GW-147

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J@pan Inc Magazine Presents:
G A D G E T W A T C H
The Hottest Gadgets and Gizmos from Japan
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Issue No. 147

Wednesday, June 9, 2004
(Long URLs may break across two lines, so copy to your browser.)

========================= EA Event ====================================
Entrepreneur Association of Tokyo's One Year Anniversary - June Seminar

Join the June 9th Panel Discussion to celebrate EA-Tokyo's One Year
Anniversary! Don稚 miss this great opportunity to hear: Tim Williams,
Founder and Chairman of ValueCommerce; Caroline Pover, President and
Founder of Alexandra Press, Being A Broad, and Go Girls; and Lance Lee,
President of IGC (Japan) Ltd, and the former President of the Amercian
Chamber of Commerce in Japan. The theme for the discussion will be,
"Creating Value for Customers and for Owners. What does it mean to
Create Value?・Please register early to reserve your seat.

Date/Time: Wednesday, June 9th at 7:00 pm City Club of Tokyo -
Maple Room (Canadian Embassy Complex)
Language: English http://www.ea-tokyo.com Email: info@ea-tokyo.com

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===================== WIN A FREE TICKET! ==============================
Economist Conferences'
FOURTH INTERNATIONAL JAPAN AUTOMOTIVE ROUNDTABLE
Which road now?
July 14th 2004, Tokyo
http://www2.economistconferences.com/doc/ap/jpauto04/i.htm

This is an exclusive opportunity for you to gain fresh insights into the
thinking of Japan's leading auto industry executives via serious debate,
audience interaction and networking.

Special offer exclusive for J@pan Inc readers!
Please register at:
http://www1.economistconferences.com/doc/asia/japaninc/japaninc.htm

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========================= ICA Event ====================================
ICA June 17 Event - Special Double Header

PRESENTER: Greg Ascolese Principal, ABeam Consulting
TOPIC: Case Studies and Approaches for Implementing Customer
Analytics.
PRESENTER: Jenny Sutton Partner, ABeam Consulting
TOPIC: Extending the Life of Legacy Systems

RSVP required, complete event details at http://www.icajapan.jp/
Date: Thursday, June 17
Time: 6:30 Doors open, sit down dinner included
Cost: 3,000 yen (members), 5,500 yen (non-members), Open to all
Foreign Correspondents' Club members
http://www.fccj.or.jp/static/aboutus/map.php

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Name: Panasonic SL-SX332
Category: Portable CD player and radio
Price: Open. (8,400 yen, according to Bic Camera's Web site on
June 8.)
Release date in Japan: June 10, 2004

The Gist: The SL-SX332 has two functions -- a portable CD player and a
radio. It has a so-called high-sound-quality digital amplifier and
a high-sound-quality inside phone. The SL-SX332 can play CD-R/RWs that
store music in the MP3 format as well as conventional CDs. The gadget
has a battery life of up to 75 hours. It measures 135 millimeters in
width, 26 millimeters in height and 135 millimeters in depth.

More info:
http://matsushita.co.jp/corp/news/official.data/data.dir/jn040512-2/
jn040512-2.html

================= Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar =====================
Terrie Lloyd, founder of over 12 start-up companies in Japan will be
giving a English-language seminar and Q&A on starting up a company in
Japan. This is an ideal opportunity to find out what is involved, and
to ask specific questions that are not normally answered in business
books.

Time/date: 10:30am, June 26th, 2004
Place: 7-8-1 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107
Price: 15,000 yen prepaid, 20,000 at the door
Included: Lunchbox, refreshments, handouts

Bookings: maria@japaninc.com, in English or Japanese.

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Name: Sharp PW-A3000
Category: Electronic dictionary
Price: 36,750 yen, according to Sharp's Web site, and 20,790 yen
on Bic Camera's Web site on June 8.
Release date in Japan: June 12, 2004

The Gist: The PW-A3000 contains 11 resources, including a Japanese
thesaurus, a Japanese-English dictionary and a Japanese medical
encyclopedia. The PW-A3000 is also compatible with nine content cards,
boasting a German-Japanese dictionary, a French-Japanese dictionary and
a Japanese law dictionary. This compares with the latest model, the
PW-A8100, which has 46 contents pre-installed and sells at 47,250 yen,
a Sharp customer service employee told us.

More info:
http://www.sharp.co.jp/corporate/news/040520-a.html

========================== Tennis Lessons ==============================
FREE tennis lessons at Hilton Tokyo Hotel, Shinjuku! Want to play tennis
but don't know how to find a court in Tokyo? JINJI TENNIS CENTER provides
the ideal tennis environment for foreigners living in and around Tokyo.
For info on tournaments, specials For Kids, tennis equipment, et cetera.

click "English" for details.
http://WWW.JINJITENNIS.COM

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Name: Pioneer PDP series
Category: Plasma TV
Price: Open. (Pioneer anticipates that it will be cheaper than
1 million yen. The PDP-505HDL and PDP-505HDS are both priced at
840,000 yen on Bic Camera's Web site on June 8.)
Release date in Japan: mid June to late July, 2004

The Gist: Pioneer will begin selling five new plasma televisions -- the
PDP-505HDL, PDP-505HDS, PDP-435HDL, PDP-435HDS and PDP-435 SX. The series
displays up to 5.75 billion colors, the widest variety of color in the
world as of May 20, 2004, according to Pioneer. The series also has
a Direct Color Filter, making Pioneer the first company in the world
(again, as of May 20) to use the filter to dramatically improve visual
quality. The filter reduces multiple reflections between the front filter
and the plasma panel, in addition to cutting down on reflections from
outside lights, improving overall image quality. Light-dark contrast has
improved 20 percent over Pioneer's previous model. Plus, Pioneer has
succeeded in improving sound quality, making the total weight of the
TV lighter and saving electricity. Two of the five models boast
50-inch plasma displays, and the other three have 43-inch screens.
JEITA, or the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Association,
expects plasma television sales will soon reach 450,000 units in Japan,
according to Pioneer.

More info:
http://www.pioneer.co.jp/press/release446-j.html

========================== For Rent ====================================
2 & 3 F Masonette Designer Mansion by popular young Japanese designer,
Tetsuka. Large Bed room, 1 living room + 1 LDK, Full Wall Closet,
counter kitchen, 4.7m height floor glass window facing rows of cherry
Trees. Natural wood flooring, warm flooring in both living and LDK,
glass door bathroom, designer equipped wash sink and lighting, 3
air conditioners included. 1 min walk from Marunouchi Hounancho Station.
Quiet residential area, 24-hour supermarket and family restaurant in
walking distance. Built in September 2002. Rent 280,000 yen
(including management fee), 2 months deposit and 2 months key money.

http://www.alpha-planner.co.jp/honan/layout/2_g.html
Email: dino@be.to
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Subscribers: 5,815 as of June 9, 2004

STAFF
Written by: Minoru Matsutani
Edited by: J@pan Inc editors (editors@japaninc.com)

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