Abstract: Systems and methods are provided which can be used to control electrical household appliances connected to a home network by use of a GUI having an entertainment-oriented virtual space capability. A virtual space is arranged with a mascot dedicated to the user of an information processing apparatus. An icon can be clicked to control a real world device existing in the home of a user. A user can participate in a virtual space belonging to another user through sharing.

Abstract: A portable information terminal and an image management program are provided. A portable information terminal includes: a display part which has a screen capable of displaying at least an image; an in-focus value computing part which computes an in-focus value from an original image; an image cutting part which cuts a thumbnail image from the original image based on the in-focus value computed at the in-focus value computing part; a data storage part which stores data of the thumbnail image cut at the image cutting part; and a control part which reads the data of the thumbnail image stored in the data storage part as necessary and displays it on a screen of the display part.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes a content detector portion and a controller portion. The content detector portion detects contents belonging to a same time range from different types of contents each including time information. The controller portion collects the contents belonging to the same time range and having been detected by the content detector portion and that graphically displays on a display portion along a time series, graphical information related to the contents of the respective contents collected in units of the respective time range used when collecting the respective contents.

Abstract: A display device includes a first light-transmissive glass plate having a first electrode for connection to a power supply, a second light-transmissive glass plate having a second electrode for connection to the power supply, a light dispersing element sealed between the first and second glass plates for transmitting light when voltage is applied and dispersing the light when the voltage is not applied, a light-transmissive transparent element laminated on the second glass plate and having a predetermined refractive index, a light guide plate laminated on the transparent element and having a refractive index lower than the transparent element for surface-emitting the light toward a side viewed by a user, a light emitting part provided on a lateral side of the light guide plate for emitting light, and a display control part for turning on or off the voltage applied to the first and second electrodes.

Abstract: When data received separately in first and second reception processing is processed separately by first and second application programs, and when data received by the first reception processing contains specific data specifying processing by the second application program, and the specific data has regional properties, the current region where the second application program is executed is judged, and if the region does not match a region to which processing specified by the specific data belongs, the content specified by the specific data is converted based on data in a predetermined table, and processing is executed by the second application program. Accordingly, two application programs can be linked in a mobile phone unit or other terminal devices, and problems when executing one application with regional properties under control of the other application can be resolved.

Abstract: A memory management method for managing a non-volatile memory into which writing is performed in units of blocks includes the steps of assigning a plurality of blocks of the non-volatile memory to a management area formed of at least one block for storing management information, to a code area formed of a plurality of blocks into which program code is written, to a substitution area formed of a plurality of blocks for substituting for a defective block, and to an interference area formed of at least one block; storing at least correspondence information between the blocks of the substitution area and a defective block of a substitution target as management information within the management area; and using the block of the substitution area in place of the defective block on the basis of the correspondence information when the defective block is to be used.

Abstract: There is provided a short-range wireless communication apparatus and a cellular phone terminal that can surely and immediately notify a user of the optimum distance between a contactless IC card reader/writer and a contactless IC card not through an MPU or a CPU and if the contactless IC card function is locked, surely notify the user as such. In an RFID card, a magnetic field strength/brightness conversion section adjusts the brightness of two LEDs in accordance with the detected magnetic field strength of a carrier wave. A blink generation circuit detects whether the RFID card is in a communication state and blinks the LEDs if so. A function combining section combines the functions to indicate the magnetic field strength and the communication state with the brightness and blinking of the LEDs. An LED with another color illuminates only when an RFID function LSI is in a lock state.

Abstract: Receiving sensitivity deterioration in wireless communication due to a spurious radiation wave generated from a card reader/writer is suppressed in a case where a mobile phone terminal is provided with a contactless IC card reader/writer or a contactless IC card. The mobile phone terminal provided with the contactless IC card reader/writer performs measurement of a wireless status upon reception (step S1) and transmission power wetting (step S2), and when an instruction to start a reader/writer function is inputted from a user (step S3), wireless status deterioration due to spurious radiation from the reader/writer is predicted (step S4). Then, the mobile phone terminal judges whether control to reduce the transmission speed is necessary or not, on the basis of a value of the deterioration predicted wireless status (step S5), and when judged necessary, the transmission speed is reduced (step S6).

Abstract: A device holder is placed on the lower region of a display unit, and part of an operating unit is placed on the holder. The operating unit is overlapping the display unit. Moreover, operating buttons other than those mounted on the holder are shaped so that the portions thereof projecting from a housing will have a substantially triangular cross section. Consequently, a finger with which the operating buttons are manipulated touches the portion of each of the operating buttons corresponding to the apex of the triangular cross section, that is, touches each of the operating buttons along a line. A degree to which the operating buttons are incorrectly manipulated is decreased, and the maneuverability of the operating buttons is held satisfactory. Moreover, the space between adjoining operating buttons is narrowed.

Abstract: A biometric authentication apparatus includes an illumination section, an imaging section, a photographic subject placing section, and an authentication section. The illumination section irradiates at least near infrared light onto a biological portion placed in contact with a housing surface. The imaging section images a near infrared light image of the biological portion. The photographic subject placing section is provided in the vicinity of the illumination section, in which at least a part of the light emanation portion of the illumination section on a side where the imaging section is disposed is covered by the photographic subject when the photographic subject is placed. The authentication section performing biometric authentication by making a comparison between a specific pattern extracted from the near infrared light image of the biological portion imaged by the imaging section and a preliminarily registered specific pattern.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus including a display section to display a data, an input section to input user input information, a communication section to communicate with a server, and a control section. The control section controls a display of a received message on the display section in accordance with the input information input through the input section. The control section displays, on the display section, a post card in which information included in the received message is laid out on a template selected in advance by the server, and enables a user to judge whether the post card corresponds to a read message or an unread message by displaying the post card corresponding to the read message in different display forms from the post card corresponding to the unread message.

Abstract: There is provided a short-range wireless communication apparatus and a cellular phone terminal that can surely and immediately notify a user of the optimum distance between a contactless IC card reader/writer and a contactless IC card not through an MPU or a CPU and if the contactless IC card function is locked, surely notify the user as such. In an RFID card, a magnetic field strength/brightness conversion section adjusts the brightness of two LEDs in accordance with the detected magnetic field strength of a carrier wave. A blink generation circuit detects whether the RFID card is in a communication state and blinks the LEDs if so. A function combining section combines the functions to indicate the magnetic field strength and the communication state with the brightness and blinking of the LEDs. An LED with another color illuminates only when an RFID function LSI is in a lock state.

Abstract: A distortion compensator, comprising a distortion component generator that generates a distortion component orthogonal baseband signal corresponding to a nonlinear distortion component based upon an analog orthogonal baseband signal, a distortion component synthesizer that synthesizes a composite signal by combining the analog orthogonal baseband signal and the distortion component orthogonal baseband signal and a first switch through which control is executed as to whether or not to input the distortion component orthogonal baseband signal to the distortion component synthesizer, is provided.

Abstract: There is provided an antenna device which includes: a loop antenna connected at one end to a feed point and connected at the other end to ground, and provided to correspond to a first frequency band; and at least one stub antenna provided in the form of extending a part of the loop antenna and provided to correspond to a second frequency band overlapping with a partial frequency band of the first frequency band to which the loop antenna corresponds.

Abstract: A contactless power transferring apparatus includes a terminal loading portion, a primary coil, an up-down-direction pressing portion, a width direction pressing portion and a thickness direction pressing portion. The terminal loading portion has an opening through which a mobile terminal is inserted and loaded. The primary coil transfers power using electromagnetic induction to a secondary coil incorporated in the mobile terminal. When the mobile terminal is inserted inside the terminal loading portion, the pressing portions operate in an up-down direction, in a left-right direction and in a width direction, to press and support the mobile terminal respectively from below to position the coils in the up-down direction, from the width direction to position the coils in the left-right direction and from the thickness direction to dispose the coils a predetermined distance apart.

Abstract: An apparatus for processing information, includes a memory storing a plurality of content items different in type and metadata containing time information of the content items, a cache processor for fetching from the memory the content item and the metadata of the content item to be displayed on a display and storing the fetched content item and the metadata thereof on a cache memory, a display controller for displaying on the display the metadata of the content items from the cache memory arranged in accordance with the time information and a selection operator selecting metadata corresponding to a content item desired to be processed, out of the metadata displayed, and a content processor for fetching from the cache memory a content item corresponding to the metadata selected by the selection operator by referencing the cache memory in response to the selected metadata, and for performing a process responsive to the fetched content item.

Abstract: A terminal device includes a communication section configured to communicate with a server including content data, a reproduction processor configured to reproduce the content data obtained through the communication, a bookmark creator configured to, in accordance with an instruction from a user, create a bookmark on the basis of information regarding a reproduction location of the content data in the process of being reproduced and information regarding a storage location of the content data, a bookmark storage section configured to store the bookmark therein, and a controller configured to, in the case where an instruction for reading out the bookmark is issued by the user, perform control to read out the bookmark from the bookmark storage section, transmit a request for acquisition of the content data specified by description of the read-out bookmark to the server, and cause the reproduction processor to reproduce the content data transmitted by the server.

Abstract: A power supply system is disclosed, including a first plurality of power supply units configured to supply working voltages from a battery to a second plurality of loads, a large-capacitance capacitor configured to charge electric charges from the battery, a third plurality of switching means for connecting the large-capacitance capacitor to the second plurality of loads selectively, control means for switching the third plurality of switching means corresponding to the load presently driven, and discharge means, in a case where the output voltage of the large-capacitance capacitor is higher than the operating voltage of the second load when the capacitor is switched from a first load to a second load, for discharging the charges stored in the capacitor according to the monitoring result by a voltage monitoring means so that the voltage of the capacitor decreases to the operating voltage.

Abstract: A mobile phone terminal with a camera function includes a camera hardware section having an image sensor and a camera lens, an instruction input section for inputting an instruction to start image capturing, an illumination sensor which is arranged on an outer surface of a housing and detects an ambient illumination value while a mobile phone function is activated, and an image capturing start control section. The image capturing start control section sets camera driver software into a standby state after starting it while the mobile phone function is activated. When an instruction to start image capturing is inputted from the instruction input section, the image capturing start control section determines an exposure value used for image capturing by using the detected illumination value, restores the camera driver software, and causes the camera hardware section to perform image capturing using the exposure value.