In what constitutes a death rattle for Portable Media Center devices, Toshiba just sputtered forth the latest in the V Series of Gigabeat players: the 40GB V401 (¥49,800 / $409) and 80GB V801 (¥59,800 / $491). Each packs a new 4-inch, 24-bit color, 480 x 272 pixel display with built-in brightness sensor for automatic adjustment to local lighting conditions. In addition to supporting WM DRM10 and WMA 9 Lossless as you'd expect in a Microsoft PMC, the device also packs an improved 1Seg tuner and EPG for plenty of digital TV viewing (and recording) while on the go. The latest Gigabeat also features improved sound quality and 24-mm thickness and a battery capable of 28/10/8 hours of playback audio/video/1Seg TV, respectively. Available June 1st in Japan.

[Via Impress]

As our mobile devices skew from email, voice, and web surfin' to include more multimedia -- think live television and video on demand -- nobody (big emphasis on "nobody") is going to get into live TV on fuzzy, blurry, low res screens. To save us from future misery, Sharp has announced a QVGA 2.2 inch LCD with a 2000:1 contrast ratio, a 176 degree viewing angle, and an 8ms response time. The company expects to ship samples for One-Seg mobile phones (portable Aquos?) this fall, followed by a rollout into its other mobile handsets and cameras shortly thereafter. Japanese shipments of One-Seg compatible devices is expected to reach 10 million this year alone, so this could become a seriously hot item -- though, as usual, don't get your hopes up that this will be hittin' our shores anytime soon.

[Via Mobiledia]

Hey, no one can blame you for thinking that's the latest UMPC, ultra-portable XP thingamabob, or PMP. After all, Sharp's Papyrus PW-TC900 does feature a QWERTY keyboard, 20-hour battery (5-hours for TV), SD slot for expansion, and 4.3-inch, 480×272 resolution display which rotates 180-degrees for folding into a tasty, TV sandwich. Unfortunately (for us), this is Sharp's latest electronic dictionary set for release in Japan. Although its primary purpose might be for Japanese-English translation and learning, with features like an integrated Japanese OneSeg digital TV tuner and MP3 player, no parent should be too surprised when their Papyrus-equipped kids return from school with attention deficit issues. But hey, nothing a little Ritalin can't fix, eh 70s? On sale in Japan starting December 8th for ¥50,000 or about $425. A couple of those in-the-wild snaps after the break.

[Via Impress]

From what we can tell, you'll have to buy some Japanese beer in order to get a chance to win one of these (it seems you can also win some meat), but this One-Seg TV Watch looks to be a prize worth drinking for (but really, what isn't?). In addition to picking up One-Seg terrestrial digital broadcasts, the TV Watch (available in three stylish colors) also doubles as a completely impractical cellphone once you pop in a Willcom W-SIM card. And, yes, the watch is as big as it looks, with its 2.4-inch screen pushing the dimensions to a beefy 2.3 x 3.5 x 0.88-inches, weighing in at just over four ounces. No word if/when these'll be available simply for purchase, or how much they'll set you back -- not that it'd be of much use to anyone outside of Japan, unless you've got a thing for oversized watches (which we obviously do).

[Via Engadget Japanese]

While we loved the specs on Sharp's W-ZERO3 / WS003SH, let's just say that its plastic, chub of a case was seriously short on swank. Now check the W-ZERO3 [es] / WS007SH hotness which our brethren at Engadget Japan got the jump on this AM. Developed under that same partnership with Sharp, Willcom, and Microsoft, the new WS007SH variant keeps the Pocket PC flavor of Windows Mobile 5.0 and 416MHz Intel PXA 270 proc but brings a second, standard phone keypad to the mini, sliding QWERTY. They even managed to squeeze that same VGA resolution into a smaller, 2.8-inch screen while keeping the best of the rest: 128MB flash (60MB allocated to the user) and 64MB of SDRAM, miniSD expansion, USB, and 1.3 megapixel cam. All this and she still manages to slim-down from 70 x 130 x 26-millimeters and 220-grams to 56 x 135 x 21-millimeters and 175-grams. Ok, no WiFi or Bluetooth yet folks, but these, like a Japanese OneSeg expansion pack for digital TV on the go are currently under development and will certainly increase the bulk. Available only in Japan starting July 27th for ¥29,800/¥36,800 (or about $260/$321) with/without a one-year contract. Many more pics, including the OneSeg TV expansion after the break.

[Via Engadget Japan]

So you thought Sony's VAIO U with Core Solo was pretty hot, right, but that hefty chub and feedback-free keyboard were keeping you on the fence? We understand. Well, how would you feel if Sony aced the hard disk in favor of a silent running 16GB solid-state flash drive which bumps battery life by 13%, drops the weight by 29g to 492g, massively accelerates app launches, and should cut XP's resume and boot times by half? No, not doing it for ya? Then how about some hot OneSeg mobile digital television squeezed in for some on-the-go entertainment? Well Sony did just that today with the introduction of their Vaio UX90. Still, you'll have to be ready to pop for the ¥209,800 (about $1,800) when these drop July 3rd in Japan. But if you lived in Nippon, you might just bite, eh? Thought so.

[Via Impress]

While we've been patiently waiting for the US launch of the Gigabeat S (set for release today tomorrow according to Amazon), Toshiba has been quietly prepping their new Gigabeat V series of Windows Portable Media Centers. Sure, the V30T player looks nothing like its sleeker sib, but that's due to the fact that this portable flaunts a new Wansegu (AKA, OneSeg) ISDB-T tuner for viewing the Japanese-flavor of mobile digital television launched last month -- in other words, the T-DMB / DVB-H / MediaFLO of Japan. Now on top of extracting that sweet TV from the ether, the V30T features a 3.5-inch, 320 x 240 display, support for WMV/WMA/MP3/WAV/JPEG and PlaysForSure WMA formats, and a brawny battery capable of up to 7/9/25 hours of TV/video/music playback, respectively, while keeping it all less than an inch thick. But this is all about the TeeVee Jack, so the V30T packs in a 30GB drive which, when combined with the EPG, allows you to record broadcasts up to 24 hours in advance for a maximum of about 130 hours of recorded, portable video. Expect the V30T to drop late June for about $450 in green.

[Via Impress Watch]