Once upon a time, during the stone age era known as the 1970s, a product completely devoid of usefulness was created: the pet rock. This thing enjoyed a burst of commercial success that engenders acute embarrassment. Its inventor proved that the alchemists were right, you can make gold out of completely valueless minerals. Now, whether an intrepid pair of researchers originally hailing from Keio University have crafted today's high-tech version of the pet rock, in either its irredeemable lack of utility or ridiculous success, only the heavens know. But in the Pileus, an Internet umbrella, they are giving it the old college try. The umbrella created a publicity splash some time ago as an umbrella that was wired to display photos on its underside, via the Flickr Internet photo service, a must for all rainy days. The digital marvel has since evolved from its first-generation version through two subsequent efforts to the latest incarnation that supports both Flickr and Google Earth, packs a built-in camera, a motion sensor, GPS and a digital compass. Its two main functions are the sharing of photos on the walk and navigation. Using the umbrella's camera a user can take a picture and upload it to Flicker via a wireless Internet connection. Just to complete the distraction, beyond viewing still images on the umbrella, an advanced prototype allows the user to stream video from YouTube. Using Google Earth, a 3D bird's-eye view of the area around the user can be displayed. These may all be useful ideas but I fear for the longevity of any pedestrian packing such a device, they will need a car navigation service to help them avoid the traffic and other obstacles they won't be looking out for. The device formerly used for keeping off the rain is not yet at the commercial production stage but fear not, even pet rocks were just once lowly stones on the ground.

Charge me up: The Chargepod is not a made in Japan product, but its U.S. origins do not lessen its usefulness. In essence it is a six-way recharging device, looking rather like a six-armed octopus, that you can use to juice up your cell phone, digital music player and other gadgets. It runs off an included AC adapter and you can add a USB adapter, for $29.95, to the mix. There is no denying the virtue of having one device to do the job of six but at $49.95 the price of convenience is a tad high. Online orders can be made from Callpod at www.callpod.com/products/

Sun worshippers: Versatility is also one of the selling points for the Solar-fine 1350 recharger from local outfit Links International. Adapters are included for charging up a range of devices, including almost all Japanese cell phones, hand-held game consoles, including the PSP and Nintendo's DS, and, naturally, the iPod clan. True to its name the device's second claim to your patronage is that the charger runs off solar power. The single glaring drawback is the need to find enough sunshine for 10 hours of recharging, although Links includes the option to subcontract the charging via AC or USB. The recharger costs 7,980 yen with more information available at http://www.links.co.jp/