The world’s biggest collector of pizza boxes
When it comes to pizza, one man is constantly thinking outside the box — thinking not so much about the contents of the box, as the box itself.
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Smartphone? It’s all about the flip phone in Japan
Japanese shipments of traditional flip phones rose in 2014 for the first time in seven years while smartphone shipments fell, highlighting Japanese consumers’ tenacious attachment to the familiar and typically less expensive older models.
Dubbed “Galapagos” phones because they have evolved to meet unique Japanese standards and tastes, flip phone shipments rose 5.7 per cent to 10.58 million in 2014, data from market researcher MM Research Institute Ltd shows. Smartphone shipments fell 5.3 per cent to 27.70 million, down for a second year.
Samsung attempted to bring back the flip phone with the dual-screened Hennessy in 2013
Users in Japan pay some of the highest smartphone fees among developed nations, the telecommunications ministry says, while flip-phone rates are among the lowest. Many Japanese accustomed to years of deflation are content with old-style flip phones offering voice calling, email and in most cases basic Internet services.
Japanese electronics companies Panasonic Corp and NEC Corp have pulled out of the consumer smartphone business, unable to compete with dominant brands Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. They still make flip-phones, though, competing in a crowded market with Fujitsu and Sharp Corp, among others.
But with a mobile penetration rate of 98.5 per cent, or 125 million subscriptions, there is little scope for significant overall growth in Japan’s mobile market, MM Research said. “Smartphones are also peaking in terms of functionality and they tend to last a long time as well, so there are fewer renewals,” said MM Research Executive Analyst Hideaki Yokota. He said 2014 was a particularly strong year for renewals in the subscription cycle for flip-phones, suggesting that last year’s growth may not be repeated this year.
Britain’s ‘tallest schoolgirl’ who is 6ft at 13 wins beauty pageant
Harriotte Lane, from Newcastle, was teased and suffered vicious name-calling on a regular basis in primary school because she was always much taller than her fellow pupils.
Harriotte said: “I used to get comments from people saying I was too tall to play with them and that I didn’t fit in. It was really upsetting for me and it always made me feel really embarrassed.
“But now I use it as motivation – I see being tall as unique and it’s something I’m proud of.
Harriotte Lane with her school mates (Photo: Mercury Press & Media Ltd)
“As I got older I felt that being tall wasn’t something I should be ashamed of any more and people started to see me for who I really am.
“I come from a very tall family but despite that I’ve recently overtaken my dad who is just under 6ft tall.
“From modelling and doing pageants, I gained heaps of confidence and now I embrace being tall – it’s something that quite literally makes me stand out from the crowd.”
Harriotte was three inches taller than the average height for girls her age when she was five and was almost six inches taller than her female classmates by the time she reached 10.
Doctors believe Harriotte – who lives with mother Sarah, 42, father Bill, 49, and 11-year-old brother William – will shoot up to 6ft 3in based on her current growth rate.
However, her rapid growth has left her suffering from low blood pressure that often leads to blackouts.
Harriote said her impressive height had started as a curse, but she now has new-found confidence
Despite the agony, Harriotte, who also models on a part-time basis, admitted that competing in pageants has boosted her confidence and helped her beat the bullies.
She said: “The growing pains meant I started feeling sick and dizzy all the time. After months of seeing doctors, my health got worse and they realised my blood pressure was too low.
“I can’t actually have any medication or treatment for it because I don’t suffer with any type of condition. I’ve just been told to make sure I’m always well-hydrated and that I live a very healthy and active lifestyle.
“I think the best thing to do that has been joining the pageants – they’ve helped me raise so much money for charity as well as boosting my confidence.”
She took part in her first competition in August last year in the Miss Junior Teen GB event and was named as second runner-up at the Junior Miss Galaxy UK event on February 7.
Harriotte will battle it out for the Miss Junior Teen GB title in Blackpool on October 25.
Her mother Sarah, who works as a marketing consultant, said: “The…name-calling was horrific at times – she was always left to feel excluded.
“But she copes with it all so well now and she’s very determined to make the most of the pageants. Harriotte has always worked incredibly hard and now she’s reaping the rewards of being so brave and strong through those awful times when she was younger.
From CBS News and London’s Daily Telegraph
