Regular dispatches from AccountingWEB.co.uk's Tech Team and gadget devotees including executive peripherals editor Nigel Harris and Accountants Power Tools publisher Kevin Salter.
Resilient Japanese technology
Gail Purvis reviews this year's Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies (Ceatec) conference in Japan.
Smartphones that detect bad breath and radiation, twistable remote controls and a super-thin tablet computer were some of the gadgets showcased at Asia's biggest tech fair Ceatec in Chiba, Japan recently where 600 firms unveiled their most recent innovations
Toshiba claimed to launch the world's thinnest and lightest tablet, featuring a 10.1-inch display, is 7.7mm thick and weighing only 19.5 ounces.
Murata Manufacturing unveiled devices that use a newly developed transparent organic film that delivers instruction both by twisting motions and pressure. One conceptual light-powered plate named a Leaf Grip Remote Controller operates by the user both bending and twisting it.
Another application of the film is as a 'touch pressure pad' responding to vertical and horizontal finger swipe directions but also sensing pressure so making two dimensions available for commands, unlike the conventional smartphone touchscreens.
NTT DoCoMo demonstrated a smartphone with changeable 'jackets' to allow bad breath, body fat measurement and even radiation levels allowing users to measure their own body readings or their surroundings by slipping phones inside sensor-embedded shells.
Contamination level worries have seen demand for radiation-measuring devices soar. Food scares also increase consumer scrutiny of products and origin. Radiation counters were on display, along with power-saving technologies, after parts of the country saw drives to cut peak summer power consumption.
Microchip maker Rohm showcased resistors, so small that 500 000 of them can be used in an hourglass instead of sand and displayed diversification into the healthcare, with ‘Technojewel’ accessories such as earrings that take the wearer's pulse.
Hitachi technology enables projection of holographic 3D images to be viewed from all angles without the need for special glasses while Sony set its sights on animal watchers, storm chasers and sports fans with binoculars capable of 2D and 3D high-quality digital recording.
Sharp unveiled LCD TV sets with screen resolution four times higher than current HD panels.
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