Business News Japan Specials Classifieds Jobfinder Visitors Guide Japan Today Friends Podcast
top right right bottom right
SEARCH
INSIDE
Home
Podcast
Feature
Photo of the Week
The Small Print
Faces & Places
The Goods
Body & Soul
Tech Know
Travel
Cars & Bikes
Global Village
Horoscope
Mailbox
The Last Word
The Negi
+ Best of Tokyo
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Agenda
Art
Books
CDs
Clubbing
Dance
Japan Beat
Music
Sports
Stage
Pop Life - NEW
LISTINGS
Concerts
Jazz/World
Classical
Stage & Dance
Clubbing
Exhibitions
Sports
TV
Others
Metropolis League
MOVIES
Reviews
Times
Theater Maps
DINING OUT
Restaurant&Bar Search
Restaurant Review
Bar Review
International Dining
Local Flavors
Table Talk
Tastemaker
Sake
Wine
Beer
About Us
Subscribe
Distribution Points
Search
Classifieds
Jobfinder
Glitterball 2006 Photos
Select screen settings
1024 x 768
800 x 600
Increase Text Size
Decrease Text Size


Metropolis.co.jp Friends

Past Issues
754: Corn Celly
750: Solar sensation
746: Branding boiled down
742: Virtually real
738: Assisted roaming
734: Apple attack
730: Miike mouse
726: Touch me, I want your data
722: Aargh—pirates scuppered
718-19: Movies on your Ninty
714: Red PSP
710: Sun trap
706: Battery-powered chat
702: Brave new world
698: New dog, new tricks
694: Unwired, unnecessary
690: SK Telecom hooks a whopper
686: Pioneer’s friends are indeed electric
682: Sony snapper shakes things up
678: Gotta hand it to Fujitsu
674: Gentlemen, take your pics
670: Scale speedster
666: In living color
662: Peace of mind
658: Samsung’s swollen snapper
654: Much more than ringtones
650: Where in the world
646: Where there’s a Will(com)
641: Buckets of bits
638: Sony’s small stunner
634: Sony coming back off the ropes
630: High def, high stakes
626: Fully loaded
622: Heavyweight handset
619: Greener and cleaner
614-615: All on board
610: Talkie Walkie
606: Gadgets, gear and good things…
603: Viva la Revolution
599: Bigger just rocks, K?
595: Double data dose
591: Turtle-tastic Takara
587: Spies like them
583: Remotely entertaining
579: Tick tock, ya don’t stop
575: Two-in-one
571: Camera superba
567: Tourist-tastic
563: Square eyes
558: Small screen
554: Muscle power
550: Fat off the lamb
546: Long lens
542: The Weird and the Wonderful from Japan's Gadget Gurus
540: Picture perfect
J Mark Lytle rounds up some good-looking gear-appealing MD players, attractive iPod companions, and a svelte little cellphone.
538: High spirits
J Mark Lytle hits the high-tech sauce once again.
536: Six of the best
J Mark Lytle gets half a dozen lashes of the high-tech cane.
534: Soup’s on
J Mark Lytle tucks into another feast of innovative concepts.
532: Worth its wait?
J Mark Lytle checks in with the electronics big boys.
530: Rich itch
J Mark Lytle checks out some financially demanding gadgetry.
528: Telly addicts
Televisual entertainment is never far from the hearts of the Japanese and the ledgers of the electronics big boys, so we’ve had a twiddle with a couple of the newest gadgets in the field and pondered a groundbreaking new recording medium. Elsewhere, music soothes the savage breast.
526: Future perfect
J Mark Lytle comes to grips with a few of the more out-there gizmos around.
524: Digital delights
J Mark Lytle cooks up a storm of high-tech desirables.
522: Chips with everything
J Mark Lytle does the rounds of the nation's smartest companies once more.
520: Coming soon…
J Mark Lytle rounds up the new and the soon-to-be-great of the gadget world.
518: Ides of March
J Mark Lytle plucks some fragrant seasonal flowers for your high-tech enjoyment.
516: Coming up roses
J Mark Lytle returns with a few new takes on familiar technology.
514: What you need
J Mark Lytle uncovers a hatful of gadgety gems for the pre-spring fallow season.
512: A kind of hush
J Mark Lytle shakes himself from the post-holiday slumber to get wired all over again.
509/10: Wrapping up 2003
J Mark Lytle gets all nostalgic and picks the cream of this year's crop.
508: All kinds of everything
J Mark Lytle reports on five products that'll get your tech-hungry heart racing.
506: Apple picking
With the launch of its first retail shop outside the US, a resurgent Apple takes aim at a market that loves its gadgets. Steve Trautlein goes shopping.
504: Cleaning up
Our latest gadget grab-bag includes some odd ofuro entertainment, the world's most losable MD player, and several ways to fill that USB-shaped hole in your life. J Mark Lytle reports.
502: Show and tell
The recent CEATEC show for the electronics industry produced a treasure trove of Good Things, including Sony's PSX do-everything machine and a credit-card-sized digital video camera. J Mark Lytle reports.
500: Corn-y for you
J Mark Lytle separates the high-tech wheat from the low-grade chaff.
498: Bits and pieces
J Mark Lytle delivers the latest and greatest from Japan's high-tech wonderland.
497: Gadgets ‘r’ us
J Mark Lytle brings you more of the best from the nation’s biggest and cleverest electronics manufacturers.
494: Talkin' 'bout a revolution
J Mark Lytle checks out all that's new in the ever-evolving world of high-tech consumerism.
492: The right stuff
J Mark Lytle gets the latest word on the street from the gadget paradise that is Akihabara.
490: Good to go
J Mark Lytle tracks down more of the latest gadgets that make our stay-at-home pals green with envy.
488: Summer breeze
J Mark Lytle rounds up five of the hottest new pieces of high-tech kit to keep you looking cool this summer.
486: Space odyssey
Carlo Niederberger combs the city for spots to visualize the future.
484: Air time
As three big wireless LAN projects race to hook up Tokyo, cable-free Internet connections are as close as a local café, hotel or train station. Martin Webb reports.
480: Keep your cool
Cathy Frances scopes out some high-tech devices for the dog days of summer.
478: All blogged up
Weblogs offer users the chance to post their lives online. Steve Trautlein checks in with the Tokyo bloggers.
476: Future Wave
Today's technological fantasies are fast becoming reality. Cathy Frances peeks at the wonders that wait just around the corner.
474: Small wonders
Somewhere between not-so-totable laptops and impossibly tiny PDAs, ultraportables offer an appealing alternative. Hanna Kite scopes out five of the latest miniature PCs.
472: Paws for thought
Cyber-pets are coming out one after another. Cathy Frances tracks down the home-entertainment companions that may give you a run for your money.
468: Photo finish
Digital cameras are getting smaller and packed with even more features. Sachie Kanda zooms in on the latest models.
466: Keitai kool
Camera-equipped cell phones have spawned a generation of gadgets that make digital photography even hipper. Hanna Kite takes a peek.
464: Mini mart
On the 10th anniversary of the MD, a new generation is hitting the shelves. Sachie Kanda listens in.
462: Internet to go
Cybird is leading the mobile Internet content revolution with help from Star Wars and SIM cards. Chris Betros reports.
460: Green Machines
Used PCs are piling up in landfills and ruining ecosystems around the globe, but innovative manufacturing techniques and NGOs are here to save the planet. Hanna Kite reports.
456: Strange days
Gadgets are becoming increasingly communicational, multifunctional, technically advanced and environmentally friendly, right? Or “goofy,” as Cathy Frances finds.
454: Match point
Teachers and students are coming together for online education—and old fashioned community-building
452: Mobile classroom
Want to brush up your kanji skills but just can't find the time to knuckle down with a decent textbook?
450: Future space
Tokyo is teeming with high-tech showrooms and technology museums
448: Virtual battlefield
Mike Lloret finds out how to meet new gaming friends online and then get in a fight
446: Fair game
Highlights from the Tokyo Game Show.
444: Clothes encounters
Technology comes out of the closet with the latest generation of wearable devices
442: Back lighting
Akihabara's hottest deals have moved from the big stores to the side streets-and even online. Justin Gardiner shops on roads less traveled.
440: Get the picture
A snapshot of the best camera-equipped keitai and the increasingly international cellular maarketplace
438: ABU Robocon 2002
Humans and machines alike head to Tokyo for the first annual Asian robot competition
436: Thin is in
Steve Trautlein looks into plasma TVs, whose flat screens are cropping up all around town
434: Nihon-GO!
Feeling shut out because you can't rap with the locals? David Chester plugs you in with online Japanese lessons
432: Byte size
A new wave of handy little digicams enters the picture
430: Lost in translation
Your ISP has just sent you an email in Japanese. Is it a service announcement? Kristen McQuillin shows you three ways to find out
428: Robots on the pitch
While the World Cup stars battle it out, their future competitors gear up
426: Class action
ESL teachers stuck for a lesson plan can turn to the web for some fantastic classroom ideas and ways to boost student interest
424: Book binge
Techpert Kristen McQuillin picks the best titles on today's shelves
422: An Apple a day
Mac gadgets galore were on display at Macworld 2002
420: Geek speak
Two years ago this month, safe passage through Y2K and dot-com hype had tech-types celebrating Geek Pride with festivals and events
418: Hot commodities
Kristen McQuillin collects gadgets for spring.
416: Smart appliances
Kick your feet up with the latest in high-tech kitchen gadgetry
413: Internet on air
Tune into international favorites with streaming audio
412: Spy story
Sneaking around with the latest in undercover gadgetry
410: PDA Personalities
The Ins and outs of digital assitants
408: Design intervention
The top tech books
406: 2002 Tech must haves
Japan's new gadgets and gizmos
404: Broadband Business
Internet World Japan 2001
398: High-tech hospital
The university of Tokyo Hospital
396: Big game hunting
Tokyo Game Show 2001
394: Wire tap
wireless networking
392: You've got mail
390: School's in session
From earning an MBA to making a webpage, online classes
388: Diaries go hi-tech
Up-to-date diarists have chucked the avocado leatherette versions
386: Why Upgrade?
Kristen McQuillin explains when to upgrade
384: Gadgets to go
Get the goods on the latest mobile devices
382: Hot software
The season's best new releases
380: Peripheral vision
How to purchase computer toys in Japan
378: In safe hands
How to avoid repetitive strain injury (RSI)
376: Kill spam
How to minimize your junk email
372: In for repair
Computer repair options in Tokyo
370: Game for a laugh
Semi-annual Tokyo Game Show
368: Knowledge is power
Empowering women in technology
366: Generation next
Cutting-edge keitai
364: MacWorld
Exploring MacWorld Tokyo 2001
362: Online translation
Simultaneous E-to-J and J-to-E translation... online
360: DIY Star Wars
Recreate your own sci-fi epic at home
358: Network gaming
Play games with friends on your keitai
357: Bad it online
Japan's burgeoning e-commerce market
355: Robotic revelations
Japanese robots leading the way
352/3: Get the point
beenz.com - a new kind of points system
350: Talk is cheap
Internet telephone technology
348: Tsukumo
RoboconMagazineKan
346: Digital Stadium
Innovative computer-generated art on NHK
344: Tokyo Game Show
The latest releases at this fall's show
342: WonderBorg
The mechanical insect
340: Fun and games
There's a new game console in town...
337: Dream on
Tokyo Dream Technology Fair 2000
Tech Know
by J Mark Lytle


Assisted roaming
Infirm walkers get a leg up from Honda

Residents of Osaka may spot a few more sprightly gaits if Honda’s newest robotics project takes off. The car firm used the Barrier Free 2008 exhibition there last month to showcase the first actual product to come from its Asimo robot project: a pair of robot legs.

The Walking Assist Device uses much of the expertise gathered from polishing Asimo’s gleaming helmet over the last few years to bring improved mobility to anyone who has difficulty walking. Wearers strap the device around their waist and onto their upper thighs and then hit the road. Sensors work out which leg is moving where and how fast and instruct motors to add a little extra to the human effort.

Although the result of the current device is a steadier and safer stride, it’s still not ready for someone completely unable to walk; that’s something we’ll have to wait for.

http://tinyurl.com/65nrlu

I feel you
NTT turns human flesh into real product

If you work in a Japanese office, don’t be surprised if smelly old shacho starts telling you about his amazing Firmo sometime soon. Fortunately, it’s not what you think—thank God. Firmo is, in fact, the brand name NTT has just given to its office door-access system that uses human skin as a kind of key. Eew, and that’s better?

Anyway, the technology behind the device is much like the usual electronic keycard, except it enables the card to stay in the user’s pocket. Instead, the door-attached reader sucks data from the card across said person’s skin and out through their fingertips.

Although it all goes on sale for ¥800,000 in June, at this stage the Firmo is really just a proof of concept that NTT hopes to develop into a full-fledged gore-centric data network that can connect anything from MP3 players to PCs.

http://tinyurl.com/64d2bc

Loadsamoney
Nintendo riding high on Wii and DS

Almost seven years on from the only-moderately-successful GameCube, Nintendo has not just returned to being the household name it once was (in something like the Jomon Period), but it has obliterated almost every other Japanese company in terms of stock market value.

Now, the latest financial results show that during the past year, the Kyoto firm’s profits rose 50 percent to ¥257 billion from a staggering ¥1.67 trillion in sales. Naturally, the DS Lite and Wii machines are behind that huge chunk of cash, selling 30 million and 19 million units in the year, respectively.

However, analysts suggest that the current year’s single-digit growth forecast means Nintendo fears the bubble bursting on its cutesy games machines. We reckon they could be right, so get ’em while you can. Or maybe that’s what they want us to think…

www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2008/080424e.pdf

Spies don’t like us
Secret snaps from pocket camcorder

Readers with ¥17,800 to waste and the desire to seriously piss off their nearest and dearest might wish to invest in the most appealing camcorder-in-pen device we’ve ever seen: the DVR-BP from Digital Cowboy.

The spy device is supposed to clip onto a jacket pocket and make like a pen while secretly recording audio and video to 2GB of internal memory through a pinhole just above the clip. It runs for two hours on a squirt of USB juice and contains actual ink should your cover be blown and you’re forced to sign a confession.

www.digitalcowboy.jp/products/dvr-bp/index.html

Rock-solid prediction
Hard drives on their last legs

Anyone who’s owned more than one laptop over the years is probably familiar with the fact that it’s often the hard drive that wears out first, so the recent advent of solid-state disks (SSDs) with no moving parts (more robust and silent) is bound to come as a relief.

Although SSDs are currently still pretty small and expensive compared to their spinning counterparts, they're likely to hit half a terabyte within a couple of years. Not only that, but prices will also drop sharply by 2010—at least that's what Toshiba says.

After that, it’s a pretty safe bet that those grinding, wheezing noises coming from the rooms of nerds everywhere will be a thing of the past. And that their computers will be a bit quieter too, of course.

www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2007_12/pr1001.htm

We are the robots
Korg synth rocks Nintendo DS

We’ve no idea how many people are likely to buy an emulation of a classic ’70s synthesizer to play with on their Nintendo DS, but the developers at AQ Interactive certainly deserve credit for having a bash at it.

The ¥4,800 DS-10 software replicates KORG’s MS-10, which kick-started the whole electronica thing back in the day. Avid nostalgiasts can use the DS’s touch-sensitivity to manipulate the various knobs and levers as they attempt to wring out something like music from the various samples included in the package.

Lastly, should they have any real friends, users can even form a DS supergroup by hooking their handhelds together across a local Wi-Fi connection. Ain’t that sweet?

www.aqi.co.jp/product/ds10/en/index.html

Got something to say about this article? Send a letter to the editor at letters@metropolis.co.jp.

Listen to the Metropolis Podcast, the coolest guide to what goes on this week in Tokyo.

Looking for international friends? Check Japan, Inc. Friends now - it's 100% free!


Metropolis.co.jp Friends