY69,800. Film market rival Kodak Japan, meanwhile, has introduced two models of note. The relatively heavy (600-gram) Kodak DC50, a 380,000-pixel, 1/3-inch CCD camera with 3X zoom lens and 1MB flash memory or PCMCIA-ATA PC card, lists for JPY148,000. The lightweight (110-gram) Kodak DC20, with 270,00-pixel CCD and 1MB flash memory, is just JPY39,800.

Olympus is covering the full digicam market range with three models. The 310-gram Olympus C-800L is an 810,000-pixel, 1/3-inch CCD unit with 1.8-inch LCD color monitor and 6MB flash memory. The 295-gram C-400L model features a 350,000-pixel, 1/3-inch CCD, 1.8-inch LCD color monitor, and 2 MB flash memory, while the 238-gram C-400 sports a 350,000-pixel, 1/3-inch CCD with 1 MB flash memory. These three Olympus models list for JPY128,000, JPY74,800, and JPY49,800, respectively.

Ricoh also offers three models, all with a 410,000-pixel CCD and weighing in at 285 grams. The Ricoh DC-2V, which has a 1/4-inch CCD and 4MB flash memory, lists for JPY108,000. The DC-2, with 1/4-inch CCD, 2MB flash memory or PCMCIA-ATA PC card (Type I or II), and PCMCIA-AIMS PC card (Type I) sells for JPY69,800. A 1.8-inch TFT LCD monitor is optional. And the DC-2L, with 1/4-inch CCD, 1.8-inch TFT LCD monitor, 2MB flash memory or PCMCIA-ATA PC card, and PCMCIA-AIMS PC card, is JPY85,800.

Internet TV

For cruising the Internet from your living room, what better gift than an Internet TV? TV sets (and set-top boxes for older sets) with the capability to access the Internet have emerged this year in the wake of Japan's Internet boom. Four Japanese manufacturers will have released their products by year-end, and more (including Matsushita) will come to market early next year.

Internet TVs are targeted at people who do not have much computer/Internet knowledge. The products are designed to offer easy operation (such as remote control operation of a simplified browser) and basic Internet functions (with an emphasis on e-mail). The ultimate success of Internet TV products will depend on expansion of their content services to satisfy a wider range of users.

Hitachi is selling a set-top box with 4X CD-ROM drive, 28.8K-bps modem, e-mail functionality, and onscreen keyboard for JPY99,800. Internet access is through NetSpace.

If you prefer an all-in-one unit, check Mitsubishi's 28-inch widescreen Hi-Vision TV set. Priced at JPY270,000, it comes equipped with a built-in 14.4Kbps modem and e-mail functionality via an onscreen keyboard. Sharp, meanwhile, offers a 32-inch widescreen TV set with 28.8Kbps built-in modem for JPY330,000. For those who like to make good use of their time, Sharp offers a dual-screen function that permits watching TV and using the Internet at the same time. Internet access is through Infoweb.

If you're looking for something less expensive, Sanyo sells a 28-inch TV (with dual-screen capability) and a 21-inch model for JPY198,000 and JPY115,000, respectively. Both models have a built-in 14.4K-bps modem and e-mail functionality via an onscreen keyboard.

DVD

With the standardization battle settled, manufacturers have been rushing production to release digital versatile disc (DVD) players in the Japanese market by year-end. DVD features high-quality images, with MPEG2 and over 500-line resolution, Dolby AC-3 Digital sound, and multilanguage (selectable from 8 audio and 32 subtitle) functions.

Only Sony, which had to change its product specifications drastically to meet the unified standard agreed to in September 1995, has delayed the release of its DVD products. Many DVD software releases have been delayed, however, mainly because of copyright concerns, so DVD content remains an issue.

Matsushita's DVD-A300 player, with joystick, remote control, Dolby AC-3 digital channel surround decoder, and twin-focus optical pickup for video and music CD playback -- plus echo and mike terminals for karaoke -- lists for JPY98,000. The DVD-A100 model, with fewer features, sells for JPY79,800. (Matsushita is also marketing a 28-inch widescreen TV with built-in DVD player for JPY260,000.)

Pioneer has gone to market with an all-in-one type DVD/LD/karaoke system. The Pioneer DVK-1000, with DVD, LD, LD-G, video CD, CD-G, and CD playback capability, amplifier and speaker, and a remote control, lists for JPY248,000. Pioneer's DVK-800 model, which can play DVDs, video CDs, and CDs, sells for JPY120,000. Both models come with 100-song karaoke DVD software.

Sanyo is selling a multifunction DVD player with repeat playback, 2X and 8X quick playback, and 1/2X, 1\8X, and 1/16X slow playback functionality for JPY77,000. For the same price, meanwhile, Toshiba offers a DVD player with switchable dual-lens pickup for playback of music and video CDs. The Toshiba system can handle single-sided, double-layer DVD disks (with a capacity of 8.5GB).