Strange and Weird (and Cool) Things from Japan
One step down from the USB Microscope is the USB Earscope. It’s basically a microscope with a 10x to 50x magnification ratio, an LED light, and software so you can see the inside of your ear on your notebook. The primary purpose seems to be to clean your ears thoroughly.
The earscope is sold by - who else - Thanko and costs 9980 Yen (60.70 Euro).
To match the Aqua USB hub, Thanko is also selling the Liquid Mouse: An opical mouse in the same style as the Aqua hub. The line was obviously quite successful, because they have two series of these mice.
Penguin, Seal, and Duck
Duck, Penguin, and, uh, Ghost?
I could actually imagine that Linux freaks might buy the Penguin edition.
Thanko sells them for 1480 Yen each (9.20 Euro).
So you need a few extra USB ports on your desk… and the Gold Bouillon USB Hub is too flashy for you. (Really? Who would have thought…) Of course, Thanko has the perfect product for your niche as well, executed in typical Japanese Kitsch style. It’s the Aqua USB Hub.
Comes in one of three styles:
Fish:
Frogs:
Ducks:
The USB hub seems to have two ports, but in addition to being kitsch it can also serve to hold your cellular phone. It’s available for 2580 Yen (16.03 Euro) each.
Have you ever wondered, when you were working on your homework or your latest presentation, that your computer just doesn’t smell nicely enough? Well neither have I but that won’t stop the Japanese from coming up with a solution: It’s the USB Aroma Dispenser!
In addition to (presumably) smelling nice, the whole thing is also lit up by LEDs and looks like something out of a sci-fi movie:
The device is made by Thanko (who else…) and goes for only 2480 Yen (15.38 Euro).
Whether you’re bored with the old, industrial-looking USB hubs, or just want to show off some Glitz, Thanko has the right product for you: An USB 2.0 Hub in the shape of a gold ingot.
Note the strange looking pirate. I think this is Thanko’s contribution to the Pirates vs. Ninja debate: They simply rolled the two into one. The poor man is so confused he’s actually trying to eat the gold buillon:
If you want to place this piece of loot on your desk, you can buy one from Thanko for 5980 Yen (36.49 Euro).
These are actually two products from different manufacturers. They do the same thing: They are microscopes you can attach to your PC via USB.
First we have the Gaia USB Microscope, which can magnify 50x or 200x, and includes lighting. It’s actually made by a Taiwanese company, but what isn’t made in one of the two Chinas these days?
The second USB microscope is sold by Thanko, also comes with LED lighting, but boasts only 30x magnification. It’s probably more of a toy, like most of Thanko’s products:
The Gaia USB Microscope costs 60 Euro. The one sold by Thanko goes for 12800 Yen (78.31 Euro).
(Via Akihabara News and Pink Tentacle.)
Women freeze easily. And Asian women freeze most easily of all. At least that is my impression, and the fact that the Japanese came up with a remedy seems to support the theory. Thanko is offering two products to keep us warm in those severe winters.
First are the battery-powered, self-heating socks and gloves:
You’ll have to strap the bulky batteries to your arms, and cables will connect to the gloves:
As you can tell from the graphic, they are not powered from a wall socket and also not powered via USB.
Why do they point that out? Yes, because it gets be even more weird, with the second Thanko product:
Yes, you see that correctly. Those are actually slippers that heat themselves, powered via your PC’s USB bus. So whenever you snuggle up on the couch with your notebook, it’ll keep your feet warm and cozy:
You can purchase the gloves and socks for 4980 Yen (30.51 Euro) and 5980 Yen (36.64 Euro), respectively, and the USB slippers for 3980 Yen (24.39 Euro).
I of course do not know how well these products work - But my Japanese friend, whom I showed the advertisements, was actually very interested in them. I rest my case…
(Via Akihabara News.)
This is from the category of “nice idea, probably completely useless”. It’s a mirror that is also a webcam!
Never mind that video conference software usually also shows the “local” view in a window, and that most notebooks these days come with built-in cameras. The LED lighting could probably also serve to blind a deer if you needed to do that.
The webcam-mirror is produced by Thanko and they list the price as 5980 Yen (36.65 Euro).