you can say a lot of things about japanese merchants/craftsmen, but one remarkable thing about them is the insidious way they can convince consumers of certain needs they didn’t even know they had.

nowhere does this become more obvious than when you walk into Saizen [Daiso] Store (Robinson’s Galleria). Few minutes after entering this outlet (about 4 months ago), i was literally hooked. i thought i had stepped into this make-believe wonderland filled with quirky, functional (sometimes barely useful), fascinating, droll, cute, well-crafted and colorful things.

the store offers a drool-worthy array of goods — housewares, office supplies, toys, gift items, hardware supplies, stationery, accessories, beauty products, personal care items, kitchenware, gardening tools, etc. — and everything costs P85. by the time i was ready to pay for my purchases, i was astonished to find 12 different items in my shopping basket (thoughtfully provided by their staff). after an internal struggle, i pared down my loot to 7 items, and right up to the counter i even managed to leave two more items behind (and i didn’t even plan to buy one!).

i thought that was it. the next time i visit Saizen i would be more or less forearmed and able to resist its seductive clutches. hah. wishful thinking.

i’ve been there 5 or 6 times since. and each time i leave, i buy no less than 5 items (yesterday, i bought 8). i agree, most of them i bought for their visual appeal, but so far there have been stuff that turned out to be very useful (like that box of transparent band-aid, pouch for my mp3 player, etc.). and i’m quite sure i’ll be coming back for more.

so what is it about Saizen that draws me (and countless other smitten shoppers) into its irresistible orbit? i can’t quite put into words. it’s something that needs to be experienced to be believed and understood. ask any Saizen patron and (s)he’ll probably give you a list of reasons, along with stacks of items they had inexplicably purchased.

i dare you to go there and leave without buying anything…

as for me… well, for now i promise to buy no more than TWO items the next time i go there. okay. make that THREE. really. i mean it… (negotiation continues)

i’m not assiduously into planners (at least, not as serious about it as pseudoshrink is heheh). really. i just like to look at them from time to time, especially during the first three months of the year. after that, they tend to fade away from my memory. also, i’m not the type to collect stickers just to get my hands on one (i did buy a couple online in the past though).

and yet, this time i actually went through the whole rigmarole of collecting those darn Starbucks stickers — after i had 4 of those suckers pasted on my stub, i figured i might as well finish the whole thing. i got my last sticker by jan. 3, and i thought it was just a simple matter of marching into any Starbucks branch, then presenting the stub (by the time my stub was filled, it looked like it had been stomped on by a herd of goats), and presto i can walk out of Starbucks with one of those planners on my hands.

hah. i suppose i ought to have known there would be about a couple of million coffee drinkers out there who would want to have their own Starbucks 2010 planner. after going through 4 Starbucks branches — only to be told that they have run out of stock — i was ready to call it quits.

pseudoshrink, of course, was ready to help, but i guess i’m just plain out of luck. today, though, i decided to have one last try. and what do you know, i actually managed to redeem one without any trouble. so, was the hassle worth it? well, i’m not sure yet. (you can ask me again 3 months from now, though.) for now, i just like looking at it.

here’s telecom giant Nokia’s latest release — the Nokia Booklet 3G, a compact (10.1 in.), lightweight (1.25 kg), battery-efficient (12 hours!) mini-laptop that offers a host of nifty features (you can use it with any phone). It runs on Windows 7 (OS), and has GPS, HDMI output, Bluetooth function, 3G (naturally), Wi-Fi port, Ovi suite, etc. and stylish looks.

with 12 hours of battery of life — along with a few other yummy features — the Booklet 3G is almost irresistible. except for the price tag, of course. it is priced at $820 (rather a bit much for a netbook), which you can expect to climb by 30%–60% the moment it hits local stores (taxes, add-ons, etc.)

still, if you’re into mobile computing, but can’t really stand the hassle of too much weight and continuous recharging and have some cash to burn, Nokia Booklet 3G might be a nice option.

after 21 months of faithful, dogged service, my battle-scarred Nokia N73 has finally upped and died on me. *sniff*

it’s been showing unmistakable signs of old age lately but i’ve been stubbornly holding on to the idea that i could nurse it back to health — basically grasping at straws to keep it going and justifying its recalcitrant performance. last week, though, after failing to make a couple of local phone calls, i knew i had to face the fact that it was time to replace it.

and so with much regret, i trudged to the Nokia service center to ascertain whether it was still salvageable (which felt like performing last rites or something). the technician there told me the battery was fine, so it was definitely the unit that was the problem (another nail on the coffin). as a last recourse, i had the whole thing reformatted, which meant that i’d be losing a lot of data (contact details, images, video clips, etc.) in the process. i’m supposed to pick it up tomorrow to hear about its final fate.

the next item on the list was to search for a new mobile phone. after a half-hearted look over the list of available units via SmartComm’s retention plan, i quickly realized that none of the models on the list appealed to me so i browsed around several electronics outlets.

i’d been more or less planning to buy another Nokia phone, but after going back and forth over my choices i finally settled on this sleek-looking Ericsson G900 unit. i’m usually not too hung up on detailed product specs since i probably won’t be using most of those features anyway, but i must admit i got sold on some of its highlighted features — things like 5-megapixel camera, touchscreen function, Wi-Fi capability, 2.4″ screen, etc. (and even a stylus for those who prefer to use it).

This G900 unit has been with me for about 2 days and i’m still learning the ropes (an uphill climb, whew!), but so far i’m fairly tickled with it. like most average users, i find the idea of poring over the manual a real chore, so i’m basically blundering my way around. it’ll probably take me months to figure out everything heheh… but i look forward to that.

there a couple of things should be noted though… the Ericsson G900 is not perfect, nor is it for everyone. like the first Ericsson unit i owned (SE W800i), some of its buttons — particularly the camera controls — are hard to manipulate. moreover, Ericsson phones are generally not as user-friendly as Nokia units. for instance, it took me three attempts to successfully install the phone software and until now i’m still finding it hard to use the Ericsson PC suite.

ah well…