Saturday, February 28, 2009

iPhone in Japan - I am Satisfied

Despite sensationalist, hit-whoring and inane articles like this embarrassing one in Wired [1], as a long-term resident of Japan and Japanese cell-phone user, I think my iPhone is great in many ways. Unless you try to compare it feature-by-feature to Japanese cell phones, that is, but the iPhone is a paradigm shift, typical of many we see from Apple. It's just not the same sort of device, and should not really be compared to Japanese cellphones.

Japanese cell phones are indeed "cutting edge", sure, but a lot of the stuff on them is gimmicky and used infrequently if at all. I hear mention of "WanSeg" TV, but talk about an unpleasant user experience. Watching TV was so confusing on my KDDI AU phone, that I gave up, even after reading the thick manual (yes, I read Japanese). Apple spends great gobs of time and money to make sure their Apps are not like that, though. Apple products are of course not without their problems, but, they're pretty easy to use. That's a huge accomplishment that the feature-hoarders making Japanese cell phones have not understood. Are you listening, Panasonic, Kyocera, NEC, Sharp?

People complain that the iPhone software and hardware is proprietary, but you gotta be kidding me. Japanese cell phones are all about proprietary, in my opinion, and here's a sample of my gripes over the years:

  • Different interface per maker. Kyocera is different from Sony is different from Sharp.
  • New software to sync with Outlook every time you buy a new phone and limited options to sync with Apple OS X Address Book. Different data format per phone, which makes migrations hard.
  • Special formats required for built-in music players, especially Sony. What a chore to get mp3's onto a Sony for playback!
  • Number portability was not an option until fairly recently. Now, at least you can keep your number from company to company, for a monthly fee.
  • Limited standards adoption, for example in that only a proprietary bluetooth headset can be used with the device.
  • Incredibly poor English language text entry handling. My last AU phone from Sony could not enter a space in certain modes and a carriage return in others!
  • Limited ability to switch interface into English. Sony allows this, but my Sharp from a year before did not, for instance.

Apple's user interfaces are truly high quality compared to those of Japanese cellphones, but there are indeed a number of aspects about the iPhone which would pose a barrier to adoption, especially for a person very used to the Japanese cellphone ways or modes. No infrared data or personal information exchange, none of the Japan-only stuff like Suica (train pass) or "wallet" function (auto-debit credit card), no hook for a strap, and a different text entry method are some of the things that feel like obstacles.

Regarding these, though, I can exchange data by email or VCard without trouble from my Mac due to the built-in sync to my Mac apps, or, by using an app to do it, I don't want my wallet on my phone because I feel it's a risk so I have never enabled that, I have a case with a strap hook, and the text entry is wildly better, from my perspective, than that on cellphones. Even the TV thing, you can get a frankly unattractive and sort of knobby adapter to hook onto your iPhone to enable WanSeg. Oh, and the expense, well, you're indeed paying a premium, but it's still less than BlackBerry. The device is rather expensive but the data plan monthly is typical for "all you can use" programs here in Japan, running about 45 dollars per month.

On the iPhone upside, well, I mentioned the stellar interface which is multi-lingual. Japanese smartphones feel cheap in your hands comparably. There are some pretty usable apps (app store problems with regard to developer submissions aside) for it for a reasonable price and for apps that you just won't get for a Japanese cellphone. Music-wise, it's the same iPod flexibility we have enjoyed for years on iPod. Very easy to ingest a CD I own into the iTunes library and get it to play. Safari mobile is smooth. Switching between 3G and WiFi is pretty easy and smooth. We also get syncing I never had with a Japanese cell - for mail, calendar, contacts.

From a western perspective, and after 21 years here, I have the opinion that Japanese are not so good at synthesis but much better at analysis. They are quite content to grouse about the state of something (the analysis bit) rather than figuring out how to fix it (the synthesis bit) and without simply copying. If a thought leader explains why a thing is great, though, the Japanese are pretty willing to make that jump. Since Softbank, the only iPhone carrier, is seemingly always being announced as "nearly bankrupt" I am more concerned about Softbank going belly-up than I am about Japanese peoples' ability to figure out why the iPhone is a great device to own.

[1] In response to which there were a large number of comments, some even worth reading, and blog posts here by Mr. Daiji Hirata and here by Mr. Nobuyuki Hayashi. If all Wired's stuff is this poorly done, remind me never to believe anything they have on their site again.

Niigata's Dubious Claim to "Fame" - The Shortest Skirts

Anti-Mini Crusade in Niigata Japan - PostersHere's a screenshot of a couple images of the posters being used in Niigata prefecture's crusade to try to prevent girls' skirts from getting any shorter. That Niigata has the girls with the shortest skirts is a dubious claim to "fame" unless you're a lecher or a horny male high-school student.

On the upper left in the screenshot, the "evidence" - a couple of female students from behind. These skirts are not even so short. Some are just over-the-top short. I can hear Bill Cosby:

Put your brains back in your head! Don't you let your brains fall out of your head! Have you lost your mind?

On the lower left, the designers of the posters hold their creations, and the pink poster says "if you set your mind to it, you can stretch your studies and your skirt". This makes sense in the original language, as "stretch" in this case means improve. The TV capture on the right is a pun on good taste or "grace", meaning girls whose skirts are too short lack it.

Good luck Niigata. I have a teenage daughter, so I know what it is to try to get her to let that hem out!

Friday, February 27, 2009

Free Wifi from freespot.com

FreeSpot.com offers free WiFi in Japan, and here's a map of their WiFi access points. I can't vouch for the quality of this service, but I thought it might be worth a try for visitors to Japan who need WiFi. There are WiFi services via ISPs, but you need an account, which is not practical for a short visit. If you try it, please let me know how it worked, or not, in the comments.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

JR Stations in Tokyo Soon Smoke-Free

JR Shinjuku Station to be Non-smokingGood news for non-smokers in Tokyo. JR Stations are to be Smoke-free Zones as of April 1st 2009. This poster on the platform at Shinjuku station says:

All Stations in Tokyo will be Completely Smoke Free from 1st April

JR East has always had separate zones for smoking and non-smoking, but due to many customers requesting protection from second-hand smoke, and increased drives at companies to discourage smoking, from 1st April the smoking areas on platforms in Tokyo will be removed, and we will begin to implement a "Total No-Smoking" policy. This will be inconvenient for customers who smoke, but we wish to sincerely ask for your understanding and cooperation in this matter.
And I look forward to breathing fresher air on the platforms.

Yuuri Waterless Urinal Helps Reduce Global Warming

Waterless Urinal "Yuuri"Some places in Japan are very much concerned with the environment. I know we sure do a lot of trash separation, but I had to snap a picture of the sign above a special "ecological" urinal today. I am sure I got a few looks for that!

The "Yuuri" urinal sign says:

Non-Water System "Yuuri"

Yuuri is an ecological toilet that does not use water. Because it does not use water, water is conserved **, and CO2 gas emissions can be reduced. By the way, for every 1 liter saved, 0.58 grams of CO2 emission can be reduced. Yuuri is effective for both water conservation and reducing global warming.

No smoking. Do not put cigarette butts or gum etc in the urinal.

** Note: Japanese write fairly redundantly like this literal translation, restating things so they can be absolutely sure people understand.

Al Gore would be proud.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Novartis Zaditen Allergy Medicine Available in Japan

Novartis Zaditen Allergy Medicine, that works"Zaditen", an allergy medicine from Novartis, is now available over-the-counter in Japan. Last year it was by prescription only, but I'm blogging about it because it works for me where little else did. It's about 1800 yen for a 20 capsule pack, which seems expensive but "welcome to Japan" eh? Its main ingredient seems to be Ketotifen, and I noticed it makes me a little sleepy, but at least I am not wheezing from the Cedar pollen flying down from the mountainous areas of Japan in great clouds. Zaditen might be useful to allergy sufferers in Japan, and you can print this and take it to your local pharmacy (yakkyoku 薬局) to get some, but of course use it at your own risk.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Rick's New Zoff Glasses

Rick's New Zoff Glasses - by Rick Cogley at 12 Feb '09, 7.11pm PST PSTHere's an isight snap via Photo Booth of my new specs from Zoff. The old ones were getting pretty crusty, so I made the excursion to Ofuna to Zoff, an inexpensive eyeglasses chain something like LensCrafters in the US, I would gather.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Carpenters are Popular in Japan

Every morning on Japanese TV lately, there's a commercial segment that plays a cover of "Top of the World" by The Carpenters. I knew that The Carpenters were popular here, having seen their songs on many a karaoke menu and heard them played pretty consistently. I had mentioned their popularity in Japan to an American friend, who was baffled by it, and I laughingly mentioned this to my wife this AM.

She told me that their songs have been played for years in our local Gumisawa Elementary and in other Elementary Schools around Japan. "Top of the World" starts the day, and "Yesterday Once More" ends it, even on "Rainy Days and Mondays" and on "Saturday"s too. I've never heard such a thing in "All of My Life"! Maybe that is why so many Japanese people like them or feel nostalgic singing their songs at karaoke. Another factor might be that the English in the songs is sung clearly, and so it might be easier to understand for a non-native speaker.

My wife said it changes generation to generation, and her Dad's tune for leaving school was Humoresque (Dvorak). I prefer the Dvorak but that's just me.

"Goodbye and I Love You". [Sorry, couldn't resist. :-) ]

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Eiken 3rd Level Pass

Eiken 3rd Level, First Half PassMy daughter Kylie passed the first half of her 3rd level English-as-a-second-language test, the "Eiken" from Step. The numbering system is typically Japanese, where the testees start on the basic level 5, and proceed up to level 1 with a few sub-levels in between. She now has to pass the interview portion to get the certificate, so we plan to practice with her.