Tired of the same default looking stands for your iPhone or iPod Touch? Well here is one straight from Japan. Called the iCooly iPod Touch Stand, this iPod accessory virtually transforms your iPod into a mini iMac. This is a great stand to use, especially if you want to share some videos or want a stylish way to show off your iPod and plant it on a flat surface. No word on when it would be available nor the price but you can be sure it will come out first in Japan and then hopefully internationally.

(Source) Gadget Madness

Tags: Accessories, Apple, flat surface, gadget, iPhone, iPhone, ipod accessory, Japan, madness

Today Twitter launched the mobile version of their website in Japan, which is a good announcement because Japanese is the only foreign language on the Twitter Platform, at least for now.

As you can imagine, this move is obviously related to the great presence that the mobile version of Twitter has in the US, and they have hopes that many people adopt the same tool. In order to make this happen, Twitter worked in cooperation with Digital Garage Inc. from Tokyo in early 2008, to create the mobile platform.

To make this move with sense, Digital Garage made a study and concluded that 95% of the Twitter Japanese community uses their cellphone to access the site.

The new Japanese mobile version was jointly developed by Twitter and Digital Garage, and is compatible with Japan’s major mobile carriers and the quirks of the local market. Emoticons can be embedded into messages, and users can directly update their profile without having to turn to their PC.

Tags: Japan, Mobile News, mobile site, Mobile Software, twitter

You’d better sit down for this although by the time I finished explaining you’ll see how this isn’t such a big deal after all. Sony’s Walkman players have beaten the Apple’s iPod lineup in sales. According to BCN Inc, a research company from Tokyo, the Walkman series had 43% market share for the week ending on August 30 while iPod came second with 42.1%.

It’s the first time in four years that Sony beats Apple in the music player business but here’s why this isn’t such a big deal. It looks like the iPhone isn’t considered part of the iPod line which means that everyone that purchased an iPhone wasn’t counted. Sure it’s a phone but it’s also a powerful player. And since the iPhone 3GS is the best-selling phone in Japan we wouldn’t be surprised to see the numbers above change a bit.

via Yahoo

Tags: 3gs, Apple, iPhone, ipod, Japan, Mobile News, MP3 Players, Sony, Walkman

While the solar-powered trend hasn’t really caught on here in the States yet, it’s all the rage in Japan. This spurr of interest has lead NTT DoCoMo to announce the Sharp solar-powered SH-08A, pictured above.

This device will apparantly withstand submersion in water up to a meter and will feature a VGA display, an 8MP camera and 7.2Mbps HSDPA. As for the solar capabilities, you’ll reportedly get 1 minute of talk time for every 10 minutes in the sun. Hey, it’s not much but it’s certainly something.

NTT DoCoMo says that the handset will go on sale in Japan sometime this September.

Read (NTT DoCoMo) via EngadgetMobile

Tags: Cell Phones, Japan, Mobile News, NTT DoCoMo, NTT DoCoMo, sh-08a, Sharp, Sharp, solar-powered

It was only a matter of time before the Chinese knockoff manufacturers turned their head towards the Kindle and it seems that time has come. What you see above is Peking University Founder’s eBook reader that bears a striking resemblance to Amazon’s Kindle 2.

This device will reportedly make use of a SIM card for cellular connection to download Apabi eBooks. While it’s not confirmed, it looks to be sporting an E-ink display similar to that of Amazon’s device.

There aren’t many more details in terms of specs or the UI but we do know that it has a 6″ display and will make its way to Japan by the end of this year.

Read (CrunchGear)

Tags: apabi, China, ebook, EInk, Japan, Kindle 2, knockoff, Mobile News, Mobile Software, Portable Devices, sim card

Sony has a brand new netbook ready for you. The Vaio W is coming with a 10.1-inch screen, a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB or RAM, special Vaio Media Plus media streaming software and probably a choice between a HDD and a SSD. This is not Sony’s first netbook. You do remember the overpriced Vaio P, don’t you? Well the W looks like a real netbook as it doesn’t follow the design of the P. And we have more good news for you! The W model is going to sell for around $629 in Japan so it looks like Sony realized why people buy netbooks after all. Apparently it has something to do with those small prices!

We’re still waiting for Sony to officially launch it in other markets so in the mean time we can enjoy the Vaio W on video. If you’re anywhere in Japan, you’ll have the chance to see the Vaio W on display starting with July 8 and buy the white version on August 8 and the pink model on August 22.

via Sony

Tags: Japan, Laptops, Laptops, Mobile News, netbook, Portable Devices, Sony, Vaio P, Vaio W

That extraordinaire handset made by Toshiba, the TG01 has been launched in Japan last week and it looks like the phone is going to the UK next. The TG01 will be available starting with July 9 and next week we should have all the details for you. And this Snapdragon-powered phone deserves all the attention it can get. After all it’s not every day that you get to see a 9.9 mm thick phone packing an impressive 1.0GHz processor inside and offering you a 4.1-inch WVGA touchscreen. What do you think, are you ready to trade in your iPhone for a TG01?

via SlashGear

Tags: Japan, Mobile News, TG01, Toshiba, Toshiba, UK

At first glance the 50-inch projecting iJector may look like a dream come true — Just dock your iPod or iPhone, boot up a video and you’ll have a 50-inch projection of it on a wall (or other surface of your choosing).

The bummer, however, is that those 50-inchs will have a resolution of 557 x 234, and an even bigger bummer, the iJector will cost $670+ when it hits Japan next month.

If you don’t have an iPhone or iPod you can still use the iJector by hooking it up to some composite video inputs, but what’s the fun in that?

Read (Gizmodo)

Tags: Apple, Cell Phones, ijector, iPhone, iPod Touch, Japan, Mobile News, projector, video

Formally announced back in February as the TG01, Toshiba has recently announced that a rebranded version of the phone, the T-01A, has made its way to Japan today.

If you’re not familiar with this phone, it clocks in at a ridiculously small 9.9mm thick and features Qualcomm’s ridiculously fast (for a cellphone) 1GHz Snapdragon processor. Additionally, the TG01 T-01A features a 800 x 480 4.1-inch WVGA resistive touchscreen and support for HSDPA, GPS and WiFi. Software wise you’ll find the T-01A running Windows Mobile 6.1. What, were you expecting Android?

Let’s hope that Toshiba hurrys up and releases this phone worldwide.

Read (Microsoft Japan)

Tags: Cell Phones, GPS, HSDPA, Japan, Mobile News, qualcomm, SnapDragon, t-01a, TG01, Toshiba, Toshiba, ultra-thin, WiFi, Windows Mobile 6.1

When it comes to determining what you want to see in your iPhone, women will certainly always be welcome any day. And while we know of the popular celebrities and famous personalities who are sure to be available for download and used as wallpapers or backgrounds for any phone, Japan offers 1,400 of their most beautiful women brought automatically to your iPhone.

In Japanese, “Bijin” means “beautiful woman.” The photos show beautiful women walking on the streets of Shibuya, Harajuku, etc. From these photos, a real close up image of Tokyo can be seen.

“Tokei” means “clock” in Japanese. This application performs as a clock and will inform you of the current time on your iPhone & iPod touch with style and elegance.

Features:

• Automatic reload
• Digital clock
• Downloading photos (all free)
• Alarm Setting mode

Watch out though. Once you get these photos, you may get stuck waiting for the next one since Japan is home to plenty of beautiful women today. In short, keep your head straight and make sure you know when and when not to look for the photos since they will surely never run out!

(Source) Press

Tags: Apple, beautiful woman, beautiful women, Cell Phones, digital clock, elegance, famous personalities, iPhone, iPhone, iPod Touch, Japan, japanese bijin, Mobile Software, photos, wallpapers

There’s still no word on when Toshiba’s 9mm thick touchscreen TG01 handset will hit the states if ever but those in Japan and Spain will be seeing the phone as early as next month.

This information comes to us from DOCOMO and Telefonica. DOCOMO being the Japanese carrier who will market the TG01 as docomo PRO series T-01A while Telefonica will market the device in Spain as the TG01.

Just a quick reminder, Toshiba’s TG01 features a 1GHz procesor from Qualcomm, a 4.1″ 800 x 480 WVGA touchscreen and Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional customized with a 3D user interface. Additionally it will a have support for GPS, WiFI, HSDPA along with a microSD. Let’s just hope it finds a U.S. carrier soon.

Read (DOCOMO)

Tags: 3D, Cell Phones, DoCoMo, GPS, HSDPA, interface, Japan, microsd, Mobile News, professional, qualcomm, spain, Telefonica, TG01, Toshiba, Toshiba, WiFi, Windows Mobile 6.1

Looking for a new camera phone? Sharp has just launched one. The AQUOS SHOT 933SH will offer you an impressive 10 megapixel low-noise CCD sensor, a rotating 3.3-inch touchscreen WVGA display which comes in handy while taking all those pictures and global roaming capability. Ready to get that one? Well head on over to SoftBank Mobile in Japan and get yours this summer.

via softbankmobile

Tags: 10 megapixel, 933SH, AQUOS SHOT, Japan, Mobile News, Sharp, Sharp, Softbank

iPhones as data center servers? Well thanks to this new app over at the Apple app store, it can happen. Thanks to the development team of FreeBit Co., Ltd., ServersMan@iPhone is the world’s first product that lets users build their own “Personal Data Center” in just 5 minutes.

First released in Japan on Feb. 4, ServersMan was soon in the spotlight in over 10 countries, including the U.S., widely featured in the media and on blogs, even though at that time it has been distributed only in Japan. Requests for overseas service continue to flow in, and FreeBit is pleased to announce that the internationalized version, 1.1b, is now available at the Apple App Store in the U.S.

Installing ServersMan transforms a mobile phone from a client device into a powerful server system that can draw on vast amounts of computing resources all over the world, since mobile phones are today the most widespread internet access devices on the earth.

FreeBit utilizes its original technology, “Emotion Link (*1)”, to build a entirely new cloud environment that crystallizes the company’s driving vision of “Smart Infrastructure”: the creation of future infrastructures with the power to solve serious problems confronting the IT industry today, including growing demand for electricity and a lack of IPv4 addresses.

(Source) Press

Tags: Apple, Apple, center servers, computing resources, earth, electricity, emotion, infrastructures, internet access, iPhone, iPhone, iphones, ipv4 addresses, Japan, mobile phone, mobile phones, Mobile Software, personal data, server system, spotlight

You must remember that RIM has gone to great lengths to offer NTT DoCoMo customers a Bold with quad-band 3G support. Well it seems that something has gone terribly wrong. Out of 4,000 sold Bold handsets, more than 30 complaints have been received by DoCoMo. The keypad overheat while charging so DoCoMo has decided to let RIM investigate the matter. If we remember correctly Orange has decided to halt Bold sales in the UK last year. A coincidence? Well the problems with the Japanese version are unique according to RIM:

This issue appears to be specifically limited to the BlackBerry Bold devices sold in Japan since last week and sales of BlackBerry Bold devices in other countries are unaffected by this matter.

RIM hasn’t said that much but it did state that the batteries aren’t at fault here. When will DoCoMo restart Bold sales?

via Reuters

Tags: BlackBerry, Japan, Mobile News, NTT DoCoMo, quad-band, Recall, Research In Motion, sales

Japanese customers should be happy to hear that Softbank is getting ready to offer the iPhone 3G for free. It looks like the phone didn’t have the same success over here. Starting Friday the 8GB iPhone 3G will be offered for free while the 16GB version will sell for around $117 to new subscribers. They will still have to get a 2-year contract with that iPhone and the data plan will also cost only $44.75 compared to the standard $60. The offer is good through the end of May so you have some time to decide if the iPhone 3G is the thing you need.

via SoftBank

Tags: 3G, Apple, iPhone, Japan, Mobile News, Portable Devices, Softbank

NTT DoCoMo will have a new Sharp phone coming out soon, the SH-04. The phone is going to have both a 3.5-inch touchscreen and a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard to help you finish up your workload while you’re traveling. Other specs include a wide-angle 1.35 megapixels 29mm lens and a few camera-friendly features meant to help you take some decent pictures while on the go. The phone will be available in white, black and pink gold starting with February 20. By that time we might get all its other specs and pricing details.

via Press

Tags: Japan, Mobile News, NTT DoCoMo, SH-04, Sharp, Sharp

Sudoku, that game from Japan that has become a worldwide craze is now available for play in iPhones. Houdah Software has made ACTSudoku available for Free. ACTSudoku is now available to novices and experts alike.

All game boards are symmetrical and guaranteed to be solvable by logic only.

Tags: Cell Phones, game boards, games, iPhone, Japan, Mobile Software, Off The Topic, sudoku

The Sony Ericsson Premier 3 Walkman phone in the picture here looks weird, but in a good way. It will be launched by KDDI in Japan this spring and it will feature a 3-inch display, a 3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, GPS, infrared and even a remote control. The microSD slot will let you upgrade the existing 50MB of storage space on board of the Premier 3 up to 2GB, which is nearly not enough. Especially since you’re going to want to listen to lots of music and play lots of videos. However there is a cool feature for this Walkman phone. It can rip music from a CD. Just plug the player into the remote via a 3.5mm plug and the rest is easy to do.

via Sony

Tags: Japan, KDDI, Mobile News, Other Brands, Premier 3, Sony Ericsson, Sony Ericsson, Walkman

Sharp has a new phone ready for KDDI. This time is the SH-001 which will bring you a high-definition 8.1 megapixel sensor. Other features that will please the photographer in you are autofocus and Face recognition,and an ISO range of up to 2500. How big is it? Just 111 × 48 × 16.6mm.

As for the phone features, the SH-001 comes with Global Passport CDMA support and in order to improve your phone call experience there are various features like noise-canceling, Talk Slow and Clear Voice. The clamshell phone will be available in Japan only for now, and we have no idea if it will be ever land in other markets. No news on arrival dates and prices either!

via Sharp

Tags: 8 megapixel, camera phone, Japan, KDDI, Mobile News, SH-001, Sharp, Sharp

The handset in the picture here has an uncommon feature. It comes with a belt which will let you to wear it on your waist. It’s the Kyocera NS01 which is otherwise a pretty simple phone. It comes with a 2.8-inch QVGA display, a 2 megapixel camera and e-wallet support. Do we really need belts attached to our phones? Are people stealing more phones?

Anyway, the phone will arrive in Japan at some point but we have no idea about the price yet. I wonder how much the belt costs!

via akihabara news

Tags: Belt, Japan, Kyocera, NS01, Other Brands, Portable Devices