New Stuff

Ten or twenty years ago, you could bring a new product back from Japan and it would be a couple of years before you saw it for sale in North America. These days the time lag is shorter, but still exists (witness the year or so it took for the tamagotchi craze to hit here). Here's some things I saw that may be coming to a store near you:

• Disposable instamatic cameras (or more accurately "film with lens") - The color version has been available here for a while, but what about black and white (be artistic without trying), sepia tone (for that antique look), or 3-D (ooh, scary, kiddies!) ?
• Mini-disc system (recordable CD) - this has been around for a while and may never catch on here. Not sure why--those cassette tapes don't sound as good and won't last forever, people!
• Affordable digital cameras - as low as C$200 (but software to link to your computer is extra--and costs about the same as the camera. Aye, there's the rub!)
• Car navigation (at right) - You don't have to rummage through the glove compartment looking for maps anymore! This feature would be even more useful if it could have a real-time tie-in with traffic reports. Modules for different cities are presently about C$100.

  The photo isn't flipped -- in Japan the driver is on the right, like in England.
  

• Handy Phone Well-established as a de rigeur accessory in Japan, just starting to be marketed here.
• Wide format TV (at right)
  Wider screen makes obsolete the "Pan" button on your remote control when you watch those theatrical-format videos.
• Fortune telling
  Most of my friend Mike's students in Takayama are high school girls. Apparently the next hot items are black socks and the Angelscope, a type of tamagotchi that tells fortunes.
• 1997 Trends in Japan
• What's Cool in Japan