Photos: Gizmos made in Japan

Although consumer electronics come from around the globe these days, Japan is still a leader in design and innovation. These products are now sold in Japan only (or through a few importers), but may become more prevalent on U.S. shelves. At left, the Gigabeat P from Toshiba. To date, the Gigabeat line has come with hard drives. The 1GB sells for $149.

At right, Seagrand has started to sell the Xair (pronounced Cross Air) MP3 player. It comes with 256MB, 512MB or 1GB of flash and comes in pink, red, blue, white or silver. Prices top out at $163.

Buffalo has squeezed an LCD screen onto a USB key (left) to help users keep track of files. Prices range from $39 to $81.

At right, Sharp's latest MP3 player comes with a clip-on Karabiner. It's probably not safe for mountain climbing. The 1GB version sells for $190.

Vroom vroom. Acer, a Taiwanese company, has created Ferrari LCD monitors. Only 2000 will be made. The company made a big splash earlier with the red Ferrari notebook.

Below, the Arex Thumbstick MP3 player from RWC will go on sale in mid-December, 2005. It comes with 512MB of memory and a battery that can last up to 16 hours.