I was told the other day that you are a nobody in Japan if you don't have email on your phone by one of the younger engineers. I was definitely a nobody. My old phone was out of date - no email address, no ability to send pictures to others, no movie feature, no ability to play MP3 tunes, no access to the internet, etc. I had of course seen everyone on the train using theirs to control satellites in space, check the stock market, etc. but I barely knew how to turn mine on and off.
So here is my new phone, with a picture of me on the screen. It of course has screens on both sides and cameras on both sides. That way, when I am video-conferencing I can switch back and forth with the other person between looking at me and looking at my surroundings (I am not kidding). If I am video conferencing, there is a tiny picture of me in the corner talking and moving around and a bigger one of the other person. Is that cool? If I strapped it to my wrist I could be Dick Tracy.
Text messaging is a really big deal here and it seems like everyone does it. It is cheaper than a phone call and a good way to pass the time. The phones have something called E-moji which are like sophisticated smiley faces to communicate emotions or concepts. Like the emoticons on instant messenger with more choices standard. "E-mo" is short for emotion and "ji" is a suffix for characters or alphabets in this instance so E-moji means Emotional Alphabet. People also use old fashioned ones like our sideways ones e.g. :-) for happy or :-( for sad. But they can be a lot more complicated, are upright, and can use the hirigana and katakana alphabets.
Here is a simple example:
(^-^)
Of course I can also assign different tunes to different people's ring, have their picture pop up when they call, send email message, record movies, access the internet, play games, use it as a calculator, a calendar, alarm clock, and as an electonic massager if I set it on vibrate. So I should be fairly up to date for another 6-8 weeks or so.
That's all for now. I start my trip tomorrow so I'll write email and post to the blog when I can. And if you need to reach me, my phone works anywhere in the world now. Catch you later...
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3 comments:
This new phone is all very impressive, but are you aware, that you have entered "Megan World" as she and Andrew have had this video system working for a while.
This may sound silly, but if you bought the phone in Japan, can you text message in English? Are alphabet letters on the keys?
I would love to see the video portion in action. So, anyone who has a video phone can send pictures to you? This is all too hi-tech for someone who has not yet set up voice mail on her cell.
That's cool. I can send AOL instant messages from my phone, a feature which was the determining factor in which phone I bought.
I also use the distintive ring feature on my phone as well. When my boss calls, my phone squeaks out in this digital voice, "Danger Will Robinson, Danger!"I love that. I should buy more ring tones... they are so funny.
Answers to reader's questions and comments:
1)teresa.m: You can enter messages in English or Japanese.
2)swan maiden: mine is kind of cool - there is a utility to allow you to import sounds from your computer.
3)megan: I got a picture of Prince Andrew - I was going to try and ask him about Charles and Camilla's wedding but didn't get a chance to. I'll post the picture on the blog later this week.
4)moonpieman: I want to upgrade my phone using your method but have a question. What is a "inkjet printer" and what is a "beta test"? How do I get these on to my phone? You say they are free?
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