The Gadgets Of Tomorrow 50
Val writes: "I attended the
Business Show 2001 in Tokyo to see the new devices. But before I even could report home, I found the Visual Showcase of Japanese Keitai Culture just updated with all the new
3G phones, prototypes and other gadgets I just saw at the exhibition. And the best, they even show
the typical usage of i-mode and other phones on the street. " Check out this page and start speculating: oddball handhelds, phones with real screens ... crazy. (Last reminder, I'm in Tokyo all next week for LinuxWorld, so if you're in Tokyo, maybe I'll see ya there.)
Why USA is unfairly seen as poor man of wireless (Score:3)
Works for us here in the UK too!
The rest of the western world really does see the USA as the poor man of the current wave of wireless technology (I'm not talking about 3G, I'm talking about what we in Europe and Japan can do RIGHT NOW). You don't have 95%+ GSM coverage, you still use analogue phones, you pay for incoming calls, you can't get ISDN in rural areas, you are way behind on GPRS/UMTS, you don't have digital terrestrial television through an aerial...
What really brought it home was on a recent trip to Houston where, during a business meeting, the boss of Very Important US Company said to me "Imagine if you could follow a football game, being able to dictate to the cameras to follow your favourite football star around the field or switch to the camera behind the goal, on demand."
I looked at him kind of surprised and said "In the UK we can already do this, such services have been available nationwide for nearly two years". His pride seemed to take a bit of a knock.
HOWEVER, what we in the UK, Japan etc. really don't get is the sheer HUGENESS of the USA. The flight from London to Houston brought this home to me- we really don't have a handle on just how big the USA is, and how comparitively tiny its population.
In the UK it would be considered a breach of emergency services if mobile phone coverage was not available on A and M roads (highways and interstates). Not just "a bit annoying"; people would be writing to their local member of parliament complaining about how unsafe this would be. And if mobile 'phone coverage wasn't available in a village of more than 50 people, you can bet there'd be plenty of irate letters to the telcos. 60% of British people (including children) own digital mobile phones. We expect to use them everywhere, including rural areas, not just in towns. Heck, we expect to use mobile phones especially in rural areas. If we need to make an urgent/emergency call in a town, there are phoneboxes; hanging off the side of a rocky hillside or lost in a woodland, there are none.
Oakley's Law: In an emergency, telephone boxes approach zero as wilderness approaches one.
Therefore, the need for wireless communcations in rural areas is far greater than in urban areas.
But in the USA the kind of coverage this would require is simply unrealistic. It's something we can only begin to understand from the window of an aeroplane; most of the USA is empty forest and desert, and nobody lives there.
From a wireless perspective, the USA has more in common with Africa than it does with Europe or the Orient; a few very large cities, mostly on opposite coasts, spread across a vast thinly populated continent.
Yet we in Europe are constantly trying to compare the US wireless experience with ours, and, frankly, have a laugh at the American's expense.
This is just not a fair thing for us to do. The USA has an enormous physical hurdle to overcome before wireless can really take off; and with such a large landmass and relatively thin population (made thinner by concentrating what few people you have in huge mega-cities), there is no way any company or government in it's right mind is going to want to push technology which requires a transmitter every five or ten kilometres for a continent like the Americas or Africa.
--
Re:Secret to their success? (Score:1)
Really? When I was over there last year, they had racks and racks of iMode phones for ~$30. I don't know if these were the "latest & greatest", though. Maybe they were the "remaindered" selection.
Re:Expert troll (Score:1)
Re:The Japanese, a mysterious race. (Score:1)
<sarcasm> Yes we must force them to adopt our values so they will not do nasty things like force people to adopt their values </sarcasm>
Nice reasoning. Hopefully this was just a rather successful troll, it's hard to imagine is really that stupid. (But unfortunately some people are)
Re:Japanese Keitai Culture (Score:1)
My phone (Toshiba 'Mega Carrots', for some reason,) has a color screen, 16 track FM MIDI synthesizer, digital sound, memo recorder, Web Browser, 4 types of messaging/email, 64Kbps Data connection as a modem and a plug-in digital camera.
It lasts 2 weeks on a charge and weighs about as much as a Snickers Bar. (Half the weight and thickness of a Nokia 6160)Plus it doesn't cost me anything when people call *me*.
My Nokia 6160 back in the US *did* come with 'snake', which was a pretty cool game, though...
I like the Wasabi dispenser idea -
Cheers,
Jim in Tokyo
PS - I just started an iMode site - Check it out:
MMDC.NET [mmdc.net]
mod points? (Score:1)
Where did you find the mod points for this post? Just curious..
mod points? (Score:1)
Where did you find the mod point total (28) for this post? Just curious..
Re:Secret to their success? (Score:1)
and still... LOTS and LOTS of phones sold there. maybe we still don't get the really cool japanese stuff, but it's close...
all your points are true for european cell phone plans as well. the only really hard difference to the States is the larger distance that needs to be covered here, but that's no excuse for poor coverage in any major population center like silicon valley or new york.
conclusion 1: american cell phone operators suck big time.
conclusion 2: there will be one that doesn't suck, and it will eat all the others alive. it's just a matter of time. maybe it will be one that's owned by deutsche telekom or NTT, maybe it will be an american one. but it will happen. the question is, why hasn't it happened already?
i recently went back to europe, back to my eu-cellphone. the difference to the states is unbelievable. clear, crisp quality. works everywhere, even when leaving the country, in the train, in the car, etc. batteries last forever. text messages are sent all over the place. everybody has a cell phone, you can just wander through the city, feel like having a coffe, call all your friends, some of which will then join you because they are in the area... the world becomes a smaller place.
ps: i use ATT here, and it S-U-C-K-S. example short message service (sending someone a text msg): in the states, that's $10 extra/month. so no one gets it. because no one has it. because it costs $10 AND no-one has it. in europe, that's free and included in every single phone sold. sending a message costs from 10 to 30 cents. duh.
Re:Secret to their success? (Score:1)
but, as it were, the entire computer industry and the internet - ALL of it - is based on DOD-funded R&D. the DOD provided 95% of the money at a time when IBM decided that there would be a world market for "five computers" (this is an actual quote... it's fairly famous so it should be easy to find on the web). DOD-money == government money.
a more likely theory, therefore, is that, while the US DOD is interested in faster computers, mobile phones are not interesting to the military. hence, no DOD $$$ for cell phones.
also, remember that most cell phones sold today are sold by finnish company nokia. and there is no government funding in finland.
-1, Troll (Score:5)
We should force japan to adopt the same values as civilised countries like the USA - we do not desire to spread our values everywhere and forge an Empire, so why should they be allowed to?
Oh REALLY. Ever asked anyone outside the US? I think you'll find a lot of people who think the US does indeed desire to spread their values everywhere (Capitalism) and forge an "Intellectual Property" Empire!
And why are moderators wasting moderation points marking replies complaining about this post as "Offtopic" without moderating the parent post down first?
Americans Are Luddites (Score:1)
I am envious of Japan and their love of technology. Americans are downright Luddites and we are going to become a 2nd rate country if this continues. I speak as an American living in the USA.
Telephones are one area that other countries completely do better than the US. Americans simply do not embrace the new technologys. The reason:
We are too damn conservative!
Too much corporate power has caused monopolies which send us back to the stone ages. Bell invented the telephone over 100 years ago in the US. We were the leaders in communications for decades. But what happened. F****** Ma Bell. That monopoly stifled progress until the government broke them up - somewhat at least, now the monster is reforming. The standard phone is basically the same boring technology used 100 years ago. The main advances have been touch tone (which actually costs more $$ even though it is cheaper to use - look it up in your phone book), automated switching to remove operators (because they were too cheap to pay for them), and caller ID. Everything else is silly. My phone line quality *sucks*. F*** you Bell Atlantic - I mean Verizon.
But companies are not the only ones to blame. It's also the American lemming mentality to follow whatever is perceived to be the "leader". Witness the rule of Micro$oft. Low quality, high prices and people eat it up.
Come on America - Think different (with all due respect to Apple). Stop being satisfied with corporate control of your lives.
OK, rant over. I could, and should, write an entire book about American apathy and mediocrity.
projector (Score:1)
I could point it in numerous directions, resize the viewable area, etc. Most of the new "gadgets" seem to involve the use of small displays. A portable dvd player that enabled me to watch movies on the ceiling would be much more likely to win me over, than anything requiring me to squint.
Re:Secret to their success? (Score:1)
380,000 sq km is hardly small. Around the same size as California, if I recall correctly. Much more densly populated, though.
Re:mod points? (Score:1)
Re:Secret to their success? (Score:1)
I think that may have been his point. After all, with higher density, you can service a lot more people with a single base station, compared to here, where you have to build them all over the damn place because people are more spread out. Build a few hundred and, wham, you're covering 75% [or whatever] of the population. It's a self-feeding thing, too (more base stations -> more coverage -> more people in coverage area -> more phones sold -> more base stations).
An obvious /. conspiracy to burn off mod points. (Score:2)
TomatoMan
Re:mod points? (Score:2)
33 at this point.
TomatoMan
Re:The Japanese, a mysterious race. (Score:1)
"If you point to somewhere with finger, do not forget that four of them pointing back on you".
You can take this post as template, just replace names standing with capitals for your favorite corporate/country/nation/any group of people. We all have same problems, you know... The problem is to admit them.
tandr
Re:The Japanese, a mysterious race. (Score:1)
Re:Secret to their success? (Score:1)
It's particularly prevalent among young people; I graduated from Uni last summer, and I'd guess about 80% of students had phones. My course was Elec & Comp Eng, and I was one of about 10 people (out of ~ 250) in my year who didn't have one (I've got one now I've got a job).
My pay-plan has no line rental charges, most calls only cost 15p (about 25c) for the first 5 mins each day, then 5p after that with no peak rates, so it's actually cheaper than using a payphone, and I'm not bothered about spending a while chatting. I live in a fairly rural area, but reception's always good (plus it's digital, so it's nice and clear) and my fairly unreliable battery typically lasts a week. The phone cost me £20 (about $30), although it is about a year old.
The UK isn't the biggest user of mobiles though - Scandanavian countries love them. With a sparse population and rugged landscape it's way cheaper having a mobile. That's why there's so many phone manufacturers from that area of the world (Nokia, Ericcsson etc.).
We're not quite the early adopters that Japan are, but the EU does pretty good. Another possible reason is that we all adopted the GSM standard, including the frequency (900 MHz and 1800 MHz I think, though that could be KHz), so our phones work all over the world, except the US (the band was already allocated to something important) and Japan (I think. Um, OK, that shoots a hole in my theory) and a handful of other places.
In time honoured Usenet tradition: (Score:2)
Rich
New Video Game System (Score:2)
Wait... I'm using one right now. So much for innovation.
Tell me what makes you so afraid
Of all those people you say you hate
Jordan is a tool (Score:1)
Keitai advertising (Score:1)
Re:Secret to their success? (Score:2)
Some more reasons:
Re:The Japanese, a mysterious race. (Score:1)
Second to call them uncaring and selfish is totally inaccurate. Granted they have their problems. But WTF? The US isn't any better. Nor are any European countries. I have MANY friends who are Japanese, I have been to Japan, and from what I saw that are some of the most respectful people I have ever met. They were totally friendly and courtious. Not at all selfish. Why don't you get a clue and stop criticizing an entire nation for the exploits of the rich.
-james
Re:Excuse me? (Score:1)
-james
Re:Secret to their success? (Score:1)
Well... here you go - one imaginary point from me: (Score 2: Insightful)
I totally forgot about the cost of land line installations, and calling range limitations. I now recall how my cousin complained to no end about how he can't even order pizza without going outside of his "local" call area with his land line. Another reason to use a keitai!
I would use my mobile phone a bit more, but I really don't enjoy this all-digital garble known as Cingular... Bah.
Secret to their success? (Score:4)
- Small island + tons of antennas = great coverage, lower-output phones, smaller phones, insanely longer battery life (1+ months), etc... which all lead to: more usage.
- Smarter setup of plans - billed by 10-second increments, very low monthly fees ($10-$15), caller pays the toll charge (not the phone holder), and phones sold in insane volume... which all lead to: more usage.
- Equipment purchasing trends - unlike here in the States, where very few people rush out and buy the latest and greatest phones, a ton of folks in Japan rush to get the latest and greatest phone. What ends up happening is that the "latest and greatest" phones don't have to be marked up to $500-$600 for fear of selling in low volume -- for they sell in high volume anyway -- so the price is a far more reasonable $300.
- Because of that, while 'brand' loyalty is high, 'model' loyalty is relatively low. You will not see someone hanging onto their Nokia 8200 series in adoration after 6-12 months of usage, whereas I can think of a handfull of friends who hang onto their Nokia 2100 series...
So.. with a lower cost of ownership, encouraged usage, sheer volume of phones sold, and all phones being affordable due to the volume, it makes sense that they keep on pumping out tons of 'cool gadgets' -- people are always buying them, and buying them in hordes...Expert troll (Score:2)
Impressive. You just get better and better at this every time, don't you?
Awesome! (Score:1)
Geek dating! [bunnyhop.com]
Yeah, right, off topic. (Score:1)
Over-rated, sure, off topic?
Geek dating! [bunnyhop.com]
Sorry (Score:1)
Geek dating! [bunnyhop.com]
Re:The Japanese, a mysterious race. (Score:2)
Geek dating! [bunnyhop.com]
Excuse me? (Score:4)
What, should we nuke them again, put them in their place, and indoctrinate them again?
You speak as if the US has the moral or ethical superiority in which to even judge the Japanese.
You speak as if the viewpoint of a single individual, you, can decide and analyze the culture and behavior of an entire nation, the Japanese.
Here, let me rephrase:
"Geeks, a mysterious race."
I went on holiday to Silicon Valley a couple of years ago, and stayed for 6 months or so. At first it seemed quite similar to the east, the same skyscrapers, billboards, TV, films, cars, etc. The mark of mass consumerism was all around.
But the difference with the geeks is not external, it's internal. Looking at the geeks, talking to them and trying to penetrate the alien geeky mind is very difficult indeed. What are their motivations? What do they want?
Unfortunately the geeks have not changed since the dawn of time. The americans tried after Columbine, but that was set back against Pinkerton's vision by the need to get geeks into industry against the Indian threat.
The result is that the geeks now hae the same abitions as they did since the dawn of time - the same ambitions that spawned the nuclear fucking bomb. The difference now is that those ambitions are exercised through the internet, the dot coms, rather than through the scientific field as it was last time.
I think we should be wary of the geeks, and institute sanctions. We already know they are an insensitive and inscrutible race, from the way they treat girls, Christians and the establishment - with astonishing rebellion and wholescale anti-orthodoxy.
We should force geeks to adopt the same values as civilised citizens in the USA - we do not desire to spread our values everywhere and forge uniformity, so why should they be allowed to?
Buying their products (which are produced by uncreative minds, good at technical things but not at language and art as we are) is weakening the USA and the commity of civilised peoples.
Lets put an end to it.
Aren't you at all bothered by the trash you write? Gah. And you got modded up for it, even!
Geek dating! [bunnyhop.com]
Re:The Japanese, a mysterious race. REBUTTAL (Score:2)
Reflecting how the people see themselves, could be worse, could look like Gotham.
But the difference with the japanese is not external, it is internal. Looking at the japanese, talking to them and trying to penetrate the alien oriental mind is very difficult indeed. What are their motivations? What do they want?
Trying, and apparently failing to penetrate a single "mind" for a country, therein lies the basis of racism and formulating a barbarian (gaijin) opinion. Who's the alien?
Unfortunately the japanese have not really changed since the Meiji period. The americans tried after WWII, but that was set back against McCarthur's vision by the need to get japan onside against the soviet threat.
Mac's vision was to be elected US president. Herbert Hoover's, among other conservative americans, vision was to model Japan after the US. They got as far as land reform. A big change, actually.
The result is that the japanese now have the same ambitions as they did in the 1930's - the same ambitions that spawned the rape of Nanking. The difference now is that those ambitions are exercised through the commercial sector, the Keiretsus, rather than through the military sector as it was last time.
The rape of Nanking was brought about out of frustrations with trying to get the Chinese to cooperate with occupying forces. The Japanese Imperial Army had been there for years, mostly after raw materials and fertile lands.
I think we should be wary of the japanese, and institute sanctions. We already know that they are an uncaring and selfish race, from the way they treat whales, Ainu and the Burakimin - with astonishing racism and wholescale speciecide.
One could speak volumes about how americans turn croplands into suburbs, pollute the water they drink, placed "indians" on reservations while taking the best land for themselves, kill to extinction any animal that makes us nervous or can fetch a lot of money for its pelt. So much for manifest destiny.
We should force japan to adopt the same values as civilised countries like the USA - we do not desire to spread our values everywhere and forge an Empire, so why should they be allowed to?
We should force japan to adopt same values... we do not desire to spread our values everwhere...
Uh, yeah...
Importing their gadgets (which are produced by uncreative minds, good at technical things but not at language and art as we are) is weakening the USA and the commity of civilised nations.
It's them dollar votes, buddy. When americans, who coincidentally design some of that stuff, decide they don't want it, the problem takes care of itself. Until then, you're just forcing your will upon the rest of the world and Japan.
Lets put an end to it.
Yes, let's put an end to narrow minded bigotry.
-- .sig are belong to us!
All your
Japanese Keitai Culture (Score:4)
I swear, every time I see something really really cool from Japan, Inc., it's only available in Japan. Ever get the feeling that the rest of the world is actually buying the vanilla stuff to subsidize the cool choices they get?
Ha! Stoopid american gaijin buys ugly, plain cell phone. We keep special model with wasabi dispenser. Ha! Ha!
-- .sig are belong to us!
All your
Re:Secret to their success? (Score:1)
There another big reasons for success of cellular phones in Japan!
Unlike US, most of people use subways where the use of cellular phones (to talk) is forbidden. So they send small messages to friends or browse the web using the cellular phone instead of talking... Now imagine you driving and using a cellular
Also, the fixed phone line was/is very expensive compared to buy a cellular phone.
Japanese phones. US x Japan (Score:1)
"nobody" was gay (Score:1)
Not true! In Howard Hawks's BRINGING UP BABY, Cary Grant exclaims at one point (when he's caught wearing a peignoir by the aunt of the Katharine Hepburn character) that "I just went GAY all of a sudden!" And that was 1938! Somewhere I've read that this is the first known use of the word "gay" in something like its modern meaning.
hyacinthus.
Re:Secret to their success? (Score:2)
Because of a relationship known in Poly-Si as the "Iron Triangle" the FCC is pretty much in the pocket (indirectly) of US manufacturers. Now, if you're a US phone manufacturer and you've got ties to the service market (Which I assume is the case) you don't want to have to provide any of the following at less then a totaly outragous price:
1.) High speed data
2.) Heavy internet integration
3.) Color
This is largly due to the insane cost of R&D (no, it dosn't carry over as well from Japan as you might think). As long as the American Public is willing to shell out insane quantities of money for the 10 year old technology you offer them, why bother burning money to keep the US market up to date?
In Japan, on the other hand, R&D budgets are heavily subsidized by the government. At least, they were all through the 1980s. Now, while this trend has suffered under pressures from the WTO, it does continue to a certain extent in the present. This artificialy lowered cost of development results in an explosion of innovations which are quickly adopted.
So why don't we do this in the States? Sociologists teach us that our American work ethos is decended from early Protestant teachings about the spiritualy redeaming value of work. Toil and labor was, in the early days of the Reformation, considered almost on par with prayer. The result of this trend (filtered though the centuries) is a unique desire in America to "do it on my own." Government help is intervention, especialy in reasearch and development is often seen as "cheeting" in America. Consequently American companies are denied that funding and the result is the technological discrepancy we see today.
But I could be completely wrong.
This has been another useless post from....
Re:Kyoto accords? (Score:1)
Re:Americans Are Luddites (Score:1)
But I agree that Verizon sucks. Big time. We're going to try to go with a Cisco wireless Internet connection to avoid Verizoff altogether.
Feeding trolls is not "insightful". (Score:2)
A "troll rebuttal" such as this should be modded down as "off topic".
--
Re:Excuse me? (Score:1)
Yeah, since the dawn of time the geek has realized that most crucial portion of mass media... Sex Sells!
So, on that note, I think that The spawn of the nuclear fucking bomb would make an interesting name for a porn flick.
Sorry, couldn't resist
Cool keitais (Score:2)
Re:"nobody" was gay (Score:1)
So, while Cary Grant, "went GAY" in Bringing Up Baby (a wonderful film, BTW), it was "just a joke." Everyone in America knew that Cary Grant was as straight as an arrow. He was as verile a specimen of manhood as any British person could be.
Re:Kyoto accords? What a joke (Score:1)
I won't bore you with details of usable land and overconsumption, but most sane people will admit that one of the biggest controllable causes of environmental harm is overconsumption. The biggest overconsuming nation in the world is, of course, America.
For the American negotiator to the Kyoto Conference to come to the table and say, "the American way of life is non-negotiable," shows arrogance, ethno-centrism and a lack of commitment to solving the problem.
America is a nation obsessed with finding out that if it does not take two wrongs to make a right, then exactly how many does it take?
Re:The Japanese, a mysterious race. (Score:5)
"Unfortunately the japanese have not really changed since the Meiji period."
If we are to believe the Conservative view of what America should be, then it should not have changed since the 1950s, when the nuclear family ruled, Daddy worked, Mommy kept the house in order, "everyone" had a house and two cars with some money in the bank, "nobody" was gay (or at least nobody talked about it), minorities "knew their place," and keeping up with the Jones' was the national pasttime.
"We should force japan to adopt the same values as civilised countries like the USA"
Sorry to burst your bubble again, but America is hardly civilized. In a country with the greatest degree of wealth, it's got an astonishing number of people dying of starvation and malnutrition (no, it's not just the anorexic supermodels). Many people can barely afford to feed and clothe their children (why do they continue to have children? Because the conservative movement doesn't like anyone to educate kids about sex, make birth control readily available or allow easy access to safe abortions.). Combine this institutionalized maltreatment of the poor with the institutionalized abuses of minorities, women and homosexuals, and you've got a country that is "uncaring and selfish .. with astonishing racism."
Finally, take a look at the way America treats the environment. Fuel costs are at an all-time high, but fuel economies are at the lowest level in 20 years. The solution -- let's destroy the environment for more fuel. Nobody's willing to stop driving their SUV to even do a little bit for the world. In rejecting the Kyoto protocol, the US negotiator said, "The American way of life is non-negotiable."
Your description of Japan sounds an awful lot like America to me.
I do not claim to know anything substantial about Japan or it's political and social problems, but your post smacks of a crack addict trying to lead an AA meeting. Before America tries to fix the rest of the world, maybe it should concentrate on itself.
Re:New Video Game System (Score:1)
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