Japanese Cell Phones

Japanese Cell Phones

In Japan, cell phones have become ubiquitous art of the Japanese culture. In Japanese, cell phones are called keitai denwa, literally “portable telephones,” and are often known simply as keitai.

Much of the Japanese population own cell phone (keitai), most of which are equipped with enhancements such as video and camera capabilities. This pervasiveness and the particularities of their usage lead to the development of a mobile phone culture, or “keitai culture.”

Japanese Cell Phone Culture - Latest Technology

Japan has always led the world when it comes to the latest technology in cell phone. Many new technologies are released years earlier in Japan or become much more common earlier in Japan. While the difference between what is available in Japan and the rest of the world has reduced in recent years there is still a significant difference. Many cell phone (keitai) have a range of additional capabilities, such as:

• TV phone
• E-money service and various certification functions through Untouched IC card (FeliCa etc.)
• Various services with NTT Docomo’s ‘osaifu-keitai (mobile phone with wallet function)’
• E-money service e.g. ‘Edy’
• Function as ‘Suica,’ which can be used for a season ticket and a train ticket
• Cmode: vending machines which can be used with QR code and ‘osaifu-keitai’ of a mobile phone
• Crime prevention buzzer (with the automatic report system to the police)
• Pedometer
• ‘Read aloud’ system
• Touch-pad system
• Mobile phones with HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
• Mobile centrex service with wireless LAN
• A fingerprint/face certification system for the protection of personal data
• Navigation by GPS
• Configurable databases
• Phone and address books
• Alarm clocks and stopwatches
• Games, such as RPGs like Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy
• Daytimers
• Varying degrees of image enhancement capabilities, such as the option to create borders, to create animations, and more.
• Instant Messenger
• Calculator, Calendar, Schedule note and Memo pad
• Playback of downloaded music
• Recording and playback of voices, music, images and pictures
• Portable music player (MP3 player etc.)
• Viewing and listening to TV and radio (FM/AM)
• Faster software development with pan-OSes such as Symbian OS and Linux

In recent years, some cell phones even have the capability of being used as debit or credit cards and can be swiped through most checkout lines to buy everything from mascara to jet planes, as more and more companies offer catalogs for cell phones.

Some newer models allow the user to watch movies and/or television. Most cell phone (keitai) can be connected to the Internet through services such as i-mode. Japan was also the first to launch 3G services on a large scale. Users can browse text-only Internet sites, and many Japanese sites have sub-sites designed especially for cell phone (keitai) users. One of the most popular services allows users to check train schedules and plane trips on public transit.

There is a popular trend in Japan to use the mobile phone handset to read information from special barcodes. The current technology is based on something called ‘QR codes’ which are a form of 2D barcode that is written out in a square shape instead of a bar shape. The phone handset can scan the barcode using its camera or other input, decode the information, and then take actions based on the type of content. The most popular usage of these QR codes is in advertising. All over Japan there are posters with the codes on and they are found extensively in magazines and even on some people’s business cards. The QR code usually has links to a web site address that the phone can visit or it might contain address and telephone numbers.

Sony, working with NTT DoCoMo, has been spearheading the mobile phone wallet technology, commonly known as ‘FeliCa’. This technology makes use of a RFID chip inside the handset that can communicate with reading devices when the phone is placed near them. Though the technology is relatively new, there are many convenience stores which allow users to pay for goods using their phones; some vending machines even accept phone payments. Users must ‘charge up’ their accounts with credits before they can pay using their phones. The growing popularity of the system is compelling other manufacturers to make compatible phones.

Gracenote and Media Socket have a service where the user holds the phone up to a source of music (such as a speaker), and, by dialing a certain phone number, the song is found in a database and identified. The user receives the song’s title, artist, and album within seconds. This information can in turn be used to search the mobile internet to find that song on the mobile internet.

Check my other guides on Refurbished Cell Phones and CDMA Cell Phones

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