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At last, a product that rivals the pearls cast before us by from Thanko. Seungchang of Korea has a new spin on converged devices; a combo air purifier, speaker and desk lamp that plugs into your MP3 player.

Fujitsu has developed an RFID (radio frequency ID) tag that can be put through the washer and still come out smelling of roses — or at least transmitting.

At DWT, we strive to keep you up-to-date with the latest news on tomorrow’s batteries, but here’s something from the past. Hitachi Maxell have revived the packaging of Japan’s first alkali batteries from 40 years ago.

Here’s something that looks like it came out of the 1960s but actually works wonders: the Sony 3-in-1 wind-up radio, mobile battery charger and flashlight.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed federal court complaints against five web-based operations accused of selling consumers’ confidential telephone records, the agency announced Wednesday.

This new iPod dock, the JBL on station II from Harman, will go on sale here May 19 for a rather stiff ¥27,000.

The Wattson from DIY Kyoto is by far the most attractive energy monitor we’ve ever seen. The wireless box monitors domestic electricity consumption, both overall and for individual appliances.

Thanko has released a series of “arms” that look like glorified desk-lamp swivels to help you maneuver all those screens, Matrix-like, in your den.

Got money to burn and time on your hands? Then why not head out to Tokyo, where you can have your earwax gouged out and enjoy a relaxing massage for $80 a pop?

Scientists at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) and Kyoto University have succeeded in figuring out, er…something to do with the mechanism at work in the glowing tail of the so-called Genji firefly.

Battle of the Planets wrought from finest meat slices, compressed fish and boiled eggs — what more could any man ask for? We can die happy now.

Starting from about this time of year, pollen and the hay fever it causes are a major problem from a sizable proportion of the residents of Japan, your correspondent included. That’s why Mazya Housing’s new “air shower” might be worth a look.

If you’ve got wood for a liberal application of Japanese cosmetic leviathan Kao’s Sofina Raycious Perfect Angle Powder, then you clearly need all the help you can get.

E-let’s has just come out with a smashing solution to your data retention problems — or is it a new form of data crunching? — courtesy of its SRD-3, which promises to deal with CDs and DVDs in much the same way that a shredder deals with paper.

Konica Minolta, Fujifilm and Kodak have just said they’ve gotten the Everplay standard, which defines the format and specification of media files (e.g. JPEG, MPEG-1/2/4, MOV, AVI, and MP3 and WAV) sorted out. The standard is held together with an open XML file format.

Ever had to go through that department store rigmarole of having various shades of foundation, lipstick and eyeliner slapped all over your face, only to have the tight-haired, hardass clerk scrub it all off, start again and finally conclude you’re a hopeless case?

Casio’s latest range of speaking dictionaries offer a mixture of computer-generated voices and native-speaker recordings, a capability Casio has christened “EX-VOICE.”

If you’re fed up with just reading and want to get into some serious Samizdat the ol’fashioned way, HP’s LaserJet LJ4240n can pump out the A4 at 38ppm.

OK, OK, we know it isn’t digital, but it’s both high-tech and a story guaranteed to warm your cockles on a cold winter’s day. It appears that Japan’s underwear industry is using technology that’s really touching people and sales are so strong people can’t keep their hands off them.

Sanyo’s new “Aqua” domestic washer/dryer is unusual in many respects, most notably because it uses ozone to disinfect and deodorize clothes without the need for water. The ozone is injected into the drum, where it decomposes bacteria and the like before returning to the atmosphere.

Brother’s two new MyMio multifunctional printers, the MFC-840CLN and the MFC-820CN, have it all. Each works as a printer, color copier, scanner and fax and has slots for all the major memory cards for direct photo printing. The CLN’s main difference is that it’s also got a cordless phone.

Ebara Jitsugyo, a company specializing in environmental technologies &#151 particularly those dealing in one way or another with foul substances &#151 has developed a new technology guaranteed not to make your flesh crawl; a contactless thermometer.

We know you all dig those “Wacky Japan” stories, so here’s one with the unexpected twist that it might just have a real-world application.

All right, we know it isn’t digital, but it’s fair to say that a country capable of turning sushi into a USB drive is bound to come up with some really fishy gadgets, so here’s one to celebrate with. The remarkably poorly named FISH Wine Opener is bound to turn the most hardened sommelier’s nose south, but our flexible piscine friend seems to do the business with booze bottles of various shapes and sizes.

Our friends at PC World have spotted a Fender Hello Kitty guitar in action. Fender actually released the feline-adorned instrument — an Affinity Stratocaster in pink or black with a custom Hello Kitty pickguard — before the holiday break.

In a move that should help release us from our desktops, Panasonic is planning to make Skype-compatible cordless phones.

Matshushita has long been one of the most environmentally aware companies in Japan through both its Panasonic- and National-branded domestic products.

Yes, it’s really a light designed to hook onto your ear and illuminate all before you with the power of a tiny white LED.

Honda’s smug ASIMO robot is incredibly annoying — here in Japan it’s hard to get through a single day without being subjected to his capering antics on TV and in magazines. Which makes it all the more disturbing that Honda has bestowed the bungling ‘bot with even greater powers.

Remember when the first red LED watches came out and you thought, “Wow, space age”? Well, probably not. But watchmeister Seiko has pushed things forward again with the Spectrum SVRD001, the first ever watch to use a flexible e-paper Electrophoretic Display (EPD). EPD allows for a much higher contrast than LCD displays, so you’ll be in the clear about showing one off to your friends.

Japanese company KAI makes razors for, well, shaving, which we can assume means they’re generally for adults of the grown-up variety.

Daikin Industries, a leader in one of Japan’s least glamorous product areas, air conditioners, has been trying for some time to spice up its image. Being Japan, you might think this would mean inventing a cute anime character and then building an advertising campaign around it. At some point the company may even make a robot figure. Or perhaps we are being too cynical, no?

Japan can be such a strange place at times. Take basic nourishment — in most parts of the world if you want some tasty mushrooms, you do as mankind has done since time immemorial and go to a supermarket, right? Not here — well, at least not in this Tokyo department store, where we realized we were going to have to grow our own.

Digital Analogue Technology of Korea is now offering people south of the DMZ (and possibly north of it too, if there are any cars apart from Krazy Komrade Kim’s fleet of Benzes still working up there) the "booze-o-meter."

(Via Digital Analogue Technology [Korean])

This isn’t exactly new, but we’re starting to see a few of these magic johns appearing in the homes of friends, so it’s worth a reminder of just how tough life in Japan can be.

(Via Toto [Japanese])

Car security key fobs are just so 20th century — get with the program and hook yourself up with one of Toyota’s “Key Integrated” watches for doing that troublesome door-opening thing.

(Via Toyota)

In Japan Panasonic has a generally excellent reputation when it comes to being environmentally aware (admittedly, recent green legislation plays a part), so it’s no surprise to see that its latest home washer-dryer tackles the thorny issue of waste in pretty spectacular fashion.

(Via Panasonic)

JCN reports that Fujitsu’s PalmGraph technology has escaped the R&D labs to be put to work in a new Meiwa Estates condo in Tokyo from March next year.

Next time you’re feeling a little too facially fluffy for that videochat or pumped-up conference call, don’t waste vital calories heading for the bathroom. Simply reach for the Thanko iShaver and fumble for a free USB port.

(Via Akihabara News)