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New Prototypes, Gadgets And Devices From CEATE

Nooper writes: "This years CEATEC 2001 features a bunch of new wireless gadgets accompanying DoCoMo's 3G (FOMA) launch." Check out the cute pictures -- in their "Showcase of Japanese Keitai (mobile phone) Culture you can find 72 free to use photos from this years CEATEC. We even made a special gallery with the integrated camera of our new FOMA phone." Phones in the U.S. look like such monsters in comparison.

79 comments

  1. Wireless Tentacle by SpanishInquisition · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    You know you want one

    --
    Je t'aime Stéphanie
  2. Small phones by wiredog · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Tiny phones have a problem. Ergonomics. There's a size below which the buttons can't go before you need a stylus to operate them, and a size below which the displays can't go before they are unreadable. If a phone, or other device, is below that size people won't buy it, because it will be inoperable, no matter how cool the tech, or how low the price. Remember calculator watches?

    1. Re:Small phones by ergo98 · · Score: 2, Funny

      You know you're probably getting blank stares right now because I imagine a lot of the Slashdot `community' is the calculator watch crowd. Honestly I find calculator watches absolutely hilarious.


      "The fingers you have used to dial are too fat. To obtain a special dialing wand, please mash the keypad with your palm now."

    2. Re:Small phones by Segfault+11 · · Score: 1

      They have voice dialing for that now. I just don't like the little phones because don't care to talk into thin air, although it works just fine and it's infinitely better than wearing a headset. The day I "Borg" myself is the same day I go "Batman" and clip a cell phone, a pager, and a PDA onto my belt.

      --

      I registered my hate for Jon Katz

    3. Re:Small phones by tomknight · · Score: 3, Insightful
      The other problem is having a very short phone, so the microphone ends up being nearer your ear than the front of your mouth.


      This makes people think THEY HAVE TO SHOUT LOUDER on their phone to be heard. Man, that drives me mad! I have to fight off the impulse to explain that the recipient of the call is also using a phone, and shouting really isn't necessary.


      Tom.

      --
      Oh arse
    4. Re:Small phones by TheMeld · · Score: 2, Funny

      One of the funniest things in an airport was some ignorant woman with one of the small cellphones, who kept using it like a walkie talkie. She'd hold it up to hear ear to listen, and then hold it in front of her face to talk, and back again. I had to try hard not to laugh out loud, since she looked like she could have thrown me to my destination airport :)

      --
      -Cheetah
    5. Re:Small phones by Rufty · · Score: 1

      So use voice dialing - duh! My phone's got it and is ancient (2+years...)

      --
      Red to red, black to black. Switch it on, but stand well back.
  3. Bleah by Cave+Dweller · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think their website is running off one of those things...2 replies and slashdotted already.

  4. this one slipped through the cracks by andy_from_nc · · Score: 1

    This looks mostly like a giant ad to me. I thought the picture of the cellphone/tv was kinda cool, but this is just a bunch of pictures and the primary drive of the site (from what I could tell) is to sell their phones or to get US folks to use their app translation services.

    Not sure this was worthy front page material for slashdot.

  5. What is the used electronics market like? by gosand · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Man, seeing all the cool stuff from these shows every year really makes me wonder what the used market is like in Japan, and how many of these things are obsolete in a year or two. And I mean really obsolete, as in they just don't work anymore. Are they so cutting edge that you might buy something that is useless in a year or two?

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

    1. Re:What is the used electronics market like? by shoganainaa · · Score: 2, Interesting

      it's huge. If you're in Tokyo sometime stop in akihabara. you can buy used cell phones out of big crates for ¥200 a piece. (less than $2US)

      --
      ----- shoganainaa
    2. Re:What is the used electronics market like? by horza · · Score: 2

      "And I mean really obsolete, as in they just don't work anymore."

      No, all phones around the world except for the USA use GSM which is a fixed standard. As long as it is GSM it will work, from brick to matchbox.

      Phillip.

  6. Canada... booo by wiremind · · Score: 1


    I live in canada, and we are so behind, like we are starting to get GSM, and we have digital, but phones like that wont be here for like another year or so.
    Really kinda kills me...

    1. Re:Canada... booo by DigitalDragon · · Score: 1

      I believe phones like that won't be in North America for another 4-5 years. And for Canada add another 1-2. I'm Canadian, I know. :)
      Oh, and we've had digital for a while now.
      G'luck!

      --
      http://dtum.livejournal.com
    2. Re:Canada... booo by Rackemup · · Score: 2
      Depends on where you live I guess... I'm using a digital cell phone in Nova Scotia but the entire province doesnt have full coverage. Phones in the city can use voice-dialing, voice-mail, SMS, 2-way paging, even basic web browsing I think (although I'd never want to).

      But when I travel home (2 hours outside the city) my digital cell phone cant even get a normal cell signal. Different areas get different coverage based on the demand... rural area = no demand in the eyes of the phone companies.

      In Japan there is a huge population in a small area, perfect for rolling out these little high-tech gadgets. Eventually they'll trickle down to North America, but not until they've proven useful over large geographic expanses.

    3. Re:Canada... booo by ergo98 · · Score: 1

      We also have 10,000,000 sq. KM of territory which is why the major carriers are apprehensive about jumping on a new technology that might only be a stop-gap for two years when you have to do it all again (As opposed to say Japan or other small Asian countries where it is much, much easier to upgrade the infrastructure to support whatever is new). Having said that here in the Greater Toronto Area we've had digital as long as the US has. The one thing we didn't get due to arguments between the various carriers was CDPD, but alas.


      Anyways pretty soon, as guaranteed by some terrorists, Canada and the US will be in an EU type union so we're going to further integrate common technologies.

    4. Re:Canada... booo by seann · · Score: 0

      would you like your "beacon" sputnik style?

      --
      I'm a big retard who forgot to log out of Slashdot on Mike's computer! LOOK AT ME.
    5. Re:Canada... booo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i know.
      we don't even have GPS yet!

  7. Sample by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative
  8. Super phones by mgbaron · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I remember reading about devices such as cameras and mp3 players in the Fopy PDA by Gmate and now having seen this article, I wonder what extremes are actually usuably in a cell phone. I have seen those combo cell pdas, and they seem a bit large for my taste. Wireless web as is on cell phones, is pretty useless (I cancelled mine).

    At the same time there is that private eye/spy aspet to be able to take a quick snapshot with your phone. It would also be great for that kodak moment when you forgot your camera.

  9. Linux by tomknight · · Score: 2, Funny
    Okay, I guess it's going to me who asks "But can they run Linux?"


    (Goodbye, karma)


    Tom.

    --
    Oh arse
  10. Apples and Oranges by Frosty26 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You cannot directly compare Japanese Cell phones to North American or European Cell phones. Japanese cell phones are smaller because they can be, no because their technology is vastly superior.

    The fact is Japanese cell phones can be smaller because their Cell grid is a lot more dense than in North America.

    Think about it this way, in Japan almost all the population lives in a small belt of land near the ocean. In North America by comparison people are spread out over vast distances. Cell coverage obviously is going to be substantially different.

    You just do not need the tranmitting power in Japan you need in North America. Thus you can make smaller more compact phones.

    1. Re:Apples and Oranges by l33t+j03 · · Score: 0, Funny

      This is certainly a truism. European cell phones are typically about the size of a loaf of bread and weigh around 9 pounds. This is because the English government can afford only two cell towers, one is in a swamp in Wales and the other was destroyed in a soccer riot.

    2. Re:Apples and Oranges by oob · · Score: 2, Informative

      Bullshit.

      I used my Nokia 8210 (which, when in the palm of my hand, I can completely cover by folding in my fingers) in Galipoli, an extremely remote part of Turkey earlier this year. The phone only needs to be recharged every three to four days.

      One of the advantages of GSM is that low powered handsets can still operate a long way from a cell site.

    3. Re:Apples and Oranges by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Turkey is a lot smaller than the US, so even a remote area is relatively close. Try getting the same coverage in a relatively remote place like Montana or Nevada, where there's hundreds of miles between towns. Even with GSM, it's zero, because nobody wants to pay for the couple dozen cell towers (plus power and data lines for them) it'd require.

    4. Re:Apples and Oranges by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Difficult to find a more remote place that that part of Turkey, where electricity and paved roads are a rarity.

      Certainly a lot more remote than any part of the U.S.
      E
      mbarrasing that their cellular infrastructure is better.

    5. Re:Apples and Oranges by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WHat about Australia?

      It's similar to the US in size, and a LOT less densely populated. GSM works pretty well here

  11. Vonnegut? by Mr+Neutron · · Score: 3, Interesting
    In Cat's Cradle, Bokonon defines foma variously as "lies," "harmless untruths" and "a useful and harmless sort of horseshit."

    I think they're going to have to rename this if they bring it to the states.

    Neutron

    --
    I get my kicks above the .sigline, Sunshine.
  12. Casio Wristcam watch by Therlin · · Score: 1, Offtopic
    I have a Casio Wristcam Watch. It is a little bulky but it allows you to take quick small quality snapshots when you need it. It's fun in a toy/spy kind of way and to take pictures of weird things you see sometimes (lots of Kodak moments). But I also found it useful as a visual databank.

    I posted a picture here so that you can see the size and quality. Not very good quality-wise, until you consider that it's taken by a watch and that the watch can store 80 pics (and they pics can be beamed to my Palm handheld.)

    1. Re:Casio Wristcam watch by Therlin · · Score: 1

      I got the fanciest one so it was like $220 I think. There are cheaper models out there. Check out casio.com

  13. Pagers and cell phones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Uh.

    What do you need a pager for if you have a cell phone? Pagers are just so obsolete.

    1. Re:Pagers and cell phones by chris234 · · Score: 1

      I haven't seen a cell phone with anything like the coverage my pager gets, so until that happens, the phone can't replace my pager. Plus the pager's form factor is so much better than any phone I've seen (Motorola V.100 the exception) for actually typing a message....

    2. Re:Pagers and cell phones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i have had a plan i have been wanting to implement
      to keep telemarketeers at bay. i would eliminate
      the land line phone to my home. anyone who needed
      to call me could page me their #, which i would
      dial on a cell-phone. anyone who cant page me,
      doesnt need to talk to me.

    3. Re:Pagers and cell phones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, a telemarketer pages you and you call him using your cell phone. This way he gets your number and sells it to the other telemarketeers...

  14. Re:Let me get this straight... by mar1boro · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yes, we should all sit around wringing our hands and composing diatribes against those who aren't as scared as we are.

    Instead of writing crap like this [ in like 4 threads now ] why don't you spend your energy making your society stronger and more productive. This would go much further in accomplishing your "stated" ( and I doubt true ) goals.

    Do you have a level of conviction which would allow you to die for what you believe in? If so, please remember you live in a country where you are free to do so.

    --
    -- "It was as if the paint factories had decided to deal direct with the art galleries." - Thursday Next
  15. One of the rejected alternatives: by spagma · · Score: 1

    A methane powered model, with a hip pack full of beans.

    --
    If it won't boot, Fsck it!
  16. Solution regarding the shouting cell phone users by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Make the phones inflict electrical shocks the strength of which is directly proportional to how loud the user speaking.

  17. Small bad. Big good. by Mwongozi · · Score: 2
    Here in Europe, our mobile phone selection is (almost) as good as in Japan. My phone is the Nokia 9210 Communicator.

    Yes, it's big and chunky, but open it up, and you have a PDA inside running EPOC, with a web browser, WAP, e-mail, SMS, and even a Java virtual machine, all with wireless access to the 'net.

    And it still fits in my pocket. Lovely.

    1. Re:Small bad. Big good. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i've read about these, and having fallen in
      love with EPOC, i LUST for this machine.
      I would KILL for a US version of one of these.

  18. All I want is by squaretorus · · Score: 3, Funny

    A phone that I can say this to:
    PHONE
    !ready!
    Email Dave
    !send email to dave!
    Hey Dave - meet in Prince of Wales at 7 OK!
    SEND
    !email sent - I love you!

    and the phone emails dave! and the email goes to his phone or voice or whetever he has set up. I could use that SO often!

    1. Re:All I want is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      how bout;

      dial dave
      Hey Dave - meet in Prince of Wales at 7 OK!
      hang up

      -done

  19. Re:Let me get this straight... by iainl · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I'm probably inviting (-1, offtopic) but if you've not noticed yet this has been nearly first posted for days now. I strongly suspect you're talking to a bot, not even a troll. There has been a distinct lack of any replies from the individual.

    --
    "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
  20. Japanese vs. US wireless markets by Jordy · · Score: 4, Informative

    I took a nice three week vacation to Japan recently and had a chance to take a look at their wireless products first hand and I have to admit, their cell phones are geared towards a very different market than the US.

    For instance, while walking down the street, the number of people I saw talking on a cell phone was significantly less than the number of people I saw playing games on their cell phones or simply picking them up and checking them periodically to show them off (well, I guess they could have been receiving text messages as that is hugely popular.)

    When visiting several large electronics stores, at first I noticed that the sheer number of cell phones was astouding and then quickly realized that there weren't a huge number of cell phones, there were a huge number of styles of cell phones. Given their relatively cheap price (toy phones here cost more), every teenage girl and guy I saw had one and it was really a fashion statement. Three shades of pink with various color antenna ringer lights, huge numbers of patterns were what drew people to buy them.

    When it comes to actual technology of the cell phone, there is no doubt that the Japanese phones have significantly more features (and most not in any way shape or form related to using it as a communications device), but they weren't really all that small. Large color screens were more important than small size, so for instance, the Motorola V. series and the Nokia 8900 series are much smaller than most of the phones I saw.

    I have to say that I don't believe the same thing will really ever happen in the US. When I walked into a store (well... most cell phones are sold at street level so you rarely have to walk "in"), there were boxes filled to the brim with last years cell phones that people would throw away when they bought a new one and I can't see the average American consumer buying a new cell phone because it comes in a new color or can store 32 randomized wallpapper styles rather than 16. The lifetime of a cell phone in the US just appears to be significantly longer.

    Sevice providers also have a hand to play in keeping the variety of phones out. In Japan, as far as I can tell... there is basically one cell phone provider, NTT DoCoMo. In comparison, in the US there dozens operating on multiple frequency bands, multiple standards (AMPS, TDMA, GSM*, CDMA, PCS, iDEN) each having different CODECs based on service provider plus proprietary modifications to protocols and every change affects battery life and features available.

    I really wish the FCC would restructure the frequency band allocations so that all cell phone providers would at the very least use one band. Of course, they couldn't use AMPS and TDMA in this case without significant interoperability between providers, but I'm willing to make that sacrifice :).

    --
    The world is neither black nor white nor good nor evil, only many shades of CowboyNeal.
  21. 31337 Japanese Phones: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Imagine a Beowolf Cluster of THESE!!!

  22. Nokia 8900 series by DigitalDragon · · Score: 1

    There's no such thing as 'Nokia 8900 series'. They have 8800 series.

    --
    http://dtum.livejournal.com
  23. Does more than that! by horza · · Score: 2

    It also runs Office too, so you can edit your Word documents or run Powerpoint presentations on your mobile full colour (4096 cols). Also has a Lotus/Outlook compatiable calendar. Quite an amazing little phone. Also supports HSCSD or 43.2kbps modem for fast 'net access. Plays video and wavs. My brother has one and I can tell you the games are pretty cool too :-)

    Phillip.