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FYI DoCoMo Emoji

http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/service/safety/areamail/about(Japanese)
http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/1009/29/news093.html(Japanese)
Japan Meteorological Agency issues alerts to large companies, public transportations and cellphone carriers via dedicated networks. It's working quite well - trains make emergency stop, phones and speakers screams out, and you'll even have a time to make your last tweet before the disaster will hit you!

Does this help?

Exactly! I recently moved back to Japan, looked for a new cellphone, and noticed the extremely limited choices of smartphones (about 5 out of 100 available phones).

There are 2 main phone carriers (Softbank and Docomo) and 1 less popular but still large option (AU). These links go directly to their current phone lineups (in English), so you can go to the source and see what they're selling today.

Softbank offers the iPhone and a Window's mobile phone. Docomo offers a Blackberry, a Google phone, and a Window's mobile phone. Other than that, I don't think any of those other phones are considered "smartphones".

The numbers from Docomo's own site agree with the ones there (and also note that it's 19.6mm at the thinnest point).

http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/product/foma/prime/n06a/index.html
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/product/foma/prime/f09a/spec.html


Actually, almost any phone here
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/product/foma/prime/index.html

http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/product/foma/prime/n06a/index.html
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/product/foma/prime/f09a/spec.html


Actually, almost any phone here
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/product/foma/prime/index.html

http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/product/foma/prime/n06a/index.html
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/product/foma/prime/f09a/spec.html


Actually, almost any phone here
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/product/foma/prime/index.html

As for the syncing on DoCoMo, try "datalink", available here: http://datalink.nttdocomo.co.jp/

I'm pretty sure it's the Fujitsu 905i, a joint venture between Fujitsu and NTT Docomo:
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/product/foma/905i/f905i/index.html

And it's going to be introduced in Taiwan soon, with Taiwanese language localizations.

1) In general, the Japanese mobile market has a wider availability of much more bleeding edge technology than just about anywhere else in the world. This is because the Japanese, in general, are gadget freaks. Imagine if Joe Sixpack in America were as much of a gadget freak as your typical Slashdot crowd, and now you will instantly understand why Japanese tech is light years ahead of anything available in the West, including iPhone.

This is true, but 99% of their phones are *not* touch screen phones. They're not even QWERTY phones. They're standard alpha-numeric layout phones, albeit extremely advanced ones (with such features as 800x480 resolution screens, 1 seg TV tuners, and 5-8 megapixel cameras).

In fact, one of the failings of this article is that the author lumps every country into some mythical "Asian" market. What is this "Asian" market? China, Japan, Taiwan, and Korea all have different providers and different phones. They speak different languages and input them differently. There is no "Asian" cell phone market. I realize Asia is a continent, but this would be akin to saying the iPhone is popular in the "western" cell phone market. Where exactly would you mean by that?

I think there would be a natural tendency to assume Japan must be one of the top countries included in this touch-screen survey, but I would guess that is almost surely *not* the case. For one thing, Motorola is virtually unknown there. Samsung is not popular. Touch screen phones are uncommon, as you can see by browsing NTT Docomo's lineup here: http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/product/foma/index.html

The way the Japanese are used to inputting their language using latin letters on QWERTY keyboards (which is the standard way of doing it) combined with the construction of the Japanese phonetic alphabet actually means it's very easy for them to type quickly on a cell phone with a standard alphanumeric layout. So they're not going to be embracing touch screens - at least not for this reason - any time soon.

I would have liked to have seen a breakdown by country of where touch screens were popular. Korea is probably the leader. Japan is probably not on the list.

I'm replying to you, but this is a reply to everyone in this sub thread.

I currently work for a Japanese web design firm. Talk about a headache when writing sites, Japanse phones maybe be fast, but they're browsers are utter crap. There's almost 0 CSS support. You can't just write one site and then link to a "mobile" sheet because you can't link. You have to write a whole new page. So that's not the reason that there's so much 1.0 crap out there. (for those of you interested: http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/binary/pdf/service/imode/make/content/xhtml/HTML_XHTML_taglist.pdf A pdf of tags and atributes that you can use)

The Japanese alphabet (kana) is divided up into 10 main sounds 1 ranges the vowels A-I-U-E-O, 2 is Ka-Ki-Ku-Ke-Ko and sharp will give you the voiced Ga-Gi-Gu-Ge-Go, etc.
Let's say I want to type the word for "bank" which is ginkou. I hit 2 twice, then the sharp key, then 0 3 times (fo the non-voweled n) by this time, it's shown up on the predicta-text and I chose it and I'm off to the next word. Also, since there are no capitol letters in Japanese reversing through backwards speeds things up more.

Did you see the picture of the waterproof phone? These phones are not "retardedly huge" but are in fact comparable in size to all the other flip phones in the NTT DoCoMo line.

Incidentally, NTT DoCoMo actually sells Motorola RAZRs here, as the M702iS. It's on the low end of the phones they sell, but its major selling point is World Wing capability.

We've had waterproof phones in Japan for quite some time now. Here's a recent model that's advertised as "if it gets dirty, just wash it."

http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/foma/703i/f703i /index.html

And there's a fair amount of consideration given to the keypad tactile feel, given the popularity of text messaging. For example, this model has a contoured key surface for easier touch-typing:

http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/en/product/3g/812sh/index .html

Sorry to say, but Canadians like you really ought to put pressure on the government for allowing nasty oligopolies like Rogers/Telus/Bell to stifle mobile innovation in Canada.

Here's an even better one, a "VGA+" display at 690x480. http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/foma/903i/n903i /topics_01.html .

Yes, these are of course Japanese phones, and Japanese phones are for some reason much more advanced than western phones.

While you're at it, why not show off NTT's full FOMA lineup? Here: http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/foma/

Almost all of these have better raw specs than the iPhone, with higher res screens and cameras, expandable memory, user-installable apps, 3D graphics and more. You'll also notice that the Japanese have almost universally shunned any form factor other than the clamshell... just as we have. That's going to be a big problem for the iPhone in terms of attracting mainstream users (in the United States). The iPhone's problem is that it's attempting to redefine a market that's already been defined through market forces; it's not like we've never had candy bar style phones here before, and it's not like we haven't had touch screens. They just don't sell as well as clamshells, and phones with buttons.

Back to NTT, though... what's the one thing all of these have that the iPhone doesn't? 3G support (which is old hat in Japan at this point). Another big minus for the iPhone. It's not like Cingular doesn't have 3G phones here either - I've got one myself. So this is another big negative - how are you expected to actually make use of all of the iPhone's internet features on a 2G network?

On the one hand, it doesn't serve much purpose to compare the iPhone to Japanese phones, which are almost universally more advanced than ours (funny thing is NTT does sell the Moto Razr, but it's like at the bottom of their lineup of already bottom-rung 2G non-FOMA phones, and I didn't see a single one last time I was there). On the other, I do think it's worth pointing out that the iPhone is really not as advanced as some people seem to think it is. And I also think it's interesting (and telling) that even a place like Japan, which has embraced Apple's design ethos and which places so much importance on industrial design, continues down the clamshell/button road even in their ultra-high end stuff. There are reasons for this. Apple should have taken a lesson.

Here's an even better one, a "VGA+" display at 690x480. http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/foma/903i/n903i /topics_01.html .

Yes, these are of course Japanese phones, and Japanese phones are for some reason much more advanced than western phones.

While you're at it, why not show off NTT's full FOMA lineup? Here: http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/foma/

Almost all of these have better raw specs than the iPhone, with higher res screens and cameras, expandable memory, user-installable apps, 3D graphics and more. You'll also notice that the Japanese have almost universally shunned any form factor other than the clamshell... just as we have. That's going to be a big problem for the iPhone in terms of attracting mainstream users (in the United States). The iPhone's problem is that it's attempting to redefine a market that's already been defined through market forces; it's not like we've never had candy bar style phones here before, and it's not like we haven't had touch screens. They just don't sell as well as clamshells, and phones with buttons.

Back to NTT, though... what's the one thing all of these have that the iPhone doesn't? 3G support (which is old hat in Japan at this point). Another big minus for the iPhone. It's not like Cingular doesn't have 3G phones here either - I've got one myself. So this is another big negative - how are you expected to actually make use of all of the iPhone's internet features on a 2G network?

On the one hand, it doesn't serve much purpose to compare the iPhone to Japanese phones, which are almost universally more advanced than ours (funny thing is NTT does sell the Moto Razr, but it's like at the bottom of their lineup of already bottom-rung 2G non-FOMA phones, and I didn't see a single one last time I was there). On the other, I do think it's worth pointing out that the iPhone is really not as advanced as some people seem to think it is. And I also think it's interesting (and telling) that even a place like Japan, which has embraced Apple's design ethos and which places so much importance on industrial design, continues down the clamshell/button road even in their ultra-high end stuff. There are reasons for this. Apple should have taken a lesson.

Here's an even better one, a "VGA+" display at 690x480. http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/foma/903i/n903i /topics_01.html .

Yes, these are of course Japanese phones, and Japanese phones are for some reason much more advanced than western phones. When I was there for a year I had a phone with a QVGA display, that is half of the amount of pixels the iPhone has, and it was free with the plan, which was 2400 yen a month (about $20 I guess) with a one-year contract. That's with included minutes and traffic, which I for the most part didn't exceed. Oh, I should mention that this was three years ago. Now, I like Apple (I have a MacBook and an iPod as proof), but the iPhone didn't impress me much. :(

Am I the only one who's disappointed in the display resolution? I would have expected twice that amount of pixels considering the phone is just one big screen. Look at this Japanese clamshell phone with a resolution of 480x690 and at 332 dpi! http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/foma/903i/n903i /topics_01.html

Well, make the phone screens bigger. Look at Japan- phones with 3-inch screens like the Sony Ericsson SO903i are coming out (on a side note- this phone is certainly what the US should have got as a Walkman phone instead of that small thing with not even a 2-inch screen). Certainly better than a lot of what the US has to offer. It would actually be practical to watch TV on a phone with a 3-inch screen (and for pocketability, the Japanese don't complain, so you shouldn't either- big screen equals big phone no matter how you work it). I watch recorded TV shows on my phone because I regularly take bus rides of over an hour- my laptop battery life is crap because it's 3 years old so all I do with it is use it as a "save state" of my work in progress and I don't own an iPod of any sort, nor do I own any sort of standalone device for playing video.

Well, I see what you mean, but this is what they mean by a "RakuRaku" phone- apparently the Japanese have a different definition of simple. Maybe this might be more suited to your definition of "simple".

For what it's worth, in Japan the major mobile phone companies (DoCoMo, Vodafone/Softbank, AU) have promoted music-player phones since January or so. My current phone (DoCoMo N702iD) even plays AAC. The latest DoCoMo line of phones uses the fact that they all have music player software as their main selling point in advertising.

However, the ads specifically mention their WMA compatibility, so maybe Apple might be missing the boat in this market.

(and, of course, one of the phones is ATRAC compatible. Care to guess which manufacturer makes that one?)

Yes, you're probably thinking of the QR Codes which are used by DoCoMo's i-mode service.
I see those all over the place on Japanese websites.

The US is really playing catch-up with cell-phone technology.

The real future of mobile phones can be found here and here.

I think this one actually has more features than my HTPC... http://www.vodafone.jp/english/products/model_3G/v 905sh/index.html

I live in Tokyo half the year and I'm much more likely to see people video conferencing or using 3D GPS mapping, or using it as a credit card than using the grandpa phone. Of course people hardly talk on the phone in Japan. My Japanese calling plan give me 50 minutes of talk time a month, but unlimited text messages (the most popular plan with my carrier). In hind sight I should have gotten the 10 minutes of talk time plan. My Japanese phone I bought about 6 months ago has TV (with DVR) 2mp camera with "flash", full featured GPS (integrated with train schedules, etc), miniSD, barcode reader, music service, Java and Flash player, English and Japanese dictionaries and a bunch of features I've never bothered translating. All for about half of what I paid for my craptacular Razr. I never did figure out how to do half the crap on my Razr, but I can use most of the features of my phone in Japan (In a language I, for the most part, can't read) because they designed and engineered it well. I'd be happy with an American phone that just made calls, however I'm sure someone would screw up the UI to even make that stupid.

To stay on topic...
It's a shame that a company is trying to make money by increasing noise to signal when everyone knows the money is in the signal, not the noise. (Ask Google.) Maybe they're going to make money by charging people to not have access totheir crap.

I live in Tokyo half the year and I'm much more likely to see people video conferencing or using 3D GPS mapping, or using it as a credit card than using the grandpa phone. Of course people hardly talk on the phone in Japan. My Japanese calling plan give me 50 minutes of talk time a month, but unlimited text messages (the most popular plan with my carrier). In hind sight I should have gotten the 10 minutes of talk time plan. My Japanese phone I bought about 6 months ago has TV (with DVR) 2mp camera with "flash", full featured GPS (integrated with train schedules, etc), miniSD, barcode reader, music service, Java and Flash player, English and Japanese dictionaries and a bunch of features I've never bothered translating. All for about half of what I paid for my craptacular Razr. I never did figure out how to do half the crap on my Razr, but I can use most of the features of my phone in Japan (In a language I, for the most part, can't read) because they designed and engineered it well. I'd be happy with an American phone that just made calls, however I'm sure someone would screw up the UI to even make that stupid.

To stay on topic...
It's a shame that a company is trying to make money by increasing noise to signal when everyone knows the money is in the signal, not the noise. (Ask Google.) Maybe they're going to make money by charging people to not have access totheir crap.

Certain models of cells phones by Docomo and AU in Japan act both as your phone and you're credit / debit card. The technology is driven by contactless IC cards.

Vending machines, ticket wickets and even some bullet trains now have the IC proximity sensors to detect a nearby phone. This technology is espeically prevelant in train stations throughout the Tokyo area. With the ticket wickets, you just pass your phone over the sensor and you are charged, no confirmation or PIN required. According to the Docomo site, you can either opt in for a debit style account or a credit card account. There is a disclaimer that if the amount being charged exceeds a certain level a PIN will be required. Docomo is calling these new fangled cell phones: cell phone wallets.

So to answer the question above, they can't really. Just hang on to that cell phone real, real tight.

I just moved to Japan and got my first taste of what real new phones can do.

I got myself the SH901is from Sharp. I haven't had time to play with it much to see if it can play .mp3's or not. It does have a decent 3 megapixel camera, a 320x240 video recorder that can record over 40 minutes of video and audio to my 128MB miniSD, and video phone. There's a lot of neat apps like acting as a DVR for a TV, a remote control, auto news grabber. Most of which I can't use since I can't read Japanese yet. The only thing sorely missing the bluetooth capability and my laptop doesn't have an IR port built in. D'oh!

Here in Japan I have been surprised by massification in the use of bar-codes that can be read by the cell phones( Services in phones by docomo). They put this codes basically everywhere ( posters , web pages , products ) , and people can recover information from them with their cell phones . For example, in a poster from a cinema they put a web adress in this codes and people makes use of the camera in the phone to retrieve the web adress of the cinema from it and check for the schedules of the cinema. Some telephones as well have the capabilitiy to create bar codes , that can be displayed on the LCD of the phone and read by other phones. But, as I say , here is Japan and japanese people sometimes has trends that dont leave the island.

Mine already is. Sort of. That dial is quite handy for scrolling through phone numbers or email . . . or for playing Arkanoid.

I am not sure where you live, but in Japan many of the cellphones contain this functionality. The IR LED used to transfer contact information with other phones (similiar to exchanging business cards) can also be used as a remote for a TV using the preinstalled applets. The first time you use the applet you select which brand of TV you are using and the phone figures out the rest (and saves your preference for next use). I currently use a DoCoMo F900i (Fujitsu) phone, and I know for a fact that the N900i (NEC) phones have the same functionality. I assuming the newer models will continue this contain this functionality as well. Vodafone is in on this game somewhat, and AU is starting to produce phones with IR LEDs as well, so I would say it will not be long before all phones have them.

I am not sure where you live, but in Japan many of the cellphones contain this functionality. The IR LED used to transfer contact information with other phones (similiar to exchanging business cards) can also be used as a remote for a TV using the preinstalled applets. The first time you use the applet you select which brand of TV you are using and the phone figures out the rest (and saves your preference for next use). I currently use a DoCoMo F900i (Fujitsu) phone, and I know for a fact that the N900i (NEC) phones have the same functionality. I assuming the newer models will continue this contain this functionality as well. Vodafone is in on this game somewhat, and AU is starting to produce phones with IR LEDs as well, so I would say it will not be long before all phones have them.

This is already available in Japan in 3 different forms.

The first was Edy by Sony(japanese). It was a card, you added money to the card. You can use it all around Tokyo. The second was JR's Suika card(japanese) (JR is the largest train company in Japan). First they used to as your train pass to make it even faster to go through the turn styles, then they started expanding it so you can make purchases.

Finally NTT teamed up with Edy (I think they teamed up) and now all NTT cell phones have the same chip(english, flash, click the "i-Mode FeliCa Debut!" link) in them so you can pass your cellphone near the censor instead of a card and you'll get build through the phone.

The cards basically need to be within like 1 mm of the sensor surface but they only need to be there for a spit second.

There are mobile phones in Japan that allow you to use the camera to take pictures of special "barcodes" and get the information from them. Basically you can put in your phone number, email address etc. and make it into a barcode which another person can take a picture of off your screen or off a business card and which saves tehm typing it in. There is some more detailed information here(It's in Japanese). I found out about this when I was looking at an article about the "World's Smallest Browser" (or so Programmer's Factory claim). I submitted that to the main page but didn't have any links in English for it. I think there were about 15,000,000 downloads of it in the first 24 hours of release.

Article below says new mobile phone from Fujitsu (Panasonic) supports iTunes, and is in sale since last year.

• FOMA F901ic

And if you're looking for MP3-enabled mobile phone, "Music Porter" mobile phone from Mitsubishi might come to your interest:

• Music Porter

It looks like a varient of Nintendo GameBoy Advanced, but it's a mobile phone with built-in FM tuner, MP3 player, and camera.

And then gone back in time about a year or so...

While all the points you mentioned are valid concerns, especially False Acceptance Rate (FAR) & False Rejection Rate (FRR), there is technology that overcomes most of these limitations.

Have a look at AuthenTec's TruePrint Technology. In summary, "TruePrint Technology uses a patented radio frequency (RF) imaging technique that allows the sensor to generate an image of the shape of the live layer of the skin that is buried beneath the surface of the finger." This makes spoofing of fingerprints nearly impossible.

In fact, AuthenTec are quickly dispelling the myth that biometrics are inherently insecure. Have a look at the Fujitsu's hot-off-the-factory-line F900iC [Japanese]. This is the first phone to fully encorporate mobile commerce (m-commerce), and all authentication is performed via that tiny AES2510 AuthenTec swipe sensor.

DoCoMo (think: user base in the millions) would be mad to trust a technology that you suggest is "not really ready."

And yes, I work for AuthenTec ;-).

What do other countries such as Asia, Europe and America pay?

I'm spanish, but I'm living in Tokyo.

I don't know about other asian countries, but at least here in Japan nobody uses SMS. Instead, we use email.

Each phone has a default email address associated to it (usually something like @phonecompany.tld), and you can change this email address whenever you want. Many people choose really hard-to-guess addresses to avoid spam. And yes, this is "normal" email, reachable from the Internet. For example, my server monitoring scripts can notify my phone of a problem by just doing a "cat $MESSAGE | mail @docomo.ne.jp".

The prices depend on the company and the type of contract. In DoCoMo phones using i-mode, one packet of data is 128 bytes. Each monthly plan includes 400 free packets. After these free packets, the next 10000 packets are billed at 0.3 yen each, and each additional packet after these 10000 is billed at 0.2 yen each. (source here).

An email message on these phones can be up to 512 characters long, so including the overhead, the maximum you will pay for a single message will be 4.5 yen.

At today's rate, 1 Japanese Yen = 0.009004 US Dollar.

WSF is obviously a /. typo. Even on NTT DoCoMo's own website they refer to it as VSF-OFCDM.

I found a good PDF Presentation from NTT DoCoMo explaining in detail VSF-OFCDM. Of interest is its use of Turbo codes for the channel encoding (Turbo codes were mentioned in a previous Slashdot story), and that the uplink bandwidth of the system is 40MHz versus the downlink bandwidth of 101.5MHz. Very interesting stuff!

All without additional hardware. The main advantage of RFID in this case is simply resistance to cloning of the tags. That's why this isn't being marketed as a mass-market feature.

Also, although this is the first READER application, DoCoMo did a pretty widespread trial last year with tags embedded in cell phones for use as train fare debits: Article.

This is more of a consumer application since the infrastructure and user need is already there.

I guess now would not be the time to mention that Japan is already up to two megapixel phones . . .

As we've seen recently in Intel vs. China regarding China's own wireless standard (labelled GB15629.11-2003 for those interested), we can probably at least count on China to get hissy about this.

Simply put, whether the threat they perceive is real or not, there is no way they are going to allow American proprietary rubbish (with evil spyware code to boot) to penetrate the Peoples' Republic. So if we have to start importing all our parts from the commies, then so be it, but even if dumbass consumers in the West buy this kinda rubbish (and, as others have said, they undoubtedly will), it simply will not fly politically elsewhere.

The push for Linux in Asia is clear - HP are going to ship Linux boxen, China has variously shown its keenness towards the open OS, NTT DoCoMo are putting Linux in phones and so on - this kind of stuff really does matter. At the very least, American hardware manufacturers are going to consider the bigger picture before alienating large numbers of potential consumers.

Microsoft is not invincible. It has failed in the mobile phone market, failed to crush Java (now, of course, flourishing on mobiles) and has a long time to examine consumers' reactions before Longhorn comes out. I really don't think it will try to push this too hard...

iqu :?

Funny, small but cute characters don't seem to be a problem in Japan.

Quit taking such a US-centric view of the market. Given the realities of the declining economy, and the increasing trend towards humanization of technology interfaces, perhaps a penguin is the right move after all.

what's a rough price of that 505i?

Depends. When I got this phone on July, the price was around 25.000 yen (the same week it was released). I got a 5.000 yen rebate (IIRC) because I was already a DoCoMo customer and blah blah blah.

Since the 505iS models were released in December (the D505iS in October), the 505i series can be bought much cheaper. For example, my wife bought a D505i for just a bit more than 2.000 yen (final price after rebate for being DoCoMo customer, etc).

If you're not already a DoCoMo customer, the 505iS models sell for around 32.000 yen, and two of them (the D505iS and the SH505iS) already

what's a rough price of that 505i?

Depends. When I got this phone on July, the price was around 25.000 yen (the same week it was released). I got a 5.000 yen rebate (IIRC) because I was already a DoCoMo customer and blah blah blah.

Since the 505iS models were released in December (the D505iS in October), the 505i series can be bought much cheaper. For example, my wife bought a D505i for just a bit more than 2.000 yen (final price after rebate for being DoCoMo customer, etc).

If you're not already a DoCoMo customer, the 505iS models sell for around 32.000 yen, and two of them (the D505iS and the SH505iS) already

what's a rough price of that 505i?

Depends. When I got this phone on July, the price was around 25.000 yen (the same week it was released). I got a 5.000 yen rebate (IIRC) because I was already a DoCoMo customer and blah blah blah.

Since the 505iS models were released in December (the D505iS in October), the 505i series can be bought much cheaper. For example, my wife bought a D505i for just a bit more than 2.000 yen (final price after rebate for being DoCoMo customer, etc).

If you're not already a DoCoMo customer, the 505iS models sell for around 32.000 yen, and two of them (the D505iS and the SH505iS) already

what's a rough price of that 505i?

Depends. When I got this phone on July, the price was around 25.000 yen (the same week it was released). I got a 5.000 yen rebate (IIRC) because I was already a DoCoMo customer and blah blah blah.

Since the 505iS models were released in December (the D505iS in October), the 505i series can be bought much cheaper. For example, my wife bought a D505i for just a bit more than 2.000 yen (final price after rebate for being DoCoMo customer, etc).

If you're not already a DoCoMo customer, the 505iS models sell for around 32.000 yen, and two of them (the D505iS and the SH505iS) already

what's a rough price of that 505i?

Depends. When I got this phone on July, the price was around 25.000 yen (the same week it was released). I got a 5.000 yen rebate (IIRC) because I was already a DoCoMo customer and blah blah blah.

Since the 505iS models were released in December (the D505iS in October), the 505i series can be bought much cheaper. For example, my wife bought a D505i for just a bit more than 2.000 yen (final price after rebate for being DoCoMo customer, etc).

If you're not already a DoCoMo customer, the 505iS models sell for around 32.000 yen, and two of them (the D505iS and the SH505iS) already

Well, then, why would you want to get out a big hulking phone with a screen the size of a Palm to make your phone calls?

Excuse me?

Maybe with this or this (the text is Japanese but the pictures are English).

I was thinking about getting the N504iS (links are in English) but decided against it for a couple reasons. First of all, this phone is really nice. It's a clamshell style phone, like pretty much all the phones have become in Japan. It can already control most of the major brands of televisions here too. It also has a camera capable of taking 640x480 res pix. I believe the screen is also capable of display 256K colors, but I don't remember for sure. There's also a color screen on the outside of the clamshell so when you get a mail or phone call, you can have it display a picture so you know who's calling.

However, even with all it's goodness, I was annoyed that the "OK/Confirm" button was above the circular "cursor" keys. I like that button being in the middle. In addition, the N504iS has Disney characters advertising it, so I didn't even want to go there. :p Finally, when I went to get a phone, the N504iS was recalled for some reason and I would have had to go on a waiting list for it. It's out now, but it was only re-released a month after I got my current phone... which is the F504iS.

The F504iS has 2 cameras (which I don't need) and is able to record video at 15fps max. But the real reason I got it was because of the "OK" button and cursor layout and the nice outside display. It's really easy to read and only displays what I want it to which is the time, battery life, signal strength, and if I have any mails.

- David