The Energon Pub

[dragons]

Bit of an old mobile phone.
I dunno.
I think the Speed Dial mold did it with more charm and the Wire Tap black/red repaint just looked cooler.

these cell phone figures look much better i buy these figures pass on new action figure

[Rated X]

Ewww

Every time people toss around the term "Asian market" this is the type of stuff I think of. Weird figures that transform into phones, memory sticks, shoes, hello kittys, disney characters, teddy bears, and little baseball caps.

[Optimum Supreme]

"These 3 figures are available separately for ¥5,400 or ¥16,200 for all 3, which comes to about $48 and $144 US dollars respectively"

Care to try again?

5400 Japanese Yen equals
49.4520 US Dollar


16200 Japanese Yen equals
148.3559 US Dollar

[Va'al]

We return to those mobile phone Transformers characters, creation of a partnership between Japanese phone carrier au and Takara Tomy: the au×TRANSFORMERS project INFOBAR OPTIMUS PRIME (NISHIKIGOI）. Courtesy of the official YouTube channel for Takara Tomy themselves, we have a promotional video for one of the Optimus Prime looking figures, which also includes a visual rundown of several incarnations of the character, from G1 to the live-action movieverse, via the Masterpiece line - plus the same treatment for the au mobile phone products - ending in the Nishikigoi figure!

You can check out the video for yourselves below, and join the discussion on this crossover reminiscent of the old Real Gear lines in the Energon Pub discussion boards. For more information on the other figures, head to the official website for the line, here!

NOTE: This is the exact same video posted back in February, but only now reuploaded by Takara Tomy.

[Deathsanras]

Courtesy of the official YouTube channel for Takara Tomy themselves, we have a promotional video for one of the Optimus Prime looking figures

Go back a page. The video was posted back in Feb (post by Stuartmaximus).

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Optimus_Prime_(G1)/toys#au_x_Transformers
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Megatron_(G1)/toys#au_x_Transformers
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Bumblebee_(G1)/toys#au_x_Transformers

[Va'al]

Courtesy of the official YouTube channel for Takara Tomy themselves, we have a promotional video for one of the Optimus Prime looking figures

Go back a page. The video was posted back in Feb (post by Stuartmaximus).

The video I posted was uploaded yesterday.


But, as you point out, it is exactly the same. Huh.

[Rated X]

Who would collect these and why? Are they working cell phones? They remind me of those dumb phones with big buttons for elderly people.

[Deathsanras]

TakaraTomy channel post on Jan 31: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC3oQ9sSm6w (restricted to Japan).

Who would collect these and why? Are they working cell phones? They remind me of those dumb phones with big buttons for elderly people.

Why would anyone collect G1 Soundwave, Ravage and Laserbeak when they're not working devices? G1 Reflector, G1 Megatron, Real Gears, Mi Pad Soundwave, Sega Megatron, Playstation Optimus, etc.
They are scaled down from real INFOBAR mobile phones. However, they are functional as notification devices paired with an actual phone. Same as with the Pebble smartwatch.

[Cobotron]

Oh wow! They do have some function. That's neat!

I said before that these would be fun for my Microman collection, but at the moment, I'm not feeling all that motivated to track them down.

[Rated X]

TakaraTomy channel post on Jan 31: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC3oQ9sSm6w (restricted to Japan).

Who would collect these and why? Are they working cell phones? They remind me of those dumb phones with big buttons for elderly people.

Why would anyone collect G1 Soundwave, Ravage and Laserbeak when they're not working devices? G1 Reflector, G1 Megatron, Real Gears, Mi Pad Soundwave, Sega Megatron, Playstation Optimus, etc.
They are scaled down from real INFOBAR mobile phones. However, they are functional as notification devices paired with an actual phone. Same as with the Pebble smartwatch.

You didnt answer my question if these things actually work or not. Its kind of hard to compare a cheap childs play toy from 1984 to an expensive 2017 homage toy geared towards adult collectors. With that being said, find me one adult that feels the need to carry around a transformable working cell phone? Or if your argument would be that these are "play phones" meant for kids, please try to explain the adult collector price...

[Jelze Bunnycat]

TakaraTomy channel post on Jan 31: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC3oQ9sSm6w (restricted to Japan).

Who would collect these and why? Are they working cell phones? They remind me of those dumb phones with big buttons for elderly people.

Why would anyone collect G1 Soundwave, Ravage and Laserbeak when they're not working devices? G1 Reflector, G1 Megatron, Real Gears, Mi Pad Soundwave, Sega Megatron, Playstation Optimus, etc.
They are scaled down from real INFOBAR mobile phones. However, they are functional as notification devices paired with an actual phone. Same as with the Pebble smartwatch.

You didnt answer my question if these things actually work or not. Its kind of hard to compare a cheap childs play toy from 1984 to an expensive 2017 homage toy geared towards adult collectors. With that being said, find me one adult that feels the need to carry around a transformable working cell phone? Or if your argument would be that these are "play phones" meant for kids, please try to explain the adult collector price...

The price is more for the novelty than anything else. They're licensed, scaled down designs and feature minor electronics to boot. They may not be real working phones, but they're not "kiddie toys" either: their appeal is more for fans of that particular model phone, really.

[Emerje]

These phones look old by our standards, but they're the common style in Japan. They have all the same functionality and apps as our smart phones, they just look different. Fact is a lot of the functions that have only just become common in the past couple years on our phones like near field communication and in-store payment started in Japan years ago with phones like these. They're much more advanced than they look.

Emerje

[Rated X]

TakaraTomy channel post on Jan 31: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC3oQ9sSm6w (restricted to Japan).

Who would collect these and why? Are they working cell phones? They remind me of those dumb phones with big buttons for elderly people.

Why would anyone collect G1 Soundwave, Ravage and Laserbeak when they're not working devices? G1 Reflector, G1 Megatron, Real Gears, Mi Pad Soundwave, Sega Megatron, Playstation Optimus, etc.
They are scaled down from real INFOBAR mobile phones. However, they are functional as notification devices paired with an actual phone. Same as with the Pebble smartwatch.

You didnt answer my question if these things actually work or not. Its kind of hard to compare a cheap childs play toy from 1984 to an expensive 2017 homage toy geared towards adult collectors. With that being said, find me one adult that feels the need to carry around a transformable working cell phone? Or if your argument would be that these are "play phones" meant for kids, please try to explain the adult collector price...

The price is more for the novelty than anything else. They're licensed, scaled down designs and feature minor electronics to boot. They may not be real working phones, but they're not "kiddie toys" either: their appeal is more for fans of that particular model phone, really.

Phone fans? I didnt know such a thing exised. Could someone possibly love a phone so much that ownling the actual phone isnt enough?

I cant believe they use phones like that in Japan. If that phone was ano bigger Nino Brown would be using it...

[CircuitBreaker]

I myself think it brings me nostalgia of real gear robots, a line I wish survived over time in my collection. (Smaller siblings ripping and tearing ball joints from sockets) The fact that it can also be a transformer desk toy at work, notify me like it’s “my phone ringing”, and accuracy to a real phone appeals to the techie in me as well.

Is there any preorders for this yet? Specifically Megatron?

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Thanks to a heads up from Seibertronian Terrsolpix, we now have a new video review of the au x Transformers Mobile Phone Optimus Prime, or a bit more simply, Infobar Optimus Prime. As you may remember, these Infobar figures were revealed a good ways back, almost a year ago now, and back in February we posted a story about what these figures are and what they do. Basically, the Infobar is based on a popular phone type in Japan, and these phones were designed to Transform into Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Bumblebee, not unlike that San Diego Comic Con Soundwave that turned into a tablet.

In the video review found below, reviewer Tef Tef takes a good long look at the figure, which includes the ability to hook up to your mobile device and make the alert sounds for your device. It also contains LED lights to go with the notification sounds. The figure also comes with a funny little phone accessory, making this thing even more goofy.

Check out the video review below, and let us know what you think of it in the comments section below!

[primalxconvoy]

As far as I know, none of the Infobar TFs make any sounds. They simply have an LED that flashes when you get a notification.

[Tef-Tef]

Actually... Tef-Tef here from the video... I mentions how it DOES NOT have bluetooth/sound/lights or anything for that matter.

From what I heard those with Bluetooth support were for people that backed the crowdfunding, and a special "white/movie" edition that will come out later on. Also the Bumble Bee and Megatron were specially for the crowdfunding people also.

[primalxconvoy]

Really? I've got the crowdfunded versions, which was a set of BB, Megs and Op, all with lights. That seems to confirm it. The original sales spiel seemed obtuse and confusing to my Japanese friend, who didn't know that a regular Optimus would be out without crowdfuning. It suggested that all figures would be out, but the crowdfunded version would have a special box and be cheaper than buying all the figures separately?

[Deathsanras]

TakaraTomy channel post on Jan 31: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC3oQ9sSm6w (restricted to Japan).

Who would collect these and why? Are they working cell phones? They remind me of those dumb phones with big buttons for elderly people.

Why would anyone collect G1 Soundwave, Ravage and Laserbeak when they're not working devices? G1 Reflector, G1 Megatron, Real Gears, Mi Pad Soundwave, Sega Megatron, Playstation Optimus, etc.
They are scaled down from real INFOBAR mobile phones. However, they are functional as notification devices paired with an actual phone. Same as with the Pebble smartwatch.

You didnt answer my question if these things actually work or not. Its kind of hard to compare a cheap childs play toy from 1984 to an expensive 2017 homage toy geared towards adult collectors. With that being said, find me one adult that feels the need to carry around a transformable working cell phone? Or if your argument would be that these are "play phones" meant for kids, please try to explain the adult collector price...

Yes, I did. It's quoted in your reply.
(Not liking the answer is not the same thing.)
On the other hand, you didn't answer any of mine.

[primalxconvoy]

These toys were created in partnership with AU, one of the big three Japanese phone carriers (Alongside Docomo and Softbank). In Japan, for most of the locals, the phones are simply known as a (Carrier Name) + phone/model name". In some cases, the name is replaced with a made-up model number, so a Samsung Galaxy Note 1 might be something like a "Docomo Galaxy v34567". Furthermore, some of the carriers, in the good old days of feature-phones, had special handsets designed just for them (or had exclusivity rights to certain handsets). The "Infobar" was one for AU.

It was seen as a rather different looking phone at the time, with clunky buttons and mosaic design. Recently, AU wanted to celebrate the design (or some design awards did) and so it went into partnership with Takara to make some TFs, much in the same way we've have tablet Soundwave, that Chevolet bot for DOTM, etc.

That's it. There's nothing really else to add. It's not aimed at kids but collectors, as a curiosity piece.

[OptimusMegatron878]

I think these transforming cell phones are a cool idea. I have the Optimus Prime figure, does anyone know when toy sites like BBTS or TFSource will be listing the Megatron and Bumblebee phones? Any info. would be greatly appreciated.

[primalxconvoy]

Those were only pre-order versions, as part of a set with Optimus, during a crowd-funded campaign, quite some time ago.

I doubt they will be available at BBTS. Ebay or Yahoo! Auctions Japan are probably more likely to have them.