Jun 23

Japan creates frankenstein pop idol, sells candy

Posted in: Japan, japanese, Today's Chili, video




Sure, Japan’s had its fair share of holographic and robotic pop idols, but they always seem to wander a bit too far into the uncanny valley. Might an amalgam composite pop-star fare better? Nope, still creepy — but at least its a new kind of creepy. Eguchi Aimi, a fictional idol girl created for a Glico candy ad, is comprised of the eyes, ears, nose, and other facial elements of girls from AKB48, a massive (over 50 members) all-female pop group from Tokyo. Aimi herself looks pretty convincing, but the way she never looks away from the camera makes our skin crawl ever so slightly. Check out the Telegraph link below to see her pitch Japanese sweets while staring through your soul.

Japan creates frankenstein pop idol, sells candy originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 21

Japanese 3DS to get 3D TV service, North America waits with bated breath

Posted in: 3ds, gaming, Japan, japanese, netflix, nintendo, nintendo 3ds, Nintendo3ds, Software, Today's Chili, video games, VideoGames

3DS owners outside of Japan can look forward to missing out on yet another Nintendo sponsored video service — at least for now. With the help of Fuji TV, Nintendo’s Itsu no Ma ni Terebi (or “SpotPass TV”) will bring a number of short format 3D TV programs to the fledgling handheld, including shows featuring cute animals, sumo wrestling idol girls, and daily tips on performing magic tricks. Like its Wii predecessor, this video service is currently a Japan-only affair, but there’s still plenty of summer left for the big-N to make good on its GDC Netflix promise.

Japanese 3DS to get 3D TV service, North America waits with bated breath originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 04:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 20

Toshiba’s Regza AT300 tablet for the Japanese market delayed until late July, will ship with Android 3.1

Posted in: android tablet, AndroidTablet, delay, Japan, japanese, software update, SoftwareUpdate, Today's Chili, Toshiba
To any of our Japanese readers who’ve been impatiently awaiting Toshiba’s Regza AT300 tablet, you’re going to have to hold your breath a touch longer. The 10.1-inch, Japan-only slate is going to miss its expected June arrival, and ship in late July instead. That extra tedious trip to market could be worth it, though: when the AT300 finally does land in Akihabara, it’ll come with Android 3.1 and all of its resizable widgets on board. But don’t expect any surprises, hardware-wise: it’ll still pack Tegra 2, a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera, and those full-sized HDMI and USB ports that can make a nerd’s heart sing. Makes sense to us, since the Thrive — the same tablet for the US market — was already slated to ship with the latest version of Honeycomb. Fair’s fair, right?

Toshiba’s Regza AT300 tablet for the Japanese market delayed until late July, will ship with Android 3.1 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 20

Japan’s Beached Ships Cost $1M To Return To Sea

Posted in: Japan, japanese, ship, ships, Today's Chili, top

How do you return a 400-tonne ship to Japan’s waters, after it washed ashore in March’s brutal tsunami? Using giant cranes that hoist it 30ft above the ground, lowering it onto a massive 192-tyre trolley normally reserved for trains. More »

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Jun 17

Don’t bring your computer viruses to Japan, because they’re illegal now

Posted in: hack, Japan, japanese, Law, politics, privacy, security, Today's Chili

Tired of getting swamped with spam and malware? Just pack your things and catch the next flight to Japan, where computer viruses are now considered illegal. Under the country’s new legislation, anyone convicted of creating or distributing viruses could face up to three years in prison, or a maximum fine of ¥500,000 (about $6,200). It’s all part of Japan’s efforts to comply with the Convention on Cybercrime — an international treaty that requires member governments to criminalize hacking, child pornography, and other terrible things. Privacy advocates, however, have already raised concerns over some stipulations that would allow investigators to seize data from PCs hooked up to allegedly criminal networks, and to retain any suspicious e-mail logs for up to 60 days. In an attempt to quell these fears, the Judicial Affairs Committee tacked a resolution on to the bill calling for police to exercise these powers only when they really, really need to.

Don’t bring your computer viruses to Japan, because they’re illegal now originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 17

Sharp Aquos Phone SHI12 visits the FCC, flaunts its 3D camera in drawings

Posted in: Japan, japanese, Sharp, Today's Chili
It’s rare that we see Sharp’s Aquos phones here in the US, but one model, at least, could be making the long journey stateside. A handset dubbed the CMDA SHI12 just cleared the FCC, and after comparing the drawings in the report to shots of devices already on the market, we’re pretty sure it’s the IS12SH that Sharp announced for Japan a few weeks back. Though the report is typically terse when it comes to specs, it does confirm that the phone has an 8 megapixel 3D rear-facing camera, Bluetooth, FeliCa, GPS, and tri-band CDMA (B0 / B3 / B6) connectivity. And though it’s not in the filing, if this is indeed the IS12SH, then it also has a 4.2-inch qHD display and runs Android 2.3 (or so we’d hope, anyway). Of course, an FCC filing doesn’t mean this will ever reach a carrier or go on sale in the US, period. But in case it does, don’t say we didn’t give you a heads up.

Continue reading Sharp Aquos Phone SHI12 visits the FCC, flaunts its 3D camera in drawings

Sharp Aquos Phone SHI12 visits the FCC, flaunts its 3D camera in drawings originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 10

Japanese ball drone knows how to make an entrance (video)

Posted in: Japan, japanese, remote control, RemoteControl, robot, Today's Chili, video

Japan’s Ministry of Defense is pretty good at its hovering drones, but we’re not entirely convinced that this one will be fit for purpose. The RC reconnaissance scout reminds us of a spherical Iain M. Banks Culture drone, which is neat, except that this one’s more conspicuous, dies after just eight minutes and was constructed not by an intergalactic artificial consciousness, but by a bunch of geeks who went foraging for parts in Akihabara. Nevertheless, it can do 40MPH and is surprisingly agile, as you’ll see in the video — watch out for the kissogram moment.

Continue reading Japanese ball drone knows how to make an entrance (video)

Japanese ball drone knows how to make an entrance (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 10:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 30

NTT DoCoMo exhibits on-the-fly speech translation, lets both parties just talk (video)

Posted in: japanese, Today's Chili, video

The race to smash linguistic barriers with simultaneous speech-to-speech translation is still wide open, and Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo has just joined Google Translate and DARPA on the track. Whereas Google Translate’s Conversation Mode was a turn-based affair when it was demoed back in January, requiring each party to pause awkwardly between exchanges, NTT DoCoMo’s approach seems a lot more natural. It isn’t based on new technology as such, but brings together a range of existing cloud-based services that recognize your words, translate them and then synthesize new speech in the other language — hopefully all before your cross-cultural buddy gets bored and hangs up. As you’ll see in the video after the break, this speed comes with the sacrifice of accuracy and it will need a lot of work after it’s trialled later in the year. But hey, combine NTT DoCoMo’s system with a Telenoid robot or kiss transmission device and you can always underline your meaning physically.

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo exhibits on-the-fly speech translation, lets both parties just talk (video)

NTT DoCoMo exhibits on-the-fly speech translation, lets both parties just talk (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 May 2011 22:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 30

Germany’s Scrapping All Nuclear Power Plants by 2022

Posted in: germany, Japan, japanese, Today's Chili, top, tweet

Following the Fukushima disaster, Germany’s decided that its 17 nuclear power plants will either stay closed, or be shut down in the next 11 years, despite relying on nuclear power for almost 23 per cent of its energy. More »

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May 11

Touch pad prototype works without movement, makes fingertips feel like they’re sliding (video)

Posted in: Japan, japanese, research, Today's Chili, touchpad, university, video

This comes from the same touchy-feely Kajimoto lab in Japan that brought us the tactile kiss transmission device and we totally see where they’re going with it: maximum sensation, minimum effort. You only have to exert the gentlest of pressures on this prototype touch pad and it zaps your fingertip with little electrical signals, mimicking the feeling of sliding your finger over a surface. We imagine it’s a bit like the little red pointing stick in the middle of a Lenovo ThinkPad keyboard, for example, but with the addition of “position-dependent data input” to create the illusion that your finger is actually touching different areas of the screen. For now though, if you don’t mind stretching a finger to your old-stylee mouse or trackpad, then check out the video after the break.

Continue reading Touch pad prototype works without movement, makes fingertips feel like they’re sliding (video)

Touch pad prototype works without movement, makes fingertips feel like they’re sliding (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 09:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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