Japan - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Apple to SIM-lock Japanese iPads

  Apple appears to have reversed course in Japan on a key feature of its iPad 3G: It won't offer a version capable of being used with different cellular carriers there.

• Sony to report first profit in 2 years

  Sony is expected to next week report its first full-year operating profit in 2 years, according to a report in Saturday's Nikkei newspaper.

• Softbank pays US$20 million for stake in Ustream

  Ustream, a service that provides live video streaming across the Internet, has attracted US$20 million in investment from Japan's Softbank and is planning an expansion into Asia, it said Tuesday.

• Japan connects to TPE regional fiber network

  A new undersea fiber-optic cable has gone into operation that links Japan with the regional Trans-Pacific Express Cable Network (TPE), Japanese carrier NTT Communications said Monday.

• Tokyo students design a new robotic muscle suit

  Students at Tokyo's University of Science have developed a new version of their muscle suit, a wearable robotic suit that assists the muscles when carrying out strenuous tasks.

• The State of Cloud Computing in Japan

  During this week's Cloud Computing Expo, I had an opportunity to meet with a new Japanese Cloud Service Provider. This company, KDDI, is the second largest telco in Japan, and offers a wide range of network-based services, including colo and managed hosting. It has now moved into offering IaaS cloud services (starting roughly six months ago), basing its offering on well-known cloud infrastructure software company 3tera. I found our conversation really interesting, for the following reasons:

• Sony raises outlook on better-than-expected results

  Despite losing money on the back of lower sales during its fiscal second quarter, Sony said business was better than it had expected and has cut full-year loss forecasts as a result.

• Virtual bears, futuristic pods and spaghetti rain in Tokyo

  It might earn them university credits but a robot developed by students in Japan won't help dispel the image of the lazy student. The robot has been designed to fold clothes.

• Concept cars boast green, gadget cred at Tokyo Motor Show

  If you care about the environment and like gadgets there's a double dose of good news from this year's Tokyo Motor Show.

• KDDI pairs a mobile phone with a robot

  As mobile phones add more features and more users connect with social media, the cell phone becomes a more important part of people's lives. Japanese carrier KDDI has developed a robot companion that seeks to bridge the gap between a phone and its user and a prototype was shown at this week's Ceatec expo near Tokyo.

• Typhoon delays Ceatec opening on Wednesday

  A powerful typhoon has delayed the opening of Japan's Ceatec electronics show on its third day.

• Bowlingual dog-emotion translator is back

  The Bowlingual, a gadget that analyzes a dog's bark to detect its emotion, is being relaunched.

• Intel invests $43 million in Japanese WiMax carrier

  Intel's venture capital arm is investing US$43 million in a Tokyo-based WiMax operator that plans to launch the world's fastest WiMax service in July.

• Fujitsu goes green with 'wind-powered' laptop

  Fujitsu began selling in Japan on Tuesday a laptop that runs on wind power - well, almost. The company is purchasing wind power "green energy credits" for each of the "FMV Loox" laptops sold that are equivalent to the amount of electricity estimated to be used by the machine over a four year lifespan.