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Other: Spring Premium Incentive Show 2004
Posted on Apr 14, 2004 - 02:20 PM by zmcnulty
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It's not just a funny name, it's funny products!
We have:
-a QR Code stamp from Shachihata
-Buffalo starting a pre-loaded USB flash memory service for companies
-Kyocera's talking 3D avatar technology
-This odd looking "talking" speaker



For three days from April 14th to 16th, the "Premium Incentive Show Spring 2004" trade show is going o­n in Tokyo's Ikeburo Sunshine City Convention Center TOKYO Cultural Assembly Hall. This article will cover some goods and services related to cellular phones.

Shachihata, QR Code stamp display
Shachihata had the "QR Code Stamp" display out, which is a stamp that could stamp QR codes. Sound confusing? You put ink o­n a stamp, and it stamp it, giving you a QR code, sort of like a barcode. Name, phone number, mail address, cellular phone site, URL, etc can be programmed into the QR code, so all you need to do is stamp and it will act as a way to convey the information.However, according to Shachihata, how these QR code stamps will expand in business is still under investigation. Although this novel idea brought many customers over at the event, it was seen where the staff of the booth was asking customers about how to use QR codes. Commercialization should happen in or after June.

Buffalo, name input USB flash memory service
At the Buffalo booth, a service to input names and such was introduced for commemoration/gift purposes. The process consists of taking a "RUF-C" or "RUF-C/U2" of the "ClipDrive" series from Buffalo, and putting a company name, etc. o­n it for marketing purposes. This way, when the customer first accesses the USB drive, they can see names and other company data, and then use it as a normal flash memory device from then o­n.The size of the "RUF-C/U2" is 71 x 17 x 9mm (W x D x H).

KCCS, 3D avatar technology for Contents Providers
Kyocera Communications Systems (KCCS) was displaying the "μ SCENE SeeStorm Avatar" platform aimed at contents providers, which uses 3D avatar technology from Russia's SeeStorm. Going o­n at the booth was a demonstration of a dog's mouth moving o­n an avatar.The technology is supposedly usable in cellular phones, PCs, mail, chat, etc., and can be used for example to have user's faces taken with a cellular phone camera to act as an avatar. KCCS has also said that this should be appealing for promotional purposes as well.

"Paku Paku Speaker" gets attached to phone's receiver, moves like a mouth
Design Factory had the "Paku Paku Speaker" o­n display, a speaker which will simulate the movement of a mouth when a sensor is attached to a phone's receiver, headphones, etc. A name can be put o­n the top part of the speaker for promotional purposes, and it's not that it is connected to the earphone port of a phone, no, it can get voice from conceivably any source that has a speaker.The company is pushing this device as a "communication tool for getting excited about talking with your friends." The size is 110 x 110 x 105mm, and the weight is 270g. The two available colors are orange and yellow.



Inspired by:http://k-tai.impress.co.jp/cda/article/event/18508.html

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Comments (must be registered to post)
zmcnulty
14.04.04, 14:37 		Alright, I've got some reactions to this story:


What is a QR Code, you ask? Your answer lies here.
Also, while looking for that link, I found a pretty cool php script that generates QR codes for you. According to the specifications in the first link, QR codes can hold 4,296 alphanumeric characters. Just to give you an estimate, my last 4 page English paper was 6,017 characters including spaces. The more I read about QR codes, the more I wonder why they haven't been more widely adopted.
If you don't know about QR codes, I suggest you visit the above link - it's probably o­nly a matter of time before you run across them.
As far as Shachihata is concerned though, it looks like they're perhaps getting in a bit over their heads. Shachihata is known for their writing/stamp products. Yes, they know a lot about making stamps (stamps, rather than signatures, were used in traditional Japan to verify identity...and still widely used today), but it looks like they need to learn a bit more about QR codes. It's good that they're interested, but it doesn't seem like they've thought it through too much. What's wrong with a good old business card? What information can a QR code hold that o­ne can't write with a pen? It's not like they expect businesses to use a QR stamp INSTEAD of writing out the information. And it's not like they expect someone to pull out their cellular phone, and scan the QR code to input the information, when they could theoretically just do it by hand in the same amount of time or less.
Anyway, good luck Shachihata!

I don't have much to say about the Buffalo USB memory service; it seems like a sound idea for promotion. It does seem a tad steep cost-wise, to give out USB memory devices for promotional purposes instead of CDs, but cost doesn't seem to be so much of an issue to Japanese companies when it comes to marketing.

The first thing that occurred to me while reading the spiel about the 3D avatar technology is that it would act as a stand-in technology while videophone is still being developed. Instead of having an actual live image of the person you're talking to, you just talk to an avatar whose mouth moves. I don't think I would really use this - it would seem odd to talk to an image where o­nly the mouth moves. Still, if use of this theoretical service costs the same as making a normal voice call (which I assume it CAN, because the feeling I get from the article is that the entire speech to mouth movement synthesis is done o­n the end-user's machine), then there would probably be a lot of people who would prefer this to looking at nothing while using speakerphone.

And the "Paku Paku (yes, as in 'Pac-Man') Speaker"
I rarely say this about products I post here, but I WANT o­nE of these. That's assuming it can recognize English sounds and synthesize the mouth movement, though....