Nikkei Archive

  • Report: Fujitsu and Toshiba to merge cell phone operations

    Report: Fujitsu and Toshiba to merge cell phone operations

    Posted on June 11, 2010 | No Comments
    Big news from the Japanese cell phone industry today: Two of Japan's top handset makers, namely Fujitsu and Toshiba, are in talks to merge their cell phone operations within this year. According to the Nikkei ("Japan's Wall Street Journal" and usually a reliable source), negotiations already reached the "final stage". The joint venture, if it happens, will create Japan's second largest cell phone maker (with a combined 18.7% domestic market share), following Sharp (26.1%). Fujitsu (the current No. 3 among Japan's handset makers with over 5 million handsets shipped in 2009) is expected to become the main stakeholder in the joint venture. Toshiba is the eighth biggest (1.28 million units).

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  • Charry: Outdoor charging box for electric vehicles

    Charry: Outdoor charging box for electric vehicles

    Posted on May 3, 2010 | No Comments
    One critical factor that stands in the way of electric vehicles becoming mainstream is the lack of charging stations once you're on the road with your e-bike or electric car. In the case of bicycles, 37km, for example (as seen in Panasonic's newest models), isn't a bad number for an assisted travel distance, but it's not enough for those really long trips.

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  • Too many discounts: Apple Japan bullies online retailers

    Too many discounts: Apple Japan bullies online retailers

    Posted on April 27, 2010 | No Comments
    Japan loves Apple, there's no doubt about it. The brand is one of the most popular tech brands in the country. iPods, Macs and even the iPhone are selling like hot cakes. But apparently, big A, or at least its Japanese subsidiary, is getting a bit arrogant in the process. According to The Nikkei ("Japan's Wall Street Journal"), Apple Japan today ordered a number of major online retailers to stop offering all of their products online.

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  • New Hitachi tech to double lithium-ion battery life

    New Hitachi tech to double lithium-ion battery life

    Posted on April 6, 2010 | No Comments
    Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere, powering small gadgets, cars or even buildings. It's not a surprise to see a number of companies currently working on improvements. Just a few weeks ago, we reported about Japan-based Eamex, which claimed their prototype battery can be charged and discharged over 10,000 times and can be used for about 20 years. And now Hitachi is claiming a new material they developed could double the life span of lithium ion batteries. The company has partnered up with Shin-Kobe Electric Machinery, saying batteries based on the material could be used in smart grid applications (Hitachi says that segment alone will be worth $32 billion by 2020).

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  • Nap Vieeb Plus II: Wearable doze prevention device

    Nap Vieeb Plus II: Wearable doze prevention device

    Posted on April 1, 2010 | No Comments
    Are you constantly in danger of falling asleep while working or driving? Alarm clocks, watches or your cell phone are of no help? Then the oddly named Nap Vieeb Plus II [JP], offered by a Japanese company called Takanoha, might be the right thing for you. The Nap Vieeb Plus II is a simple earpiece alarm gadget whose first version was released about four years ago.

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  • Japanese university develops Robo-Skateboard

    Japanese university develops Robo-Skateboard

    Posted on March 31, 2010 | No Comments
    Earlier today, we've covered Honda's U3-X, and now we bring you another mobility robot from Japan. What we have here is a robotic skateboard, which was developed by the Shibaura Institute of Technology in Tokyo. And no, it's not really a fun project. That DIY Segway skateboard is about to get some serious competition.

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  • Coming soon: 50% lighter LCD TVs

    Coming soon: 50% lighter LCD TVs

    Posted on March 24, 2010 | No Comments
    Another possible breakthrough for LCD TVs? Researchers at Japanese chemical company Teijin and Yamaguchi University claim they have developed a new technology that makes it possible halve the weight of LCD TVs. Conventional LCDs are based on silicon solid-state devices on glass substrates, which "sandwich" liquid crystals. These devices generate heat when used, prompting manufacturers to go for heat-resistant (heavy) glass substrates.

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  • Breakthrough? New spreadable electrode may pave way for cheaper LCDs

    Breakthrough? New spreadable electrode may pave way for cheaper LCDs

    Posted on March 18, 2010 | No Comments
    A research team from Japan-based Mitsui Mining & Smelting and Tohoku University says it managed to develop a spreadable electrode that may lead to lower prices for LCD panels in the future. The key element of the technology are indium tin oxide particles of 5-10 nanometers in diameter (pictured) the team has created.

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  • EMIEW2: Hitachi updates its cute humanoid robot

    EMIEW2: Hitachi updates its cute humanoid robot

    Posted on March 18, 2010 | No Comments
    We last blogged about EMIEW2, a two-legged robot made by Hitachi, in July 2008. The main selling point was (and still is) an array of 14 microphones integrated into his head, enabling him to identify three different human voices simultaneously. But up until now, EMIEW2 tended to easily fall over on bumpy surfaces, which isn't really ideal for a humanoid that's supposed to one day serve as a receptionist and "walking" guide. That's why Hitachi has been working on a sophisticated suspension system for his wheels that helps the new version maintain its balance in certain situations.

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  • Nippon Oil and Hitachi aim at mass-producing microbe-derived biofuel

    Nippon Oil and Hitachi aim at mass-producing microbe-derived biofuel

    Posted on March 8, 2010 | No Comments
    Major Japanese oil wholesaler Nippon Oil and Hitachi subsidiary Hitachi Plant Technologies are developing a technology that's supposed to make it possible to mass-produce eco-friendly jet fuel from Euglena, single-celled organisms that live in ponds and lakes. To be more exact, both companies are cooperating with and acquired shares in a Tokyo-based venture called Euglena, Inc., which is trying to find a way to extract oil from these organisms to produce fuel.

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  • Panasonic and Best Buy to bring 3D TVs to the US this Wednesday

    Panasonic and Best Buy to bring 3D TVs to the US this Wednesday

    Posted on March 8, 2010 | No Comments
    As everybody knows, 3D TVs are all the rage at the moment, with Panasonic being one of the most active electronics companies in that area. But until today, details on how and when those devices will be sold outside Japan were relatively scarce. Panasonic now announced it will partner up with Best Buy (the largest consumer electronics retailer in the US for those who don't know) to market its 3D TVs in America.

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  • Thin, flexible “solar threads” to turn fabrics into power generators

    Thin, flexible “solar threads” to turn fabrics into power generators

    Posted on March 1, 2010 | No Comments
    A Tokyo-based venture called ideal Star [JP] has developed a new method that makes it possible to produce solar cells in the form of flexible and thin threads. The company is supported by a total of six Japanese universities and the government. The current prototype cell is 5cm long and just 0.8mm in diameter. ideal Star says the core consists of polymer material and is surrounded by an electrode layer, and layers for hole transport, power-generating (this layer is made from fullerene), electron transport and another (transparent) electrode layer.

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  • Report: Samsung No. 1 in global flat TV market, LG now on par with Sony

    Report: Samsung No. 1 in global flat TV market, LG now on par with Sony

    Posted on February 23, 2010 | No Comments
    What was unthinkable 10 to 20 years ago, has been reality for quite some time now: Not Japanese but Korean electronics companies are dominating the TV hardware market. American market research firm DisplaySearch says regarding shipment value, Samsung has maintained its position as the leader in the global flat-panel TV market last year. And another Korean company is becoming stronger, too.

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  • Better LCD TVs? New CCFL backlights to compete with LEDs

    Better LCD TVs? New CCFL backlights to compete with LEDs

    Posted on February 19, 2010 | No Comments
    Japan's Sanken Electric has developed a new type of cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) backlight for LCD TVs that's as power-efficient as LED backlights but is supposedly up to 60% cheaper to mass-produce. Approximately 90% of all LCD TVs currently on the market have CCFL backlights. A 32-inch LCD TV usually requires six CCFL tubes, but Sanken says their new lamps are so efficient that only two of them are enough (one at the top and another one at the bottom of the device).

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  • New NEC chip helps make cell phone displays viewable outdoors, saves power

    New NEC chip helps make cell phone displays viewable outdoors, saves power

    Posted on February 17, 2010 | No Comments
    If you've ever got upset about not being able to view what your cell phone screen displays while you are outside your house, NEC's new color-compensation chip is probably good news for you. The chip, which is specifically made for LCDs for mobile phones, helps to make them easier to view in bright outdoor settings.

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