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japan

Were you thinking that the televisual future was in the hands of OLED screens?

Sony thinks not and is halting its OLED TV production in Japan and will be ending sales once its existing stock runs out.

Sales will continue, however, in America and Europe.

Apparently the Sony XEL-1 11in OLED TV just wasn’t popular enough in Japan even with a monthly production capacity of just 2000 units.

Sony spokesperson, Shinji Obana, said: “We see the demand for the model has run its course in Japan but we will continue sales overseas and research and development activities in OLED.”

So, is it that Europeans and Americans are more easily pleased or more susceptible to the pull of new tech?

Have Sony got something bigger, better and brighter hidden up their sleeves?

Could the goggleboxes future be shaped by things like the CellTV?

Let me know below :)

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If you’re looking to spend a wad of cash on a fancy telly then, chances are, you’re the type of person that hates to miss their favourite programmes.

Toshiba hears you and has finally bounced out their very clever, next-generation Cell TV in Japan.

The reasons to be excited about this great goggle-box are many.

First of all there’s all that recording space: 3TB of it coupled with not one, not four but eight HD tuners! That’s because the Cell TV has been designed to record every one of Japan’s eight free HD channels, day and night, for a whole week. Oh my!

Basically you’d have to find eight weeks to watch everything you’ve recorded in one week which kinda means that you’d have even more catching up-to-do. But the ability is impressive all the same :)

As you may be aware, like digital radio, digital TV contains metadata which describes the content. So, it could suggest and record shows that are similar to the ones you watch already. You watch ‘Being Human’ so it might suggest ‘Supernatural’ – you watch ‘Fringe’ so it might nod at ‘Flashforward’ and give you a hint.

PS3 owners might be thinking “Cell TV; is that something to do with the Cell chip that’s in my gaming console?” and they’d be right. That speedy processor is shared by both chunks of gadgety loveliness which means that the Cell TV is able to perform picture processing that regular tv’s can’t and Toshiba claims that it can even turn 2D TV shows into 3D on the fly. Now there’s a clever trick!

The screen has a native resolution of 3840×2160 pixels so it’ll be able to handle the next generation of HD when it arrives and upscales 1080p video to fit its super high res eye-pleaser.

This all sounds rather spanky but I bet it costs a packet – Yup.

Toshiba told Crave that it’s working on which features to keep before sending them over to Blighty but the Japanese models are priced up to the equivalent of £10,000.

Thinking about pre-ordering?

Can I be your friend?

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TDK TH-WR700 Headphones Say “Grab my Dongle” to Bluetooth Cans

February 1, 2010 Click to read more →
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I’ve been looking around for a decent set of Bluetooth headphones to hook-up to my iPhone.
I like the look of the Jaybird Sportband but haven’t found anywhere that would let me try before I buy.
Let’s face it – finding a cracking pair of Bluecans aint easy.
TDK blows raspberries at stereo Bluethooth transmission and tells us [...]

JO-ZERO Robot Has a Manga Designed Head and a Bendy Back – Impressive Agility

December 30, 2009 Click to read more →
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Little robots are just getting better – every week it seems!
From one that can attack its roomies with various weapons to the really cool 1.26M NIT ZMP collaberation.
But none of them can really be described as being nimble, agile or elegant can they?
Japan-based Himeji Softworks looks like they’re on the right track with their funky [...]

Totally Cool NIT ZMP Robot Can Be Yours – Dear Santa……

December 22, 2009 Click to read more →
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Japan and their robots – it’s a love affair. Just as long as they don’t take over!
This clever little humanoid comes thanks to a collaboration between various Japanese companies and institutions – the Nippon Institute of Technology, Harada Vehicle Design, ZMP and ZNUG Design.
If you’re thinking that ZMP is a familiar name – well, [...]

Kohjinsha DZ6KH16E – Laptop With Twin Slideout LCD Screens On Sale Now!

November 27, 2009 Click to read more →
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Clap your eyes on those beauties!
This dual-screened notebook that Kohjinsha has started selling in Japan today has just entered my wish-list.
I don’t neeeeed it, but how cool does it look?
Check out those twins of pleasure – two 10.1 inch 1,024×600 res LED backlit LCD screens that are squeezed in a compact body (size: 280×210×19〜42mm, weight: [...]

Japanese Man to Marry Nene Anegasaki – Who Happens to be an Anime Game Character

November 26, 2009 Click to read more →
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Ah…….. that feeling of finding your perfect partner.
You see them and suddenly you drift off into a different reality.
If you spend most of your time on the interweb you may even get romantically involved with someone’s avatar before you actually get to see each other for real….
….or perhaps you fall in love with a virtual [...]

Coolest Barcodes Ever – Yeah, I said Cool Barcodes

November 16, 2009 Click to read more →
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Barcodes.
Nothing unusual or interesting.
Stripy necessities in this tech world.
But not to a small group of people that believe beauty is in every little bit of our existence – even those flat zebras.
There’s actually a whole gallery of amazing barcodes created by Japanese artists.
Not sure what I’d rather wear now – these designs or the QR [...]

Clockman – Wake up and be Freaked Out

November 16, 2009 Click to read more →
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Personally I’d prefer not to start the day being freaked out.
But – if you’re different, why not wake up to Clockman?
Clockman is a new model from Japanese toy-maker Takara Tomy.
This clock thing can speak, its eyes and mouth can move and more oddly has a “blood type”!
There are four different versions of the clock, and [...]

New Small Panasonic LCD TV is Really a Digital Photoframe, CD Playing iPod Dock

November 12, 2009 Click to read more →
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First picture I saw of this little Panasonic lead me to believe that it was a neat portable LCD Television.
Gah – how wrong and foolish do I feel now?
What it is, in fact, is Panasonic’s new MW-10 “multimedia audio system photo frame”.
Not only will it show pictures held on either its 4GB of internal memory [...]

Nintendo DSi XL (or LL) Shown Off in Official Video – Come See!

November 12, 2009 Click to read more →
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Remember the super-sized Nintendo DSi with the large screen from a coupla weeks ago?
Well now there’s an official flick for it.
This is the first screening for the Nintendo DSi XL (or LL as it’s known in Japan) from the larger hand-held. The good thing is that it gives you a good idea of both [...]

DSi Gets Larger Screen and Becomes DSi LL – How Does it Compare With the Rest of the DS Family?

October 29, 2009 Click to read more →
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It was whispered about earlier this week and in a quick turn around the larger screened DSi is confirmed as being real.

Enter the Nintendo DSi LL.
Launched at a Nintendo press event in Tokyo, the Nintendo DSi LL will instantly be applauded by the eye-strained and Brain Training lovers that, by all accounts, tend to be [...]

Samsung Hybrid Portable AMOLED Desktop

October 28, 2009 Click to read more →
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Sometimes there’s proof that beauty doesn’t have to be practical.
Look at most Super-models
What we have here, thanks to Akihabara News, is a rather gorgeous Samsung Desktop prototype.
The most attractive part of this set-up has to be that stunning AMOLED screen that happens to sport a resolution of 1366 x 768. As it [...]

Sony Steroescpic 3D Prototype Live in Tokyo – Video: No Glasses Required

October 22, 2009 Click to read more →
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The moment made famous by R2D2 slinging out a 3D image of a certain Princess is getting closer to reality.
This Sony prototype is now on show in the flesh in Tokyo.
Check out the vid below and you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised by the 96 by 128 pixel res – apparently when seeing it first-hand the [...]

Tiny Funai Projector Makes Any Wall Multitouch

October 8, 2009 Click to read more →
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Funai has an added bonus in their pico projector – the ability to make any surface multitouch.
This prototype uses a Nippon Signal MEMS scanner and a heap of clever tech that when all combined is able to throw multitouch capabilities to whatever surface the projected image hits!
Just think, bedroom wall, office whiteboard, your desk – [...]

Toshiba Cell Regza TV – Watch 8 Channels at Once on 55 Inches of 5million:1 contrast LED

October 5, 2009 Click to read more →
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Toshiba’s next-generation Cell Regza TV has just been launched and should be hitting the stores in time for Christmas in Japan.
So – if you happen to have been a very good boy or girl perhaps Santa will dip in the £7,000 to drop one of these lovely tv’s into your swag-bag!
Toshiba needs to step-up with [...]

Gear4 Video Buddy – From iPod Nano to Widescreen TV

September 29, 2009 Click to read more →
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After last week’s reports that a US gym has banned the new iPod Nano due to fears that it could be used for catching scenes of sweaty, lycra clad folk on the treadmill and an actual arrest in Kobe, Japan, after some bloke hid the Nano in his shoe, and somehow filmed up an 18 [...]

Come Touch My Wood, Put it Against Your Face Then Make a Call

September 28, 2009 Click to read more →
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Japan is the home of cool tech – that’s pretty much a given.
Japanese network DoCoMo has come up with some rather funky things in its time and its latest range is no exception.
We’ve seen laptops made from bamboo and the such but no-one seems to have tackled the mobile phone.
DoCoMo is getting all green by [...]

Sony PS3 Slim Gets Release Date

August 5, 2009 Click to read more →
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So more news about the much rumoured slimline PS3.
We’ve seen spy shots, and even seen in a video clip but now a site from over the Channel has touted a release date for the PS3 Slim.
French site RTL reckons it’ll be here as early as this month but we’ve heard that before.
It says Sony [...]

Toshiba and Electrolux Brings the Escargot VC-Z100L – Snail Vacuum Cleaner

July 12, 2009 Click to read more →
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Vacuum cleaners are usually pretty boring, well it seems that Toshiba and Electrolux have teamed up to produce a stylish looking vacuum cleaner, the Toshiba Escargot VC-Z100L Vacuum Cleaner.
It may even drag me away from my Dyson!
Weighing at lightweight 2.1-kg (4.6-lbs) the Escargot VC-Z100L (probably so-named because of its resemblance to our slimy garden-bound friend) [...]