Hello Kitty
Latest
An alternate solution to the Hello Kitty toy recall
Hello Kitty doll got your beloved tyke a little hot under the collar (due to leaking chemicals)? Recall, shmecall -- just stick one of these Kitty-branded fire extinguishers under his / her bed and call it a day. Stop, drop, and roll has never been this much fun.[Via Hello Kitty Hell]
Exploding Hello Kitty toys recalled
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]
Creepy USB Kitty keeps intruders away, us awake
If you were looking for some cutesy Hello Kitty paraphernalia, turn away while you still have your sanity. This USB Kitty might look cute on the outside, but it's clear the feline sentry harbors ill-will for the race of men. The USB device has dual infrared ports, and watches your computer for "intruders," which it then hisses, meows and shakes its evil head at. USB Kitty can also sing melodies (no doubt its method of removing souls), and includes a calendar and alarm function to alert you of events. Best of all, the device is a mere $24, so we're looking forward to a few hackers getting their hands on this thing and plotting a USB Kitty vs. Nabaztag fight to the death. We say USB Kitty FTW.
Hello Kitty takes over portable media players
When will the madness of Hello Kitty gadgetry come to an end? We can't take it anymore, seriously. To review, we've seen a cellphone, Xbox, MP3 player, guitar, SD card, laptop, and tailpipe (plus lots more we couldn't find or didn't even post about) in the last two yeare. Our partners in crime over at Engadget Chinese came across the latest sighting of the queen of kawaii: a Hello Kitty mobile DVD player with a 3.5-inch screen and a three hour battery life. This whole package can be yours for 4,000 yuan, or about $500 -- not as cute as we'd thought with a price like that, but really, who can resist that puss? As proven, certainly not us.
The Hello Kitty exhaust pipe attachment
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]
Hello Kitty invades the Epson Endeavor NA101
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.
Amazon UK accepting pink PSP preorders
Last week, we brought you news of the newest edition to Sony's PSP lineup - the pink PSP. Now, Amazon UK is accepting preorders for the very unmanly portable. But despite what the previous post mentioned of the price being £169, Amazon is selling it for the low price of £149.You wanna hear even better news? Once you buy this, you won't worry about fending off big, burly men trying to steal your pink PSP, but you most definitely will have to keep an eye out for your sister who most likely will want to throw on a couple Hello Kitty stickers.(Via DCEmu forums)
KFE's F1500 Charmmy Kitty MP3 player
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.
BenQ-Siemens' Hello Kitty-themed AL61
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.
Bounty Hounds lets you blow up aliens
From the developers of Hello Kitty: Rescue Mission (hey, developers gotta pay the bills somehow, right?) comes the PSP-exclusive shooter Bounty Hounds. It's been a long time since we last heard about this game, but Namco Bandai has blown the covers off this game big time. The main gameplay involves you dual-wielding Halo 2-style, and you'll obviously have to choose the right weapons for the right occassion. In a feat of technical marvel, the developers have managed to squeeze a feature that we thought only the PlayStation 3 could do: real-time weapons swapping. With 500 weapons and items you can equip, and a unique energy field mode, this game is looking up to not be just a good shooter, but an original one as well. Span the mighty Internets to get your hands on multiple videos and perspectives:Gamespot:PreviewInterviewIGN:Progress ReportScreensMoviesGameVideos:Combat GameplayChoices GameplayAttacks GameplayMelee GameplayRanged Gameplay
Hello Kitty Stratocaster goes high-end
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 Mitsukoshi 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 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.
Hello Kitty wants to protect your nano
The picture isn't the greatest, but the cuteness of Hello Kitty still packs a punch. Krunker tells us that these Hello Kitty themed adhesive protectors for your nano are available in Japan in 4 different varieties.
