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KakaoTalk passes 10 million downloads in Japan

Rick Martin 2013.04.02

While NHN Japan’s Line is winning the chat application war in Japan by a large margin with over 45 million users [1], KakaoTalk is the likely number two in the nation. Today Kakao Japan announced that the KakaoTalk chat app has surpassed the 10 million downloads mark back on March 24. To mark the occasion, the company will have a week-long campaign where fans can win prizes like a Macbook Air and a Pentax Q10 zoom lens kit.

What both KakaoTalk and Line have in common in Japan is that both have chosen to advertise heavily on TV in the country. DeNA’s Comm is perhaps the other notable contender with 5 million users as of this past December. I wouldn’t be surprised if Comm also has about 8 or 9 million users currently, given the frequency of its TV commercials.

Back in October of 2012, Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689) – the country’s largest web portal – picked up a 50% stake in Kakao Japan. That backing makes KakaoTalk an interesting challenger for Line, even if the competition between the two is not so close right now.

Like Line, Kakao Japan heavily features games on its chat platform, with casual titles like ZooZoo Bubble, SushiPanic, Tap Tap Blitz, and Pocket Colony.

Both KakaoTalk and Line are expected to make a more intense push for the US market this year, so stay tuned.

If you haven’t yet tried out KakaoTalk, you can get it over on the App Store, on Google Play, or on a number of other platforms.

Line passed 45 million users in Japan back on March 10. So I wouldn’t be surprised to see Line Corporation to announce 50 million domestic downloads in the next month or two. ↩

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Pitapat launches invitation-only Q＆A app for startups and entrepreneurs

Masaru Ikeda 2013.04.02

Tokyo-based startup Pitapat, known for having developed a Facemash-like girl-finding app, introduced its first (more pragmatic) app for business people today. It’s called Qixil [1], an invitation-only service which is open to entrepreneurs or venture founders only. Non-entrepreneurs can also sign up for the service if they receive an invitation from any of the existing users. The app is available on desktop and mobile, and is designed for entrepreneurs sharing knowledge about startups. It allows you to ask other users for tips or key advice on how to drive your startup. Pitapat has developed an algorithm to show you metrics on how much available advisors are trusted by the startup community, in important growth areas like investment, hiring, marketing etc. The service tries to make you feel as if you were discussing your choice with a group of mentors at an incubator. Pitapat won the top award at the 2011 Breakthrough Camp with its girl-hunting app called FaceMatch, and it became later a subsidiary of CyberAgent (TYO:4751) [2]. The app received much attention from the younger generation in Japan, mostly among males. But it suddenly shut down last September, and we’ve been looking forward to what they produce next. I’m…

The app is available on desktop and mobile, and is designed for entrepreneurs sharing knowledge about startups. It allows you to ask other users for tips or key advice on how to drive your startup. Pitapat has developed an algorithm to show you metrics on how much available advisors are trusted by the startup community, in important growth areas like investment, hiring, marketing etc. The service tries to make you feel as if you were discussing your choice with a group of mentors at an incubator.

Pitapat won the top award at the 2011 Breakthrough Camp with its girl-hunting app called FaceMatch, and it became later a subsidiary of CyberAgent (TYO:4751) [2]. The app received much attention from the younger generation in Japan, mostly among males. But it suddenly shut down last September, and we’ve been looking forward to what they produce next.

I’m not sure how they intend to monetize this new app, but it will be a really helpful tool for startup owners whenever they need some helpful advice.

The pronunciation in Japanese sounds like ‘ask’ and learn’. ↩
No figures were disclosed for the acquisition. ↩

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7 crazy apps from Japan that should be April Fools’ jokes, but aren’t

SCORE 2,339

Rick Martin 2013.04.01

Earlier we told you about seven April Fools pranks from around the Japanese web today. And in keeping with the theme of this very tedious day, here are seven made-in-Japan mobile applications that we sort of wish were April Fools’ Day jokes. But incredibly, these are all real. 1. Face Pants Camera There something of a running joke in some circles in Japan called ‘kaopan,’ where folks sport ladies panties over their faces. One software developer has recently taken things a step further by creating an Android app called Kao Pants Camera, an AR application that superimposes a pair of panties over your head, just in case you don’t have any handy. (ht VS Media) 2. Kenstagram: Photobombing centaur Another bizarre photo application is the ever-so-strange Kenstagram, which has a variety of filters like many photo apps. But when you take your picture, a pesky centaur pops into the frame, photobombing your pic. It’s truly one of the weirder apps I’ve come across, but is strangely fun at the same time. Check it out over on iTunes. 3. Battle Cats, and its odd sense of humor This very weird (but awesome) game has a strange sense of humor when describing…

1. Face Pants Camera

There something of a running joke in some circles in Japan called ‘kaopan,’ where folks sport ladies panties over their faces. One software developer has recently taken things a step further by creating an Android app called Kao Pants Camera, an AR application that superimposes a pair of panties over your head, just in case you don’t have any handy. (ht VS Media)

2. Kenstagram: Photobombing centaur

Another bizarre photo application is the ever-so-strange Kenstagram, which has a variety of filters like many photo apps. But when you take your picture, a pesky centaur pops into the frame, photobombing your pic. It’s truly one of the weirder apps I’ve come across, but is strangely fun at the same time. Check it out over on iTunes.

3. Battle Cats, and its odd sense of humor

This very weird (but awesome) game has a strange sense of humor when describing the characters in the game. Among the more notable foe descriptions (and I’m quoting directly here):

“Hippo: This dangerous Bi-sexual hippo has confidence in stamina and power. She has multi-attack skill.”

“Croco: He was saved by Dundee. Took many licenses by correspondence education.”

“Elephant: His idol girl is chubby with big tits. Loves collecting porn magazines”

The game’s odd approach appears to have won it quite a few fans too. More than 4 million, in fact.

4. Alpaca-bashing game ‘Alpaca nii-san’

Much like the afore-mentioned Battle Cats, this game has its cute moments until the ridiculousness overwhelms you. It starts out as a peaceful field full of alpacas, until one goes rogue and starts bashing his brothers in the hopes of absorbing them and evolving into, well, something more. We’re just not sure what that ‘something’ is. Check it out for yourself over on iTunes or on Google Play.

5. ‘Everyday ear-picking’ mobile game

Yes, its a game based on cleaning your ears. Or rather, based on cleaning someone else’s ears. These kinds of ear picks are often used here in Asia, and the service is often offered in some spas. But to base a mobile game around ear picking? We wish it was a joke, but sadly its not! Get it for iOS or Android if you dare.

6. Porn star calculator

I don’t use calculator apps very often, but this is one that I had to test out. For science, as they say. Mihiro Calculator works just like any other calculator app, except that when you press the buttons, Mihiro (who is a porn acrtess, by the way — did I not mention that?) speaks each button press in a variety of voices. Some of them sexier are than others, so proceed with care if you try it out yourself. Get it on iTunes here.

7. And a bouncing prime minister

This is a weird app from the folks over at Riko Design, starring the current Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe jumping on a trampoline in front of the National Diet Building. Your challenge is to time the jumps just right to propel him higher into the stratosphere. Like many of the games above, it doesn’t really make sense, but it’s sort of fun anyway! Get it on the App Store if you’d like to try it for yourself.

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Computer beats pro shogi player for the first time ever

Rick Martin 2013.04.01

I expect not many of our readers are shogi (aka ‘Japanese chess’) players, but you might find it interesting to hear that over the weekend a computer program defeated an active professional shogi player for the first time ever. According to a report from the The Asahi Shimbun, the program ‘Ponanza,’ developed by Issei Yamamoto, took down Shinichi Sato (a player of fourth dan rank) on Saturday. The software is said to be able to process 30 million scenarios per second. Now, this is hardly a high-profile win like Deep Blue’s 1997 win over Kasparov. But it’s interesting to see shogi software make progress like this. Due to the fact that you can reuse captured pieces in shogi, the game has a far higher number of possible legal positions than the Western variety of chess, thus making it far more difficult for a computer to calculate possible moves. This was the second game of a ‘human vs computer’ team match of five different professionals against five different programs. The next match will take place on April 6.

I expect not many of our readers are shogi (aka ‘Japanese chess’) players, but you might find it interesting to hear that over the weekend a computer program defeated an active professional shogi player for the first time ever.

According to a report from the The Asahi Shimbun, the program ‘Ponanza,’ developed by Issei Yamamoto, took down Shinichi Sato (a player of fourth dan rank) on Saturday. The software is said to be able to process 30 million scenarios per second.

Now, this is hardly a high-profile win like Deep Blue’s 1997 win over Kasparov. But it’s interesting to see shogi software make progress like this. Due to the fact that you can reuse captured pieces in shogi, the game has a far higher number of possible legal positions than the Western variety of chess, thus making it far more difficult for a computer to calculate possible moves.

This was the second game of a ‘human vs computer’ team match of five different professionals against five different programs. The next match will take place on April 6.

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7 April Fools’ Day internet pranks from Japan

Rick Martin 2013.04.01

April Fools’ Day traditionally doesn’t mean much in Japan. But it seems as though a number of companies have jumped on the bandwagon this year, publishing some interesting online pranks. We’re not fans of screwing with our readers, so you won’t get any fake articles from us. But we do still have a sense of humor, so here’s a quick summary of some of the more notable ones from around the Japanese interwebs today. But be warned, some of them are better than others! 1. Au’s zzzPhoneBed ¶ Au’s April Fools effort is simultaneously the best and the worst joke of the day in Japan. The premise is that since we use our mobile phones in bed so much, that the company just decided to produce a bed-sized smartphone. It lets you exercise by running on top of it like a treadmill as it scrolls, and you can even buy sheet covers for it if you like. It’s called the zzzPhoneBed, and no, it doesn’t actually exist. Regrettably, the promo video for the zzzPhoneBed does exist. Remember that awful Domino’s x Hatsune Miku promo video? Yeah, well this is worse. I realize it’s for a Japanese audience, but man, it’s…

1. Au’s zzzPhoneBed ¶

Au’s April Fools effort is simultaneously the best and the worst joke of the day in Japan. The premise is that since we use our mobile phones in bed so much, that the company just decided to produce a bed-sized smartphone. It lets you exercise by running on top of it like a treadmill as it scrolls, and you can even buy sheet covers for it if you like. It’s called the zzzPhoneBed, and no, it doesn’t actually exist.

Regrettably, the promo video for the zzzPhoneBed does exist. Remember that awful Domino’s x Hatsune Miku promo video? Yeah, well this is worse. I realize it’s for a Japanese audience, but man, it’s painful to watch. Truly cringe-worthy.

2. Domino’s Pizza in a can ¶

Speaking of Domino’s Japan, the company has a new April Fools page set up today to promote its special ‘Pizza in a can’. Priced at just 401 yen (i.e. 04/01). This is actually a smartly executed April Fools joke, because when you try to buy it, Domino’s apologizes and gives you a 20% off coupon! (h/t ascii.jp)

3. Google ‘Patapata’ text input system ¶

It’s becoming something of an April Fools tradition for Google Japan to roll out a new text input method. this year is no exception, with its ‘Patapata’ version of its Japanese input editor. Essentially, it’s scrolls characters rapidly in front of you, and you’re to push a button when you see the one you wish to type. Fun, hey? You can see Google’s official explanation in the promo video below. And for anyone who wants to try it out, there is a functioning web version online that you can try!

4. Japanese movie site transforms into ‘Forcebook’ ¶

Here’s a fun page from Japan’s movie-focused website eiga.com. Today it has a fun landing page presenting users with a Star Wars style scrolling text intro, explaining how the internet has affected even Jedi Knights:

Not so long ago, in a galaxy far away.

Episode X. Forcebook.

As information technology swept across the galaxy, even Jedi Knights began to familiarize themselves with the internet. But it has caused social isolation and depression among the Jedi Knights, sending them one after another to the dark side of the internet.

Master Yoda takes the matter seriously when Luke Skywalker is forced to shut down his blog after a nasty smear campaign. To improve the Jedi Knights’ communication skills Master Yoda hires IT consultants from Coruscant and sets up a new social networking service called Forcebook.

Clicking anywhere on the page, however, presents you with an apologetic message saying: ‘Sorry, today is April Fools. May the force be with you!”.

5. Dwango’s i to Tunes ¶

Japanese internet company Dwango has a fun April Fools product called ‘i to Tunes’, which claims to be a music streaming service that involves the use of tin cans and yarn (I’m pretty familiar with this technology from back in kindergarden, actually). Signing up for the supposed application brings you to a page that says i to Tunes is undergoing maintenance, with a footnote explaining that today is also April Fools.

6. Ameba Pigg overrun with pigs ¶

If you’re a member of the Amebe Pigg virtual world, you’ll notice when you sign in today that avatars have been changed into actual pig faces. Chiho Komoriya has some fun screenshots over on VS Media, if you’d like to learn more about this April Fools overhaul.

7. Cross-dressing clock ¶

Readers might be familiar with a fun web service called ‘Bijin Tokei’ or ‘beautiful girl clock’, which uses pretty models holding up signs showing you what time it is. Today there’s a weird parody of Bijin Tokei from the folks over at web production company core-tech.jp. It’s called Cross-dressing clock, and similarly, it features women holding up signs to show the time. The only thing is, these women are not actually women at all.

If you’d like to browse even more fun April Fools jokes from Japan, check out CNet Japan’s extensive round-up, or search for #4fooljp on Twitter.

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Uniqlo drops a unique pop-up shop at Tokyo’s Shibuya station

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.04.01

A rather historical event took place at one of the biggest train stations in Japan Shibuya just a few weeks ago. The old Toyoko train line, which has a history of 78 years, closed down as part of a large scale urban renewal project. The train service was re-routed to the 5th floor underground lane. The switch-over construction at the station was done overnight in just four hours, leaving a large empty space right in middle of Tokyo. Uniqlo found the vacant 660-square-meter space convenient for a pop-up shop called UT Pop-up Tokyo. The Toyoko-line Shibuya terminal is now filled with more than 1,000 kinds of items and over 12,000 t-shirts. The shop opened on March 28th as a part of the Uniqlo pop-up shop World tour, led by well-known Japanese creative director Kashiwa Sato. The project is planned to launch in different cities around the world including (but not limited to) London, Paris, New York, and Singapore. Visitors can even shoot videos of themselves at the site using a new mobile app called UT Camera, which converts their original movie into a unique animation. The resulting content is displayed on a big screen at the pop-up store as well…

Uniqlo found the vacant 660-square-meter space convenient for a pop-up shop called UT Pop-up Tokyo. The Toyoko-line Shibuya terminal is now filled with more than 1,000 kinds of items and over 12,000 t-shirts. The shop opened on March 28th as a part of the Uniqlo pop-up shop World tour, led by well-known Japanese creative director Kashiwa Sato. The project is planned to launch in different cities around the world including (but not limited to) London, Paris, New York, and Singapore.

Visitors can even shoot videos of themselves at the site using a new mobile app called UT Camera, which converts their original movie into a unique animation. The resulting content is displayed on a big screen at the pop-up store as well as on a dedicated website.

The pop-up shop works for shoppers looking for fun t-shirts, but it also functions as a form of interactive entertainment. It will be open until April 7th, selling unique t-shirts in collaboration with Star Wars and other artists. This UT line of t-shirts has sold over 160 million worldwide.

KakaoTalk passes 10 million downloads in Japan

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