Five Gadget-Packed Japanese Mobile Phones
Phones in Japan play a slightly different role to those used anywhere else in the world. Handset technology has come so far that phones are now totally integrated into everyday life.
For example, paying for a drink in your local shop can be done with your phone thanks to its integrated Felica system (an electronic wallet). You can board the train in Tokyo by tapping through barriers with your phone and then watch your morning TV on the handsets hi-def screen.
Friends exchange details by infra-red business cards transferred between phones and shopping can be done by scanning barcodes from adverts on the train.
Here’s five of the coolest, gadget-packed Japanese mobile phones that you won’t be seeing anytime soon in your local mobile store unless you plan on relocating to the land of the rising sun.
1. Hitachi Mobile Hi-Vision Cam WOOO
Not exactly the easiest name to remember, nor is it the prettiest of handsets, bearing more of a resemblance to a cheap handy-cam than a phone. But it’s the technology within Hitachi`s latest offering that makes it so special.
The WOOO sports a ridiculously oversized camera capable of recording 720p/30 frames per second HD movie footage. It also, as is the norm with most Japanese phones, sports an enormous screen capable of transforming the phone into a widescreen tv (by flipping it on its side). Oh and of course, its available in a nice shiny pink colour.
2. Sharp Solar Phone
Can you imagine if your wallet was battery powered? Can you imagine if it ran out of battery or it got wet?
Well in Japan for many their phone is their wallet and the battery running flat is precisely what you don’t want. Sharp hopes to combat flat-batt syndrome with a solar powered phone. The Sharp Solar phone has a large solar panel on the front which charges up the handset whenever it is out of your pocket.
If that’s enough the phone is also waterproof, so its no big concern if you drop it in the sink while doing the washing up. A liquid paper display on the front shows you the intensity of the sun and how much juice its giving your phone. Don’t think a summer day is going to let you talk forever though as half an hours worth of sunshine equates to just two minutes of talk time.
3. Docomo T-01A or Toshiba TG01
A sort of gigantic version of the iPhone but running the horrendous Windows Mobile 6.1. The T-01A made by Toshiba has a 4.1″ display and a lightning fast Qualcomm 1ghz Snapdragon chipset. Thankfully Toshiba has designed their own interface for the phone which covers up the Windows Mobile misery.
The handset itself is incredibly thin and lightweight, lightning fast and capable of matching a laptop in functionality terms. Bearing a dangerously close similarity to the iPhone but sporting all the capabilities of a normal Japanese handset, the T-01A could easily send a few shivers down the spines of Tokyo’s Apple store owners.
4. Emobile S22HT
Emobile is the definite Blackberry of Japan with the majority of its phones being targeted at businessmen and Windows Mobile users.
Rather than going for the usual pocket-brick approach of the modern day smartphone, the S22HT is small and compact with a pop out keyboard. Weighing in at just 140 grams but with a powerful 528mhz processor it is in essence the smallest possible pocket PC.
One thing of note is the design of this phone; it is seems to be two handsets stuck together, with a horrible white back and a sleek black front.
5. Sharp Aquos FullTouch 933SH
Sharp are a big deal out in Japan. Their mobile phones are the must-have accessory for Japanese youth. Most Sharp handsets have incredibly rich and high-contrast screens with high resolution cameras.
The 933SH, however, is in a league of its own. It packs features more akin to a Digital SLR than a phone. The phone flips over to reveal a touch screen display and a massive 10 megapixel CCD camera with auto focus.
Perhaps the most crazy thing about the camera is that it can hit 12800 iso sensitivity which is the sort of feature you would expect on a top of the range Nikon or Canon camera. Oh and if that wasn`t enough, you get 16gb of internal memory and an LED flash.
Posted on February 3, 2010 | Filed Under Tech
One Response to Five Gadget-Packed Japanese Mobile Phones
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These phones are so cool much better technology than we currently enjoy in the UK.