Only in Japan: The best technologies you can't buy
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InfoWorld - Just a few years ago, Japan's lead in all things digital was easy to see. Japanese consumers could buy new domestic gadgets from companies like Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic, often a year or two before they hit the market in other countries. But now things have changed. With gadgets increasingly coming out at the same time around the world, it's no longer the hardware that makes something cool, but what you can do with it.
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With their home market saturated, Japan&#39;s handset makers finally look abroad. Meanwhile, margins have plunged. When NTT Docomo (DCM ) unveiled its latest third-generation mobile phones on Nov. 17, gadget lovers were not disappointed.
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Indian labs churn out technologies to help users in developing countries keep up with the information age even if they can't afford a computer, don't live near a phone or speak a language that can't be typed on a standard keyboard. By Manu Joseph.
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Smart cards are on the rise in Japan, using computer chips with an antenna embedded in them to allow people to pay for purchases or unlock doors with a simple flick of their cards.
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There's no doubt about it: foreign technology can whet your appetite. Super-lightweight laptops from Japan, feature-packed smartphones from Europe, and shiny, gotta-get-it devices designed in India, South Korea, and Taiwan are but a few of the items that currently reside on tech's cutting edge. But chances are you will never see those gadgets on store shelves here in the U.S.
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Where the frenetic pace of technological change is concerned Asia's general dominance in the race to provide the next must-have gadget seems only too apparent to many a European.
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Nikon leads SLR market in Japan...gaming the Creative Commons...new geotagging tech...30-minute Olympus E-3 video...Ubuntu Hardy Heron Alpha 3...Microsoft Popfly video humor
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Analyzing the success of the iPod mini in Japan, JapanConsuming writes, &#147;The iPod mini is in fact one of those all too rare examples of an ideal product for the Japanese market. It is a product that does something useful, does it really well, and looks terrific too. None of these factors on their own is enough to make the iPod mini a success; their combination, through deft and creative implementation of function, is what makes the difference. Add in some tried and tested limited supply marketing, a store that looks as good as Louis Vuitton and a high impact award winning advertising campaign that has covered Tokyo in pink, green and yellow for weeks, and some of the reasons for the iPod mini phenomenon can be understood.&#148; [Aug 10]
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A leading Japanese electronics company is developing memory cards that can be used to make cashless payments, open locks and read identification with a simple flick.
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Patent cross-licence deal cover all but cutting-edge techs
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InfoWorld - It's easy to be wowed by Japan's mobile communications infrastructure. "Next-generation" 3G coverage is now so ubiquitous that carriers have already stopped launching 2G phones; an impressive array of attractive handsets offer free digital TV; phones can be used to pay for goods and train rides, thanks to embedded contactless smart cards; and on the mobile information superhighway data whizzes along at 3.6Mbps.
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Fujitsu will purchase two chip plants in Japan from Spansion Japan, a flash memory chip maker in which it holds a stake, the companies said Thursday.ADVERTISEMENTMAKE SOA REAL WITH IBM WEBSPHERE PODCASTStreamline processes and maximize efficiency within a proven service oriented architecture. Take back control of your business processes with IBM WebSphere.
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Japan sees first Travel, Mobile Media Companions
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Speaker systems, TV phones, innovations and oddities on display this week at Tokyo's consumer-technology trade fair.
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Device is designed for home users, but its price tag is steep.
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Restrictive hardware and convoluted rights management crimp consumer choices.
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The race to unveil amazing new gadgets sometimes turns ludicrous, but it could be worse. Much worse. Commentary by Lore Sj&#246;berg.