nec
nec

nec

Sony PSP Can Even Play with Aibo!

Sony's PSP Can Even Play with Aibo!Sony’s portable PSP game machine is going mano-a-mano with Nintendo’s cool dual-screen DS for top handheld game gadget on both sides of the Pacific. Nintendo’s two 3-inch screens, touch-sensitive interaction, “Pictochat” instant messaging and WiFi connectivity to other DS machines have made a hit with players. In Japan, Nintendo just released the machine in four additional colors, packaging them with new virtual pet game, Nintendogs. Now WWJ has found out that Sony’s PSP goes one better with a trick that will make technogeeks sit up and beg — the Japanese version of the PSP apparently (and unintentionally) works electronic wizardry on Aibo the wonder ‘bot as well! Japanese entertainment weekly Famitsu put the PSP through its paces in their 15 April issue and sure enough: pressing combinations of buttons on the PSP will make Aibo do different tricks -– no hacking necessary!

Mitsubishi Electric Selects ACCESS NetFront i-mode Global Profile

ACCESS announced that its NetFront(r) i-mode(tm) Global Profile integrated software solution was selected by Mitsubishi Electric for deployment in its M430i i-mode handset. The M430i is currently offered by leading i-mode operators such as Bouygues Telecom, COSMOTE, E-Plus, Far EastTone, KPN Mobile, Telefonica Moviles, BASE, Telestra, and WIND, with additional i-mode operators to follow. NetFront i-mode Global Profile is a comprehensive, integrated solution specifically optimized for the i-mode Global service. It offers operators and their handset partners seamless i-mode Global deployments while reducing overall cost and time-to-market.

Japan's Most Popular Cell Phones

According to research done by Idomco that surveyed handset sales in the greater Tokyo area for the week ending 3 April, the NTT DoCoMo NEC 901ic in white pearl is No. 1 in the ranking of top 20 models. The survey also notes a new entry on the charts, in 4th position, for DoCoMo’s SH700i by Sharp in black; 17 of the 20 are 3G handsets. Log-in to access the full list.

Renting Skis with RFID

EM Microelectronic has developed in cooperation with Skidata and EC-Passage a transponder chip, the EM4026, which greatly facilitates the handling and identification of rented skis or snowboards at ski resorts. The battery-less transponder, which contains the chip connected only to a small antenna, is integrated into the ski at manufacturing time and powered by the reader field that can operate at temperatures down to -40C.

Sports Geek Heaven — Live Baseball for the Mobile Screen

Sports Geek Heaven -- Live Baseball for the Mobile ScreenThe weather is warming up and that means a lot more than Cherry Blossoms in this country — bring out the beer and bentos! Baseball season is back! The new season also brings some cool new technology that will knock pro baseball off the TV screen, out of the ballpark, through the sports bar doors’ and right onto your keitai screen. Like many traditional staples of entertainment here, pro baseball is going mobile — but with a decidedly animated twist.

Tokyo-based Craftmax’s Digital Stadium broadcasts select American and Japanese pro-ball games over DoCoMo 3G cell phones transforming live action into an animated play-by-play, pitch-by-pitch rendition of the game right down to ball speed and trajectory, complete with an electronic scoreboard, the roar of the crowd and sound effects for hits, runs and score changes. This is not fantasy baseball, and not an online game, but rather The Real Thing — rendered into animated avatars standing in for flesh-and-blood players. Check-out this quick video preview below of our upcoming program including a product demo and chat (which was for the most part in Japanese) with the company founder Mitsumasa Etoh.