Did I need to stay up all night to wait in line to get one? Definitely not.
Was there a problem with my old iPhone 3G? Not really.
Do I have so much money I need to just throw it away? No way.
So that leaves me with the fact that I have a problem.
oh well. On with the review :)
So obviously I stayed up last Friday night at the all-night Softbank iPhone 3Gs launch event/party. To be honest, I had a pretty good time. Got to spend time with some good friends and meet lots of interesting people. I got to participate in a totally geek centered event that boosts my ego (always nice to know for sure that you are NOT the geekiest person in the room). Enjoyed the presentations, and even managed to win some cool stuff. And of course, I finished things off by taking my brand new iPhone 3Gs home with me.
Since I was mostly asleep when I first posted about this event, I'd like to start over and detail the events of the evening.
I started off my iPhone Night by first stopping by the Softbank store in Omotesando. I got there around 4PM and quickly ran in to reserve my iPhone. Had waffled for several days on the decision, but finally broke down and decided to go for it. Here are the things that led me to my decision.
Today marks the official launch of the iPhone 3Gs in Japan.
A bit later than the US launch, but still close enough that I don't feel too left out. Still, my schedule these days conspires to bring me to my knees. After a full day of meetings, I popped up to check the line at Omotesando for the Launch Party event sposored by Nobi and Denso. What did I find when I got here but Free pokening and hugs!
Just got back from the opening night of Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. Seriously had the time of my life!
Gathered a group of Die-Hard Transformer fans including @dannychoo @jonnyli @iMorpheus @fvbock @tamegoeswild @drzuco @mikamika59 @frankiebit and @ripkin. We all trucked down to the brand new IMAX theater in Kawasaki.
IMAX Digital just started in Japan today with the firs three theaters opening with the Transformers opening night. Kawasaki is the most convenient being only about 15 minutes from Tokyo station by express train so I will definitely visit again soon.
OK. Fanboy coming out now so you might want to plug your ears.
This movie rocked my world! Lots of robots beating up other robots. Lots of cheezy jokes. Lots of robots shooting other robots. Lots of cheap cheecake shots of whatername. Lots of robots exploding after being shot with missiles by other robots. LOTS OF ROBOTS!
They really seem to have the CGI down for robots as this time I think they had 3X the robots as last movie. And much more action.
Movie did slow down a bit as they actually tried to put in a plot this time. But at over 2.5 hours they actually managed to squeeze in a lot more. In spite of all the advance press I read there was still a lot of stuff I wasn't expecting.
Basically I was transported back a few decades and managed to recapture a lot of my delight from my original exposure to the transformers. Not a bad plot. Lots of action and very good special effects. Mechanical designs amazing. Drama (what they did to my precious Audi R8!). I have to say that the feeling I had through the movie was immense satisfaction.
If you can see the film in an IMAX theater, it is definitely worth it. If you can see it with a great group of friends, even better.
Before checking out the movie we stopped by the BIC Camera nearby and played around a bit with the new Transformer toys. I might have to check out one or two.
Highly recommended movie. May not be for everyone. But if it ain't for you, don't want to know ya.
What is it with Japan an oddly flavored soft drinks? It was only a few years ago that Pepsi *very* briefly experimented with Cucumber flavored Pepsi.
You think I am kidding don't you? Good thing I took a picture.
Well, one small miscalculation by Pepsi. They actually made it taste like cucumber. Seriously. Spot on, and so, so wrong. This is one drink that did not stay on the shelves long, and I doubt it was due to high sales.
Now Coke enters the "because science can anything" game with the Coca Cola plus line of drinks.
"plus" in this case means some healthy ingredient such as vitamin C or Catechin. In other ways, it's really a "minus" as this series is targeted to women by keeping it no-calorie and using Sarah Jessica Parker in the advertisements. Check out the webpage here.
So the Coca Cola plus Catechin drink is supposed to be flavored like green tea. I've poured myself a glass and am drinking it down while writing this post. My assessment is...
Not bad. Really, Tastes kind of like Coke Zero. But actually a more mellow aftertaste. I actually think it's pretty good.
But I have no idea what they are talking about when they say Green Tea.
No green tea flavor at all that I can taste. But as experiments go it could be worse.
Another day, another networking event in out lovely city.
Today was a special treat though as the event was CGM Night. My personal favorite as it focuses on content production rather than handing out business cards (although there is a fair amount of that taking place too).
Tonight I met lots of chaps from Google, quite a few idols and models, and got to spend time with some of the great friends I have been making in Tokyo over the last few months. Was also great to see Paul Papadimitriou who will be heading back to Manila tomorrow, but will always remain a big part of the community here.
As usual I shot way too many pictures. I usually try to filter most of them out, but tonight I focused on portraits and I didn't want to cut out anyone, so most of them are here. The slideshow below will be quite long I think, but there are some very beautiful people in there, so hopefully it's worth sitting through. So click the poster below and start the show!
In addition to the general hang out atmosphere, there were the regular Jan-Ken taikais, which I always seem to get close to winning, but never take home a prize. And a group of Akiba-kei otaku were there to show everyone the Top secret Akiba dance. Brrr. I still feel shivers. Take a look.
I'm looking forward to the next CGM Night and what new surprises Danny and Andrew have in store for us.
The time has come. On the 17th of June we get the next version of the iPhone OS. But thanks to the MobileinJapan community, I was able to get my hands on the OS a bit early. So here is a preview of the new iPhone 3.0 OS, running on an iPhone 3G on Softbank Japans 3G network. This is the full version of 3.0, but there are a few features like push and MMS that we are waiting for the network to activate.
This review is also cross-posted to MobileinJapan here.
In a Nutshell: The long wait is over. OS 3.0 brings a lot of overdue functionality to the iPhone and a few neat tricks to boot. Still this is nothing like the bump from 1.0 to 2.0. In fact, the overall feel to the phone is exactly the same. Only a few small graphical changes give away the upgrade at first glance. Also, I don't credit for push apps since this was promised as part of the 2.0 upgrade. I still haven't seen how that works, but will try it out as soon as the apps hit the store. I do see why the new hardware has a faster processor though as I felt that the interface is a bit sluggish since the upgrade. I asked a few other people to try out my phone though and they say that it feels the same, so I guess no definite call there yet.
Batteries not included: So what is not in the upgrade? Obviously, hardware related features are out. No new 3MP autofocus camera. No macro lens. no digital compass, no Nike+iPod integration. Additionally there are really no new features. Most of the changes that are available to iPhone 3G owners are merely enhancements and upgrades to existing functionality. In typical fashion, for new features, you gotta show the dough. So this means no video recording, no voice control, no turn based navigation in Maps, And of course there is the didyourcarrierscrewya feature, tethering. in Softbanks case the answer is an expected "Not a chance you freeloading bum." No tethering in Japan. Finally, while Softbank has promised to turn on MMS support on the 17th, it's not on now so I wasn't able to test it out.
So that's what is not inside. What did we get then?
Yes. I have been in Akiba a lot lately. I hope to be able to say more soon, but I've been working on a project that will hopefully get moving in ernest soon. That may just be an excuse, but it has lead to me doing lots of research in the area.
But is certainly comes in handy. My good friend and one of my top Social Media mentors Paul Papadimitriou is back in Tokyo for a few days after having left the Big Mikan for Manila a few months back. We took the opportunity to go on an Akiba Hunting tour to see the latest and greatest in Tokyo's Electric Town.
Actually this all started last night with the invitation from the #1 servant of the Empire in Tokyo, Mr. Danny Choo, to attend the launch party of the Otaku Encyclopedia at a maid cafe in Akiba. Such an amazing book and I had a great time there. The author, Patrick Galbraith, has done years of research and it all came together into a great new resource on the Otaku/Anime/Akiba subculture. He also looks really familiar, but I can't quite place him. Maybe it's the hair. The book won't be available in the US for a few months, but there might be a way to get it sooner for a few lucky people if my plans go well.
Click the picture below to see some shots of the party and lots of pictures of Stormtroopers with sexy models.
So getting back to Akiba, my first great find is the pay toilet near the Chuo (Central) exit of Akihabara Station. Yes, I said Pay Toilet.
Seriously. I was impressed. The most geeky toilet I have ever seen. For 100 yen, you can enter. But while you can pay with boring, outdated things like "coins", you can also use high-tech RFID enabled cards or cellphones. If you use a Suica or Pasmo trainpass or electric wallet enables cellphone, simply pass it over the scanner, and the door magically opens up. Check it out in the video below.
So putting toilets aside, what else does Akiba have to offer? How bout Cosplay?
Along the way, Paul and I ran into Yui & Mio from the anime K-On!, a favorite of Danny Choo. So I snapped off a few shots for him. What do you think? Mio was very embarrassed by the attention (of course), and begged us to check out the cookies on sale behind her as she was doing her part time job trying to sell them. If you stop by Asobit City in Akiba, please buy some maid cookies to support you local Otaku. Yui seemed to be there just for moral support and to promote her website on Ameblo. Click the pic below to see more of Mio and Yui.
More of my Akiba adventures to come, but in the meantime, check out the video I made with Joseph Tame at Japan PodShow in Akiba.
It's been a crazy week so far. Between various events, buzz on new technology, visiting friends and ignoring the building pile of mail on my desk, I have hardly slept since Sunday.
No way I am missing out on Giant Robot terrorizing Tokyo action. -EVER!
So Paul Papadimitriou and I hopped on a train from Narita aiport and went straight to Odaiba. There we met up with the rest of our Mission:Impossible crew.
Our leader, the Amazing Danny Choo (undercover and sans armor today), 3-dan Black belt in Otaku-do Ken Lee, World famous music-video director Jonny Li, Digital camera meastro Pietro Zuco, and infiltration expert Lester Ho, Paul and I gathered at a our top-secret remote base in Odaiba. and planned out strategy.
After weeks in the jungle and having subdued countless dangerous and armed security guards (really, i wasn't counting), we arrived at the secret contruction site of the Federations' new Prototype Mobile Suit. Approx 15 min south of Aqua City.
Here's what happened next.
Well, kinda like that. Here's what we saw. (click Gundam to see slide show of more pictures)
They finally did it. After years of teasing and promising. Final Fantasy VII is now available on the US Playstation Online store. At $9.99 it's a deal (especially since it was 1,500 yen when released on the Japanese store last month).
Downloading now. Then we'll see how much 12 years has clouded my recollection.
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