CEATEC show opens, featuring slim TVs, energy-saving technologies+

CHIBA, Japan, Sept. 30 Kyodo - CEATEC JAPAN 2008 electronics fair opened Tuesday at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba on the outskirts of Tokyo, featuring cutting-edge consumer electronics as well as energy-saving related technologies.

A total of 804 companies and groups, of which 289 are from overseas, have
registered to exhibit their products and technologies in 3,121 booths at the
five-day event.
One of the highlights of the show is a series of ultra-slim TVs with upgraded
picture quality, including those with three-dimensional display technologies,
as electronics makers are accelerating development efforts ahead of the
full-scale transition to digital terrestrial broadcasting in Japan in 2011.
Sony Corp. is showcasing a prototype 11-inch TV based on organic light-emitting
diode technology equipped with just a 0.3 millimeter thin panel. The total
thickness of the OLED TV's screen equipped with the razor-thin panel is 0.9 mm,
much thinner than the firm's current 3-mm OLED TV.
The electronics giant, which last fall released the world's first OLED TV with
the 3-mm thin 11-inch screen, also displayed a prototype 27-inch OLED TV.
''We have developed lots of products that can be claimed as the world's
thinnest, or the best ever,'' Sony President Ryoji Chubachi told reporters at
the fair.
He said the current global financial turmoil is worrying, but vowed to
encourage consumer spending with ''strong'' products to win the year-end sales
battle.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. took the wraps off a 3D full-definition home
theater system consisting of a 103-inch plasma TV and Blu-ray DVD player.
Matsushita, the producer of Panasonic-brand consumer electronics, said the 3D
system employs the world's first technology allowing the distribution of full
HD images of 1920 x 1080 pixels via synchronized shutter glasses for home-use,
allowing viewers to see high-resolution images approximating those seen in
movie theaters.
Matsushita, which will change its name to Panasonic Corp. on Wednesday, also
held a demonstration of a house incorporating its concept of people's lives in
three to five years' time, where home electronics appliances are linked
wirelessly, enabling users to adjust lighting, air conditioning and blinds, for
example to watch movies or have dinner, with the controller for its Viera TV.
The TV can also show how much electricity each appliance consumes and the
volume of electricity generated by a home fuel battery.
Matsushita President Fumio Otsubo said people currently appreciate the
slimness, lightness and energy-efficiency of TVs. ''But this is only the value
of TV and what we are trying to do is to make TVs an interface between home and
society.''
Hitachi Ltd. displayed a prototype 37-inch 1.5 centimeter-thin liquid crystal
display TV that consumes about half the electricity of the 2007 model.
In addition to TVs, CEATEC is full of next-generation digital products and
technologies, including the latest mobile phones, personal computers and WiMAX
next generation high-speed mobile communication technology.
NTT Docomo Inc. displayed a mobile phone with a detachable screen and keyboard
that can transfer data wirelessly, allowing people to check data such as the
address book with the screen while talking with the keyboard.
Murata Manufacturing Co. showed off its Seiko-chan small humanoid robot that
can ride on a unicycle, while Nissan Motor Co. demonstrated the BR23C round
robot that can avoid collisions by turning around or slowing down.
As part of the industry's efforts to curb global warming, CEATEC promotes
eco-friendly products and has established the Green IT Award to honor products,
technologies and solution services that can contribute to saving energy while
using the power of information and technology.
Among the honorees of the fair's first Green IT awards were an energy-saving
server from NEC Corp. and an operation support solution for commercial vehicles
from Fujitsu Ltd.
CEATEC also features a number of speeches from top company officials.
Organizers said they are expecting a record 210,000 visitors to converge on the
event, compared with last year's 205,859.
CEATEC, which stands for Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies, has been
held every year since 2000 as a venue where business professionals and
consumers can see the latest developments in the electronics industry ahead of
the year-end shopping season.
The exhibition is sponsored by the Communications and Information Network
Association of Japan, the Japan Electronics and Information Technology
Industries Association, and the Computer Software Association of Japan.