Thirty-five years ago, Hello Kitty dropped an atomic cute bomb on the world and the universe was forever changed.
Developed in 1974, the iconic kawaii cat debuted with Japanese character licensing firm Sanrio in 1975 on a small change purse that sold for 240 yen (around 80 cents at the time). Sanrio has since built a vast global empire on Kitty's popularity, and related licensing deals now account for a huge chunk (some say about half) of Sanrio's $5 billion in annual sales.
Over the past three and a half decades, Kitty's mouth-missing face has graced thousands upon thousands of products, from wallets, trash cans, alarm clocks, stationary, and airplanes to cell phones, cell phone chargers, Netbooks, massively multiplayer online role-playing games, USB lap warmers, karaoke systems, and even assault rifles--yes assault rifles.
Kitty's 35th birthday year has proven to be yet another opportunity for a merchandising bonanza, and fortunately (or tragically, depending on your perspective), the global fat cat shows absolutely no sign of slowing down or loosening her claw-like grip on the consumer electronics industry. So to fete the feline on her special occasion, we breathed a sigh of resignation and rounded up some of the scariest cutest Hello Kitty gadgets from the past year (see our gallery above).
Didn't we hear the retirement age for fictional Japanese cats is 36?
With the launch of Windows 7 this week, we've seen a number of product marketing attempts that made us ask "what on earth does this have to do with anything?"
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EPISODE 159
Windows 7 Whopper marketing promotion
Pistachio ad campaign featuring Levi Johnston
Dolce & Gabbana Sony Ericsson Jalou
... Read more
(Credit:
Dr. Romanelli, Medicom Toys)
And so, the enigma that is the Hello Kitty phenomenon continues--this time with the release of the Anatomy collection by designer Darren Romanelli, aka Dr. Romanelli, in collaboration with Medicom Toy.
Any gut feelings you may have about the silent one's unexplainable success are put to rest with an anatomical peek at the feline's (rather inaccurate) inner cavity, which is, how shall we put it? Uber cute! So now we know the truth, and it's all powered by a kawaii (Japanese for cute) red heart and what seems to be four saccharine sweet kitty clones.
It's just too bad you can't pop out the innards, so you can rearrange them any which way you like. Due out November in Japan.
(Source: Crave Asia via High Snobiety)
In honor of our special guest, Micky Hoogendijk, we cover gadgets with an international flare. You might think that a show as classy as this one might not include any questionable content. You would be wrong.
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EPISODE 158
Giorgio Armani extends designer touch to new mobile
Samsung Blue Earth sees light in Sweden
http://dvice.com/archives/2009/10/lgs-pop-touchsc.php
Dolce Gusto single-cup coffee maker is a beautiful thing
... Read moreWe found tons of little gizmos that either brought us thoughts of "awww cute" or thoughts of "awww really?" Also, man babies and sticky mats. What, you really want me to explain that in further detail? Really?
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EPISODE 150
Angel. Baby. Pinocchio. Witch. Webcam
Battery-bot breaks world record at Le Mans
Are they just messing with us now? The strangest Wii accessory yet
HotCans prove that canned food need never be cold-n-stale
Aroma USB drives away memories of bad odors
Hot Asian Gadgets
A good way to fight crime? Anti-burglar door mat
Pink Watch
Sony Ericsson Conducts Rigorous Analysis of “Women,” Presents Findings In Phone Form
What the hell?
The PRC is your Personal Rockin’ Chair
Potty Time
Portable Toilet Speakers offer you relief of the music kind
Tool Time
Make New Friends With The Portable Tap Dispenser
HELLO COUGAR SUBMISSIONS
(Credit:
Kitty Hell)
Pink Gundams. Hello Kitty Imperial Stormtroopers. What next? How about Darth Vader in pinkish white with a Hello Kitty badge? One can almost hear the collective shrieks of outrage from hard-core fans condemning the blasphemous culprits to a special kind of hell.
But hey, even Sith Lords get bored with the same old wardrobe year in, year out. And you gotta hand it to the power of Cute over the Dark Force. Will Kitty assimilate the Borgs next? It may very well be that resistance is futile.
(Source: Crave Asia via Kitty Hell)
There's more where that came from.
(Credit: ChicBuds)It's once a week I turn away from the monitor and gag at the latest Swarovski crystal-embellished gadget. I think to myself: "Will someone really purchase this bling-bling Hello Kitty camera? If they do, will they take it out in public?"
Well, Paris Hilton would. Or so says the newest company embracing the Swarovski trend, ChicBuds.
ChicBuds prides itself on being what it says is the only electronics company targeting women: "products made by women for women." Their goods are created with a woman's "needs" in mind, and have reached celebrities including Paris Hilton, Paula Abdul, and Audrina Partridge.
The featured products, like the PinkTooth Bluetooth Wireless Headset with Swarovski crystals, suggest that what we need is a collection of generic, so-so earbuds covered in so many crystals the 'buds become unrecognizable.
It's unsettling that companies target women with shiny accessories, clumping us into a group of flamboyant divas. Although there are women who enjoy this style of product, there are also many women who choose products according to the quality of the gadget.
An ideal woman-targeting electronics company would feature high-quality gadgets with a conservative touch of girliness--a little pink here perhaps, some swirls there. My personal favorite along these lines is Motorola's H680 Bluetooth headset.
As long as we're on the subject of Swarovski, you can see more crystal-clad disasters here. And be sure to vote in this week's Friday Poll. We ask what companies should do to attract more female customers.
OK. So we promised you on last week's episode that we would do a single-purpose gadgets episode this week. Turns out, promising that type of thing in advance isn't such a good idea as we actually had to work to find gadgets that fit the theme. So we made it, but admittedly by the skin of our collective teeth. It's all worth it for the segments, though. Patience, young grasshopper!
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EPISODE 149
Sony responds to Kindle onslaught with Reader Touch and Pocket
Pancake machine churns 200 flapjacks per hour (thanks, Peter Lee!)
Multiblade pizza slicer guarantees perfect-sized slices
Lava Lamp returns as Mathmos Fireflow
A Propos (of) Nothing
The Wall-E USB drive is too cute for even baby talk to describe
This week in hello kitty
Hello Kitty limited edition Casio Exilim EX-Z2
It’s About Time
Darth Vader clock radio has no patience for your sloth
PRETTY
Bugatti Diva espresso machine inspires poetry
Potty Time
Public urinal lets you pee into the wall
Kill Me
Sony’s new “Girlz Play Too” campaign
Pink Watch (Kill Me Edition)
ChicBuds “by women, for women”
Play him off to hell, Kitty Cat.
(Credit: Hello Kitty Hell)This Hello Kitty Taser Gun was brought to my attention by Hello Kitty Hell, a blog with the tagline, "One Man's Life With Cute Overload." This poor man's online existence has been reduced to his hatred of a tiny cartoon cat, and who could blame him? The existence of this Hello Kitty taser gun makes me want to open it up and point it at my head.
You have to question the intentions of these designers...is the gun supposed to make little girls less fearful about attacking their in-store competition? Maybe it's meant to fool criminals into thinking their victims are unarmed, only to be met with 50,000 volts of adorable electricity. The device is a custom version of the Taser C2, a unique weapon that uses "propelled wires to conduct energy to affect the sensory and motor functions of the nervous system." The gun can shoot out 15 feet of insulated conductive wire, but it can also be used as a direct contact stun device. Double the fun!
Note: Further research into this product confirms my suspicions that this is simply a Photoshopped picture of Taser's "Metallic Pink" version of the C2 gun. The world can continue to spin...for now.
If it's not a right angle, it's a wrong angle. That's exactly the ethos that has inspired the type of precise, structured and rigidly useful gadgetry that we highlight in today's episode.
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EPISODE 138 |
The perfect father’s day gift for the Type A griller
Cocoon’s laptop bag is perfect for type A personalities
Sensor-laden kokoro adjusts playlist to match the rhythm of your heart
GameDr destroys recreation of youth
Sony’s 400-disc BDP-CX7000ES Blu-ray Mega Changer reportedly coming soon
... Read more
