Gizmodo: ceatec2007

Concept Remote Controller from Hitachi Looks Special, Sexy

AddyDugdale — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 05:49:04 EDT

As CEATEC goes on, the weirder ideas find their way onto the web. Here's Hitachi's concept RC device with an intuitive user interface. Below the bump is a pic of the prototype that they're currently working on.

I can't decide whether it looks more like an MP3 player or a sex toy. [Aving USA]

Unique Cellphone Techno-Demoed at CEATEC 2007

Charlie White — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:45:00 EDT

At first glance, there's nothing special about this cellphone just demonstrated at CEATEC Japan 2007, but upon closer inspection you'll notice that the keyboard uses ~~electronic ink (e-ink)~~ SiPix electrophoretic technology, a type of e-paper that's capable of changing the display on each alphanumeric key whenever the spirit moves you. Just hit a Shift key and you can see an entirely different set of characters, similar to that possibly-forthcoming Optimus Maximus keyboard by Art.Lebedev. That concept will have major advantages for a cellphone.

Besides the tactile feedback you'll get from individual keys, the major advantage is the way e-ink barely sips battery power, only requiring juice when it changes the display, because it doesn't use constantly shining backlights or LEDs at all. So even if battery technology stays the same in the next few years, cellphones can last a lot longer with this tech on board. [Xumdeo, via Uber Gizmo]

Omnidirectional Speaker Works as Jedi Training Drone Too

AddyDugdale — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 07:53:52 EDT

This is actually a 32-sided speaker from CEATEC, although I think it would work very well as either a steampunk microphone, a glitter ball for the Tin Man, or a lollipop for Ro-lita, a sexy underage she-bot. [Gizmodo Japan]

DocoMo Shows off a Halitosis- and Fat-Detecting Concept Cell

AddyDugdale — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 07:28:19 EDT

The Wellness phone is about as mean as you can get. A concept that DoCoMo has been only too happy to show off at CEATEC this week, the cell measures how bad your breath is on a scale of 1 to 10 — zero presumably means you're dead — and how overweight you are. There are other health-related features as well, such as a calorie counter and pedometer. Is this the saddest phone concept ever made? Probably. [GearFuse via MobileMentalism]

CrushBox Destroys the Evidence that You May Want to Hide

AddyDugdale — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 06:11:32 EDT

Last week, Adam set about crushing unwanted gadgets with such glee that I think our Japanese brethren have found the perfect present for him at CEATEC. The CrushBox will pulverize everything from cards, cellphones, CD/DVD to videotape (are you listening Paris, Meg, Eva, Pamela?)—in short, anything gadget-y or tech-y that could compromise you. There's a pic of the results below.

Anyone who thinks it's a good idea to get involved with Rick Solomon should really think about getting a CrushBox for the bedroom, although I'm not sure whether it is gonad-compatible. [Gizmodo Japan]

Mitsubishi Debuts a 140-Inch LED Display at CEATEC

AddyDugdale — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 05:49:22 EDT

Behold the Resolia, Mitsubishi's 140-inch display that's been getting Ooh-ed and Aah-ed in Tokyo this week. Full measurements are 120 x 70 x 5.9 inches, but after all the excitement of Sony's OLED goodness yesterday, it leaves us wanting—well — less. [Gizmodo Japan]