GW-36

J@pan Inc Magazine Presents:
G A D G E T W A T C H
A Free Newsletter Covering the Latest Cool Stuff in Japan
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Issue No. 36
Thursday, November 8, 2001

Name: Canon CanoScan D1250U2F
Category: PC peripherals
Price: (CanoScan D1250U2F) JPY26,800
(CanoScan D1250U2) JPY19,800
Release date in Japan: First half of November, 2001

The Gist: There痴 no point introducing new formats or standards if
everyone else in the game declines to follow suit. Happily, this
doesn't look likely to happen with USB2.0 because the products
compatible with the new super-fast USB standard have started to roll
in since last week痴 heads up on Melco痴 USB2.0 Type II PC card.
Enter Canon痴 CanoScan D1250U2F, the company痴 first flatbed scanner
that comes loaded with a USB2.0 interface and -・as a bonus ・ is
capable of scanning transparencies (film), an essential prerequisite
if you池e in the publishing business. If you don稚 need to scan film,
just go for the model with an identifier minus the "F," which is
otherwise identical. The machines scan at up to 1,200 dpi and,
thanks to the USB2.0 friendliness, do so four times faster than their
snail-like Grandpappy predecessors. They also have advanced "fixing"
features to adjust color tone, dark and light areas. Both scanners
come packaged with Adobe Photoshop Elements retouching software.

More info:
http://www.canon-sales.co.jp/pressrelease/2001-10/pr_csd1250u2.html

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Name: Kenwood Rampage DMC-P55
Category: AV
Price: Open (blue, white, or pink)
Release date in Japan: n/a

The Gist: Boasting the longest playback time in the world (as you
know by now, these "records" tend to last about a month) of 153
hours, using rechargeable and alkaline batteries together, the
DMC-P55 MiniDisc player is addressing the issue of what to do once
the jog or rowing session is over, but you still want to listen to
your discs. More on that in a second. Thanks to a "jet search"
feature, users can find specific tracks twice as quickly as
previously possible, easing the pain of searching through the vast
number of tunes they've just recorded using the MDLP long-play
function. The DMC-P55 also has a 40-second anti-shock memory when in
normal mode and over two and a half minutes (160 seconds) in LP4
mode. But none of this is what makes Kenwood痴 new MiniDisc player
different. The Rampage DMC P55s also have stereo speaker stands that
look a little like the cradles used with PDAs for synching to your
computer (this seems to be a trend right now, making them as easy to
use as possible and thereby broadening appeal). The special stands
house stereo speakers, so you can keep it by your bedside or on your
desk or wherever, slot the player in when you池e no longer on the
move and give the headphones ・ and your head ・ a break while still
enjoying the grooves. The DMC-P55 comes with a remote control, can
play back for 320 minutes and has an internal timer, alarm timer and
sleep timer. Not that I've ever found any use for any of that,
personally. Pick a color, any color.

More info:
http://www.kenwood.com/j/products/home_audio/personal/dmc_p55/
index.html

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Name: Toshiba Alina A-F40G1
Category: AV
Price: Open
Release date in Japan: November 20, 2001

The Gist: If you want the features and cool benefits of those hard
disk recorders we've been mentioning recently but are scared of
backing the wrong horse in the rewriteable DVD stakes (who isn't?),
why not take a look at Toshiba's new machine? The racy A-F40G1 may
look as though it's named after one of the world's sexiest supercars,
but it's actually a VHS hi-fi video player with an integra1 40-GB
hard disk that allows 40 hours of recording in EP mode. You can be
recording a TV program to the hard disk while recording another show
from an outside source (cable, say) onto video, for example. An
Electronic Program Guide (EPG) is available with CS and BS digital,
and one-touch hard disk to videotape dubbing is possible at the press
of a single button. There痴 that "ease of use" trend again.

More info:
http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2001_11/pr_j0501.htm

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STAFF
Written by Max Everingham (max@everingham.net)
Editor: Bruce Rutledge (bruce@japaninc.net)

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