Remote controller for PC operation and Chinese character input

Typing in Japanese can be a real pain. Whereas using the Roman alphabet to type on a keyboard is a relatively direct and easy issue, typing in Japanese usually involves a lot of converting (i.e. from the Japanese alphabet Hiragana to the Chinese characters called Kanji). Also, there sometimes are multiple Kanji to choose from which is nothing but an additional hassle.

So anything which makes it easier to enter Japanese characters on a PC should be highly welcomed. That is why I decided to blog about a device a friend of mine pointed me to.

New type of remote controller for PCs
The パソコンのリモコン (pasokon no rimokon/PC remote controller) is offered by a company called Tokyo Ergo Corp. and was already introduced at the CEATEC exhibition last year in Chiba. Although I was there, I didn't see the product.

Picture: PC remote controller


Tokyo Ergo says the device makes it possible to use a PC with one hand and claims it can fully substitute both a keyboard and a mouse (I haven't tried it yet)! The remote controller is connected to a PC with a 2 meter cable (USB) and weighs 70 grams.

While mouse movements can be mimicked by just moving the button located on the top of the device, input of Japanese characters is a little trickier. To convert words written in the Roman alphabet or Hiragana to Kanji, it is necessary to observe the screen where a special control switch is displayed. The character which is to be typed in can then be chosen from by moving the button on the screen's control panel (which is possible in 6 different directions).

While this sounds very cumbersome, Tokyo Ergo claims 1.5 Japanese characters can be written per second this way, given the user practiced a bit with the system!

I am not sure if the world needs this piece of hardware but it might be a cool gimmick for some hardcore geeks. The company says its product can be used on a private basis (i.e. for operating a PC while lying down), by handicapped/injurered persons, during business presentations or by sales clerks who don't have to sit down to operate a PC for demonstrating products to customers.

The device is steeply priced at 13,650 Yen (128 USD/85 Euro) and is available through the company's online shop.

10 winners of CNET Japan's Tech Venture contest

Last week, CNET Japan held a Tech venture contest and a total of 10 companies were awarded with prices. The event drew a lot of attention in the Japanese web and IT world.

Companies awarded which have an English website (unfortunately only three do):

- Community Engine
(development of network middleware and applications among other things)

- Utagoe
(broadcasting service)

- Enigmo
(online video commercials through collaboration with consumers, their Rollmio service is available in English)


Companies which offer information in Japanese only:

- Niwango
(operation of i.e. Nico Nico Douga online video platform (my review))

- PTP
(digital TV recording service)

- i-Broadcast
(mobile platform for videos and photos)

- Entermotion
(mobile marketing)

- aucfan.com
(online auction services)

- J-Magic
(face recognition for mobile devices)

- Cirius
(mobile ads)

More information on the winners is available on Akihito Fujii's blog. Akihito-san is working for Sun Microsystems Japan and thankfully provides a detailed write-up about Tech venture 2008 in English (part 1, part 2).

He also acted as a judge for the contest.

Mobile browser from Japan: Jig

Jig is the name of a genuine Japanese Internet software product, a mobile web browser. There is also an English version available which is very welcome. The best point: For overseas customers the usage of jig is completely free!

A few days ago, Taisuke -who is CEO and CTO of the Tokyo-based company of the same name- demonstrated jig to me personally. And I really liked it!

Jig is actually "just" a proxy browser. The Java application reshapes web sites designed for PCs so that they can be displayed on mobile phones. When installed on a handset, (almost) any given web site can be surfed via the "jig browser mouse". The so-called mouse is actually an arrow which users can scroll across web pages and click on items with.

Video: The jig browser in action (direct link and more videos)


The application supports three views: original PC mode (PC view is taken over without modifications), mobile mode or overview (the web site is shrinked to a single screen on the handset). Tabbed browsing is possible. All three major Japanese mobile phone carriers are supported.

Moreover, jig offers mini-applications called jiglets. These include an RSS-reader, a digital clock, a scheduler and many more. It is also possible to install a mailer jiglet with which you can handle PC mail. Jiglets can be developed by the users themselves as well!

Users can also view Flash videos, WMA and WLV files on their handsets.

Downloading the full browser application costs 630 Yen a month (5.80 USD/4 Euros) or 6,000 Yen a year (55.50 USD/38 Euros). It is also possible to install a slimmed-down version for half that price or download a trial version for free. The overseas version is completely free!

Active company
Jig has been around since 2003 and is now competing with other mobile browsers such as Opera Mini and Skyfire.

The company is really active in improving its services. For example, jig won an award at the "Global Mobile Content Awards" held in Korea in 2007 for its "jig movie" application which enables users to view streaming videos (i.e. live content and movies) on their mobile phones. Last December, Yahoo! Japan decided to include a technology developed by jig to include in their mobile widget service "Yahoo! Desktop".

Not bad at all. It is good to see a Japanese company being in such a good position in a very interesting market.

Asiajin Meeting #1 with Web entrepreneurs and developers in Tokyo

Asiajin, the other IT and Web blog I am writing for, is organizing an event for the first time for everyone interested in the Japanese Internet world.

The Asiajin meeting #1 will take place in Tokyo/Akasaka on February 26th (Tuesday), beginning at 19.00. Entrance is free courtesy of Cybozu Labs.

We are expecting 5-6 presentations. The principal language will be English. Japanese participants are encouraged to come to improve their language and presentaion skills in English. Gaijin (like me) are very welcome as well of course.

Please look for details and RSVP here.

Review: Japan's Web giant Rakuten

Rakuten is one of the biggest fish in the Japanese Web market. In fact the service is a giant even by global standards: Rakuten is the country's largest E-Commerce site (oh, that old word) and Japan is the world's second biggest economy. This alone says a lot.

The company is well known over here for offering the country's largest shopping mall site (Rakuten Ichiba).



I will review Rakuten in the following order:
I) General Info
II) Starting Page
III) Functions and Features
IV) Business Model
V) Opinion

I) General Info
Rakuten was founded by Hiroshi Mikitani in 1997 and went IPO three years later. Mikitani is still CEO. The Tokyo-based company employs almost 4,000 people.

Market capitalization stands at around six billion USD (!) and was even much higher some years ago. Rakuten yields an annual revenue of about two billion dollars.

Last month, the company announced it plans to enter as many as 27 international markets until 2012 (China, Taiwan, Brazil etc.). Rakuten USA is headquartered in Boston.

Here is their company info site in English.

II) Starting Page
As to be expected, the starting page is huge. There are dozens and dozens of sub pages/services which actually come close to being comprehensive sites/companies in themselves!

Please click on the picture for an enlarged and translated version of Rakuten's starting page:


The container on the top left I labeled "Main contents/Links" comprises the following tabs:
Auctions, Group purchases*, Mobile Rakuten, Present Finder, Market*, Rankings, Financial Services, Shopping Cart, Rakuten Travel, Portal*.

"Group purchases" means that prices will fall if more people buy a certain product. Under "Market", users can browse Rakuten through categories to find and buy products. "Portal" links to Rakuten's own search and information portal Infoseek (acquired in 2000).


III) Functions and Features
The company is highly diversified, both horizontally and vertically. Thus their site integrates a wide range of services.

Apart from the services described above on the starting page (financial services, a successful travel site (English version is here) etc.), Rakuten offers
- a flea market
- an online bookstore
- a download service for digital contents
- a ticket sales service and much more.

Rakuten is even involved in the Golf business!

Rakuten's online shopping concept is very user-friendly because of its unified shopping cart approach. This means users can put i.e. a BluRay disc, diet pills and shoes into one basket from different shops and pay in one sum.

All services are being offered under the "Rakuten" brand. So no wonder that some people even speak of an online shopping monopoly when talking about the company.

IV) Business Model
Rakuten's business model is quite simple: Make money through lots and lots of services covering lots and lots of industry sectors.

For example, approximately 60,000 shops are currently registered on the site (Rakuten Ichiba, Travel and business section combined) offering over 20 million different items. The company is earning revenue by charging fees from online mall operators, travel agencies, securities companies etc. (fixed fees/commission model).

Rakuten also offers a magazine, a special credit card, a comprehensive mobile site, and much more. Also, in the past years the company bought a professional baseball team, several financial/consulting/Web companies and a stake in a major Japanese TV network! In 2005 for example, Rakuten acquired LinkShare, an American Web marketing company, for 425 million USD. These guys are not throwing around peanuts.

V) Opinion
Rakuten is ridiculously huge, that's for sure. I can't think of an E-Commerce site with a similar scope in the US or Europe at least. But somehow the company manges to keep everything under one umbrella even though Rakuten and its CEO were regularly in the papers in the past due to a number of scandals.

From a customer's point of view, I personally like the unified shopping cart approach in Rakuten Ichiba even though I never bought anything there. But from I hear, shopping at Rakuten works without any problems. Given the highly critical and strict mentality of Japanese consumers, this is a must anyway.

Judging design, usability and structure, the site itself is OK given its enormous range of contents.

It will be very interesting to see how Rakuten will change and grow (or maybe collapse which is always possible) in the future. Especially their plans to internationalize rapidly sound really, really ambitious....