My cell phone does this..it really makes more sense on a mobile phone where typing in all the data might take a longer time.

First, I think the picture above has nothing to do with the phones that will be released in Japan. Second, according to a survey handled by a subsidiary of Dentsu (Japan's largest advertising agency with nearly a 40% market share), Tokyo Disneyland is the brand that has the most potential in Japan. The survey considered over 1000 domestic and foreign companies. I would provide the Nikkei link, but it's by subscription only. A brand with such potential should be able to attract customers if the rollout and promotion is handled correctly.

I think many people from Slashdot are here ;)

I don't understand why companies make business laptops with widescreens. I'm an MBA student who uses office apps all day long, and a widescreen offers nothing to me. Powerpoint, Acrobat, etc. are very poorly suited to a widescreen display.

It was interesting to see the Panasonic laptops being used on the excellent Panasonic exhibit at IFA this year (IMHO). The laptops were branded Let's Note (for the Japan domestic market), but had English keyboards (no Japanese kana). Fujitsu-Siemens had a decent display, but this show was really for consumer electronics and not for computers.

I just got back from being at the IFA all day. The 1" thick TV was for me the most excited thing. I took a video of it appearing out of a thin line. Sharp also had their Japanese domestic market phones out on display, including a demo of Wansegu (the mobile TV segment of channels in Japan). I hope all the US/Euro visitors see the phones and start to demand them for their own markets.

This case is plain. The PTO and IBM signed an agreement at the time of purchase to determine ownership (and hence, liability) at the time of shipment. If the ownership is transferred at the point of departure (from IBM), then the PTO would assume liability. Since they seemed to have subcontracted the shipping, then the PTO obviously signed an agreement moving this liability to TR Systems. Because the liability belongs to TR, it is their responsibility to ensure that the product arrives in the contract-specified condition (new), whether or not it was packed well. Of course, things would change if IBM had guaranteed extra-durable packing and delivered something else...

I'm living in Germany for this year, and the situation is even worse here. If you sign up for a new contract here (O2, Vodafone, T-Mobile, E-Plus), you CANNOT cancel for any reason. You're required to pay the full amount monthly for two years (early cancellation is not an option). Since every contract is for two years, I was out of luck for my one-year stay. I ended up signing up for an O2 plan that cost 0 EUR per month (and has high per-minute fees)...

I have a tough time believing that the battery life of this is longer than my Panasonic CF-T5 (12" screen), at 15 hours (I've personally realized 11-12 hours on a trip from Hong Kong to Berlin)...