Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 10:54:31 +0900
From: Adam Peake <ajp@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Source: Gadget Watch No. 119 (from J@pan Inc magazine)
<http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters/index.html?list=gw>
Name: NEC V601N (J-N51)
Category: Mobile phones
Price: TBA
Release date in Japan: early December
The Gist: Now, regular GW readers will know that I generally steer
well clear of reporting on developments in the mobile phone sector.
The reason for this is twofold: Firstly, I don't use all the fancy
functions on mobile phones and only want one in order to speak to
people a long way away and, secondly, because some time ago I made a
small error reporting a function on a mobile and half the industry and
about a gadzillion mobile phone addicts emailed me telling me what an
idiot I was. Which I already knew. But there is an exception to every
rule, and the V601N from NEC (sold as the J-N51 by Vodafone) is
what's made me do it. This is the first mobile phone in the country to
house an integral terrestrial analog TV tuner. It may even be (visibly
flinches, anticipating ensuing corrective email onslaught) the first
in the world to do so. That's amazing -- at only 24mm thick in its
closed, clamshell form (opened up it's completely invisible), you
wouldn't think it possible to squeeze that kind of technology into it.
The phone has a 2.2-inch TFT screen displaying 216x160 dots, you can
capture stills from the TV in MPEG-4 and you can even use the thing as
a remote control for your television, if you feel like it. Mad. But
I'm saying nothing more.
More info: http://www.nec.co.jp/press/ja/0310/1402.html (in Japanese)
----
larger picture
<http://k-tai.impress.co.jp/cda/parts/image_for_link/55509-16014-1-1.html>
48x95x24mm 119g
English press release
<http://www.vodafone.jp/english/release/2003/031014e.pdf>
Adam
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