Summer Gadgets Arrive in Japan

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,111396,tk,dn070403X,00.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.pcworld.com/news/article...n070403X,00.asp</a><br /><br /></div>"The rainy season is showing signs of ending here, and that means two things: The long hot days of summer are arriving, and millions of Japanese company employees are getting their summer bonuses. Consumer electronics companies are readying a new batch of gadgets to tempt buyers. Consumer electronics firms look to the summer and winter bonus seasons for a sales boost, since buyers have a little extra cash in their pockets, but even the bonuses might not be enough for some of the pricier products about to hit the shelves. Most of them are available only in Japan--at least for now."<br /><br />This article runs through some of the latest and greatest gadgets coming out in Japan this summer. I've always wanted to visit Japan, so maybe summer is the season I should go to see some cool gear! This new Sharp Zaurus looks pretty cool - I'm still a sucker for the clamshell design of the HPC.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/111396-n_070203_zaurus.jpg" />

[kuyars]

I'm headed over there myself to visit my family and my gf. The Electronic Town there called Akihabara is always on my list of things to do when I go to Tokyo for my school breaks. I could spend a whole week just looking at all the different gadgets they have there!!

I've always wondered why is it that there is so much variety in products there that almost often never see the light of day in the US. No offense, but when I come back to the US after visting Japan, I feel like I've stepped 10 years into the past -- especially when it comes to cell phones!! 8O And wouldn't you know it, right when I left for the states, they started offering DSL services of 12Mbps for the same rate that we pay for 1.5Mpbs here! Sigh...

Anyway, I'm also interested in the new Sharp Zaurus and the new Clies should be out there as well. I'll be sure to write back with my impressions.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Either Akihibara or Shinjuku are great spots for electronics. The two major electronics chains are Bic Camera and Yodobashi Camera (the constant reference to "camera" sounds odd at first, but when you consider where nearly every single major camera maker comes from, you realize just how big of a commodity cameras are there).

The other reason why this is such a great time aside from the seasons is that Japanese folks typically get a very significant salary bonus every 6 months (mid-year and end-of-year), which many will spend on some new expensive item or on a trip to a nice vacation spot. So there's quite a bit of competition between companies to win all that extra yen.

[AndrewShuttleworth]

If Jason or anyone else is heading over here, be sure to drop myself, the www.pocketpcjapan.com newsgroup and/or the Tokyo PC Users Group a line. We can get together and hit some of the gadget hot spots in town.

There's a million other things to keep you entertained in Japan as well. It's a great place to visit/live.

For the record while we are talking about Japan, WM2003 for PPC was released to manufacturers on 30th June but we are still awaiting an announcement about the first 2003 device to be released. For clamshell lovers we do have the Sigmarion III which is quite popular and based on WindowsCE.NET 4.1 and has 800x480 resolution:

http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/info/products/sigmarion3/
http://www.wince.ne.jp/hpc2000/sigmarion.htm

Andrew