Recent Comments:
SingTel ropes iPhone distro in Singapore, India, Australia, and Philippines {Engadget}
May 12th 2008 5:30AM Well, Telstra did tell Apple they should stick to what they know when they announced the iPhone. Maybe Jobs has a long memory?
Room for one more? Panasonic wiggles into OLED TV game {Engadget}
Apr 27th 2008 3:36AM Hey, waaay too slow. Got news of this with a proper date (2010) and official confirmation on a site called Current.com.au more than a month ago.
NTT DoCoMo revamps logo, our entire belief system crumbles {Engadget Mobile}
Apr 23rd 2008 2:51AM Oh, well didn't read that (red face). However, I translated the original Japanese slogan. I was unaware they created an entirely different version in English. How odd. I prefer the Japanese version.
NTT DoCoMo revamps logo, our entire belief system crumbles {Engadget Mobile}
Apr 22nd 2008 10:15PM Oh, and that slogan means 'Holding tomorrow in the palm of your hand', not 'unlimited potential'. Who translated that?
NTT DoCoMo revamps logo, our entire belief system crumbles {Engadget Mobile}
Apr 22nd 2008 1:43AM No, no, nooooooooo! (Weeps into his coffee)
Nokia: mobile TV success is a little harder than we thought {Engadget Mobile}
Apr 17th 2008 4:29AM Oh, and just another response to the western phone and smartphone comments:
Yes, smartphones come out later over there, but when they get them, they tend to crap on most smartphones over here (see Willcomm's Sharp-based phones or Toshiba's versions for further info). And remember, smartphones are all huge.
Also, I have yet to experience a smartphone that is actually as easy or enjoyable to use as a normal 3G phone. I have tried many, right up to latest 7.2mbps imate Ultimate's, and they have invariably sucked. I have a 7502 right now after trying the 9502 (which I admit was nice) and it just sits there on my bed, completely unused.
Oh, and while I haven't been back to Japan for two and a bit years, I'm quite certain they don't all use western phones over there, either. Japanese people have their pride, and in the past have always looked down on non-Japanese phones. Nokia and Motorola have fared poorly there (admittedly with under-specced, not the most recent, models), and even Samsung has only done relatively well.
Nokia: mobile TV success is a little harder than we thought {Engadget Mobile}
Apr 17th 2008 4:08AM Hi Mark and Pdexter,
Yes, I agree with you Japanese phones do have many flaws, with their three inch screens necessitating a huge size and pitiful battery life - most of the people I know over there have to recharge them every night.
I also agree that a few Japanese phones may not have the best operating system, or be the most user-friendly. However, they do, on average ('on average' being the important term here) have far better cameras than the average western phone, with even the most basic phones now coming with face recognition, anti-shake and a minimum three megapixels. not only that, but the best phones, while no longer popular or available, came with five megapixels and three-times optical zoom, with all the above features and 9-point autofocus and full manual controls, a year ago. Even my old V602SH had a two-times optical zoom, CCD sensor and manual focus control, which only just got introduced on the LG Viewty (another crap phone). It also takes better photos than my N73.
Also, while they may be large, the iPhone ain't exactly tiny, and while slim, is quite wide. But, yes, I know slim and wide is far better than tall and fat.
On the operating systems, yes, a few phones may be indecipherable, such as past NEC phones I have used, but many are decent, and S60 is not the god-like system everyone makes it out to be. Plus most Japanese phones now run S60 or a variant thereof.
With regards to Mark's comments about the screen resolution, yes, the Kanji may be part of it, but I never had much trouble reading what was on the screen of my QVGA V602, as Japanese phones run ridiculous font sizes as standard, anyway. I personally think almost all of the screen technology development and competition came from the rise of digital TV, as well as the ludicrous competition they have in that market anyway.
Finally, yes, digital TV may be dead because everyone likes to watch what they want all the time, but I personally wouldn't mind it to watch the odd program I might be missing if I work late or am stuck in traffic. Always nice to have a feature there, even if you don't use it all the time, no?
Nokia: mobile TV success is a little harder than we thought {Engadget Mobile}
Apr 16th 2008 6:02AM I agree with both Mark and Michael's comments. The very idea you should pay to watch TV on your phone is ridiculous. It just shows the whole western business mentality of 'Screw everyone to make money first, regardless of how little it costs us to put the service in'.
I often wonder what western mobile phone producers are thinking of when they do stuff like this. They sit there with with crappy, undersized screens with not a hint of VGA resolution in sight (It is 2008, now fellas, you can stop the pretence Japanese people haven't had these for the last year and a half), assume people will want to pay for TV content they can get at home for free (with a set top box or LCD/plasma TV) and wonder why people don't use it or like them as a company.
Japanese people got used to the idea long ago that any TV on your mobile, be it analogue in the old days or digital now, is free. They have phones with large, VGA resolution screens and the ability to record digital TV, watch it while surfing the net or writing mails. This has yet to happen in any other country.
The 3 network in Australia recently did a survey that concluded not many Australians were using mobile internet. Hmm. Wonder why? Most popular reason - overpriced. Oh really? What a surprise. A western mobile phone-related company overcharging people for a basic service that should come capped with a hugely better download limit in the firstplace. I mean, really.
It's not difficult to swallow your pride and just copy everything the Japanese have done in the past three or more years. Japanese phones rock, and yet the companies developing them only sell to a yearly market turnover of 50 million. With Nokia sitting as the world's largest phone manufacturer, with a nice 40 per cent or so in gross profits (literally), and a worldwide audience of billions, why is it they (and other guys) can't make a VGA screened flagship with digital TV for free and work with networks to offer better mobile internet deals while they're at it? Not difficult, guys.
Admittedly, there may be an issue with TV stations not ready to broadcast mobile digital content, but unless there's a technical thing i don't know about, shouldn't it be possible just to pick up regular digital signals? Even if not, again, this is something mobile carriers and TV networks need to work on.
Nissan GT-R V-Spec lap times stun observers {Autoblog}
Apr 16th 2008 4:58AM Hmm, well, the 330lb weight thing wouldn't be out the realms of possiblity. Powerhouse Amuse in Japan chopped the heavy leather seats and replaced them with carbon buckets for a 60kg saving in one hit. They then fitted a titanium exhaust, made from a new titanium alloy from Nittetsu (Japan Steel), rumoured to be used on the V-spec as well. Just those two mods dropped 80 kg, and combined with an ECU mod, which raised boost, it pumped out a full 100hp more. Slightly dropped springs and an ugly rear spoiler and splitter completed it and it took 2.5 seconds off the standard GT-R's Tsukuba lap time. That's 2.5 seconds off a 2km (1.287 mile) circuit. Imagine that multiplied by 22.8km - so yes, the 7.25 lap time seems eminently possible.
Monster Cable tries to harass Blue Jeans Cable, fails {Engadget HD}
Apr 15th 2008 4:48AM Way to go Kurt!
