January 9, 2008 9:58 AM PST

Cool Sanyo phones you can't get outside of Japan

by Nicole Lee
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Sanyo W53SA

Sanyo W53SA

(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET Networks)

Aside from the U.S. phones at the CES booth, Sanyo also had an additional display showing off phones that are only available in Japan. And as with all things that are Japan-only, we really wish we had them here. One phone that particularly stood out was the Sanyo W53SA, a waterproof digital TV phone, so you can "enjoy watching TV while taking a bath," according to the Sanyo representative. There isn't too much we know about it, except that it uses Japan's CDMA 1X WIN network, and that it has a 2.0-megapixel camera. We managed to grab a photo of it getting dunked in a fishbowl with the digital TV still running.

Sanyo Infobar 2

Sanyo Infobar 2

(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET Networks)

Another cool phone that had us salivating was the Sanyo Infobar 2, a phone that "has a look of a melting candy bar." It also has a built-in digital TV tuner, and we were amazed at how amazingly sharp the video was--it truly looked like what HD video on a phone should look like. And then we found out why: The whole 2.6-inch display is an OLED screen, resulting in very crisp-looking images and video.

Other Japan-only Sanyo phones we saw were the W52SA digital TV phone and the EO2SA wireless LAN phone that can be used to make VoIP calls, as well.

Nicole Lee is an associate editor for CNET, covering cell phones, Bluetooth headsets, and all things mobile. She's also a fan of comic books, video games, and of course, shiny gadgets. E-mail Nicole.
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by DuckInA.Pond January 11, 2008 3:48 PM PST
If only they were GSM phones. =/
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by cant_get_enough_tech January 14, 2008 3:53 PM PST
The phones technically are CDMA, WHY CAN'T THEY BE ON VERIZON!!!
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