October 23rd, 2008
Japanese toy maker CCP has announced the U-Diver, its remote-controlled micro submarine, will be sold in Japan starting at the beginning of next month. CCP isn’t really an international company but belongs to the Bandai Namco group, meaning a future release outside Japan isn’t impossible.
The U-Diver, which was showcased for the first time during the [...]
October 21st, 2008
Japanese toy maker Takara Tomy is famous in Nippon for its Q-series: Choro-Q (extra-small toy cars), Heli-Q and even QFO (small UFOs attacking Tokyo).
Now the company has developed the Q-Train, miniature toys that are designed like real trains used in Japan. Each Q-Train consists of 3 wagons that are just 3cm long. Users can make [...]
October 8th, 2008
When do you know that a given country, in this case Japan, is totally saturated with gadgets? When one of its companies, in this case Bandai, releases a combination of a cell phone strap and a mini toy that lets you relive the unforgettable experience of opening shipping envelopes or cardboard boxes.
The so-called Mugen Peri [...]
October 7th, 2008
KDDI au is not only Japan’s second biggest cell phone carrier but also famous for its KDDI Design Project. And while their exhibition in the KDDI Design Studio in Tokyo was disappointing, the company made a strong showing at this year’s CEATEC.
See the coolest cell phone designs below. KDDI has been running this design project [...]
August 15th, 2008
Here comes another robot fish from Japan. Starting today, toymaker Nakajima [JP] ships “Dynamic Fishing”, a toy kit that consists of an angling rod, a lure and a robotic fish. The set is Nippon-only, but If you are interested and live outside Japan, you can order it via Amazon Japan [JP/ENG] for $27 plus shipping.
The [...]
July 31st, 2008
Following robot cats, baby biddies and scary big dogs, Sega Toys now announced [JP, PDF] they will start selling a robotic hamster starting August 8th. The company plans to produce no less than 100,000 units yearly. Sega Toys says their main target group are not kids, but females between 20 and 40 years old (at [...]
July 30th, 2008
Sanyo announced the successor model to its Xacti HD700 720p camcorder today, the HD800 [JP]. The new cam comes with an 8 megapixel 1/2.5-inch CMOS sensor, and shoots 720p video (1280×720) at 30fps in MPEG4 format.
Features include SD/SDHC support, a “face chaser” function for up to 12 persons, 5x optical zoom and a 2.7-inch LCD [...]
June 26th, 2008
In late July, Japanese Star Wars geeks will be able to lay their hands on USB hubs shaped like R2-D2 and a Darth Vader bust. Both hubs stand about 15cm tall.
Both the R2-D2 and the Darth Vader bust come with 4 USB ports (USB 2.0) and feature lighting and sound effects. When the user pushes [...]
June 25th, 2008
Tokyo Toy Show coverage, part 3 (final): The coolest electronic toys on video
CrunchDeals: Scary-ass robotic Elvis for $59.99
Japan to build two mega solar power plants
Logitech’s Mac-only QuickCam puzzles, does video
June 24th, 2008
The following videos I shot show some of the coolest electronic stuff (not including robots) I have come across at this year’s Tokyo Toy Show.
Takara Tomy’s Aero Spider was especially impressive. The same company didn’t allow me to shoot a video of their awesome QFOs (mini UFOs attacking Tokyo). Sorry, but the pictures must do.
More [...]
