Asiajin

NTT Resonant, who is doing the portal site “goo”, released a mobile lifelog service “Kiseki” integrating GPS automatic recording and mobile/PC diary/blog in greater Tokyo area on 29th May, 2008.

With supported cellularphone (FOMA 905i/904i/903i series having GPS) in Tokyo/Kanagawa/Chiba/Saitama prefectures, Docomo users can download a free i-appli (mobile application) and set it as a stand-by application of their phone. Then, the app automatically records your visiting points’ address and visiting time on both mobile and PC websites bound with your account.

Kiseki mobile page

If you take pictures on the cellphone camera, the photo’s info is also connected with the record.
On the PC site, there is also a blog bridge, by which you post your private diary to external blog services.

Kiseki PC page

Shop Recommendation by your place

At the timing of the user’s location are sent to the server, Kiseki sends you a recommended shop/restaurant/event info to your phone and those info will be shown on your stand-by screen.

Kiseki recommends a Japanese restaurant in 653 meters to south

The recommendation includes direction and distance from your current location to the point.

The PC side “My page” also provides recommendation for tomorrow and weekend, which are gotten by analizing your weekday and weekend moving behaviour.

On either mobile and PC, user will get more accurate recommendation as more data are collected, as they say.

Privacy?

The Kiseki page having “ver. 0″ in its logo, and served under the name of “goo Labs“, which means it is somewhat experimental, and can be withdrawn. Their FAQ has almost nothing around security and privacy issues, which should be easily questioned by privacy-concsious users.

“NTT” is a big brand in Japan so people may trust them and feel comfortable to give their all activities, if they get more convenience from it.

The word “Kiseki” has two meanings in Japanese, the one is “Locus/Track” and the other one is “Miracle”. The service name seems intentionally written in Katakana (Japanese phonetic letter) not to say whether it is Locus or Miracle, or trying to attach it double meanings.

Tags: Cellular Phone, Japan, New Service by Akky Akimoto
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Even hardcore geeks might have never dreamt of something like this: An umbrella which is connected to the Internet!

This gadget was developed by researchers at Tokyo-based Keio University. The “Pileus” umbrella looks ordinary from the outside but actually is a quite clever piece of hardware.

The umbrella is able to display web sites on the canopy’s underside while walking around. In addition to a mobile projector the Pileus is equipped with a camera, Wi-Fi, GPS and a digital compass.

When you make pictures, the gadget lets you upload them to Flickr within minutes. Tagging is also possible.

(pictures courtesy of Pileus LLC)

Besides Flickr, the Pileus is also meant to work well with Google Earth. If you are lost somewhere, the umbrella’s GPS function and compass come into play. The Pileus can then display your surroundings in 3D via Google Earth and help you find back the way.

The hardware is now in its 3rd generation. What began as an art project turned into serious business. The makers of the Pileus founded an LLC of the same name aiming at commercializing the product as soon as possible.

Tags: Japan, Technology by Serkan Toto
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