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Tokyo, Japan — Hitachi, Japan’s biggest electronics conglomerate, plans to exit the business of making small hard disk drives as demand shifts to flash memory chips, Reuters reports citing the Nikkei business daily reports on Sunday.

“Hitachi’s hard drive unit, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies has already stopped production of 1-inch hard drives and plans to stop shipping 1.8-inch drives around next summer, the newspaper said.

The Nikkei also said Hitachi rival Fujitsu has given up on plans to enter the market for small drives. Fujitsu had been developing 1.8-inch drives with U.S.-based Cornice with plans to bring a product to market in 2007.

Hitachi will focus on 2.5-inch and 3.5-drives, anticipating strong demand for the bigger drives that are used in personal computers and digital electronics such as DVD recorders, the Nikkei said.” More at Reuters.

Tokyo, Japan — Dec 25, `07 –BUSINESS WIRE– Hitachi, Canon and Matsushita Electric today reached a basic agreement on a comprehensive alliance aimed at reinforcing and growing the liquid crystal display (LCD) panel businesses and technologies.

Under this alliance, the three companies will merge their strengths to accelerate the development of cutting-edge display technologies and expand their scope of application. Hitachi possesses sophisticated liquid crystal-related technologies, including the world-acclaimed In-Plane Switching (“IPS”) technology that enables outstanding color reproducibility, wide viewing angles and other superior features. Canon, meanwhile, excels in the camera, printer and medical equipment fields while Matsushita commands global leadership in the flat-panel TV field.

Moreover, it has been basically agreed by the three companies that Canon and Matsushita will, by transfer of shares from Hitachi, each acquire 24.9% of the shares of Hitachi Displays, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi engaged in small- and medium-sized LCD panel-related businesses, by March 31, 2008, subject to approvals by regulatory authorities. As a result, Hitachi’s stake in Hitachi Displays is to become 50.2%.

Hitachi will strengthen its competitiveness in the flat-panel LCD TV sector by using state-of-the-art LCD panels to develop the world’s thinnest flat-panel LCD TV and its ultra-thin flat-panel LCD TVs “Wooo UT series.”

Canon aims to accelerate ongoing development of organic light-emitting diode (“OLED”) displays by teaming up with Hitachi, which also boasts advanced display technologies.

Matsushita is expanding and strengthening its mainline PDP operations. It is also deepening its involvement in the businesses of Hitachi Displays, a designer, manufacturer and marketer of IPS liquid crystal panels for large TVs, and of IPS Alpha. The aim is to exploit the outstanding performance and cost advantage of the IPS alpha Panel toward increasing the competitive edge of the VIErA Series of flat-panel TVs in step with PDP models.

As the second stage, the three companies are planning ownership changes that would have Canon, a company with extensive know-how in small- and medium-sized displays from the user side, take a majority holding in Hitachi Displays, and Matsushita, a universally acknowledged leader in the TV sector, take a majority holding in IPS Alpha. More here.

Microsoft delivers next milestone for highly anticipated Windows Server 2008, makes RC1 (release candidate one) ready for testing; industry readies for worldwide launch wave with “Heroes Happen Here” launch theme.

REDMOND, Wash — Dec 5, 2007 — Reaching a major milestone in development, Microsoft today made available the Windows Server 2008 release candidate one (RC1) for customers to download and evaluate.

In addition, Microsoft committed more than $150 million (U.S.) worldwide for outreach and demand generation to IT professionals and developers, and disclosed additional details and partner programs in preparation for the “Heroes Happen Here” launch events, beginning on Feb. 27, 2008, in Los Angeles.

Windows Server 2008 RC1
Windows Server 2008, which is scheduled to release to manufacturing (RTM) by the Feb. 27 launch event, reached the RC1 milestone today and is available to customers for download at Microsoft.com/ws08eval.

With RC1, Microsoft is enhancing Group Policy with Group Policy Preferences, formerly known as PolicyMaker Standard Edition and Policy Share Manager. As the code approaches final signoff, RC1 is one of the last opportunities for customers and partners to evaluate it and provide feedback. So far, more than 1.8 million customers have obtained Windows Server 2008 evaluation code.

Industry Partners Kick Off Windows Server 2008 Launch Wave
As the industry gears up for the new enterprise and developer platform, thousands of industry partners have been working with Microsoft on product testing and evaluation, and are currently developing new applications, device drivers, services and solutions.

Ten partners in particular — Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Citrix Systems, Dell, Fujitsu, Hitachi, HP, Intel, Quest Software, SAP AG and Unisys — have already invested significant time and resources to be platinum sponsors of the upcoming launch, demonstrating their strong support for and excitement about Microsoft’s next-generation products.

To date more than 140,000 IT professionals and developers have been trained on Windows Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008, and 3,100 certifications have been granted on Windows Server 2008. More at Microsoft.

HITACHINAKA, Japan — Nov 22, ‘07 — The AP is reporting on Hitachi’s new toddler-like robot rolled around and waved for reporters Wednesday, only to crash into a desk and demonstrate the challenge of turning automatons into everyday helpers.

The AP further writes, “The red and white robot, designed to run errands in offices, wasn’t prepared for the jam of lunch-break wireless network traffic at the company’s research center. Unable to communicate with its handler’s laptop, it smashed into the office furniture as reporters gasped.

Still, the 31.5-inch tall, 29-pound EMIEW 2 was able to show how it can scoot on two wheels, get on its knees to move on four wheels and even lift its foot about an inch to step over thresholds and bumps.

One feature - wireless control - was at the heart of Wednesday’s mishap.

While showing off its ability to understand human speech, a spectator asked where someone was sitting. It responded in a boylike electronic voice: “I will take you there. Follow me.”

Seconds later, when it tried to maneuver between two desks, it smashed into one of them. A demonstrator reached out just in time to catch the robot by its winglike handles before it toppled over.

Reporters had to wait for an hour until after the lunch break to watch the robot repeat the demonstration - this time smoothly making its way between the desks.

“We are studying what hurdles need to be overcome to make robots practical,” said Hitachi researcher Takashi Teramoto. “One characteristic we feel we need to ensure for robots is safety.”

EMIEW 2 robot also features a gyrosensor to maintain its balance, lithium ion batteries for an hour worth of power before recharging and a laser radar to map out its surroundings in its computer brain, according to Hitachi.

Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. have also developed human-like robots that reporters have seen working as guides at the Japanese automakers’ facilities. Other electronics makers such as NEC Corp. and Fujitsu have shown robots, but Sony Corp. has discontinued the Aibo dog-shaped entertainment robot.” More at AP.

Nov 07, ‘07 — Hitachi has stopped shipments for Rear-Projection TVs (RPTVs) in North America and its Mexican factories ceased production of RPTVs this summer, according to a Japanese-language Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun report, according to Digitimes.

Digitimes further writes, “Hitachi’s shipment for RPTVs in North America declined from 360,000 units in 2004 to 30,000 units in 2007, citing the report. More at Digitimes.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — BUSINESS WIRE — Nov 06, ‘07 — Debuting today, the newest members of Hitachi GST’s CinemaStar cast of hard drives are ready for their close-up. Hitachi is offering multiple form factors to address a wide variety of needs in the growing consumer electronics market. A 3.5-inch drive with capacities up to 500GB provides industry-best power utilization and performance, while the more compact 2.5-inch drive with capacities up to 250GB is well-suited for use in sleek set-top boxes and portable digital video devices.

The abundance of digital video has been fueling consumer demand for digital video recorders (DVRs) with more storage capacity and new slim, space-saving designs. The CinemaStar C5K250 and P7K500 are the latest in a long line of Hitachi drives optimized for use in home entertainment applications.

More at Hitachi, Press Release, CinemaStar 7K500, Cinemastar C5K250.

TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)-October 23, ‘07-Hitachi has achieved yet another consumer electronics breakthrough with today’s announcement of its new line of 1.5-inch (35mm) Ultra Thin HDTV’s. Hitachi also expects to be first to market with its new Ultra Thin series, which will be available in the Japan market in December of 2007. U.S. consumers can expect to see Ultra Thin models in early 2008 – many months before thin displays from other manufacturers.Initially offered in three sizes (32”, 37” and 42”), the displays are designed to provide consumers with a range of options for placement throughout the home.

The new Ultra Thin Displays embody the following features:
-External Electrode Fluorescent Lamp(EEFL)
-Wide Viewing Angle
-Hitachi’s Proprietary “Anti-Judder” Technique(37” & 42”)
-Picture Master Full HD
-High Audio Quality
-Highly Refined and Energy Efficient Design

More at BusinessWire

According to Hitachi GST Press Release, Hitachi Achieves Nanotechnology Milestone for Quadrupling Terabyte Hard Drive. TOKYO, Oct. 15, 2007 – Hitachi, Ltd. and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) announced today they have developed the world’s smallest read-head technology for hard disk drives, which is expected to quadruple current storage capacity limits to four terabytes (TB) on a desktop hard drive and one TB on a notebook hard drive.Researchers at Hitachi have successfully reduced existing recording heads by more than a factor of two to achieve new heads in the 30-50 nanometer (nm) range, which is up to 2,000 times smaller than the width of an average human hair (approx. 70-100 microns). Called current perpendicular-to-the-plane giant magnetoresistive1 (CPP-GMR) heads, Hitachi’s new technology is expected to be implemented in shipping products in 2009 and reach its full potential in 2011.

Hitachi will present these achievements at the 8th Perpendicular Magnetic Recording Conference (PMRC 2007) to be held October 15-17, 2007 at the Tokyo International Forum in Japan.

More at Hitachi GST

Aving News Network reports  from CEATEC Tokyo, Japan, ” HITACHI unveiled a future concept of remote controller during CEATEC 2007, which features intuitive user interface.”

More at Aving…

PCPro UK reports, “Hitachi has developed a prototype four layer Blu-Ray disc capable of holding 100GB of data. The company claims to have used a standard Blu-Ray drive optical head that’s only slightly modified to allow it to read and write data across the four 25GB layers. It’s believed this will only require a firmware update to make existing drives compatible.

The hardware manufacturer is also researching an eight layer disc that can hold 200GB of data but has encountered problems with reflections decreasing signal strength across the eight layers, which it is working to rectify. “

No word on commercial release yet. More at PCPro UK…

According to Live-PR and Businesswire, ” has announced its dynamic new StarBoard FX Duo interactive whiteboard series that revolutionizes the education industry with new multi-touch interaction capabilities only possible with the unique combination of Hitachi Software’s durable whiteboard design and cutting-edge software technology.

Taking interaction to a whole new level for educators and corporate presenters alike, the StarBoard FX Duo allows control using multi-touch hand gestures, as well as use of the presenter’s finger, an electronic pen or any other object. “The ability to use two hands naturally creates a whole new interface for whiteboards and computers in the classroom,” explained Akira Nagamori, director of business development, Hitachi Software. “A teacher can bring a static diagram of a plant cell to life by zooming into detailed areas — just by spreading his or her two fingers apart, marking it up with vibrant inks, and then linking it to a free flash simulation on the internet.”

More at Live-PR and BusinessWire…