Filed under: Technology Review | Tags: 3g, cellular, iPhone, Mobile, network, phone, technology, telephony, usability, Wired
Japanese are famous for their mobile phone technology and their vastly advanced networks, but few people look at the practicality of their features. I was the same way at first, easily amazed by video conferencing, television receivers or LED flashlights but are these features the average Japanese user utilizes daily. The students at Keio answered this question as they stated they often don’t use the majority of the features of their phone. When asked during the presentation how many had the live television service One-Seg, around ten students raised their hands. Although these ten students had the service they all lowered their hands when asked if they use it frequently. Other features such as video conferencing may serve as cool parlor tricks, but their everyday viability is lacking. With the silent nature of Japanese culture it appears video conferencing would be too loud and obtrusive, especially when huddled between train cars. At FutureScope we were introduced to another interesting mobile phone feature, motion sensors, this is yet another feature that doesn’t seem to agree with Japanese culture. In such a reserved culture, I find it very hard to believe that people would be willing to pretend to bowl on the train. The 3G network does allow for features that are extremely useful, rich content webpage viewing is something that is not possible on 2G networks. With the advancement to 2.5G EDGE in the United State rich webpage viewing is possible but there is still much to build upon. The speeds available with 3G allow for theoretical broadband download speeds under ideal conditions, this allows all sorts of content to be delivered to the phone, such as maps. Another great feature is the subway map capabilities with a large subway system like that in Tokyo, having a mapping assistant on your mobile phone makes navigating a breeze. With GPS included these maps not only provide directions, but directions based on your current location. Localization based services have viability for a wide variety of applications beyond mapping, including social networking, gaming, and matchmaking. With all of the talk about the new 3G iPhone and its localization to other countries one begins to wonder will the Japanese even be interested in such a simple phone. While we have yet to see if Apple will add special Japanese only features such as mobile wallet to compete with Japanese mobile phones, a recent article in Wired spoke about the state of mobile telephone in Japan and its increasing complexity. Those interviewed in the article said that the complex button combinations, which yield different results was “good for killing time during a long commute, but it’s definitely not elegant.” Many of the features hidden beneath these combinations are rarely used and merely found by accident. Another user pointed to the enormity of the problem by saying “some people care about quality, but first and foremost it’s about the features.” Japanese mobile phone providers give the users what they want in new features, but neglect to focus on the usability of the phone’s interface. While the features of Japanese phones amaze us in the United States we must realize that the usability of phones such as the iPhone is their true draw. Hayashi put it best “When I show this to visitors from the U.S. they’re amazed. They think there’s no way anybody would want an iPhone in Japan. But that’s only because I’m setting it up for them so they can see the cool features.”
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/news/2008/06/japan_phones
Filed under: Blog Post | Tags: Japan Rail, mass transit, oil, shinkansen, transporation, transportation, Travel
The thing I took away from our travels the most was the ease of transportation in Japan. With the current gas crisis in America it makes sense to me that we should begin to look into deploying a mass transit system. During the Japan Rail presentation they said that 16 million people use their trains daily, this does not include the other Japan Rail companies or the subway systems. The ability to travel so freely in Japan not only made our trip easy but also allowed us to visit many cities in two weeks. The Shinkansen allowed us to travel from Osaka to Tokyo in 2 and half hours; this trip is around the distance from the base of Michigan to the bridge, a trip that takes 5 to 7 hours depending on traffic. If the train system had not been in place and we had to rely on a bus system to travel to our destinations, we would not have been able to fit so many visits in our two-week trip. After using this system for a week it became perfectly clear that we need this system in America, with the price of oil rising and the possibility that we may run out of oil; it makes sense that a statewide transportation network could solve these problems. After seeing how perfect the Japanese system worked, I feel that it could be the solution to our aging system of highways and personal vehicles.
Many times during our trips in the subway it would have been nice to know how far underground we actually went, many times it felt like we burrowed deeper and deeper until we finally found our train. With the space limitations in Tokyo it appears the city does not only reach to the sky, but also reaches toward the center of the earth. These train stations were not just simple train stops with tracks and platforms; they are elaborate shopping centers with stores and restaurants. Some of the Japan Rail stations were shopping malls with train stops hidden down corridors. This had the possibility to make an already large subway system even more confusing. Most of the time this was not the case, as in majority of common areas the signs were in English and quite helpful. This combination of train station and mall is a smart decision because it places shops were people visit daily. Not only does it dress up the train station but it also brings in money from busy commuters who do not have time to travel to the grocery store after work or see something they can’t live without on their way home. With the amount of people using the trains it makes sense to provide other services and for these people to purchase besides a train ticket.
When Dr C first gave us the map of the subway it was a bit overwhelming, to say the least. Tokyo has one of the largest subway systems in the world and as a person who had only traveled on subway one time in DC it was a new experience. The subway in DC could not compare to the experience in Japan, the amount of people during the morning commute was staggering. Thankfully we were weaned into the process under the watchful eye of Emiko and Dr C. In the beginning our trips were based mostly on blind faith, few of us had any idea what portion of the city we were in or how far we were away from the hotel. Gradually we began to understand the system and by the end of the trip we were visiting the various districts on our own. During the process of growing to understand the subway we also switched from paper ticket to Pasmo, this change made me feel like I was apart of the crowd. The commuters moved so fast in the morning and I felt like we were in that Visa CheckCard commercial when we pulled out our paper tickets, stopping traffic because we are stuck in the past.
One of the first things that I experienced in Japan was the customer service, our first restaurant outing was the first time I saw this first hand. I had heard KJ talk about how polite everyone was and how they bowed at 90 degrees. Everyone knows that bowing is a sign of respect in Japanese culture, but I didn’t to know to what extent they performed this act. At first it was very strange to see a person bow as you left a restaurant or even McDonalds, but soon it became very natural. I felt like when I returned a bow I was responding with respect. It seems that America has lost its emphasis on customer service in certain industries, such as food service. Fast food in Japan has much of this customer service that has been lost in America, it was very strange the first time someone bussed by tray in a McDonalds. This experience was difficult at first because I thought to myself “I can bus my own tray,” but then I thought about how this is something that has been lost in America. It seems that we have become accustomed to the poor customer service and occasional attitude we encounter when dining. It seems that in America we see fast food as a quick meal, where we can fulfill our hunger quickly, but in Japan they focus on service and providing “good food quickly.”
Before arriving in Japan I had heard of Anime, but had never really been interested in it. I had heard of animes such as Final Fantasy Advent Children or Ghost in the Shell, but I had never watched them. I knew that anime was a very popular in Japan, but I had no idea to what extent this media permeated the culture. Manga books are available in many convenience stores sitting on the same shelves as news magazines. Purchasing a manga in the morning is as natural in Japan as buying a newspaper is to us. People of all ages and genders read anime on the train during their morning commute; this showed how diverse the manga audience is in Japan. While anime and manga fans are a small population in America and most people cannot distinguish them from a cartoon in Japan many people enjoy this art form. Anime hasn’t become extremely popular in America, but with the success of Advent Children and Ghost in the Shell it could depending on the popularity of the property.
Filed under: Blog Post | Tags: ceremony, Culture, order, ritual, society, tea
One of the most special experiences was the tea ceremony. The entire setting was perfect, we had a great view from the 65th floor of the tallest building in Japan juxtaposed to the traditional tearoom with its simple elegance. I had a general idea of what a tea ceremony entailed due to my extensive knowledge of Karate Kid Part 2, but the explanation of the importance of the details was great. As with many things it is the attention to detail that makes this ceremony special: the practiced movement, the protocol and the respect for the guest. When I saw the ceremony in the movie I had no idea what the importance of rotating the cup was, it’s to show off the design, or the purpose for the elaborate procedure. The tea ceremony is a very spiritual thing that is an important part of Japanese culture. Japanese culture is built on ritual and order; this need for order seems to permeate to all aspects of their society.
One of the greatest things about this trip was the mix of technology and culture. The Buddhist temples served as a perfect balance to the great technology companies that we visited. The tranquility of these temples also gave us time to slow down and just enjoy Japan, after hectic travel. Miyajima Island was one of my favorite visits and the Daisho-In Temple was one of the nicest temples we visited. Going to the island was quite an experience, it all started with a peaceful ferry ride. While on the ferry we could see the famous O-torii Gate, which is a common gateway to Shinto shrines. Miyajima means “Shrine Island,” this is due to the many shrines on the island. The island houses Itsakashumi Shinto shrine, the national language of Japan, as well as Daisho-In temple, which is a Buddhist temple. The variety on the island made it a great place to see many aspects of Japanese religion, which to my untrained eye appeared the same until I did further research. This is where the culture component greatly expanded the trip. It is very easy to be amazed by the technological advances in Japan, but being immersed in Japanese culture gave us the ability to begin to understand the country.
iNiS and Q Entertainment both shared a love of music and a different view of how to interpret music into a game setting. Both companies decided the proper platform for their games was handheld devices; this could be due to the price of handhelds and music games being marketable to non-gamers. Casual games, like music games, serve as an excellent way to introduce people to games and gaming systems. Gaming companies have recently began to realize the profitability of marketing to non-gamers, Nintendo’s Wii has become the best selling console ever by following this strategy. iNis and Q’s games speak to this audience by utilizing something that is inherently human, music. Music is something that speaks to everyone; games that are based around music have the opportunity to have the same power. The games that iNiS and Q have designed seem to have this power with their audience. iNiS’s Elite Beat Agents does an excellent job of drawing the player into the beat of the song, and making them feel like they control the song, this ability to draw the player in and keep them absorbed in the game play is where music games excel.
One of the neatest things that we saw on the trip was the Panasonic room of tomorrow, which contained their giant touch screen. While the screen’s touch technology allowed for greater control over various objects at once, the uses demonstrated were a mixed bag. It is very hard to believe that people will want to get off the couch to do simple tasks such as change the volume or balance on a stereo or purchase items online. While there may be a plausible use for these features, but the virtual rooms seemed the most illogical. I can see a time when someone may use the wall radio control, but it is very hard to believe that children will play ball with their TV wall. Even with the space constraints of Tokyo, we still saw parks and playgrounds for children to play. This room and the touch screen at DoCoMo, made it obvious to me that this is something that is more show than substance. DoCoMo illustrated solid uses for large touch screens, screens such as this appear to have more use in the office or newsroom, than in the living room.
