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Sure, CScout has a Tokyo office to cover mobile trends, but every now and then, you need to stay within the same time zone. If you’re in the NYC area, you can swing by the Kinokuniya near Bryant Park for your fix of Japanese culture and now, mobile phones. NTT DoCoMo, one of the country’s [...]
Karaoke rooms are about much more than simply singing with friends — they are multimedia entertainment centers. Karaoke centers have been pushing more digital features by enhancing the capabilities of the touchscreen tablets available in each room. Daiichikosho, the maker of the popular Dam Station karaoke system, integrates the RFID Edy payment card into its [...]
Under the slogan of “analog on the digital technology,” Japanese developers Mobile Art Lab have produced an iPhone application designed to fit into a book and create a convergent reading experience for children.
Sliding the handset into the specially designed “hybrid” book creates a bordered reading window around the touch-screen. Reading the [...]
Recently previewed at CEATEC 2009, the “thrown mail” from NTT Docomo is certainly novel. By shaking your phone (”throwing”) towards your partner you can transfer a mail message to their phone. Essentially, this is an application using GPS with a sensor that measures the position of your partner and the speed of movement of their [...]
Fujitsu has developed an interactive digital signage system that includes image and speech recognition.
The faces and locations of multiple users can be simultaneously recognized and likewise, using a microphone array unit (including directional microphones), the identity of a speaker can be determined. The screen shows pictures and content incorporating the users’ input, and the system [...]
Epson has launched a campaign called “3D Nen-ga-jo”, bringing augmented reality to Japanese ??? (”Nen-ga-jo” or New Year Cards), traditionally small postcards hand-written and sent to different people at New Year.
Epson has long been campaigning for people to use their services for printing and making New Year Cards quickly and efficiently. Hand-writing a large pile [...]
Interactivity by touch was a key theme at CEATEC 2009 and Alps offered one of the best of these. Their booth showcased a prototype that used built-in technology allowing data transfer from camera (such as the one in your phone) to screen via human touch.
The two-way transfer system sends photos taken with your mobile to [...]
Willcom’s new Nico Heart mobile phone is designed to do only one thing: make phone calls. For that reason, it has received the National Tutoring School Association’s official recommendation. Tutoring schools, nicknamed “cram schools,” are after-school tutoring programs run by private organizations and a way of life for many Japanese kids. Citing the distraction of [...]
The health market generated 80 billion yen of income through mobile phones in 2007. This is set to rise to 1600 billion yen by 2012. In Japan, where death-by-overwork (karoushi) is a reality, along with overtime and an aging population, the market is ever more concerned with their physical condition.
BO Studio’s “Sleep Log” (”Nemu rogu [...]
Toppan Printing Co.’s store display systems are not just digital screens. They are interactive sampling vendors that include IC technology and QR codes. On the right-hand displays consumers see the line-up of products and watch the advertising on the screen. Likewise data on the consumers (number, gender, age) can be recorded through the camera.
When a [...]
