nec

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- The confetti at Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade was made of confidential police documents.

- NEC is designing a suitcase-size DNA analyzer.

- A pill that calls home once you've taken it.

- CNET Exclusives: 35 percent off Outdoor Technology Bluetooth headphones and wireless gear!

- Cyber Monday CNET Holiday Gift Guide.… Read more

Android and Apple dominate the smartphone market in Japan just as they do elsewhere in the world.

Looking at Japanese smartphone ownership in the three months ending June, ComScore found that Android took home the lion's share with a 64 percent share, up almost two points from the prior three months. Apple's iOS grabbed a 32 percent share.

That left Microsoft's Windows Phone in third place with 3 percent of the Japanese market. RIM's BlackBerry OS and Nokia's Symbian combined eked out less than half a percentage point.

More than 25 million Japanese consumers owned … Read more

Japan's NEC will cut nearly one in ten of its workers as the iPhone continues to gobble up the market for smartphones.

The company said this week that recent poor performance stemmed from the popularity of the Apple iPhone in Japan, an increase in the number of foreign rivals it faces in the IT infrastructure market, and trouble expanding beyond its home country, Reuters reported.

NEC forecast a loss of $1.3 billion (100 billion yen) for the year ending March 31, and said about 7,000 of the 10,000 eliminated jobs will be in Japan, with the … Read more

TOKYO--NEC has launched a lightweight head-mounted display that could be used with face-recognition technology to instantly display information about strangers.

We first heard about the prototype Tele Scouter two years ago, when it was proposed as an aid for interpreters, who would read translated text in the eye screen.

Another suggested use was as a reference for technicians and assembly workers, who can watch a video of how to put something together on the screen while doing it themselves. … Read more

There should be little doubt that USB 3.0 technology has arrived on PCs after a report released today forecast that tens of millions of devices using the standard will ship in 2011.

"The primary story for USB in 2010 was the emergence of the SuperSpeed standard. 2011 should be a much bigger year for the technology, especially in mobile PCs," said market researcher In-Stat. "This has led In-Stat to forecast that nearly 80 million USB SuperSpeed-enabled devices will ship in 2011."

USB is one of the most widely used connection technologies in the world, found … Read more

LAS VEGAS--We've seen a few dual-screen devices at CES so far, including the massive Kno Textbook Tablet and the 14-inch hybrid tablet-laptop Acer Iconia. Japan's NEC, though, has introduced a dual-screen tablet compact enough to use on those notoriously crowded Tokyo trains.

The LT-W Cloud Communicator has two 7-inch TFT LCD touch screens and weighs only 530 grams (18.6 ounces). It feels like it can almost fit in a large pocket, and would fit well in a satchel or purse.

The device, which runs Google's Android 2.1 operating system on an ARM Cortex processor, has … Read more

The Features score in CNET's monitor reviews is determined by asking one simple question: "What am I getting for the amount of money I'm paying?"

So, it should come as no surprise that a monitor that offers a lot for $300 would score highly in the Features subrating, and the NEC MultiSync E231W did just that.

First off, the NEC includes the "quadfecta" of ergonomic options, featuring tilt, swivel, pivot, and height adjustment. It also includes a number of useful Eco options we first saw in the NEC MultiSync PA271W's OSD. No to … Read more

Monitors with LED backlights are currently a pretty hot commodity and I've found that while most manufacturers hock their LED wares to the consumer market, some, like Samsung and with its BX2350, are beginning to see that people spend a lot of time staring at monitor screens while at work.

On Monday, NEC stepped on the business monitor bandwagon to introduce a new line of LED-based monitors that, according to the company, are "ideal for corporate users looking for increased productivity and sleek aesthetics."

The new series begins with the 23-inch MultiSync EX231W, an LED-backlit LCD monitor with both DisplayPort and DVI connections. The monitor also offers a 14.6mm-wide bezel, a 9.3-pound weight and a USB port. It also includes a fully adjustable stand with 110mm height adjust, pivot, swivel and tilt, as well as a built-in carrying handle and quick release stand.

The monitor also includes a "human sensor," which detects user activity in front of the monitor and goes into sleep mode when it notices no one is there. No word yet if this works on cats or vampires.

Check out the full list of features (or at least, ones worth mentioning) here (my comments in parenthesis):… Read more

I've been getting requests to review the HP DreamColor LP2480zx for the better part of the last year. Sorry it's taken so long, but here it is. Better late than never.

It's an interesting endeavor, to review a product that costs well over $2,000. This is especially true when other devices that serve the same basic purpose exist and can be procured for fraction of the cost.

In this situation, the intended audience has to be considered. Does it meet their needs as best you can tell? Are there lower-priced alternatives?

This leads to comparisons that … Read more