Nissan’s new charging technology will juice your EV in ten minutes, ten years from now originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Oct 2011 09:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo President Satoru Iwata reiterated Thursday that his company is not interested in making software for iPads or iPhones. He told Japanese news site Nikkei (via The Loop) that in fact, such a plan “is absolutely not under consideration,” because in doing so, “Nintendo would cease to be Nintendo.”

Yet preserving what it means to be Nintendo may be giving up a key position in the future of gaming. “Collectively, iPad gamers are showing slightly decreased involvement with gaming on home consoles, mobile phones, and Nintendo handheld consoles,” said Interpret analyst Jason Preston in a press release. “These facts imply that iPad game developers and publishers can definitely reach a new audience on the iPad.”

The iPad’s appeal extends not only to traditional console gamers, but also to a growing portion of people new to digital gaming, says Interpret. People who use their iPads for gaming are increasingly older, with 40 percent falling into the 35-to-65 age group category during its second quarter 2011 survey vs. just 31 percent from its first survey period last year. Many more women are playing, too. Interpret found that the share of female iPad gamers was up to 48 percent during its most recent poll, vs. just 40 percent in 2010.

iPad gamers who are also console gamers also represents a shrinking percentage of the overall group.

It’s understandable sentiment that Iwata would want to preserve Nintendo as-is, as he’s been Nintendo’s president since 2002 and saw it through the flush years of the Wii and DS, both of which were massive successes for the Japanese-based game-maker. Nintendo has also been in the gaming hardware business since 1977, so it has a long history of making both systems and games.

But there are a number of sound business reasons why Nintendo should consider making software for Apple, including flagging sales of its own hardware, a shaky future for new and upcoming devices like the 3DS and Wii U, and the successful example of other companies who’ve followed the same path in the past, like one-time rival Sega.

Nintendo wants a comeback, and I’d like to see it get one, but with the release of 3DS peripherals that correct obvious oversights in the original design, and reports that the Wii U is facing serious technical problems, Iwata’s outright refusal to even consider iOS development seems like yet another backwards step.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Vincent Diamante

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Continue reading Sony MiniDisc Walkman to stop spinning in September (video)

Sony MiniDisc Walkman to stop spinning in September (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jul 2011 22:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japan loves Apple, there’s no doubt about it. The brand is one of the most popular tech brands in the country. iPods, Macs and even the iPhone are selling like hot cakes. But apparently, big A, or at least its Japanese subsidiary, is getting a bit arrogant in the process. According to The Nikkei (“Japan’s Wall Street Journal”), Apple Japan today ordered a number of major online retailers to stop offering all of their products online.

And Apple seems to have so much clout in Japan that their products vanished from almost every retailer’s website in the last few hours (reportedly, Apple told them to take down its products without delay). The resellers in question include the “Best Buys of Japan”, for example Yodobashi Camera, Joshin Denki, BicCamera, or Kojima.

What reportedly bothered Apple were the discounts these retailers gave to their customers. The background is that Japanese buyers usually expect discounts of at least 5% whenever they buy consumer electronics or computers – online or offline (some devices can even drop up to 20% and more in price). In most cases, the discounts are being granted in the form of “points” that can be redeemed when it’s time for the next purchase.

I just tried and could still put the iPod touch 32GB into my shopping cart on the Yodobashi site, for example. But as you can see on the screengrab on top of this post, Yodobashi says I have to go pick up the device [JP] in one of their brick and mortar shops and call a number for more information. The 5% discount (as bonus points) is still being displayed.

The only online store I could find that seemed to have received special treatment was Amazon (see screengrab of my shopping cart above).

According to the NYT, Nikkei not only stops right clicking but now requires a written application to link to its news, citing issues with the free vs. paid model that has essentially destroyed American news-gathering as well as concerns that its precious news will end up in pump and dump scams.

Obviously any self-respecting pump-and-dumper will figure out how to bypass these scripting tricks but it’s interesting to see other news organizations in other countries essentially flipping out as they watch the bloodbath that we are currently facing. In all honestly, however, this won’t work. What publishers will have to do is convince the next generation to pay for digital content and, thanks to a number of factors, I think they will succeed. For all the lip-service paid to the “rise of the amateur” and the magic of curated content, the world will be a dull and sad-eyed place without a certain number of savvy media producers. Although most local papers add little of interest to their readers day – my hometown paper, the Columbus Dispatch, is basically a collection of AP stories and fluff and is now as thick as a pamphlet – folks like WSJ and the New York Times, while dinosaurs, are highly-evolved dinosaurs with a full set of skills, resources, and sources at their disposal.

So let Nikkei build up walls. We’ll work around them.

Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere, powering small gadgets, cars or even buildings. It’s not a surprise to see a number of companies currently working on improvements. Just a few weeks ago, we reported about Japan-based Eamex, which claimed their prototype battery can be charged and discharged over 10,000 times and can be used for about 20 years.

And now Hitachi is claiming a new material they developed could double the life span of lithium ion batteries. The company has partnered up with Shin-Kobe Electric Machinery, saying batteries based on the material could be used in smart grid applications (Hitachi says that segment alone will be worth $32 billion by 2020).

The battery’s positive electrode will not use expensive cobalt, but manganese, which is much cheaper. Hitachi claims the “secret sauce” of the new battery is a metal additive, which will boost its life span to 10 years, double that of existing manganese lithium-ion batteries.

The company announced it’s expecting to have the new battery and peripheral equipment ready as early as fiscal 2010, which, under the Japanese calendar, will end at the end of March 2011. Hitachi also says the battery can not only be used in smart grid applications but also might find its way into construction machinery and hybrid vehicles in the future (pictured above is a Hitachi-made lithium-ion battery for those vehicles announced last year).

Via The Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

Are you constantly in danger of falling asleep while working or driving? Alarm clocks, watches or your cell phone are of no help? Then the oddly named Nap Vieeb Plus II [JP], offered by a Japanese company called Takanoha, might be the right thing for you. The Nap Vieeb Plus II is a simple earpiece alarm gadget whose first version was released about four years ago.

Takanoha claims that first version found over 180,000 buyers in 17 countries. The new model works basically the same way: Once placed behind your ear, the device automatically detects you dozing off when your head passes a pre-set, “critical” angle. It then starts vibrating and setting off an alarm to keep you awake, just like a regular alarm clock.

Weighing just 15g, the Nap Vieeb Plus II is relatively discreet. Takanoha says because the ear loop is made of flexible silicone rubber, even people wearing glasses can use it. Apparently, the president of the company started developing the gadget after he was involved in a car accident caused by drowsy driving.

The Nap Vieeb Plus II costs around $30 in Japan. Contact specialized stores Japan Trend Shop, Geek Stuff 4 U or Rinkya to get one shipped to your country (I searched around, but couldn’t find it in any Non-Japanese online store).

Via The Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

Earlier today, we’ve covered Honda’s U3-X, and now we bring you another mobility robot from Japan. What we have here is a robotic skateboard, which was developed by the Shibaura Institute of Technology in Tokyo. And no, it’s not really a fun project. That DIY Segway skateboard is about to get some serious competition.

The current Robo-Skateboard prototoype weighs 15kg, is 30cm wide, 60cm long and 25cm tall. Its speed and direction can be controlled by shifting your body weight. For example, when you put your weight on either one of your feet, the skateboard will automatically accelerate. There are load sensors on all four corners of the board, motors (and wheels) on the sides and a control computer unit in the middle.

The research team at Shibaura says the Robo-Skateboard can travel as fast as 10kph and is suitable for riders weighing up to 80kg. You can use it continuously for about an hour on a single charge.

The developers plan to reduce the robot’s weight and push down its price to about $1,000 before trying to mass-produce and bring it to market by 2013, probably in cooperation with a toymaker.

Via The Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

Another possible breakthrough for LCD TVs? Researchers at Japanese chemical company Teijin and Yamaguchi University claim they have developed a new technology that makes it possible to halve the weight of LCD TVs. Conventional LCD displays are based on silicon solid-state devices on glass substrates, which “sandwich” liquid crystals. These devices generate heat when used, forcing manufacturers to go for heat-resistant (heavy) glass substrates.

But according to the researchers, they placed a thin layer of heat-resistant silicon dioxide on plastic (polycarbonate, to be more exact) instead. The plastic is lighter than glass substrates, which need solid frames to make them more stable. Plastic substrate frames are considerably lighter, with Teijin saying this will pave the way for LCD TVs that weigh 50% as much as normal.

The company also claims their production method will lead to clearer images (using plastic substrates makes it possible to build higher-power solid-state devices into the TVs). Teijin plans to enter a joint venture with a major electronics makes and commercialize their technology within the next three years.

Via The Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]