Retail in Asia

In Trends

Gadget, telecoms firms target home security market

Japanese electronics makers and mobile phone companies are employing their technology to enhance home security, especially for people living alone or families with small children.

"When I went to buy a replacement fax machine, I was also looking for some simple security device, and I found just what I wanted," said Yumiko Takagi, a 32-year-old housewife from Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture.

The device she installed in her detached home, a new product by Panasonic Corp., combines a fax machine/phone with 13-cm-long sensors attached to the inside of windows that alert homeowners to break-ins.