Japan Computer Industry Scan articles from January 2007

Japan Computer Industry Scan archives from January 2007

Showa Denko to sell plastic product unit to Toyo Denka Kogyo.
January 1, 2007... TOKYO, Dec. 26 Kyodo Chemical maker Showa Denko K.K. said Tuesday it will sell all of its stake in its wholly owned plastic product manufacturing unit to iron-alloying company Toyo Denka Kogyo Co. for several billion yen. The sale of...

NEC Electronics launches system LSI chips for next-generation DVDs.
January 1, 2007... TOKYO, Dec. 27 Kyodo NEC Electronics Corp. on Wednesday launched system large-scale integrated circuit chips that can be used for DVD players and recorders that employ either of the rival next-generation DVD formats, the company said....

Yoshimoto Kogyo to publish comic magazine, make films.
January 8, 2007... OSAKA, Jan. 4 Kyodo Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., an entertainment firm, said Thursday it will launch a publishing business by marketing a comic magazine and also spend 500 million yen ($4.19 million) on filmmaking this year. The Osaka-based...

Toshiba develops HD DVD drive for desktop PCs.
January 8, 2007... TOKYO, Jan. 5 Kyodo Toshiba Corp. said Friday it has developed what it says is the world's first high-definition DVD drive for enabling desktop personal computers to read, and write to, HD DVD disks as well as standard DVD disks. ...

Toshiba unveils disk capable of recording HD DVD images for 7 hours.
January 15, 2007... LAS VEGAS, Nevada, Jan. 8 Kyodo Toshiba Corp. of Japan has developed a large-capacity high-definition DVD disk that is capable of recording movies and video images for as long as seven hours. The electronics manufacturer said Sunday...

Apple plans June launch of iPod mobile phone in U.S.
January 15, 2007... LAS VEGAS, Nev., Jan. 9 Kyodo Apple Computer Inc. will introduce an iPod mobile phone in the United States in June and make the iPhone available in Europe in the second half of this year and in Asia in 2008, Chief Executive Officer Steve...

Japan's video game market expands to record 625.8 bil. yen in 2006.
January 15, 2007... TOKYO, Jan. 10 Kyodo Combined domestic sales of video game software and hardware in 2006 rocketed 37.6 percent from the previous year to a record 625.8 billion yen, game magazine publisher Enterbrain Inc. said Wednesday. The publisher...

Nintendo raises earnings projection on strong sales of game consoles.(Financial report)
January 15, 2007... OSAKA, Jan. 10 Kyodo Nintendo Co. on Wednesday raised its earnings projection for the current fiscal year thanks to brisk sales of ''Nintendo DS'' and ''Wii'' game console hardware and software both at home and abroad. Nintendo said...

PC users' complaints over virus attacks double in 2006.
January 15, 2007... TOKYO, Jan. 11 Kyodo The number of personal computer users' reports to the Japanese arm of Trend Micro Inc. of viruses intruding into their computers more than doubled in 2006 to 91,901 cases from 45,208 the year before, the vaccine...

PC makers unveil new models for Windows Vista.
January 15, 2007... TOKYO, Jan. 15 Kyodo Toshiba Corp. and other Japanese personal computer makers on Monday unveiled new models designed for Windows Vista, the latest version of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating systems. Toshiba has installed...

PlayStation 3 console shipments in Japan reach 1 mil. units.
January 22, 2007... TOKYO, Jan. 16 Kyodo The number of PlayStation 3 video game consoles shipped in Japan by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. reached 1 million units Tuesday, the company said. Including shipments to the United States and Canada that...

Nov. cellphone shipments up 11.2% for 2nd straight monthly rise.(Brief article)
January 22, 2007... TOKYO, Jan. 17 Kyodo Domestic shipments of cellphones, including personal handy phone systems, rose 11.2 percent in November from the year before to 4.61 million units, the second straight month of increase, an industry body said...

Marubeni buys out U.S. provider of 'vendor lease finance' services.
January 22, 2007... TOKYO, Jan. 18 Kyodo Marubeni Corp. said Thursday its U.S. unit, Marubeni America Corp., has acquired Partners Equity Capital Co., a Pennsylvania-based U.S. provider of ''vendor lease finance'' services, to enter into the business field....

2 major Linux groups merge for enhanced research, development.
January 29, 2007... NEW YORK, Jan. 22 Kyodo Two major groups that have been promoting the use of free operating system Linux said Monday that they will merge to better promote research and development activities. The announcement came ahead of the release...

New cellphone security system developed to protect personal info.
January 29, 2007... TOKYO, Jan. 23 Kyodo A government-backed research body and Japanese companies said Tuesday they have developed new electronic authentication technologies aimed at protecting personal information of mobile communication device users in...

Sony BMG, Warner Music to invest in Chinese digital media tech firm.
January 29, 2007... NEW YORK, Jan. 23 Kyodo Sony BMG Music Entertainment Inc. and Warner Music Group said Tuesday they will make a strategic investment in a Chinese digital media technology company which develops technology to distribute music downloads to...

2ND LD: Ricoh to buy IBM's business-oriented digital printer operations.
January 29, 2007... TOKYO, Jan. 25 Kyodo (EDS: ADDING LAST 3 GRAFS) Ricoh Co. said Thursday it will acquire International Business Machines Corp.'s business-oriented digital printer operations in the next three years in an attempt to sharpen its global...

JCB, Orix, local UAE firm to set up JV for credit card business.
January 29, 2007... TOKYO, Jan. 26 Kyodo Two Japanese firms and a major shopping mall developer in the United Arab Emirates said Friday they will set up a joint venture in February in Dubai to operate a credit card business in the Middle East and North...