New Sony Black Rolly

Sony unveals a black Sony Rolly blinking and dancing loudspeaker.

Additionally Rolly owners can now customize the “arms” of their Rolly with different colors. I see already Japanese School girls sitting in a coffee and letting their customized Rollys battle on the table. To share cool Rolly moves, Sony setup the Motion Park site. The moves of the Rolly can be customized as well with the Motion Editor software.
Sony announced the Rolly music gadget last September.
Rolly only has a power button and a play button. All other functions are done by twisting or rolling the gadget. Measurements of the Sony Rolly are 104 × 65 × 65mm. The built-in flash memory is 1GB.
If you want a Rolly from Japan now, AudioCubes exports it for $499.99 internationally.

Rolly has been spotted at the FCC in the U.S., so a state side release of Rolly could be around the corner.
More details in this Sony press-release (Japanese). See also the Sony Rolly site (Japanese).

Did you know that?: Internet trivia

 

 I found an interesting article at CNET blog. It says that kids are not allowed to use google services… really??

 

Google’s terms of service states that:

 

“You may not use … Google’s products, software, services and web sites … and may not accept the Terms if … you are not of legal age to form a binding contract with Google.  

 

Okay… so those kids searching via google or watching video clips at Youtube are doing illegal activity…  

 

Hopefully, I am overage now and wasn’t using google when I was teen but using Yahoo or MSN.

 

Google’s services are awesome, but I’m kinda afraid of over-data-mining. Feels like google will track and control everything our lives… 

New Eee PC 900: ultra mobility again!!

One of the most awaited laptop, Asus Eee PC 900, is expected to come next month. Configured with 8.9-inch screen, the new 900 features 8GB flash storage with Windows XP but users have an option to opt 20GB of storage with Xandros Linux. And as you want to know, the expected price set at $499.

Source: engadget

Digital Camera with Wi-Fi: Lumix DMC TZ 50 by Panasonic

Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-TZ50 brings WiFi connectivity with you wherever you are, allowing you to upload images from any WiFi hotspot. Unfortunately, you will be limited to specific image sharing sites such as Panasonic’s very own Lumix Club. Hopefully as the TZ50 is released worldwide, a more open model will be made available. After all, who doesn’t yet have a Flickr or Picasa account? The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ50 will be released in Japan this May 16th, retailing for approximately $500 after conversion.

Source: Panasonic Japan (Translated by google)

Bluetooth headset with bone conduction technology

 Bone conduction technology has been used to great effect with a wide array of gadgets to date, and this time we have the Sound Leaf Plus Bluetooth headset from NTT DoCoMo that features such technology as well. It functions just like any other bone-conduction gear, save for the fact that it hooks up sans wires to your Bluetooth-enabled cellphone for a truly hands-free experience. Unfortunately, you will probably feel its weight as the Sound Leaf Plus tips the scale at a relatively heavy 45 grams and is powered by a couple of AAA batteries which offer up to 15 hours of talk time. That’s not very much when you think about it, so hopefully future iterations will be smaller, lighter, and last way longer.Source: NTT Docomo (in Japanese) 

True mobility from Toshiba: the first laptop with 128GB SSD

Toshiba introduces a new notebook with the largest solid state disk on the market in Japan with the Dynabook SS RX. 

 

The Toshiba Dynabook SS RX (RX1/TAE) has a cool 128GB SSD. The price for the end consumer version is not set yet, but the corresponding enterprise model with 128GB SSD has a list price of 555,660 Yen which converts to about $5,500.Over 5 grand for a notebook is hard to stomach for most of us. Other features of the Toshiba Dynabook SS RX notebook series include 12.1 inch LED backlit screen, 2GB RAM, Intel Core 2 Duo U7600 CPU and 802.11n Wifi. The new Toshiba Dynabook SS RX notebook will start shipping on March 25th in Japan.  

 

Source: engadget 

KORG DS-10 Synthesizer

The Korg-approved DS-10 synthesizer from AQ Interactive will soon make its way to DS’ in Japan, featuring a couple of patchable virtual synths with two oscillators each, a drum machine, a sequencer, and an entire range of effects among others. Word has it that you can also hook up with several systems by taking advantage of the DS’ wireless capability, playing a tune together or exchanging sounds and songs. Music buffs who tend to take gaming breaks with their DS Lite will be able to pick up the DS-10 synthesizer for less than $50 if they import a copy from Japan come this July.Source: engadget

A slice of cellphone: PROSOLID μ by Panasonic

 NTT DoCoMo released the world’s thinnest 3G flip phone, PROSOLID μ. The phone’s depth is only 9.8mm !!! The main feature of this phone is that no build-in camera so that people work at institutions that have high level security can bring into their workplace.The spec is here.  Unfortunately,  this phone does not support GSM technology so I can’t use it in Canada… I wonder when are they gonna change to 3G in North America. Maybe it would never happened because it seems like people in North America are happy with GSM and it is too costly to build new 3G network in big countries like Canada and the United States.

USB Mat to lock your computer

Computer security is a huge topic these days. So often we see the news where someone has lost a flash drive or CD with personal data for 50,000 or more people. What about other security risks such as unattended workstations, left logged in and with everything open? Sure you can set password protected screen-savers and other policies but that only goes so far as there is still an open window before they activate. ComputerProx looks to have an answer for this, the ProxMat.

Essentially the ProxMat is a pressure sensitive mat that send the Windows Key + L shortcut when a user leaves the workstation, thus forcing the system to lock. It connects via USB, doesn’t require any special drivers, and is available in a wide range of sizes. It can also be used to put computers into standby and save some energy. Now if it only had Wireless USB so that we wouldn’t get our feet tangled in the USB cable…

Source: Coolest Gadget.com

Sony stops making cellphone for DoCoMo

Sony’s old school tech from my high school age, SO505i

What the heck is going on here? Despite the overwhelming popularity of gizmo-heavy mobile devices in Japan, working with megacarrier NTT DoCoMo must be a losing proposition for many of its manufacturing partners, because just days after Mitsubishi’s announcement of its withdrawal, a fresh Nikkei report indicates that Sony Ericsson is raising the white flag as well to divert attention and resources to less saturated and more profitable markets. Apparently, DoCoMo will bear the brunt of the downsizing, while Sony Ericsson’s partnership with KDDI.

Source: StockHouse.ca