Name: Hanwha UDCM301
Category: scuba gear / underwater camera
Price: JPY12,800
Release date in Japan: August 8, 2008

Why do divers get this cool head-mounted camera, while we land people have to hold our cams the regular way? Hmm, I suppose it's because divers are already wearing head gear, and we normally aren't. Plus, our hands are usually available for things like photography, while they need their hands free for stuff like swimming and fending off sharks and making that funny I'm-out-of-air sign.

So we'll let the divers have this one. What exactly is it? A spiffy-looking, silicone and tempered-glass scuba mask with a 3-megapixel camera built into the brow, waterproof at depths up to 5 meters. In addition to 2048x1536 JPEG snaps (minimum shooting distance: 50cm), the camera will record 640x480 MotionJPEG video at 15fps. Those image specs won't impress National Geographic, but sound fine for casual scuba shooting.

Nice extras include regular or rechargeable AAA batteries as the power supply, so you don't need to worry about charging proprietary batteries, and a mini USB 1.1 port, so you don't need to remember to take a memory card reader on that beach vacation. There's a built-in 16MB memory, plus a slot for MicroSD cards up to 2GB, which should hold well over an hour of video (though topped-off rechargeable batteries will last through only about 30 minutes of video).

How do you use the camera? At the top of the mask is a control for mode switching and a shutter release, so you will need to keep a hand free to shoot. Crosshairs printed on the lenses act as viewfinders for aiming your forehead. Behind the camera is a small LCD panel showing battery status, shot counter, and shooting mode, plus LED lights indicating current shooting activity; it's all visible with a glance upward.

The UDCM301 is a limited model available only online, says seller Hanwha Japan, so move fast if you want to try what looks to be a really convenient gadget for underwater photography.  

More info: http://www.hanwha-japan.com/products/udcm301/ (Japanese)
Purchase: https://item.rakuten.co.jp/hanwha/10000048/

Name: Chinshu Hakken!? Mugen Edamame
Category: novelty / toy
Price: JPY630
Release date in Japan: June 28, 2008

Remember the "Mugen Edamame" keychain/mobile phone fob from BANDAI, released barely over two months ago? (You should; it's for some reason the most-viewed gadget on this site.) The maker now has new varieties in stores: "Chinshu Hakken!? (Rare Breed Discovered!?) Mugen Edamame". It seems, says BANDAI, that the original green Mugen Edamame have married with other fruits and vegetables, producing "new breeds" in bright colors that reflect their heritage: Lemon Edamame, Sweet Potato Edamame, Carrot Edamame, and Mint Edamame (a rich blue).

This time around, BANDAI has six new faces readied for the beans, plus one "secret design". The "gadget" still does the same thing as the original: nothing. Give it a squeeze, and a little bean face pops out – a wee diversion for the stressed-out or the really easily amused. (It is cute, though, and oddly addictive, say owners.)

If the toy doesn't interest your serious sensibilities, the numbers might: BANDAI says it's reaching its 1 million unit sales goal for the Mugen Edamame in only two months, and with the help of the new "rare breeds'", expects to sell a total 1.5 million by September. At JPY630 a pop, that's JPY945 million – almost US$10 million – for a keychain! (BANDAI also reports that the beans' predecessor, a popping fake bubble wrap novelty called "Mugen Puchi-Puchi", has sold 2.5 million units at JPY819 each.)

More info: http://www.bandai.co.jp/releases/J2008062401.html
http://www.asovision.com/edamame/chinshu.html
Original Mugen Edamame:
http://www.tekronomicon.com/gadget/2008/04/mugen_edamame_provides_bean_p...
http://www.asovision.com/edamame/
Be sure to catch the movie too: http://www.asovision.com/edamame/movie.html

Name: Thanko USB Necktie Cooler 2
Category: fan
Price: JPY2980 (JPY3680 with battery)
Release date in Japan: June 2008

Kids! What do you give Dad on his birthday? A necktie, of course. Ah, but what if dad's a gadget geek? Make that a USB-powered necktie!

Thanko's earlier USB Necktie Cooler was a jokey silicone necktie with a big fan intake on the front "knot". This time they've gotten serious with a real silk tie and a fan hidden within the knot. When you need to cool down, just lower the knot a bit to give the fan some breathing room, and let it blow its cooling magic at you. When guests come, turn it off and slide the knot back up to look all professional-like again.  

Oh, don't forget to first tether your tie to a computer's USB port by the included 1.35-meter cable with fan controls. Hmm, that does limit you to deskwork. If you want cooling plus mobility, attach the cable instead to Thanko's battery pack (4 AAA batteries), which can ride in your shirt pocket.

Thanko is standing by to take orders online, and has even prepared a selection of gift boxes (JPY210). Dads, be afraid.

More information: http://thanko.jp/usbnecktie2/ (Japanese)

New from GREEN HOUSE: "cute and wild" GH-ERC-PIG earphones for JPY1280. One earbud is shaped like the front end of a pig; the other earbud, the back end of a pig. The visual effect is that a very long little pig going through your head. All righty. Pink, black, or white.
http://www.green-house.co.jp/products/av/earphone/erc_pig/index.html

Name: Hanwha Japan DVR-SP camcorder
Category: digital video camera
Price: JPY17800
Release date in Japan: June 23, 2008 (new black model)

This gadget's been out there for a couple of months already, but since the maker went through the trouble of telling the press about a new color variation, I'll take that as a chance to check things out.

Tokyo-based Hanwha Japan's earlier mini DVR-SP camcorder, the size of a cheap lighter, apparently wasn't sneaky enough for would-be spies, even when barely peeking over the top of a pocket. So the company has dipped deeper into the spy's bag of tricks with a camcorder that looks like a pen, the DVR-BP. (Wait, it actually is a functional pen, too. Sly!)

The 15cm-long 30g cam, part of Hanwha's "Digital Cowboy" gadget line, incorporates a hard-to-spot 1mm pinhole camera lens and microphone, recording onto 2GB of flash memory. Casually press the top of the "pen" to begin recording. (Try whistling to look more innocent.) Video is 352x288 (4x the DVR-SP's) in H.263 format at 15 fps - decent enough for posting on YouTube. Expect two hours' operation on a charge; download video and recharge the battery via USB (which is the slower 1.1, not 2.0).

The product web site suggests the cam/pen as an "information gathering tool" for businesspersons, bloggers, etc. One suspects there will be buyers with more prurient uses in mind, and I don't mean relaying state secrets to their KGB masters. If nothing else, take this gadget listing as a warning to be wary of chunky silver or black pens poised suspiciously upright in your vicinity.  

More info: http://www.digitalcowboy.jp/products/dvr-bp/index.html (Japanese)

Name: Triumph Photoelectric Bra
Category: er, photoelectric bra
Price: -less
Release date in Japan: Not for sale

It's like those concept cars you see at a motor show: a demonstration of design and technology, not something you can actually buy. But it's still a gadget of sorts, and not just an excuse to slip some cheesecake into the blog, so here goes:

Revealed on May 14 at Triumph International Japan's 2008 Fall/Winter Collection event was the Photoelectric Bra, a self-explanatory wearable gadget that'll generate enough juice to power an iPod. It's the latest (not the first) eco-themed bra from the undergarment maker.

The concept: At a time of global warming worries and looming gasoline shortages, Triumph Japan exhorts us to consider the future of energy and shift our thoughts from conserving it to creating it. The Japanese government has suggested that by 2020, Japan will need to have 70% of its new homes built with solar panels to keep up with power needs. Triumph suggests we take the power generation even closer to home.

The product: The two-piece ensemble is green-colored organic cotton, of course, and boasts the textile industry's "ECOTEX" international certification for environmentally-friendly products. The solar panel actually sits on the midriff and, somewhat jarringly, isn't camouflaged in any clever way; it looks like a black industrial solar panel. Above the panel is a small LED billboard that flashes "ECO", as a demonstration of how devices can be powered.

Moving on to the key part of a bra, the cups themselves haven't gone solar; rather, they've been converted into, well, cups. As in drink cups, sort of. The solar bra uses the "pad pockets" of more conventional Triumph bra designs to hold two reusable, straw-equipped pouches of your favorite drink, as a strike against the needless pollution of beverage cans and bottles. (A sports drink like Pocari Sweat is a good choice of tipple, for those wearers inspired to undertake eco-friendly walking or cycling.) Triumph isn't coy about the less lofty benefit of the drink stashes, either: adjustable enhancement of mylady's silhouette.

Remember, it's only a concept showpiece, and obviously isn't a practical garment by any means. (Think about it: solar-powered underwear.) But it gets me thinking about the environment; how about you?

More info: http://www.triumphjapan.com/release/unique/20080514.html (Japanese)

Name: Solid Alliance Kalbi pod Rare (KRB-3N-R)
Category: iPod case
Price: Open price (about JPY8980)
Release date in Japan: April 17, 2008

All kinds of jokes come to mind, but let's just get right to it: The Kalbi pod Rare case wraps your 3rd-generation iPod nano in a design patterned after meat.

Meat? Meat.

Thin-sliced "kalbi" of Korean BBQ fame, to be exact. But wait, this rubbery mock meat has a pedigree. First, it mimics the fine "shimofuri" marbling of "wagyu" beef (would you wrap an iPod in something less?). The packaging plays up the gag, nicely mimicking a film-wrapped supermarket meat tray. And the beef comes from a good "farm": Sato Sample, one of the earliest of the famed Kappabashi-district producers of "food replica" dishes for eatery window displays. It's a little bit of Japanese retaurant biz tradition, slipped over your nano.

While all that answers the "what", I know you're asking the "why". Apart from the mundane purpose of iPod protection, Solid Alliance's product page only suggests that your "camouflaged" iPod will leave onlookers surprised by your apparent fistful of meat, without catching on that you're really listening to music. Which is an interesting thought, as most of us would more likely be open about the music appreciation thing, and guarded over little eccentricities like riding Chuo Line with a slab of flesh in hand.

But who's to say what's right in this crazy world. In any case, it's not the first time Solid Alliances and its accomplices at Sato Sample have swathed tech in faux food: the companies are behind the Sushi Disk and Food Disk series of edible-looking USB drives you may have spotted elsewhere.

More info: http://solidalliance.com/newpress/?p=55 (Japanese)