HomeStar Spa planetarium from Sega Toys

Written by: Michael Keferl on June 5, 2008 at 8:08 pm | In DIGITAL LIFE | 8 Comments

UPDATE#2: JapanTrendShop now carries the Homestar Spa.

UPDATE: The even newer Homestar EX!

It’s been awhile, but we’re finally getting a nice update to the immensely popular Homestar “Home Planetarium” series from Sega Toys.

After the original Homestar became so popular, the much-improved Homestar Pro and the portable Homestar Pure hit the market. However, aside from some special editions, there hasn’t been an update in over a year.

Coming soon, the Homestar Spa is a home planetarium for your bathroom!

Homestar Spa is combining elements of popular ambient and bath toys for adults (JapanTrendShop has tons), with waterproof design and additional projection elements such as “flowers” and “kaleidoscope“.

While not yet out on the market, HomeStar Spa will be debuting at the upcoming Tokyo Toy Show, and we’ll be there as always for in-depth coverage of this year’s latest gadgets and toys, including plenty of photos and video.

Tags: Homestar, Homestar Spa, lighting, Planetariums, Sega Toys, Tokyo Toy Show, Toys
Category: DIGITAL LIFE
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Sega Homestar Pro planetarium Winter Edition in white

Written by: Michael Keferl on August 31, 2007 at 5:36 am | In DIGITAL LIFE | 1 Comment

Sega Toys is stepping it up in its Homestar Pro home planetarium series with a new white Winter Version which will include a full SIX PIECE star disc set. This encompasses everything since the beginning of the Homestar series including the two orginal monochrome discs, two color discs, the Full Moon disc, and the upcoming Blue Earth disc! This is limited purely to the winter season from November 15th, and will retail for ¥36,540 ($315) in Japan.

In addition, the white version of the Grand Pianist and a clear colored Tokyo Tower 2007 will also be released in the next couple of months.

Get the Homestar Pro online HERE
Picture via +D Lifestyle

Tags: Homestar, Homestar Pro, Planetariums, Sega Toys
Category: DIGITAL LIFE
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Tearstar home planetarium display from Stella Precision

Written by: Michael Keferl on July 20, 2007 at 5:10 am | In DIGITAL LIFE | No Comments

The Tearstar from Stella Precision is yet another continuation of the ongoing trend in space-related home decor products for adults, creating a scale representation of your selected corner of the Universe. You can select one of twenty-one glass plates which are then installed in a backlit box. When turned off, the glass looks like a mirror, but explodes into a detailed space view when turned on.

While it doesn’t project images onto walls or ceilings like the Homestar Pro planetarium, it employs similar technology for the creation of the glass. Using precision machinery, the stars are formed in the glass on the exact same scale as real stars! As the pictures below demonstrate, the actual picture of space (left) is recreated in the same 5mm scale on the Tearstar glass.

Available plates include all twelve astrological signs, seasonal plates like the SUmmer Triangle, and famous constellations such as the Big Dipper, Ursa Major, Orion, Canis Major, and the Southern Cross. To accurately read the plates, a clear constellation overlay is included which shows the exact layout.

With the quality of precision and materials, the Tearstar certainly doesn’t come cheap at $449, but it definitely gets credit for originality in style and great design. The company has also been working on custom glass plates for installation in actual windows (aided by sunlight) and in walls for home installation.

TearStar Homepage
Buy the TearStar online HERE

Tags: Planetariums
Category: DIGITAL LIFE
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Sega Homestar PRO “Blue Earth” disc software

Written by: Michael Keferl on July 8, 2007 at 3:29 pm | In DIGITAL LIFE | 5 Comments

While The Sega Homestar home planetarium series needs no introduction around here, the new Blue Earth disc certainly does. While the original Homestar planetarium came with only two basic Star Discs which focused on the stars and constellations, but since the updated Homestar PRO came out it’s been shipped with two colored star discs plus a wicked “full moon” disc with really intricate detail. This September we’ll be treated to the latest “software” for the Homestar PRO, the Blue Earth disc (actual projection picture below).

While not an actual picture of our home planet, the Blue Earth disc is a highly detailed CG recreation of what Earth looks like from space. Since the Homestar PRO uses three powerful LED lights, the ability to project is such high color is greatly increased from the original. We’re very excited about this, as it shows that Sega and Homestar creator Takayuki Ohira are hard at work bringing even more great discs to the series (Mars would be our next guess, but Neptune would be pretty cool too). Blue Earth will be available from September.

***UPDATE: Below is a much better picture of the real deal***

Click to buy the Homestar Pro + Blue Earth Set online

Tags: Homestar, Homestar Spa, Planetariums, Sega Toys
Category: DIGITAL LIFE
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Sega Homestar PRO planetarium comes to hotels

Written by: Michael Keferl on June 10, 2007 at 4:06 am | In DIGITAL LIFE, MARKETING IDEAS | 2 Comments

While we delight in the dizzying array of lifestyle goods, gadgets, and toys that comes out of Japan on a daily basis, few actually make it to the point where they are popular not only among geeks (such as ourselves) but are adopted by other industries. Relaxation and ambient lighting are both strong trends in Japan, but hotels are now incorporating these ideas into specific packages and are now using the Homestar PRO planetarium from Sega to create bright and detailed 360 degree projections of 10,000 stars on the hotel room ceiling to create an atmosphere uncommon to hotel rooms. The video says it all…

From the beginning of 2007 the Piena Hotel in Kobe began offering the “Homestar Planetarium” which includes a Homestar planetarium as well as an aroma light as a relaxing way to spend your time with the lights off. From the romantic angle, the Hotel Granvia in Osaka offers a special package for Valentines Day and White Day (another lovers holiday) that includes the Homestar, a CD of healing music, chocolates, and an optional bottle of champagne. The Anda Tiva resort hotel in Shizuoka includes Homestars in the rooms as well as a telescope outside for guests to use!

Why the Homestar PRO hasn’t been incorporated into the entire love hotel industry is frankly a mystery to us, as it fits perfectly into their themes of romantic relaxation (and would look pretty cool reflecting off of the ceiling mirrors). The fact that they’re coming into mainstream hotels shows an attention to detail that might actually make the entire evening simply because it’s different and unexpected. We’ve come a long way from vibrating beds, that’s for sure.

The Homestar PRO is available HERE

Tags: Collaborations, Homestar, Homestar Pro, Planetariums, Sega Toys
Category: DIGITAL LIFE, MARKETING IDEAS
Other categories: LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS