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Showa Shell Solar Co Ltd exhibited its second-generation CIGS (CuIn-GaSe) photovoltaic (PV) panel at PV EXPO 2010, a trade show that took place from March 3 to 5, 2010, in Tokyo, Japan.

Iwatani Corp exhibited a fuel-cell assisted bicycle that charges a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery by using a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) system with an output of about 60W.

Hitachi Maxell Ltd exhibited a laminated lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery for reference at the 1st Int'l Rechargeable Battery Expo, which took place from March 3 to 5, 2010, in Tokyo.

Japan Automobile Dealers Association (JADA) announced the sales ranking of the passenger vehicles sold in February 2010 in Japan.

Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd exhibited an A6-size laminated all-solid lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery at the 1st Int'l Rechargeable Battery Expo, which took place from March 3 to 5, 2010, in Tokyo.

Sanyo Electric Co Ltd announced a power-assisted bicycle that can generate electricity with a motor and store it in a lithium-ion battery even when running on a level ground.

Alps Electric Co Ltd announced a new magnetometric sensor whose detection range is about 1.6 times longer than that of the company's existing product.

Tanita Corp developed a body composition meter-integrated weighing machine using an SD memory card and will release it in April 2010 in Japan.

Kyocera Corp announced that it has completed its second plant for polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells in Shiga Prefecture, Japan.

Minebea Co Ltd developed new input devices with a flat surface in collaboration with Kazuo Kawasaki, professor at Osaka University.

Nano-Optonics Energy Inc and Chubu University succeeded in a superconducting direct-current (DC) power transmission over a distance of 200m for the first time in the world.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp announced March 1, 2010, that it will start production of monocrystalline silicon PV cells within 2010.

Toshiba Corp will start selling residential solar cell systems using SunPower Corp's monocrystalline silicon solar battery module April 1, 2010.

Mitsumi Electric Co Ltd prototyped a MEMS mirror for laser projectors. The mirror is driven by using piezoelectric devices (PZTs), and a laser light is scanned to project an image.

Mitsumi Electric Co Ltd developed the MRFX-0001, an IC chip that can adjust the image quality of an LCD TV.

Mitsumi Electric Co Ltd prototyped a wireless switch that is for lighting equipment and incorporates a power generating mechanism at Mitsumi Show 2010, the company's technological exhibition.

Everybody's talking about Smartphones in the global mobile phone market. Now that the environment makes it easy to develop multi-function handsets, competition between involved manufacturers as growing rapidly more intense. Who will emerge victorious in this new competition? The fight has already begun.

The first handsets running the software platform developed by China Mobile for smartphones, called OPhone OS (formally, Open Mobile Phone Operating System), are finally reaching the market. They are the first smartphones in China to be marketed under a carrier brand name.

Japan led the world in rolling out new and more powerful functions for mobile telephones. It pioneered high-speed interconnect with mobile communication systems, adopting an increasing range of cutting-edge electronic components and diverse services to provide new functionality. The FOMA 905i series of mobile phones announced by NTT DoCoMo, Inc.in November 2007 came with just about everything inside. Within the industry, people referred to the high-level functionality and uniquely Japanese approach as a sort of "Galapagos of mobile phones," with new species diverging from global trends to serve local needs.

Domestic car navigation system manufacturers, trapped in a difficult situation by the appearance of PNDs, are turning to the offensive. Pioneer, with a reputation for winning in patent cases, has launched patent suits related to car navigation in Japan, America and Europe. The results are likely to have major impact on the future of smartphone navigation, which is already swallowing the PND market.