Product of The Day: April 2008 Archives

Lismo is an online music service provided by a mobile operator, Au. Using their brand color, and the squirrel with a headset, they created micro SD cards, card adapters.

The product reminds me of how recent touch technologies are developing to convey emotions online. But this one is much much simpler, you squeeze a silicon tube with a face carved; put some ink on and you'll be able to stamp a smiley with your emotion attached.

Although phones and computers became wireless, they are still pretty much wired as long as it requires electricity.  So while at home or in the office, phones are often placed near the electric sockets, or in their perimeter. Unfortunately, they often get messy. And sockets are hardly positioned ergonomically. Considering how often we need to use chargers, it seems like we could pay a little more attention to this state.

It used to be so that when you buy mobile phones in Japan, you were most likely to get a charger and a matching cradle. The cradle allowed chargers to be plugged in all the time, providing a 'home' position for the phone.

But such thing as a matching accessory is gone. Recent trend of ecology has removed all the redundant accessories to be included in the sales package. Cradles are around 300 to 500 yen.

The company called Driinn in Italy had invented a simple phone holder you can hook when charger is plugged in. The unused cables can also be wrapped around it. Idea is simple but the execution is elegant.

One problem I see is that the solution is quite static. If you are short of electricity sockets and if you need to plug the charger too often, this might only annoy you.

Manufactured by: Driinn, Ltd.
Price: 800 yen

(image from  Plus Stationary)

It was only 2005 when personal information protection act came into full action in Japan. And although people are concerned of their privacy, I find that both the industry and the consumer are relaxed about exchanging the information. From massage salons to fashion boutiques, they ask you to write your home address, name, and occupation in return of point cards and after sales services.

But there is a moment when people get nervous: That is when all those printed matters are thrown away as rubbish. In most communities in Japan, you are supposed to throw away papers as recyclable materials by bundling them with packing strings so the content remains fairly intact. Second, unless you live in a modern apartment buildings, there is no dedicated community bins: you need to place your rubbish in a certified plastic bags or bind in a certain form and put it on the street on the very day the rubbish is collected.

As a result, a product like this is sold in Japan: Keshi-Pon, which means to stamp to erase, basically creates a dense textual pattern as you stamp it over your names and addresses on printed matters.

Whether the solution is perfect or not, I do not know. But certainly, it's a lot easier than cutting the paper into pieces.

Product Name: Keshipon
Manufactured by: Plus Stationary
Price: 980 yen
URL (in Japanese but with descriptive images and movie clips): http://bungu.plus.co.jp/sta/product/office/keshipon/

Smileys are everywhere in our digital world, and perhaps their users are starting to miss them in the real world as well.

A Japanese stamp company has come up with a memo pad that comes with ready made trims of three smileys facing the other side. The idea is that when you write a message, you can trim one out to emphasize your emotions.

Emotions on each face is neutral and perhaps only work for softening the message rather than emphasizing it. There may be some reasons why they have designed this way, as the website describes the product idea came from Japanese office ladies who probably use the notepad in work environment rather than at home or at school.

One major downside of the product is that it's not sticky. With that face popping out like a sail, there is a risk of losing the message altogether.

Product name: kimochi memo
Manufactured by: Shachihata
Price: 315 yen