Gizmodo: Japan

Wine Glass Speakers With a Wine Barrel Amp Are For Listening, Not Drinking

Sean Fallon — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:30:00 EDT

Leave it to the Japanese to come up with the crazy Mini Clear Sound System DT-SA101. It has a rated output of 4W (x2), but the only thing that really matters here is the design. In addition to looking like a couple of wine glasses and a barrel, the DT-SA101 also features LEDs in the glass that apparently give the wine/champagne a carbonated look. At any rate, even if you were willing to waste $240 on this unit, you probably won't get a chance to since it is a Japan only release. [Product Page and Fareastgizmos]

Wooden Animal USB Drives Are Tired of You Inserting Your USB Connector There

John Mahoney — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:45:00 EDT

These hand-carved wooden animal flash drives are the latest in the tradition of semi- to fully perverse animal USB sticks. While this time the cute definitely outweighs the eww, Japanese designers Monodo just couldn't help themselves when it came time to select the connection point for these 1GB drives. Joining this little schnauzer is an elephant, swan, hippo and little piggy, all sharing the same unfortunate hook-up location. They can be yours in a few weeks for around $70. [Product Page (Japanese) via Fareastgizmos]

Japan's Ply Concept a Multilayered Fantasy Phone

Brian Lam — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:25:32 EDT

This phone, inspired by the multiple layers of wooden sandwich in plywood, is of multiple slider design. Inside, and separated by tabs, are a printer, projector, gamepad and sliding downward, a dialpad. It's as cool as it is impossible to build, and so KDDI labs should feel proud for making an imaginary device with so much character. [KDDI via Cscout]

Xbox 360 Outsells PS3 In Japan, Totally Sold Out

Matt Hickey — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:20:33 EDT

We just got word from Microsoft that the Xbox 360 is totally sold out in Japan, and that's just how they like it. Microsoft's console has been outselling Sony's Playstation 3 lately at a rate of almost 3 to 1, with the Xbox selling 28,116 last at the start of August while Sony sold only 10,705 PS3s. Nintendo beat both with over 41,000 Wiis, yet still has stock available. So we have to question, did Microsoft short Japanese stock on purpose just to claim "sold out" status? [Translation at Kotaku]

Automated Japanese Mausoleum Delivers Loved Ones While You Wait

Jack Loftus — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:30:00 EDT

The aging Japanese population presents a troubling problem when it comes burying loved ones. There's simply not enough room, and the room that is available costs about $20,000, according to Trends in Japan. So leave it to the Japanese to figure out a way to address the problem with a technological twist. Like a data tape-retrieving robot, Nichiryoku's interactive family plot system retrieves cremated remains from an underground vault and displays them to you in a private prayer area, courtesy of an RFID key. And yes, there's a series of promotional videos, complete with voices beyond the grave. Only in Japan, but unsurprising given the fact that QC codes adorn traditional grave stones already.

[Trends in Japan]

Snake-Like Rescue Robot Will Scare the Sh*t Out Of You, Then Pull You From the Rubble

John Mahoney — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 09:00:00 EDT

If I was trapped in a pile of earthquake rubble, I'd do just about anything to get the hell out as soon as possible. But if this cilia-covered rescue snakebot squirmed it's way up my leg, I think the chances of heart failure might need to be factored in. It's called the Active Scope Camera, and it was conceived by researchers at Japan's Tohoku University, all of whom are clearly fans of War of the Worlds. It's a fiber-optic camera wrapped in a layer of tiny cilia bristles, which allow for millipede-like locomotion that's creepy, creepy, creepy in this video.

With a length of 8 meters, it can dive in with its fiber cam where rescue dogs can't, leading the way for human rescuers. Look for it slinking around in rubble piles next year. [Nikkei and Tohoku University via Crunchgear]

New Tech Converts Heat into Electricity, Saves You Gas

Adam Frucci — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Furukawa, a Tokyo-based tech company, has developed a thermoelectric conversion material that's said to be able to boost the fuel efficiency of cars by 2% by converting about 7% of exhaust heat into electricity. Unlike conventional thermoelectric conversion materials, which warm up as a whole when one side is exposed to heat, this new material generates energy via the difference in temperature between its two sides. Apparently, that makes it much more efficient. They're currently working to improve the system, but they hope to have it ready for mass production by 2011, at which point that 2% will solve the gas crisis single-handedly. Just hang in there for a few more years! [Nikkei via CrunchGear]

PSP Camera Add-on Could Be a Fire Hazard

Jason Chen — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT

The currently Japan-only PSP camera add-on has just been recalled, with the manufacturer citing reports that its units are running "extremely hot" and emitting "a burning smell." Chotto Sot is taking all of these units off the shelves even at online exporters like Play Asia, so if you want your upskirt shenanigans to be console-related, you're going to have to look long and hard to find one. [PSP Fanboy via Destructoid via Kotaku]

Styrofoam Homes Are Typhoon-Resistant, Refillable with People or Coffee

Jesus Diaz — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 07:04:00 EDT

Styrofoam homes may sound like a recipient for disaster, but Japan Dome House Co., Ltd. thinks they're the future. A future in which all of us will be hobbits or smurfs. Made with 7-inch-thick 100% expanded polystyrene foam modules, the company says that they don't have the maintenance problems of wood or metal structures, and they are "highly resistant" to earthquakes, fires, and typhoons. Still, the 480 domes at Aso Farm Land resort village in Kyushu look like a suburban community on Mos Eisley's outskirts or a world from Myst.

Inside, however, the homes look huge.

Each module is only 175 pounds, and they can be carried and assembled by a couple of people in a matter of hours. I don't know how that is compatible with "typhoon resistant," but since it has been approved by Japan's safety-obsessed government, we would have to believe it's true. Head to Pink Tentacle for more pictures and details. [Pink Tentacle]

Tour Tokyo's Tech Paradise, Now On Google Street View

John Mahoney — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:00:00 EDT

Google's dutiful camera vans have finished canvassing Tokyo, which means today you can now tour some of the world's most geek-friendly real estate in "electric town" Akihabara without the 14 hour plane flight. The folks at Mars Mag have put together a tour of some of their favorite Linux Maid Cafes, Dream PC builders, arcade palaces and electronics megastores that call Akihabara home.

Places like the Linux Cafe, your Gateway to the Open Source Computers!

Or Yodobashi Camera, one of the biggest electronics stores anywhere. A bajillion floors packed to the brims.

And little hovels like the Queen Dolce Cafe, where untold costumed geekery happens well above street level.

Google Street View also hit in Australia today, so if anyone unearths a magical district of electronics wonders down under, let me know. And hit Mars Mag for more: [Mars Mag]

Rogue Escalator Takes Out 20 People At a Tokyo Convention Center

Sean Fallon — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:00:00 EDT

Beware the next time your ride an escalator at the mall folks. It appears that they are beginning to stage an organized revolt against their passengers. First an escalator chewed up this poor bastard, then one dished out some payback after some tool disrespected it with a joyride. But that was just a warm up because the escalators appear to be getting bolder. Most recently, a rogue escalator took out 20 passengers in a Tokyo convention center when it inexplicably started going in reverse.

The most serious of the 20 or so injuries reported seems to be a broken leg, but it is clear to me that this escalator was staging a revolt because it was being overloaded by the crush of people. My advice is...stay alert. It is only a matter of time before they start snagging shoelaces with the intent to kill—and once they have a taste for blood there is no turning back. [USA Today]

NEC Packs All Blu-ray Functions on Single Chip, Smaller Players to Come

John Mahoney — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT

The EMMA 3PF is the first large-scale integration (LSI) chip to pack all of the necessary Blu-ray controllers onto a single piece of silicon. The new chip performs all audio and video decoding, analog to digital conversions, and HDMI output. It supports the Blu-ray 2.0 profile and will start shipping in September 2008, allowing player sizes to continue getting ittier and bittier. [Tech ON]

Drum-Playing Robot Doesn't Quite Threaten the Livelihood of Real Drummers

Adam Frucci — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:45:02 EDT

Seeing as drum machines are pretty ubiquitous in music these days, the idea of a machine that plays the drums doesn't sound all that groundbreaking. But what about a robot that plays the drums? Eh? Not impressed? What if I told you it played the most rudimentary beats possible? Now are you impressed? I thought so. [Impress via New Launches]

Japanese Arcade Mania Book By Kotaku's B. Ashcraft

Brian Lam — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:49:04 EDT

Brian Ashcraft's book, Arcade Mania: The Turbo-Charged World of Japan's Game Centers, is available for preorder on Amazon. Brian explains that with the arrival of Street Fighter IV, now's the right time to explain the history, culture and color of Japanese arcades. (For the first time in English, too.) [Kotaku, Amazon]

Lifesize Scopedog Mecha Towers Over Iron and Steel Celebration

Elaine Chow — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:00:00 EDT

As part of its 150th anniversary celebration, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation got ironsmithing genius Kogoro Kurata to display his insane 1:1 scale model of the Scopedog mecha from the 80s anime series VOTOMS. Weighing in at two tons and standing a full four meters tall, it dwarfed everything else at the exhibition. The cast iron structure was actually finished in 2005 and has been on display before at other Japanese conventions, but it still thrills every time it rears its mechanical head. Look at the detail on this thing!

In VOTOMS, the Scopedog is a military all-purpose unit— a mass-produced combat vehicle that can fit a single pilot. In an interview with PingMag, Kogoro said that he built the entire structure out of iron mainly to prove that it was possible. The project ended up taking a year, because he broke a bone while working on it. [Robot Watch Japan via TechEBlog

I Survived a Japanese Game Show: Dizzy Weddings and Chastity Belts

John Herrman — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:40:00 EDT

This week's bewildering I Survived... challenge dressed contestants as bride and groom before sending them across narrow bridges to meet and consummate their union like it's 1499. The catch(es)? They're surround by a sea of powder and the floor is spinning, both literally and figuratively. Before the challenge starts contestants are spun until they can barely stand, and during the (chastity belt?) unlocking are stumbled atop separate rotating platforms, making their simple task almost impossible.

The challenge works just as well as a spectacle and a marriage allegory. Spinning with excitement, you dress in odd, uncomfortable clothes and march down a narrow path. When you finally meet, you regain your composure and stand across from each other. Later, still drunk on optimism and champagne, you clumsily ratify the union in the eyes of the (evidently medieval) Catholic church. Confused and frustrated, you crawl back to your respective chairs and sit, wondering how you ended up where you are and how you can get out. Which is sort of how the cast members of this show must be feeling right now.

Anyway, here's a bonus pic of the co-host who is not very impressed with the host's awesome MC Hammer dance routine:

Stay tuned (to your Giz) for weekly coverage of the 45 seconds of this show that is actually worth watching. [ABC]

QR Code Jacket Patches Take Strangers On the Street to Your Blog, Stat!

John Mahoney — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:31:00 EDT

We're sad that after all these years, the only place QR codes are actually useful is still good ol' Japan (where they're everywhere). That said, San Francisco has recently dabbled, and there are readers available for just about every mobile platform (including iPhone)—which you'll have to make sure all of your friends have installed if you're going to wear one of these. The $20 patch points to a proxy server which redirects phone browsers to the URL of your choice when someone takes a photo of your shoulder, back, um, wherever. Which means you can take them to your innocent little blog, or perhaps something a bit more nefarious. You wouldn't do that though, would you? [p8t.ch via Pocket Lint]

Panasonic Now Hoping For 40-inch OLED TVs Mass Produced By 2011

John Mahoney — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:03:38 EDT

Last month the projection was 37 inches. Now a more reputable Japanese paper, Nikkei, is reporting a 40-inch target being mass-produced and ready for retail in the same time frame. As always, Panasonic/Matsushita simply confirms that they're investing heavily into the tech and goes about their business. [AP]

Scent-Emitting LCD Display is Just Asking for Misuse

Adam Frucci — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:40:00 EDT

One would think that if a restaurant wanted to lure people inside with the smells of delicious food, they would do so by cooking delicious food. Not necessarily! In Tokyo, a company called Recruit Co. Ltd. is using scent-emitting LCD displays to entice people into eating at restaurants in the mall under Tokyo Station.

Essentially, it's a 42-inch display that spurts out different scents as different advertisements play, luring people to come grab a flyer to lead them to the restaurant in question. This seems strange to me. And while yeah, I'm sure a screen puffing out clouds of ramen-scented gas is going to make me hungry, can't you see the slippery slope this puts us on? I don't want to have hackers take over these things and make all of Tokyo Station smell like farts or a locker room. Scent terrorism is knocking at our door, and we have to be vigilant at not answering. Stay strong, Japan. [Far East Gizmos via Oh Gizmo!]

Nintendo Says Wii Still in Short Supply This Christmas, We Call Them Out

Jason Chen — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:00:00 EDT

If you read what Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata said about Wii shortages this holiday season and didn't get angry, well, you're not paying enough attention. Forbes paraphrases him as saying "demand for the device in the U.S. is unusually high in contrast to either Europe or Asia," which is why you might not be able to get one this Christmas. Oh really?

It's because demand is so high here that Wiis only sit on shelves for about an hour before they're bought when people in Europe have been saying they can walk in to stores and buy a Wii at any time of day? It's not because you're allocating more inventory on your products to Europe and Japan because the weak US dollar is causing smaller revenues on units sold here? So when you say, "What I can commit myself to is that Nintendo is going to do its best to supply as many Wii hardware units as possible in order to meet demand there," we don't have reason to think that you're a liar and kind of a scumbag? Gotcha. [Forbes via Kotaku]

Jesus's take:

I Survived a Japanese Game Show: Shooting Balls, Breaking Faces

John Herrman — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:52:23 EDT

This week's over-the-top I Survived... challenges didn't have as much gadgety goodness as usual, but were strangely satisfying nonetheless. First, Velcro-clad contestants were dangled in front of of a teammate, who would try to pass them Velcro balls to catch. The objective was for the dangler, manipulated by two other contestants, to collect as many balls as possible without getting hit too many times by their opponent, stationed behind a cool pneumatic ball cannon.
Sort of boring, right? Well the second challenge was way better. Fans of MXC (Takeshi's castle, for non-Americans) will recognize the false door game, where contestants have to get through a series of doors, some soft and fake, some real and hard. ISJGS takes it to the next level, forcing contestants to swing - not run - into the doors.

This whole concept of this show depends on humiliating its participants. The producers, though, must have caught on to something more: everyone on this show is pretty annoying. Shrewdly, then, ISJGS smashes them into wooden doors. Thanks, ABC!

Solar Windows Generate Up To 70 Watts, Serious Debt

John Herrman — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:48:00 EDT

Solar windows have finally made their way to the consumer market, and these new panes from Nihon Telecommunications Systems in Japan aren't a bad start. The inconspicuously equipped windows, at peak, generate a claimed 70 watts per square meter, which can be accessed through a few USB ports. In other words, the only way to offset the $1,900 per square meter cost of these windows is charging your iPods and running necktie air conditioners nonstop for the rest of your life. Also advertised is the fact that the windows filter about 90% of sunlight to help reduce cooling costs, which should be a given considering that these panes are using it to generate power. Nihon expects to move 10,000 panes annually, so hopefully we'll see a price drop before too long. [Crunchgear]

Japanese Couple Sold Glowing Lanyards That Were 26 Times Allowable Radiation Level, Gets Arrested

Jason Chen — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:00:00 EDT

If you were going to sell radioactive cellphones loaded with tritium—from Hiroshima, Japan, no less—you should probably check to make sure that they're not twenty-six times the amount legally allowed. You know, just so you're not arrested by the cops for not having special permission from the Ministry of Science and Technology to even handle the substance. On the other hand, if you're making a living selling lanyards for between $47 and $61 each, we wouldn't blame you for being Johnny No-Law. [Yomiuri via CrunchGear]

JVC HP-FXC50 Headphones First to Put the Speaker Driver Inside Your Ear

John Mahoney — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:15:26 EDT

A new set of in-ear phones to be released in Japan later this year is claiming to be the first to have speaker drivers small enough to actually fit inside your ear canal. Usually the drivers are in the bulbous part of the buds, with a narrow hollow channel leading into the ear. JVC is claiming better sound and isolation because there's less room between your eardrum and the speaker. I love in-ear phones, but personally I'm fine with giving my tympanic membranes a little breathing room. [Tech ON]

Japanese iPhone 3G Is Perverts' Worst Friend

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 06:58:00 EDT

According to reporter Nobuyuki Hayashi, the camera of the iPhone 3G sold in Japan will make a shutter sound every time you take a photo, even if you put the telephone in silent mode. The reason: all those pervs taking photos up the skirts of unsuspected women in public places.

According to Hayahi, the problem of up-skirt photography is so bad in Japan that most new cellphones have this feature (if you are a women) or bug (if you are a perv.) According to him, "some manufacturers have even put a louder shutter sound." The Japanese edition of the iPhone, however, just makes the normal one.

I really don't see the point of this measure however: the iPhone doesn't have a physical photo button, which really makes extremely difficult to take a clear up-skirt shot.

I mean, I can only guess that's the case.

Two things to Japanese pervs everywhere: fiber optics and video cameras.

Update: as readers have noticed, you can use Pwnage to jailbreak your iPhone and remove the sound. Why would you want to do this, I don't know.

Walk Hard to Win With the Masochistic Jinsei Game of Life Pedometer

Jack Loftus — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EDT

Put simply, the Jinsei Game of Life won't let you play the simple game contained inside it unless you exercise. It's part pedometer, part Tamagotchi, part Lap Around Japan, and a little bit of masochism mixed in for good measure. To complete the "stages," you must take 300 steps, at which point you'll be granted a spin on the wheel to advance your character through the game. Don't take the steps and there's not really any kind of punishment. You'll just have yet another piece of gaudy tchotchke dangling from your keys, and those little people inside will be judging you without remorse. [Takaratomy via Trends in Japan]

Japanese Team Creates Working Space Elevator... Made of Lego Blocks

Jack Loftus — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:00:00 EDT

For those of you who know what a space elevator is, you also know how difficult (some would say impossible) it will be to create one. Well, don't tell that to the starry-eyed guys in Redmond this weekend, who are attending the annual Space Elevator Conference 2008. And they have a blog! And in this blog today I found... a working space elevator! Made of Lego blocks! Sadly, it was only a working model, not the real thing, meaning Jesus' lifelong dream of a Lego space elevator carrying him to a life-sized Lego Galaxy Explorer space ship is postponed, indefinitely.

[Space Elevator Blog]

Cyber Figure Alice Creates Interactive Virtual Peepshow Right On Your Desk

Jack Loftus — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:00:00 EDT

If the PlayStation 3's Eye of Judgment ever got drunk and made some bad decisions in Tokyo's nefarious Kabukicho district, the resulting offspring would probably resemble this Cyber-Maid Augmented Reality device from Geisha Tokyo Entertainment. The "Dennoh Figure ARis" (Cyber Figure Alice), on sale this fall, will come with all manner up alternate reality upskirts, strip teases and "augmented" promiscuity. And yes, because you asked, it comes with a virtual poker.

Alice comes with two marked cubes and two similarly marked sticks. Using a webcam to track the cubes and sticks, the software displays your personal maid onscreen. You can then use the sticks to, well, this is perhaps best said in pictures.
[Geisha Tokyo Entertainment via Asiajin]

Bandai Smart Berry to Train Next Generation of Female Executives

Elaine Chow — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:30:00 EDT

Little girls in Japan will get their chance today to act out their fantasies of being American corporate tools, thanks to Bandai's new mobile communicator “Smart Berry” toy, which kind of looks like a Mylo done up in pastel colors. The Smart Berry includes a touchscreen LCD panel measuring roughly 2 inches by 1.4 inches, a slide- out keyboard, and Wi-Fi capabilities for email, chat and online games.

The device registers user profiles so that Smart Berry owners can only send and receive mail from friends. Up to four units can communicate with each other at the same time if they're all within a 10-meter diameter. Additionally, it also has a virtual Tamagotchi-like pet you can play with. The toy costs $97 and is targeted at girls from ages 6 to 9. Boys who want to send emails on a faux-mobile device while raising their own virtual pet are SOL this time around, I guess. [Tech On]

Panasonic Shows Off Surface-Like Digital Wall

Matt Hickey — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:00:00 EDT

Microsoft's getting some competition for its Surface device. Panasonic is showing off a very Surface-like product it's calling Digital Wall, and it's exactly what it sounds like. While at this point it doesn't appear to offer all the the features of Surface it could also come in much cheaper that the Microsoft version, and for many people that's the key. Hit the jump for a short video of the Digital Wall in action. [Digital World Tokyo]

Anobar Set-Top FED Display Scrolls Otaku's TV Discussions in Real Time

John Mahoney — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:40:48 EDT

No doubt inspired by the Japanese video site Nico Nico Douga that overlays scrolling comments over videos during playback, the Anobar sits on top of a TV and scrolls messages from others watching the same channel in real time, along with emails, Twitters, news headlines, or any other feed. The Anobar uses a pricey 640 x 96 FED display, which ensures zero motion blur on all of the dick jokes whizzing by. For now it's Japan only, and the prototype cost nearly $2,000 to manufacture, but I'm kind of hypnotized by this live video stream of one in action.

The interface and menus are really well done, and the FED display looks razor-sharp. Good luck to Anodos, the manufacturer, in making good on their plans to bring the price below $300 for retail. [Tech ON]

Japanese Scientists Extend Flash Memory Lifespan to Hundreds of Years

Kit Eaton — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:17:00 EDT

Scientists in Japan have worked out a new technique for improving the lifespan of flash memory devices from around a decade currently to hundreds of years. The new ferroelectric NAND flash technology can do rewrites 100 million times, versus the 10,000 or so of existing tech, and can be scaled down to 10nm—one third the size of next-gen conventional flash. Furthermore, the ferroelectric chips use a "wear leveling" system to even-out the usage of memory cells, and can even disable bad cells without killing the whole chip. Plus it uses a rewriting voltage of 6 volts versus the 20+ volts of current chips. Sounds like a promising, long-life, low-power future for solid-state drives. Though as with all these advances it'll be a good while 'til we see actual products. [VNUNet]

I Survived a Japanese Game Show: Spinning Babies, Spilling Milk

John Herrman — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:50:00 EDT

This week's ridiculous I Survived... challenge ran contestants through a relatively simple obstacle course. The catch? They've been dressed as babies, dizzied on a playground carousel and given two cups of milk to take along with them. The objective is to fill the team baby bottle at the end of the course.

If this challenge is a metaphor, I'm a little lost. Even more lost, though, are the contestants, who apparently don't fully grasp that they are on a show called I Survived a Japanese Game Show, asking questions like "Where do they come up with this shit?" Stay tuned for more game show gadgetry next week. [ABC]

Top Gear Races Nissan GT-R Vs. Bullet Train In Japan

Christopher Mascari — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:00:00 EDT

The Top Gear crew is in Japan for this week's episode and they've got another heated race for us: A Nissan GT-R R35, a gadget car by dynamic handling and Playstation inspired dashboard vs. a bullet train, running both from Japan's northern Hakui-Shi coast to Tokyo. With no surprise ol' Clarkson is driving the fiery beast while Hammond and May are left traveling Japanese public transportation. I'm not gonna spoil the race for ya though, but Jalopnik has the results for you. [Jalopnik]

AquaRain Bath Fountain Puts on a Show Using Your Bathwater

Elaine Chow — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EDT

I've never found bath time boring enough to need a water fountain and a light show, but in case you hate not being reminded of the Bellagio every time you step into the tub, the AquaRain is here to allay your washroom ADD. The AquaRain floats in your bathtub and pumps bathwater through its jets to create a fountain effect. Four LED lights—red, purple, blue and white—can be remixed to turn your shower into a rave. On sale at Japan Trend Shop for $49, hilarious Engrish included. [Japan Trend Shop via Gizmo Diva]

Telerobotic Shopper Lets You Hit the Malls Using a Cellphone

Elaine Chow — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Japan, the land of using technology to solve problems we didn't know we had, has come out with a new robot that will let people shop at malls without ever leaving their home. Robot developer tmsuk revealed a telerobotic shopper that can be controlled using NTT DoCoMo's cellphone technology.

In the demo, unveiled at the Izutuya deparment store in Kitakyushu, Japan, a sick grandmother went shopping with her granddaughter using the robot and a video-capable cellphone. Girl and bot sauntered to the hat section, shuffled through what was available, and picked out one to purchase.

So what about this makes it better than having your granddaughter surf Internet clothes outlets with you back at home? Being the kind of person that abhors shopping at malls, I really have no clue. Tmsuk, however, is convinced that its “3D communications” technology will soon have telerobotic machines wandering around all the world's fashion capitals. [Pink Tentacle]

Japan Has Subnotebooks For $1 With Data Plans

Matt Hickey — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:40:09 EDT

I've thought for awhile that the key to selling the super cheap yet very underpowered sub-notebooks that are exploding all over the place would be carrier subsidization, and now a carrier in Japan is taking the the idea and running with it, selling the Eee PC 701 for less than $1 American with a data plan contract, much like how we get cell phones. These devices often feature 4G—in this case with an external wireless modem—networking, which means you get an always-on Internet connection for your tiny laptop for less than $65 a month. American carriers, are you paying attention? [JK On The Run, via Liliputing]

Crawling Businessman Robot Is a Critique On Japanese Salarymen

Jason Chen — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:00:00 EDT

Japanese Performance artist Momoyo Torimitsu built a crawling Japanese businessman robot and took it to the streets of Australia to creep out little kids and turn on weird dudes with camcorders. The bot is her critique on the Japanese salaryman lifestyle and the apparent upcoming Asian economic crash. All we know is that dressing up like a nurse and pulling down an old man's pants in the middle of the street is going to attract some lookey-loos. Oh, and I wouldn't want to scrape along the street with my undies down. Ouch. [Diagonal View via Dvice]

PSP Update: It's Dominating Japan

Jason Chen — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:40:00 EDT

Remember the post we had late last year pondering how the PSP could overtake the DS (and the companion piece pondering why it wouldn't)? Well, it's done just that for the first six months of 2008. Famitsu's publisher claims that the PSP has sold 1.9 million units in Japan so far this year, leading the Wii with 1.7 million and the DS with 1.6 million. This is partially due to Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, which is a Japan-only RPG that has been moving PSPs like cakes that have been heated somehow. Will Sony be able to keep up the momentum, or will Nintendo be able to churn out a few more Pokemon and Mario titles to reclaim the lead? [Mainichi via PSPhyper via Kotaku]

Politicians Gifted Swank Nintendo DS Lites

Mark Wilson — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:24:00 EDT

After attending the last G8 summit in Japan, politicians didn’t leave empty-handed or with one of those “your parting gift will be a better, more peaceful world” cop-outs. Oh no, instead they got custom double-lacquered Nintendo DSs depicting a pagoda and breeze of cherry blossoms. And as if that weren’t enough, they received Manga-style caricatures that almost make Condoleezza Rice look personable. Lucky! [MSN via Kotaku]