Hello Kitty
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Keepin' it real fake, part CCXXIV: Hello Kitty Phone 3G is our next impulse buy
We aren't usually so taken in by a KIRF. In fact -- we've seen so many knockoff iPhones, we had started to consider ourselves steeled against their charms -- and then along came Hello Kitty Phone 3G. What is it about HKP3G that we love so much, you ask? Is it the happily tooled pink background scene on the facade of the phone? Is it the hideously realized user interface, complete with typos and a blatant disregard for capitalization standards we've all respected since the 19th century? Is it the little kitty on the solo button? Is it the name? Is it the fact that, at $99, it would cost us just as much to own one as a real, actual, iPhone 3G? Answer: it's all of those things. We're getting one. There's another shot of this masterpiece after the break.[Via Chip Chick]
Sanrio announces two Hello Kitty digital photo frames, one child goes bananas
There are a lot of Hello Kitty products. A lot. So many, in fact, that it's kind of hard to get excited about each and every one of them. Then again, this one's pretty sweet. Sanrio's just-announced seven-inch digital photo frames are the classic Kitty motif we know and love, with 6MB of onboard memory, SD/SDHC, MMC support via USB, and a 1W speaker. They're available in Japan now for ¥22,700.00 (about $234) in both red and white. No word on any availability elsewhere, sadly. There's one more photo after the break.[Via Coolest Gadgets]
GDC09: MMMeowRPG: Hello Kitty Online coming to US
Do you like MMOs, but hate all the wizardy fantasy half-orc junk? Do you wish for something a bit more ... astoundingly, face-meltingly cute in which to meet virtual friends? Sanrio Digital and Aeria Games have just announced that they're launching Hello Kitty Online in North America. Aeria will operate the game, and Sanrio will run the SanrioTown online portal.The game, which was so great it caused WoW Insider to temporarily change its focus, is a free-to-play MMO that emphasizes crafting and resource gathering over combat -- but does include combat! Players don't directly control Sanrio characters, but rather make human avatars that can interact with Hello Kitty, Badtz-Maru, Keroppi and other Sanrio favorites.
Acer's Atom-powered Altos easyStore eyes-on
While it was Acer's Windows Home Server-equipped easyStore H340 getting the Atom upgrade last month, we're taking a look at the Atom 230-packin' Altos easyStore here at CeBIT. Boasting four hot-swappable bays and a ravishing design, this here NAS device is suitable for avid home users and the everyday small business owner. 'Round back, we found four USB 2.0 sockets, an Ethernet jack and an eSATA port, but why not head to the gallery and see all of it with your own two eyes?%Gallery-46737%
Acer's easyStore H340 says hello Atom, hello Windows Home Server
Discounting CyberPower's misnomer, we haven't seen a proper Windows Home Server to compete with HP's MediaSmart in quite some time. Thankfully Acer is up to the challenge, at least in Japan, announcing its new easyStore H340 series, initially available in two flavors: S1 for those who need just 1TB of storage and the S2 for those who want three times that. (Yes, S3 seems like a more appropriate name to us, too.) Other than the number of drives internally (one for the S1, three for the S2) the machines are the same, sporting a 1.6GHz Atom 230, 1GB of memory, and four internal drive bays. Naturally both offer all the WHS tricks, like remote backup of networked computers and plenty of media streaming, tricks they'll start turning in Japan on March 6th at the cost of about $600 for the S1 and $900 for the S2.
Casio digicam gets overrun by Hello Kitty
Hopefully your retinas aren't burning, but we can definitely understand if you need to take a few minutes and resume reading later after viewing the image above. An almost unlawful amount of cuteness has mauled this otherwise average Casio EXILIM digital camera, which just so happens to boast a 9 megapixel sensor, 2.6-inch rear LCD monitor, 41.2MB of internal storage space, an SDHC card slot, 3x optical zoom lens, a video recording mode and a borderline sickening amount of crystals, pink and Hello Kitty. Those who don't mind blinding their guests each time they attempt to snap a shot can grab one now for ¥47,250 ($513), but you can probably guess what our recommendation would be.[Via Topix]
Valentine's Day event in Hello Kitty Online open to everyone
The day will eventually come when the world burns itself out and society as we know it collapses. In the final days, tin foil hat theorists will suggest many reasons for humanity's demise, ranging from Skynet to MMO addiction and everything in between. Regardless of how or why it happens, once we're gone, the cockroaches will evolve into a global hivemind and inherit the earth as nature always intended. All they will know of their simian Mountain Dew-guzzling predecessors of the ancient world is one thing: they apparently worshipped a cute little animal with an off-kilter pink bow, the cat-goddess Hello Kitty. The day they encounter her is the day they will know their new master, and labor to rebuild the world in her image.It's true -- well, not the apocalypse bit -- Hello Kitty will remain an enduring aspect of our times, if the past 35 years of her reign as a cultural symbol is any indicator. The world's ultimate iconic character from Sanrio has adorned 'all our stuff' since 1974. Perhaps more than ever, kids (and quite a few adults) are absolutely in love with Hello Kitty. The estimated USD 1 billion per year she's worth confirms she's hardwired into our pop culture consciousness, a fact which isn't lost on the game industry. We've already seen a legacy of Hello Kitty games spanning multiple iterations of consoles and handhelds, as well as PC releases. Hello Kitty's involvement with gaming is about to enter a whole new era though, with her introduction to the world of massively multiplayer online games through Hello Kitty Online.
Welcome the Hello Kitty Xbox 360 into your heart
Cute, isn't it? If you're like us, your heart just melted at the sight of this too pink, too starry and too darn adorable custom Hello Kitty Xbox 360. Artistically crafted by deviantART'ist ricepuppet of Domo Xbox 360 fame, this Hello Kitty 360 represents an adorable effort to lure Japanese gamers into its friendly gaming space ... almost as if it were part of some sort of Microsoft-concocted plan to increase Japanese console sales. That isn't true, but we're sure Hello Kitty wouldn't hurt the company's efforts in Japan.You can view this and other Xbox 360 artwork (including Sonic, Halo Wars and Chocobo themes) over at ricepuppet's deviantART page. [Via Engadget]
Hello Kitty Xbox 360 dazzles while you frag
You may remember deviantART member Ricepuppet from his days dressing up his Xbox 360 in Domo-kun stylings. He's back, combining our love for console paint jobs with all things Hello Kitty. No matching controller this time, but there's more than enough stars, shades of pink, and cuteness to make up for it. The Sanrio charmer isn't the only new mod he's got, we also spotted consoles adorned with Halo Wars, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Chocobos (of Final Fantasy fame). Now how about we see some of that HK love plastered on a Rock Band drum set?Read - Hello Kitty modRead - Go Go Sonic modRead - Halo Wars modRead - Chocobo racing mod
Hello Kitty lineman's handset fills a niche: Hello Kitty-lovin' linemen
What do you give the Hello Kitty fan that has everything? Oh, never mind...
Sony Ericsson's F305 gets mauled by Hello Kitty
It's actually tough to tell whether or not this Hello Kitty "inspired" handset is real or fake, but at least Mobile-Review is claiming that the HK-adorned F305 will go on sale in Russia this March. From what we can gather, this is a rather standard F305 outside of the flamboyant exterior, boasting a two megapixel camera, M2 card slot, Motion Gaming and a ringer that only knows how to meow. We've no clue how costly this little beauty will be, but you can go ahead and bank on the fact that you'll be buying one for the Cosmo Girl in your life.[Via eldarmurtazin, thanks c88lman]
Hello Kitty keyboard boasts keys, cute, and cuddliness
Hello Kitty continues her insane branding-assault on all things tech, and we continue to weep with joy over each and every product. Okay, maybe not. Anyway, the latest eyeball exploder is a 108-keyed Japanese QWERTY keyboard, and it'll cost you $106.40 to add it to your collection.[Via CNET]
Impossible-to-use Hello Kitty phone taunts you with feigned cuteness
We can't picture this thing up against a head, and frankly, we don't want to. The monstrosity you're looking at here is somehow a phone, but in an overzealous attempt to completely destroy it with Hello Kitty branding, it's been formed into that fricking cat head -- a shape that makes absolutely no sense for a phone whatsoever, may we add. We're pretty sure you could make little kids cry on command by pulling this out of a pocket, so even if you can't imagine actually talking into this thing (we certainly can't), maybe it's worth the buy anyway. Just saying.[Via PMP Today, thanks Daisy and Brian]
Hello Kitty Flip Mino can't stop recording self in mirror
Pure Digital Technologies' Flip Video lineup is getting Hello Kitty-fied with the Mino and MinoHD. Like their not-as-adorable kin, the camcorders sport one-touch video recording, a built-in USB port, and are able to record 60 minutes of video with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Most importantly -- and sure to tip the scales in Flip's favor over the Vado HD 720p Pocket -- the camcorders come in eleven different Hello Kitty designs. Far East Gizmos says the price will be $179.99 for Mino and $229.99 for MinoHD, which is the same price as the respective models without these adorable skins. Between this and last month's C1 netbook, we hope this is a sign of an uptick in lip-bitingly cute Hello Kitty-branded tech gear.
Hello Kitty C1 netbook packs a lotta 'tude into a small package
There's been a serious dearth of Hello Kitty-branded products these days, but the dry-spell is thankfully at an end, with the arrival of the Hello Kitty C1. The crazy cat's apparently first-ever netbook is (as you can see in the photo) quite a looker, and it's packing a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU with 1GB DDR2 SDRAM, a 945 GSE Express chipset and a 120GB hard drive. The 10.1-inch netbook's also got two USB ports, a 1.3 megapixel webcam and WiFi. It's going to cost you 890 smackers to make this yours, but the sassiness alone kind of makes it worth it, doesn't it?[Via CNET]
WoW Moviewatch: The Grasshappa Chronicles
Happy Hallow's End! Today we bring you a fluffy treat from TRiBViDs called The Grasshappa Chronicles. The most recent installment to the series, Episode 4, is linked above. (Previous episodes are 1, 2, and 3.) These movies are all treat, no trick, like the G.N.E.R.D.S. handed out these days by Innkeepers. A tasty, not too filling, but definitely an enjoyable confection featuring two dudes who pay the price for ripping off intellectual properties in previous episodes. The guys are goofy and have amusing songs running through their heads starring Justin Timberlake and Vanessa Carlton. Oh, and there's also a Hello Kitty reference for good measure.I think we all have some guilty pleasures like this in our movie-watching closets. My favorite guilty pleasures contain ram-a-lama ding-dong, Brando singing, and R.O.U.S.'s in them. I know some of you out there are Goonies freaks. Confess! [Via Machinima.com]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.
Hello Kitty Online: gazing into horror
We write about Chaos Chosen freaks wreaking havoc on the RvR battlefield. We've been known to write about interstellar mercenaries and anarchists publicly executing enemies of freedom. Things like these make the job fun. But this... is seriously over the top. Three videos, all lined up below the cut. You may be able to handle one. Some of you may be able to take two. But three -- we don't think you can do it. In fact we know you can't. These clips are NSFW. Be advised.
The DS Life: Console envy
"Haven't had a dream in a long time. See, the life I've had can make a good [woman] bad. So, for once in my life, let me get what I want. Lord knows, it would be the first time." - The Smiths, "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want"
Hello Kitty 1seg portable TV lacks effort, cuteness
Word on the street is that Sanrio was looking for new Hello Kitty designers on the West Coast earlier last week, and if this sad little 1seg portable TV is any indication, we can see why the company's in search of fresh talent. Seriously, this is the least cute Hello Kitty gadget we've seen in a while, and we're basically suckers for the lil' imp. Japan-only, and your ¥21,000 ($197) doesn't get you anything special on the inside, either, just a 2.4-inch QVGA screen and built-in stereo speakers with a 4.5-hour battery life. Come on, Kitty -- make us love you again.
Hello Kitty Crossing
Empire Interactive's Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams follows Hello Kitty as she moves out of Sanrio Town to seek a new life in The Big City. What will she find when she gets there? Minigames!As Kitty pursues her goal of moving into a penthouse apartment, she can do chores for her neighbors and meet new people. If it sounds a lot like Animal Crossing, that's probably no coincidence. As it turns out, it looks a lot like Animal Crossing too. But we'd love to play a Sanrio-themed Animal Crossing. As far as we're concerned, the closer the ripoff, the better.%Gallery-27377%[Via GamesPress]
