Go postal retentive with Thanko's Mailbox Sentry

A wireless link between your mailbox and a digital readout in your living room -- the days of wondering if the post has arrived are long, long gone

By Mark Hiratsuka 1 May, 2010

Pro: She knows the post has arrived. Con: Now she has to get up and fetch it.

Ah, Japan -- the land where Zen butts up against death by overwork and endless innovation meets any number of pointless gadgets just like Thanko’s Posto no Mihariban, or Mailbox Sentry.

The brand-new piece of kit from Japan’s masters of the inane uses some decidedly old-school technology to fire off an alert when the mailman makes a delivery.

Some obsessive postbox-watchers may have a need for such a thing, but we can’t imagine many people really wanting a Wargames-style readout atop their TV sets just for a heads-up on the gas bill.

As for how it all came together, we’d love to have been a fly on the wall at Thanko’s product-planning meeting:

“So, we’ve got a truckload of mechanical tilt-switches and 100m radio transmitters, but what can we do with them, guys?”

“Hang on -- switches and transmitters, you say? Thing is, I’ve got this sackful of red LED monitors, so maybe, just maybe....”

Equally improbable is the usage scenario that has a sofa-bound Tokyoite eagerly hanging on the Mailbox Sentry’s word for that beep and number jump that says “You’ve got mail,” then rushing to unwrap its delight.

Mailbox Sentry costs ¥4,980 ($53) and hey -- why not go wild and give the gift of postal peace of mind to a friend. Thanko’s beautiful wrapping service can be yours for just ¥210 ($2.20) extra (Japan only, alas).