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If you’re an iPhone app developer or know someone who is, then stay tuned for some exciting news…

Read the full story Announcements | Internet | iPhone | NOT Japan | Wireless 03:27 PM Mark Hiratsuka • Permalink •
Tagged with: iphone software

54 inches of plasma pleasure for ¥530,000, 50 inches for ¥430,000.

It’s like Wi-Fi for the interior of an electronic product, allowing makers to simplify circuit design and rely instead on wireless links between components.

CSS Robotics and Swisslog have combined to create SpeciMinder and RoboCourier for use in hospital automated materials transport systems (AMTS).

While Nokia and Sony Ericsson are streets ahead of the likes of Apple and Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are the bad boys on the environmentally aware block. The Greenpeace report even goes so far as to single out the Nintendo DSi as a nasty piece of work. Check it out for yourself (in Japanese) at the link below. via greenpeace.or.jp

The un-snappily named TH-WR700 ‘phones go on sale in Japan at the start of March for ¥17,800 ($200). That chunky-looking dongle clips onto the iPhone audio jack and can broadcast to up to four headphones at once…

At least, that’s according to TradingMarkets.com: “After losing the exclusive sales rights for the iPhone in Japan to… Softbank, DoCoMo appears bent on beating out its rival this time around.”

Not for the hardcore gadget heads, I should add…

The DMX-CG110 will be out at the end of February for around ¥50,000 and is in the usual Xacti pistol-grip style. What’s unusual, however…

Otherwise, not much to write home about - 12 megapixels, 12x optical zoom, probably around ¥50,000 when it goes on sale in March.

Sony certainly knows how to grab attention, often by announcing a dozen products at once, and that’s the case today.

It’s black and gold, covered in ‘pika pika’ crystals and yours for ¥9,980 (about $100). If you’re a six-year-old girl, that is.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) seems to think virtual idol Hatsune Miku singing a paean to the joys of recycling old phones will make a difference. At least they’re trying….

That, plus a couple of other little goodies for travelers, were on the menu for my CNNGo contribution this fine Friday.

It’s a nice phone for sure, and even has predictive text in two languages, but how it will fare in Japan is anyone’s guess.

Apparently, case and charger maker Mophie is working on an external solution that will somehow tie in with an app for charging the balance on the card, although there’s no indication yet of how that will work.

Everyone knows the trucks cruising the streets of an evening selling these things are a ripoff nowadays, but it’s still fun to hear the 石焼き芋 song, then rush out on a cold night to buy one anyway.

It’s hard to pay much attention to standard PCs these days, but at least Sony has provided something for everyone here.

That headline snippet was, for me, the standout in my research and chat with Greenpeace while preparing this story for CNNGo today.

After all, it’s good to be able to see out the rear-view window, right?

Written by some of the country’s leading mobile experts, the book takes the Japanese experience as its starting point and explains how the rest of the world can learn to do business on the mobile platform in style.