Technology
SoftBank unveils 1-Seg TV tuner for iPhone
Addressing a widely-publicized feature omission for Japanese iPhone users, local carrier Softbank on Thursday announced plans to begin selling a TV Tuner add-on later this year that will also serve as an extended battery pack.
Expected to retail for around US$100 when it goes on sale in mid-December, the rechargeable brick-like receiver will include an internal Wi-Fi module and external antenna for tuning into the One-Seg (or 1seg) mobile terrestrial broadcasting service available in Japan and parts of Brazil.
The device will deliver the One-Seg signal to iPhones via Wi-Fi through a specialized application that will be made available on the App Store free of charge. This frees users to place the receiver in their purse or pocket. Alternatively, the gadget can be connected to iPhones via the dock connector, where it can then serve as an secondary iPhone battery.
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Cell phones used to assist indecisive Japanese shoppers
So, you’re a Japanese consumer and you’re thinking of buying a new outfit online, or you’re wondering how you might look with the latest trendy hairstyle, but you can’t decide which look is right for you. Well, worry no more.
If you’re an owner of a KDDI au cell phone, you can now use their EZ MY STYLING feature to snap a photo of yourself and composite it with various hair styles and fashion items. And if you want to get that haircut or buy those clothes, well the au partner companies that provide the images will be more than happy to assist you.
The technology was developed by the same folks who powered the Schick Japan Hige-Chen website we wrote about back in February.
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KDDI to Offer 1G Bps Internet to Homes
Japanese telecommunications carrier KDDI will start offering from October 1G bps (bits per second) fiber-optic Internet hook-ups for less than the current price of a connection one tenth the speed, it said this week.
The Hikari One Home Gigabit service will cost ¥5,460 (US$51.40) per month and provide an upstream and downstream connection at 1G bps. Internet-based telephone service and cable TV service can be added to the connection for an additional fee.
It will be available to single-dwelling homes and apartment buildings up to three floors high in the Tokyo area and Hokkaido island in north Japan. KDDI’s current fiber-optic service for such buildings tops out at 100M bps and costs ¥6,615 while the broadly available 10M bps DSL (digital subscriber line) service costs around ¥4,599.
Japanese Internet users already enjoy some of the fastest and cheapest Internet connections in the world. Aggressive investment by carriers in fiber-optic networks and the country’s densely packed cities leave many homes and buildings within easy reach of a fiber optic connection.
As of the end of June subscriptions to fiber-optic Internet services totalled 13 million whereas those to DSL services stood at 12.3 million, according to figures from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Cable Internet services, where speeds of up to 160M bps are available in some regions, had attracted 4 million subscribers to bring the total number of high-speed connections in the country to 29.3 million.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Haruo Suekichi: The Steampunk Watchmaker
I love watches and found this great article on watchmaker Haruo Suekichi from Ping Magazine:
For close to thirteen years, Haruo Suekichi has been investing hours upon hours every day to develop watches with a Steampunkflair. Reminiscent of Jules Verne and influenced by manga, hisfinely crafted watches are of a vintage futuristic kind. And what started with an unsuccessful attempt to hawk them at a flea market has turned into an enterprise whose analogue objects of desire are hard to get. PingMag had a chance to sit down with Tokyo’s very own Steampunk poster boy in his studio in Yoyogi Uehara.
By Vicente Gutierrez and Natsuki Yamada
With lovely translation help from Wakako Ito
Photos by Martin Holtkamp
Tokyo Gas Robot Girl
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Gizmodo writes: “That headline may seem like an exaggeration, but we’re talking about a country that uses sex robots to promote energy companies. Tokyo Gas is airing this commercial in which a typical salaryman takes a down and out attractive female robot home only to be educated in the practical wonders of natural gas (before his natural instincts kick in). Japanese advertisers, I have no clue what you’re saying, but you’re certainly speaking my language.”
While Dvice says: “Considering Japan’s reputation for odd erotic animation/manga and advanced robotics, many are waiting to see what kind humanoid robots the country will produce in the not-too-distant future. If commercials are a barometer of local culture, then it looks like we have our answer thanks to the newTokyo Gas commercial featuring a man who brings an alluring wayward robot into his home to teach him about…gas utilities.
The short clip shows off a few cool special effects, but we get our first true glimpse at what salarymen are impatiently pining for from their robots when the human is swiftly rebuffed by the robot after becoming smitten with her tutorial skills. After you’ve contemplated the population depletion implications of such a twisted future you can check out the disturbingly humorous video.”
iPhone Headed to US Bases in Japan
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A product recall may delay Friday’s expected arrival of iPhones at U.S. base exchanges in Japan, a SoftBank representative said Monday.
He declined to say how many phones have been ordered, but said it would be “sufficient” to cover anticipated sales. However, the recall may delay shipping, said the representative, who did not want to be named due to company policy. SoftBank has exclusive rights to sell iPhones in Japan.
“We hope they’ll be there in time, but we’re not sure,” he said. (さらに…)
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Japan Newbie Does Video
Japan Newbie discovers something new.
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What do you think of the video?
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )English guide for Nico Nico Douga
Serkan Toto reports Japanese uber video portal Nico Nico Douga (all posts on Asiajin) recently launched international versions in German and Spanish (Nico Nico Taiwanalso exists).
However, English-speaking fans apparently will have to wait a little longer for Nico Nico to be available in English. The reason for that should be bandwith costs: The service loses close to 1 million USD a month due to high server expenses.
Please follow the instructions given in English in the screengrabs below to register for the site (click on the pictures to enlarge them).
Note: Unlike YouTube, you have to sign up in order to view videos!
Click here for part 1.
Click here for part 2.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Japan’s Mixi Tops Facebook and MySpace
The fast-growing site is the king of social networking among Japanese users, and it really rakes in the online ads
Asuka Kosaka joined Facebook this year to connect with her English-speaking friends. But when the 29-year-old wants to share her thoughts and photos with 70 friends and family members in Japan, she heads straight for another site: Mixi.
Mixi (2121.T) may not have the global reach of social networking giants Facebook and MySpace, but in Japan it’s king. The Tokyo company had 15 million users as of June, a 40% gain from 10.7 million a year earlier. No other social networking site even comes close, analysts say. Facebook and News Corp.’s (NWS) MySpace disclose only worldwide numbers. “Most of my friends don’t know that Facebook and MySpace have Japanese-language sites,” says Kosaka. (さらに…)
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