Jun 09
Jun 06
Let’s Visit Tokyo! – Harajuku Station, Wednesday Night, April 17 2013, 7:05pm
Posted in: Today's ChiliHarajuku Station, Wednesday night, April 17 2013, 7:05pm at the Omotesando exit, where it connects to the Meiji-Jingumae Metro Station.
This spot is near the upscale Omotesando shopping area, Meij-Jingu shrine, Yoyogi Park, and of course, the famous Harajuku fashion district.
This station is old, very narrow, and can be very crowded, especially on weekends.
On this night, people are lingering and walking through, taxis stream past, and a lone “shamisen” musician performs…
Jun 05
In this year’s Bloomberg’s Innovation Index Korea was ranked 2nd, whilst Japan came in at 6th place. Given the fact that Korean firms have made inroads in the industries that Japanese companies used to dominate such as consumer electronics, communications hardware and automobiles it is probably no surprise that Korea was ranked ahead of Japan.
Image via Osen
However in a separate, more in-depth report compiled by INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Global Innovation Index ranks Korea at 21st place, yet still ahead of Japan at 25th.
Singapore was also ranked competitively at 7th place by Bloomberg and 3rd by INSEAD.
When discussing the innovation of countries in contrast to companies it is necessary to go beyond the overall rankings and scrutinize the criteria since innovation is difficult to quantify without subjective results.
Bloomberg’s study examines data from 96 countries or regions and ranks them based on a scale of 0 to 100% on seven factors:
1- R&D intensity (20%), 2- Productivity (20%), 3- High-tech density (20%), 4- Researcher concentration (20%), 5- Manufacturing capability (10%), 6- Tertiary efficiency (5%), 7- Patent activity (5%).
Image via seoulrythm.com
Based on these criteria Korea came out well on R&D intensity (5th), high-tech density (3rd), manufacturing capability (3rd) tertiary efficiency (4th) and was ranked number one for patent activity. Although productivity was ranked 32nd which is not surprising considering the extremely long working hours endured by most Koreans as it is hard to perform well when you are always exhausted.
Japan came in second place for patent activity, 4th for R&D intensity and 6th for researcher concentration but much lower on the other criteria compared to Korea.
INSEAD’s Global Innovation Index was compiled from 141 economies and analysed five input pillars that represent aspects of the economy which enable innovation: (1) Institutions, (2) Human capital and research, (3) Infrastructure, (4) Market sophistication, and (5) Business sophistication. In addition to two pillars which capture actual evidence of innovation outputs: (6) Knowledge and technology outputs and (7) Creative outputs.
One of the tools on the Global Innovation Index website allows you to compare the results of two countries. Bellow is a graph depicting a comparison of Japan and Korea based on the criteria I selected:
The chart above supports the rankings of the Bloomberg and INSEAD reports which shows that Korea is ahead of Japan on many competitive aspects of its economy. But does this really translate into overall innovation since so much of Korea’s economy is controlled by the Chaebol or mega-corporations such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai?
Of course these companies have been successful in developing products to sell in global markets in contrast to Japanese corporations which relied for too long on the strength of a shrinking domestic market and the competitiveness of the yen.
Jun 05
The Daily Roundup for 06.05.2013
Posted in: Today's Chili
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Jun 04
Jun 03
May 29
An official extended battery for its Wii U Gamepad isn’t the only thing Nintendo Japan posted on its website tonight, as it also added a white option for the Wii U 32GB Premium set, a 30th Anniversary Luigi special edition 3DS XL and quick charging option for the Wiimote. Surveys surfaced earlier this year suggesting a fast charging option on the way for the Wiimote, and in Japan gamers will be able to add the accessory — consisting of replacement battery / backplate and charging stand, pictured after the break — starting July 13th for 4,200 yen ($41) , and 2,625 yen ($26) for the battery alone. That should allow not only faster charging, but also longer battery life than Wii gamers have been used to.
July 13th is the same day the white Wii U premium will arrive as well, coming at the same price and packing the same accessories as the existing black 32GB console. Finally, Nintendo listed all the details for the special Luigi edition 3DS XL announced recently on Nintendo Direct. Of course, none of these are the games that even Iwata admits the Wii U needs, but a few more choices can’t hurt, can they?
Source: Wii U Premium, Wiimote Fast Charger, 3DS XL
May 29
May 29
Matches Literally Light up Faces
Posted in: Today's ChiliJapan is one place where you can expect all sorts of novelty stuff to crop up, from fancy shirts and footwear to quirky headpieces and accessories. They’ve even got matches that are almost too fancy to use, for crying out loud.
Kokeshi is the brand behind these awesome matches that have faces and other designs printed onto the match heads.
The match heads themselves are stylized in color aside from the quirkily-printed faces. The matches are wrapped up in decorative matchboxes that you’ll want to keep when all the matches are gone.
From paw prints and chicks to mustachioed men, it seems like Kokeshi has thought of it all. You can check out more of their specially-designed matches in the gallery below.
Unfortunately, the matches are only available in Japan.
[via That Should Be Mine via Laughing Squid]
May 29
Microsoft’s Surface Pro started shipping in the US back in February, but its rollout elsewhere has been sporadic, and a 256GB model non-existent — until now. Japanese customers lusting after the Intel Core i5-powered hybrid will be able to claim one on June 8th, priced at 99,800 yen ($975) with 128GB of storage. The new 256GB iteration will premiere on shelves there for 119,800 yen ($1,175), and customers there will be able to adorn it with the Touch Cover for 9,980 yen ($100) and tactile key Type Cover for 10,980 yen ($110). Better still, Microsoft will toss in its pressure-sensitive pen (and Office 2013) for all the versions as well — just in time for you to finally do something useful with it.
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