Tag: Japan
The μTRON Keyboard – a terrifying new form of Japanese brain torture
As if typing isn’t a difficult and tiresome enough chore that only exists because voice and brain recognition technology is STILL rubbish, here’s something to make it harder. The μTRON Keyboard. A keyboard that’s been chopped up and rearranged. An invention that could halve office productivity over night.
The μTRON Keyboard comes in two pieces, with the space bar relegated…
Xiao Digital Camera – Polaroid for the 21st Century
I was having a discussion with my girlfriend the other day about Polaroid Camera. She’s a big fan, but I always thought they represented the worst of both worlds between analogue and digital. Still, some people adore them, and if you’re one of them, then this product, straight out of Japan from toy company Tomy, might excite you.
At its core, it’s essentially just a camera with a printer strapped on. That might not sound particularly impressive, but it replicates exactly what the old Polaroid cameras used to do. The camera is a five megapixel jobby, and has infrared so that mobile phones can send their pics to the camera for printing purposes.
Samsung develops foldable mobile phone with big OLED screen
Samsung has been playing around with flexible displays for several years, as has Sony, but now Samsung has developed a working prototype of a mobile phone which uses a foldable OLED screen to enable a much larger display to be fitted into a handheld device.
Take a look at the device when it’s closed and it looks like a fairly standard handset with a general-purpose display on the front. Unfold it (as shown in the video below) and you have access to a much larger screen for playing movies and games.
The advantage of using flexible material is that you end up with a seamless display rather than two separate ones. I could see this being expanded to create even larger displays that can be folded away into a sensibly-sized mobile phone handset, or perhaps built in to other portable devices such as netbooks and DVD players…
Marantz launches Bluetooth wireless iPod dock and hi-fi receiver
We’re pretty selective about what iPod docks we cover at Tech Digest, given that there must be hundreds of them floating about now and they’re all much of a muchness. However, we like Marantz, so the latest Bluetooth wireless iPod dock is definitely worth a mention.
First up, the dock looks good. It’s compact, holds the larger iPods at a nice angle (pictured is the iPod touch), and should fit in anywhere…
DSi sells 170,000 units in two days at Japan launch
A refreshed model of the Nintendo DS, featuring a camera and larger screen, has been selling well in Japan in its first couple of days on sale. More specifically, it has sold just over 170,000 units. That’s a decent amount for an only incrementally-changed version of a console that’s already owned by one in five members of the population – 23.6 million people.
Stores across the country were sold out, but iPhone-like queues weren’t seen because Nintendo didn’t really go for a media-friendly early-morning launch event. Many avoided queuing by reserving a unit beforehand and showing up later to pick it up. There’s no specific date for a western release of the DSi yet but, as previously reported, I’d be very surprised if it was later than next Spring.
Nintendo DSi (via PC World)
Related posts: New Nintendo DSi to hit the shelves in Spring ’09 | Nintendo DS to relaunch with a camera and MP3 player
Ballesteros Golf Watch gives me a Seve
Feel like owning a piece of golfing history? Currently lacking a watch? If you fall into the centre of that rather obscure Venn diagram, then what you need is the Seve Ballesteros golf watch pictured above. It’s made of the bits of the golf clubs that ol’ Seve used in his five under par victory at the Chunichi Crown Open in Japan back in 1991.
Of course, there’s only so many clubs that Ballesteros used back then, nine irons, a pitching wedge and a sand wedge, to be precise, so the watch comes in a limited edition of 50. It’s got a hole counter and a stroke counter, though the stroke counter only goes up to ten. It’ll be released in November, and cost a whopping 21,500 Swiss Francs (£11,340). Each comes with the name of the club used to make it engraved on the back.
Seve Ballesteros Golf Watch (via Gizmag)
Related posts: Casio releases EQW-500DBE-1AVER “Iron Man” watch | Suunto Lumi watch offers the time and a weather forecast
Virtual Orchestra – 64 musicians replaced by 64 speakers
“Autumn Fantasy 2008” sounds like a porn film, but in actual fact, it’s the name of a concert that’ll be taking place between Oct 11th and 21st in Kanagawa Science Park in Kawasaki, Japan. The system uses 64 speakers to replace the 64 musicians in an orchestra, and each speaker plays just one instrument…
Sharp claims world first: HDTVs with integrated Blu-ray recorders
Sharp will launch a range of high definition LCD TVs with integrated Blu-ray recorders in the Japanese market next month, claiming a world first.
While it’s not uncommon to see flat panel TVs with built in DVD and Blu-ray players, this is the first time a Blu-ray recorder has been added to a production TV.
The AQUOS DX range will come in a range of screen sizes from 26- right up to 52-inch, all full 1080p high definition, and ranging in price from around £1,100 to £2,900 (at current Yen to UK pound exchange rate). Though the integrated drive will allow playback of Blu-ray, and recording TV programmes directly to disc, there won’t be a built-in hard drive — so no DVR functionality…
Virus alert! Asus Eee Box ships in Japan with malware
Asus, suddenly faced with an extremely popular product, has been slapping the Eee badge on everything it possibly can. Earlier this year, it announced the Eee Box, a small, low-cost desktop PC. The company has just admitted, however, that the version of the product shipping in Japan contains a virus…
"Deepest ever" living fish has been found and filmed – Celebrity Fish Big Brother reportedly in the works
A team from the UK and Japan has managed to track down and film the deepest ever living fish. They found the 17-strong shoal chillin’ (literally) in a trench in the Pacific, 7.7km down from the surface. One of the scientists, Monty Priede from the University of Aberdeen, described the fish as “surprisingly cute”.
