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LONDON, England, and TOKYO, Japan, February 4, 2008—LiMo Foundation, a global consortium of mobile leaders delivering an open handset platform for the whole industry, today announced the on-schedule availability in March 2008 of the first release of the LiMo Platform—the first globally competitive, Linux-based software platform for mobile handsets—together with the immediate public availability of the application programming interface (API) specifications.

LiMo’s technology will be showcased in Booth 8b135, Hall 8 at Mobile World Congress, February 11-14 in Barcelona.

LiMo’s initial Founder members—Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics and Vodafone—collaborated on Release 1 (R1), and nearly all of the enabling technology within R1 has been commercially deployed and proven within handsets enjoyed by consumers today.

The LiMo Platform—leveraging standards and open-source projects—is a modular, plug-in-based, hardware-independent architecture built around an open operating system, with a secure run-time environment for support of downloaded applications. Linux was selected as the core technology for the LiMo Platform for its acceptability by the whole mobile industry, its rich functionality and scalability, its record of success in embedded systems and mobile phones and its potential to easily “cross-platformize” with other product categories.

Third-party developers will use LiMo’s API specifications—available in beta form immediately at www.limofoundation.org—to build new applications that deliver next-generation consumer experiences across a tremendous, stable base of globally deployed mobile devices. Middleware components for the LiMo Platform can be implemented in either C or C++ programming languages.

Launched in January 2007, the LiMo Foundation is open to all vendors and service providers in the mobile communications marketplace, including device manufacturers, operators, chipset manufacturers, independent software vendors, integrators and third-party developers. More at Limofoundation.org.

Tokyo, Japan — On Dec 14, NEC announced the release of its first mobile WiMAX solution, PasoWings. The new generation equipment brings the assurance of ITU and IEEE accreditation and marks a cornerstone in certification of the mobile WiMAX standard.

The first products will be shipped to customers in December, with networks being rolled out in early 2008.

NEC has been shipping equipment worldwide during 2007 and has carried out key trials in Japan, Taiwan and other countries. The Tatung network is one of the first networks rolled out under the Taiwanese government sponsored M-Taiwan project. The network is viewed throughout the WiMAX industry as a medium to prove the excellence of WiMAX technology and as a best in class system.

Through on-going trials and commercial deployments NEC will continue to focus on developed and developing markets worldwide. Supporting both 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz frequency ranges allows the solution to support both mobile and fixed operators. The inherent agility in the system means that fixed and mobile business cases in WiMAX are no longer mutually exclusive.

PasoWings, which provides end-to-end solutions, is comprised of subscriber terminals (CPE) such as PCMCIA cards that are inserted into PCs; wireless access products such as base stations and antennas, and application servers such as user authentication servers or user positional information management servers. More at NEC.

CHICAGO, ILL — December 3, 2007 — NEC Display Solutions of America announced today its largest LCD yet, the 65-inch NEC MultiSync LCD6520. The commercial-grade display delivers a robust feature set and dynamic technology expansion capabilities.

The LCD6520 is embedded with NEC’s Digital Signage Technology Suite (DSTS), which includes more than 20 features and functions developed specifically for digital signage, making the display ideal for the transportation, corporate, medical, retail, and hospitality markets. When used in digital signage applications, these features create a lower cost of ownership by eliminating the need for additional and sometimes expensive third-party components.

This new display features a 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution with a 2000:1 contrast ratio, 6-millisecond response time, and Ambix+ Technology, which supports both digital and analog inputs. The LCD6520 LCD display is the largest direct-view display ever offered by NEC, and is available in both portrait and landscape models.

The new MultiSync LCD6520 offers the following key features:

* Commercial grade technology for 24/7 usage
* Exclusive Digital Signage Technology Suite with 20+ advanced features
* Built-in expansion slot, which allows for seamless integration of third-party components (CAT5 receiver, Single Board Computer, HD-SDI, DVI loop-thru for Daisy Chain set-up)
* Optional digital tuner available for landscape model, which allows for high-definition television capabilities
* Optional 15-watt speakers available in 2008
* AV inputs for HDMI, composite, S-Video, RCA, and mini-pin JACK
* Full High-Definition (HD) 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080) for optimum clarity
* 2000:1 contrast ratio
* 6-millisecond response time for full-motion video
* Display management controls, which lower energy consumption and save money

The LCD6520L-AV and LCD6520P-AV are available for shipping with an estimated street price of $18,499.99 and $19,999.99, respectively.

Tokyo, Japan — Nov 27, ‘07 — Japanese chip makers Toshiba and NEC said on Tuesday they would jointly develop 32-nanometer chips to better keep up with rivals, reports Reuters.

“The companies will decide in 2008 how and if they will jointly produce the chips, they said.

Chip makers are racing to move to tinier circuit sizes to cut production cost per chip function and enable powerful electronics that run for hours without killing the battery. But the shift also forces changes in fundamental materials and processes and exposes chip makers to huge initial costs.

Samsung, IBM, Chartered Semiconductor, Infineon Technologies, STMicroelectronics and Freescale Semiconductor have said they would work through 2010 to develop and produce 32-nanometer chips. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter.

Toshiba and NEC Electronics, which plan to mass produce 45-nanometer or 40-nanometer chips by early 2009, had also approached Fujitsu, declined to comment on whether or not Fujitsu would join the group, only saying that Fujitsu was considering various options.” More at Reuters.

NEC is rolling out the newest addition to its LaVie G series laptops, Red Nissan X-Trail laptop, with a some kind of collaboration between “NEC Direct” and “N-LINK“.

Quick Specs:

-Intel Core 2 Duo-ULV-U7500
-Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
-12.1 1024×768 XGA TFT LCD
-DVD+/-RW
-$2113 or $1175(16% Discount till 10/26)

More at (google translated)NEC

CHICAGO - October 18, 2007 - NEC Display Solutions of America, a leading stand-alone provider of LCD desktop and commercial large-screen LCDs, plasma displays and projectors, announced today the addition of three new LCD monitors to its MultiSync 5 Series. These new, full-featured displays incorporate innovative technologies while delivering a superior desktop performance.The standard-aspect 19-inch MultiSync LCD195NXM, and the wide-screen 20-inch MultiSync LCD205WNXM and 22-inch LCD225WNXM are Windows VISTA compatible and offer NEC’s exclusive NaViSet software, an intuitive graphical user interface. With this feature, users can easily adjust On Screen Manager display settings via mouse and keyboard, allowing users to set the monitor to specific settings for color critical programs.

“These new MultiSync 5 Series multimedia displays truly deliver price, performance and value, along with overall productivity,” said Lynn Gu, Product Manager for NEC Display Solutions. “They incorporate most of the features of our higher-end enterprise displays, such as a four-way adjustable stand, four-port USB hub, down-firing speakers and touch-integration at a great price.” The new MultiSync LCD195NXM, LCD205WNXM, and LCD225WNXM models offer a number of specific benefits:

• Thin bezel with both standard and wide-aspect ratio for more viewing area or convenient multiple monitor configurations
• 4-way adjustable stand, featuring full height (110mm), pivot, swivel, and tilt for ergonomic positioning
• USB 2.0 hub with four USB ports, which enhance connections
• Integrated down-firing speakers supporting multimedia capability
• Touch-integration for expanded functionality
• Lower power consumption, which reduces total cost of ownership
• Unique cable management, which creates a clean and organized desk work area
• No Touch Auto Adjust, which eliminates the hassle of adjusting screen controls when connecting displays to a new system
• WindowsTM VISTA-compatible
• Ambix dual-input technology
• NaViSet, which provides a graphical user interface that allows users to adjust On Screen Manager display settings via mouse and keyboard
• Rapid-Response technology (5ms), which delivers virtually uninterrupted, undistorted viewing of high-speed, full-motion video
• Internal power supply
• Service+, Premium Protect, and Total Trade Customer Care programs

More at NECDisplay

TOKYO, October 18, 2007 - NEC LCD Technologies today introduced two new 21.3-inch [54 centimeters (cm)-diagonal] amorphous-silicon color thin-film-transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD) modules for medical applications such as the display of radiograms for the interpretation and diagnosis of illness. The NL160120AC27-20 is an ultra extended graphics array (UXGA) resolution TFT LCD module with brightness of 950 cd/m², and the NL204153AC21-09 is a quad extended graphics array (QXGA) resolution TFT LCD module with brightness of 800 cd/m². Both of the new color products achieve industry-leading luminance in each resolution category by NEC LCD Technologies’ proprietary ultra-advanced, super-fine TFT (UA-SFT) technology and a new high-intensity, direct back-light system. Ideal for medical image diagnosis, the new modules also realize high picture performance with ultra-wide viewing angles, a high contrast ratio and high brightness uniformity. The main characteristics of the new models are as follows.

1. Industry-leading high luminance
Through first-time application of proprietary UA-SFT technology to the 21.3-inch class of LCDs, which achieves a 20% improvement in optical transmittance as compared with SA-SFT technology, combined with the new high-intensity direct back-light system and further enhanced LCD panel design, the NL160120AC27-20 achieves high luminance of 950 cd/m², twice that of the conventional product. The NL204153AC21-09 has QXGA resolution that is equivalent to approximately 1.6 times the density (area ratio) of the NL160120AC27-20 and attains high luminance of 800 cd/m². Although both of the new products are color models they achieve a dynamic range of luminance, which has been conventionally difficult to attain along with high density and color, thereby enabling the smooth and precise reproduction of grayscale required for medical image diagnosis.

2. High contrast performance
A review in panel design, including adoption of UA-SFT technology, has improved the LCD panel’s ability to prevent the leakage of light leading to enhanced black display. As a result, the NL160120AC27-20 and the NL204153AC21-09 realize high contrasts of 800:1 and 750:1 respectively. In addition, optimization of the optical design inhibits a “washed-out black” phenomenon that occurs when the viewing angle is enlarged - currently a common issue with in-plane switching (IPS) type LCD modules - leading to enhanced viewing angle performance of the contrast ratio.

3. High brightness uniformity
Enhancement of the entire optical design of the LCD module, including the LCD panel and the backlight system, enabled a reduction in the screen brightness difference, realizing a higher level of brightness uniformity than the conventional product, NL160120AC27-05. Higher brightness uniformity has been long sought after in medical image diagnosis.

More at NEC

New device to aid criminal investigations and crime prevention through expanded and accelerated use of DNA analysis for individual profiling. Says NEC. Tokyo, October 15, 2007 – NEC has developed the world’s first portable human DNA Analyzer with Aida Engineering. This analyzer integrates all steps of the DNA analysis process, from DNA extraction to electrophoresis and individual profiling.The analyzer has been developed mainly for the law enforcement market. By narrowing the analyzer’s application to DNA analysis specifically for individual identification, developers have streamlined the analytical process and realized a compact device the size of an attaché case (500mm W x 400mm D x 200mm H) that can be easily transported and analyzed at crime scenes.

DNA analysis process consists of 5 steps: (1) cell collection, (2) DNA extraction, (3) Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to amplify DNA fragments, (4) electrophoresis to ascertain DNA “fingerprints” and (5) STR analysis for determining genetic profiling. NEC’s newly developed device is the world’s first portable DNA analyzer to fully integrate the entire process.

The compact nature of the analyzer facilitates coordination between each step and greatly expedites the PCR procedure where DNA fragments are alternatively heated and cooled. As a result, the device can complete the entire process, from DNA extraction to analysis, in approximately 25 minutes. The device is expected to be ready for full-scale production in 2008.

More at NEC Press Release

Weighing just 350g with dimensions measuring 150mm(W)×94mm(D) ×30.4mm(H), NEC has released a tiny thin client desktop US110. It comes with 5 USB 2.0 ports, resolution of upto 1600×1200, 128 MB RAM and gigabit ethernet and will support Remote Desktop Protocol 5.5 (Microsoft Windows Server 2003 TerminalService / Microsoft Windows XP Remote Desktop). It’ll be available in Japan from October 29, ‘07 for approx. $417

More at (google translated) NEC Japan here & here 

Reg Hardware is reporting on a new release of Blu-ray drive for Laptops. “Optiarc, the optical drive joint venture between Sony and NEC, has taken the wraps off its first Blu-ray Disc playback drive for laptops, claiming the machine will allow notebook makers to equip mid-range models with the next-gen disc format.

Optiarc’s BC-5500A doubles up as a standard CD and DVD burner, writing single-layer DVD±R/RW, dual-layer DVD±R, DVD-RAM and CD-R/RW media at up to 8x, 4x, 5x and 16x speeds, respectively. Optiarc said the drive is available to buy now and that it will retail for around £165 ($335).

Separately, Sony also introduced a new desktop BD drive, the BWU-200S. This one can burn BD-R and BD-RE media too, with BD-R recording speed running at 4x - though only 2x for BD-RE.”

More at RegHardware…