Like most countries, the keitai (mobile phone) has become a huge part of life in Japan, and for the younger generation, cell phones seem to be supplanting the personal computer as the primary Internet device of choice.
The newest trend is young people using their phones to access sites called purofu ( “prof,” from the […]

Well, the International Day of the iPhone is here, when Apple’s new 3G iPhone launches around the world.
In Japan, the line outside Softbank’s flagship store in Omotesando, Tokyo reached 1500 people and over a kilometer in length, as Japanese fans lined up to get their hands on the device for the first time. Masayoshi […]

The New York Times has a nice bio piece on Shigeru Miyamoto, the man behind Nintendo’s Wii game system as well as Mario Brothers, Donkey Kong, and Zelda! The latter 3 games have sold more than 350 million copies while the new Wii system has sold 25 million units.
 

He lives near Kyoto with his […]

Japan’s oldest “modern” robot — the 10-foot, 6-inch GakuTenSoku — has been awakened in Japan. Gone are the inflatable rubber tubes of the original 1928 android build by biologist Makoto Nishimura. The bot now tilts its head, moves his eyes, smiles, and puffs out his cheeks thanks to a $200,000, computer-controlled, pneumatic-servo makeover. While nothing […]

I’m currently in love with this watch by LA based designer Tokidoki. The designer, Simone Legno, is actually from Italy, but with a keen eye, and a sense of humor (not to mention a Japanese girlfriend), he’s created a world of charming characters that remind one of the playful sensibility pervading the world of anime. […]

If there is a way to make something cute and fuzzy, when it is an everyday, mundane item, Japan finds the way.

These elephant trunk doorstops would make anyone’s day brighter.
3,570 yen each, purchase via Rinkya Stores

Someone seems to think so. . .

From Yomiuri Shimbun:
A uniform manufacturer in Chuo Ward, Osaka, has developed a T-shirt intended to provide protection against knives, following an increasing number of malicious crimes that have victimized children and late-night convenience store clerks.

From Popgadget comes news of a super-looking little digital camera - the Rolleiflex MiniDigi AF5.0. And the magpie in me is squawking “Want!”
Made by Komomura Corp., the MiniDigi AF5.0 is modelled on the original twin-lens 6×6 Rolleiflex, which debuted in 1929 and is still going.
This is a follow-up to the original MiniDigi, […]

It’s come to light that the otherwise troubled Playstation 3 has something of a serious patron in the US Air Force. Specifically, it appears that this branch of the US Armed Forces has ordered up 300 of the latest Sony consoles. To do what, you ask?
The Air Force Research Laboratory is conducting a technology assessment […]

edion, a japanese electronic retailer, has announced today that they will allow customers to return their hd dvd consoles and purchase blue ray dvd players for the difference between the original price of the hd dvd players and the sale price of the current blue ray dvd players. talk about building customer loyalty, i […]

i wasn’t really that impressed by the group of japanese engineers conclusions about the short comings of the macbook air’s design quality. it really seemed like nitpicking to bring up the amount of screws that hold down the keyboard and the non utilized space inside the casing. moreover, feigning surprise that apple would […]

A team of engineers made up of representatives of “Japanese PC makers” have declared the MacBook Air computer to be a “perfect, sophisticated external appearance, but its insides are full of waste.”
Specific problems include the number of screws to secure the keyboard (30), and a structure that is “hard to comprehend.” Once engineer went […]

Pileus is working on an Internet enabled umbrella that will allow the user to check out websites while their walking down the street, by looking up at the underside of the umbrella. It works by using a small projector to put the image on the inside of the umbrella. It’s enabled for […]

Check out this Reuters report on a Japanese guy who has totally given up on women and maintains a harem of 100 sex dolls.

Looks like the Americans may be gearing up to challenge the Japanese in innovative toilet technology. . .
Thanks to Mr. Pink

Japan electronics giant Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which markets products under the Panasonic brand overseas, has announced plans to introduce Internet-ready plasma TVs in North America in the spring that will allow users to directly browse videos on YouTube and photos in Google-based web albums.
“This is the first time mainstream consumers will be able to […]

The above are phone straps from Japan that are available here.
Via Popgadget

Posting this from a waiting area in Keio University Hospital where my son is undergoing surgery, I am wondering about the cell phone restrictions that are so strictly enforced by medical institutions.
I am fully aware of the warnings that signals connected with cellphone use can interfere with the proper operation of medical equipment. However, I […]