If you have ever wonder what an emoticon would look like, if acted out by a spritely action figure, here you are: the Fairy Elf Messenger Doll from Shanghai Donya.
This 8cm tall toy connects to your computer via USB and comes to life through Windows Live Messenger, lighting up and flapping its wings in surprise, anger, or pleasure, corresponding to the emoticons in messages received by the user.
Available in red and yellow or green and purple, for ¥1,999.
There seems to be no shortage of cute, somewhat useful, things for your computer’s USB drive, like this Panda-yaki (bean-filled pancake) shaped 1GB memory stick.
The 7×5cm gadget, available for ¥6,980 on Rakuten was released last month in honor of Panda Day, March 11. In case this is news to you, Panda Day commemorates the day when a French priest first laid eyes on the black and white not quite bear in the wilds of China in 1869, thus bringing awareness of the creature to the western world.
A surprise hit, initial stocks sold out completely last month, although new orders are now being taken for a new shipment this month. The sales website also makes note of where you can eat the real thing (panda-yaki, not panda), outside of the entrance to the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo.
