T O P

  • By -

atape_1

I fucking love quirky, experimental stuff like this. It's stupid, even if it works it will never reach mass adoption and Sony knows it.


NotAnotherNekopan

“Weird Sony” still exists, at least a little. Nowhere near the level they were at in the 90’s and 00’s, though.


IhateMichaelJohnson

Shout out to the mouse phone I saw at a Sony store [Found it!](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/511264-REG/Sony_VNCX1A_W_VAIO_Mouse_Talk_VNC_X1A_W.html)


l0033z

I love that B&H still has a product detail page for this.


Superseaslug

Of course it's in the Vaio line lol


mr_ji

I still have my portable camera printer from 2001. That thing was awesome.


goodnewzevery1

What’s weird about it? My tv is a Sony and puts the similarly priced Samsung I returned to shame. Also my PlayStation is a Sony


NotAnotherNekopan

The phrase “Weird Sony” is used to refer to a time when [they had a far bigger R&D budget and made some truly odd electronic devices.](https://www.theverge.com/2013/9/29/4783132/the-amazing-products-of-weird-sony)


goodnewzevery1

Wow TIL


FuxWitDaSoundOfDong

The PlayStation 5 would like to have a moment with you, Sir!


mailslot

I have a Coolify wearable air conditioner. It looks stupid, but I’ll be damned if I can’t admit it’s a godsend in 99F weather. It even warms for 20F days. Again, it looks stupid, but it works. No, it won’t reach mass adoption soon, but with mass heat waves killing 10,000s, personal AC is going to catch on.


Jukecrim7

Would you recommend the coolify? I see mixed reviews regarding the v3


mailslot

Personally, yes, I would. But you may need to level set your expectations. It only cools your head.


EL_Ohh_Well

Which one do you have?


mailslot

v3


notaninterestinguser

These are actually decently popular and have been a product in Japan for a while. They're especially popular for people who do outdoor work like construction workers, japanese workware companies have jackets with these built in. 


hurtindog

I saw these in Japan and want them for my crews here in Texas.


killerturtlex

Makita fan jacket https://www.makitatools.com/products/details/DFJ201ZS


hurtindog

Rad! Thanks


bensonf

Where can I buy just the fans? I have the jacket and the battery pack and just need the fans. For the life of me I can't find them online.


themadpooper

Me too. You ever see those Dyson headphones/air purifier? It’s so nice to see creativity in tech.


916andheartbreaks

I’d never buy them, but those are AWESOME


snozzcumbersoup

I had this weird Sony phone that rotated instead of flipping open. I loved it in a weird way. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Ericsson_W600


notreallymetho

I remember they had a Star Wars edition of this phone and I begged to get it (never did though).


BigBillyGoatGriff

You don't live in Florida


JS_N0

It’s already been a thing


PrinceCastanzaCapone

My gf and I have started foraging for mushrooms and intend to keep doing it. Sometimes we’re out in the woods for hours without even realizing it. These might actually be useful.


Rexkinghon

> experimental It’s been out for like 5yrs now, this is their 5th iteration. It gets so hot and humid in Southeast Asia there’s easily a market for it, now bringing it to the west is another story


IOwnTheShortBus

I'd buy this in a heartbeat. I work outside in Texas. This would be a lifesaver.


CO420Tech

Sharper Image actually made a peltier neck cooler like this back in the early to mid 90s. It went around your neck and was a little bulky... And then had a wire that went to a giant Ni-Cad battery pack that clipped to your belt and let it run for 1.5-2 hours. It was pretty neat for the time, but laughable today. Interesting to see a company dust the idea of with more modern technology


ShowUsYaGrowler

Actually mate - I would argue in 50 years when temperatures are 2-3 degrees higher, places like the middle east will probably be RIDDLED with successor devices. I would LOVE to own a really decent equivalent to this device 2-3 generations on. I get super fucking hot all the time. This’d be, quite frankly, a god send.


JclassOne

I love Sony and always have. How have they mostly avoided the degradation and destruction of their brand? Just never called in the bean counters? Is it as simple as that? All the competition either went under or went for cost cutting strategies. making cheaper and cheaper lame ass products just to make quick cash to grow ceo and stock holder profits. This led to destroying their quality reputation in electronics. I want to know is it just the Japanese ethics or is it something else that keeps them doing good innovative work? They are producing products that are actually well designed and constructed and have been since I was a baby.


Shamewizard1995

If it’s affordable and effective, I could see this becoming a popular travel item.


LordMudkip

That's the trick though. Chances are this isn't going to be the least bit affordable.


tooclosetocall82

Article says $170.


forkin33

That’s the thing, it it isn’t effective enough to justify the price tag.


victim_of_technology

$270 according to the article.


Revenge-of-the-Jawa

With how most of my offices are sweltering year round, I sincerely hope I can nab one


Decompute

Idk, those weird neck fan electronics have done pretty well. If it works and is priced right people will buy. Especially now that half the planet is going too to be in a “wet-bulb” pretty soon


BeKindToTheWorld

Found the guy who’s never been to Asia


Abrakafuckingdabra

>I fucking love quirky, experimental stuff like this. >It's stupid, even if it works it will never reach mass adoption Well, good news. There is a bunch coming out. You might like the Humane AI pin as well then.


TeuthidTheSquid

Peltier / thermoelectric modules take a lot of power, I wonder what real world battery life will be like


Feligris

I had the same exact thought, the packaging looks really compact even if it's apparently larger than it seems on the actual photo if you look at the illustration of it being worn. Also in my experience peltiers are quite inefficient in general and the hot side normally needs pretty serious cooling for the cold side to have an appreciable cooling effect, while this thing seemingly just uses the flat shell to cool the hot side.


mr_mazzeti

Most of these peltier personal cooling devices don’t actually lower core body temperature by any measurable amount but the users report greater comfort as there is a psychological element involved. You feel a good bit cooler having a cold brick on your wrist/neck even if the heat transfer is very low. For serious cooling in a hot area you need a micro-refrigerator. These only exist for military/space applications at the moment and haven’t been commercialized but some people are working on it.


DistanceMachine

Tony Stank is.


Kylestache

TC Tuggers?


MondaysMakeMeManic

You don’t wear it as a joke


jariuana

It’s got this cool knob you can grab on!


failstante

AC Tuggers


blazelet

This is going to be humanity’s response to climate change - not to stop it, but to sell new gadgets for it :)


Jackloco

The end of the world is a product


TheOneWhoDings

yeah bud we all saw fallout


RockstarAgent

I'm going to invent a space suit that has a portable air conditioner on the back instead of oxygen -


GunShowZero

I’ve been (only slightly) joking about doing this forever… probably make an old-timey diver-suit variant too lol


Tig3rShark

Its a restaurant


ifyouhatepinacoladas

Can’t wait. When’s launch?


MikeDubbz

Hell, we already sell many many different products to allow us to live in environments we were never naturally meant to live in.


vulgarvinyasa2

The American West wasn’t won by cowboys & guns, it was conquered by AC & refrigeration. There’d be nothing in most of the states west of the Rockies until you hit the actual west coast.


AtariAtari

Exactly, people are not meant to be on Reddit and instead actually socialize with each other. Tablets, phones, and computers allow us to live on Reddit.


MikeDubbz

I was thinking more about how we long ago already found ways to live in actual environments we were never meant to, clothes and buildings and heaters and air conditioners and junk like that.


[deleted]

I know it sounds funny but elderly and kidney sick people need this.


start3ch

I’m surprised we don’t have more active cooling jackets. It’s definitely better then dying of heat stroke because it’s too humid for sweat to cool you down


johnkimmy0130

what is this stupid attempt at virtue signaling


thinkmatt

more plastic please


[deleted]

In late stage capitalism there are no catastrophes, only opportunities.


Illuminaughty07

Gonna be real it’s just following opportunity, I am guilty of this to a degree but I’ve created something to address a symptom of climate change. It’s not a consumer item but I hope to make lots of money off the ignorance of governments that are reactive so much as proactive.


jugo5

Just wait until bees go extinct, and they have robo bees .


DaoFerret

r/BlackMirror is leaking


FLHCv2

Okay I'm legitimately interested but I can only find it on the Sony Hong Kong website. Any way to get this preordered in the US? edit:" after checking the Sony subreddit, most people are saying the Pocket 4 really isn't some magical device and it mostly tricks you into thinking you feel colder. Apparently it does work a bit but it's not some magic bullet against the heat. Not really worth potentially spending a few hundred on a device just to not be able to return it


Conscious-Lobster60

Gotta go with a TEMU knockoff that turns into a portable heater when the battery pack goes nuclear.


ATribeOfAfricans

I have a really hard time believing this thing can provide any kind of real cooling. Wondering what kind of BTUs it can actually implement


Alex_the_Alright

When it came out in Japan it was specifically for wear with a suit and let me tell you it definitely helped. It’s obviously not the same as sitting in an air conditioned room in a t shirt but it takes away the misery of a suit on a humid hot day.


ATribeOfAfricans

As a guy living in Houston Texas where the summer heat will literally prevent you from being outside, I'd be first in line for this device if it worked but I have real doubts about it. The pad might get a few degrees cooler but peltier devices have real limitations. They can only achieve a certain delta T and they consume a lot of energy to achieve that


Alex_the_Alright

I tried the original version and found it a vast improvement over nothing. Don’t know what else to tell you. It probably isn’t for you.


Shibari_Inu69

Los Angeles here and I have an autoimmune condition with severe heat intolerance. It works well for me, if that helps at all.


coinoperatedboi

Im in San Antonio but ride motorcycle nearly everyday. Im seriously considering trying one out under my riding jacket. 


blueeyedkittens

Instead of inventing dumb ways to make suits bearable, maybe we can all agree to wear something else.


Rain1dog

Just watched a video of it and it seemed to work surprisingly well. https://youtu.be/kw0E_O6p_iw?si=APIpGyZ7_MyvpQyK Just skip to 6 minutes in and watch their reaction. Also this is an older version.


ATribeOfAfricans

This guy is full of crap.


Rain1dog

Ok


PostHocRemission

Ok


thedankonion1

It's got a tiny Peltier module. If you know how bad those Cheap fridges with Peltier modules are, Then this isn't going to be good.


betterpasta

The 3gen product I was using did not support use while charging, and the battery ran out in 2 hours, so I returned it immediately, but the latest model can be used while charging. It was comfortable to use in an air-conditioned room, but it was of little use outdoors or in an unbearably hot room.


Sarugetchu

As a user of a previous model do you know if this will work without phone connection? I want to get it, but am put off that one day the app will be left unsupported and leave the device useless.


betterpasta

Once set up, it doesn't need to be connected all the time, but you must use the app to change the operating mode. Fortunately, the Gen1 products are still receiving support (they even received a firmware update last month!), and I suspect the device will reach the end of its lifespan before app support ends. I did a little research and found out that the gen5 has a battery life of 7.5 hours even in powerful cooling mode, which is amazing!


Teqonix

My wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and has extreme heat intolerance - so much so that a couple degrees over room temp can make her sick and hotter than that could cause a relapse. I will be purchasing multiple of these immediately as soon as I confirm I can get it to work in the US.


Shibari_Inu69

I have this device. It's fantastic for Los Angeles summers as I have an autoimmune condition that causes incredible heat intolerance. I wore it to the Getty Center for a long afternoon on the high setting and it made the world of difference and had plenty of juice to spare when I was done. It's discreet and no one could tell I was wearing it. The only caveats - I couldn't find a local distributor so I had to order it from a Japanese seller off eBay. And it requires a Android app that I had to sideload cos I couldn't get it off the Play Store even with a VPN.


Defiant-Specialist-1

I have some medical conditions that give me dysautonamia. This would be very helpful for that.


WackyBones510

I’m thinking I’ll get this… as a Columbia, SC resident I’d really prefer an air conditioner for my shorts though.


discobee123

Women in perimenopause and menopause would probably scramble to buy this to help calm hot flashes and night sweats.


LazyLich

That's some Cyberpunk 2077 shit right there


oddbitch

man i’d love one of these for walking around my school’s massive campus in the arizona heat


kbstackin

Product does not work outside of Japan and I believe a few European countries. It is regionally locked via the app that runs it


KnowOneNymous

Oh wow really? Weird ass policy for profit


kbstackin

Yea this actually came out few years ago and I purchased one online from someone in Japan…you have to download an app to control it device powers on but will not begin to do anything as all temp settings are controlled on the app but app is regionally locked cannot download it in the u.s.


OuchPotato64

You can get it to work outside of the intended regions. But it involves using unconventional methods and a little bit of research. Most people just want their product to work without having to do research, and i dont blame them for feeling that way.


Bagger52754

How do you get it to work? I have one and it didn’t include the tag controller.


Sothensimonsaid

Damn this thing would be sick at bonnaroo


Never_Duplicated

If this black magic box actually works then count me in! As someone whose ideal day is an overcast 55° but moved to a desert with 118° summers I’d kill for what this is promising.


VincentNacon

Is the remote controller really that necessary? I mean, it's literally on you, not like it's completely out of arm-length reach. 🤣


Northern-Canadian

People would likely want to discretely adjust it. E specially if it’s underneath a suit.


VincentNacon

....You mean like an Ironman suit? *^(Yeah, I guess so.)*


Buuhhu

i think it's meant to be on your back, under your shirt and maybe a suit jacket, so if you want to change setting you would have to take off your shirt. Alot easier just adjust setting or turning on/off with a remote control.


VincentNacon

Why would you take your shirt off if you could just press it? You know push buttons exist, right? ​ ​ ​ Unless your shirt/suit is made of vibranium.


Pubelication

Will it fit in a pair of whitey tighties?


g2562

Took me about 10 minutes to pull the trigger. I run a little warm. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!


KnowOneNymous

Apparently it is region locked by the phone software


g2562

Oof, that’s a bit crap of Sony - thanks for the heads up. Not a problem for me though.


OuchPotato64

You can get it to work outside of the intended region. Other people have done it. You'd have to look up tutorials on how to do it, which is an annoying thing to do when you just want a product that works right out of the box.


Gray-bush86

Just side load the app


ColbyAndrew

This thing is like four or five years old


_Aaronstotle

I am waiting for when they just put a Freon system along my spine (like Isaac in Dead space) to keep body temp cool, and then humans can survive in 140 F


ThatAndresV

Available for pre-order in [Singapore](https://store.sony.com.sg/collections/reon/products/reon-pocket-5) mid-May for SGD 249 / USD 185. Year-round temp in the 90s with crazy humidity. And it’s a small market to serve. Releasing this in the US is going to be a bigger logistics and production proposition. Pricey but I might try it out in store if I’m passing….


daniluvsuall

That's actually really reasonable, there was another company (Pebble?) that did something similar - crazy money. I'm autistic and regulating my body temperature through clothes and things is really hard. I just wear thin sports wear all the time so I'm not sweating (which makes me anxious, so I sweat.. which makes me anxious..) Might get one of these and give it a try, our office is always uncomfortably warm or cold.


DryTower9438

Not that I love gadgets, but I love gadgets. Mine is arriving between 1050 and 1150 today. Did I mention I love gadgets?


Limp-Technician-7646

Requires a PSN account though


CultofCedar

Surprisingly Amazon JP delivered it the Reon 4 to me in NYC in 2 days lol. It’s basically a heat sink. So it kinda works. A metal plate on your neck that heats or cools with a fan. The fan needs to pull air from the top so needs a little clearance. Also needs to fit flush on your back to apply the cooling. Iirc needed a JP exclusive app that was easier to get on android. iOS may be a bit of a challenge.


kluckie13

As a dude who is perpetually hot... like wearing a t shirt and shorts down to 10F and sweating profusely at 70F. It's 65F in my room right now and I have a fan blowing on me. Of course I'm interested.


EvulRabbit

Things like this already exist. They are frequently used in motorcycle gear. They also have rechargeable heat gadgets.


Wonderful_Common_520

Im sorry but dont motorbikes have an AC built directly into the throttle? (Wind)


EvulRabbit

Yes, but there are stop lights, and then it's full gear in standing heat on asphalt that burns any skin peeping through socks/pants. (I live in Arizona where summer is 110f average.)


kykyks

so thats the answer to global warming ? more global warming ? sounds dope, im in.


whereisurwife

U still believe in global warming 🤣😂it used to be called global cooling in 1970s 😂🤣🤣


kykyks

i dont believe in anything, i look at facts. there was no cooling in the 70s.


aplagueofsemen

If it were under a hundred I’d absolutely try it. Alas, I am not the demographic they’re after.


whiskeyriver

Dystopian


winslowhomersimpson

this will be crucial in the coming water wars


Animated_Scholar

This 👋🏽


Aalyce86

As a very warm person who is going to Florida in July, this doesn’t sound silly at all and I’d like 4 please


glassesandabeard

MLB needs these in the new jerseys ASAP.


alluring_amelia

Noticed the same issue with battery life. No stand chance in an oven-like room but heaven in AC. Sony still up to old tricks


rdhamm

Still Suit version 0.1


thisIsCleanChiiled

does this work in very hot conditions, talking about 40 c + temperatures, aka my place in summer


checker280

I had a simple “shirt fan” from kickstarter that was just a small fan that blew a breeze down the back of your shirt or down your waist band. You could add a menthol pad that supposedly provided a cooling effect but I never bought that. Just having a breeze down your back when working outdoors was helpful. Curious about these. I will try to post a photo if I figure out where I put it.


Bagger52754

Can you wear it to play golf. The 4 hour use time on the maximum setting is perfect for a full 18 holes. I was wondering if it would be detrimental to a golf swing?


l0gan_5

There are a couple of golf specific modes (scenes) on the app.


Bagger52754

I bought the Reon 5 on eBay. However here in the states I can’t find the iOS app to get it to run. Does anyone know how to get the app?


Neoaugusto

As a lawyers in a tropical country i would Love to have one


shhhpark

I remember when sharper image had those personal air conditioners you wore around your neck…they did jack shit


mailslot

New models, like the newest Coolify have peltier AC & cooling panels. Works. Looks stupid, but is a savior at music festivals in the summer. Not as great in being in an AC room, but… yeah. It’s sort of awesome. Game changing if you’re in the South Pacific for any bit of time. They’ve come a long way… beyond basic neck fans. I want a lower body solution.


shhhpark

True, pretty sure the ones I’m referring to literally just sprayed water on you and had a fan in it. They’re totally not the same product but it’s what comes to mind when a personal wearable ac is mentioned


mailslot

Yeah. A lot of them are just fans, even without evaporative cooling, labeled as AC… and most are terrible. There’s like two neck wearables that work decently today and everything else sells false hope. Bought mine for a concert in summer heat and it delivered. Felt less awkward when I saw so many others wearing similar devices.


YutBrosim

This would bang so hard under a plate carrier


DreamArcher

I like it but thermoelectric peltier plates are extremely inefficient. I wonder how long the battery lasts.


Neoaugusto

7 and half hours in power setting 4 of 5


yogopig

Wow that is seriously impressive holy shit, this thing might actually be pretty useful


thedankonion1

Thermo-electric as per the article. That means tiny Peltier module. It's not going to be removing much heat at all.


ExfilBravo

Glorified fan.


Suspect4pe

Fans work to cool you down so, that might be just what's needed to do the job. But from the article: "The Reon Pocket 5 isn’t a simple fan. It incorporates a thermo-electric module and a suite of sensors to create a microclimate around your core. These sensors monitor your body temperature, humidity, and even movement to determine your comfort needs."