There’s out there, and then there’s truly out there in regards to ideas and crazy gadgets. Earphones/mp3 players that can be controlled with you eyes — don’t write them off just yet. In fact, they’ll soon be grouping an eyeball near you.
Thanks NTT DoCoMo, handless operation of your headphones and music will soon be a reality. Operation (leaving technical science out of it) is pretty cool, using the charge between your retina and cornea to determine what exactly it is that you want. Such things as blinking and looking different directions will control playback and volume.
Ya, that’s impressive. Now all I’m waiting for is the eye mounted lasers. Only then will my life be complete. Check out the vid below if you so desperately crave more.
For once in my short lifetime I can finally say we here in the U.S. have a cool mobile technology before our tech god cousins in Japan. That gift is Android. The Android scene in Japan has been pretty much non-existent with NTT DoCoMo’s plans to actually release an Android device(s) remaining fairly stagnant. Heck, it’s been a good year since DoCoMo first announced they were going to release Android handsets. Their stalling is another carriers talking point as SoftBank has announced that they plan on releasing an Android powered device next year. Sharp meanwhile also announced Japanese bound Android support though their “device” included an “s” so perhaps NTT DoCoMo is finally getting that ball rolling.
Some may discount the fact that Sharp is but one player in the hardware market in a country that is chock full of mobile devices. Wile true, Sharp just so happens to be the largest mobile hardware manufacturer in the land of the rising sun. That fact alone means any decisions or technologies they choose to introduce will actually reach quite a few people.
Since Japan does enjoy several mobile technologies that many other earthlings can only dream of, Android does have to be tweaked as it’s been stated that the OS will support custom Japanese technologies such as seg-1 (mobile tv standard) as an example. Given the added develops being added to the Japanese flavor of Android, a delay on DoCoMo’s part doesn’t seem as far fetched. Still, a year without any major advancements is a long time.
Any Japanese readers eagerly anticipating Android’s touchdown?
Update: Got a couple dates mixed up. Sorry ’bout that.
Living in Japan presents itself with several pros and cons. On one hand, because the land of Japan is so small, the ever growing population is finding itself having to cram into tighter and tighter spaces. On the other hand, if you happen to care about mobile technology, Japan is a hot bed of activity. Part of that success is due in part to the close quarters. Further increasing in mobile technology is that a majority of the population lives on a small part of the overall land meaning cellular networks can upgrade large swaths of coverage area relatively quickly and cheaply when compared to U.S. counterparts.
Examples of this speedy rollout can be highlighted by detailing how Japan started their 3G rollout years before the U.S. and are planning to have a fairly extensive 4G network in place by December of 2010. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about 4G efforts stateside — they’re coming, but not near the speed or coverage area that Japanese 4G networks will be enjoying come this time next year.
This move to 4G and quick rollout of wireless technologies over all combined with rather swift uptake by the public meant Japan could flip the switch on 2G cellular networks as soon as December March 2011 — much sooner than the U.S. Perhaps they’re just sick and tired of 2G’s god awful everything and/or enough peoples have abandoned 2G use all together as NTT DoCoMo has announced that instead of December 2011, they will be killing 2G network support several months earlier with 2G network shut down coming as early as in March 2011. But what good is a 4G network without devices to take advantage of it? Check. DoCoMo is planning on releasing 4G data cards in late 2010 with 4G handsets to follow in early 2011.
Living in a country with considerably more land to cover, it’s hard to imagine a world without 2G here in the states as driving an hour or so from your house (in many instances even much less than that) results in your 3G coverage giving way to the antiquated 2G networks. Keep driving and you’ll eventually find a big, nasty network hole. Current U.S. network troubles aside, living in a more technologically advanced city and society is a tech lovers dream. How’s your stomach for sushi and your ability to decipher Japanese? I’ll be needing a roommate…
Bad news for Blackberry hopefulls on Japan’s NTT DoCoMo’s network: it is being reported that the DoCoMo is halting sales on the Blackberry Bold due to overheating issues while charging. AT&T’s humorously titled “Quickfire” is still fresh in our minds with it’s own overheating issues. Apparently there is an epidemic going around that affect peoples’ ability to plug in their cell phones properly. While I joke, this current NTT DoCoMo issue doesn’t seem to be anywhere remotely related to the actual person pluging in the charger. Out of the roughly 3,000 Bold’s that have been sold so far in Japan 30 users have reported the keypad getting hot when charging. Currently no one has been burned nor has any Bold spontaneously burst into flames. RIM has already acknowledged the issue and said that they have ruled out a battery issue as other countries’ Blackberry Bolds aren’t suffering from this issue and that the investigation to the cause is ongoing. Hopefully they find a fix fast as I’m sure their are many Japanese Crackberry users who will now have to go a little longer without RIM’s amazing Blackberry Bold. Do you live/work in Japan and purchased a Bold? If so, have you had any problems regarding overheating? Lets expand it further, has anyone from any country had any overheating problems with their Bold? Lets us know!
*By the way, I know there’s an AT&T logo on the Bold pictured in an article talking about NTT DoCoMo’s Bold. However, I couldn’t find a big enough picture that didn’t look like crap…so AT&T’s Bold wins out*
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For once in my short lifetime I can finally say we here in the U.S. have a cool mobile technology before our tech god cousins in Japan. That gift is Android. The Android scene in Japan has been pretty much non-existent with NTT DoCoMo’s plans to actually release an Android device(s) remaining fairly stagnant. Heck, it’s been a good year since DoCoMo first announced they were going to release Android handsets. Their stalling is another carriers talking point as SoftBank has announced that they plan on releasing an Android powered device next year. Sharp meanwhile also announced Japanese bound Android support though their “device” included an “s” so perhaps NTT DoCoMo is finally getting that ball rolling.
