Wireless Japan was an 'eye opener'. Especially the campaign girls. Geeks looking for the newest mobile gadgets, and beautiful women in costume play outfits. What a combo!
No sign of the JPhone brand. Vodafone all the way. Ton of money to rebrand themselves. RED RED RED. Booth blocking the entrace to the conference. They out did DoCoMo.
The above mobile device is NEC's V-N701 (More info). It's a sexy gadget that's got 'TV Call' function, which is basically videoconferencing. This phone is part of Vodafone's Global Standard Line-Up. 'Global Roaming'. Doesn't work in the US and you can't videoconference with someone without TV Call. Back to the drawing board. More photos here ... site in Japanese.
That's right ... control your TV, VCR, and DVD player from your phone. Why!?! Any case it's an awesome phone. Ladies and gentlemen , let me present the J-N51 by NEC (info in Japanese). Japanese only user interface (NOT bilingual .. too bad :(), Java apps (MEANS DOWNLOADABLE GAMES!!!), QR Code reader (advanced form of bar codes), and even a light for the 310,000 pixel built-in camera. Should we call this a mobile phone, digital camera, bar code scanner, PDA, or remote control? That's the equipment manufacturer's next dilema. Stuff it all in one or specialized gadgets.
QR Code (Quick Response Code) - it'll be interesting to see how this plays out in the m-commerce space. Will Mail order catalogue companies use this technology? How about the consumers? Is it easy enough to use? hmmmm. Vodafone's got two phones with this technology built-in. Docomo also has some phones lined up, will AU be next?
The photo is of a mobile phone's screen with a coupon and QR Code. A QR Code scanner can scan the phone's screen. Basically, a person sees an ad in the train or magazine. This ad has a message like for more info email moreinfo@ thiscompany.com. When the person does this from their keitai, the system auto replies w/ more info and a link to the coupon. The person clicks the link and is sent to the coupon page perhaps with the QR Code, which they can take to a store. A service provided by Maido Coupon (site in Japanese).
** UPDATE: The QR Code could be scanned by the phone, which translate it into a URL or email address. The reason I think there is a scanner at the store is the demo shows the QR Code w/ the coupon as shown in the photo above.**
10:31:40 AM 
|
|
