Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

DosPara have recently announced a new and limited edition netbook.  The new model has been dubbed the Prime Note Cartina and will be limited to just 30 units.  The netbook will be released only in Japan, which typically would be a cause of some jealousy, but judging from the specs of this so-called limited edition model I am not sure it will be missed elsewhere. 

Feature-wise the Prime Note Cartina will include an 8.9-inch display, an Atom N270 processor, 120GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and will be running Linux.  Oh, and it only weighs 2.4-pounds.  Wait, what exactly makes this a limited edition, seems more like it should a limited supply.  This netbook seems to be doing nothing more than cashing in on a popular trend.

Via [Akihabara News]

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The Eee PC has been the most popular net book since it started selling, namely because it was the first, but also because it is damn good at what it does. However a few people have some qualms with it, mainly about the fairly low storage that it offers: 12GB.  I know I could easily fill that in a day and obviously the people at the Japanese company GreenHouse agree with me as they have released some Eee PC hard drive upgrades.
You can now replace your measly 12GB SSD with either the 32GB or 64GB modules which will over quintuple your storage, making the Eee PC a much more attractive option.  The specifications aren’t awful (considering that it is for the Eee PC) with 35MB/s and 15MB/s, but comparing that to a desktop internal hard drive it is poor and even for a laptop it is slow.  What’s it cost to upgrade that Eee?  Keep reading.

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Panasonic is already a sizable company, but they are going to get that little bit bigger with the confirmed takeover of Sanyo.  Sanyo have been struggling recently, and it’s probably not a coincidence that their downturn coincides with the economic crisis that we are facing.  Nevertheless, they are still worth a substantial $18.5 billion which will boost Panasonic’s value to around $107.8 billion, making it one of the biggest consumer electronics companies.

The reason behind this is that this takeover will give Panasonic access to two key technologies in the shape of solar panels and batteries which will help them greatly in their own hand-held electronic products, in fact, Sanyo is the market leader in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries.  They will also acquire a company specializing in portable gadgets which generates $4 billion per annum in revenue.  Continued after the break.

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Anybody who is fed up with new formats of media and still has only vinyl switch off your monitor now.  Boosted by their success in the High Definition DVD war with Blu-ray they have decided to expand the Blu franchise with Blu-spec CD.

Details are sketchy regarding the actual advantages due to a poorly translated Japanese press release, but what we do know is that it aims to overthrow the CD.  Unsurprisingly, they are burned using the Blu Laser Diode (hence the Blu) and even more unsurprisingly they will cost around the $20-$35 mark.  Obviously, we don’t know what you are paying for but the general consensus is that it will be significantly better sound quality. 

There’s a strange twist to the Blu-spec CD—find out after the break.

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I don’t know if any of you can remember the old 3D films where the glasses were given out at the start, but just the memory recalls feelings of nausea.  In fact it is these films that automatically put me off anything with ‘3D’ as a prefix.  However the “Novo Minoru 3D Webcam” (Minoru meaning “reality” in Japanese) is different and not just because it is cute.

The webcam is really two cameras that are positioned roughly the same distance apart which is important as it means the images can be correctly interpreted by the brain that sees them.  Conveniently, this also means that when coupled with a study and well designed plastic case, it can create a particularly cute creature that appears to gaze at you.  This is enhanced by the multi-position stand which, when upright, look suspiciously like two arms.  Plenty more after the break.

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You may remember earlier this year Thanko, a Japanese company, released the imaginatively named “Thanko Cooler USB keyboard.“ 

For those that don’t, here is a brief recap: it is essentially a solidly build keyboard complete with three fans that are designed to keep your hands cool whatever the weather.  So, what now?  Well, in keeping with their unimaginative naming method, the new “USB Hot Cooler Keyboard” does exactly what it says on the tin.  More after the break.

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Napster has just launched its first mobile music video service, Napster Clips in Japan. This new service puts a premium on unlimited access to a high-quality digital video service that would complement Napster’s music subscription service. In partnership with Japan’s NTT Docomo, Napster is offering this service via the mobile operator’s new N960IL onefone mobile handset.

Napster Clips is highly dependent on the broadband network which is ably supported by NTT Docomo’s communication infrastructure. Hence users are assured of a continuous video viewing experience from the N906il handset through either NTT Docomo’s 3G/FOMA network or the new Home U service. The latter is a high speed wireless LAN connection through home broadband network.

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Sections: Video, Portable Video, Video Providers, Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Mobile, Web, Online Music/Video

So what happens when you combine a Japanese ISP Founder, the idea of an iPhone, and the idea of WiMAX together in a room? You get a fun-filled day of iPhone/WiMAX bashing! Sachio Semmoto, the founder of eAccess (a broadband provider as well as a wireless company) said that the iPhone is a “total failure” in the US compared to the number of phones sold by others (think RAZR). While he liked the functions, he doesn’t like it on AT&T (who doesn’t?).

“If I have a chance to talk to Steve, I’d like to tell him face to face: You made a wrong choice.“

In between shots at the iPhone, Semmoto also mentioned that WiMAX will lose the 4G mobile battle versus LTE (no mention of UMB?) and CDMA (the technology Verizon and Sprint uses) will fail on the way to LTE.

So… How many iPhones have been sold in one year? Such a miserable failure. And CDMA will die because LTE is not CDMA-based, it’s roots are in GSM. Ahh… Thank you, Mr. Semmoto.

Read [NZ Herald]

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The International Space Flight Center and researchers from the University of Tokyo have teamed up with members of the Japan Origami Airplane Association to develop a paper aircraft capable of surviving the flight from its base to the surface of the earth. Yes, you heard and read the news correctly, and the prototype will be 8 centimeters (3.1 in) long and weigh about 30 grams. Researchers began testing the strength and heat resistance a few days ago in an ultra-high-speed wind tunnel at the University of Tokyo’s Okashiwa campus.

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