Serkan Toto
[Dr. Serkan Toto](http://serkantoto.com) is CEO & Founder of Tokyo-based [Kantan Games Inc.](http://en.kantan-games.co.jp/company.html), a game industry consultancy focused on the Japanese market.
Serkan has been the Japan contributor for TechCrunch.com from 2008 to 2012.
He is sept-lingual, holds an MBA and is a PhD in economics.
CrunchBase profile →Latest from Serkan Toto
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Samsung: One In Ten South Koreans Now Owns A Samsung Galaxy S II
It’s not really news to say that the Galaxy S II is a hit, but it has actually become a mega hit in South Korea. According to maker Samsung, the Android handset has been sold a whopping 5 million times in its domestic market since release at the end of April 2011. In other words, a little more than 10% of the country’s entire population (48 million people) are now proud owners of… Read More
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Wireless Sensor Posts Temperature, Humidity, And Radiation Levels To Twitter (Video)
Japan-based UC Technology Corp. [JP] has developed a wireless sensor that can automatically post data like temperature, humidity, illuminance, or radiation levels to Twitter. The so-called “Tsubuyaku Sensor” [JP, PDF] is mainly designed for use in food warehouses, plants, or wine cellars. The data can be checked remotely on Twitter (the account can be set to private or public). Read More
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NetLED: Japan Gets Cloud-Based, Smartphone-Compatible LED Lighting System
First, Japan got the world’s first connected home garden device, and now it’s time for Nippon to get the world’s first cloud-based LED lighting system. Developed by Tokyo-based lighting tech startup Net LED Technology Corp., the so-called NetLED system will go on sale in Japan on February 20 (here‘s the company’s English website). The 40W lights, which have a… Read More
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ARROWS μ F-07D: Fujitsu’s Android Phone Is Waterproof And 6.7mm Thin, Comes With 4-Inch OLED
The Infobar C01 from yesterday was a bit too much for you? Not to worry, Japan still produces “ordinary” Android phones: Fujitsu’s ARROWS μ F-07D [JP], which mobile carrier NTT Docomo plans to start selling this Friday, is the newest example. It doesn’t look as unique as the Infobar, but the list of specs is long and pretty impressive. Read More
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Scratch Shield: Nissan Introduces World’s First Self-Healing iPhone Case
An iPhone case from Nissan? As you can imagine, it would make no sense for the automaker to develop an ordinary case, and the so-called Nissan Scratch Shield iPhone Case is actually special. According to the company, it’s the world’s first “self-healing” iPhone cover: in other words, it quickly fixes (fine) scratches by itself. Nissan says they used their self-healing… Read More
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INFOBAR C01: Japan’s Newest (And Most Colorful) Android Phone
Japan’s mobile landscape is currently in the midst of an Android revolution, and today KDDI au (the country’s second biggest carrier) announced another 5 smartphones with that OS on board for the local market. The most interesting model in the new line-up is the so-called INFOBAR C01 [JP], a candy bar coming with a heavily customized UI (based on Android 2.3). KDDI au introduced… Read More
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Fujitsu Japan Rolls Out 2 “Girls-Only” Cell Phones
Do women need special cell phones? Certain companies, such as Deutsche Telekom or Samsung, seem to think so. Now Fujitsu Japan is ready to roll out [JP] not one but two handsets specifically designed “for girls”, a feature phone and an Android model. The Android phone, the so-called F-03D Girls’, has been developed in cooperation with popular teenage fashion magazine Popteen. Read More
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EV Mini Sport: Mini Electric Sports Car From Japan (Video)
It’s not a Tesla, but Japan-based Tajima Motor Corporation has developed a zero-emission (and pretty cool-looking) mini sports car. The so-called EV Mini Sport [JP] has been publicly showcased first in 2010, and will go on sale in Japan and abroad “soon” (according to the company’s website). The car weighs just 280kg and is 2.49 m long, 1.29 m wide, and 1.09 m high. It… Read More
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Panasonic Shows Cloud-Based “Smart Vegetable Garden” Device For Home Use
Panasonic isn’t just making TVs, phones, or cameras, they are also producing household appliances. One such appliance has recently been introduced by Japanese business daily The Nikkei, and it’s probably the first cloud-based device for growing fruit and vegetables at home out there. Four leaf vegetables can be grown in one so-called “Smart Vegetable Garden” (which is… Read More
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Mobile Media Platform Cinemacraft Extends Series A Round With Investment From 500 Startups
Tokyo- and Singapore-based mobile media platform Cinemacraft announced it has extended its Series A round by securing an investment from Dave McClure‘s 500 Startups. The fresh money from the US brings the total amount raised by the company so far to US$900,000. Previous investors include Singapore-based Jungle Ventures (background), Jayesh Pareikh (founder of Sony Entertainment TV)… Read More
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Sony Shares Holiday Sales Numbers For The PlayStation
Sony Computer Entertainment reported some solid sales numbers for its various PlayStation systems for the past holiday season today. Sony says that they moved a total of 6.5 million PlayStation 2/3/PSP/Vita units worldwide (Sony defines “holiday season” as between November 21 and January 5 in Asia, November 21 through December 31 in America, and November 18 through December 31… Read More
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Report: Kaz Hirai To Become Sony President In April
Big news from Sony today: according to a report just published by Japanese business daily The Nikkei, Kazuo “Kaz” Hirai, currently the company’s Executive Deputy President, will become president as early as April this year. Hirai doubles as the Chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment. The move doesn’t really come as a big surprise: in March last year, current… Read More
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After 58 Years: Panasonic To Cut The Cord With JVC Kenwood
Panasonic has been partnering with Victor Co. of Japan, which in 2008 merged with Kenwood to become JVC Kenwood, since 1954. But yesterday JVC Kenwood announced [JP, PDF] that Panasonic, its largest shareholder and business partner, will go alone in the future. Big P is apparently ready to sell 24,225,400 of its shares, a move that will make the company the seventh-largest shareholder in… Read More
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Sony Announces World’s First XQD Memory Cards
Are you ready for yet another memory card format? Dubbed XQD, the medium was first announced by Sandisk, Sony and Nikon in November 2010. And after the the CompactFlash Association finalized the specifications last month, Sony took the wraps off the world’s first XQD cards today. Two versions of the card will be available, in addition to an XQD-compatible card reader (USB 3.0) and an… Read More
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Overview: Japan’s Video Game Market In 2011 (Sales, Hardware, Software)
Japan’s video game industry is the world’s second biggest (after the US), but it’s on a downward streak for the fifth consecutive year. Based on sales, the country’s video game industry has contracted by as much as 8% year-on-year, Japan’s biggest gaming magazine Famitsu is reporting [JP]. Between December 27, 2010 and December 25, 2011, Japanese game… Read More
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For Rapid Wireless Data Exchange: Toshiba Starts Shipping TransferJet LSI
TransferJet is having a hard time going mainstream, but Toshiba hasn’t given up on the close proximity wireless transfer technology yet: after taking the wraps off a small TransferJet LSI back in September last year, the company now announced it’s ready to begin shipping the first samples to electronics manufacturers. Visitors of the CES 2012 (which kicks off on January 10 in… Read More
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Augmented Reality App Instantly Translates Foreign Text On Signs, Menus
If you ever wanted to be able to read text on a street sign or on a menu in a restaurant when abroad, your smartphone might be able to help you soon. Japanese electronics company Omron has developed a smartphone application that can instantly translate (short) foreign texts you come across – firing up the app and pointing the phone’s camera at the text in question is enough. Omron… Read More
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Sanwa Supply Rolls Out Micro Projector For iPhone 4/4S
Japan-based accessory maker Sanwa Supply started selling the 400-PRJ011 [JP] in its online store, a DLP micro projector that slides onto an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S. The device comes with a 2,100mAh battery, which takes about five hours to fully charge and provides enough juice for 2.5 hours of projector usage. With the projector function turned off, buyers can also use the device to charge… Read More
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Sleep Buster: Japanese Company Develops Anti-Sleep Driver Seat Sheet
There are quite a few systems and gadgets on the market already that prevent people from falling asleep whilst driving, but Japan-based Juki has developed an entirely new one: a sheet [JP, PDF] that can be mounted on the driver’s seat and triggers an alarm when you’re about to doze off. The way the so-called Sleep Buster works is that it measures signals from the heart and… Read More
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Insync (“Dropbox For Google Users”) Gets Major Revamp, Goes Free
File synchronization and sharing platform Insync has been around for over a year now, and today, the eponymous startup has rolled out a totally revamped version of its “Dropbox for Google users”. Insync 2.0, so t speak, is more focused on Google Docs as ever, removed registration and sync limits, streamlined the user experience, and is now free to use. The main target group here… Read More
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