Ricoh's visual online storage service--enigmatically called "quanp," (short for quantum paper)--remains an ambitious undertaking. On Wednesday, it's announcing improvements to its Windows client and browser interface as part of its U.S. beta test.
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I've covered Ricoh's plans for extending the reach of documents and creating interconnections between devices and the cloud before, and it's nice to see it adding new features quickly. The focus of this current upgrade is connecting tags and visual search to give the average user a lot of power and flexibility to organize and store data online.
But this is just one small step toward an ambitious, expansive goal. quanp wants to be the one core spot online for organizing and storing all your digital info. As people's lives quickly become more and more digitized, this is a natural progression and will be a growing need for computer users everywhere.
According to a Ricoh commissioned poll by marketing research company Research and Development, Inc. the "intention" to use online storage continues to increase, up to 22.3 percent. How do you suppose that compares with U.S. internet users? (Note: someone needs to name this category. "Life Portal"? "Life Aggregator System"?)
A key part of online storage and organization is how you interact with your data. I actually like the quanp interface--though the browser version lags behind the Windows client, which is very popular in Japan.
I have to think they're getting strong feedback from U.S. users that it's browser, browser, browser over here. At any rate, the UI is intuitive and not overly complicated--a nice break from the tired Windows-nested folders paradigm. Odds are you will eventually overload its simplicity and ease-of-use. But they're on to something. Simple is good.
Ultimately, quanp may connect you to some sort of lifecasting service. You can store data on quanp during the day and then easily pull from there to tweet or blog about what is happening. If they add more connections through more devices--mobile is obvious--you really could start to rely on the service.
Incidentally, quanp's kicking off a Twitter contest Wednesday, running through October 6, for a chance to win a new iPod Nano. For more info, see http://www.twitter.com/quanp.
The new service is notable for at least two reasons:
1. As recently as two years ago, Japanese businesses were not enamored by the cloud.
2. The technology to run the service is provided by cloud computing company 3Tera and was not developed in house.
It's a nice win for 3Tera's approach to cloud services, one that provides a browser-based Visio-like UI that lets you create application sets by dragging in resources that create a definition file that describe the overall package.
You don't need to know anything about the infrastructure that an application or service is running on; you just need to define the level of resource availability and service level required.
KDDI Cloud Server Service provides the infrastructure and system templates that allow you to encapsulate your system on its cloud and to also allow for virtual system administration services. The features of the service are a subset of 3Tera's offering.
This isn't groundbreaking news, but it's intriguing to see a Japanese company both embrace the cloud and use non-in-house technology to do it. I spent a fair amount of time in Japan over the last few years and very few IT shops were considering cloud services, with only a few vendors, like Salesforce.com seeing much traction.
But times change and Japan is famous for leapfrogging generations of technologies to get to the next latest and greatest thing.
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It's no secret that Japan has better mobile phones than the rest of the world. The country has also had access to better phone-based Internet services since the launch of NTT DoCoMo's i-mode service all the way back in 1998.
Recent data from japan.internet.com (translated by whatjapanthinks.com) suggests that Japan's mobile phones offer users enough functionality that 49 percent of the respondents to a recent survey say a "mobile phone is enough" when asked what kind of mobile device they would most like to carry.
- Mobile phone is enough 49.2 percent
- Smartphone 22 percent
- Netbook 16.3 percent
- Notebook computer 8.9 percent
- MID/UMPC 0.3 percent
- Other 0.3 percent
- Don't want to carry anything 3 percent
In addition to the wealth of services and games, with the character-based typing you really don't need an iPhone or other smartphone unless you need to access corporate e-mail. While this can also be delivered directly to mobile phones, in my experience most companies don't allow access unless it's through a VPN.
... Read moreNagoya, Japan's ramen robot army isn't satisfied just making delicious noodles. Some have recently acquired knife fighting skills (I am not making this up) to entertain and delight customers.
I warned you that this day would come. Accept your robot overlords.
(Note: I'll be back on the tech stuff soon, I promise.)
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Feeling lonely eating dinner all by yourself? Are you a vegetarian who loves the idea of barbecue but just can't pull the trigger on meat?
Fortunately you can log-on to Japanese site Air Yakiniku and enjoy a virtual barbecue. You can even download a template to make a real apron that helps prevent spillage of virtual meat juice (or perhaps to capture drool as you crave meat but eat whatever you have in real life.)
Like the New York Times reports, it's a bit hard to tell if this is a clever marketing gimmick or someone genuinely thinks it's a good idea. Maybe this is where software and dieting make sense for the masses.
I await virtual Dunkin Donuts and Carvel's Fudgie the Whale.
Follow me on Twitter @daveofdoom.
Mobile services continue to mature, and the things you can do on a phone keep getting better even when we are forced to suffer with inconsistent and occasionally terrible quality from mobile carriers.
The vast majority of new services we see in the U.S. have some basis in the DoCoMo i-Mode service from NTT Japan. If you're looking for mobile opportunities, take a gander at Japan and Korea to see how mobile devices shape lives and society.
I spoke with Gerhard Fasol, head of Eurotechnology Japan about a recent report discussing Nintendo and Japan's gaming industry are effected by new devices like the iPhone and services like the App Store, as well as how Japanese electronics manufacturers are trying to make their console/device the center of user's lives.
Since DoCoMo's i-Mode started mobile phone games in 1999, "online and mobile phone games combined have outgrown the video game software sector and are certain to grow much more in coming years. The iPhone, for example, is not slowing mobile phone based gaming down...those who only count video game cassettes and consoles, certainly don't see the rapid mobile and online growth--and complain about shrinking markets."
But really what vendors are feeling is their shrinking control--game vendors and carriers have pushed their own walled gardens, which works fine as long as they can provide what people want--and sooner or later then can't. Think AOL versus the Internet if you need more explanation.
According to Fasol, games of all kinds used to be played in game parlors, and some of Japan's game giants were originally (and still are) game parlor machine makers (a round of Dance-Dance-Revolution anyone?)
These game vendors then moved on to consoles, cassettes and handhelds, taking the momentum out of game parlors, and establishing a pattern of growth by generations (today we are in the 7th generation).
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Game companies such as Nintendo are thriving through the global recession while stalwarts such as Panasonic and Sony struggle (Sony's diversification and PlayStation sales haven't helped recently) with huge corporate hierarchies and a dearth of new "must have" products.
What's interesting about the growth of Japanese game play is that it's mainly on consoles and handhelds (with the Nintendo DSi blurring the line), whereas in the U.S. the growth is on mobile devices and online.
Online games grew 22 percent year over year in the U.S., while console game sales are expected to drop by as much as 20 percent year over year.
What happens next in Japan is still a mystery. Corporate behemoths have been slow to change and are severely weighed down by huge ranks of bureaucracy. The U.S. style of slash-and-burn economics isn't likely to fit for most of the Japanese electronics manufacturers, so they'll be forced to make changes in some manner that works for them. Sooner or later it will be very painful.
In the meantime game companies and software that enhances existing experiences, like doing even more with mobile phones, will have the upper hand on electronic sales for the foreseeable future.
Follow me on Twitter @daveofdoom.
A new digital display technology is turning heads at the International Stationery and Office Supply Fair in Japan. While not yet mass-market, this type of display could certainly liven things up at home or in the office.
As translated by Pink Tentacle and found on Robot Watch: "This eye-catching digital signage system consists of a 0.3-millimeter-thick high-luminance rear-projection film (Vikuiti Rear Projection Film developed by 3M) applied to a 3-millimeter-thick glass substrate cut into the shape of a woman. A rear projector beams video onto the film, whose microbead-arrayed surface produces a crisp, brilliant image viewable from any angle, even in brightly lit environments."
Once they figure out how to attach a badge-swiping device, I expect to see these at every trade show and theme park.
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Udon combo in Tokyo.
(Credit: Dave Rosenberg)Just when you thought your noodle waterslide was the height of Japanese food gadgetry, a ramen shop in Minami-Alps, Yamanashi, Japan, is gaining popularity for its robot chef.
Technically the robot doesn't make the noodles, instead assembling the bowl, including the customized flavor options. Customers place orders on a computer, customizing aspects such as the levels of soy sauce and salt, and richness of the soup. Shop owner Yoshihara Uchida says there are 40 million different flavor permutations.
The noodles themselves are cooked by a human, with the robot creating a perfectly blended soup which is then delivered to the human chef via a conveyor belt, who adds the noodles and toppings. The whole process takes only about two minutes, a minute shorter than instant cup noodles.
The robot was completed in December 2008 after five years of trial and error, including computer crashes caused by spilled soup. Uchida wants to mass produce the robot in the future and "leave my mark out there," which means one day you too can have a ramen robot.
Previous and related noodle news:
Gadget watch: Noodle waterslide
The best of Japanese food technology: Ramen Radar
Woman eats 383 bowls of soba in 10 minutes (video)
Follow me on Twitter @daveofdoom.
Wakamatsu Park in Kobe, Japan, will soon play host to the latest member of a robot army. A life-size Tetsujin (aka Gigantor) robot, 60 feet tall and weighing nearly 50 tons, will be on permanent display starting in October. Tetsujin joins a life-size Gundam, built in Odaiba.
According to the AnimeNewsNetwork, "The Kobe Tetsujin Project's statue is intended as a symbol of the city's revival after the 1995 Kobe earthquake. It is being built in Nagata Ward, the city's hardest hit neighborhood which has since been rebuilt and revitalized. The statue also celebrates the life of one of Kobe's most well-known native sons, as Yokoyama not only created the Tetsujin 28 manga and anime, but also Giant Robo and Sally the Witch."
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