Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Although a Hello Kitty toy might not seem quite as dangerous (read: life threatening) as the notebooks and cellphones we’re toting these days, the explosive tendencies have somehow veered from batteries to stuffed animals. In the latest episode of spontaneous combustion, Takara is being forced to recall specific Hello Kitty dolls which featured a heatable disc that could be warmed and stuffed within the lining to keep kids toasty while resting. Apparently the microwavable pad housed a chemical substance (manufactured by ADEKA) not quite stable enough to handle the heat, sparking a lengthy list of of cases where the liquid erupted from its container and provided an uncomfortable surprise to the poor soul embracing the creature’s volcanic warmth. It was noted that this has “nothing to do” with the scapegoat-of-the-year (Li-ion cells), but if you (or your offspring) just loves to cuddle with this volatile critter, you should probably ice the situation before it unleashes something a bit more serious than a cat’s meow.

[Via Engadget Japanese]

 

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Transportation

So if you’ve already got a cellphone, Xbox, MP3 player, and SD card that’s been adorned with that precious Hello Kitty smile, there’s still a few more aspects of your life that could use a little kawaii. Some, um, creative (read: obsessed) minds have apparently crafted a steel exhaust tip that will show those pesky tailgaters just what you adore. If you need just one more bolt-on to complete the pimping of your ride, and blowing flames seemed a bit too extreme for your 4-banger, this should fit the bill nicely. While it’s unlikely these will show up anytime soon in your local automotive store, we’re sure someone in Japan can give you the scoop on this fantasmical add-on, and something tells us he’s acquainted with Bubb Rubb.

[Via BoingBoing]

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Filed under: Laptops

Until now, hardcore Hello Kitty fans deeply lamented the fact that their laptops were clashing with their iPods, cellphones, and SD cards. Fear not, legions of the kawaii army, Sanrio Japan has just released an Epson Endeavor NA101 rebranded with Kitty’s lovely mug (or optionally, 20 of her mugs) on the cover. You’ll pay a ¥44,000 ($376) premium for this though, compared to the un-Kittyified blank NA101. But really, that’s such a small price to pay to have the cutest computer in Shibuya.

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Filed under: Portable Audio

We’re not sure if our contractual obligation to write about Hello Kitty-themed gadgets applies to Charmmy Kitty as well, but what the heck, we’ll do it. (You probably already know this, but Charmmy Kitty is Hello Kitty’s pet cat. Apparently no one at Sanrio thinks it’s creepy that a cat would have a cat as a “pet”.) Anyway, it looks like KFE Japan just announced the F1500, a Charmmy Kitty-themed 512MB digital audio player that supports playback of MP3 and WMA audio files (not sure whether that includes DRM’d WMA or not). Major downsides are no display and a paltry six hours of battery life; it’s almost like they’re challenging you to prove how much you love Charmmy Kitty by buying this thing.

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Oh Hello Kitty, you adorable little tease — usually the items graced with your lovely visage are priced with the budget-conscious Japanese schoolgirl in mind, but frankly we’re a bit surprised to see you endorsing a product that’s going for an eye-popping $21,625. That’s right, for the same cost as almost a hundred of those regular Kittycaster guitars, Sanrio and renowned retailer Mitsukosh are offering a super-limited-edition Stratocaster from Fender that features an over-sized homage to the frisky feline on the pick-guard along with with a blown-up version of her famous signature on the neck. Surprisingly, your twenty grand doesn’t even seem to buy the usual gold-plated, jewel-encrusted gaudiness found on most products in this price range, but what you’re really paying for here is exclusivity — Mitsukosh apparently has one of the only three models that were manufactured. Sure, we love us some Hello Kitty, but for this kind of loot we’d rather buy a ticket to Japan and camp out in one of the Sanrio stores for a few weeks, using hundreds of plush Kitties as a mattress.

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Filed under: Handsets, BenQ-Siemens, GSM

We’ve certainly seen our fair share of Hello Kitty products — heck, we’ve even gone through a few Hello Kitty cellphones — but what BenQ-Siemens’ Hello Kitty AL61 lacks in originality, it makes up in brand recognition (bear in mind the last Hello Kitty-themed handset we saw came from Taiwan’s OKWAP). The AL61 is a fairly pedestrian slider, offering a marginal 130 x 130 display with not a camera to be found, but of course the draw here is what you get on the side: themed wallpapers, ringtones, games, and so on, not to mention the soft pink / translucent white case that only a die-hard Hello Kitty fan could love. Look for the handset to land in markets worldwide as soon as this month. Or, as in our case, don’t look for it.

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