July 28th, 2005
Tokyo Edge: Who Controls Your Digital Music?
Martyn Williams
Tokyo Bureau Chief IDG News Service
TOKYO -- A couple of weeks ago I was in South Korea to attend the SEK
electronics show, where SK Telecom, the leading cellular carrier,
talked about a digital music service it's calling "Melon." More
interesting than the specifics of the service itself was the fact that
a cellular carrier is trying to get into the digital music market.
People have been talking for some time about the battle between cell
phones, which increasingly have music player functions, and digital
music players, which increasingly have all manner of other functions.
What I learned from talking to SK Telecom is that this competition
could work out to be bad news for consumers.
SK Telecom is using its own digital rights management system to
protect downloaded music. Music loaded onto its phones won't play
anywhere else--not in handsets from other carriers or in stand-alone
digital music players. SK Telecom's handsets also won't play songs
protected with other DRM systems, so you can forget about using Apple
ITunes Music Store or any other portal to acquire music for your
handset. Of course, the same incompatibility exists in the music
player world between, say, Apple's IPod and Napster's subscription
music service. The situation isn't new, but the entrance of cellular
carriers could make it more confusing.
That aside, SEK was also the venue for the launch of IRiver's cool
little U10, which supports Microsoft's DRM. And back in Japan, Olympus
added to its M:robe music player line with two new models, and Kenwood
entered the music player market with a hard-drive device.
Super-Cool IRiver U10 Music Player
The coolest gadget I've seen this month has to be the IRiver U10:
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/...,tk,grx,00.asp
The player does away with dedicated navigation buttons in favor of a
pressure-sensitive front panel that gives a satisfying click when you
push down along each of the four edges. The U10's screen shows the
function of the virtual buttons, which changes depending on the menu
screen.
The U10 plays MP3, Windows Media Audio, ASF, and Ogg Vorbis audio
files as well as MPEG-4 video files. It also has an FM radio, a voice
recorder, and a photo album. Two versions will be available: a 512MB
version will cost $283, and a 1GB version will cost $327. The company
hasn't said when the player will be launched.
One possible problem: Like the Sony PlayStation Portable, the player's
front panel is highly polished. It looks great, but you'll spend a lot
of time wiping off fingerprints.
Kenwood HD20GA7 Music Player
If you're looking to buy a digital music player and having a hard time
deciding which one is best, you might want to stop reading right now.
Kenwood has added to the selection with its HD20GA7, which has a 20GB
capacity and 2.2-inch QVGA resolution (240 by 320 pixel) display. The
player looks good, and it follows the fairly standard layout of a
screen positioned above a control pad. The display can show jacket
art, and the player understands ID3 tags that carry additional track
information in MP3 files. The on-screen display can be switched among
English, Japanese, French, Italian, German, Dutch and Spanish, and
there are three color schemes to chose from. In addition to MP3 files,
it plays Windows Media Audio files, including those protected with
DRM. It's on sale now in Japan and costs $406.
Hitachi Plasma TVs
Hitachi's latest lineup of flat-panel plasma TVs comes with a
specification sheet so impressive that you don't need to see the price
to know they'll be expensive.
Available in 55-inch, 42-inch, or 37-inch screen sizes, each of the
sets can be bought with an optional internal video recorder that
stores high-definition programs on a 160GB hard drive. That's good
news for HDTV fans because most current hard-disk recorders can only
manage standard-definition recording. There are two HDMI inputs, which
can be used to hook up HD-compatible video equipment and maintain the
highest possible image quality. The 42-inch set offers the industry's
highest brightness, according to Hitachi, producing 1400 candela per
square meter and a 3000:1 contrast ratio.
The screens will be available in Japan only, starting in August;
prices range from $4332 for the 37-inch set with no recorder to $7768
for the 55-inch set with recorder.
For more on plasma TVs, visit PC World's Info Center for Digital
Entertainment and scroll down to "Pick the Perfect Plasma TV":
http://www.pcworld.com/resource/info...,tk,grx,00.asp
Sanyo ICR-S310RM Voice Recorder
Sanyo Electric has packed a handful of useful features into its latest
voice recorder. The ICR-S310RM has a built-in USB connector, so you
don't need to carry around a cable. It can record in MP3 format, and
it plays MP3 and Windows Media Audio files. Sanyo says it is the
largest-capacity flash-memory recorder available. It has 512MB of
memory, which will hold between 9 and 71 hours of audio, depending on
the recording mode.
The ICR-S310RM goes on sale in Japan on August 21 for about $361. It's
designed to work with Microsoft Windows, and Sanyo says it should work
with the Mac OS too. The company is currently making worldwide launch
plans.
Samsung SCH-V740: A Thin Cell Phone
At first glance you might mistake it for Motorola's Razr cell phone;
but no, the SCH-V740 is from South Korea's Samsung Electronics. At 3.8
inches long, it's almost identical in size to the Razr. The Samsung
handset is 2 inches wide, about the same as the Razr, weighs about the
same, and is just slightly thicker. It beats the Razr in a few areas:
the main screen is QVGA resolution; it has a 1.3-megapixel camera; and
it carries 256MB of internal memory. Other features include an MP3
player, the ability to capture MPEG-4 video, Bluetooth wireless
networking, Global Positioning System capability, and the PictBridge
printing technology.
The SCH-V740 is out now in South Korea for around $595. It won't be
available internationally, but Samsung said it's planning similar thin
phones for foreign markets this year.
For more on the latest cell phones, visit PC World's Info Center for
PDAs & Cell Phones:
http://www.pcworld.com/resource/info...,tk,grx,00.asp
Olympus Pendant-Type M:robe Music Player
Olympus has added to its M:robe digital music player lineup with the
announcement of the pendant-type MR-F10 and MR-F20 models. Both
contain flash memory and play MP3, Windows Media, and Ogg files.
First to launch in late July will be the MR-F10, which can record in
MP3 format; a month later the MR-F20, which records in Windows Media
format, will launch. Both models have organic light-emitting diode
displays and provide interfaces in English, Japanese, Chinese, or
Korean. The MR-F10 will cost $153 for a 512MB model and $197 for a 1GB
model. The MR-F20, which has 512MB of memory, will cost about $179.
There's no word on an international launch.
Hitachi DZ-GX25M DVD Camcorder
The DZ-GX25M DVD camcorder from Hitachi isn't fussy when it comes to
discs. The camera is equipped with a multiformat optical drive--a
world first according to the maker--so you're free to use DVD-RAM,
DVD-RW, or DVD-R to record your precious moments. Like other DVD
camcorders, it accepts 3.1-inch discs, so it still might be a little
difficult to find blank media unless you're at a well-stocked
retailer. Other features include a 10X optical zoom, and there's also
a digital still camera function. You can record snapshots onto a
Secure Digital memory card or DVD-RAM media, which should hold about
1500 images before the disc is full, Hitachi says. The DZ-GX25M will
launch in Japan in August for about $1166, and the company has yet to
decide on an overseas launch.
R&D Corner: Computer Game for Visually Impaired Players
From the development labs this month comes a computer game that you
play entirely without sight. The game is played in real space and a
pair of headphones substitute for a monitor. It's called BBBeat, and
it requires the player to wield a mallet and hit computer-generated
bees in order to rack up points. The only clue as to the location of
the bees comes from the buzzing they make. The game is intended to be
a training aid to heighten the ability of visually impaired users to
locate the source of sounds. But anybody can enjoy BBBeat, as I
discovered when I played it. To play you need several sensors so that
the computer can determine where you are and follow your movements.
BBBeat should be available commercially in Japan this year and will
likely cost several thousand dollars. It will be targeted at schools
and rehabilitation centers for the blind, says the developer, Makoto
Ohuchi of Tohoku Fukushi University in Sendai, Japan.
Read Martyn Williams' regularly published "Tokyo Edge" columns:
http://www.pcworld.com/resource/colu...9,tk,gr,00.asp
===
"To buy an island is the same as courting a woman. You can never explain exactly why you love her. It's chemistry--something you cannot define--a feeling that you can stay forever."
-- Farhad Vladi, Islands (mag) Jul/Aug 2005
