The Frequency has a built-in speaker and contained six drum patterns created specifically for the watch by Tetsuya Komuro, one of the most successful and influential pop songwriters and producers in Japan.

The Frequency’s other features included a chronograph, an alarm, a calendar, two metronome modes (audible and visual), and a BPM counter. And it also tells the time. And it’s a drum machine!

As of this writing there are two units of the Seiko Frequency on sale on eBay, one of them priced at $350 (USD), while the other one is on auction for a couple more days but can be bought for $195. And yes, they’re both in yellow, although the Frequency also came in brown and red. Sellers, please post a video of the Frequency kicking out some beats!

[via Retro Thing]

This talking pyramid clock was all the rage back in 1984 when it was released. It was the first talking quartz clock. At its peak, it was selling about 200,000 units a year.

Updates to the PyramidTalk clock include blue LED lighting, spoken date, as well as weather and temperature data, in Japanese and English. I’m kind of wondering why they needed to release it again. It looks definitely retro, and I do have to say that I have a bit of a weakness for talking clocks, especially ones that talk in Japanese.

For now, this clock is only available in Japan for approximately $120 (USD), but if you want to get it now, you should try contacting exporters like Japan Trend Shop, Geek Stuff 4 U or Rinkya.

[Seiko via Crunchgear]

Unlike meters that just count your steps, the Seiko SlimStick uses modern dual-axis accelerometers to track the magnitude of your movements, giving greater value to more intensive exercise. Just clip the compact SlimStick onto your clothes or stick it in a pocket, and it’ll track your activity level.

The SlimStick can count calories burned over the course of the day, amount of time you were active, the number of steps you walked as well as an overall exercise quality score. It’ll store up to twelve weeks of summary data, so you can check your progress over time.

All those smarts fit into a sleek brushed aluminum case that’s just about the size of a pack of chewing gum. They’re available in silver, pink or gold metal finishes, and retail between ¥5,775 and ¥6,984 (appx. $55 to $67 USD). Seiko is currently selling these only in Japan, where you can find them at AssistOn.

Unlike some of the more cryptic modern watches coming out of Japan these days, the Seiko Discus is actually quite easy to read. A set of three numbered discs continuously rotate to display hours, minutes and seconds. The wheels are are partially masked by a frosted glass face with a clear glass window highlighting the current time. If you can’t figure that out, a tiny pair of green arrows on the glass make it even more obvious what time it is.

The Discus is part of Seiko’s Moving Image series, a line of automatic timepieces with decidedly contemporary styling. It’s available in two versions: one with a stainless body and white face, and another with a black metal body and a smoked glass face.

While the Discus is not officially for sale in North America, I was able to find a couple over on eBay, priced at about $890 each.

According to my rough math, the display cranks out over 230 pixels-per-inch, about 3 times that of the typical LCD computer screen. Perfect for use in electronic book readers, the flat panel measures in at just 3mm thick, and can display 1400 pages on a single button-cell battery.

While Seiko Epson hasn’t revealed any products which use the new display, it’s only a matter of time before we see these in real world devices.

[via MobileRead]