From toasters that burn Hello Kitty images into every slice of bread to computerized bidets with heat sensors and retractable sprays, Japan fascinates with its sheer plethora of cool tech. Unfortunately not all of these make it to Asia. We take a look at some of these products that will be not available here.

Est. price: ¥380,000 (S$5,560) Digital still camera

1. Sony Qualia 016 Part of Sony's new range of "high-quality" products, the Qualia 016 is an ultra-compact 2-megapixel digital camera which comes in a tiny 69 x 24 x 17mm aluminum case; even smaller than its current Cyber-shot U series cameras. The Qualia stores images on a Memory Stick Duo and has a 0.55-inch LCD monitor installed. It runs on the included Lithium-ion battery and comes bundled with add-ons that include a viewer unit, flash attachment, remote control, wide conversion lens and tele conversion lens.

Est. price: ¥8,800 (S$128) Feline translation device

2. Meowlingual First there was the Bowlingual dog translator. Now Japanese toymaker Takara Co. expects a feline version out in November. Called Meowlingual, the device analyzes Tabby’s meows to determine its emotions. The resulting data is then matched with over 200 built-in phrases, and displayed on the LCD screen. In case that’s not good enough for cat lovers, Takara is building in a Body Language Analysis for understanding feline behavior, a Medical Reference for cats, and get this, a fortune-telling function for owners.

Est. price: ¥160,000 (S$2,341) Sub-notebook

3. Sony VAIO PCG-U101 One of the smallest and certainly best-looking notebooks out there, the VAIO PCG-U101 is Sony's idea of an ultraportable PC that can be carried and used wherever one goes. In fact, the pointing stick and mouse buttons are located above the keyboard to allow users to operate the VAIO while standing. At 178.8 x 139.5 x 34.1mm, the 0.8kg U101 is smaller than its two predecessors. Enhancements include a larger 7.1-inch LCD screen and a 16MB ATI Mobility Radeon graphics chip. For connectivity, there's wireless LAN, USB 2.0 and FireWire.

Est. price: US$260 (S$457) 3G cell phone with digicam

4. NTT DoCoMo 3G N2102V Videophone While the rest of Asia is still gawking over camera-phones, video handsets are hot in Japan now. The 109g 3G videophone from NTT DoCoMo comes with two built-in color TFT LCD screens and two onboard CMOS cameras in a clamshell design. Shooting options include VGA (640 x 480) stills, continuous shots and up to 270 seconds of video footage. The outer camera can also be used for scanning and storing URLs, email addresses and contact numbers that appear in magazines and other printed material.

Est. price: US$699 (S$1,230) Palm OS PDA with digicam

5. Sony CLIE PEG-UX50 The all-new UX50 comes with support for both wireless LAN 802.11b and short-range Bluetooth. It includes a 0.3-megapixel digital camera, 29MB of available RAM and 16MB of spare ROM. Harnessing Palm OS 5.2, the UX50 will also be Sony's first PDA to feature its self-developed 300MHz processor. Like Sony's NX series, the UX offers a swiveling display on a clamshell frame. The 320 x 480-resolution screen can be opened, rotated 180 degrees, then folded back over its QWERTY keyboard. What makes this Sony design special is its landscape orientation. It resembles a notebook, only much smaller, with its 103 x 87 x 18mm dimensions. Tipping the scales at 175g, the UX50 is also no heavier than a regular PDA.

Est. price: ¥70,000 (S$1,024) Image storage bank

6. Epson P1000 Photo PC player The P1000 Photo PC player is more than just an image storage device. Besides allowing users to offload images into its 10GB hard drive via the CompactFlash Type II slot, the P1000 can be used for viewing images, thanks to its onboard 3.8-inch LCD screen. It even comes with a cradle that displays the P1000 like an electronic photo frame. A USB port multitasks as a connection between the P1000 to a PC or an external CD writer for image transfer, as well as to compatible Epson inkjet printers for photo printing. The 350g device can be powered by a bundled Lithium-ion battery or direct AC current.

Est. price: ¥130,000 (S$1,902) Portable flat panel TV

7. Sony Airboard IDT-LF3 The futuristic-looking Airboard IDT-LF3 consists of two main units: A monitor and base station, just like its two earlier models. The base unit comes with a built-in TV tuner as well as various links for connection to external devices such as DVD players. Digital video is then streamed to the monitor via wireless LAN. An Ethernet port also allows users to access Web services such as the Internet and email. According to Sony, this latest rendition offers enhanced picture quality and streaming speed as well as a remote control unit. Being a Sony, the Airboard comes with a Memory Stick slot which can be used with a photo album function to view images captured with a digital camera.

Est. price: ¥49,800 (S$728) Portable thermal printer

8. Brother MW-100 Print on the go with the cartridge-free MW-100. Besides a sub-300g weight, what makes this device truly portable is its features. Equipped with onboard USB and infrared ports, the MW-100 supports printing via notebooks, tablet PCs as well as PDAs (Pocket PC and Palm OS). As it's a thermal printer, no change of ink cartridge or toner is required. Brother rates it to print at about 15 seconds per A7-size sheet for up to 100 sheets on a single charge of its Lithium-ion rechargeable battery.

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