Smartphones detecting bad breath and radiation, twistable remote controls and a super-thin

Smartphones detecting bad breath and radiation, twistable remote controls and a super-thin tablet computer were just some of the gadgets showcased at Asia’s biggest tech fair in Japan today.

Around 600 firms unveiled their innovations at the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies (Ceatec) technology exhibition in Chiba, near Tokyo, which is expected to draw 200,000 visitors during its five-day run, organizers said.

Japan’s Toshiba showcased what it calls “the world’s thinnest and lightest” tablet computer, equipped with a 10.1-inch display that is just 7.7 millimetres (0.3-inch) thick and weighs 558 grammes (19.5 ounces).

Electronics parts maker Murata Manufacturing unveiled devices using a newly-developed transparent organic film that can deliver instructions via twisting motions or pressure.

One of the devices, a conceptual light-powered plate named Leaf Grip Remote Controller, has no buttons and instead operates by the user bending and twisting it.

Another application of the film is as a touch panel. The “touch pressure pad” responds to finger swipes in the left-right and up-down directions and can also sense how strongly it is pressed, unlike the conventional touchscreen glass used on smartphones.

Japanese telecom giant NTT DoCoMo will showcase a smartphone with changeable “jackets” that measure bad breath, body fat and even radiation levels.

DoCoMo has developed a technology that allows users to measure their own body readings or their surroundings by slipping their smartphones inside sensor-embedded shells.

State-of-the-art radiation counters were also on display at the fair along with power-saving technologies, after parts of the country saw drives to cut peak summer power consumption.

Source AP