Panasonic has announced a batch of 16 heat pump water heaters that will save energy and keep your water temperature constant by using a human presence sensor. The mechanism is able to reduce power consumption by up to 35% in winter, which is when you use the most.

If you’re in Japan, you can get one by July 10. Just don’t expect it to be affordable. The HE-KU37CQS model has a tank capacity and hot water supply pressure of 370L and 280kPa and retails for about $8,211. Seems like a cruel joke, but at that price they are selling you the remote control separately.

Panasonic jumps full onto the iPod bandwagon with their SC-HC-Series iPod D-Docks named the SC-HC3 and SC-HC4. Both are very similar. Aside from having unique colors, the SC-HC4 includes an SD memory card slot. You can also rip music from your CDs onto the SD/SDHC card directly without software, with transfer speeds of 8x.

Both docks feature two 2.6″ diameter speakers and a 40W stereo amplifier, a built-in AM/FM radio tuner, 3.5mm auxiliary input jack and display. It doesn’t mention whether the iPhones are supported, but we are guessing they must be. They’ll run you $350 and $400. They arrive in Japan on April 18th.

The GH1 is looking seriously sexy in red and will be available April 24 in Asia for about ¥150,000. That’s roughly $1,500, which is a bit steep. It may be cheaper when it hits our shores, but that’s still a disappointing price.

The GH1’s video capture mode (The only thing that’s really different from its predecessor, the G1) does things that many others, like Nikon and Canon can’t: the cinema-friendly 24fps framerate at 1080p (60fps at 720p), as well as continuous contrast-based autofocus with a silent-focusing lens.

We love video games around here. Whether we’re playing the Xbox 360, the PS3 or even an old Atari 2600. We thought we would take a look at the history of gaming consoles from 1972 to the present. You grew up with the vintage consoles, you play the new ones, so take a walk down memory lane and revisit all your favorites from the massive list below.

Panasonic gets all green with its RISAIKURA MS-N53 recycler device. The device relies on a special platinum-palladium catalyst to break down up to 2kg of organic garbage into compost with the help of some heat. It’s great for those with gardens as you’ll be able to use the compost in your garden.

Panasonic is making some big claims as to the quality of their compost. According to them, the created compost is superior to store-bought fertilizer. The Panasonic RISAIKURA MS-N53 recycler has a few settings to choose from, depending on how dried out your garbage is, ranging from three to six hours. The shorter option will give the compost more protein, while the longer option is more suitable for long-term fertilization of trees.

Panasonic rolled out this week a new Micro Four Thirds System digital camera with HD recording capability. It is called the LUMIX DMC-GH1.

Panasonic touts the GH1 as a “creative HD hybrid, offering professional-level still cameras and HD video performance” that is easy enough for entry-level DSLR consumers. Video can be recorded at AVCHD 1080p/24p video. It comes with a newly developed long-zoom interchangeable lens – the LUMIX G VARIO HD 14-140mm/F4.0-5.8 ASPH./MEGA O.I.S.

There are many environments where a computer is needed where the conditions are too harsh for the average notebook to survive and operate. In these environment users have to resort to semi-rugged or full rugged computers.

Lenovo has announced that it has certified several of its standard laptop computers including the ThinkPad X200, X301, X200s, X200 Tablet, T400, T500, R400, and SL300 models to meet military semi-rugged specifications. The computer maker also announced a new optional high brightness LCD with 680-nits for daylight use on these systems.

Panasonic has announced its W8 Premium Edition laptop. These are tough laptops that sport an 80GB Intel X-25M SSD with 250MB/sec reading speed and 70MB/sec writing speed.

The notebook comes in three different lid cover flavors including Black, Silver and Pink Splash. No info on pricing or availability just yet. Panasonic simply wanted you to notice them.

Panasonic recently unveiled it’s first Blood Pressure monitor with an SD card slot. You can save health data on the SD card for up to 5 different people. Tip: If you have 5 people in your house unhealthy enough to need this device, you are in some serious trouble and should probably be in the hospital right now.

The data can be read via your computer or your doctor‘s PC. No word on pricing yet. All I know is that the 5 of you better start exercising pretty darn quick.

Panasonic unleashed a slew of new digital camera announcements yesterday. We covered one of them already, the FX580. Along with that camera also came several others, one of which gets an obligatory world’s first claim.

Panasonic claims the TS1 is the world’s first waterproof, shockproof and dustproof digital camera that features AVCHD Lite HD video recording capability. The camera is built to withstand drops from five feet, dust and it is water resistant to 10 feet. That means you can shoot video and still shots underwater.

Panasonic launched today a number of new LUMIX digital cameras. One of these is the 12.1-megapixel DMC-FX580, priced around $400 and available in April.

The DMC-FX580 follows in the footsteps of the DMC-FX500, said Panasonic. Key features of this camera include a 25mm ultra-wide-angle LEICA DC lens with F2.8 brightness, a 5x optical zoom and a three-inch LCD which is touch sensitive for handling much of the control functions.

Since everyone is using the Wii these days, I guess it was inevitable that we could get house calls from Dr. Mario. Nintendo Japan has announced a new Wii “Check-Up” channel that is scheduled for an April launch. The system was developed with the help of Hitachi, NEC, and Panasonic, with a health insurance company providing 2-way communication between users and health professionals who will give you “healthy guidance”.

Let’s face it, you could use some of that after playing video games all day. Apparently it will work in conjunction with Wii Fit and the Balance Board. You can also use NEC’s mobile phone health platform.

Panasonic introduced several new digital cameras today from its Lumix line. One of these is the AA-battery powered DMC-LS85. It will be available in April for around $120.

The Panasonic DMC-LS85 is an 8.1-megapixel model with 4x optical zoom and a F2.8 Lumix DC Vario lens. It will be available in silver, black and pink body colors and sports a 2.5-inch LCD. The LCD is equipped with auto brightness display technology.

Panasonic was showcasing a lot of new compact camcorders at CES last week. Two of these new models are the SDR-S15 and SDR-SW21, priced around $300 and $400, respectively.

These new Panasonic camcorders both record video to SD/SDHC memory cards. Each serves different consumer audiences – the SDR-SW21 is much more rugged in design, including being waterproof up to 6.5 feet, so it is geared towards outdoor crowds. The SDR-S15 is more of a film one’s friends at the birthday party kind of model.

Panasonic has unveiled its new Wireless Home Theater System, the SC-ZT1, which is specially designed to do away with the trouble of speaker cables. The system sends uncompressed audio data over a wireless 2.4-GHz frequency band to ensure high-quality sound.

The SC-ZT1 will give you a lifelike virtual Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD 7.1 channel surround sound from its four ultra slim antenna looking speakers, which come with an integrated subwoofer for generating sounds from the low-frequency range. You can purchase the Panasonic SC-ZT1 when it is released in Spring 2009.