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.
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.
Sony pavilion
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.
Mitsubishi LCD TVs
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.
Toshiba Regza 55X3
NTT DoCoMo tablets
Toshiba's R631 Ultrabook
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.
Fujitsu supercomputer
KDDI phone technology
Pioneer's Cyclist Computer
Upright chargers
Server hit by quake
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.