Japan Computer Industry Scan articles from January 2006

Japan Computer Industry Scan archives from January 2006

Web search temporarily suspended on Yahoo! Japan portal.
January 2, 2006... TOKYO, Jan. 1 Kyodo Web search service was suspended for five and a half hours Sunday on the Yahoo! Japan portal due to a computer server glitch, Yahoo Japan Corp. said. The company said it has already taken measures to prevent a...

Samsung to launch Blu-ray DVD player in U.S. in spring.
January 9, 2006... LAS VEGAS, Nevada, Jan. 5 Kyodo South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it will market a next-generation DVD player based on the Blu-ray disc format in the United States this spring. A group led by Sony Corp. developed the...

Sony, Hitachi to unveil PCs with ground digital TV viewing functions.
January 9, 2006... TOKYO, Jan. 6 Kyodo Sony Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. said Friday they will launch new lines of desktop and notebook computers later this month that can receive terrestrial digital TV broadcasting. As models for the spring of 2006, Sony...

Nintendo DS wins big in 2005 home game console sales: report.
January 9, 2006... TOKYO, Jan. 7 Kyodo The portable home game machine Nintendo DS of Nintendo Co. scored a big win in 2005 sales of home game machines in Japan, the Asahi Shimbun reported Saturday, citing a tally compiled by game magazine publisher...

Hitachi group to unify clinical testing system business.(Hitachi Systems & Services Ltd., Hitachi Science Systems Ltd., acquisition deal)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2006... TOKYO, Jan. 10 Kyodo Hitachi Systems & Services Ltd. will take over the clinical testing system business from Hitachi Science Systems Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi High-Technologies Corp., on April 1, Hitachi Systems and...

Apple Computer unveils Macs with Intel processors.
January 17, 2006... NEW YORK, Jan. 10 Kyodo Apple Computer Inc. on Tuesday unveiled its new personal computers incorporating microprocessors of Intel Corp., in a dramatic shift from chips of International Business Machines Corp., with the aim of reducing...

Rakuten to enter publishing business.
January 17, 2006... TOKYO, Jan. 11 Kyodo Rakuten Inc. said Wednesday it will enter the publishing business Thursday, launching ''STAR soccer,'' a monthly soccer magazine. Japan's largest online shopping mall operator said it may later publish...

Toshiba, Sony, IBM enter new semiconductor technology alliance.
January 17, 2006... TOKYO, Jan. 12 Kyodo Toshiba Corp., Sony Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. said Thursday they have entered a new five-year semiconductor research alliance. The three firms said they will cooperate on fundamental research...

Rakuten to enter casualty insurance business with AIG: report.
January 17, 2006... TOKYO, Jan. 12 Kyodo Online shopping mall operator Rakuten Inc. is planning to enter the casualty insurance business by teaming up with American International Group Inc., the world's biggest insurer, the Asahi Shimbun reported Thursday....

LEAD: New KDDI handsets offer oral access to navigation service.
January 17, 2006... TOKYO, Jan. 12 Kyodo (EDS: ADDING INFO IN PENULTIMATE GRAF) KDDI Corp. said Thursday it will introduce three new handsets for its ''au'' mobile phone service next month which will enable users to orally use the ''EZ Navi Walk''...

Yoshimoto Kogyo unit Fandango to debut on 'Hercules' market Feb. 16.
January 17, 2006... OSAKA, Jan. 16 Kyodo The Osaka Securities Exchange said Monday it will list Fandango Inc., a content production and distribution subsidiary of entertainment company Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., on its ''Hercules'' market for start-ups on Feb....

Yoshimoto Kogyo unit Fandango to debut on 'Hercules' market Feb. 16.
January 23, 2006... OSAKA, Jan. 16 Kyodo The Osaka Securities Exchange said Monday it will list Fandango Inc., a content production and distribution subsidiary of entertainment company Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., on its ''Hercules'' market for start-ups on Feb....

FEATURE: ATTN KWS SUBSCRIBERS: photo advisory.
January 23, 2006... TOKYO, Jan. 17 Kyodo A feature story on fashion, headlined, ''American fashion designers turn to Japan for trends and inspiration,'' and sent earlier, is accompanied by one photo, which is available via e-mail. Call+81-3-6252-8318...

Yahoo Japan posts record high sales, net profit for Oct-Dec. qtr.(Brief Article)
January 30, 2006... TOKYO, Jan. 23 Kyodo Yahoo Japan Corp. said Monday both its group sales and net profit for the three months to last December rose to all-time highs on a quarterly basis with soaring revenue from its Web advertising business. In a...

Institute develops humanoid robot with improved vision.
January 30, 2006... TSUKUBA, Japan, Jan. 24 Kyodo The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology has developed a humanoid robot with improved vision which enables it to carry out tasks such as fetching a can of orange juice from a...

Elpida Memory likely to incur net loss for FY 2005.
January 30, 2006... TOKYO, Jan. 24 Kyodo Elpida Memory Inc., Japan's only specialized producer of dynamic random access memory chips, said Tuesday it is likely to incur a group net loss of 2-6 billion yen for the current business year through March 31,...

Firm to offer use of robots to care for aged, work as receptionists.
January 30, 2006... NAGOYA, Jan. 25 Kyodo People Staff Co. said Wednesday it will begin offering the use of robots to care for residents of homes for the aged or work as receptionists at offices, beginning in February. The service is the first of its...

Flat TV shipments top those of CRT sets in 2005 in Japan.(Brief Article)
January 30, 2006... TOKYO, Jan. 26 Kyodo The shipments of plasma and liquid crystal display TVs totaled 4.69 million units in 2005, exceeding for the first time those of bulkier cathode-ray tube sets that came to 3.98 million units, an industry group said...

Global mobile phone shipments top 800 million units: survey.
January 30, 2006... NEW YORK, Jan. 26 Kyodo Worldwide mobile phone shipments totaled 825.5 million units, up 16.7 percent over the previous year, led largely by robust shipments in the fourth quarter, U.S. high-tech survey firm IDC said Thursday. ...

Tokyo Disneyland to introduce Monsters Inc. attraction in FY 2009.
January 30, 2006... TOKYO, Jan. 30 Kyodo Oriental Land Co., the operator of Tokyo Disneyland, said Monday it will invest 10 billion yen to introduce a new attraction in fiscal 2009 in which visitors can experience the world of the 2001 movie Monsters Inc. ...