I know beauty is a pretty subjective thing, but I don’t think this thing is quite as “cute” as Yoha Technology seems to believe. Either way, It’s a cool little tech toy. Tandars is an animatronic “pet” that senses its own, sings, and interacts with other Tandars.
The little primate has a USB connector tail that lets the user charge him up via their PC. So it may not be the cutest toy on the showroom floor at CES, but at least Tandars has personality to spare.
Sparkle Labs — an online DIY electronics kit maker filled with pep, cheer and other such disgustingly sweet things — has just announced its new Papertronics kits. As the name suggests, these are paper toys with electronics inside them, with the kicker being that you have to construct your Spaceboy (above) or Aliengirl yourself, before activating them via contact with their “landers.” Hey, it’s not like you can be a gadget geek and not have an appreciation for the fine art of papercrafting. If your inner child still lives, you can check these out at the source link, and we’ll just tell everyone you’re buying them for your nephew or niece.
It might look like an innocent box of fruit but inside there’s a surprise!
Put your coin on the box’s fish-shaped button. You’ll hear a noise — and before long a cute paw will appear to nab your cash! It’s not on the market till January but this coin bank will surely be a huge hit. This is the Itazura Bank — or “prankster money box”. Available in dog and cat versions, and with appropriate noises for each, animal-lovers will not find a better way to save their money.
We love these kinds of toys and there has been a surge in them recently, starting with the uber-popular Facebank to the recent Choken Bako (above right).
***UPDATE: The Japan Trend Shop now has the Itazura Bank on pre-order. See here.
Our friends at JapanTrendShop have asked us to pick our favorite new products from their shop for our Holiday Gadget Guide. After some vigorous internal debate, here are our selections, complete with a link for those who want them!
FAMILY
Christmas is a family time and you will need some games to while away the afternoons. Here are two unique Japan products perfect for light-hearted games: the Cup Noodle Game (below) is a time-based game good for playing solo or with the kids; and Anywhere Family Golf is great if you want to take over the whole living room!
LIFESTYLE
Those looking for the latest chic home accessory should look no further than this Middle Colors Supersonic Wave Humidifier (above). Check out the remote control, which mirrors the shape of the humidifier.
GADGETS
The gadget-lover will definitely be very impressed by the FinePix REAL 3D Camera (below), which literally displays photos in 3D. This is great for action shots and sports pictures.
KIDS
Kids will love Totoro (below), a huge but soft cushion companion based on the famous anime character.
WATCHES
Amongst a slew of stylish watches that have come onto the market recently, for practicalities we like the Torika Wake V (above), with its useful vibrating alarm. Good for getting you up after a night of heavy seasonal drinking. For geeks of esoterica, we recommend the Japan Self-Defense Force Watches.
We’ve been cranking on our holiday gift guide series, but if you’ve already decided that there’s someone in your life who you simply can’t buy for, here’s a suggestion: snag ’em one of these. Following up on last year’s blockbuster camera gift card, Target is offering up what’s believed to be the planet’s first remote control gift card for the 2009 holiday season. Put simply, this stupendously cute Santa Mouse card actually doubles as a small toy, with the card itself acting as a remote that controls a tiny mouse. Online gift givers will have to drop at least $25 in order to claim one, though there’s a chance you could cheap out in the store just to have one of these around. Check out an all-too-brief demonstration video down in the Source link.
What kid wouldn’t love to get this under the tree? Hammacher Schlemmer, the company you only hear about once a year in funny expensive-Christmas-toy stories like this one, is selling a motorized skateboard that can travel at up to 19 miles per hour.
Get ready to move, because the skateboard is powered by a 36-volt battery, and its 600-watt motor reaches top speed in only four seconds. It even has enough horsepower to propel you uphill (although I suspect it would be chugging kind of slowly if I were on it). The rider controls acceleration and braking with a wireless trigger remote. Power it with a rechargeable battery with a 10 mile range.
The skateboard weighs 40 pounds and can handle riders up to 225 pounds. Get it at Hammacher Schlemmer for $599.95.
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today’s bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the holiday season.
So, you’re here, and you probably like toys, or you’re just really stuck with what to get for your lesser-geeks family and friends. Our guess is that you want something that even you want to play with (and maybe eventually repossess them when the love is over), but at the same time you want to avoid toys that’ll drive you nuts when you’re living with the lucky recipient. We know it’s no easy task here, so we’ve picked out some of the hottest toys this year to keep things fresh for a while. Read on for some joyous gift inspiration.
Christmas is just around the corner and we figured we’d introduce three new RC products for the boys.
A good start for any serious RC fan should be the G-Bound Super Car, with its gargantuan wheels and water-resistant shell. This baby is great to race through puddles and see the spray come off the tires.
If you love war movies then you will love the Battleship Yamato RC boat. The Yamato is a perfect 1/700 scale replica of the classic WWII Yamato-series battleship, with triple-mounted cannon turrets, a long bow, and a soaring control tower.
For the more eccentric among you, we recommend the RC Tissue Box. First reported on Crunch Gear, this literally is a tissue box holder equipped with wheels and a motor. Despite its domesticity it is still pretty fast!
Remember, we previously reported on this site about the Joke Racer internet RC subculture, where you can race RC cars live in Tokyo from your PC anywhere in the world.
This is the kind of gadget we’d assume was a joke — if we didn’t know that it wasn’t. Bandai — makers of such useful time wasters as the Tamagotchi and the little doohickey that helps women “understand” men — has just unveiled a new device which should make you feel even less comfortable inside your own skin. Partnering up with Japanese cosmetics company FANCL, Bandai’s Skin Expert is a tiny device which you apparently hold up to your face to receive detailed information on its ‘quality’ and health. Now, all of the information we can find about this little guy is in Japanese, so excuse us for our mystification on how the doodad works, but we’ll tell you this: we’re definitely buying it if it shows up on Sephora. The Bandai Skin Expert will be unleashed in Japan on November 30th for ¥3,750 (about $40). There’s one more super informative shot after the break.
The object of the game is simple. You must manipulate the vertical movement of the ball using the power of your thoughts. The headband detects the intensity of your brainwaves—the harder your concentrate, the higher the fan in the unit will elevate the ball. Clearing your mind makes the ball descend. Horizontal movement is controlled by a knob on the base. There are five game modes: Freestyle, Mental Marathon, Danger Zone, Chase the Lights and Thoughtshot. Each challenge provides a different test of your ability to guide the ball through a series of customizable obstacles around the track.
The Verdict
It works (to a degree). Granted, it takes a little practice to master but, clearly, the Mindflex game does read and respond to your brainwaves/concentration level. I was able to alter the fan speed to raise and lower the tiny foam ball at will, although there were times when the accuracy or response time was less than stellar. Occasionally, I would relax and clear my mind only to find the LED concentration indicator (and the ball) rise to its highest level. There were also times when I would be concentrating hard, but nothing would happen. Maybe it’s the game, maybe it’s my awesomely complex brain—who knows.
There are five different game modes, but I spent most of my time in “Freestyle” trying to improve my accuracy. I wasn’t all that thrilled with manually guiding the ball around the course with the control knob, but I will admit that the customizable obstacles were a fun challenge—especially the funnel cannon.
You may think differently, but I’m not the kind of guy that finds this type of game interesting for long stretches of time. Although, it would be awesome if the technology matured enough to integrate it into a more complex, multi-dimensional board game. For now, Mindflex seems like something you would whip out at a party to impress your friends until everyone got a headache and stopped after 30 minutes. Speaking of headaches, I have to warn my big-headed brethren that the headset can be massively uncomfortable. I had it on it’s biggest setting, but the metal sensor on the inside front part of the band was still digging hard into my gigantic grape. Plus, the clips on your ears don’t help matters.
It responds fairly well to your concentration levels.
The customizable obstacles can be a fun challenge.
Some may find the game boring after the novelty wears off.
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It responds fairly well to your concentration levels.
Some may find the game boring after the novelty wears off.
The $80 price tag is steep.
