NEC acquires Cyber Defense Institute, Inc., expanding cyber security business

NEC Corporation announced today that they finalized a contract to acquire Cyber Defense Institute, Inc., a leading Japanese company in the cyber security space specializing in security diagnosis.
The acquisition will be completed on March 1 and Cyber Defense Institute will become a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC.
Cyber Defense’s technical strength will be added to NEC’s current technology for tactics against cyber attacks. Also, NEC will gain a foothold in the international sector …

San-X – Rirakkuma bear earthquake kit – Cute stuffed bear stuffed with survival gear for kids in Japan

The 2nd anniversary of the catastrophic “Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami” that hit northern Japan is approaching (March 11). And I’d like to write about Earthquake kits which are very important in Japan, where massive earthquakes can hit at any time. When they do, like 2 years ago, there can be a loss of electricity, shortages of basic necessities such as clean water, exposure to the elements, etc.
A fun and convenient way for your kids to remember to grab their …

Sony – Cybershot DSC-WX300 – Smallest, lightest 20X optical zoom

Sony is releasing the smallest and lightest 20X optical zoom digital camera – the DSC-WX300 Cybershot. Black and white color models will be out on March 15; brown, blue and red color models will be out on April 5.
Sony says this model minimizes the effects of shaking more than conventional models and Autofocus speed is 3.6 times faster.
It is also possible to take photos remotely by controlling the camera from a smartphone or tablet.
Retail price: around …

XSOL – Portable solar-powered generator – power yourself outdoors during camping and other activities

Another cool product we saw at Smart Grid Expo in Tokyo (Smart Energy Week 2013) was this portable solar-powered generator – ECO1800SJ – by Japanese solar company, XSOL.
Simple in concept, but really useful for the right situations, it is literally a solar panel on wheels, hooked to a generator. It is not incredibly powerful but you can bring it anywhere to give you energy without hassle anywhere there is sun.
With 6 total outputs (AC and DC), you can charge phones, smart devices …

Panasonic – New promotional video showing 20-inch 4K Tablet – Potentially useful tool for photographers and mobile graphics people

Panasonic has released a promotional video to illustrate some the potential of its “4K Tablet” that was introduced for the first time at CES2013.
It’s a 20-inch Windows-based tablet with 4K resolution ISP-alpha screen and attached digital pen.
The display image is 3840×2560 resolution in 15:10 aspect ratio, which is different from other regular tablets. A3 size images such as photos or magazine pages can be displayed in full scale. With the digital pen, you can directly …

Elecom – 3 data interfaces (USB3.0/FireWire800/eSATA) on the same HDD – “3TB LaCie d2 quadra USB3.0″

Elecom is going to release a 3TB high-capacity HDD that is compatible with 3 kinds of interfaces (USB3.0/FireWire800/eSATA) – the “LaCie d2 quadra USB3.0″ originally made by LaCie (France).
It has 1 USB3.0 port (USB2.0 compatible) that allows for fast data transfer speeds – up to 5Gbps. And it has 2 FireWire 800 ports and 1 eSATA port making this unit very convenient.
Specifications:

Storage: 3TB
Size: 60 x 167 x 183(mm)
Weight: 1.7kg
Compatible OS: Windows …

Panasonic – Compact Stereo System – 3 new models SC-HC58 / SC-HC38 / SC-HC28

Panasonic is going to release 3 new models of its compact stereo system on April 19. They are attractive and about 75mm in thickness, so quite thin and space-saving.
On the HC58 and HC38, you can open the sliding cover and attach your iPod/iPhone to a dock there. There is a viewable dock in the front of the HC28.
The HC58 and HC38 are capable of playing music in your iPod/iPhone with AirPlay (only for HC58) or wirelessly through Bluetooth. With the HC28 model, playing is only through the …

“Monster” Tajima and his Monster sport E-RUNNER Pikes Peak special

Today, AkihabaraNews attended the 3rd International Smart Grid Expo at Tokyo Big Site. It was certainly exciting to see so many companies from around the world attending the event. Of course we saw solar panels and every kind of high-tech gadget to manage anything from a small array to an entire large-scale power grid. The show had a strong B2B focus and we found it quite difficult to find any consumer related products. But what we could not resist noticing were some of the sponsors of cool …

LG Optimus L3II makes its world debut at MWC 2013

LG announced that the second model in its new generation Optimus L SeriesII will make its world debut in Brazil this week. This will be followed by single and dual SIM models being introduced in the other markets of South and Central America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa.
Optimus L3II advances the styling and convenience of the original Optimus L3 smartphone with a new flair that complements its user experience. The Optimus L3II continues LG’s design heritage with four new elements that …

Thanko – V-Lock3 – IPX7 waterproof iPhone 5 case

You don’t need to worry about water damage to your iPhone if you are using Thanko’s new iPhone 5 waterproof case “V-Lock3″.
While using “V-Lock3″, you cannot use the On/Off switch for sounds and earphone jack but there is no problem with typing, pressing buttons, making phone calls, and taking photos/movies. Lightning connector is protected with a silicon cap.
2 colors (black and white) are available. The retail price is 2,980yen.
Specifications:

Size: 138 …