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Japanese Cell Phones Offer a Glimpse of the Future
Dynamoo writes "Vodafone K.K. have announced a new range of phones, available exclusively in Japan which easily beat everything else in terms of features. In particular, two phones from Sharp, the V402SH and V602SH between them boast a TV tuner, camera with optical zoom, virtual karaoke machine and dog bark translater (woof woof), according to this review. Perhaps some features are more useful than others, but with a bit of luck we'll see these features in worldwide mobiles sometime in 2005. In the meantime I guess I'll just have to learn to speak dog by myself."
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. . . in a way, at least. The Japanese term for "cell [mobile] phone" is technically keitai-denwa, but in reality, everyone except NHK news announcers just says "keitai" (pronounced KAY-tie). While the origin of the word is obvious, I think it's fair to say that "keitai" represents the conglomeration of features that have been squeezed into these devices more accurately than "cell phone" does.
The Economist recently had an interesting article on how cell phones are marketed and why people buy them. Basically, when (some) people buy phones, they're looking more for a status symbol than for a device to actually make phone calls on. For example, teenagers might spend $3 on a ringtone because they're looking for a way to establish an identity.
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Hmph. I just bought a Moto v600. Lasts a week on a charge, bluetooth, GREAT SCREEN, camera.
It also has the java stuff and plays games and uses mp3s as ringtones and a whole lotta other stuff.
But it's also a pretty damn good phone for $175.
My wife sounded like a LOT of you guys: I don't want a damn camera, I don't want a damn color screen....
Then she IM's me with a link to the V600. Says it's pretty. Likes the 'environmental mood lighting'.
Some engineer figured that, for another $3, he could put red, green, blue, and white LEDs behind the top and the camera would sell like hotcakes.
Not because of the camera, or the quadband, or the JVM....but because it's pretty.
"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."
Sharp model numbers begin or end in SH. Sanyo in SA. Toshiba in T. NEC in N. English-language PDFs of the manuals for several models are also available.
The review didn't mention the 800 series: 801SH and 801SA.
Other goodies: the 601T has T4G 3D accelerator and a TV output jack when playing games. 401D also has a 2MP camera. The 401SH needs a really good signal for TV, and it kills the battery. The 401SA and 801SA have the same type of body sliding mechanism to reveal the keypad, all the others flip.
The latest Sharp models, including the 801SH, have electrical and optical audio, so one can rip direct to the SD card. Unfortunately it's DRM City, so getting music onto the SD card via a computer involves Panasonic's awful SD Jukebox software and one of a small number of card readers.
The 801SA can place videocalls to similar handsets. The 801SH and 801SA use W-CDMA in Japan, and tri-band GSM when roaming internationally.
Finally, the VC701SI is a 3G modem card made by Seiko.
I was in Japan for 10 months last year. I bought a middle of the road JPhone (now Vodaphone) model that has a camera, 10 secs of video, internet, e-mail, and an amazing alarm clock for about $30 (US)(had discounts). The best part was, I didn't even have to sign up for a year contract. I could do post-pay and not sign up for a year, how novel is that? I refuse to buy a cell phone in the States (or anywhere else I may live) unless I can buy the phone I want but not have to sign up for a year.
The stupid contracts and poor handsets (relative to Japan anyway) are really a function of the youth of the cell industry in the U.S. Here, market saturation is low and demand is high, so companies have tons of consumers willing to pay huge amounts on crap contracts and horrible handsets. In Japan, where something near 80% of people have a cell phone, the companies must offer better phones and contract options to steal customers away form competitors. Ah, the free market at work. But what do I know, I use a Mac.
Well, in Japan, I've got a cell phone that takes pictures, has a full color screen, internet access, c-mail (chat, SMS), e-mail, and does movies. All for free. The phone cost nothing. The plan is 3000 yen a month plus 3 yen every min beyond the included minutes. Best part is that all incoming call are free.