handphones in japan

i previously blogged that handphones* in japan are apparently too complicated with too many functions before i arrived here, but i have to say that it's certainly not the case for my phone. perhaps it could be because it was the cheapest (it was still very expensive by singapore standards) on offer at yodobashi camera, the assumption being that more expensive phones would have more complicated functions, but at least based on this one, phones here dont seem to be any more complicated than whatever i was using back home.

i dont believe i've talked about it, but i can watch the tv on my phone as well as surf the internet. the latter is definitely the most useful and amazing function that my phone has, because the internet is EXTREMELY handy.  i use it to find out what time the last trains** are, or which route is the best to take, what the weather is going to be like and so on; having internet on my phone allows me to check stuff when i dont have access to a computer, or when im in too much of a rush to turn my computer on and wait for everything to load.

the reason why all phones in japan have internet access is because the most common way in which people communicate to each other is via keitai-mail. it's expensive to call, and SMSes have a message limit of 70 characters (!!!) and are restricted to people subscribed to the same service provider. you email everyone else instead, thus phones in japan have both a number as well as an email address. it's really convenient because it allows you to send really long messages without worrying about the message limit, and because everything is via the internet, you pay for the amount of bytes you transfer, rather than per sms you send.

apart from these, i dont think my current phone has anything that the nokia phone i was using before i came here doesnt also have.. perhaps it has a bigger memory and a better camera, but to be fair my nokia was 2 years old, and was a close-to-$0 phone when i got it i think :P

 

*: apparently singaporeans are the only people who use this expression. the brit once said something to the effect of 'handphones' being a silly term, as there's nothing else you'd use to hold a phone.. i was, of course, rather annoyed at that statement, but couldnt think of anything to rebut him with.

**: that's usually for when we're out late. i mistakenly thought that the taxi ride i took in tokyo would be the last one i'd take in japan - i couldnt have been further from the truth! i take taxis more often here than i do back home!! they are for far shorter journeys though, and usually shared among 3 to 4 people, making it really cheap (about 300yen per person).