Sega exited the video game console business in 2001 after stiff competition from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo forced the struggling company to shift gears. Now, more than 10 years later, Sega is back with new video game hardware… but it’s definitely not the kind you might expect. Unveiled late last year, Sega’s “Toylet” is now available in Japan and the surrounding region. The system connects to a urinal, allowing users to play a variety of interactive games by urinating on a sen...

Global 4G LTE smartphone shipments reached 6.8 million units in the technology’s first year. According to a study from market research firm Strategy Analytics, global LTE smartphone shipments could surge tenfold to 67 million units in 2012. It is expected to be a breakout year for LTE technology, with Apple, Samsung, HTC and others planning to launch 4G LTE phones in the United States, Japan and South Korea. “The mobile industry is entering a breakout year for 4G LTE technology. Multiple operator...

LG announced on Wednesday that it has sold more than 1 million Optimus LTE handsets. A version of the device landed in the United States as the Nitro HD on AT&T, although it’s unclear if that phone is figured into the count. “The combination of LTE connectivity with LG’s True HD IPS display has resonated with the public regarding the potential of LTE technology,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Mobile Communications Company. LG said it sold 600,000 Optimus LTE units d...

Texas Instruments announced recently that, even though it reported better than expected chip sales during the fourth quarter of 2011, the company will shut down its plants in Texas and in Japan. Texas Instruments has seen an increased demand for its mobile chips but will close the two factories during the next 18 months while increasing its employee numbers at different plants. The move is an effort to cut costs, Reuters said. The company reported a fourth-quarter profit of $298 million, down from $942 milli...

Samsung may soon begin selling its televisions in Japan after taking a several year hiatus. Samsung is reportedly talking to Yamada Denki Co and Yodobashi Camera Co., two retailers in the country, Reuters said Monday. Samsung originally left the market citing an increase in competition from other television makers and a drop in profits. The South Korean firm is expected to unveil several new models during this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. LG, one of the Samsung’s largest competit...

NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and SoftBank have created the “Japan Mobile NFC Consortium,” which will help the three carriers coordinate and adopt an international NFC standard. Currently, all three operators offer an NFC service dubbed Osaifu-Keitai (wallet phone) which uses a contactless-IC smartcard that’s called FeliCa. Unfortunately, the technology doesn’t work overseas where other carriers use Type A or Type B NFC standards, which means Osaifu-Ketai won’t function properly for NTT DoCoM...

Sony’s PlayStation Vita portable gaming system made its debut in Japan on Saturday and early sales estimates are beginning to trickle out. According to research firm Enterbrain, Sony sold 321,400 Vita units during the first 48 hours of the device’s availability. That’s 50,000 fewer units than Nintendo sold after the 3DS made its debut in the country. Nintendo ran into trouble shortly after launch as consumer interest in the 3DS faded due to a lack of compelling games, and the company eventu...

Sony Computer Entertainment president Andrew House recently said that pre-orders for the company’s brand new portable gaming console, the PlayStation Vita, have sold out in Japan ahead of its December 17th launch. “I’m pretty confident… that there will not be major challenges in meeting demand, even though there may be short-term,” House explained to reporters recently. As the Associated Press points out, a successful launch in Japan could help soften the blow of Sony’s p...

Samsung recently filed lawsuits in Japan and Australia in an attempt to prevent Apple from selling the iPhone 4S. In addition, Samsung is seeking to block the sale of the iPad 2 and the original iPhone 4 in Japan, Bloomberg said Monday. In September, the South Korea-based phone maker also filed motions to ban the iPhone 4S in France and Italy. “Apple has continued to violate our patent rights and free ride on our technology,” Samsung said. “We will no longer stand idly by and will steadfastl...

Apple will unveil its latest iPhone offerings beginning at 1:00 p.m. Eastern today, but that has not stopped a few leaks of the iPhone 4S from popping up on its website. Apple’s Japanese website already lists a new “iPhone 4S” and says that the phone will be available starting at 8:00 a.m. on October 14th. The device will look nearly identical to the iPhone 4 — as can be seen in the image above, also from Apple’s Japanese site — and it will be available in both white and black. We ...

Steve Jobs made contact with Samsung in an effort to resolve a patent argument last year, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. However, Jobs did not participate in the discussions that eventually took place and deteriorated, Apple’s patent attorney Richard Lutton explained during a hearing in an Australian court. “Samsung is an important supplier with whom we have a deep relationship” Lutton said while being questioned by a Samsung lawyer. “We wanted to give them a chance to do the right th...

In a move that will undoubtedly shock no one, Apple has filed a new complaint against Samsung in Japan alleging that multiple Samsung devices infringe on its patents. The Cupertino-based patent crusader is seeking to ban sales of Samsung’s GALAXY S and GALAXY S II lines of smartphones, as well as its original GALAXY Tab Android tablet, Reuters reports. The report does not mention the GALAXY Tab 10.1, which is often the target of Apple’s patent complaints in other regions. The first hearing in the ...

Sony announced on Tuesday that it is lowering the price of its 160GB PlayStation 3 console to $249, down from the console’s original $299 price tag. In addition, Sony will now sell the 320GB version of the PlayStation 3 for $299 instead of $349. The Japanese consumer electronics firm also dropped the price of the system in Japan and in Europe. The move is likely an effort to tackle Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console, which has been the best-selling console in the United States for past seven months acco...

Nintendo’s recent decision to drop the price of its Nintendo 3DS handheld gaming device looks to have paid off. In the device’s first full week of sales following Nintendo’s price drop, the company sold 215,000 units in Japan alone, where the 3DS now retails for 15,000 yen following its launch at 25,000 yen. Weekly sales of the portable 3D console dipped from 31,826 units to 16,415 in the week following Nintendo’s announcement that the price would soon drop, for obvious reasons. With ...