Word on the street is that Sanrio was looking for new Hello Kitty designers on the West Coast earlier last week, and if this sad little 1seg portable TV is any indication, we can see why the company's in search of fresh talent. Seriously, this is the least cute Hello Kitty gadget we've seen in a while, and we're basically suckers for the lil' imp. Japan-only, and your ¥21,000 ($197) doesn't get you anything special on the inside, either, just a 2.4-inch QVGA screen and built-in stereo speakers with a 4.5-hour battery life. Come on, Kitty -- make us love you again.

While those of us 'round these parts have pretty much given up on the idea of a DVD-playing Wii a long time ago, folks in Japan have had some cause for hope based on promises from the company that such a system was, in fact, headed for the country sooner or later. It seems like they're now about to enter the acceptance phase as well, however, as Nintendo has just announced yet another delay to the system with no word about an eventual release date. According to IGN, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata would only go so far as to say that due continuing worldwide supply constraints on the current Wii, "the priority is on the current model." One thing getting a boost in availability, however, is the Nintendo DS 1Seg TV tuner, which Nintendo says will get a retail release next month after previously only being available online.

[Via Joystiq]

Do you ever wonder just how realistic all these coin / hand / White House-to-miniscule item comparison shots are? We certainly do, and while the ¥1 coin seen above could be the size of a frisbee for all we know (we jest, we jest), we suppose we'll believe Sharp when it says its latest 1seg tuner is indeed the world's smallest. The VA3A5JZ922 checks in at just 5.9- x 5.9- x 0.9-millimeters -- about 35-percent smaller than competitors -- and should cost around ¥20,000 ($185) when samples start shipping out next week. Don't get too excited just yet, however, as mass production isn't slated to get going until late September.

[Via PMPToday]

Let's break it down TV junkie. Sony's new ¥38,000 (about $355) XDV-D500 features a 3-inch, 432 x 240 pixel resolution display with 160-degree viewing angle, 500:1 contrast, and a battery capable of about 8-hours of TV reception. It can even record up to 10 hours of scheduled programming to 2GB of internal memory. The itty bittier XDV-G200 brings a 2-inch LCD to the show, AM/FM radio too, then ditches the EPG and recording function. This is Japan mind you, so these sets receive digital 1Seg TV -- in other words you can kiss your import fantasies goodbye.

[Via Impress]

If you need TV, we mean need it so much that you ache for its lack, then this is the device for you. The Logitec LDT-1S30X4U has a pair of Japanese mobile 1Seg tuners for watching and recording two channels simultaneously on your PC. Daisy chain in another tuner and you've got 4x programs pumping in parallel. Enough to fix that jones if your CPU can take it. Available next month in Japan for ¥16,800 (about $152).

[Via Akihabara News]

Although you're better off looking Sanyo's direction if you need one that's waterproof, Corega has a couple of new micro-TVs for those who can manage to keep their distance from the waterways. The CG-1SG24TV is set to arrive in black / white motifs and feature a 2.4-inch 320 x 240 resolution LCD, built-in 1seg TV tuner, an electronic program guide (EPG), integrated stereo speakers and a headphone jack to boot. Furthermore, this pocket-friendly unit gets all the power it needs from a pair of AAA cells, and you'll even get a set of earbuds thrown in for good measure. Expect this one to land early next month for around ¥12,800 ($119).

[Via AkihabaraNews]

For a couple seconds there we couldn't quite figure out what we'd do with a waterproof portable TV to call our very own, since jogging through the rain while watching our favorite shows on 1seg seems a little bit melodramatic, but Sanyo says its aiming this LVT-WD40 thing at bathroom and kitchen usage, which makes a bit more sense. Features are pretty standard, the 4-inch LCD sports a 480 x 272 resolution, and Sanyo claims about six hours of battery life. Unfortunately, while the player can be used anywhere -- including being fully submerged in a bathtub -- its media capabilities seems to be more limited, since there's no media compatibility to speak of beyond the standard 1seg TV access. This one's selling on the 21st in Japan for 50,000 yen ($453 US).

[Via Impress Watch]

We've seen a couple pretty press photos of the forthcoming DS 1seg TV tuner, but nothing beats video -- and the Japanese promo video unearthed by the crew at Gamebrink delivers the goods in spades. Apart from the usual orientation and aspect ratio settings, the tuner has some neat extra features -- you can take notes on one screen while watching on the other, and it also can be set to take screenshots whenever the closed captioning changes, allowing you to flip through a show like a picture book later. Japanese DS fans can get their hands on the 1seg tuner starting on the 23rd, according to Gamebrink. Check the whole video after the break.

[Thanks, J]

Maybe you know the deal with 1seg, but in case you don't, it's Japan's new(ish) native-brewed broadcast digital TV service technology that devices like the PSP -- and now the Nintendo DS -- are rocking. Granted, we can't help but thinking the way this cartridge is going to jut out the back of one's DS is hardly elegant compared to Sony's much more densely designed solution, but the Japanese obsession with the DS knows no bounds, so godspeed, 'Tendo. This dongle will sell for ¥6800 (about $60 USD) when it goes on sale in Japan on November 20th.

[Via Engadget Japanese and Akihabara News]

We've already seen Hitachi launch the "world's slimmest" LCD TV today, so it's rather fitting that Sharp comes through and delivers what it calls the "industry's thinnest" mobile display. Granted, we've known this ultrathin 2.2-inch wonder was coming since April, but it's always reassuring to see plans actually emerge from the drawing board. Nevertheless, this wee unit measures in just 0.01-millimeters thinner than a 1.9-inch version that AU Optronics was touting earlier this week (that's 0.68-millimeters for those keeping score), and it features a 2,000:1 contrast ratio, 320 x 240 (QVGA) resolution, 176-degree viewing angle and an eight-millisecond response time that should be suitable for mobile TV viewing. Regrettably, there's no sign of an actual release date, but those browsing the aisles at FPD International 2007 can reportedly catch it up close and in person.

[Via Akihabara News]

Sanyo wants to navigate through this crazy world with you, or, more specifically, it wants you to navigate through this crazy world with its NV-HD880FT "Gorilla," a personal GPS rig sure to have even the most die-hard map users casting sideways glances. The new navigator features a massive 8-inch touchscreen, a 30GB hard drive, and dual TV tuners (12Seg / 1Seg and terrestrial). Additionally, the NV-HD880FT packs traffic updates, an FM transmitter, and emission reduction "thoughts" via the company's "Eco-Drive II information" (whatever that means). The navigator will be available in Japan on November 26th, for ¥225,750 (or around $1,956), no word on a wider release.

[Via Akihabara News]

A far cry from the concepts of yesteryear, Toshiba is really getting serious about its fuel cell PMP concepts, and this year's model makes the all-important move of integrating the fuel cell power plant into the very back of the player. The unit runs on nearly 100% methanol, and discharges the vapor created through natural evaporation. There's a capacity meter for tracking the amount of fuel you've got left, and the cell provides about 10 hours of 1seg playback. Toshiba's aiming to launch the player in 2008-ish, and is showing off other fuel cell items at CEATEC to bolster its cred, including a prototype laptop -- which you can sign us up for right here and now.

Not that it's of much consequence to those living outside Japan, but we got our hands on a Walkman NW-A910 1seg portable media player. If you know what the specs are and know what 1seg is, you don't really need further commentary from the likes of us. Commence photo gallery.

First Sony, now Toshiba introduces a new flash-based 1Seg TV totin' media player onto the Japanese market. However, unless you're after SD/SDHC card expansion, Microsoft DRM support, and a larger 3.5-inch display (albeit at the same resolution as the Sony) for the same price but twice the weight, there's just not much to like from the latest Toshiba slab sporting the gigabeat logo. Impress did the dirty work of pitting the gigabeat V41 head-to-head with the smokin' Sony NW-A910 for a feature-by-feature comparison. Damn Tosh, we can feel your embarrassment from here.