Tokyo Edge: July’s coolest gadgets

Bringing together existing technologies can often make a new product more useful, as can be seen with a few of the gadgets coming out of East Asia this month. Casio Computer has added a YouTube function to its newest digital still camera, so you can just shoot, connect and click to upload video to the popular Web site, while Sony’s PSP is getting a mobile digital TV tuner.

The month has also seen some playfulness in the MP3 space. Reigncom of South Korea’s iRiver now has a Mickey Mouse-styled MP3 player, although its sale will be limited due to a marketing agreement with Disney. Meanwhile Japan’s Sony has pimped out its E-series Walkman with crystals.

Casio YouTube digital still camera

Casio has the first digital cameras with a video mode optimized for YouTube. Called the Exilim EX-S880 and EX-Z77, the cameras will be released worldwide starting in the U.S. in August, followed by Europe and Asia soon after. So how do you get a clip onto YouTube? First, you shoot a video in the YouTube mode then slip the camera into a dock. This automatically starts a video management application on your PC (Windows XP SP2, 2000 SP4 and Vista only) and grabs the movie files. The application can be set up with a YouTube account, default title name and other settings, so getting the video online involves simply clicking the upload button. Alternatively, you can enter information specific to the clips and then upload them. It’s very easy. The EX-S880 can take 8.1 megapixel images, has a 3X optical zoom and will cost about $300.

Samsung’s RDS music player

It’s difficult to differentiate MP3 players these days. They’re all small and often have similar screens and are compatible with the same handful of formats. But along comes Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s U3 with a feature not often seen: RDS (radio data system). It’s used on many FM radio stations in Europe and sends the station name, details about the song playing and other useful information alongside the signal. The U3 will display this on its 4-line OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screen. The U3 is about the same size as a pack of chewing gum and has its own USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector, so it doesn’t need a cable to connect to a PC. It will be available in black, white, blue, pink and green, and in three capacities: 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB. It’s available globally for $79, $99, and $149.

Sony’s PSP with digital TV

Sony is bringing mobile digital TV to its PlayStation Portable. The plug-in tuner works with Japan’s “OneSeg” format mobile TV broadcasts, which delivers a QVGA (320 pixel by 240 pixel) resolution video signal that can be processed easily by portable gadgets. The new PSP also features a video-out connector so it will be possible to hook up the device to a TV to watch programs, although as the same channels are available on conventional TV at higher quality there would be little to gain. It will cost ¥6,980 ($57.38). OneSeg-format broadcasting is used only in Japan, so the tuner isn’t compatible with the formats used in other countries.

Fujitsu slim and waterproof phone

With cellphones getting so light and slim it’s easy to wade into the sea at the beach and forget your handset is still in your pocket. The usual result is a dead phone. But users of Fujitsu’s new F704i don’t have to worry. The handset, which will be on sale in Japan just in time for the summer, is waterproof. It’s a WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access) handset with 3G roaming and will be available in Japan only through NTT DoCoMo. It’s a shame the camera offers only 1.3 megapixels or it would be even more useful for holiday beach snaps.

IRiver Mickey Mouse MP3 player

IRiver’s Mickey Mouse MP3 player is too cute to pass over. The player, which packs 1GB of memory, is a small round ball with two smaller round balls attached to the top as ears, so that in silhouette it looks like the Disney cartoon character. The right ear twists to advance or back-up a song and the left ear is the volume control. There’s an on-off button on one side and a small LED (light emitting diode) lamp on the other side that glows green or red to indicate whether that player is on or off. Models come in black, white, blue, pink and silver. It will initially be available in South Korea and Hong Kong for about $50.

LG HSDPA Cellphones

LG Electronics is releasing a few new phones with support for HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) wireless data connections. The LG-KH1400 marries the HSDPA networking with digital mobile TV reception. The display can be twisted horizontally to watch shows, and there’s a video output socket to feed the picture to a bigger screen. The handset also has a 2-megapixel camera. Another phone, the LG-SH130, is a more basic slider model that brings fast data transfer and global roaming without the bells and whistles of the KH1400. Both are available in South Korea only.

Sony’s ‘bling’ Walkman

Sony is adding a touch of bling to its Walkman line with a set of E-series devices decked-out with a generous sprinkling of crystals. The music players, which were launched in a more bland plastic case earlier this year, will be available in September through a link with Tokyo’s Abiste costume jewelry store. They’ll cost between ¥15,800 for the 1GB version and ¥24,800 for the 4GB version and be available only in Japan.