More Che-ez, anyone?

by Juniper Foo | 26 May 2005 7:21pm SGT

Check out: NHJ offerings already here | NHJ products coming our way

For those who can't get enough of the miniature cameras, NHJ has not only set up a SEA HQ in Singapore, it will launch about 17 products in the region under various brands.

For the unaware, it can be disconcerting to find that the face behind Japanese company NHJ belongs to Maj Harilela who's clearly a gaijin in the country he has adopted as his base of operations. But it hasn't stopped this scion of the Harilela empire of restaurants, real estate and international hotels, such as the W in Sydney, from casting his eye on the land of the rising sun (and opportunities) back in 1999.

Now six years later, Harilela is looking eastwards once again, planting a Southeast Asian HQ flag on Singapore soil, and bringing along some 17 products under various brands and product categories, clearly supplanting its local Che-ez distributor Sunprism of four years.

Besides Che-ez, which is better known to Asians as a line of wearable, fun and fashionable digicams, NHJ will also stock retail shelves with its own house brand comprising what it deems as first-of-kind smart products at competitive prices. New additions will also be introduced under the V@mp label which focuses on audio digital music technology, as well as D'ZIGN, a brand offering the latest developments in consumer technology. Meanwhile, on the opposite spectrum of the Che-ez series is the company's Mach-Power, consisting of its high-end digicam range.

Products that caught the media eye during the Wednesday press launch were the NHJ MPM-201 which doubles as a 30GB storage device and TV/video recorder; and NHJ VHD 5500, which NJH is claiming as the world's first Bluetooth-enabled HDD MP3 player. Also making its debut was the special-edition Hello Kitty 3.2-megapixel Che-ez digicam. Unfortunately, the company's wrist TV Watch VTV 201 will be available only in the rest of Asia but not Singapore.

Check out: NHJ offerings already here | NHJ products coming our way

Check out: NHJ offerings already here | NHJ products coming our way

NHJ offerings already here

Model	Price	Key features
Che-ez Foxz 3	S$249 (US$200.06)	16MB onboard memory, SD/MMC expandable slot, video recording up to 640 x 480, Webcam
Che-ez Foxz 3 Hello Kitty	S$299 (US$240.24)	Collector's item, 12mm thin, same specs as above
D'ZIGN DV-5	S$868 (US$697.41)	2GB HDD, 3.2-megapixel CCD iamge sensor, latest MPEG-4 LSI Video Engine, max. 3-hr video reocrding, 2-inch TFT color LCD, USB 2.0
Mach-Power DX-550	S$349 (US$280.41)	5-megapixel CCD image sensor, 3x optical zoom, 16MB built-in memory, SD card slot, video recording
NHJ MPM-201	S$788 (US$633.14)	30GB HDD memory, direct TV/DVD recording aerial, AV-in, S-Video out, NTSC/PAL system, TV tuner cradel, SD/CF card slot
V@mp VP-425	S$179 (US$143.82)	256MB internal memory, SD/MMC expandable, 7-color backlit LCD display, FM radio, voice recording, bundled external speakers

Check out: NHJ offerings already here | NHJ products coming our way

Check out: NHJ offerings already here | NHJ products coming our way

NHJ offerings coming in Q2

Model	Price	Key features
Hello Kitty Che-ez V:U 2	S$299 (US$240.24)	Collector's item, 3.2-megapixel CMOS image sensor, 16MB onboard memory, 640 x 480 video recording, 4x digital zoom, direct playback on TV
Che-ez V:U 2	S$249 (US$200.06)	Same specs as above
D'ZIGN DZ-3000	S$159 (US$127.75)	3.2-megapixel CMOS image sensor, 16MB flash memory, SD card slot, 1.4-inch TFT LCD, flash, motion video clip, TV-out
D'ZIGN S-501	S$319 (US$256.31)	5-megapixel CCD image sensor, 16MB flash memory, SD card slot, autofocus lens, 2-inch TFT LCD, motion video clip, TV-out
NHJ Batman Collector's SD card	128MB S$49 (US$39.37), 256MB S$69 (US$55.44), card reader S$39 (US$31.34)	N.A.
NHJ DRV-250	S$319 (US$256.31)	3-megapixel CMOS image sensor, 256MB flash memory, OLED micro display, MPEG-4 video clip, LED flash light, MP3 playback
NHJ VHD-5100	S$499 (US$400.93)	5GB HDD, 1.6-inch LTPS TFT LCD, MP3/WMA playback, MP3 Direct ENC, FM tuner, USB OTG
NHJ VHD-5500	S$579 (US$465.21)	Bluetooth wireless headset, 5GB HDD, MP3/WMA playback
NHJ VTV-201	Available for other Asian countries except Singapore	1.5 LTPS TFT display, built-in micro TV tuner (PAL), FM tuner, antenna earphone, Li-Polymer battery
V@mp VP-415	N.A.	Collector's item, 128MB memory, SD/MMC card slots, 7-color backlit LCD screen, FM radio, voice recording, bundled external speakers
V@mp VP-525	N.A.	Collector's item, 256MB memory, SD card slot, direct encoding, FM radio