Developages - Development and Technology Blog

For some time now, Dynamism has been a leading importer of Japanese gear like notebooks and cell phones. The company has often delved a bit further into the larger world of gadgetry, but until this point, it’s been little more than dipping its toes in the water.

Over the holiday weekend, however, the company announced the launch of Gizmine, an online retail storefront devoted to some of the cooler gadgets and gizmos it’s come across.

The new site features almost 500 products at present, including watches, speakers, cameras, toys, video games, and robots. Gizmine plans to expand to twice that by next year.

“All our most of [the products] are things that nobody has seen before and are often hilarious or…not exactly must-have but definitely want-to-have,” said Dynamism CEO Douglas Krone. “Basically, we are trying to bring that overwhelming blast feeling that comes with shopping in Tokyo online in a fun way.”

A quick trip to the site’s front page reveals a colorful cross section of weird products that will no doubt soon be on a few of our gift lists this year.

Original post by Brian Heater

This speaker system might look fragile but the only thing that will break in its presence is your bank - it costs a cool $168,000. Manufactured by Hario, a glass maker based in Tokyo, the conical speaker system called Harion (translates to “the king of glass”) is made of heat-resistant glass. It’s composed of a center speaker, a sub woofer, a couple of acrylic tweeters, and a couple of mid-range speakers.

The speaker system proved so hard to build that it took 23 subcontractors and a total of three years and eight months to come up with a finished product. And yes, the Harion was crafted by hand; it should be considering the price. According to Japan Today, a company executive thinks that if a minimum of ten orders are put out for the system, the price could be lowered to $105,000 per.

Original post by Mariella Moon

The industrial robot Motoman SDA10 was designed to work autonomously along with humans in the workplace. Not too long ago, Motoman was spotted nimbly and quickly assembling a disposable camera from a slew of parts. Now the humanoid robot adds another capability to its repertoire by being able to actually cook okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes) on its own.

Motoman SDA10, manufactured by Yaskawa Electric, measures 4.5 feet in height and 480 pounds in weight. Its set of 15 joints most probably contributes to its dexterity and fluidity in movement, allowing it to perform complicated tasks such as kitchen chores. Just like a pro, the robot could mix the batter, pour it onto the grill, and even flip it on the pan. It could even take orders through the use of speech recognition. According to Pink Tentacle, the robot is currently showing off its cooking prowess in the International Next-Generation Robot Fair in Osaka, Japan.

Original post by Mariella Moon

Prototypes of non-contact chargers have been cropping up lately, a new addition being this one by Seiko and Murata exhibited during the Embedded Technology 2008 convention in Japan.

The prototype is the black device you see on the image underneath the white block representation of a mobile gadget. Seiko Epson and Murata jointly developed the charging module that utilizes a lithium-ion battery to absorb and transmit electricity. Two modules sandwich the battery, one of which acts as the 15W power receiver (needed since the prototype is charged via non-contact means as well; see picture after the jump) and the other, as the 2.5W power transmitter.

Seiko and Murata’s prototype is actually pretty much similar to Mojo Mobility’s that was presented earlier this month. It’s also designed for portable gadgets like cell phones, media players, and PDA, albeit this one seems to be able to charge just one gadget at a time, while Mojo Mobility’s is created for simultaneous charging. Both, however, display the same transmission efficiency of 70 percent.

Original post by Mariella Moon

There’s a new remote control technology currently in development in Japan that promises advanced voice recognition integration. As of current, voice recognition technology is far from perfect to say the least, but the team from Oki and Waseda University claims that what they’re developing could do more than just recognize voices.

Apparently, a remote control with the technology could recognize its user’s voice among all the other voices and ambient noise. Four microphones will be integrated into the remote control and an algorithm then analyzes voice frequency, focusing on the human voice coming directly in front of it, ignoring all the other sounds from peripheral locations. That makes one master of all the devices in your home theater system, so you better make sure the technology doesn’t end up in the wrong hands (insert creepy music here).

Original post by Mariella Moon

There’s a new remote control technology currently in development in Japan that promises advanced voice recognition integration. As of current, voice recognition technology is far from perfect to say the least, but the team from Oki and Waseda University claims that what they’re developing could do more than just recognize voices.

Apparently, a remote control with the technology could recognize its user’s voice among all the other voices and ambient noise. Four microphones will be integrated into the remote control and an algorithm then analyzes voice frequency, focusing on the human voice coming directly in front of it, ignoring all the other sounds from peripheral locations. That makes one master of all the devices in your home theater system, so you better make sure the technology doesn′t end up in the wrong hands (insert creepy music here).

Original post by Mariella Moon

The HP-NC20.IPs active noise-cancelling earphones by Hitachi Maxell don′t need batteries to work. They instead connect to and suck power directly from iPods to which they’re exclusively compatible. The earphones promise 20 dB reduction in noise through active noise-cancelling technology.

At 22 grams in weight, 95cm in length, and the elimination of a battery power source, it should have been the perfect option for long commutes or the like. Unfortunately, the power that it sucks from the iPod is too large for convenience - these earphones can reduce an iPod’s battery life by 50 to 66 percent. The Hitachi Maxell HP-NC20.IPs earphones connect via iPod dock and are compatible with all generations of iPod (with dock connectors) and iPod Touch. It will be available by December 12 in Japan (only, for now) at an $85 price point.

Original post by Mariella Moon

Announced with a slew of new phones earlier this month, the DoCoMo PRIME F-01A handset has officially been released in the country. The PRIME F-01A is a Symbian-based phone manufactured by Fujitsu. It’s a waterproof handset (it can stay at a one meter depth underwater for 30 minutes) with a 3.5-inch wide VGA touch screen panel and is compliant to Fujitsu’s FOMA specifications.

The HSDPA phone has a 5.2-megapixel camera with both auto-focus and face detection, VGA video capture at 30 fps, expandable microSD card slot of up to 8GB, and for security purposes; a fingerprint reader. Of course, since this is a keitai we′re talking about, expect the usual Japanese phone features including e-Wallet and 1-Seg TV tuner.

Original post by Mariella Moon

I’m sure you remember those times when you breeze through meals so you can go out and play. Parents of old could only attempt to strap you in your seat so you can eat properly, but parents of today have the Kami Kami Sensor. Perfect for those who have the tendency to micromanage their children, Kami Kami Sensor is a gadget that actually counts a child′s number of chews.

The bite sensor which is some sort of a strap that’s worn by tucking the handles behind the ears like eyeglasses is connected to the counter that’s in the shape of a fish. The device beeps every 30 chews counted and rings every 1,000, so children could get used to properly masticating their food. It even comes in two sizes - a smaller one for very young kids and a larger one for bigger kids in grade school. Now if they make a Kami Kami Sensor for adults, it might help wean us off of fast food, junk food and other non-nutritious stomach filler.

Original post by Mariella Moon

In Japan, the practice of paying through e-money via cell phones is fast becoming a norm. RFID technology readers have been popping up all over the country, one of which is this robot by NEC you see on the image at the left and below. NEC’s payment terminal is modeled after a life-size android. Its torso has a touch screen panel where you can choose the e-money icon you need; you’re supposed to place your cell phone on its arm equipped with a reader.

The prototype was presented during Tokyo’s iEXPO 2008 trade show and the company hopes it will sell to establishments that need a reader for FeLiCa-enabled cell phones. The machines are also equipped with cameras for face recognition. The android payment terminals are available for immediate consumption; NEC can supply machines as they’re ordered upon short notice. That means this NEC bot might be seen somewhere in Japan soon, although it’s not clear whether anyone has already expressed intentions of buying a unit.

Original post by Mariella Moon

It’s only been four months that Ashley Highfield has been with Project Kangeroo, the UK independent TV answer to the BBC’s iPlayer, but it’s been reported that he’s leaving - before it’s even publicly launched.
Highfield was previously at the BBC and oversaw the project that turned into iPlayer, a project that raised much comment and […]

Original post by Simon Perry

We’ve been with T-Mobile for well over a decade, first signing up when they were known with One2One.
We’ve always been on yearly contracts, but in recent years had elected not to take them up on their offer of a new handset at the end of the contract, preferring to take a discount instead.
As our […]

Original post by Mike Slocombe

We’ve been with T-Mobile for well over a decade, first signing up when they were known with One2One.
We’ve always been on yearly contracts, but in recent years had elected not to take them up on their offer of a new handset at the end of the contract, preferring to take a discount instead.
As our […]

Original post by Mike Slocombe

Finally Sky and Virgin Media are holding hands again following their bust up dating back to Feb 2007.
The overview? Sky will carry some of Virgin’s channels on their service and Virgin will carry some of Sky’s channels - both agreements last until 2011. They’ll both drop the outstanding High Court actions against each other.
Below is […]

Original post by Simon Perry

This Xmas, despite dire warnings of how everywhere is entering recession, there’s going to be a battle royal between the mobile companies in their attempt to get you to buy a new mobile phone.
O2 has the 3G iPhone, T-Mobile has the G1 Google Android handset and as we let you know back at the begging […]

Original post by Simon Perry