NEC's Lui: for digital lifestyles not human waste

NEC is rolling out a new home server / client solution for persons of the active "digital lifestyle." Dubbed "Lui," we're talking platform, not device, though the family kicks off with a trio of new devices for iEXPO in Japan. The idea here is simple enough (and certainly not new): a central home server manages your video, music and photos which can then be streamed out to a handheld "PC Remoter Pocket" and/or laptop "PC Remoter Notebook." The server features a pair of terrestrial digital high-def tuners with a DVR functionality operating independently of the PC. The PC Remoter Notebook brings a 10.6-inch WXGA LCD, measures 257 x 182-mm, and weights just 650-grams (1.4-pounds). The handheld MID device packs a 4.1-inch touchscreen and weighs just 250-grams (about 0.55-pounds). All should hit Japan en masse sometime before mid-2008. It's just a shame that the name sounds like a french toilet. Plenty of pics over at Aki.

[Via Akihabara News]

[silverblackvoid @ Dec 4th 2007 4:43AM]

japanese are technologically advance, french are not

[Get a clue @ Dec 4th 2007 6:34AM]

Generalizations are ignorant simplifications, the real world is not:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_Ir_n3J5ABA

[Adrian @ Dec 4th 2007 5:00AM]

Ouch. Lui means "him" in French.

[Hung @ Dec 4th 2007 11:12PM]

No, it's a reflexive pronoun for him/her.

AP French for the win.

[RC @ Dec 4th 2007 5:09AM]

So is the home server actually running Windows Home Server? I can't find a reference to it and it seems they have some kind of custom solution of their own. Running on Vista, XP? Does it say anywhere?

[webon @ Dec 4th 2007 5:19AM]

that lapy has the already proven useless 2-close-2-the-brim keyboard of the sony X5o5, tho it looks kinda cool it would be a pain to type with no hand rest "below" the keyb.
and can I buy just the lapy?

[shaun @ Dec 4th 2007 5:40AM]

Well I guess a similar naming theme worked for Nintendo.....

[Cliff Lui @ Dec 4th 2007 9:34AM]

… and 'Lui' would be my surname. I encourage you to drop that second last sentence of your article.

[Jeremy @ Dec 4th 2007 10:46AM]

This article is offensive, (the "Lui" part), and your ignorance is showing.

"Lui" in French is "him" and toilet in French is guess what?
"Toilette" dumbass.

Where do you think the English, and later the Americans got the word from in the first place?

[aw_judge @ Dec 4th 2007 11:02AM]

easy, pard. Maybe you need a trip to the loo.

[Hung @ Dec 4th 2007 11:24PM]

"...later the Americans..."

I'm pretty sure we and the UK speak the same language, but we do it with more brashness and testicular fortitude.

American Hubris for the win.

[Ollie @ Dec 4th 2007 8:03PM]

Haha, I can just imagine the conversation when this one came in to the Engadget office/inbox/however they find their stuff.. "Hey guys, how do we pronounce this? Anyone ever left North America? No? Damn, must be like "loo", hey? Ok, that'll do!"

Seriously, though, not sure how they got "loo" sound out of "lui", pronounced like "loo-ui" (but really fast) in French.. And plenty of people have pointed out the actual translation so I'll steer clear of that this time..