Tokyoflash's latest series of slick designer wristwatches features lightweight aluminum construction, LED lights, and maddeningly confusing time displays.
(Credit:
Tokyoflash)
The Kisai series inherits the qualities of previous incomprehensible Tokyoflash timepieces such as the Fire and the Pleasure Seeker, namely that users must spend hours deciphering their alien time-reckoning systems.
They certainly put one's brain to work. The Sensai model (right), which weighs 2.5 ounces and sells for about $233, tells the time after a button on its right side is pushed. The button first initiates a circular animation of colored LEDs.
When the animation stops, the hour is shown according to the number of red LEDs. So far, so good. When it comes to minutes, things get tricky.
Eleven green LEDs represent five-minute groups and four yellow LEDs represent single minutes. So, three red, two green, and two yellow equals 3:12 (editor's note: this post was updated to indicate the correct breakdown of colors; thanks to the reader who pointed the error out). Clear as mud? There's a demo here.
To watch an explanation of how another Kisai model works, click the vid below (the speaker calls the watch a "friend maker").
Now if only Tokyoflash could come up with an impenetrable Mayan Apocalypse Watch, they'd corner the market for the 2012 doomsday set.
Sound comes from behind the numbers on this clock/iPod dock.
(Credit: Tokyoflash)Japan's Tokyoflash, purveyor of such wacky wristwatch offerings as the Morse Code Watch and Infection--whose face is (obviously!) supposed to resemble a colony of bacteria--wants consumers to tell it which time-telling pieces they'd like to see next.
Will it be an upright ambient-light clock that displays the time through light animation? A spaceship clone with lights and an iPod connection? A throwing-star-ish model that displays hours, minutes, and seconds on its three arms?
Those are just a few of the unusual concept designs that Tokyoflash is featuring in a product design survey that just went up on its Web site.
It only takes a few minutes to fill out, if you're so inclined. And if nothing else, the images offer a fun glimpse at what design nerds may be putting on their nightstands in the near future. Any catch your eye?
(Credit:
Tokyoflash)
The above concept clock displays hours, minutes, and seconds on the arms, while the device at left displays the time through ambient light. You can increase the brightness by lighting more bars.
(Credit: Tokyoflash)
With instructions this detailed, you just know you're in for trouble.
(Credit: Tokyoflash)Tokyoflash, which previously brought us such aptly named wristwatches as the Infection, has alerted us to its latest vexing timepiece, the Fire. But not to fret: if you have trouble telling the time with this thing (which you almost certainly will), at least you'll be a conversation piece.
(Credit:
Tokyoflash)
The sci-fi-looking cuff, which weighs about a tenth of a pound, features plastic wrapped around a sheet of polished stainless steel with holes drilled into it. Beneath each hole are LEDs that represent units of time. Yellow LEDs indicate hours 1-12, red LEDs indicate groups of 10 minutes, and green LEDs indicate single minutes 1-9. Following all that? And I was told there would be no math involved.
Obviously, it would be a lot easier to just glance at your cell phone when someone asks for the time. But we certainly can't fault creativity--or the people who like to flaunt it on their wrists. The Fire is selling now for about $130, with free shipping.
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A watch for the microbiologist in your life
The watch is gold, but that's all we can tell
(Credit:
Tokyoflash)
It's been a long while since we've posted about unreadable timepieces, and for good reason: We can't stand them. But Tokyoflash, the most shameless purveyor of these maddening devices, has truly outdone itself with the "Infection."
As best we can tell, the face of this wristwatch is supposed to symbolize a colony of bacteria or some other disgusting microorganisms, with LEDs pulsating along the way to resemble their movement. And tell time, of course, though we defy anyone to figure that out at first glance.
It's unclear what kind of statement this is meant to convey, other than perhaps to warn others to stay away because you should be quarantined. We won't even attempt to guess the message if it's worn with Tokyoflash's other well-known model, "Pimpin' Ain't Easy."
(Credit:
Tech Digest)
The only thing surprising about this watch is that it didn't come from Tokyoflash, the site known for such indecipherable gems as the "Jive Turkey," the "Pleasure Seeker" and the ever-popular "Pimpin' Ain't Easy" series.
But it certainly could have, for it seems equally baffling. As Tech Digest says, the "Guru" timepiece from Black Dice Industries has LEDs positioned in a "peculiar, eye-bending pattern." If you do manage to figure out how to read this $250 watch, though, you can take it diving up to 50 meters.
In an odd way, though, we appreciate the monochromatic style of the gold Guru. If we're going to be confused by a watch, we'd just as soon not have a bunch of colored lights flashing at us the whole time.
(Credit:
TokyoFlash)
I read recently on Technabob that the latest watch from TokyoFlash's edgy PIMP line, also known for the Pleasure Seeker, was called the "Jive Turkey." What? I had never heard this term in my life before, and was wondering if some folks at TokyoFlash had been dabbling in illicit substances. Clearly, I'm just not up to date on my vintage pop culture.
According to Urban Dictionary, however, "jive turkey" is an old '70s term for someone who isn't particularly good at BSing but does it anyway. So, maybe this watch just pretends to tell time but really doesn't?
Anyway, aside from the dumb name, this could be a cool watch if you're into really flashy accessorizing. The interface resembles a cross between a vintage arcade game and some kind of Dark Side of the Moon-ish light show, and uses LEDs so you can read it in the dark. A nice novelty gadget, I suppose.
It sells in the U.S. for about $150.
(Credit:
Tokyoflash)
The watch mavens at Japan's Tokyoflash seem to be caught in some kind of time warp. Recently, they introduced the Shaft-era theme of "Pimpin Ain't Easy" for their LED watches, clad appropriately in 18k gold plate. Now, they give us the "Numeri-color" model, which their site describes as "straight off the wrist of a Moon Base Commander from a 1960s Sci-Fi classic." We like the watch's look, but there's just one issue: We'd never be able to figure out what time it was. And that could be especially problematic when trying to figure out last call.
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