Japanese are obsessive with hygiene, so much that somebody invented the ultimate toothbrush carrying case with built-in UV lamp; supposedly it’ll kill germs. While everything sounds so much like a dream, the case is so portable, the UV lamp runs on AAA batteries. So the guys who tested it took it for a try, their conclusion this morning is that it works! Though we have no chance to verify their claim of removing “99.999% germs”, what we’re certain is that... Continue reading

When we want music, we want music everywhere, some of us even want it underwater, so somebody created the underwater MP3 player. The problem of listening to music underwater is that the earphone lines are going to tangle, let alone the fact that your ears would feel uncomfortable because of the super tight earbuds; another danger would actually be not knowing what’s going on underwater because you can’t hear. Thanko has solved all these problems today. Similar to their original... Continue reading

We’re pretty sure that we’re really approaching an announcement now. This morning we found pictures of 2 unannounced phones from SonyEricsson being leaked on Chinese forums. The black phone shown above should be the rumored Sofia (code name, K850i) with a 5 megapixels CCD camera module and xenon flash. (CCD, as found on the Thai I-mobile 902, not CMOS). Pay attention to the newly introduced dial/hang up buttons right next to the 2 softkeys below the screen, the d-pad that... Continue reading

Having seen them selling cellphones with a girl in a tub, here comes another marketing stunt from Japan. How ’bout a spectacular cartoon epic on a weird-looking mouse that does acupuncture? Jump to find out more.

It was only a while ago when we first saw Sony’s new re-designed video plus MP3 Walkman, our friends in Japan have already gotten their hands on one of them, and gave us a really detailed review. Instead of leaving you to struggle with online translators, we’re biometric over here.

Don’t you just hate it when you wake up before the alarm clock rings, feeling refreshed, see the clock and decide that you should sleep a few minutes more, and by the time the alarm rings again, you are so deeply asleep that it feels so terrible being woken up that you wish you didn’t sleep that extra 5 minutes? That’s because traditional alarm clocks do not synchronize with your brain’s sleep cycle. By sleep cycle, we’re talking about the... Continue reading

When the term “data beaming” was coined, people can’t help but to think that there’s an actual beam between 2 devices that travels and carries the data across. In actual fact this does not happen unless you wear infrared-enabled night spectacles. This morning National (Matsushita) demonstrated the new Visible Light Communications technology (VLC) at the International Lighting Fair. As the name suggests, instead of using invisible EM wave, visible light is now used to transfer data. The best part about... Continue reading

Not sure if you have ever noticed that some fluorescent lights do glow in the dark for a while after you’ve turned off the power, that’s because the excited particles (ions) take time to give out the light (photon) after being excited by electrical energy. NEC has extended this behavior of fluorescence material and apply it to their new Hotalook-alpha household lighting system, which was demoed at the Lighting Fair in Japan. This has captured immense attention in Tokyo as... Continue reading

When we talk about reviewing cameras, most people will think about the image quality, user interface, external design and so on. When those outdoor anti-drop anti-dust anti-splash cameras get reviewed, nobody seems to have the guts to actually test if the camera can really withstand what it claims it can. Chinese site PConline has tested the Olympus [mju:] 770 SW digital camera. Apart from all the usual imaging tests, they also put the camera through a series of ruthless tests.... Continue reading

While we’re still waiting for the PSP GPS module to be released in North America, we can take a look at what it can do in Japan. The guys at NikkeiBP have taken the PSP GPS module for a spin this weekend, this time they’ve used the MaPlus Portable Navi software. Data stored in the 1.8GB UMD is enough for people living in large cities, but it’s always impossible to include absolutely everything. The map is pretty updated, convenient stores that were... Continue reading