Kyokusen means “curved line” in Japanese, so a convenient name for this new product from Tokyoflash. The watch comes in two colours, a black leather strap with green or blue LEDs, or a speckled silver leather strap with multi-coloured LEDs. The display shows an L shaped curve that indicates the hours, and the smaller circles indicate the minutes. Tokyoflash also emphasize that they’ve used digital tube technology to illustrate a brighter and more visible display than your average LED watch. Now more people can stare at how hard it is to tell the time on your watch from a greater distance! Kyokusen is available for 13,900 yen ($119/£59).
Ahh, I remember the days when a rolled-up newspaper would bring the end to any sort of bug incident. These days, thanks to the popularity of the Dalai Lama and Morrissey, it’s seen as cruel to deliberately end the days of a harmless little insect. That’s why you need one of these insect vacuums, just point and suck to safely trap your new potential best friend. What’s more is that it doesn’t even need power; it uses a special magic called “pneumatics” to do the sucking. At 2,839 Yen (£12/$24.50) it’d be silly not to buy one.
Whew, rubber watch! These new Nooka watches are the perfect colourful companions to your…wrist. They come in six different colours, and weigh only 47g. Don’t know about you, but I don’t even consider wearing a watch over 50g. If you live in the land of America you can type in your credit card details here, and one will turn up at your house. Incredible.
Ha! Look at you getting hot under the collar with the baking heat of summer! I, on the other hand, have a tie that has a USB-powered fan in the knot! I am therefore not only feeling cool, but looking cool as well. Take that!
Only available from the weirdos at Thanko for 2,980 yen (£12.20/$24.90).
One-day robots will be able to do more than simply dance, but until that time comes let’s just enjoy the moment. Here’s Tokyo University’s new “Promet” robot dancing to a bit of aizu bandaisan.
Solid Alliance has released Tengu, British designer Crispin Jones‘ USB marvel. Tengu is a little device with an LED face capable of showing seven different facial expressions that change if you blow on it. Just like what would happen if you blew on my face! If that doesn’t impress you then play some music to Tengu; it will lip-sync the words, just like on YouTube! Have a look and see what you make of it:
Best buddies Philips and Swarovski have got together to come up with a new line of headphones and USB memory sticks that are encrusted with crystals. The companies claim the products aren’t like other headphones where crystals have been just stuck on existing models; the crystals have been part of the design process from the beginning. The headphones will cost between 12,600 yen (£52/$106) and 23,100 yen (£96/$194), while the 1GB memory sticks cost 27,300 yen (£113/$230).
Century Direct has launched the perfect item for Wii addicts going on vacation. The CY-997 is a portable device you can attach your Nintendo Wii to, and play games on the move without a television. It has a 7″ LCD screen, and a built-in sensor bar and speakers, so this neat little white box is all you need to start gaming. The unit weighs 880g, and the lid is folded for travel in a similar fashion to laptops and portable DVD players. The CY-997 is available in Japan for 14,800 yen ($125/£62).
Kiddies who grew up in Japan playing with Choro Q trucks will now be at the age where they appreciate this latest gadget by Vertex Link. They are launching the 512MB Choro Q USB hub in three colours of blue, red or black. Compatible with PC and Mac, the Choro Q hub will be available 31st August.
That’s right, the days of your old Converse stinking up the house are gone. And it’s all thanks to a glowing egg! Hang your fungus-filled footwear from the Shoe Pure 100 when you come home, and within half an hour they’ll be nice and fresh and ready for another adventure. The Shoe Pure works by drying out fresh sweat with warm air before it dries naturally and is absorbed by the shoe.
Casio Japan celebrates its 25th anniversary in May 2008, and to celebrate, four special edition G-Shock watches are being released. The DW-5025B, GW-5525B, DW-5725B and AWG-525B are available in white, with the LCD numbers in gold on a black background. G-Shock watches were all the rage in the 80’s, and these designs are commemorative replicas of the originals from that period. The watches will be released 31st August in Japan only for 16,275 yen - 25,725 yen ($135-$213/£66-£104) in snazzy boxes.
After your dog has been out on a long photo shoot, it’s essential that he or she take the time to relax as well as clean those mucky paws. This paw jacuzzi is the perfect way of doing so, and comes with a special super-absorbent mat and towel for drying off. Get it in either pink or blue from Amazon Japan for 5,800 yen (£23/$48).
Sony has revealed their latest audio prototype, the Hana. For those who don’t know, “hana” means flower in Japanese, so the silver-plated flower petal LED lamp is fairly well named. Functioning not only as a lamp, but also as an mp3 player with full-length speakers, the Hana seems like it’s the combination of two random items pulled from Sony’s product top hat. If it’s good enough for David Bowie lyrics, it’s good enough for Sony.
Sharp has decided to create a massive solar power system that floats on water. Instead of taking the usual approach with solar panels and sticking them on a roof, Sharp has created a “buoyant resin-made platform” for the panels to sit on. The system generates 200 kilowatts of electricity, which is enough to power 50 houses. It was expensive, costing 220 million yen (£884,000/$1,815,000), but at least it helps power their enormous factory in Kameyama.
The thought of going to a gym can be negative, especially when you think of puffing away on exercise machines, and sweating so much that your hair sticks to your face. A machine in Japan called Conbini, a name taken from the Japanese for convenient store, is proving to be very popular though, as it prevents either of those off-putting aspects. The machine pushes the person’s feet up and down, and back and forwards, and a sweat is rarely broken, as it seems to be doing most of the work. A 500 yen coin ($4.10/£2) is simply inserted in the Conbini, and a 10 minute exercise regime begins. To prevent wandering male eyes, there are ladies only sections and partitions between machines to give you a carefree bounce about!
