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Scenes from Ceatec 2011 (photos)

Ceatec 2011 outside Tokyo was less about eye-popping displays, though it had its fair share, and more about saving energy.

Tim Hornyak

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Tim Hornyak

Oct. 7, 2011 9:23 a.m. PT

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Ceatec 2011

MAKUHARI, Japan--In contrast to last year, the Ceatec 2011 electronics trade show outside Tokyo had fewer 3D TV displays and more power-saving technology in the wake of electricity shortages caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunamis.

This Smart House, one of several exhibits in the power-saving Smart Community zone, is elevated to maximize space and has a power system based on solar and fuel cells.

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Sony pavilion

Some of the 37,000 visitors who attended Ceatec 2011 on October 6 walk by the Sony pavilion.

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Trying DEV-3 digital binoculars

Visitors try out Sony's DEV-3 digital binoculars, which can record up to 1080/60p 28 megabits-per-second AVCHD video onto an SDXC card.

The binocs ship in November for $1,399.

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Mitsubishi LCD TVs

Mitsubishi Electric demonstrated laser-backlit LCD TVs as reference exhibits. The company said they incorporate red laser and cyan LEDs, with a color gamut about 1.3 times greater than conventional LCD TVs with white LED backlighting.

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Diamond Vision OLED

Mitsubishi also showed off its Diamond Vision OLED, a semi-spherical screen that has a wide viewing angle.

It's 8.8 feet across and has nearly 700 OLED panels. It's very similar to the Geo Cosmos full OLED globe at Tokyo's Miraikan museum.

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Toshiba Regza 55X3

A Ceatec model shows off Toshiba's Regza 55X3 glasses-free 3D TVs, which go on sale in December for roughly $12,000.

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NTT DoCoMo tablets

NTT DoCoMo was pushing its 10.1-inch Android tablets running its Xi (pronounced "Crossy") LTE service.

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Toshiba's R631 Ultrabook

Also on display was Toshiba's R631 Ultrabook, sold outside Japan as the Portege Z830 Series and billed as the world's lightest 13.3-inch Ultrabook at 2.45 pounds.

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IKABO robot squid

Ceatec brought out many regional tech projects, including the latest version of IKABO, a robot squid mascot from the city of Hakodate in northern Japan.

It's gotten a lot smaller since I last saw it in 2009, and it's still being used to drum up tourism.

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Fujitsu supercomputer

Fujitsu was showing off a colorful node from its K supercomputer, which the Top500 Supercomputing List ranked as the fastest in the world in June.

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KDDI phone technology

A model demonstrates new phone technology from mobile carrier KDDI. The prototype handset lacks a speaker but can transmit sound by gently vibrating the phone. The sound can be heard through earphones as well as in noisy environments.

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Pioneer's Cyclist Computer

Pioneer's Cyclist Computer reads a bike's speed and distance covered, as well as calories burned by the rider. It can also play music files.

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Upright chargers

The Qi wireless power consortium was showing off these upright chargers, which facilitate screen use, by Convenient Power.

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Server hit by quake

Aside from some cracked pavement, there were few signs of the March 11 earthquake and tsunamis at the Ceatec site. Toshiba, however, exhibited one of its servers that was being used at a town hall in Iwate Prefecture when the disaster struck. The data was recovered and restored to a new server.

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Latest Roomba

iRobot was showing off its latest Roomba vacuum robots at Ceatec, but it also displayed this military PackBot, which was actually used at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to help assess the disaster.

Thankfully it had been fully decontaminated.

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Quarta Radex radiation

Personal radiation monitors have been in demand in Japan amid the Fukushima nuclear crisis. Low-cost imports, such as this Russian-designed Quarta Radex at about $325, are being actively marketed.

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Notty monster mascot

Notty, the monster mascot for Japan's first smartphone-only TV broadcaster Nottv, was on many free bags given out at Ceatec.

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Mimicar

Another wacky marketing gimmick is the Mimicar, designed to promote the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. The ears are meant to hear people's views about what kind of car will change the world. Zero emissions, maybe?