The idea was originally from Sam Jerichow and submitted to Tokyoflash’s design studio, and it’s a good balance of the aesthetic the watch company has become known for, and the sort of usability that people demand from, well, a regular watch. You can see how well it works in the video below:

Three display colors are on offer – red, blue or natural – and two casings, black or silver. Both are made of stainless steel and water resistant to 3ATM. A demo mode runs every few seconds, animating the display.

Tokyoflash Kisai Online is available to order now, priced at ¢149 until the weekend and then jumping up twenty bucks.

Operation is via touch and swipe, with a side-swipe unlocking the touchscreen and then tapping the corner points to access the alarm and the settings. Scrolling your finger around clockwise sets the time in either of the two zones, or the alarm. There’s also room to show the date.

Three LCD colors are on offer – red, blue and green – with optional backlighting and an animation mode for when you want to mesmorize someone. If you think the rest of your Steampunk-inspired outfit can live up to the Kisai Rogue Touch Pocket Watch, it’s on sale now for $149.

Compared to some of the company’s other watches, which demand deciphering and calculations before you can tell whether you’re late or otherwise, Kisai Seven is very straightforward. The inner ring shows hours and the outer ring counts 5 minute blocks; the L-shaped bars underneath both show 1-4 minute modifiers, allowing you to figure out the exact time.

The plastic body is attached to a polyurethane strap with a seamless butterfly clasp, and you can trim the strap to fit. Both white and blue LED versions are available, each recharged via USB, and there are several display settings so that you can have the time pulse periodically, show up on-demand only, or be illuminated permanently.

The Tokyoflash Kisai Seven is on sale now, priced initially at $99 (and then jumping to $139 at the weekend).

The watch has a launch price of $179 for another 40 hours and then it goes back to the normal $199 price point. In addition to the dual time zones, the watch also has seconds, date, alarm, and an animation feature. The touch zones around the face allow access to change modes, view time, alarm, date, and light up.

I really like the red one, it reminds me more than the little of the Motorola Droid eye that shows on boot up. The touchscreen has a lock function to prevent you from changing things by accident. The outside large bricks are the hour, inside the dots show the minutes, and the center rings show the time in zone two. You can get the watch in green, blue, red, or natural screen colors. The band is a polished gunmetal color.

The number on top of that box is the hour, the one on the left is the tens of minutes, and the number on the right is the single minutes. The watch comes in several colors with a black or polished chrome band. The black band comes with blue, orange, red, or green LCD screens. The silver band version can be had with pink, green, or orange LCD backgrounds.

The watch has a backlight and also has a date function. The watch has an internal battery good for about a year of use. You can check out the watch on video below to see how easy it is to read.

When you look at the watch face from the top all you see are a bunch of lines that look complex. To tell what time it is all you need to do is hold the watch at an angle and read the face. At an angle, the numbers on the screen are clearly legible. The watch also has a LED backlight so you can see in the dark. The USB cable needed to connect to the computer is included.

Right now, the watch isn’t officially available and is only a design. I would bet it would come to market eventually. The design you see shows the watch in black with a green light. The watch could be made with different backlight colors. The design is up for a vote and if you want to see it become a real watch vote for it at Tokyoflash.

Tokyoflash says that the watch is slim and has a curved design with a solid stainless steel strap. The inner ring of lights shows the hour by removing the bar at the number position for the hour. The larger ring of blocks in the outside is the approximate minutes with the missing block showing the five-minute increment.

The much smaller outer ring of dots shows the exact minute. The watch looks cool, but this would certainly be one of the watches I had to stare out for a while until the person asking me what time it was though I was an idiot. You can order up the watch right now for $179 in any of the four colors. Check out the video below to see the watch in action.

The display is always-on, with a multicolored backlight triggered by the touch-sensitive lamp button. Those colors – and an on-screen chart – would be used to show just how drunk you are and whether you’re safe to drive, operate heavy machinery or text old girlfriends.

There’s no indication that Tokyoflash have any intention of actually manufacturing this particular design, though the company has crowd-sourced demand for potential products before so there’s always a possibility it could jump from drawing board to wrists if interest is high enough. Still, reading a regular Tokyoflash timepiece is difficult enough as it is: if you’re even mildly drunk then you’ll probably realize it straight away when all the blinking LEDs blur into one heaving mass.

It reminds me of something that they would wear on Star Trek to keep in touch during an away mission. The watch has lights around the curved long side on the left that shows the hour and the blue circle shows the minutes. The button inside the minutes circle is multifunction and turns the MP3 player on and can answer and end Skype calls.

The big feature is the USB key that slips out of the watch to allow it to connect to your PC for using as a Skype communicator and for streaming music to the watch for you to listen to with headphones. The watch also has controls for skipping tracks and volume. The designer is hoping Tokyoflash will build the design.

Interestingly, the Kinsai Console’s battery is recharged via USB; a full charge takes around 3.5 hours and Tokyoflash reckons each charge should last 1 month. There are 300 charges in one battery and the battery is replaceable.

Some readers may get a faint whiff of Blockbusters – the old gameshow, not the DVD rental company – about the Kisai Console, which we think only adds to the retro charm. It’s available now, priced at $200.

The LED lights around the face that tell the time are blue and the thing looks very complex. The inner circle of lights is the hours. The outer circle of lights with the large segments are the minutes in groups of five.

The five little dashes at the top of the watch in the 12 o’clock position are for individual minutes. Taken altogether the thing gives you the exact time in a complex style sure to blow the minds of your pals. The watch isn’t cheap with a MSRP of $208.42, but the thing is cool. Check out the video below.

The concept watch has a green and black display and a black metal case and band. If your brain hurts too much from staring at all the green and black lines to actually see the numbers, it has a button that you can press that will outline the numbers for you.

One of the photos shows the watch with a gray and black pattern as well. This is a cool watch and one of those things that some people will see right away and others will never get. The help button removes the pattern background and just leaves the numbers.

The numbers are spelled out and run together all down the watch face. The grey words illuminate blue when the time is active and there is a symbol on the bottom for AM or PM that lights to show if its day or night.

The watch is easy to read and the image below would be 6:40 PM. The thing is a bit large and bulky, but so are many of the watches the company offers. Perhaps the coolest thing about this watch is that it was designed by a 14-year-old.

The watch recharges via USB and a single juicing is good for a month; we’re also pleased to see that Tokyoflash have outfitted the Traffic with a replaceable battery, so the watch won’t be useless when the battery gives up the ghost.  As with other Tokyoflash products, there’s an animation mode for when you’re less interested in telling the time and more in catching curious glances.

The Tokyoflash Traffic is available now in limited numbers, priced at $169.73 including shipping.

One of the best things about a Tokyoflash creation, is the more you stare at it, the more you think you know how to actually “tell time.” Of course, the only way you’ll really know for sure is to get one of your own, and then you can show it off to everyone you know, proclaiming that you can tell them what time it is by watching your phone’s digital display change lanes. Hours and minutes are displayed on the face of the watch by crisscrossing and intersecting lines, with the hours displayed “on the left,” and the minutes displayed “on the right.” Keep in mind that each bar corresponds to an hour, or minute, so it’s really not as easy as it looks (that’s our sarcasm for the day).

The watch features a stainless steel body, as well as a stainless steel strap. It’s powered by a USB cable, so you can keep it charged day-to-day. It’s also water resistant, not that we think you’d want to get close to water with this thing on your wrist. It’s on sale right now at Tokyoflash’s website, and it will only cost you a cool $169.73. So, think it’s worth it to be the most original watch owner on the block? Or maybe even your whole city?

[via Tokyoflash]

The new Round Trip Pocket Watch is designed to be worn on a chain like an old school pocket watch or a key ring. When attached to a key ring you can put it on things like your backpack or belt loop too. The watch charges from the USB port of your computer and has an array of LEDs that shows the time and only display when a button is pressed.

The inner orange ring shows the hours with each segment in the position that a number on a traditional watch would be. The Blue LEDs on the outer ring shows the minutes in groups of three in the same position as a normal clock face. The green LEDs show two single minutes at the bottom of the watch. I get the orange LEDs, the rest of the set up confuses me. You can pick yours up with a silver case for $72.97.

The Instant Trend is more than a watch though. The longish blue text screen can also display messages from Twitter and Facebook. To display these messages it has to be paired with a smartphone via Bluetooth.

I am actually surprised there is no mention of caller ID, if you are pairing with a smartphone that seems to be a no brainer to me. The watch can also display normal time clocks for multiple time zones for days when you can’t figure out what time it is in the Tokyoflash clock mode.

The various buttons – for call answering, volume, playback and track control – are all mixed into various Stargate-esque glyphs, and there’s also a watch function too.  You’ll need to be able to decipher it, though, since Tokyflash are using their usual obscure code of different LEDs.

Unlike earlier estimates, the Kisai Escape C actually comes in under budget.  Having been told to expect a sticker price of $150 to $180, Tokyoflash are actually selling the Bluetooth pendant for $107.42, with a choice of various necklace styles from plain cords through braids and chains.

The Escape C has controls for play/stop, volume, track skip and an answer-call key in the center, and it also tells the time.  Like other Tokyoflash timepieces, however, you’ll have to do a little deciphering in order to figure it out; it’s all shown cryptically with a series of blue LEDs embedded in the fascia.

No word on battery life (we’re guessing it recharges via the USB port) and the Kisai Escape C is yet to make an appearance on the Tokyoflash site.  It’ll apparently arrive this quarter for between $150 and $180.

[via technabob]

That’s going to be tricky, as Tokyoflash have carved a niche for themselves in recent years by offering innovative and unusual timepieces. Their range spans everything from Japanese minimalism through to watches so obscure you’ll need a crib sheet just to decode the time.

If you’d like to stand a chance to win your choice of watch from the Tokyoflash catalog, head over to this competition thread and tell us what useful, geeky or generally high-tech function you wish you could find on a watch. We’ll pick three winners at random, who will each get to choose a model from the Tokyoflash range. Entries must be in before midnight eastern time on December 21st 2009; good luck!

Rules

Competition is open to SlashGear readers over the age of 18. Family members of Tokyoflash and SlashGear are not permitted to enter. Competition entries are only accepted via the specified SlashGear forum thread; entries left in the comments section of this or any other post will not be recognized. Entries should be submitted before midnight eastern time on December 21st 2009; one entry per person (and yes, we check).

The winners will be contacted via email; they will be expected to respond within 24 hours else their prize may be forfeit and another winner selected. Editors decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Winner agrees that their name and details of their entry may be used for promotional purposes by, but not limited to, SlashGear.

Prize consists of three Tokyoflash watches, one each for three winners. There is no cash alternative. Winners will be able to select their Tokyflash watch of choice from the current catalog; however should this prize become unavailable, SlashGear and Tokyoflash reserve the right to substitute another prize of equal or greater value.

As for the Riki Watanabe design, that’s a little more subtle (as long as you ignore the peach and lime color versions) but still pretty distinctive.  It retails for $117.97, while the Casio models range from $89.56 for the Cubic Puzzle through to $163.42 for some new DualShock models.

As for Tokyoflash themselves, we’re told they’ve been busily working on a new Bluetooth product based on the fruits of their research earlier this year.  That’s tipped to arrive sometime next month.

Of the four Independent models, it’s the ITX21-5132 which we think will appeal to traditional Tokyoflash buyers.  The all-silver timepiece – which you can see in the gallery below – looks ostensibly normal, but at the push of a button an LCD display lights up behind the regular analog dials.

The 5132 and the black, square ITT21-5101 are both priced at $269.07, while the ITA21-5111 and ITA21-5142 are both £323.10.  Each has a one-year warranty; we’re not sure exactly how “limited” stock actually is.

As before, the clocks are a collaborative effort between Tokyoflash and different Japanese designers, each trying to instill a little of the bizarre watchmaker’s time-telling into desk-bound devices.  Some include iPod docks and speakers, others use ambient LED lighting, and most have some degree of animation to their displays.

I’ve a soft-spot for Clock B, which looks like Tokyoflash have mugged an Ikea lamp and stuffed some LCD guts inside.  Clock E reminds me a little too much of a foam frisbee I was hit in the eye with when a child.

All twelve concepts in the gallery after the cut

Each piece has a short description, setting out the materials and purpose.  All of them have at least a little Tokyoflash style to them, though I’m not a fan of the dice concept and the credit card one looks a little naff.

There’s no telling whether a landslide of public opinion will see any of these specific concepts reach Tokyoflash’s shelves, but the company is saying it’s an opportunity to help shape their design language.  Strangely none of the current concepts have hands, so we can’t suggest a more traditional watch design.

To tell the time, you hit the upper right-hand button and, after a quick animation, the LEDs wait mockingly for you to decipher them.  Hours are shown in the center circle, groups of five minutes in the middle-circle, and finally single minutes in the outermost circle.  If that’s still confusing (and I’m not surprised) then take a look at the diagram in the gallery below.

The Tokyoflash Hanko measures 31 x 37 x 8 mm and weighs 72g; it’s water-resistant to 3ATM.  It’s available now, with white, blue or multi-colored LEDs, priced at$99.62.

To actually read off the time from the Kisai Keisan, you hit the button on the top right-hand side; that starts the LEDs blinking. A “T” or a “D” in the first column tells you whether you’re looking at the time or the date; you then add up any numbers in each column to give you the time, left to right.

It’s actually one of the easier Tokyoflash watches to decipher, although if your addition skills are lacking then perhaps not. The Tokyoflash Kisai Keisan is water resistant to 3ATM, has an auto-animation that triggers every twelve minutes, and weighs 80g. It’s available now, in black with either red or green LEDs, or silver with orange or yellow LEDs, priced at 23,900 Japanese yen ($255) with worldwide shipping included.

Congratulations to all three winners, and thanks again to Tokyoflash for sponsoring this giveaway!

It wouldn’t be a week without Apple mystery, and the long-standing Walmart rumors came to fruition with confirmation that the retailer will be offering the iPhone 3G with a mere $2 price cut.  Far cheaper is a refurbished iPhone 3G, from just $99; alternatively, stick around and the iPhone nano might just get announced at MacWorld next month.  We’ll be there, live-blogging the keynote, to tell you whether a mini-smartphone is on the cards or perhaps a new Quanta-made iMac. 

In other mobile news, Garmin was tipped to be planning a new range of handsets in the second-half of 2009, based on Google’s open-source Android platform.  Similarly, Motorola is said to be planning to abandon Symbian for a full 2009 Android-based holiday line-up.

Here at SlashGear, we reviewed two new cellphones, the starkly-sensible (but surprisingly appealing) HTC S740 and Nokia’s first S60 touchscreen attempt, the 5800 XpressMusic ‘Tube’.  We also announced the winners of our Plantronics and Sleek Audio Giveaways, and kicked off another chance to win.  This time you can take away a limited-availability Tokyoflash Radio Active Active Reactor watch, with two runners-up prizes of any timepiece from the quirky company’s current range.  Don’t hang about, though: entries will only be accepted up until 5pm central time on Monday December 29th! 

Finally, a quick reminder that SlashGear will be jetting off to CES 2009 very soon, to bring you all the latest news from the biggest consumer electronics show on the calendar.  We’ll then be heading to MacWorld to live-blog all the news from what we now know will be Apple’s final keynote at the conference.  Keep reading SlashGear!

Find out how to enter after the cut!

That’s a choice from thirty watches, not to mention individual color, strap and LED options.  Best of all, the SlashGear Tokyoflash Radio Active Giveaway is open to readers worldwide, not just in the US.  To enter, you’ll need to pay a visit to the Tokyoflash website to find out the answer to the following question:

Which currently available Tokyoflash watch features an vivid green LED light guide and presents the time through a circle of connecting LCD blocks?

Email your answer – together with your name, address and choice of watch should you be a runner-up – to slashgear@tokyoflash.com; entries must be in by 5pm central time on Monday December 29th 2008.  Full rules are below.  Good luck!

Rules

Competition is open to entry to anyone over the age of 18.  Family members of Tokyoflash and SlashGear are not permitted to enter.  Competition entries are only accepted via the specified slashgear@tokyoflash.com email address; entries left in the comments section of this, or any other post, will not be recognized.  Entries should be submitted before 5pm central time on Monday December 29th 2008; one entry per person.

The winners will be selected on Tuesday December 30th 2008, announced on SlashGear and contacted via email; they will be expected to respond within a timely period else their prize may be forfeit and another winner selected.  Editors decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.  Winner agrees that their name may be used for promotional purposes by, but not limited to, SlashGear.

First prize consists of one Tokyoflash Radio Active Active Reactor watch.  There will be two runner-up prizes, consisting of the winners’ choice of Tokyoflash watch from the company’s current range.  There is no cash alternative and colors may vary.  Should any prize become unavailable, SlashGear and Tokyoflash reserve the right to substitute another prize of equal or greater value.

As with other Tokyoflash products, telling the time is never going to be as easy as looking at a digital display or a set of hands.  With the Waku, hours are shown first, one LED indicating each hour 1-12. Groups of 15 minutes are next, with three LEDs indicating 15, 30 and 45 minutes past the hour. Finally, single minutes are presented, with fourteen LEDs indicating minutes 1-14.

The Tokyoflash Waku watch is available now, priced at 11,900 Japanese yen ($130) including five day worldwide shipping. Seven versions are available, made up of a combination of brown fur, brown leather or black leather straps, and either a gold frame with multicolored LEDs, silver frame with while LEDs, or a silver frame with blue LEDs. Since I know you read SlashGear for my sartorial advice, I’d say go for the black leather and blue lighting, or the brown leather and white lighting.

A second press of the button indicates the date.  LED animations are flashed through before the time or date is settled on.  The Ni is also water-resistant to 3ATM.

Three versions of the Ni are available, with either white LEDs, blue LEDs or red & green LEDs.  They’re all priced at $144.07 including five-day worldwide delivery.

Press the button on the top-right and the stacked bars first ping up to count the hours, followed by the tens of minutes, and then finally the minutes themselves.  Both black and silver finishes are available, and the Denshoku is constructed from aluminum.  An animation mode pulses the lights vertically once every minute, for twelve minutes, after the time is displayed.

Battery life can be extended by dimming the bars, and pressing the side-button again speeds up the time lights.  The Denshoku weighs 95g and is priced at 23,900 Japanese yen ($247) including five-day worldwide delivery.

The central body of Fire is stainless steel, with the holes machine drilled into its polished surface.  Around that is a plastic cladding, with an easy-open buckle and adjustable strap. Each hole, with two LEDs beneath the surface represents one unit of time. Yellow LEDs indicate the hours 1-12, red LEDs indicate groups of 10 minutes and green LEDs indicate single minutes 1-9. Perhaps next time Tokyoflash will offer a partner-watch with integrated calculator, to speed up the adding process.

If your mental arithmetic is better than mine, you can pick up Fire from Tokyoflash now. It’s initially priced at 12,900 Yen ($130) with free worldwide delivery. 

Of course, being Tokyoflash it’s not so simple as having LEDs spell out what time it is. Instead you have to count up the rings: the outer ring indicate the hour, the second ring indicates single minutes and the inner ring indicates minutes in groups of ten. Date display works in a similar way. Normally, the watch face is a stubborn blank, only lighting up when you hit the button on the side (once for time, twice for date).

I’m torn, really. Part of me gets a kick out of the design, while the rest of me thinks “get some hands, why don’t you.” It’d be a frustrating only-watch, but a neat second (or third) one. It’s priced at 15,900 yen ($154), which is actually cheaper than the original black Oberon.