If you’ve ever been to Japan—or seen a picture—you’d know that the entire surface of cityscapes is basically one giant advertising mosaic. So how do advertisers know which ones people actually gawk at?
In its quest to ease the life of millions of Japanese people and make them like cyborgs, telecommunications company NTT has developed a shoe that transforms the kinetic energy generated by your steps. Right now, it can generate three watts, which is enough to keep an iPod playing, but still not enough to power up your mobile phone. This is not just a concept project, however: The company is looking to have a working pair available for the masses by 2010. How you are going to connect your phone with your shoe, unless you are Maxwell Smart, it’s a completely different matter. [Gear Diary]
Phones with little scented tissues in them are just soooo 2007. In two days, NTT Communications will start testing something bigger and weirder. It’s a freestanding US$195 device, possibly due out March of next year, that holds 16 cartridges of base scents, like an inkjet printer’s basic colours, that mix up more elaborate odours when they receive instructions from a mobile phone. The system will accept smell messages via e-mail from the owner who wants an aromatic return from a hard day’s work, or a loved one who just wants to say I HEART—or FART—You. OK, maybe intestinal gas isn’t at the top of the list now, but you know when modders get involved, anything can and will happen. [Reuters; NTT Release]
NTT DoCoMo has just announced that they’ve successfully field tested a Super 3G wireless network that reached downlink speeds of 250Mbps (the technology’s theoretical maximums are a 300Mbps downlink and a 75Mbps uplink, so 250 down ain’t too bad). Unfortunately, given that DoCoMo doesn’t plan on having the technology finalised until 2009, the world won’t be basking in 300ish Mbps mobile bliss just yet. Oh, but EDGE still sucks. [nttdocomo]
Japanese telecom company NTT is soon to launch a product that transmits data via your body, effectively turning you into a touch-technology swipe card. RedTacton is a card-like gadget that you simply carry anywhere on your person, and it transmits data via electric fields&mdash a world’s first according to NTT.
NTT-Neomeit’s upcoming service for remote home control from the cellphone is something we want very badly. For just $4 a month, your cellphone can access a Web page that will control power switches, TVs, A/V equipment, lamps, A/C or just about anything. Why would we want this?
Just the scenario of turning off your radiator, heater, TV or A/C if you forgot to when you left the house should be enough. But how about turning on a rice maker when you’re about to leave work to go home? Or turning up the heat in preparation for your arrival? You’re sure to come up with even cooler applications yourselves. – Jason Chen
NTT’s cellphone-operated remote control home system [Pinktentacle]
