Gadgets.CoolerThanThou.net - Cool Gadgets From Japan and China

MOVED BLOGS!!

Whoops - I forgot to put it all up here!

I have moved my blogs back to my original blogsite: The Transit Lounge. Here you will find a mix of things on all Miss Riz - a mix of my life and the crazy that I come across in Japan, as well as my other travels.

Cheers, 

Miss Riz

Capsulized

First came the Capsule Hotels, then came the Capsule Plant.  Right?

 

Selling in Tokyo Hands, these plants are a great idea for the green thumbs of Tokyo and Japan who do not necessarily have the space to have a garden.  Also seems like a pretty good idea if you are away a lot - at least you can keep the capsule plant watered!

Yes, I do want one - even though I have my own garden...

Mickey Blends In

And again in the homeware/electrical appliance section of my local supermarket I saw Mickey Mouse....as a blender that is.

Wow - what can't that mouse do?  It seems like before too long we will be able to Disney-fy our entire kitchens.  Won't that be a special day for all of mankind?

Back When I Was Young...

So on the level below the retro video arcade featured in my last post, was a shop selling retro/vintage/old (choose the adjective your prefer!) video games.  I was rapt because I saw a bunch of old games my brother and sister and I used to fight over and thast my brother still has somewhere!  I can't remember how much mum and dad paid for them in the early 80s but check out the re-sale price on the ones that have never been opened:

Mario: ¥34,440

Popeye: ¥34,800  (I got a red Mario game like this when I was 3 that I still have packed away in storage somewhere.  I was so excited to see this format!!)

Climber: ¥79,800 (that is nearly USD$800!!)

The above games ranged from ¥4,000 to ¥9,000 in price.

Oil Panic: 9,800 

Mickey & Donald: ¥4,179

Green House: ¥7,854

We had all of these games too, I am still beside myself that they are now selling for so much!

The moral of the story is: when you buy your kids something like this either:

(a) give it to them and do not let them open/play/use under any circumstances

(b) wait 20 years and then give it to them when the value has up and upped

(c) buy 2 - one for now, one for later...much later

(d) hang on to it for youself!

Step Back in Time

How cool is this retro video arcade in Akihabara, Tokyo? It was like when you were little...and you would go to the pub with your mum and dad on a Sunday afternoon for a counter meal.  Only they would end up meeting their mates there and want to sink piss so you would be relegated to the video games.  But you never really did mind because it was the only time mum and dad would happily dish out the 20 cent pieces to keep on playing...

Is it an Ironman? Is it a Terminator?

Following on from Honda's Humanoid, HAL takes it one step further bringing the notion of an  Ironman into the realm of society.  Thanks to Cyberdyne - yes this is getting very Hollywood isn't it? - HAL which stands for Hybrid Assistive Limb, is a cyborg-type Robot capable of expanding and improving physical capabilties. 

I wonder if John Connor is aware of this?

 

The Cyberdyne website describes the way in which HAL operates as follows: "When a person attempts to move, nerve signals are sent from the brain to the muscles via motoneuron, moving the musculoskeletal system as a consequence. At this moment, very weak biosignals can be detected on the surface of the skin. "HAL" catches these signals through a sensor attached on the skin of the wearer. Based on the signals obtained, the power unit is controlled to move the joint unitedly with the wearer's muscle movement, enabling to support the wearer's daily activities. This is what we call a 'voluntary control system' that provides movement interpreting the wearer's intention from the biosignals in advance of the actual movement. Not only a 'voluntary control system' "HAL" has, but also a 'robotic autonomous control system' that provides human-like movement based on a robotic system which integrally work together with the 'autonomous control system'. "HAL" is the world's first cyborg-type robot controlled by this unique Hybrid System."

I remember when Terminator seemed like such a thing of the future.  This ironman may be no T1000 but that doesn't seem to far off now does it?

All Aboard The Q-Train

Everbody's favourite Japan Rail line - the Yamanote Line, home to the beloved station Shinjuku -  has been immortalized again, this time as a tiny, electric train.

Note: I placed my pen there so you can appreciate how tiny these train cars are - 3 centimetres each in fact!

The Q-Train, made by Takara Tomy, is a part of Tomy's Q-toys series and each set comes with 3 carriages. There are also other train-related products available such as a crossing, signposts, a station, and traffic lights.

Available in Japan only, there is a wireless remote control available to control the carriages.  The Yamanote Line cars retail for ¥4410 and the generic cars retail for a little less at ¥2730.  

Once again thanks to Idea Digital Code who never question me about the many photos I take in their store!

Plug Into...

What a nifty powerboard!  I found this in Ideas Digital Code last week.

There are 5 plug points in it, and the head actually rotates.  As the photo shows, it is selling for ¥3150 and looks much slicker than your average rectangular, white powerboard that usually sticks out from underneath the curtains!

Back to Ideas, Digital Code, a cool gadget shop in MidTown Roppongi, this fitness program was on the shelves.


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I am not sure I can take a cartoon character telling me I need to get fit. Then again, that's Japan baby!

Robotic Public Servants

Introducing RoboCop RoboPost Post Man, a new Kyosho development.

This cute little robot retails at the Kyosho shop in Akihabara for ¥315,000.  His nick name is ポストくん or Post-kun.  I am not sure if he actually will deliver mail, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he did as this little man is something of a collector's item - only 10 units have been produced.

This may be your only glimpse at him.  I am sure he won't be hanging around the shop window for long!