Panasonic is prepping an Android 2.2-powered e-book reader/tablet hybrid [JP] that’s specifically designed for the Japanese market. The device will offer e-books through a store set up by Rakuten, the country’s biggest e-commerce company, with the initial line-up including a total of at least 10,000 titles. → Read More
Smartphone cameras have drastically improved in quality in recent years, but they’re still not good enough for you? Then Toshiba’s announcement [PDF] of a new CMOS image sensor, specifically designed for cell phones and other mobile devices, from today should be good news for you. → Read More
Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan) is 15 years old, can you believe it? To commemorate the series’ 15th anniversary, Capcom announced [JP] the so-called Resident Evil 15th Anniversary Box for the Japanese market today. → Read More
After discontinuing the production of cassette Walkmans last year, Sony is now about to kill another one of their original inventions: the MiniDisc Walkman. And as Japanese business daily The Nikkei is reporting today, Sony plans to pull the plug on the production as early as this September – obviously because nobody is buying MiniDisc Walkmans anymore. → Read More
Japan is probably one of the biggest markets for portable TVs in the world, but because the digital standard used in those devices (1Seg) has only been adopted by Japan and a few South American countries so far, I usually don’t cover new models coming out. But Panasonic’s SV-ME970, announced [JP] today, is different: it has Android 2.1 on board and lets users surf the web. → Read More
Have you ever wanted to shoot video while you were out diving in the ocean? But using a waterproof video camera isn’t for you? Then you should consider Thanko‘s newest product, underwater video camera goggles [JP], which is waterproof to a depth of 5m. → Read More
NEC is ready to use some of the expertise it gained by developing lithium-ion batteries for Nissan’s electric vehicles in recent years for home use: according to a report in Japanese business daily The Nikkei that was published today, that new 6kwh household power storage system will only cost around $12,300 – which is about 50% cheaper than comparable systems on sale today. → Read More
We will see more of these devices coming in the next few years, I am sure: Panasonic today announced [JP] the BG-BL01, a portable and solar-powered LED light that doubles as a charger for USB gadgets. The device is sized at just 152×104×24mm, weighs 150g, can house two AA batteries and is splash proof. → Read More
The joint venture NEC and Lenovo announced back in January is now reality: the companies today said they have finally set up “NEC Lenovo Japan”, which Lenovo holds a 51% stake in (NEC holds the rest of the shares). The joint venture is limited to the Japanese PC market at this point, but NEC Lenovo instantly gained the bragging rights to call itself the country’s biggest PC maker (about 25% market… → Read More
It took them a while, but Sony today announced [JP] that they will fully restore all PlayStation Network services plus streaming media-on-demand service Qriocity in Japan this Wednesday. Sony’s home market is the last country in which the company is done picking up the pieces after that massive data breach from last April. → Read More
Last year, Sony unveiled PlayView, a service for the PS3 that makes it possible to view high-resolution images on your display, for example in manuals or guides for games. And yesterday, big S announced in Tokyo that PlayView will be able to produce pictures in 4K×2K (4,096×2,160) resolution, or, in other words, four times the resolution of full HD. → Read More
Camera brand Pentax will soon have a new owner: Tokyo-based Hoya group, which purchased the brand in 2007, is ready to sell [notice of sale as an English PDF] it to Ricoh in October this year. According to Japanese business daily The Nikkei, the office equipment maker plans to pay an estimated US$124 million for Pentax. → Read More
You look for a case for your iPhone 4 but those Hello Kitty ones we showed earlier this week are too girly-girly for you? Then here’s a (quite nasty) alternative: a case with a plastic Dokkiri, a Japanese beetle, glued to it. → Read More
Do you like your beverages cool in the summer and warm in the winter? Are you one of those computer users who think it’s too cumbersome to walk to the fridge whenever you’re in need for a drink? Then the so-called USB Hot Cool Box [JP] from Thanko might be the right thing for you. → Read More
Robot Hanako, the Japanese dental patient simulator we have shown you last year, just got an upgrade: Hanako 2 still behaves, in many ways, like a human patient, and she still lets dentists practice “real-life” procedures on her before they do the same on human patients. But the new version has been improved. → Read More
Who said Japanese players don’t appreciate video games made outside their home country? I just went out to buy the newest issue of the Famitsu, Japan’s leading video game magazine (which came out about 3 hours ago/it’s currently 3am Thursday over here), and saw what you see above: L.A. Noire, one of the biggest game titles this year, missed the perfect review score by just one point. → Read More
A Japanese company called Global Wave has developed a special film, which can be used to transform any given 2D LCD screen into a naked-eye 3D display – just applying it to the LCD is enough. Global Wave says the so-called Pic3D sheet is the first of its kind. → Read More
Following the security breach in the PlayStation network in April (77 million PlayStation Network user accounts were compromised), Sony saw a radical management reshuffle in its gaming division, Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEI), today. As you could expect, big S denies a connection between both incidents, but today’s decision probably doesn’t surprise anyone. → Read More
Tokyo-based Japan Trend Shop, an online store selling unique gadgets and lifestyle products from Nippon, started listing something super-cute today: Hello Kitty-themed protective cases (the site is completely in English) for use with the iPhone 4. → Read More
I am aware we have covered the Sense-Roid, a robotic device that lets you hug yourself (don’t ask), last week already. But now our friends over at Diginfonews in Tokyo went out and shot a professional video that shows the tactile communications apparatus in action and explains it in more detail (and in English). → Read More
The PS Vita is coming relatively soon, but Sony Japan today announced [JP] something nice for all users still in need of a PSP: a total of three new PSP value packs. The bundles will include a PSP in Piano Black, Vibrant Blue, or Blossom Pink – and they might be the last ones you can get, at least before the Vita goes on sale. → Read More
Temperatures neared the 40 degree Celsius mark around Tokyo over the weekend – reason enough for Thanko to start selling the so-called USB Hinyari Cushion Ver. 2 [JP], which essentially is a USB-powered cooler/cushion for your butt. The Tokyo-based crap gadget maker has offered a very similar item last summer, and apparently that cushion sold well enough to be updated this year. → Read More
TVs with integrated HDDs and Blu-recorders are nothing new anymore, but Mitsubishi Electric is trying to score with a specific selling point: its compact design. Their REAL LCD-22BLR500, announced [JP] today, is an all-in-one device that houses a 22-inch screen, a 500GB HDD, and a Blu-ray recorder with AVREC support. → Read More
Do you remember the LIFEBOOK TH40/D, the pretty nice-looking convertible tablet that Fujitsu unveiled last month? It now turns out that the Windows 7 device will not hit Japanese stores this month, even though Fujitsu announced just that just about five weeks ago. → Read More
If you happen to be a table tennis player who’s never able to find a partner to play with, here’s your chance: a Japanese company called Happinet is selling some kind of virtual table tennis game that requires neither a second person nor a ball to play. Their so-called Takkyuu High-Tension toy is all about sounds and rhythm (strange video below). → Read More
China-based JUST GOOD Technology Corp. and UNIS Corp. must really like the PaPeRo, NEC’s super-cute mini robot that was first shown to the public back in 1997. Or how else can you explain the existence of their so-called UNISROBO? As Plastic Pals points out, both robots are very much alike from a design perspective. → Read More
JVC’s audio mastering technique K2 HD was first introduced to the general public in 2007. Under the standard, music is encoded in 24 bit and 100 kHz resolution during mastering but can be stored and played using conventional 16bit/44.1kHz CDs. And now, JVC has combined K2 HD with the HQCD (HiQuality CD) storage format to bring us the “K2HD MASTERING + HQCD” [JP] concept. → Read More
This looks like something straight out of “Minority Report”: Japan-based robot venture Double Research & Development Co. [JP] has developed a 5-finger mouse [JP] that can track the movements and pressure of individual fingers and send the information to a computer to trigger actions. → Read More
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