While technophiles the world over got worked up and hyperventilated at Steve Jobs' announcement of the iPhone, the Japanese simply looked up a while from their keitai, then went on with their business. And the reason for this? The fact that the iPhone has nothing new to offer to them.

While Jobs boasts of the iPhones new interface, the Japanese are finding it hard to believe that it is a "revolutionary product" that will "change everything". Apple also notes that the iPhone can be used to download music and surf the internet, as well as support one-way conferencing in the future. Over at Japan, the whole population have already been doing all this for years. On top of that, most phones can support five-way video conferencing, and their mobiles can also be used to buy train tickets, pay for taxi rides, design a webpage, update a blog, pay for puchases at the convenience store, book hotel reservations, watch a movie or the latest baseball game, use GPS, get exclusive content by scanning a barcode on the seats at the baseball stadium, and an entire plethora of other features and uses which Apple still seems to be clueless about (they should probably start off by checking out Strap-Ya, or something).

All this can again be attributed to one main attribute that Apple is missing, and that would be 3G technology. At the moment, the iPhone is still on a second-generation network.

So, when Japanese retailers were told about the amazing, new iPhone and its features, one shopkeeper merely laughed and said, "Sounds like business as usual".

Uh-oh. It looks like those metal-scavenging Jawas have finally gotten their grubby paws on R2D2 and have turned him into... well, an iPod dock. As spotted at the CES 2007 floor, this little droid won't exactly pilot your X-Wing for you anymore, but it CAN play your tunes and project your movies.

At the Nikko Home Electronics corner, the R2-D2 DVD Projector was spotted being sold for more than US$ 2,000. You can pop in your favorite DVD movie in the slot and project the show onto your wall. If you're tired of that, R2D2 can also play your CDs or hook up to your iPod.

This guy's true purpose is to play DVDs though, and can display an image on the wall at up to 80 inches wide, or he can tilt up so he can project onto the ceiling, just so you can lie back while you watch the latest season of "House MD".

As for the remote, the remote control slides out of a replica of the Millennium Falcon. Besides controlling the projector though, this remote can also move R2D2 himself, making him go forward, reverse, right, left, and do pivot turns as he makes his signature bleeps and boops (I have to admit, that is so darned cute...).

Now if only he came with his mini-zapper and his rocket boosters, it would be perfect.

Given that Networking media is expected to be a huge thing at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, Neuros Technology's contributions, most notably their Linux-based open source embedded media center - the Neuros OSD Â? will be a sure sight at this year's CES.

IGN reports that using the OSD, users will be able to record from a wide array of devices and then read and write to iPods, PCs, Smart Phones, PSPs, etc.

For the average person (all the non-techy folks out there), this means that all of your portable devices can now be linked to your entertainment center with relative ease. The unit is priced at $229.99 and will be showcased at CES along with several new products.

We'll update you with more bits regarding this years CES as the news comes. Stay tuned.

Rumors have been circulating that Apple is about to revamp its line of Cinema Displays in a big way. One rumor claims the next-gen screens will sport HDMI. HDMI 1.3 is fast becoming an ubiquitous feature on many consumer electronic products. It is expected to dominate CES 2007 via next-gen disc players, upconverting DVD players, A/V receivers and TVs. The buzz on HDMI is that if you ain't got it, you're obsolete - so it is not so far fetched for Apple to adopt this shiny new thing. But then again that's just our take on it.

The other rumor claims Apple is upsizing its Cinema Displays. The grapevine talks say the company is getting rid of the 23-inch models and replacing them with 24-inch models. In addition, murmurs of a model larger than 30 inches have also been heard.

If Apple releasing computers based around Intel processors isn't strange enough for you, how about Sony showing off an iPod accessory at the CES? Sony's automotive division had this on display, although their representatives on the show stand were not able to give much information.

Named the Xplod, it's an iPod car adapter for Sony in-car entertainment units. As with similar adaptors form rival manufacturers, just plug your iPod in, stow it away, and control your music collection from the in-car hi-fi.

What's really strange is that Sony have produced this before producing similar units for their own range of Walkman or Network Walkman MP3 players, or even their old MiniDisc players.

[Via ATRAC life]

The CES continues in full swing, and more and more gadgets are announced daily by more and more manufacturers. Audiovox have an interesting one to add to the growing pile - a universal iPod docking station.

No pictures or release date as yet, but once it's ready to launch, 70 dollars will get you a set of 'super bass' speakers with docking space able to accept any iPod model, from 1st generation to Video, or even the Shuffle. While docked, your iPod will also be recharged (the docking station connects to the mains).

Whilst docking stations with amplifiers or speakers are far from new and exciting, this looks like the first to be compatible with so many different iPod models, from the oldest to the latest. Although designed to fit iPods, Audiovox say that the docking station will work with a wide range of other MP3 players too.

[Via iPodNN]

At CES in Las Vegas Clarion introduced their car multimedia unit with iPod connectivity. According to Clarion the new device gives full featured control and functionality of the ipod interface. There isn't a lot of information on this unit yet but we will write updates as we get them.

Clarion's single-DIN VRX765VD ($1100; Feb.) has a 7 inch flip out touch-screen with video playback from the iPod and offers touch-screen control of the DVD menu options.

Clarion's MAX675VD ($TBA; mid-2006) is a double-DIN multimedia system with a 7 inch color widescreen LCD with on-screen control pad and full iPod control of music functions, also with the video playback feature.

[Via, ilounge]