Gadgets in Japan - Cool Japanese gadgets

Last Post About Japanese iPhone

Well, I been dealing with having a Japanese for the past few days now, and I must admit, I am not that impressed. So finally, I decided to install Windows on my laptop just so I can register my iPhone. Well what a big waste of time that is. Not only do I have to run a Japanese Windows, the great folks at Apple decided that I need to give up my credit card information to iTunes just to register my phone. Well isn't that just dandy. I am never going to do that. I refuse to submit to Apple and give them all my information. I think this is pure garbage. I cannot add music from a CD that I legally own, videos from my trip around Asia that I made myself legally. Hell, I cannot even download free games or tools from Apple's iStore. What the hell is wrong with Apple. If I do not give them my credit card information, I am screwed. This is just a fancy and expensive phone.

Well if you do decide to go to Softbank and buy one of these locked down phones, then please consider the issues that I mentioned above. There is no real legal way around getting past iTunes unless I "jailbreak" it, which is what I refuse to do. I am a big fan of open source software, which is why I love my Creative Zen MP3 player.

Has Softbank Lost Their Minds?

Well, it is official, Softbank of Japan has lost their minds. Start last Friday, Softbank has started to give away 8 GB iPhones to any new client or anyone that wants to upgrade their Softbank plan. I for one just bought an iPhone, so I am out of luck, but for those of you that is interested, then let me tell you that this is one hell of a deal. I paid 20,000 JPY for my iPhone with a two year contract, but now they are free. I wished I would have waited a bit longer, but that is ok. If you are living here in Japan, then I would go for it if I was you. Sure two years is a long time, but what phone company won't tie you into some sort of deal. So, this is well worth it for a new timer here and needing a nice phone. The best part of the phone is Google Maps as well surfing the net with it. I also am a big fan of having music, and a video player all in one unit. I do not need to carry around all that gear anymore. So, go out and get your new iPhone today. You will be happy with it. Trust me about that.

Sony's Virtually Dust Proof LCD

Well the good folks at Sony Japan have came out with a virtually dusk proof LCD TV. The  GXD-L64H1 LCD by Sony is pretty much that. This thing has an international protection rating scale of IP54. This TV has a 65 inch display, and is HDTV, which is perfect for those of us that are too lazy to dust around the house, then this is the perfect solution. I personally hate dusting and vacuuming. So, once I have some money, and I can buy this TV, then I will be very happy. Perhaps the other items that I own that are electronic will not be as happy, but as long as I got a big ass TV that does not need any maintanance, who really cares. This TV will be coming out in May, but has a step price of ¥1,850,000. It is pretty high, but those of you that either live alone like I do, or have a lazy house wife, or just plan busy, then this is the kind of electronics we need to see in the future. Just look at how much dust the TV has on and around it in the picture below:

New Nintendo's Wii Classic Controller Pro in Japan

If you are a big Wii fan, and love to play old school classic games from the Wii Store, then this is what you been waiting for. Released in summer from Nintendo of Japan is the Wii Classic Controller Pro. This looks like the old version but with a few upgrades. It now has dual analog joysticks as well as two more top buttons, simular to the PS3 and Xbox controller. This controller is designed mostly for N64 and Game Cube games for the Wii as well as some of the classics from NES and Sega. This is a must have for anyone that plays classica games like I do. Also, it has dual shock, which is even more fun when you play games like James Bond 007. I am very much looking forward to buying this controller for all my classic gaming needs. I wonder if you are able to use it to play Wii games at all. I would like to use it for driving games, as the Wii controller just doesnt always cut it. Here is a picture of what the controller will look like.

As you can tell from the picture, it looks very nice and enjoyable to use. It will be a good summer I tell you. This will be released before Christmas world wide.

New Canon's D10 PowerShot Camera

Are you a sport enthusiast and looking for the perfect camera to take with you on your outings? Well look no further. Canon just released their new D10 PowerShot camera. This is a very nice camera that boasts the following features:

- camouflage skin
- waterproof
- 12.1-megapixel sensor
- DIGIC 4 processor
- 3x zoom
- image stabilization
- 2.5-inch PureColor LCD II display
- shock resistant

Since the camera is waterproof, it will be sightly bigger then the other cameras from the PowerShot series. Also, the LCD II display is brighter then Canon's other LCD II displays, which makes it great for reviewing your pictures in the bright sun light or night. Since it is waterproof, you do not need any extra shell. So, this means you can take it snowboarding, out in the rain, and to the beach. The camera is waterproof up to 10 meters, which is deeper then most of us can swim. This camera is now avaliable in Japan, and will hit the North American markets at the end of April for $329.

Walking In Virtual Reality

Well the smart folks at the University of Tsukuba in Japan have came up with a great idea to walk in virtual reality called the CirculaFloor. In the past, there were issues with trying to make virtual reality as real as possible but people were mainly moved statically, or not walking at all. Sure they tried tread mills and what not in the past, but it still never came close to perfection. Well that is no longer the case with the CirculaFloor. The CirculaFloor is four robotic tiles that move around to simulate walking in real life, including walking up stairs. This is quite the amazing thing if you want to live in a virtual world like I would like to do someday in the future. Although the CirculaFloor is long ways away from becoming a reality, it is very promising though. I for one would love to take a walk in a virtual world someday. As you can tell from the video below, the four robotic tiles move quite slowly but still better then anything else in the past.

Second Phase of NEDO's Advanced Robotics Project

An institute that is located here in Japan called NEDO is now entering the second phase of their, "Project for Strategic Development of Advanced Robotics Elemental Technologies." The have been working on this project since 2006 and now ready to proceed. One of the robots that has been developed is the Murata Machinery's robotic delivery system which is pictured below.

This delivery robot will be placed in certain hospitals for testing. They will deliver drinks and food to patience during peak hours and during the night to save time and reduce the work load of nurses. This is an interesting concept to reduce under staffing issues that a lot of major cities have around the world. This may become common place in the near future. I am looking forward to it.

Strange New Japanese Watch

Well as I posted before, I do love the watches here in Japan. They are quite nice, and helps a person look more impressive with a nice watch on. Well as we all know that Japanese can be quite different, this new watch from Kisai Sensai is very different then anything that I have ever seen before. If you look at the picture below:

The watch does not tell time in the way that most of us are used too. Instead, the watch has coloured LCD lights display that tells time in a code. Apparently, it takes up to 30 years to master this code. Sounds like a bit of a pain if you ask me. Lucky for us native English speakers, that the instructions comes with both Japanese and English manuals. I doubt I will be going out to buy this watch any time soon from my local watch shop.

Yakuza 3 - Ryū ga Gotoku for Playstation 3 is out on February 26

Well if you do not have a Sony Playstation 3 yet, then I suggest to go out and buy one if you are living here in Japan just to play the latest Yakuza game. This game is third in the series, with the earlier ones being on Playstation 2.

I will admit, the graphics look life like, and the game play looks amazing. This is going to be one of the hottest games out this year. I am very much looking forward to playing a yakuza in on of my favourite places in Tokyo, Shinjuku. This game hits the stores here in Japan on February 26th, 2009. Just look at the amazing graphics that this game has:





This is going to be hell of a game because it is designed by legendary Sega game designer Toshihiro Nagoshi who brought us games like Super Monkey Ball and Virtual Fighter series. So you know that this is going to be a great game with smooth game play. The only bad news with this game is that it unlikely that this game will never get a North American release.

NTT Docomo and Sharp projector phone

Just shown at the WMC (Moble World Congress) is the new NTT Docomo and Sharp projector phones. The idea of these phones is to project a video image onto a wall or any other white service to be used in video conferencing. Also other purpose of the device is to use it to project mobile TV while at home or at the office. To me, this is  a bit of a silly device but I guess it might be ok for the video conferencing if you need it for business. Other then that, the quality of the display output is going to be aweful, so why would you want to use it for TV. Here is a prototype of the phone:

 

There is no offical word yet on when this phone will be released. Also, there is no price announced yet on this phone. I am sure with the projector, this phone will not be cheap. Like I said, this phone is for salary men that may need to use the video conferencing at meetings.