KDDI au's Autumn and Winter 2007 collection
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Oct 27th 2007 7:22PM
posted Oct 27th 2007 7:22PM
We're not sure why anyone would pick the two color options on the left here, because let's be honest -- the Infobar 2's claim to fame is its wacky multicolor keypad. The 2.6 inch, 400 x 240 display is an OLED unit, pretty unusual for a screen of this size (in these parts, anyway). Other features include a 2 megapixel cam, microSD expansion, and one-seg mobile TV.
One of two contributions from Toshiba, the W56T is a pretty typical Japanese domestic market clamshell offering up a 3.2 megapixel autofocus lens, one-seg and FM tuners, FeliCa, and a microSD slot. One cool bit here is that the clam can be opened 180 degrees for easy TV viewing -- a nice change of pace from the usual swivel to accomplish the same purpose.
KDDI bills Sony Ericsson's W54S as "elegant but powerful." We'd say that's a fair assessment considering the 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera, one-seg, FM radio, and FeliCa access. See a trend here?
The only slider of the lot, Sanyo's W54SA features a lovely 3 inch display and a "Japonesque" design (KDDI's words, not ours) that we imagine should do well for Kyocera's new unit -- should a deal end up going down, of course. The camera sensor is just a hair under 3.2 megapixels (not the same unit several of the other phones here are using, apparently), but otherwise, the spec sheet is starting to sound like a broken record: microSD slot, FeliCa, one-seg, et cetera.
Nope, that's not a typo, the W53H is "Wooo" branded. We've no idea what that means, especially considering that the spec sheet is virtually indistinguishable from the other phones here. The camera is a bit on the low end -- just 2 megapixels -- but we see a cradle on KDDI's site that makes us believe the carrier intends this one to see some action as a nav system.
Kyocera's W53K makes us cry because it's an indication of just what the manufacturer's capable of, which contrasts sharply (very sharply) with the ultra low-end fare it serves up in the Americas. Ah, well. KDDI's touting how slim this one-seg capable puppy is, which is probably a diversionary tactic to take your mind off the meager 2 megapixel cam. And no, we can't believe we just said "meager" and "2 megapixel" in the same sentence. One could get used to a Japanese carrier's product portfolio, no?
Finally, the Toshiba W55T has the outline of a credit card when closed, and KDDI's really playing that up. Like, to the point of annoyance. Why does that even matter, anyway? It's not like you can slot it in your wallet alongside the Visa -- yeah, KDDI calls it thin, but it ain't that thin. The camera's 2 megapixels, the display's 2.4 inches, and naturally, the color choices are gold, platinum, and black.
Anyone ever got a good reason why we can't have cool phones like these in the US?
Money money money. I don't think the US went through the same "Pay As You Go" boom of the late Nineties that Europe and Japan did. That meant a lot of very very young people looking to buy powerful but simplified phones
they use different signals in japan, which are way different here. the wavelength or whatever that japanese phones use for tv is being used by the military in the states, and since japan is smaller and the nation is ruled by virtually two carriers, the systems and networks are easier to upgrade and take a shorter amount of time, unlike in america, where things take a horribly long time to get done, like t-mobile's 3G band, or any cell carriers introducing live videochat. if i got anything wrong, somebody far more knowledgable in this area correct me :]
Well, their 3G is technically compatible with at&t's 3G, just a different frequency (2100MHz), and already compatible with Europe's. The question is why is USA tech so gay?
At least I can take my Kaiser to Japan and use it there, depending on SIM availability.
2 things keep Japanese CDMA (the phones displayed on this page) phones from being used in the US.
1. Japanese 3G all runs on 2100MHz. Even the CDMA-EVDO, which no other CDMA country does.
2. Non-standard ESNs. Their CDMA ESNs run 5 letters and 6 digits (for example, an old phone of mine has the ESN of STSBT837195 with no decimal equivalent).
But do notice that Sony-Ericsson makes CDMA phones for Japan. They'd blow the competition out of the water if they re-entered the US CDMA market with phones like those.
The same reason we don't get the cool subnotebooks and PDAs anymore. Americans just don't want to spend much on technology unless their company is providing it for them.
Not a bad thing, but it definitely keeps us behind those who are willing to pony up.
I personally believe that the main reason we don't get phone likes this in the US is because of the carrier subsidy that everyone here seems to think is so important. I have talked to Japanese, Korean, & Chinese businessmen & women as well as Students from all those countries & they all say the same thing on average their phones just COST MORE to begin with & if the carrier doesn't provide a subsidy they STILL are willing to spend the money to acquire the latest & greatest technology. Plus I have worked for a Major Wireless company & the folks that run them here in the US are OLD dinosaurs from the old Bell days. There is very litte young blood at the top & as a result the phone selection of most US carriers is very weak at best & in many cases outdated. You have younger employees in engineering & such but the final say so for what phones come to market STILL comes from the top.
The Wooo name is Hitachi's AV brand in Japan. It's attached to all their DVD/Blu Ray recorders, HDD recorders, projectors and, of course, their plasma and LCD TV's. It stands for some ridiculous amalgam of words I cannot remember right now.
First of all, the amount of time it takes to upgrade networks has nothing to do with phone design. 3G is great but the fact it takes 2 seconds instead of 5 seconds to check my email is pretty irrelevant.
Also the argument Fyre throws at that he/she "has friends" and "has talked to people" holds no water. So you've talked to 10 people that are all from the same company or have all the same backgrounds . . . fantastic. And the point you make about the Bell companies being run by dinosaurs is also irrelevant. How old exactly do you think these people are? It has nothing to do with the average age of engineers or anyone. What it has to do with is control.