10 Cool Gadgets You Can't Get Here

molex333 writes "PC World has an article about 10 gadgets that are available in Asia but not here. It is a review of some quirky toys that the Japanese have and we don't!" Unfortunately it's one of those obnoxious stories that you have to click like 30x to read the whole thing, but there's some neat stuff.

hmm HDTV to go... on not to go

[Anonymous Coward]

the HDTV receiver is a nice idea... don't know if we loaned the same brand/model (looks like it from memory) but when using it in built up areas we expected, and got, massive dropouts using the dinky antenna supplied.

In brief

[wombatmobile]

There's a phone,
a small pc,
another phone,
a vista pc,
a voice controlled robot,
a laptop,
a water resistant phone,
a hdtv usb dongle,
a media server + handheld pc + notebook,
and a piggy bank.
OK?

USB HD receiver

[gEvil (beta)]

I'm pretty sure there are plenty of USB HD receivers available here in the States. Maybe not that exact same model, but I've definitely seen some listed online. It seems like the biggest issue with them would be the size of the antenna, though.

TV on mobile phones in Japan

[Rakshasa Taisab]

What they forgot to mention about TV on those japanese phones is that the programming _sucks_...

Seriously, it's all game/talk-shows, news or sumo. Might as well do something else while sitting on the train in Tokyo, like watching the local girls or reading.

Re:USB HD receiver

[Shatrat]

I know you can get an ATSC (digital TV, which I assume is what everyone is trying to say when they say HDTV in this context) USB tuner from Hauppage at any Radioshack for about 60 bucks.

I don't know if the chinese "HDTV broadcasts" are ATSC or some other similar standard but ATSC would be the only one useful here anyway.

Re:In brief

[IBBoard]

Or, with product names:

Panasonic Viera P905i (Think of it as the world's smallest "big-screen" TV)
Raon Everun UMPC (Ultra-mobile PC - a micro laptop)
Samsung 'Soul' SGH U900
NEC ValueStar W (Vista Media Centre that's extra quiet)
Toshiba ApriPoko Robot (This 11-inch-tall robot--which looks like the love child of a bird Pokemon and the Pillsbury Doughboy--is actually a voice-activated remote control)
Sony VAIO G2 (super-light laptop with all the normal features)
Fujitsu F705i
Aigo USB Dongle (HD receiver)
NEC LUI (LUI stands for "Life with Ubiquitous Integrated Solutions - basically a combination of media server and PDA or laptop)
Face Bank (Wave a coin in front of the bank's eyes (actually light sensors), and it opens wide to swallow your loose change. Afterward, it looks so pleased that you half expect it to emit a contented belch)

So, how many of those are actually things we're really missing, as opposed to just not having?

Nothing impressive...

[PortHaven]

Really, I saw nothing that really stood out or impressed me.

Okay, the bank think was cute...but I think it'd be better if the eyes could also identify a coin and track it. And if it was like "feed me, feed me...oh oh...pretty puh-lease".

But 80% of what I saw, I'd seen equivalents before here in the U.S. (I swear Samsung makes a phone for Verizon that does both the top and side flip.)

The Remote Robot was cute...and somewhat useful.

But I really was disappointed.

In verbose

[PlatyPaul]

There's the Panasonic Viera P905i,
the Raon Everun UMPC [dynamism.com],
the Samsung 'Soul' SGH U900,
the NEC ValueStar W [nxtsound.com],
the Toshiba ApriPoko Robot,
the Sony VAIO G2 [dynamism.com],
the Fujitsu F705i,
the Aigo USB Dongle,
the NEC LUI,
and the Face Bank

(links provided only to direct sale points or official corporate pages)

And (as I'm sure someone else will point out) "not here" only holds for certain values of "here".

In all fairness...

[THESuperShawn]

The "coolest" gadget on the list (also basically the one thats not a phone) isn't "available" in Asia either- unless you work for the lab that is working on it. The IR learning robot "is nesting in Toshiba's research labs, awaiting its first solo flight". Heck, I bet we have some cool stuff nesting in our labs here that you can't buy in Asia yet either.

Videos...

[Midnight Thunder]

A few videos courtesy of YouTube:

    http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=facebank [youtube.com]

USA vs OTHER COUNTRIES

[hlopez]

I find it odd that the US being the worlds largest economy and #1 consumer does not always get the latest products.
Here in Mexico, at least with Nextel PTT phones we are at least 2 years ahead with the offerings having access to semi decent phones while the Nextel USA handles only bricks that look like phones from the 90's.

Am I the only one who couldn't care less?

[Hojima]

Seriously, people are trying to combine as many gadgets as possible into tiny crap and sell them for huge prices. I want a cell phone that makes calls, and a laptop that meets all my business/media needs. I don't want it to double as an electric razor, drill, laser beam, grill, hand grenade etc... If I want to listen to music and play games, I'll do it at home. Who the hell listens to music and plays games 24/7 (i.e. "on the go")? Sounds like they need to get a damn job (at least one that requires more than a pulse to work). It must be the same douche-bags that dance for a living, or spoiled high school students that feel accomplished just owning crap, that buys this shit.

Printer Friendly Link

[TubeSteak]

Printer friendly: http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,144127/printable.html [pcworld.com]

Just because they don't show you a printer friendly link doesn't mean it isn't there.

That's strange

[Lumpy]

I better tell my daughter that her U900 does not exist.

I bought her one and had it imported from a ebay seller last month. it works great on AT&T/Cingular/AT&T/Cingular/AT&T/.... as it's a quad band GSM phone and defaulted to english out of the box.

It IS available here in the USA, you just got to find it and buy it. No you will not find one at your local costco or phone store, but then none of the good phones are ever available at a store.

Two NES phones that you can't get in the USA -

[VitrosChemistryAnaly]

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/nes-slider/gionee-nes-phone-lets-you-stomp-goombas-on-the-go-268486.php [gizmodo.com]

http://www.gadgets-weblog.com/50226711/lenovo_phone_sports_nes_emulator.php [gadgets-weblog.com]

Why, oh why can't I get these in the US? I would love a phone that is a *good* NES emulator.

Anyone know the best routes to get this stuff in the US?