April’s coolest gadgets

If you’re like me then no matter how many new gadgets you see some still make you say “wow” when you first see them.

This month it’s an impressively small digital TV tuner that’s doing the trick. It’s hard to believe but the Telebit tuner card has everything you need to receive mobile digital TV all built into a little box on the end of an SDIO card. Part of the secret to its small size is that it’s compatible with mobile digital TV broadcasts and not the signals that are intended for regular TVs. The mobile broadcasts are a much lower data rate and so require less processing power and so can be received and decoded with more compact electronics.

A handful of nations including Japan and South Korea already have services up and running and similar services will be arriving soon in many other parts of the world. Unfortunately they’re not all using the same standard so a single card won’t hook you up with TV worldwide but there are some standardization efforts under way. In Europe 17 countries are already using DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld), but in Germany commercial services have begun using the South Korean DMB system.

Digital TV on an SD Card

ELSA Japan’s Telebit card is compatible with Japan’s “OneSeg” digital TV system and even includes a built-in antenna, although an external antenna can be connected if needed. It comes packaged with a Windows viewing application that also allows for time-shift viewing of TV shows and access to the electronic program guide. Because the OneSeg system is unique to Japan, don’t expect to see it on sale elsewhere. It’s already on sale and costs ¥12,800 (US$107).

Web: https://www.elsa-jp.co.jp/products/tvtuner/telebit_sd/

Panasonic AVCHD Camcorders

They’ve only been on the market a few months but Panasonic’s high-definition camcorders are already getting an upgrade. The SD card-based HDC-SD3 and DVD-based HDC-DX3 will capture video at 1,920 pixels by 1,080 pixels in their highest quality mode compared to just 1,440 pixels by 1,080 pixels resolution on the two previous cameras, the SD1 and DX1. That’s an interesting jump, especially since the older cameras were advertised as “Full HD.” Apparently the HD wasn’t quite as full as it could have been. At the two lower quality recording modes the resolution remains unchanged. They record in AVCHD, the new HD format jointly developed by Sony and Panasonic, and will hit Japan in late April. The HDC-SD3 will cost around ¥150,000 (US$1,275) and the HDC-DX3 will cost about ¥140,000. Panasonic doesn’t have any plans at present to put them on sale elsewhere.

Web: https://panasonic.jp/dvc/ (Japanese)

IO Data 1TB High-def Recorder

High-definition TV is great when you watch live but recording it often presents problems. For a start most recorders just can’t handle HD signals and those that do often come with a hefty price tag. So it’s nice to see a lower price high-def recorder from IO Data. The snappily-named HVR-HD1000LE packs 1T-byte of storage space and costs ¥79,800 (US$669). The company has managed to reduce the price in part by removing the tuner from the recorder. Instead it hooks up to a TV or satellite tuner over an IEEE-1394 connection. There’s room to record 103 hours of Japanese terrestrial digital TV in full high-definition. No plans have been announced for sales outside Japan.

Web: https://www.ioplaza.jp/shop/contents/071000le.aspx (Japanese)

Olympus E410 Digital SLR

The market for digital SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras is undergoing a lot of change right now. Prices are dropping and new models are coming out all the time, pushing makers to innovate. Under these circumstances it’s no surprise that digital SLRs are getting smaller and lighter. Take the new Olympus E410, for example: Due out in late April, the camera has a 10-megapixel image sensor that’s capable of providing a real-time output to the LCD screen on the rear. That means you can frame your shots the same way as on a compact camera rather than having to use the viewfinder as most SLR cameras require. It can shoot at 3 frames per second, has four picture modes and can shoot RAW images. It will cost around ¥80,000 (US$671) in Japan.

Web: https://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1294

Sony 120Hz Bravia LCD TVs

Sony’s latest Bravia TVs are about to hit the market and they pack the latest in LCD TV industry buzz-speak: 120Hz scanning. This involves refreshing the picture at double the rate of a conventional TV set, a benefit when watching programs where there is a lot of horizontal motion, for example in a football game. The double refresh rate (it would be 100Hz in Europe) means the motion appears smoother and the overall picture better. The new Bravia J5000-series has this, with the bonus that the TVs are DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) compliant, so you can network them with other home electronics devices. A 32-inch and 40-inch model will be available in Japan from late May for ¥230,000 and ¥300,000 (US$1,928 and $2,515) respectively. Similar models are likely to appear in other markets later in the year.

Web: https://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/bravia/ (Japanese)

Toshiba Gigabeat U

Toshiba pleasantly surprises with a colorful choice of models each time it launches new Gigabeat music players, and the U-series are no exception. Available in white, orange and blue, the players have a 1.1-inch color EL display, can play Windows Media (unprotected or DRMed), MP3 or WAV audio files and have a built-in FM transmitter so you can listen to your songs through a radio and don’t have to worry about audio cables. Battery life is about 20 hours and a 10-minute quick charge will get you 3 hours of playback. They’re on sale now in Japan. A 2G-byte model costs ¥16,800 (US$141) and a 1G-byte model costs ¥13,800.

Web: https://www.gigabeat.net/mobileav/audio/ (Japanese)

LG New Beetle MP3 Player

LG Electronics is teaming up with car-maker Volkswagen on a digital media player styled along the lines of the New Beetle car. The player sports an aluminum body and will be available in three of the same colors as the car: Salsa Red, Shadow Blue and Sunflower Yellow. The design of the player’s user interface was inspired by the car, and the device also has a small VW badge on the front panel and a New Beetle logo on it’s rear. However the inspiration doesn’t extend to the shape of the player, which looks like other MP3 players on the market. The specifications are fairly standard for a media player of its class. It has a 2.4-inch color LCD (liquid crystal display) screen and can play MPEG-4, Windows Media Video 9, MP3, Windows Media Audio and Ogg-format files. It will come in two versions: 2G-byte and 4G-byte but launch plans haven’t been decided yet.

Web: http://www.lge.co.kr (Korean)