Hasta La Gadget!

People who have great singing voices either worked hard to get there or were born with it. Then there are the others who trained themselves using the Beauty Voice Trainer.

It’s another one of Japan’s nifty self-improvement contraptions that promises to “give you the dulcet voice you know you’ve always wanted.” It’s different from the rest because it, for once, doesn’t promise to tone your facial muscles or get rid of wrinkles like the Rhythm Slim Chin Exerciser or the Smile Lines Face Belt.

Instead, the Beauty Voice Trainer sets out to loosen up your throat so that your voice passage opens to allow stronger sounds to pass through. At least, this is what they claim it does on their website.

It also comes with a tuning fork so you can reach the notes you want to reach and identify proper intervals between pitches. Use it for five minutes a day and you might see your singing voice improve (or not.)

The Beauty Voice Trainer retails for $59(USD). That’s a couple of hundred bucks less than what you’d have to pay if you hired a voice coach, but again, no guarantees that it’ll make it any more likely you’ll get picked on The Voice.

We do know that Japan, while on paper does seem to have its fair share of empty land, that does not mean all of it are hospitable. This means feeding the country using its own resources is quite a tough challenge, not to mention having the odd natural disaster once in a while makes the life of a farmer rather challenging. How about a future where each citizen is able to produce approximately 10,000 vegetables each year on a plot that measures no larger than the average car park? Yes sir, watch the video above and be amazed with the Agri-cube compact hydroponic unit.

Some of the more unique technologies employed by the Agri-cube compact hydroponic unit include the Variable Height Illumination System that is said to be able to deliver a specific amount of light for cultivation, while the Fertilizer Circulation and Drainage System helps make cleaning cultivation racks a snap. Other equipment that can be added on as packages are air-conditioning, among others, so even if you do not have a green thumb, the Agri-cube compact hydroponic unit should be able to work miracles. It will not come cheap though, where there are two models priced at around $70,000 and $108,000, respectively.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: EDV-01 Disaster Response Unit, Japanese village relies on solar power to get their juice on,

Toshiba’s most recent fiscal results (the first of its 2012 financial year) show that while the company pulled in $16 billion in turnover, it slumped to a $154 million loss for the last three months. While its “social infrastructure” unit (power plants, LED light bulbs and radiation detectors) generated a $107 million profit, the consumer electronics and white-goods sectors continued to lose sales. The company attributes the loss to further restructuring costs as well as pointing an accusatory digit toward the European financial crisis and concerns about power generation capacity in Japan. Despite the gloom, the company says that it still expects to hit a target of $81 billion turnover and $3.8 billion profit before March 2013.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Toshiba slips into the red as latest earnings reveal $153 million loss originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 04:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know something, the Japanese sure have a knack of coming up with the weirdest naming conventions for their products, making one feel as though he or she were living in a manga society. The EDV-01 is a good example, if I did not know any better, I might have thought that it hailed from some form of Macross-like universe. Actually, the EDV-01 is a Disaster Response Unit that was specially developed by Daiwa Lease and announced to the world in January 2011. Basically, the EDV-01 Disaster Response Unit will offer two people the ability to live comfortably for around one month, without getting cut off from basic (modern) necessities including water, electricity and communication equipment.

Just in case there is a real wide scale emergency, relief organizations are able to deliver this international standard size shipping container via air, sea or land, which can be used right after installation on the spot. As for the outer wall of the container, it can be raised in around 260 seconds to create a two-storey structure. The living space will be on the second floor, while the kitchen, bath and toilet are located on the first floor.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Japan’s EDV-01 perfect for Fallout fans, Japanese village relies on solar power to get their juice on,

Suidobashi Heavy Industries has put the finishing touches to its latest project, the 4.4-ton Kuratas. Mobile suit obsessives around the world can thank artist Kogoro Kurata and robotics expert Wataru Yoshizaki for the robot frame, which has space to house a pilot inside. The mech’s touchscreen UI even includes a Kinect-based movement interface and the shudder-inducing “smile-activated” twin BB gatling guns. You can customize your own diesel-powered beast in the dystopian gang colors of your choosing, but be advised: the $1.35 million price tag doesn’t include further customization options like a faux leather interior, cup holder or phone cubby. The Kuratas does, however, come with the ability to make phone calls direct from the cockpit, so you can tell your enemies that you’re coming for them.

Continue reading Kuratas, the 13-foot mech: unleashes your inner Ripley, costs $1.35 million (video)

Filed under: Robots

Kuratas, the 13-foot mech: unleashes your inner Ripley, costs $1.35 million (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 08:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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