Misc. Gadgets, Robots ChouChou Electric Butterfly flutters to life inside a jar

Most robot pets may not be easily mistaken for the real thing, but that's not likely to be the case with the ChouChou Electric Butterfly, which might even have a few people reaching to free it from its jar. Unfortunately, it's the jar that keeps the butterfly "alive" -- it has some AA batteries in its lid that apparently allow the butterfly to respond to vibrations and flutter about. That may not sound like much, but the effect is pretty striking -- see for yourself after the break. Of course, just because it's simple doesn't mean its cheap. You'll have to shell out a hefty $76 to bring this one home.

Aircord Lab's N-3D concept turns an iPad into world's second least practical 3D display (video)

Think giant active-shutter glasses are a roadblock to 3D adoption? Wait until you get a load of this, the N-3D from Aircord Labs, a glass pyramid with semi-reflective sides that allows you to peer through while reflecting the image of a screen above. In this case the screen is provided by an iPad which, as you can see in the video below, separately renders three sides of an object. Each slab of glass reflects a different rendering and, hey presto, changeable perspective as you move from side to side, reducing the usable screen real-estate on the iPad by at least a third and producing an effect slightly less compelling, but slightly more portable, than that Time Traveler

arcade game that used to take four whole quarters to play. No word on whether there will ever be a take-home version, but get yourself a sheet of plexiglass and you could probably make your own.

Hiroshi Ishiguro's Geminoid-F humanoid mimics Earthlings, is definitely the beginning of the end

Hiroshi Ishiguro (or his evil android twin, one) is back in business, and nearly four years after his Geminoid HI-1 startled youngsters everywhere, the Geminoid-F has arrived to consternate the grown-ups. Shown off this weekend in Osaka, Japan, the lifelike lady you see above (pictured left, just in case you were wondering) was designed to mimic human facial expressions that are fed in to its internal computer. The rubberized face has a rather insane amount of flexibility, enabling it to pull off subtle gestures that have thus far been impossible to replicate on a robot. Sly grins, angry glares and totally-fake smiles are all possible now, with developers hoping to have these in hospitals and the like in the not-too-distant future. Currently, copies of the humanoid are expected to sell for around ¥10,000,000 ($105,780), though it'll likely be robotics research organizations doing the majority of the buying. Hop on past the break for a video that's guaranteed to leave you stunned -- and while we're not fluent in Japanese, we're pretty sure someone asks if they "can rock that bad Larry on their dome."

PU_PA EV concept is cute, light, and deadly

Of all the wacky EV concepts we've seen lately, this is certainly one of them! PU_PA EV is a car developed by Teijin Ltd, a Japanese textile manufacturer that among other things recently teamed up with Mazda to produce Biofront bio-plastic. Meant to highlight the firm's materials and technologies, the vehicle weighs less than half a ton (437kg, to be exact) and will shuttle you around at speeds of roughly 40 MPH for up to 60 miles on a single charge. Sadly, this bad boy isn't street legal, for a number of good reasons: the windows (made from a heat-absorbing polycarbonate resin) have half the density of glass and are, in the words of one technician, "especially shatter-y" (OK, we made that word up). Additionally, the lights aren't too terribly bright, and the thing isn't equipped with airbags. Hopefully, the company will soon be called upon to supply materials for other, much less deadly vehicles at some point in the near future.

Toshiba K01 goes official as IS02 in Japan

Talk about a globetrotter. Toshiba's K01 has made the journey from the American FCC to a Japanese carrier in the space of just one day. AU, part of the KDDI group and one of Japan's big three network operators, has picked up the phone and promptly renamed it the IS02. Coming with a 1GHz Snapdragon core, a 4.1-inch capacitive touchscreen of the AMOLED variety, and that indispensable (for some) QWERTY keyboard, this WinMo 6.5 handset will be available to our Japanese comrades in the latter part of June this year. Given the long waiting times both for this and its brandmate, the IS01, we have to wonder what's up with Japanese carriers. Have they developed an aversion to the cutting edge or what?

Sharp IS01 Snapdragon-powered 3G MID introduces AU to Android

After Softbank announced the HTC Desire and DoCoMo began pushing its very first Android smartphone (Xperia X10), Japan had big hopes for AU's press event today. An EVO perhaps, or maybe something more from this once proud home of the original superphones? Unfortunately, Engadget Japanese let out a collective meh in response to a 5-inch IS01 handheld from Sharp running Android 1.6 on a Snapdragon processor and measuring 83 × 149 × 17.9mm and 227g. While it looks like the classic Japanese eDictionary, the IS01 is meant to be used as a general purpose MID with a 5-row QWERTY, Sharp-built "New Mobile ASV" multi-touch capacitive display pushing a 960 x 480 pixel resolution and a 5.27 megapixel auto focus camera on back with a 0.43 megapixel jobbie up front for video calls. Rounding out the specs are 802.11 b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, microSD slot, 1Seg mobile TV tuner, IrDA, 4GB of internal storage, and Qualcomm 3G CDMA data. Look for it to ship in October while a developer friendly version (JN-DK01) should be available in May.

HTC Desire turning Japanese with SoftBank in late April

The HTC Desire is spreading its wings today with the announcement of a distribution deal with Japan's SoftBank. One of the big heavies over on that most famous archipelago, SoftBank will carry a WCDMA version of the handset with the standard Android 2.1 with Sense software and brownish externals. Sorry to disappoint our dear readers yearning for a silver or black option. Maybe in the future, eh? We don't know what reaction to expect from the Japanese audience, but we suspect the language of effortless responsiveness and snazzy AMOLED screens will prove to be universally understood.

Mitsubish i MiEV gets a job as an oil-scented taxi in Tokyo

Good to see the i MiEV is adding to its résumé -- which already includes the job of ferrying Geek Squaddies about the place -- with a new position as a specialist taxi service in select districts of Tokyo. Launched yesterday, this new Zero Taxi initiative aims to attract customers with its zero emissions (from the car, the electricity used might still be produced in a polluting way) appeal, aromatic oil-scented cabin, and primarily female drivers who'll be trained to provide local area and tourist info. We're just reporting here, don't blame us for the Hinomaru Limousine Company's belief that a man can't be as good a tour guide as a woman. It's a humble beginning since the company's only deploying two i MiEVs for now, but local competitor Nihon Kotsu is also preparing to join the fray, and is currently testing out a Better Place battery-swapping station that should keep its cars where they need to be -- on the road.