The retractable mechanism offers a flexible viewing style according to application.

The UP is a wearable media port that Nikon has developed as a new proposal for today's digital society. This mobile device is worn like headphones and can be used to listen to music, watch videos, and connect to the Internet. A display unit, headphone, mobile A/V player, and wireless LAN functions have been combined into a neat, compact body. From the aspect of both appearance and functions, it is a new type of product.

A major feature of the UP is its single-eye display unit. The user can choose whether to watch the video with the left eye or the right eye. In addition, the display unit has a retractable mechanism that lets users adjust the display to suit their own listening or viewing style. Since the UP has a large-capacity memory, the user can download video data from a computer and take it anywhere to enjoy at any time. And the wireless LAN function can be used to connect to the Internet in a wireless LAN environment for downloading video or music content or browsing the web.

The UP provides an effective way to use free time while commuting on a train or waiting in line. Another advantage that should be noted is that the UP allows the user to do two things simultaneously: watch a video with one eye and pay attention to the surroundings with the other. You could be cooking something while looking at the recipe on the display, or you could be doing yoga, aerobics or taking dance lessons while watching the movements of the instructor on the display. Or you could be learning songs or choreography routines for karaoke, or performing in a band while following a music video; the ways in which a UP can be used are virtually limitless. The UP can even be used in business as a prompter while making a presentation. When you want to do two things at once in your world with A/V, the UP is a real joy to use.

The newly developed adhesion double-layer DOE lens has successfully reduced the size and weight of the display unit. Shown right is the prototype before using the DOE lens.

Nikon created the UP using the optical technology it has developed with its SLR cameras and eyeglasses. The UP incorporates newly-developed adhesion double-layer DOE (Diffractive Optical Element) lenses. Unlike conventional lenses that use refraction to alter the direction of light, DOE lenses use a diffractive phenomenon*. Diffractive optical elements of the blaze-grating type have recently been attracting attention in the world of DOE lenses. The outstanding feature of blaze-grating type diffractive optical elements is that all incident light can be concentrated in just one specific direction (a specific order of diffraction). The UP uses blaze-grating type diffractive optical elements of a cross-section structure with minute saw-tooth shapes to suppress color drift and produce a clear image. In addition, by reducing the weight of the optical system to around 1/7 that of conventional systems (Nikon comparison), it is possible to smoothly adjust the position of the monitor. Wearing comfort and ease of operation as well as safety have been condensed into a compact body thanks to the technologies that Nikon has developed to make user-friendly products such as cameras and eyeglasses.

Innovative products that have emerged from new ideas will become accepted as they gradually permeate daily life. In the near future, the epoch-making audio-visual style that Nikon's UP proposes may well catch on and become a way of life.