iPhone Real Shopping Application

Located in the northern city of Sendai, the Mitsui Outlet Park (MOP) hosted a month-long iPhone promotion as part of the shopping complex’s one-year anniversary. 50 phones were made available for visitors to use, loaded with a two-part application. The first, an interactive map called i-MOP, featured floor plans and a concierge-type cat character who [...]

Polaris: Phone Meets Robot

Flower Robotics has unveiled a prototype for a new digital lifestyle device that seeks to enhance the mobile phone experience, in part by linking it to the TV. Doubling as a charger, Polaris compiles information gleaned from the phone, such as minutes talked, kilometers walked, and purchases made over the internet. From this collected database, [...]

New Reports Show Shift in US Mobile Data Usage

New revenue reports from major telecommunication companies suggest that the United States is the the world’s largest consumer of mobile data. Combined US data revenues totaled US$20.6 billion, while the next largest market, Japan, totaled US$16 billion. And while AT&T’s revenue increased greatly, Verizon generated the most revenue from data, proving that the iPhone is [...]

Architizer Launches Social Network for Architects

On Monday night, CScout attended the launch party for Architizer, a social network specifically for architects. The site is a forum for architects to share their work, find jobs, and of course, connect with fellow architects and clients. Hundreds of firms have already joined the new network and it promises to be a useful tool [...]

Good Ideas Salon, Tokyo

Good Ideas Salons are where forward-thinkers come together to share ideas to make things better, whether that’s better work, better play or a better world. Drawing from a range of industries, Good Ideas Salons bring together people with a focus on lateral thinking, the desire to showcase their knowledge, and the wish to renew existing [...]

Bazaar-style Shopping in Shibuya 109

The CScout Japan team recently reported that as part of the twice annual sale season, “Time Sales” offer shoppers 10 or 20 minutes to take advantage of a limited time bargain. Here, at a shop called Tralala at the Shibuya 109 teen shopping complex, lucky passersby could snap up dresses for ¥1,900 and t-shirts from [...]

Yelp’s Mobile App Changes Reviewing Dynamics

A new app let users review restaurants and shops instantaneously

Although the augmented reality (AR) function in the new Yelp mobile app has attracted the most attention, other features are worth noting as well. Users can now enter 140-character reviews or “quick tips” which are then published to the mobile site. They can also begin a [...]

Orange Launches Social Life, A Mobile Social Networking Platform

The mobile carrier develops apps that ease the use of social networks via phone

With “Social Life,” the mobile carrier Orange has released an application that works as a mobile networking aggregator, bringing together Facebook, Myspace and Bebo. The user can then work with all these networks via a single log-in from their cellphone. Photos and [...]

DHC Health Supplement Vending Machine

Branded vending machines from the health and cosmetics company create a new point of sale

DHC is a Japanese cosmetic company that has proved successful in the direct sales online market. Now this leading name in health and beauty is introducing a new point of sale: vending machines. In July, three DHC-branded health and beauty supplement [...]

Augmented Reality Apps for Smartphones Just Beginning

Precision GPS and more sophisticated mobile devices open the gate for more augmented reality mobile apps and users

Augmented reality (AR) uses mediums like mobile phones and other handheld devices to add another dimension of information to reality. The last year has seen dramatic growth in the usage of AR in gaming and the Internet. In [...]