Potechinote is back with some fresh design changes!

These are trying times for salty snack food makers and their ruler, the mighty potato chips, known for their dusting of salt and other seasonings that have been held in high regard as “finger-licking good” long before the Colonel came and co-opted that expression.

But in this brave new world of smartphones and tablets, wasting time has never been so hands-on. This is leading people to search for alternative snacks that don’t dirty up fingers as much, like corn dogs or pickled ginger sticks.

But out of the darkness, a hero has engineered by Takara Tomy to protect the humble potato chip and allow us all to wolf down a bag without ever setting a finger on them: Potechinote!

The name is pronounced “Po-tay-chi-no-tay” and is a delightfully rhythmic mash-up of “potato chip” and “te” the Japanese word for “hand” that I cannot seem to stop saying to myself. But more than that, it’s a tool that will pick up your potato chips for you!

Potechinote harnesses the awesome power of the hand and packs it into a tiny cartoon-gloved plastic hand which you control via a simple switch. 

Now, you might be thinking, “Won’t that thing just break all the chips as it tries to pick them up?” For that I would say, “How dare you question Potechinote?!” And then, I would explain that Potechinote utilizes their signature No Broken Clutch System (NBCS) which ensures a gentle carriage for your crisps.

It’s a wonderful thing but probably makes some people out there wonder, “Sure, but doesn’t the plastic hand just get flavor dust all over it?”

To that I sigh and answer in a calm voice tinged with annoyance, “No, because Potechinote of course thought of that and implemented the Finger Easy Cleaning System (FECS).” Using the FECS you can make Potechinote’s fingers rub each other laterally, thus dislodging excess crumbs and powder.

And despite all your disrespect, Potechinote keeps on giving with its No Contact with Fingertips Mechanism (NCFM) which is a state of the art “bump” that allows Potechinote to rest on the table without it coming into contact with the NBCS.

New to this line of Potechinote is a collab with major chip maker Calbee for four designs that coordinate with their most popular flavors: Pizza Potato, Lightly Salted, Seaweed and Salt, and Consomme.

▼ Pizza Potato is sure to be a popular item

If all that were enough, each Potechinote has a stylus tip on the other end to ensure your fingers don’t have to touch a thing for remainder of your snacking and smartphoning session.

And did I mention it’s named “Potechinote?”

So save up your loose change from now until it release date of 29 June and you should have just enough to cover the 1,280-yen (US$12) suggested retail price of a Potechinote. Your smartphone or tablet will thank you for it, and so will your fingers if those piping hot microwaveable chips ever get released back onto the market.

Source: PR Times, NetLab, Tekukura
Images: PR Times 
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