Hasta La Gadget!

The Nintendo Wii U arrives on Japanese shores on December 8th starting at 26,260 yen (around $340), Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced this morning via Nintendo Direct’s video stream. A presentation later today in New York City starring Nintendo of America prez Reggie Fils-Aime will reveal pricing and release dates for the rest of the world, but you’d be right in guessing it won’t be too far from the Japanese launch.

A basic set (only in white) and premium set (only in black) were revealed, with the darker option adding more storage; 32GB, up from 8GB on the cheaper bundle. The Premium set (priced at 31,500 yen, or about $405) consists of the console, GamePad, a charging stand, play stand, and yet another stand for the Wii U itself. Those GamePads will also be available standalone for 13,440 yen, which could see American gamers paying around $173 for the luxury of a spare.

The Wii U pro controllers are priced at 5,040 yen ($65) each, while the Wiimote will continue to be priced at 3,800 yen (around $50), now in a range of colors. Likewise, the nunchucks will come in three color palettes. The GamePad charging stand will also be available to buy separately — setting you back around 1,870 yen — around $25. Naturally, there’s going to be some international variance in these prices so we’ll be updating once we get those global prices cemented.

We’ve been given a little more detail on the technical specifics too, with the Wii U packing 1GB of its own (“main”) memory alongside 1GB for running games. Two titles, New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land will both debut alongside the console — we’re expecting to hear even more software details later today.

Ben Gilbert contributed to this post.

Continue reading Nintendo Wii U gets December 8th release date for Japan: 26,260 yen for basic set, 31,500 yen for premium

Filed under: Gaming

Nintendo Wii U gets December 8th release date for Japan: 26,260 yen for basic set, 31,500 yen for premium originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 03:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As you probably already know, GPS technology is pretty much useless once you’re inside of a building, so companies are working on ways to provide directional and navigational information while indoors. One very promising technology has been demonstrated by Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).

The technology uses visible light communication (VLC), pedestrian dead-reckoning (PDR) and map matching algorithms to determine the location and direction an individual is facing while indoors. In this demonstration video, we see a subject walking through a mall, and a 3D model of the same location closely replicating the individual’s location and direction.

It doesn’t look like it’s accurate down to the inch, but it’s pretty impressive compared to traditional GPS systems. It’s hard to tell or if the location sensors are placed throughout the building or carried by the individual, but it looks like all he’s carrying is a tablet to control the application, and it’s possible that the sensors are only in the tablet itself. It seems to me that the tablet has an application with a pre-rendered map onboard, and it’s using the tablet’s camera and the lights throughout the space to determine its relative position. Guess it wouldn’t work in the dark then.

It’s not clear if or when this technology will make its way into our lives, but it sure would be cool to be able to find your way around malls, office buildings and indoor stadiums so you can find your way around and your friends can locate you too.

Sony rolled out its first head-mounted 3D visor last fall, and announced the HMZ-T2 followup recently at IFA 2012. Now in Japan it has revealed few more details about the changes it’s made this time around as well as a release date and pricing. Scheduled to hit shelves on October 13th, the HMZ-T2 features all the upgrades we’d heard about: lighter total weight, redesigned head strap for improved comfort, ear buds instead of headphones plus 24p cinema support and a “Clear” panel drive mode for fast moving content. While we still don’t have a US price the Japanese damage is 70,000 yen ($894), a 10,000 yen ($127) boost over last year’s model which cost $799 in the US. Sony Japan has also put together an “Institute for Immersive Pleasure” Facebook page , and plans to show it off again at the Tokyo Game Show. Check out our hands-on impressions from IFA here, we’ll let you know when there’s more release information for other regions.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Wearables, HD

Sony reveals HMZ-T2 head-mounted display pricing, launch date and features in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 00:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen plenty of 4K cameras, and we’ve even heard a whisper or two about 8K, but the quality of a viewing experience isn’t tied only to resolution — frame rate also comes into play, especially with fast-moving subjects. NHK’s prototype Super Hi-Vision camera doubles the capture rate from the standard 60Hz to a much speedier 120Hz, yielding sharper motion. While the difference isn’t noticeable with static or slow-moving scenes, it certainly comes into play when filming rapid-motion sporting events or panning the camera. The Japan Broadcasting Corporation’s latest model was on hand at IBC in Amsterdam, and the advantages of a 120Hz cam were immediately crystal clear.

Filming a rotating image that paired ordinary objects and cityscapes with letters and numbers, you could see the difference instantly, with the 120Hz image on the right side yielding far shaper details, while the left side was often a blurry mess. There’s no software smoothing on hand here — because the higher frequency comes directly from the source, it appears perfectly natural, and much more pleasant. We captured a video demonstrating the expo floor rig, but because our camera doesn’t sport the same spec, you won’t notice a difference in the hands-on clip after the break. You can see the difference in our stills gallery below, however, and you can take us on our word — the improvement is quite dramatic.

Continue reading NHK 8K Super Hi-Vision camera captures native 120Hz footage, we go eyes-on at IBC (video)

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD

NHK 8K Super Hi-Vision camera captures native 120Hz footage, we go eyes-on at IBC (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Sep 2012 16:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Who would have thought that a clever mixture of salt and water could result powering a lantern of the future,it thanks to the efforts of the folks over at Green House of Japan. This LED lantern of theirs will survive on electricity that is generated through water and salt. Also known by its tongue-twisting model number “GH-LED10WBW,” the LED lantern does not need any dry cell or rechargeable battery to run, and will burst into life the moment water and salt are put inside.

Each charge of water is said to deliver up to 8 hours of electricity, now how about that? The clever and careful mixture? We are looking at 350ml of saline water that holds 16 grams of salt, mixed together using a dedicated water bag. The saline water works as an electrolyte with a magnesium (Mg) rod (negative electrode) and a carbon rod (positive electrode) within the lantern to get it lighted up at a luminosity of 55 lumens. No idea on pricing, but this special LED lantern should the Japanese market sometime from the middle of this month onwards.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Japan’s minimum nation requirements: 3G connectivity, Agri-cube compact hydroponic unit is a tiny wonder,