Japanese mobile phone producers recoiled in horror earlier this year when Apple`s iPhone 3gs finally took the top spot in handset sales. Apple's little black box it seems has finally taken hold of the Japanese public. For a country with a history of producing some of the most high-tech phones around, it would be a shame to see the iPhone become the norm just as it has in the west. Desperate to prevent this from happening Japanese phone companies have hit back with a swathe of ultra hi-tech handsets many of which are far more capable than Apple's offering.
Phones in Japan play a slightly different role to those in the United Kingdom. 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 (essentially an electronic wallet). You can board the train here 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.
With the sheer level of technology found in every single handset in Japan, phone producers have been forced to produce some pretty special stuff to separate themselves from the competition. In Japan going shopping for a good phone is like walking into the future. You may have thought that getting google maps on your phone was exciting, but that is old news here. Every single phone has a TV tuner, at least a 3 megapixel camera and a massive screen capable of twisting and turning as if your phone is some sort of miniature Transformer.
Here are a few Japanese phones that laugh in the face of Apple's technology in almost every respect. Just don`t expect to be showing them off to your iPhone buddies down the local pub any time soon as they are unlikely to ever be released in Britain.
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 sec 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.
