Osaka-based Tech Start-up Launches A “Meddlesome” SNS

The Osaka-based tech start-up Qript Inc. launched Friday its eccentric SNS called “Tsutsunuke [J]“, which has several features to avoid its user’s long silence to the service. Note:  “Tsutsunuke” means a situation where the thin wall deprives you of any privacy, and you can hear the tone of your neighbor’s voice in a typical type… Continue reading Osaka-based Tech Start-up Launches A “Meddlesome” SNS

E-mail-only friend delivery springs up in Japan

Mixi Nengajou (new year greeting card) is not the only emerging service tries to turn online friendship into real items delivery. This is too much of a coincidence that Mixi, Softbank (owns 40% of Yahoo! Japan) and au(KDDI)-DeNA(runs Mobage Town) launched virtual to real shipping services in last 2 months. Softbank Puchi Gift November 4th,… Continue reading E-mail-only friend delivery springs up in Japan

iPhone TV (finally) comes to Japan

As we reported on October, Softbank, No.3 cellphone carrier sells iPhone in Japan, start selling a specially designed iPhone peripheral for Japanese customers who think cellphone must have TV tuner. This tuner and external battery combo is sold at 7 Softbank shops since the end of 2008. It will be officially available nationwide on January… Continue reading iPhone TV (finally) comes to Japan

Lang-8: Multi-lingual social network service for learning foreign lanugages

Lang-8 is a unique social network service started by a young entrepreneur Youyou Ki who lieves in Kyoto, Japan. Language Exchange SNS Lang-8 It works in this way. 1.First join to the service. 2.Then write a diary in the language you’re learning. 3.Native spekers of that language who are aslo users of Lang-8 will correct… Continue reading Lang-8: Multi-lingual social network service for learning foreign lanugages

ZMP co-developed Brandnew Tune Recommendation Service

A Tokyo-based robot manufacturing venture ZMP [J] (pronounced as Zett-Em-Pee) developed a new tune recommendation service jointly with Dr. Yasufumi Takama, associate professor at Faculty of System Design, Tokyo Metropolitan University. ZMP is well-known as manufacter of “Miuro” or a small robot on two wheels that can play tunes and follow you around the house.   Refer… Continue reading ZMP co-developed Brandnew Tune Recommendation Service

Mixi Nengajou sends Real New Year Cards to your Social Network Friends

Mixi launched Mixi Nengajou (Nengajou = new year greeting card), on which user can send a real(=paper) greeting card to your MaiMiku(My Mixi = online friend) WITHOUT knowing their real address. You may choose 400+ designs from 98 yen (48 yen with sponsors’ ads, more expensive designed cards are also available). Mixi works with the… Continue reading Mixi Nengajou sends Real New Year Cards to your Social Network Friends

Nintendo ties up with Hatena, opens door for user-generated content

Nintendo, a company that’s usually not really famous for embracing the web, now lets users publish content they create through Moving Notepad (“Ugoku Memo Chou”) online. Moving Notepad is a free notepad application for Nintendo portable gaming machine DSi. Users can write memos, record sounds and create animations with the downloadable program (that’s made by… Continue reading Nintendo ties up with Hatena, opens door for user-generated content

So-net M3 – a community site for doctors

So-net M3 (TSE:2413) is a very profitable and unique company which is providing a community site ‘m3.com’ exclusively for medical doctors. Doctors are restricted by confidentiality, so they cannot use typical community sites to share information about their professional life or skills. M3 provides them with a bulletin board service. M3 has 390,000 registered medical… Continue reading So-net M3 – a community site for doctors

Yahoo! Japan launches English version of their auction site

Yahoo! Japan introduced an English version of Yahoo! Japan Auctions on October 10th, 2008. Its target audience is foreign residents in Japan who can communicate in basic Japanese but prefer to use an English interface. Yahoo! Japan Auctions is the biggest Internet auction site in Japan. The major drawback of the English site is that… Continue reading Yahoo! Japan launches English version of their auction site

Japanese No.1 E-Commerce site “Rakuten” started multilingual item search

Rakuten, the largest E-Commerce player in Japan, has started a multilingual item search service in Rakuten Ichiba, the biggest Japanese online shopping mall. Rakuten Ichiba top page[J] / Rakuten Ichiba top page[E] The sales of Rakuten’s E-Commerce division for the year ’07 was 75.5 billion yen( about 800 million US dollars). Rakuten launched E-Commerce service… Continue reading Japanese No.1 E-Commerce site “Rakuten” started multilingual item search