First impressions

Ok, so here it comes... my precious new little gadget. As you can see it has Windows Vista Home Premium pre-installed. Unfortunately it's the Japanese language version - one more good reason to install Linux on it ;-)

Kohjinsha SH8 specifications

image source: kohjinsha.com

The SH8 comes in white and black. Furthermore one can choose between a 120 GB HDD with or w/o Office Personal 2007. There's also a SSD model available now, which I think is still way too expensive though. I went for the SH8WP12A, which has the following specifications:

• - Intel A110 (800 MHz) processor
• - 1GB RAM (PC2-3200, DDR2-400 SO-DIMM)
  
• - 120 GB HDD (2.5")
• - Intel 945 GU
  
• - 7" TFT touch sensitive display, WSVGA (1024x600 - very nice!!)
• - Ethernet 10/100, WLAN (802.11 b/g)
• - Bluetooth V2.0+ EDR
• - 2x USB 2.0
• - VGA, external: 1600x1200
  
• - SD (incl. SDHC) and CF (type I/II) card slot
  
• - built-in camera
• - TV tuner (works only in Japan)
• - battery life: > 3 hours (still testing...)
  
• - weight: 993 g
• - durable: can survive 100 kg pressure
  

It comes with Windows Vista Home Premium (which runs surprisingly smoothly) and some software like WinDVD8 Platinum for example.

The SH8 on the official manufacturer site can be found here:
http://kohjinsha.com/models/sh/sh8wp12/index.html

Gadget sightseeing in Tokyo

Since I love electronic gadgets, Yodobashi camera was my absolutely favorite store in Tokyo. One of the stores in Shinjuku is depicted below. It's absolutely amazing.

Before I went to Japan I thought nowadays everything is available anywhere in the world, i.e. also in Europe, however I was proved wrong.
I wasn't really into UMPCs before, because most models don't have a keyboard and therefore I couldn't see much of a use. Furthermore prices are ridiculously high, so I always sticked to my solid Thinkpad X60s. However, when I went to Yodobashi camera, I saw these little gadgets:

Those are Kohjinsha UMPCs, having all the tablet features, but also an useable keyboard. There were various models, but the SH8 seemed to be the best choice. Back in the hotel later that day, I googled for the Kohjinsha SH8 and found out that they are only available in Japan - one more reason to get one, isn't it? ;-)