The logo you see up there? It’s real, and it’s the new logo for Japan’s DoCoMo. Read more about the change here. Via Japan Probe.

Now this is a decent TV commercial! Via Motionographer.

PingMag Make visits the offices of Tmsuk, a robot manufacturer based in Kita-Kyushu.

I’ve covered Toshio Iwai’s TENORI-ON sound making device a few times in the past, but I think I’ve finally found the perfect way to give people a better idea of what exactly this device is all about. Check out this demo performance. Via Motionographer.

The wait is over! It seems that Apple has finally come to their senses and have released the iPhone here in Japan through SoftBank! Oh, wait, this is actually the SoftBank 921SH FULLFACE2 from Sharp. But look, you can “Touch, Tap & Shake” it to your heart’s content! And it looks just (or a lot) like an iPhone. And Brad Pitt is using it all the time in those TV commercials, so it must be great! Ah, and Apple, get a load of this, SoftBank is even offering it in a wide range of colors (Black, White, Pink, Gold, Bright Blue). Take that!

PingMag MAKE interviews Takayuki Furata, developer of the Morph (pictured above), Hallucigenia, and Halluc II robots. The piece looks at how Furata is bringing in new ideas and a new perspective to the world of robotics.

Time to let the Mizutani Cable Knit Corporation provide rainbow-colored protection for the cables in your home. Any length will do. Order here.

BUSINESS WEEK takes a look at the challenges Apple faces in bringing the iPhone to Japan. I still think that no current handset in Japan even comes close to matching the iPhone’s innovative, and user-friendly, interface. (Thanks, Max!)

Although I’ve always assumed that the release of the iPhone in Japan would be through a partnership with Softbank, seems like it could very well be with DoCoMo. Thanks, Max!

PingMag covers the “The Great Robot Exhibition,” currently showing at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Uneno, until January 27.

What? There’s no iPhone in Japan? That can’t be, since you can pick up a copy of the iPHONE FAN BOOK at your favorite bookstore. Thanks, Marxy.

Sure, the iPhone isn’t yet available in Japan, and it doesn’t look like we’ll be getting it anytime soon, but if your passion for one has led you to follow the import/unlock route (or you brought one along on a trip) then here are some iPhone-formatted maps of Tokyo’s subway and JR lines ready for download.

Remember the TENORI-ON, that electronic music creation device designed by Toshio Iwai for Yamaha? I actually featured it in the very first edition of my “On Design” column for THE JAPAN TIMES 2 years ago, and now comes word that it will finally go on sale in the UK on September 4. No plans on selling it elsewhere though, including Japan.

WIRED recently produced a video that sees Keepon, a robot developed by Hideki Kozima and programmed by Marek Michalowski, dancing to the track “Don’t You Evah” by Spoon, with all locations in Tokyo. Via Tokyomango.

MUJI has just launched a new line of cheap electronic goods, like these USB adapters, memory card readers, mobile phone adapters, etc.