Ceatec2009
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Japan still looking into holographic broadcasts for World Cup 2022
Sure, we'd prefer if Japan spent its time working on giant mecha suits to combat any potential alien threats, but right now the National Institute of Information and Communications Studies seems focused on trying to create holographic broadcast technology in an effort to secure Japan as the location for the World Cup in 2022. According to Variety, the team has already developed real time color holography in 3D for small toys and other objects, and plans to show off the technology using 8K Super Hi-Vision Cameras at CEATEC in October. Research leader Taiichiro Kurita compares the work done so far to the decades it took to perfect high definition TV and supposes live holographic broadcasts could be as little as 15-20 years away. Of course, to get there, they'll need more funding to continue research and so far the commercial giants are unsure if there's real product coming anytime soon -- we've got $5 on it, anyone else?
Hitachi exhibits 10-inch glasses-free 3D display
Hitachi's face-recognizing, power-saving plasma may have been the outfit's show-stopper at CEATEC, but this little bugger here showed some pretty fantastic potential as well. The 10-inch 3D display, more formally known as the Full Parallax 3D TV, one-upped most every other 3D display at the show thanks to its ability to showcase dimensions sans any glasses. Unfortunately, the native resolution is just 640 x 480, and yes, it really is just 10-inches in size. In due time, the outfit hopes to scale up to screen sizes that may actually be appealing to end users by utilizing multiple projectors (each of which with a 800 x 600 resolution), though a 4K x 2K 3D display (of the glasses-free variety) is still probably a couple of trade shows out. At least.[Via 3D-Display-Info]
Finger Piano Share plays your Disklavier via WiFi (video)
Developers at Yamaha seem to be having plenty of fun with their iPhones -- at least, that's the impression they've made this year at CEATEC. Not only have we seen an app that lets you boss around a robotic chanteuse, but they've also put together a little something called Finger Piano Share. Don't let the video fool you, folks -- this is more than just a MIDI controller. Supporting up to ten users at once, this guy not only lets you remotely play your MIDI-enabled Disklavier via Wi-Fi, but you can record your little jam sessions (using the location-aware augmented reality app Sekai Camera) for playback whenever someone goes to the site of the original performance. Sounds like a recipe for a disastrous conceptual art piece if we ever heard one! Video after the break.
Hitachi's face-recognizing display turns off, saves power when you look away (video)
CEATEC is a breeding ground for new innovations, and Hitachi made sure to get its name on the A-list with a simple face-recognizing television that seeks to save power whenever you glance away. Essentially, the prototype plasma on display packs an inbuilt camera that notices when your face is peering at it, and whenever you glance away, a power-saving mode goes into action. Unfortunately, that means that the panel goes black, and while we understand the point here, we can envision such a feature causing all sorts of rage around the house, particularly if you've got a handful of viewers trying to keep watch from a few feet further away than yourself. Hit the read link to have a look at how things work in practice -- here's hoping you can opt for the sound to stay on throughout the blackout, at least.
Mitsubishi's modular, scalable OLED display goes 155-inches at CEATEC, could go way bigger (video)
Something tells us that whenever we do round two of our Time Square signage Engadget Show, Mitsubishi's modular OLED display will be amongst the highlights. Aimed at outdoor applications (but obviously ready for your living room), the scalable prototype shown here at CEATEC was 155-inches in size. The wild part, however, is that it could grow infinitely larger -- at least in theory. The whole panel that you notice from afar is crafted from smaller OLED blocks that snap together like a puzzle; the more you add, the larger your screen can be. Unfortunately, resolution is still relatively low and longevity is a definite concern, but if you can manage to stand a few feet back, the result is simply stunning. Hop on past the break for a new take on "immersive."
Elektrobit and Wistron MIDs pop up under lock and key at CEATEC: hands-on
Remember that new and improved reference MID that Elektrobit (better known as EB) announced back at IDF? Yeah, that very device was on hand at Intel's booth at CEATEC, though not a soul was allowed to touch it. The unit was neatly planted beneath freshly Windexed glass alongside three others, two of which certainly put an impressive label on Wistron. We did learn that the EB slate would boast a 3.97-inch capacitive touchscreen with an 800 x 480 resolution, though further details on the lot were scant. Have a peek below to see if EB's take on the niche MID might actually cause you to take notice.%Gallery-75235%
Yamaha's 1mm-thick prototype speaker is made from cloth, highly directional (video)
We've already heard first-hand how Yamaha can make surround sound emerge from a single soundbar, and now the outfit's wowing again here at CEATEC. It's latest aural innovation was tucked quietly away within its booth, disguised as an advertorial for the show itself. Essentially, the banner you're peering at above is a one millimeter thick speaker that's made from cloth, and it definitely has the potential to revolution billboards and possibly even portable media devices. As you can clearly hear in the video just past the break, the flat sound waves emitted from the cloth cannot be heard unless you're standing directly in front of it; even separate audio files playing back just a few feet away didn't overlap with what we heard coming directly at us. There's no telling if Yamaha will ever take this public, but if it does, there are about forty billion ad agencies in the greater New York area that would like to speak to it.
WirelessHD second generation hardware promises "mass adoption" pricing
Two years after assembling a team to fight the tyranny of wires with 60GHz beaming and less than a year after entering mass production, SiBEAM has unveiled its second generation of WirelessHD chips, this time with the promise of low cost, mass adoption price points with an eye towards reducing overall costs and improving video quality. The new 65nm chips don't require active cooling, use less power and take up less space, plus integrate HDMI, HDCP and DTCP support and surround sound capability. Last year the premium was too steep for us to consider wireless HDTV as a serious option, but as costs come down and manufacturer support comes up it may be time to take another look at WirelessHD.
gCubik shows off its good side, and every other while it's at it (video)
Remember gCubik? It's been a few months, but to recap, it's a cube developed by researchers from NICT that features textured surfaces that present you a different view on the "internal" image based on viewing angle, giving the illusion something is physically in the box. Theoretically, at least -- it's pretty low-resolution and in the early stages of development. We stumbled upon the device at the CEATEC showfloor this week and decided to snap some video while there. There were moments when the effect was lost, and getting too close completely blurred what we saw to the point of incomprehension, but again, this shows a whole heap of potential that's fascinating to us. See it for yourself after the break.
ALPS Electric Field Communication model finds logical purpose in tactile human interaction (video)
Let's face, most technology these days focus on enhancing our ability to converse without having to physically be near any one another in any way, shape, or form. So it's a bit refreshing to see ALPS try to bring back the personal with its Electric Field Communication model, which essentially takes the TransferJet idea one step further by using the human body as a transference medium between two devices. In the example we saw on the CEATEC floor, one person held a mockup cellphone displaying one of three images. The user held the phone in one hand, picked one of those images, and then placed his or her other hand against a computer panel, whereby that image was displayed on an overhead machine. The use we're really excited for, and one that was proposed in video form only, was two people having devices pocketed and sharing data between the two via hand touching, E.T. style. There isn't any direct product that's reaching consumers with the technology yet, giving us plenty of time to ponder if cybercriminals will figure out a way to hack your mobile simply by bumping into you at the subway, an interesting new spin on the idea of catching a computer virus. A bit confused by what we're talking about? There's a helpful video for you just past the break. %Gallery-75049%
iTwin fileshares over CEATEC showfloor, Mac firmware coming early 2010 (video)
Since we last saw iTwin back in September, not much has changed -- two physically synced USB dongles create a AES-256 encrypted connection between two Windows machines for transferring files from anywhere in the world (provided both are connected to the internet, of course). We had a chance to see a controlled demonstration up close at CEATEC, and while it worked as well as expected it to, we're not quite sure the $99 price tag is low enough to pique our interests. We do appreciate the ability to "reverse" the flow of file sharing, but from what we gather it takes both parties to initiate the change -- clearly there's more flexibility in just setting up your own file server, but we're probably not the target audience here. If you're still interested but choose a lifestyle centered around a Mac, we were told an OS X firmware update would be available in early 2010, would apply to all existing models, and would allow both Mac-to-Mac and Mac-to-Windows transferring. Video after the break. %Gallery-74890%
Funai Eco Scan projector adds multitouch capabilities to your bedroom wall (video)
Here's hoping every pico projector outfit on the planet is paying attention to what's going down at CEATEC, otherwise they can pretty much forget about competing with what Funai is boasting. Seen here in Japan, this prototype projector utilized a Nippon Signal MEMS scanner and a great deal of top-secret technology in order to actually add multitouch capabilities to whatever surface is lucky enough to receive the projected image. You read right -- if you use this PJ to beam up an image on your bathroom wall, school whiteboard or any other surface, you can count on that surface having multitouch capabilities while the image is live. Once projected, users simply twist and turn the image in order to have it modified in real-time, and while there are obviously far more enterprise-based uses for this than consumer-based uses, there's no denying the awesomeness. Have a peek of the beamer in action after the break, and expect it to go commercial sometime in 2010 (if we're lucky).[Via Tech-On!]%Gallery-75060%
Sony and Toshiba demo TransferJet short-range sharing at CEATEC (video)
TransferJet is still solidly in the "fledgling" stage, but it looks as if a few big time industry players have faith that consumers have a desire -- nay, a need -- for short-range, high-speed sharing. Here at CEATEC in Japan, both Sony and Toshiba were on hand with independent TransferJet demonstrations, and while the actual protocol has been in place for awhile now, it's the supporting cast (read: hardware) that has remained elusive. Toshiba was utilizing a snazzy TG01 and Qosmio laptop in order to showcase just how quickly the two could share information over the air, while Sony had us believing that pretty much everything it'll make for the rest of eternity could support device-to-device sharing. Head on past the break for a peek at the demos, but try not to get your hopes up for seeing this stuff in shipping products anytime in the immediate future, okay?
Murata Seiko unicycling robot stays upright, wows onlookers at CEATEC (video)
Murata Seiko, the newly improved unicycling robot that we peeked a few weeks ago, was proudly on stage with her bicycling sibling at CEATEC, and we couldn't resist the urge to swing by and see exactly how amazing her balancing skills were. Sure enough, the bot never once teetering or tottered, and while it didn't scoot around for very long, we were still impressed to see it hold itself up with no human intervention. 'Course, we won't really be wowed until she successfully navigates down a few slops on the way to San Francisco's Pier 39, but based on what we saw in Japan, we'd say that she's well on her way. Check the vid after the break if you're scouting a performance.%Gallery-75057%
Yamaha's singing robot quietly trolls, slyly frightens at CEATEC (video)
As with most robots that sing, Yamaha's demonstration at CEATEC was nothing short of terrifying. Oh sure, it's sort of impressive that the modified HRP-4C could take requests from a pre-selected list of jams on an iPhone, but after witnessing actual artists perform at Club Quattro in Shibuya, we'd say this chick has aways to go before she's accepted into the blossoming Japan music circuit. Judge for yourself after the break, Simon.
Toshiba shows off slate of smartphone prototypes at CEATEC (video)
The admittedly powerful TG01 has been carrying the flagship banner for awhile at Toshiba's smartphone division, but if a brief look at CEATEC gives us any indication of what's to come, we'd say you can look forward to hearing an awful lot more from Tosh in this here sector. Behind a small glass case, a smattering of smartphone prototypes were quietly sitting pretty in effort to be photographed. Naturally, we took 'em all up on the offer, snapping the K01, K02 and L01 and hosting them in the gallery below. We're told that the lot is actually nearing production, with the K01 packing a 4.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, the K02 a 3.5-inch resistive panel (with an 800 x 480 resolution) and the L01 a 7-inch screen within a MID-like form factor. Each of the three are to be powered by Windows Mobile 6.5, though we wouldn't argue if WinMo 7 ended up being the OS of choice. Video's after the break.[Via Electronista]%Gallery-75008%
TDK unveils fashionable, colorful solar chargers (video)
Solar power is something we've seen touted in every big tech trade show for as long as we can remember, but it's taken until recently to make it a bit easier on the eyes. Enter TDK's design-, color-, and sun-enhanced chargers, found hanging out under a hard light in the back of the company's CEATEC booth casually powering a fan. It's definitely a step up from dark paneling, so how long until we see this applied to some stylish mobile phones, eh world? Video after the break. %Gallery-74891%
Lenovo IdeaPad U150 found hiding in plain sight at CEATEC (video)
Can't say we've ever seen this beaut from Lenovo before. Unassumingly tucked away along a number of already-released laptops at the Intel booth, the 11.6-inch IdeaPad U150 is a lightweight with some interesting textures tattooed on its exterior. There wasn't a lot of details at the booth beyond its name, but from what's been unearthed via an xmit online product listing, it's got a Core 2 Duo SU4100 with integrated GMA X4500 graphics, meaning we're falling away from netbooks and into CULV territory. Performance-wise, we couldn't get into it far enough to check the full specs and run some tests, but as you can see in the video after the break, the boot time is not-quite-noteworthy 30 seconds long. Small, light, and more umph than Atom? Sounds like a winning combination, if the price is right. No official word on that, but xmit lists approximately $770 as the cost to own. [Product page via Liliputing and Netbooked]
TDK's heavily stacked 320GB disc shows its nearly-clear face at CEATEC
As with pretty much every other optical disc out there that claims to hold a near-infinite amount of data, we're still skeptical about TDK's ability to actually bring to market the 320GB spinner you see above. But hey -- it's got ten 32GB layers and it's practically see-through. Did you really expect us to walk on by without clicking the shutter even once? Exactly.%Gallery-74888%
iida Ply and Prismoid phones strut their stuff at CEATEC (video)
While Fujitsu's design entrants already boggled our minds here at CEATEC, KDDI au is looking to take things one step further by actually shipping a pair of decidedly futuristic handsets in Japan. Just months after the iida sub-brand was formally launched, the Ply and Prismoid are making their debuts on the show floor. The latter sports a 2.7-inch primary display, a 0.6-inch OLED sub-display, a microSD expansion slot and a design to die for; the former packs a 3.2 megapixel camera, 1seg TV tuner and a 3-inch panel. Have a look at the gallery below (and video past the break) if you're yearning to see just how lovely a dumbphone can be, and trust us when we say you've only yourself to blame if you carelessly let this opportunity pass you by.%Gallery-74792%
