Yep, Sony Killed Casette Walkman, Sharp Killed PC

Whilst Apple reported to kill the CD in U.S., there are two big Japanese companies turned out to kill other legacy products. Last Cassette Walkman SankeiBiz reported [J] that Sony said on 22nd that they had finished domestic shipment of cassette tape Walkman at the end of April 2010. The last 5 models (WM-EX651, WM-GX410,… Continue reading Yep, Sony Killed Casette Walkman, Sharp Killed PC

IncubateFund To Hold A Boot Camp For Encouraging Entrepreneurs In Their 20s

IncubateFund[J], an investment team backed by DeNA and it’s known for having invested in Pokelabo and Istpika (both are social app providers), will have a two-day camp for encouraging potential entrepreneurs to develop and launch their Internet businesses. Those who want to join the camp have the following requirements: He/she was born in 1980s. He/she… Continue reading IncubateFund To Hold A Boot Camp For Encouraging Entrepreneurs In Their 20s

AR Cheburashka(Чебурашка) in Inokashira Park

Russian character “Cheburashka[J]” is very popular in Japan. A new movie[J] is shown on December 18th.  Then, Augmented Reality company Tonchidot executed the collaboration campaign by using Sekaicamera. Cute! Sekaicamera users were able to see 3DCG of Cheburashka by using Sekaicamera in Inokashira-Park(Kichijoji, Tokyo). “Cheburashka lines up at Cheburashka goods tent sale” You can take very… Continue reading AR Cheburashka(Чебурашка) in Inokashira Park

Rakuten Opposes Yahoo Japan-Google Tie-up

As we reported here, Yahoo! Japan is transitioning its search engine platform from what they’ve originally developed to Google’s technology.   In opposition to that move, some news sources reported Japan’s largest e-commerce giant Rakuten had requested Japan’s fair trade commission to investigate a possible violation of the antitrust act over the Yahoo! Japan – Google… Continue reading Rakuten Opposes Yahoo Japan-Google Tie-up

SeatNext – Create Meetup Record With Twitter Icons

SeatNext is a Japanese web service for people who attended a gathering to make a seating chart with Twitter icons, developed by a Niigata-based programmer civic [J](@civic). You may add a Twitter icon one by one, or as a space-separated-list. Then you layout icons as the attendees seated. You can also add text labels for… Continue reading SeatNext – Create Meetup Record With Twitter Icons

Cerevo’s New Encoder Box No Longer Requires PC For Ustream Livecasting

Tokyo-based Internet-enabled consumer electronics developer Cerevo[J] introduced an encoder box for livecasting on Ustream, and it was started on sale last weekend.   The first lot will be shipped in early November. The new encoder box is named Cerevo Livebox and can be purchased on their website[J] for 50,000 yen each. (It equals to approx. USD610… Continue reading Cerevo’s New Encoder Box No Longer Requires PC For Ustream Livecasting

QR Code Blog – Written Only In QR Code

QR Code seems getting popularity in West because of smartphone. There are a lot of interesting ad campaigns utilizing QR Code recently in English. There was also a news that Google’s URL shortening service goo.gl supported QR code generation, then Bit.ly followed the trend this week. Some of you might know that QR Code marketing… Continue reading QR Code Blog – Written Only In QR Code

Smartphone Ad-optimizer Nobot Fundraises USD1.3M From JAFCO And Nissay Capital

Tokyo-based smartphone ad-optimizer Nobot announced on Friday they had fundraised approximately USD1.3M from Japan’s largest VC firm JAFCO and Nissay Capital[J] who is an investment arm of Japan’s largest life insurance company. Nobot was founded in April 2009, and has introduced a smartphone ad-optimization service called Ad-Maker.   They’re currently distributing 100 million impressions per month,… Continue reading Smartphone Ad-optimizer Nobot Fundraises USD1.3M From JAFCO And Nissay Capital

Twitter Japan Releases Email Notification

Twitter Japan is finally getting up to speed on how people communicate with their mobile phones in Japan. Contrary to what people think, SMS does exist in Japan. It’s just not used. It never had a real chance, having been buried by e-mail, which became the standard texting communication channel between users on their keitai.… Continue reading Twitter Japan Releases Email Notification

Social Apps Provider Istpika Gets $2.5 Million From DeNA-Backed IncubateFund

I wonder in what shape the Japanese venture capital industry (and entrepreneur scene) would be without social games. Yesterday, TechCrunch Japan reported about Tokyo-based social apps provider gumi getting a “multi-million dollar” sum from GREE, which counts 21 million members in its mobile gaming network. And today, Japan- and Australia-based Istpika says it received $2.5… Continue reading Social Apps Provider Istpika Gets $2.5 Million From DeNA-Backed IncubateFund