10/20, 4:45pm
Sanyo projector has 12,000 lumens, 4,000:1 CR
Sanyo on Tuesday introduced the PLC-XF1000 projector to its lineup, which uses two lamps and a new QuaDrive optical engine to produce images much brighter than normally possible. The projector is rated at 12,000 lumens of brightness and a 4,000:1 contrast ratio. Sanyo points out the brightness rating is the highest among 100V AC projectors. The projector also gets an Active Maintenance Filter (AMF) to reduce maintenance costs and labor.
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10/13, 5:00pm
iMovie adopts new PC-friendly video format
Apple on Tuesday released iMovie 8.0.5 [36MB], an update to its free movie editing software bundled with all new Macs. According to Apple, the update improves compatibility with a number of devices and fixes other minor issues, including improved compatibility with camcorders using the iFrame video format and with importing video captured on the iPod nano as well as fixed problems with resizing the iMovie window during playback. The update, available both online and via the Software Update, is recommended for all users of iMovie '09.
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10/13, 11:10am
New Sanyo camcorders get iFrame support
Sanyo has released the first pair of its Dual digital camcorders that support the iFrame video format with the VPC-HD2000A and VPC-FH1A. iFrame is a newer video format meant to make it easy to import, edit and share videos. The new models have a dedicated iFrame video recording mode that uses the same format that is used to edit on a computer to speed up the process.
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10/08, 11:00am
JD Power says iPhone tops, hurts normal phones
The iPhone today claimed an even larger edge in satisfaction versus its rivals in JD Power's second phone satisfaction study of 2009. Apple's smartphone climbed ten points from an earlier score to 811 out of 1,000 while its closest rival, LG, managed just a four-point increase to 776. The two were the only smartphone designers to score above the industry average.
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10/07, 11:05am
Sanyo intros iPod alarm clock, dual dock system
Sanyo on Wednesday introduced two new products made to work with Apple's docking iPods and iPhones, with its cube alarm clock radio, the DMP-P1, along with the dual dock music system, the DMP-692. Both can charge and play the audio content of the connected Apple devices. Either system has an AM/FM tuner, and users can choose to wake up to a preset station, the music from their Apple device or a buzzer. A sleep and snooze mode is also integrated.
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10/01, 4:50pm
Nokia now a member of Wireless Power Consortium
The Wireless Power Consortium on Thursday announced that cellphone maker Nokia has become one of its members. This is expected to result in quicker development and the more widespread use of the Qi wireless charging standard the Consortium is working on. With the addition of Nokia, the company has backed the open standards that would be shared among many makers of cell phones and other portable electronics devices.
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08/26, 4:35pm
Sanyo portable projector
Sanyo on Wednesday announced its LP-XU106 portable LCD projector, which it claims is the highest brightness ultra portable projector in its class, at 4,500 lumens. The LP-XU106 weighs about 7.5lbs and has a 1,000:1 contrast ratio along with a 1.6x zoom lens. A corner keystone correction function lets users place the projector at an offset angle from the screen or wall both vertically and horizontally without distorting the image.
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08/24, 11:10am
Sanyo Xacti CG11 in Japan
Sanyo today brought out a new compact HD camcorder likely destined for the US. The Xacti CG11 records at 720p like many of Sanyo's newer cameras but has built-in recognition of Eye-Fi's cards, such as the Eye-Fi Video line. The hook lets users share video over Wi-Fi to YouTube and elsewhere without having to plug in. Versus the CG10, the new device also gets a mini HDMI port to preview content at full resolution through only an optional cable.
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07/09, 4:40pm
Sanyo intros Repoch DVR
Japan's Sanyo recently announced it would bring a DVR device to market that relies on slot-in hard drives that comply with the iVR (Information Versatile Disk) standard shared with Hitachi. The Repoch will include an integrated tuner for receiving digital terrestrial TV broadcasts to enable viewing recordings on analog broadcast-compatible TVs. This will allow users to keep their outdated analog TVs even though these broadcasts have been discontinued.
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06/30, 4:30pm
Sanyo eneloop lamp
Sanyo on Tuesday announced it will soon release its eneloop lamp, the ENL-Y1S. Meant to promote reuse, the device acts as a desk lamp when stood upright, and automatically turns into a flashlight when lifter to 90 degrees, with the light source coming from the base of the lamp. A third mode, called Healing light by Sanyo, is turned on by pressing down on the lamp and results in a cool blue illumination.
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06/17, 10:05am
Sanyo outs two projectors
At the currently ongoing Infocomm show, Sanyo toda yshowed off a high-brightness LCD projector, the PDG-DET100L, as well as the PLC-WTC500L DLP projector. The former reportedly has the highest brightness rating in its class, at 7,500 lumens, and offers a 1400x1050 native resolution. The PDG-DET100L can also be used in the medical field, as it has a DICOM Simulation Mode that projects X-rays.
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06/02, 11:15am
Sanyo portable projectors
Sanyo on Tuesday announced it will soon add two ultraportable projectors, the PLC-XW250 and the PLC-XW200, to its imaging lineup. Either sports a 1280x768 native resolution and is meant for use in education, especially K-12. Sanyo is touting the pair's eco-power stand-by mode as a breakthrough feature; it uses up just 0.4W of power, which represents an 80% improvement over a previous generation Sanyo projector, the PLC-XW60. Their packaging is also greener with easily recyclable pulp molds instead of plastic or styrofoam.
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05/26, 3:45pm
Sanyo SSD navi systems
Sanyo Japan has recently announced the upcoming release of two of its in-dash navigation and entertainment systems, the NVA-GS1609FT and NVA-GS1409DT, each equipped with a solid state drive (SSD). Dubbed AV Gorilla, the double-DIN head units sport 480x240-pixel 7-inch LCD touchscreen displays. The NVA-GS1609FT has a 16GB SSD, half of which is dedicated for storing map and navigation data. The other 8GB can be used to rip music from inserted CDs at up to 12x speeds or 8x speeds while simultaneously playing back the music. DVDs are supported, but cannot be ripped.
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05/19, 1:40pm
Sanyo Draft N projector
Sanyo has recently announced the upcoming release of its PLC-WXU700 LCD projector in the US. The company claims the device is the world's first with 802.11n Wi-Fi. Hooking it up to a Windows Vista PC will turn it into a network projector, capable of streaming videos at a native widescreen 1280x800 resolution; other operating systems can use the networking for non-streaming control. The portable projector sports a 500:1 contrast ratio and weighs less than 8lbs. Sanyo says its 3,800 lumens brightness makes it the brightest in its class.
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05/12, 9:45am
Sanyo Wi-Fi N projector
Sanyo has recently announced the upcoming release of the industry's first 802.11n Wi-Fi-enabled projector, the LP-WXU700. The advance makes it the fastest wireless data projector on the market and has enough bandwidth to play videos, not just slideshows, over the network connection. When used with Windows Vista PCs, it can stream MPEG-1/2/4 and WMV videos wirelessly; other platforms can use the Wi-Fi to remotely administer the system. The LP-WXU700 has a 1280x800 resolution, a 500:1 contrast ratio and a brightness of 3,800 lumens.
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05/11, 4:50pm
Sanyo SCP-2700 at Sprint
First spotted at the start of March before being unveiled at the CTIA expo, the Sanyo SCP-2700 QWERTY handset is now available at wireless provider Sprint sooner than expected. The entry-level device has a GPS sensor that will provide audible and visual turn-by-turn driving directions, a 1.3-megapixel camera and Bluetooth support.
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05/08, 12:05pm
Fractus Sues HTC Palm More
Fractus has revealed that it has sued 10 cellphone manufacturers this week over their allegedly violating nine different patents relating to internal cellphone antenna technology. The Spanish company's targets are most important world firms and involve HTC, Kyocera, LG, Palm, Pantech, Research in Motion, Samsung, Sharp, Sanyo and UTStarcom. These companies were aware of the patents but violated their use all the same, Fractus claims.
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04/30, 10:35am
iPhone Tops JD Power Ranks
JD Power on Thursday gave Apple's iPhone the highest score on its consumer satisfaction study for cellphones in early 2009. The touchscreen device earned a score of 791 out of 1,000 and beat out both those in its own smartphone category as well as traditional phones. The owners commenting on the phone gave it especially high marks for ease of use, the quality of the operating system, the feature set and the hardware design.
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04/14, 11:50am
Sanyo HD projector
Sanyo Electric in Japan has shown off a prototype projector on Tuesday that is capable of throwing up 1080p, 16:9 images sized at 100 inches from just 23.6 inches away, translating to a throw ratio of just 0.28 and making it possible to place the projector nearly anywhere in a typical room. Move it 37 inches away from the screen, and the projected image grows to 150 inches. The RGB laser light source is sent out via a three-panel DLP system embedded in the TV stand-like enclosure. Brightness is rated at 7,000 lumens, touted as the world's highest.
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04/07, 5:10pm
Sanyo outs PLC-WXE45
Sanyo announced on Tuesday that it has added the PLC-WXE45 LCD projector to its broad lineup, intending it for classroom use as it has both a short throw range and networking capabilities. The WXE45 can create an 80-inch image from a distance of 34 inches away at a native 1280x800 resolution and in a 16:10 aspect ratio. A network interface lets the PLC-WXE45 integrate with wired networks, letting users or IT administrators oversee its functionality remotely. The unit can be set up to send out e-mail that reports its operating status.
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04/02, 10:35pm
Sanyo Ships Hybrid Cams
Sanyo on Thursday said it had started shipping its combination photo and video Dual Camera Xacti line. The series is headlined by the FH1 and HD2000, which can both shoot 1080p video in H.264 while capturing 8-megapixel photos, carry 10X lenses, and both slow motion video as well as burst photo modes that take advantage of large memory buffers. The CA9 and WH1 (pictured) capture movies in 720p but are waterproof and snap 9-megapixel still shots, while the CG10 and TH1 have the same video resolution but 8-megapixel stills and either an extra-small (CG10) or horizontal (TH1) form factor.
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03/16, 4:05pm
Sprint 2009 Roadmap Leak
A roadmap for most or all of Sprint's 2009 phone introductions has been leaked today and confirms the rough timeframes for multiple devices, including direct iPhone rivals. Besides mentioning known or already-launched devices like the Palm Pre and LG Rumor 2, the map obtained by BGR shows that the Samsung Instinct S30 may now just be named the Dash. It would represent a relatively modest upgrade on the surface with a 5-megapixel camera using autofocus, an accelerometer to recognize tilt, a 240x480 display and EVDO Revision A for its 3G access.
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03/10, 1:20pm
Sanyo intros HD projector
Sanyo on Tuesday announced the introduction of its newest projector, the PDG-DHT100L, to its comprehensive projector lineup. The single-chip DLP projector features a native 1920x1080 resolution and is the brightest in its class, at 6,500 lumens. It has a Dual Color Wheel that can be changed by the user for increased color reproduction at the cost of brightness. What's more, the DHT100L has a dual lamp system that lets users operate it non-stop, even in the event one of the 330W HP bulbs should fail.
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03/02, 5:00pm
Sprint getting Sanyo phone
Wireless provider Sprint is due to get a mid-level QWERTY handset known as the Sanyo SCP-2700 sometime in the future, according to a post from an anonymous SprintUsers forum member. Little is known about the handset, other than that it will reportedly sport built-in Bluetooth functionality, an integrated GPS sensor and a 1.3-megapixel camera.
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01/21, 1:45pm
Sanyo Xacti 2009 US
Quickly following up on its Japanese plans, Sanyo this afternoon has already detailed the US plans for its 2009 Xacti camcorders. The FH1 (pictured) is the American rebranding of the FH11 and is one of the first conventional-layout Sanyo camcorders as well as one of the first 1080p60 cameras from the company, recording H.264 video to 8GB of internal memory or SDHC cards; it carries a 10X zoom lens and shoots still photos up to 8 megapixels.
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01/21, 8:40am
Sanyo Xacti 2009 in Japan
Sanyo today gave an early look at its camcorders for the year with a slew of new updates in Japan, all of which are HD models. The FH11 is one of Sanyo's first horizontal camcorders in recent memory and captures its 1080p video either to 8GB of internal memory or to Class 6 SDHC cards. It now supports the full 24Mbps bitrate and 60 frames per second of the H.264 codec. This and the vertically-oriented but SDHC-only HD2000 also shoot still photos at 8 megapixels
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01/16, 10:50am
Sanyo bright projector
Sanyo on Friday announced the upcoming release of what it says is the brightest projector in its class, the dual-lamp PLC-XF71, rated at 10,000 lumens. It has a native resolution of 1024x768, and sports a 3,000:1 contrast ratio. To keep the light output uniform from the two lamps, Sanyo uses a three-mirror system that at the same time is said to reduce color irregularities. The 4:3 aspect ratio professional-grade projector has Sanyo's in-house Durable Inorganic Optical System (DIOS) that has heat- and UV-resistant optical components to keep it running longer.
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12/19, 3:50pm
Wireless Power Consortium
A new organization hopes to make wireless power a widespread option for electronics in the near future. The Wireless Power Consortium hopes to develop a universal standard that would use contact plates to power portable devices by magnetically inducing an electrical charge in an attached device. The move would let users charge devices simply by placing them on a particular surface, including hidden ones, and could avoid the risk of over- or underpowering a device by using conflicting hardware.
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12/18, 9:30am
Panasonic Wraps Sanyo Buy
Panasonic on Thursday is said (membership required) to have successfully landed an agreement to buy Sanyo. The deal follows several weeks of talks and sees Panasonic buy a controlling 70 percent stake in Sanyo from companies that already had influence in the firm, including the American bank Goldman Sachs. The value of the buyout is estimated at the equivalent of $6.4 billion and creates one of the largest Japanese electronics ever, competing with Hitachi.
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12/11, 12:10pm
iPhone BBerry in ComScore
Apple's iPhone line and Research in Motion's BlackBerry have skewed the US cellphone market in favor of more expensive phones and designs, according to new ComScore m:metrics data. Following a year-over-year surge in which the iPhone jumped to second place for smartphone market share in the country, the researchers note that the average monthly percentage of touchscreen phones in use during the summer almost tripled from just 3.6 percent in September 2007 to exactly 10 percent a year later. Fixed QWERTY phones like the BlackBerry Curve also more than doubled their influence from 9.5 percent of users to 22.6 percent.
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12/04, 11:25am
Sanyo Internet radio in US
Sanyo's R227 Internet radio, announced to ship at the end of October in Canada, will soon be available for US customers, the company announced on Thursday. The R227 connects to the Internet via its Wi-Fi module or a wired Ethernet connection and allows users to search for Internet radio stations from around the world by country or genre. There are no fees associated with accessing the stations. The R227 can access secured wireless networks via a key entry interface.
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11/12, 4:30pm
Sanyo LCD projector
Sanyo on Wednesday announced a new addition to its line-up of ultra-portable projectors with the PLC-XW57. Meant for business and classroom use, the 3LCD projector weighs less than seven pounds, and sports 1024x768-pixel resolution. Its 2,000 lumens brightness rating comes courtesy of a 200W bulb and lets the PLC-XW57 throw up images in bright rooms.
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11/07, 10:30am
Panasonic Buys Sanyo
Panasonic today said it would buy fellow Japanese electronics maker Sanyo. The deal, which is unofficially estimated at a worth of $8.8 billion, will make Panasonic the single largest company of its type in Japan and is described as a move to secure Sanyo's well-known battery business, which includes lithium-ion batteries for cellphones, notebooks, portable media players and other devices as well as its automotive, eneloop, and solar power technology.
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11/06, 12:00pm
Sanyo dual-lamp projector
Sanyo on Thursday introduced its newest projector, the LP-XTC50, which offers the industry's first lamp selection system, making it virtually maintenance-free for up to 6,000 hours of operation. The system can automatically or manually choose one of two lamps to project from, switching between them based on user preference or preprogrammed settings. Meant for commercial applications, the LP-XTC50 sports Sanyo's Active Maintenance Filter that automatically detects clogs and scrolls the filter reel to a clean filter panel, of which there are 10.
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11/05, 4:25pm
Sanyo intros three PNDs
Sanyo on Wednesday announced it will soon launch a trio of advanced in-car entertainment and portable GPS devices, including the 7-inch Gorilla NVA-GS1580FT that doubles as a car entertainment center and the portable 7-inch NV-SD750FT, as well as the 5.2-inch NV-SB510DT. The first two use 4GB solid-state drives as well as a dual 12Seg/1Seg TV tuner built-in to catch live broadcasts in the company's native Japan. Apart from the smaller touchscreen size, the NV-SB510DT supports only a 1Seg TV tuner.
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11/03, 3:55pm
Panasonic to buy Sanyo?
A weekend report reveals a Japanese newspaper and news agency are reporting electronics maker Panasonic may buy majority stake in Sanyo Electric before 2009. While the news is unofficial, Sanyo has made a statement saying it is considering options of selling its preferred stock shares but is yet to make a decision. Panasonic's press release, meanwhile, simply reads the company has not made such an announcement, but nothing was yet decided in regards to the rumored purchase, confirming the two companies are in talks.
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11/03, 11:20am
Sprint adds Eclipse X
Sprint on Monday announced the addition of a new handset to its range, with the Katana Eclipse X flip-phone. The main change from the original Katana Eclipse handset includes Sprint's One Click interface that allows users to customize their home screen with one-touch access to their most often used applications. The Katana X also sports lighting effects that users can assign to certain callers, alerts and incoming messages.
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10/31, 3:50pm
Sprint committed to Nextel
Wireless voice and data network provider Sprint on Thursday announced it will extend its long-standing partnership with Motorola and enhance its unique iDEN network. Upgrades will include a greater network and infrastructure support along with software upgrades. In addition to Nextel Direct Connect's push-to-talk (PTT) service that relies on the iDEN network, Sprint will continue to offer its Sprint Mobile Broadband PTT service that uses the newer, faster EVDO Rev. A network to connect users instantly and without associated billable minutes.
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10/28, 4:40pm
Sanyo R227 Internet Radio
Sanyo Canada on Monday announced the launch of its first Internet radio, the R227, which features an Ethernet jack and a built-in Wi-Fi module for no-cost, PC-free access to streaming radio stations and podcasts available on the Internet. Users can search for Internet radio stations by country of origin or genre, and save them on one of eight presets. An integrated FM radio tuner adds more flexibility to the system and includes its own eight presets.
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10/28, 2:40pm
Sanyo advanced photo frame
Sanyo on Tuesday announced the upcoming release of its 7-inch digital photo frame, the HNV-M70, featuring a 16:9 aspect ratio and LCD resolution of 800x480 pixels. The ALBO-series frame has the ability to display JPEG- or BMP-format photos sent to it via e-mail or text from cellphones or uploaded via more traditional methods. A built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi module and network support allows users to sync their photo collections from web-based albums such as Picasa Web Album and Photo Warehouse. The frame also supports RSS feeds, capable of receiving and displaying updates from up to 10 different websites.
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09/16, 5:05pm
Sanyo intros 5:5 projector
Sanyo on Tuesday unveiled the LP-Z3000 high definition LCD projector as its new flagship, doubling the refresh rate to 120Hz compared to the LP-Z2000 model it replaces. The LP-Z3000 is also the first with 5:5 pulldown in the industry, says the company, taking advantage of the 120Hz refresh rate that is ideal for both film shot at 24fps and video at 60fps. The dynamic contrast ratio of the LP-Z3000 is rated at 65,000:1 and should address a projector’s inherent weakness of reproducing rich shades of black.
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09/16, 4:10pm
Sanyo thin navigator
Sanyo on Tuesday announced it has added a new, high-feature portable navigation system to its US line-up of Easy Street devices from its home market in Japan with the Easy Street NVM-4370. The unit is less than three quarters of an inch thick and features a 4.3-inch touchscreen with a 16:9 aspect ratio that will display maps and any of its preloaded 7 million points of interest or play videos or display photos via an SD card slot. A video input lets users hook up the optional back-up camera or other sources to the NVM-4370.
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09/03, 9:00am
Sanyo Xacti E2
Sanyo this morning upgraded its Xacti camcorders with the North American version of the E2. This second generation of the company's hardened camera improves the recording performance and will capture 640x480 H.264 video at up to 60 frames per second and snaps up to eight-megapixel still shots, including at up to five continuous frames per second. It also brings live face detection and a specialized underwater mode that adjusts the colors to avoid some of the tinting that occurs in pool or shallow dives.
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08/28, 2:50pm
Sanyo PLV Z60 projector
Sanyo has introduced a new home theater projector also built with PCs in mind. The projector's 3LCD system is unusually sharp among mainstream projectors with a 720p resolution and produces output closer to HDTVs, with a 10,000:1 contrast ratio and 1,200 lumens of brightness. An optical zoom out to 2x allows the unit to present a 100" picture from 9.8 feet to 20 feet away. The exact position of the image can be adjusted horizontally or vertically. When the unit is not being used, a servo-controlled shutter covers the lens.
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08/26, 1:15pm
Sanyo PLV-Z700 projector
Sanyo on Monday took the wraps off its newest home theater HD projector, the three-LCD PLV-Z700. Capable of projecting 1080p images, Sanyo is nevertheless marketing the PLV-Z700 as an entry-level projector. The company touts the new product as using the most advanced shift lens technology available, capable of shifting three entire screen sizes vertically and two screen sizes horizontally. It also sports a variable iris that adjusts the amount of light projected on the screen 60 times a second, or twice as fast as 30 frames per second tV.
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08/18, 10:15am
Katana Eclipse at Sprint
After multiple leaks and an early Canadian launch, Sprint today began carrying the Katana Eclipse, the next version of Sanyo's extra-thin clamshell. The design draws most of its attention for its elaborate external lighting that can be used both as entertainment and information. While it can flash to music, it can also illuminate during calls in different colors or even different patterns to identify particular users without either a conspicuous ringtone or even vibrations that might be missed in a noisy environment.
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08/15, 4:30pm
TV sales grow 28 percent
Overall TV shipments in North America after the second quarter, at over 9.3 million, represent a 28 percent increase from the same time period in 2007, according to a new DisplaySearch report. The report breaks down the number further by the type of TV technology, including flat-screen tube, LCD and Plasma, as well as by individual brands.
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08/13, 4:10pm
Bell gets Katana Eclipse
Unlike previously hinted, Sanyo's Katana Eclipse flip phone will not make its debut at Sprint, but is currently
available for purchase at Canadian wireless provider Bell Mobility instead. The stylized dual-band GSM phone's most unique feature is its ability to set different illumination colors for different callers or types of incoming messages. Otherwise, the MP3-capable clamshell features external music controls, has 10MB of internal memory and a microSD card slot for expansion up to 8GB.
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08/11, 12:50pm
Sanyo Katana Eclipse pics
Even though it has not been formally announced by any company, Sanyo has posted images of a new Katana phone, the Katana Eclipse (a.k.a. 6750). The photos are high-resolution files in Sanyo's official image bank, and depict a new clamshell device with markings for American carrier Sprint. Significant aesthetics changes are present over previous Katana devices; immediately obvious are sleeker, rounded edges, the lack of a raised center column, and redesigned internal and external buttons.
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07/30, 8:10am
Sanyo HD800 Cam
Sanyo held an event Wednesday for the Japanese launch of the Xacti HD800, a major upgrade to last year's HD700. It still shoots 720p widescreen video in H.264 but has a much improved eight-megapixel CMOS sensor that picks up 70 percent more visual data, improving the perceived sharpness at the same resolution. Color accuracy has also been stepped up, while the HD800 is the first Xacti camera of any kind to have 3D noise reduction that cleans the image in real time.
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