New site: Akihabaranews.com
Please visit the NEW AkihabaraNews site on AkihabaraNews.com to read new articles about new products, new technology and cool and interesting stuff.
All old articles will still be viewable through the “SEARCH NEWS” bar on the new site.
*****
We look forward to your feedback. Please let us know what you think on our contact form:
http://akihabaranews.com/content/contact-us
*****
The AkihabaraNews Team
What can you do with a small yet really powerful engine, a new riding lawnmower, a healthy marketing budget, and a professional race driver with some free time? You can cut the grass really, really quickly. Oh, and severely injure or kill yourself if you’re not careful.
• • •
For much of the world, it’s probably fair to assume this type of machine and it’s originally intended utility are something quite foreign. The majority of planet earth’s residents don’t have golf courses or sprawling, heavily grassed estates, so one could be forgiven the assumption that this thing is something like a 4-wheeled ATV for senior citizens (realistically, in a way, riding lawnmowers are kinda that).
If such machines are new for you, that up there is a riding lawnmower – it cuts grass – lots and lots of grass, usually very slowly. Most riding lawnmowers do not hit 130mph/209kph, nor do they crank out 108HP and scream from 0-60mph/96kph in just four seconds. So yeah, again: fabulous engine, new mower, marketing cash, racecar driver. Vrooom!
Along with this mower’s, uhhhh, enhancements, Honda UK also made sure it can still do its job. Blade & grass bag included.
Have a watch – and if time’s short, and you must choose – go with the second one:
Honda’s Mean Mower
Racing Lawnmower from TopGear
• • •
Reno J. Tibke is the founder and operator of Anthrobotic.com and a contributor at the non-profit Robohub.org.
Panasonic is going to release a new massager “Ouchi Refre” (EW-NA63) on September 1. “Refre” is a shortened version of “Refresh” and “Ouchi” means “At home” in Japanese, not “Ouch!” 
It’s low frequency electrotherapy equipment that relaxes your muscles by warming them gently with the special pads.
The pads can be warmed up to 41℃. Stimulating and warming your muscles at the same time improves circulation of the blood, so “Ouchi Refre” might have a more potent effect on soothing fatigue than many other massage products.
Price: open price
Color: pink, pink gold, white
Power source: AC power
Size: 5 x 12 x 12cm
Weight: 270g
Researchers from Asia and Europe have developed the world’s lightest and thinnest organic circuits, which in the future could be used in a range of healthcare applications.
Lighter than a feather, these ultrathin film-like organic transistor integrated circuits are being developed by a research group led by Professor Takao Someya and Associate Professor Tsuyoshi Sekitani of the University of Tokyo, who run an Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) program sponsored by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), in collaboration with Siegfried Bauer’s group at the Johannes Kepler University (JKU) Linz, Austria.
The circuits are extremely lightweight, flexible, durable and thin, and conform to any surface. They are just 2 microns thick, just 1/5 that of kitchen wrap, and weighing only 3g/m^2, are 30 times lighter than office paper. They also feature a bend radius of 5 microns, meaning they can be scrunched up into a ball, without breaking. Due to these properties the researchers have dubbed them “imperceptible electronics”, which can be placed on any surface and even worn without restricting the users movement.
The integrated circuits are manufactured on rolls of one micron thick plastic film, making them easily scalable and cheap to produce. And if the circuit is placed on a rubber surface it becomes stretchable, able to withstand up to 233% tensile strain, while retaining full functionality.
“This is a very convenient way of making electronics stretchable because you can fabricate high performance devices in a flat state and then just transfer them over to a stretchable substrate and create something that is very compliant and stretchable just by a simple pick and place process.”
This prototype device is a touch sensor featuring a 12×12 array of sensors on a 4.8 cm x 4.8 cm circuit. It is made up of two layers, an integrated circuit layer and a tactile sensor layer.
With the development of these plastic electronics, the possibility for flexible, thin, large area electronics has been realized. In the future, the group would like to expand the capabilities of these circuits.
“The new flexible touch sensor is the world’s thinnest, lightest and people cannot feel the existence of this device. I believe this development will open up a wide range of new applications, from health monitoring systems, wearable medical instruments, and even robotic skins in the future.”
The results of this research were published in the July 25, 2013 issue of the journal Nature.
This content is provided by DigInfo.tv, AkihabaraNews Official Partner.
Via: University of Tokyo
Panasonic is releasing the smartphone-sized portable full body massager (low frequency electric therapy equipment) called “Pocket Refre (EW-NA23)” on September 1.
Because it’s an only 12cm long compact device and also you can put the code and pads in the main body, it’s very easy to carry around. It’s definitely something you want to keep in your bag all the time, and anytime you feel tired, you will be able to get a massage during break time or even working at the desk.
Price: open price
Color: pink, pink gold, black
Power source: coin-type lithium cell (CR2032) x 1
Size: 2.2 x 12 x 6.4cm
Weight: 83g
Nestlé in Japan releases unique flavored KitKats seasonally, a tradition that they have been doing for a long time. You can probably find Maccha Kitkat (green tea flavor) outside of Japan. But the variety of the flavors you see here in Japan is a whole different world.
A few months ago, we talked about the fact that Nestlé in Japan makes regional and seasonal KitKats and we heard that news was pretty interesting for those who don’t live in Japan. Today we introduce the 2013 summer flavors – all sold for a limited time only:
– Nestlé KitKat Mini Passion Fruit
– Nestlé KitKat Mini World Assort: an assortment of 2 popular flavors from the past: Orange and Hazelnut
– Also, Nestlé has released 3 products that taste better after putting them in the freezer:
1) Nestlé KitKat Mini Cookies & Cream
2) Nestlé Aero Mini Chocolate Mint
3) Nestlé Crunch Mini Caramel & Vanilla
If you have a chance to visit Japan, get some unique flavored Kitkats. They could be a great and inexpensive Japan “omiyage” (souvenir).
Ever wanted to turn your iPhone into a Camcorder look-alike? Well guess what! Shanghai Donya has just what you need with their latest product the DN-84841. Slide your iPhone into Donya’s latest “Grip” and you will have a rather nice little grip that will turn your iPhone into a Camcorder with direct access to your iPhone camera operating buttons for a perfect experience!
The DN-84841 is unfortunately only sold in Japan and cost just around 1,999 Yen!
Pocket photo, that was released last month by LG Electronics Japan, is a mobile photo printer. You can take a photo with your smartphone and print it out with Pocket photo right away, anytime, anywhere. In early August, they will release the pink colored model in response to many requests.
Please read the details about Pocket photo here.
Sharp is going to release new electronic handwriting notebook “WG-N20″ on August 8.
You can write smoothly in the electronic notebook as if you were writing in a regular paper notebook with a pencil. It is capable of saving maximum 2000 pages/ 100 notebooks so that you can create many notebooks for both personal and professional purposes and manage them easily. You can set the pass-code in order to feel safe to carry around the electronic notebook.
By connecting it to your PC with the accompanying microUSB cable, you can have back-ups and transfer date between the electronic notebook and the PC.
Price: Open price
Color: White, Black
Display: 6 inch, 600×800 dot
Size: 111 x 155 x 9.9mm (without a cover)
Weight: 210g (without a cover)
Power source: lithium-ion battery
Battery life: 30days
Accessories: Stylus pen, cover, microUSB cable
LG Electronics Japan is going to release 2 new models of their ultra-wide LCD monitors: 29 inch model “29EA73-P” with a cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio will be out in early August, and “29EB73-P” that has the same spec as “29EA73-P” but with the height adjustable stand will be out in early September.
They have 7W+7W stereo speakers built-in, and they are compatible with MHL and “4-Screen Split” function that divides the display into four segments.
29EA73-P
Size: 699.7×387.0×197.2mm, 5.9kg (Including a stand)
Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1080 dot
Display colors: About 16.7 million colors
Input terminal: DVI-D(Dual-Link), HDMI×2(MHL×1), Display Port, USB hub(Up×1/DownUSB3.0×2､USB2.0×1), Audio input
29EB73-P
Size: 699.7×395.3×225.0mm, 6.9kg (Including a stand)
Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1080 dot
Display colors: About 16.7 million colors
Input terminal: DVI-D(Dual-Link), HDMI×2(MHL×1), Display Port, USB hub(Up×1/DownUSB3.0×2､USB2.0×1), Audio input
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
