Yahoo! JAPAN 20th Founding Anniversary Project: "Yahoo! Smart Stretch 360," World's First!! Video with 360-Degree View Relieves "Text Neck" Caused by Smartphone Use

TOKYO, June 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In commemoration of the 20th anniversary on April 1, 2016, since launching service, Yahoo Japan Corp. (Yahoo! JAPAN) is currently conducting various projects and campaigns. Yahoo! JAPAN has unveiled "Yahoo! Smart Stretch 360" as a new 20th-year project, the world's first (*1) attempt at a smartphone video that utilizes YouTube's 360-degree video feature enabling 360-degree viewing to relieve "text neck" caused by smartphone use.

(Photo: http://prw.kyodonews.jp/opn/release/201606131562/)

Yahoo! Smart Stretch 360 video uses smartphone to relieve "text neck" caused by smartphone use:

Promotion page: http://smartstretch360.yahoo.co.jp
360-degree video: https://youtu.be/4k2XDT0-vhI
How-to video: https://youtu.be/RxQ6M9ICNXk

*Please use the YouTube smartphone app to view 360-degree videos. (The YouTube app may be pre-installed in some smartphone models, but others may require installation separately.) Also note that if YouTube is viewed over the Internet on a PC, smartphone, or tablet, 360-degree viewing is accomplished by use of a mouse.

Yahoo! JAPAN, which offers various smartphone and tablet services and apps including news, weather, emergency information, videos, and e-commerce, has created as a 20th-anniversary project, Yahoo! Smart Stretch 360, a video that helps relieve "text neck," a condition caused by smartphone use. Designed under the direction of Yoshihito Nagahata, Teikyo University Faculty of Medical Technology Assistant Professor and Japan Stretching Association Director, the video relieves text neck simply by having the user view a smartphone 360-degree video while seated at the office or home, without the need to memorize or copy movements.

Description of Yahoo! Smart Stretch 360, a smartphone video that relieves "text neck" caused by smartphone use

After instructions on its use are provided, Yahoo! Smart Stretch 360, a smartphone video that relieves "text neck" caused by smartphone use, begins the stretching with an instructor's energetic voice saying, "Follow me, OK? Let's go!"

Your shoulders and neck will gradually loosen up as you move your body while holding your smartphone and following the movements up, down, left, and right of the instructor, who is moving in 360-degree space and providing encouragement with enthusiastic instructions of "Up! Up! Yay! Down! Down!" to the rhythm of light music. The video will guide you with encouraging phrases such as "Nice stretch!" and "Good job!", and a sexy blonde woman will replace the instructor as you are drawn into this energetic environment. Before you know it, the stretching will be finished in just about two minutes overall. This is a fun and impactful video, but it offers serious stretching under expert direction. Supervising director Yoshihito Nagahata will also take the place of the instructor for a brief moment on screen, so please pay attention!

- About Yahoo! Smart Stretch 360, a smartphone video that relieves "text neck" caused by smartphone use
Launch date: Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Promotion page: http://smartstretch360.yahoo.co.jp
Video URL: https://youtu.be/4k2XDT0-vhI
* To view 360-degree video, please use the latest YouTube app version for Android or iOS.

"How-to Video" URL: https://youtu.be/RxQ6M9ICNXk
Supported devices: Smartphones and tablets
Device requirements: iOS 7 or later, Android 4.0.0 or later. 
* Some models may not be supported depending on the device.

Attention: Effects will vary according to the individual.

How to enjoy Yahoo! Smart Stretch 360, a smartphone video that relieves "text neck" from smartphone use

1. Sit back in a chair and press your spine into the seat back.
2. Extend both arms forward with your smartphone in hand.
3. Center the instructor's face in the middle of the screen. Keep your feet still.
4. Simply follow the video and move your body!

SOURCE Yahoo Japan Corporation

Related Links

http://smartstretch360.yahoo.co.jp