Similar in nature to Sony's Mouse Talk, the BKBU-SKJ109/SV from Buffalo combines a standard PC peripheral with a Skype handset.

In addition to being your run-of-the-mill 109-key (+13 hotkeys) Japanese keyboard, the BKBU has an integrated receiver for taking Skype calls. The phone portion is Skype Certified, so it's "officially working with Skype" as far as we're concerned. Retails for 6,993 yen from early October.



Inspired by:
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2006/0927/buffalo2.htm

Press Release:
http://buffalo.jp/products/new/2006/000312.html

Product Information:
http://buffalo.jp/products/catalog/item/b/bkbu-skj109/

Up first today is the "M2501 HIGH-SPEED," a Motorola-made FOMA card with support for DoCoMo's new HSDPA services. It'll go for somewhere close to 15,000 yen.

HSDPA offers a sustained download speed of about 3.6Mbps, but you might want to be careful as DoCoMo doesn't offer a fixed-rate data transfer package for PC access. That said, software included with the M2501 will allow you to make voice and video calls, so there's a nice amount of utility present. It should also be useful overseas, since it supports GSM as well -- you can use the data features in 83 different countries, and make voice calls in 145 countries.



Inspired by:
http://k-tai.impress.co.jp/cda/article/news_toppage/31164.html

Press Release:
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/info/news_release/page/20060926a.html

Evergreen will be releasing two new low-cost mice on their "Shanghai Donya."

The first is the DN-UM2B, which features an integrated 2-port USB hub on the mouse's USB connector. Also, there's a cable winder. It's an optical mouse that uses USB 2.0, and it'll go for 999 yen.

The second is the DN-UM3K, which provides the same 2-port USB hub, but also adds an integrated microphone.



Inspired by:
http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/pcuser/articles/0609/21/news051.html

Product Information (DN-UM2B):
http://donya.jp/everg/7.1/4547479501684/

Product Information (DN-UM3K):
http://donya.jp/everg/7.1/4547479501691/

Elecom is geared up to release the "TK-U09FG" keyboards in late October that feature the company's new "Gear Drive" mechanism. Slated to cost about 5,040 yen, the new keyboards use a system of gears underneath the keys so that when pressed on even a corner, the key

will be depressed evenly. This is said to prevent "miss-types," which I suspect are caused by keypresses not registering correctly if they're not made in the exact middle of the key. I can't really say I've had that problem, but perhaps I do and don't even realize it. Either way, the keyboard is a Japanese 109-key layout, and will be available in silver, white, and black models.



Inspired by:
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2006/0919/elecom.htm

Press Release:
http://www.elecom.co.jp/news/200609/tk_u09fg/

Here's a new card reader from Elecom, supporting as many as 22 different types of media, including the new SDHC (SD High Capacity) cards. It is retailing for 2,520 yen, and connects with your PC via USB 2.0. It will work under modern Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. The following media types are supported: SD card/MMC, Memory Stick (PRO/High Speed), xD-Picture Card (type M/H), and CF/Microdrive. Yeah, I suppose there are 22 media types in there somewhere.



Inspired by:
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2006/0824/elecom.htm

Press Release:
http://www.elecom.co.jp/news/200608/mr-a13hsv/

If you're for some reason obsessed with pyramids, you'll be pleased to know that "The PC-Factory" has released their pyramid-shaped ATX PC case called the "LUXOR." Retailing for 52,800 yen, the LUXOR doesn't include a power supply. It consists of two pieces: the top part tht houses a 5" drive bay and the power switch, and the bottom part housing the mobo and power source. In total, there are two 5" drive bays, one 3.5" drive bay, and two 3.5" shadow bays. There are two 8cm fans: one on the side and one on the bottom.



Inspired by:
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/akiba/hotline/20060826/etc_pyramid.html

The PC-Factory Homepage:
http://www.thepc-factory.com/

The latest from our buds at Thanko is a USB-powered cushion with heating and cooling functions. I don't know about you, but I'd probably trip o­n a cord running from my chair to my computer.

If you're too lazy to take your blank discs out of their spindles, here's the product for you. It's a "CD/DVD blank media dispenser." Push a button and out pops a blank disc, ready for burning.

Click. Click. Click. The sound of your mouse is probably o­ne you don't even notice anymore. But what if someone is trying to sleep in the same room? What if you need to click o­n something with your mouse, but need to be clandestine about it?

Then, Thanko's new "Silent Mouse" is for you.

One of the problems I've seen with USB hubs is that they're difficult to use if you have USB devices that take up too much space. In other words, the actual "device" portion of the USB device is too wide, and prevents you from using all of the USB ports of your USB hub. To address this problem, Elecom has introduced a new line of USB hubs that feature "separate" connectors.