This is so 1960s mentality but wouldn’t it be great to record all your radio programs on to a huge harddisk? Olympus might have the answer for you, their new Radio Server VJ-10 tunes AM/FM radios and have a reasonably good pair of 28mm unit stereo speakers with SRS WOW XT technologies, the most important part is the built-in 37GB harddisk that can save up to 2500 hours of radio programs in WMA format. Line-in voice recording and standard 3.5mm headphone jack are all there. The USB 2.0 port makes it possible for you to transfer music (MP3/WMA) from your computer and have them played on the VJ-10, so it’s not a bad deal afterall. The version with 6-month worth of NHK English language program pre-install will be priced at 400USD, and the one without would be 350USD. –Sam Chan

Product Page [Olympus]

We showed you anti-shock notebooks and tablet PCs, but you know how anti-shock products are like- very arguable size, design and price-tag. Sony and a lot of other manufacturers have also installed shock-proof hard disks into laptops in case you drop them, the idea is to protect the data rather than the screen and everything else (hypocrites!), we all know that they’re not deemed to survive in such situations, and when they do, we call ourselves extremely lucky. Japanese company Marshal has started selling this smart-looking hard disk casing that fits any of the 2.5 inch hard disks you pick up in the market; it has passed the 1-meter drop test, so it does what it claims, i.e. protects your hard disk when you accidentally push it over your desk. The Marshal HDD case uses the USB interface, measures 84×127x23mm and weighs 60g by itself. It is only selling for $20 in Japan now. For all that compact size, fail-safe design and bargain price, my name is down for not one but three of these. — Sam Chan

MAL-0325 [Marshal Japan]