Written By Daniel Allen on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 5:31 PM | In China, Lifestyle, Technology | Please Comment
Concept jewelry highlights trend toward digital accessories.
The Shenzhen-based Chocolate Agency is out to make slap bracelets cool again with a digital re-take on a popular design. The agency’s innovative e-paper slap bracelets, which are still at the concept stage, are made from a thin, flexible, high contrast screen that can display images. The length [...]
Written By Xuan Zuo on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 6:58 AM | In China, Lifestyle, Technology | Please Comment
Innovative feng shui software brings fortune telling to China’s mobile generation.
One of the things that gives China its mystic charm is the country’s long history of fortune telling. In the past geomancers used elaborate magnetic compasses to determine the favorable flow of vital energy and how best to ward off destructive evil forces [...]
Written By Daniel Allen on Monday, March 17, 2008 at 5:33 AM | In Japan, Lifestyle, Technology, UK, USA | Please Comment
Spreading 2D barcode technology set to enrich the mobile experience.
Trend Description
QR codes (quick response codes) are graphics that can be scanned with mobile phones to hyperlink to digital content – they’re already heavily used in Japan and Korea, where the majority of phones are fitted with the requisite code scanners. In fact, 41.7% of Japanese [...]
Written By Michael Keferl on Friday, March 14, 2008 at 2:49 PM | In Japan, Lifestyle, Technology | Please Comment
TEC Japan brings food to life with three-dimensional, touchscreen menus.
Want to see what your food will really look like before you order? Sometimes a two-dimensional menu picture just won’t cut it, so TEC Japan has created the Tobidasu Menu (pop-up menu) to embed into restaurant tables. Customers can browse the digital menu [...]
Written By Xuan Zuo on Thursday, March 6, 2008 at 10:06 AM | In China, Japan, Lifestyle, Technology | 1 Comment
Paperless novels become popular with tech-savvy readers and writers.
Trend Description
In Asia the popularity of user-generated content has spilled over in a big way into the publishing world. In countries such as Japan and China, high mobile phone penetration rates, language characteristics, and the development of a pervasive cellphone culture has given rise to [...]
Written By Michael Keferl on Friday, February 29, 2008 at 4:42 PM | In Japan, Marketing, Technology | Please Comment
Despite a publishing decline in Japan, it’s still quite easy to get a magazine for just about anything, and the publishing world has been hard at work integrating their printed materials with the new Digital World.
The print magazine Tada Gets, which basically means “things for free†is a magazine composed entirely of QR codes. By [...]
Written By Rebecca Milner on Thursday, February 21, 2008 at 10:33 PM | In Japan, Technology | Please Comment
Okay, it’s not a robot waiter but Teraoka’s new Deli Touch pen allows customers to place orders without human contact. Using a menu with barcodes embedded in the photos of the items, the pen’s camera scans the codes and transmits the information via wireless to a server, which is connected to a printer in the [...]
Written By Josefine Koehn on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 8:52 PM | In Lifestyle, Marketing, Technology, USA | Please Comment
Wearable webcams enable lifecasters to broadcast online 24/7.
Trend Description:
Wearable digital technology enables users to broadcast their lives around the clock. While there are many sites that allow users to post videos online for free, a personal 24/7 online video stream required the broadcaster to host his or her own website. Justin.tv allows users to feed [...]
Written By Josefine Koehn on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 5:09 PM | In Lifestyle, Technology, USA | Please Comment
Energy, generated by the human body, can be used to power small devices.
Trend Description:
Electronics are becoming cheaper, smaller, and more ubiquitous. People tend to carry their devices around with them, often not able to access an electric outlet. While clever power management and circuit design reduce power requirements, researchers and designers have begun tapping into [...]
Written By Michael Keferl on Friday, February 8, 2008 at 2:29 AM | In Japan, Technology | Please Comment
We’ve reported on solar gadgets many times, now our team in Japan just found a very simple and practical mobile phone solution.
Cell phone batteries always die at the worst possible times (usually when you’re about to meet someone), but there are more and more options to give your digital leash a few extra miles.
Of course [...]
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