'Made in Japan' Brand May Be Threatened By Japan

I'm not sure how this will affect Wacom.

It could lower the tablet prices depending on where they choose to move manufacturing. Hopefully Wacom won't compromise on quality.

The "Made in Japan" brand is at a crossroads as more firms face a tough choice over whether or not to move production overseas to escape the impact of the relentless rise of the yen, say analysts.

According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, some 46 percent of large manufacturers it surveyed in August said they would move production bases abroad if the yen stays around 76 yen against the dollar for half a year.

Currently near 77 yen to the greenback, the unit's strength risks causing the "collapse" of the Japanese auto industry, Toyota executive vice president Satoshi Ozawa said last week.

via google.com

Wacom Bamboo Comic Pen Tablet

Wacom Bamboo Comic pen and touch for aspiring anime artists is exclusive to Japan.

On my recent trip to Japan, visiting the famous electronics district in Akihabara was a must and it was amazing! One particularly large store was selling the Wacom Bamboo Comic pen and touch tablets. I hadn't even heard of them before. If I had the extra money to spare, I would have bought it, but it's possible it wouldn't be compatible with my OS anyway. It is a drawing tablet specifically for manga artists and features the Pixia Edition. Illust Studio Mini, Comic Studio Mini, Corel Painter Essentials 4 and Pencil LITE. These applications replace the standard Adobe Photoshop Elements and other software that come with the U.S. Wacom Bamboo packages.

There is no word on whether the Wacom Bamboo Comic will ever be available anywhere besides Japan. The closest version we have to the Bamboo Comic is the Bamboo Pen and Touch. We don't benefit from the comic and manga specific software. That doesn't seem to stop artists from being able to create manga using any of the Wacom pen tablets though.

For example: http://youtu.be/I0-Je3brwvs

Wacom’s Sales Dip Due to Earthquakes

The earthquakes in Japan cause a drop in quarterly earnings.

Wacom Co., a manufacturer of touch-based graphic tablets and pens with U.S. operations headquartered in Vancouver, reported a 21 percent year-over-year drop in U.S. sales and 6.2 percent drop worldwide for the fiscal quarter ending June 30. The company recorded about $21.2 million in U.S. sales and $92.3 million worldwide for the quarter.

The Japanese company’s quarterly earnings report, issued last week, attributed the drop to the lingering impact of the March 11 Japan earthquake on manufacturing, the rising value of the Japanese yen, and a change in its product line that dampened sales.

via columbian.com

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