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Scitec's VLP-100 mini projector: QVGA never looked so bad
At first glance Scitec's VLP-100 seems to present a fairly below-average stab at the almost-mini projector scene, offering up 350 lumens, a 150:1 contrast ratio and a paltry 320 x 240 resolution. The 34,800 yen pricetag (about $352 US) does seem palatable, and the 2-inch thickness and 6-inch length are kind of nice, but Scitec absurdly expects you to spread that paltry image over 40-, 50- and even 60-inch screens, which is frankly ridiculous. The projector hits Japan later this month, so start saving up on suspension of disbelief.
Scitec's Swarovski skullphones: Look what the cat dragged in
Somehow, we don't think that this was what Swarovski had in mind when they began whoring their luxury name onto consumer electronics a few years ago. The Scitec SEB-100 canal-type earbuds with fancy, "hand-pasted" crystals will cost ¥10,000 (about 100 US beans) when they hit Japan later this month. The perfect gift for the glam-rock pansy struggling with middle age on your Malibu, beachside block.
Scitec SSF-512 MP3 player with speaker
Now that Samsung swung the doors wide, Scitec can step through with their own version of the MP3 player with integrated speaker. The 25-gram SSF-512 with OLED display brings an FM tuner, voice and line-in recorder, 10-hour playback off AAA battery, and a piddling 512MB of flash to host your MP3/WAV/DRM'd WMA audio. No details about that speaker but really, how good can it be? Available in silver and black 'cause even pirates need to jam. On sale today in Japan for a ¥8,980 or about $76. Argh.[Via Impress]
Scitec IR-001W RECIVA Internet Radio
Internet radio seems to be taking a foothold in Japan judging by the latest wares from Yamaha and Denon. Now England's RECIVA have stepped up to carve out some turf with the Scitec IT-001W which is almost certainly based on the same RECIVA reference design as that AE WiFi radio seen previously. However, the IT-001W brings the "g" in addition to that 802.11b WiFi, WEP 64/128 and WPA protection, and is capable of pumping out MP3/WMA/Real Audio/Ogg Vorbis/AAC/AU/AIF/WAV (PCM) audio formats streamed from any of the estimated 10,000 internet radio stations on the planet. Best of all, it's subscription free and RECIVA takes care of all the station updates daily so they show up on that 126 x 64 pixel display already sorted by country and genre. Oh, and did we mention it'll stream audio from your PC too? Well it does, presumably via UPnP but they don't specify. Expected in Japan July 12th for about ¥30,000 or $259.
