The Western World

Social Technology "Expert" in Japan

On more than one occasion I have been billed as a Social Media or Technology "Expert".  To be completely honest, most of my internal organs cringe whenever I hear this title.
The reason is that to me, there is nothing special about it all.  There are no real definitions or qualifications, pretty much anyone with a twitter account qualifies.  To me introducing yourself as a Social Media expert is like saying you are a real estate agent, just with less qualifications. 
I say this mainly because the field right now is simply too undefined and while there are some amazing individuals in the field, most of the people who claim this title are just unemployed wannabes with too much free time on their hands.  (yeah, I know which group I belong to)

I am however a proud and I believe very qualified gearhead.  I have worked for many years and spent countless dollars and yen to achieve this title, and while it is equally useless, I am more than happy to accept this badge.

So what is a gearhead good for?  Well, I am often asked to help cover or publicize an event.  Sometimes I do it even without being asked.  What I bring along is an understanding of current social media tools, and even more importantly a bag full of electronic gadgets and gizmos.  Here is an example of a bag I brought along with me to the last CGM Night hosted by Danny Choo.



Pictured here is
1 Macbook Air
1 Sony Vaio P series ultralight laptop + Large stamina battery pack
1 LCD projector
1 Portable 32inch projector screen
1 Sony Alpha 300 DSLR + 2 lenses
1 Logitech Orbit webcam
1 Gorillapod DSL tripod
1 Logitech Laptop Pro webcam
1 EMobile Pocket Wi-fi portable hotspot.
1 Plantronics Pro bluetooth headset
1 Buffalo Multi Memory Card reader
1 Power strip
2 Sanyo Eneloop Mobile Power Batteries
2 Poken Digital business cards
Lots of paper business cards and Moo cards
Power adapters, cables, and wires for all stuff above

And I fit it all into a small roller bag that I can drag along to the event.  Now how many people can put together a kit like that?

A setup like this enables me to livestream broadcast and create a two-way portal for online interaction in realtime for pretty much any activity or event. 
Now I don't carry all this stuff around with me wherever I go.  I tend to customize my kit each time I go out to compliment the event and the environment I expect to work in.  Believe it or not, weight and portability are usually the most critical considerations I have when planning out my equipment load.

Understanding the capabilities of all this equipment and finding ways to combine technologies are what I feel are my true areas of expertise.   And as much of a dork as it makes me, I'm pretty proud of my abilities.

Amazon Kindle Comes to Japan

The long wait is over, the Kindle has finally arrived in Japan. Or has it?

As soon as I heard that a new Kindle model with an international roaming would be avail, my pre-order went in. I've been an avid eBook user since my Rocket eBook many moons ago. As a heavy traveler, the ability to carry a library around with me is a must have. Since that first book I have used Sony and iRex readers of varying sizes and capabilities, but the Kindle has always taunted me with the holy grail of mobile readers: wireless updates.

Well, I have had my new Kindle2 International Edition now for over 24 hours, so I guess it's time to see how it matches up.

What's in an "s"? My first look at the iPhone 3Gs

iPhone 3Gs Launch events in Japan.

I think I might be sick. Mentally, you know?

Did I need a new iPhone 3Gs? Nope.

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.

iPhone 3Gs launches in Japan. I lose sleep.

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!

Review: iPhone 3.0 OS - Jump the gun edition

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?

Cellphone Explosion! Softbank and DoCoMo announce summer 2009 models

Big day for cellphone announcements. Between the DoCoMo and Softbank, we are looking at 37 new models that will be released this summer.

Here's a teaser.

From Softbank

Here are the DoCoMo newbies.

  

Yes, 37 is a lot. But really around 30 of them are basically the same as the previous line. There are a few notable exceptions/omissions.

One of the most interesting phones out this batch is the 936SH from Softbank. It adds a solar charging panel to the face of the phone that can be used to charge the battery. It's really one of those "it's about time" features, but worth taking a look at.

For DoCoMo's first interesting model we have the N06A. A rather drab lookinc phone, but underneath a big suprise. The phone can act as a wi-fi router sharing out a high speed HSDPA cellphone connection. Sure, your monthly bill goes up into the stratosphere, and there are all sorts of restrictions but seriously. Good show!

And yes, the first official Android phone is coming out in Japan via the DoCoMo HT02S. I still think the use of the Magic platform just shows how slow DoCoMo is at adopting new ideas and how little they are committed to their success.

Much more interesting, and yet at the same time absolutely not is the T01A from DoCoMo. A very sexy design to say the least, this is to me the most appealing new smartphone in this batch. Except of course Windows Mobile. Nevemind. Moving along.

The Softbank 933SH will have a 10mp digital camera beating out the 8.1 MP camera that seems to be standard fare this year.

Docomo if finally coming out with more waterproof phones! This is really a must have feature, and I am glad to see more models with it. This time we have the F08A, the P10A, the SH05A,

The Softbank 931N add wi-fi and a WVGA touchscreen for your browsing pleasure.

For those who like following the earthquakes in Japan, the Softbank 831N is the first phone to incorporate the new Earthquake notification system (basically a special band of SMS) from Softbank.

Emporio Armani has a cellphone in Japan now. and nobody cares.

And Finally, a Lenovo Netbook with built in 3G module out from Softbank. This customized S10 netbook would be a lot more interesting is Softbank would hurry up and get a reasonable unlimited data plan!

Now we are still waiting for the AU announcement. But I honestly am not expecting much there. I'll write more about some of the more interesting models when I have had a chance to do more research. Till then, enjoy!

Review of the Willcom NS on Mobile in Japan

Just posted up a "Review" of the new Willcom NS PDA/planner thingy. I was obviously not in a good mood after my hands-on with the device. I was not very nice.

http://www.mobileinjapan.com/profiles/blogs/review-of-the-willcom-ns-its

Sad thing is, I actually like what Willcom has done in the past, but this time I think it was just insulting.

App Review: Skype for iPhone

I've been a fring user for quite a while, but I usually use my vonage SIP account to make VOIP calls from my iphone.

Had a problem the other day though with fring due to the lack of speakerphone and inability to pass through tones once a call was connected. I'm please to say that the new skype client seems to address both of those points for me. Thanks to the Japan app store I even get to try it out early!

The app is pretty simple and works exactly as you would expect it to. It also fails exactly as you expect it to, but will explain that in a minute.

I made a few test calls. Call quality over wi-fi was good. Not quite as good as cellular, but as good if not better than using vonage over fring. Connection time was very fast. Speakerphone worked well, and the dialing pad can be brought up during a call and tones are sent, so voicemail systems are no problem (something that messed me up earlier in the week with fring).

Now for the hate. And this is not directed at skype, but at Apple and the carrier overlords. Time to give it up. VOIP wants to be free. So stop it with this "no voice over 3G" crap. It's anti-consumer and we all know it works fine, so there is no excuse other than carriers prefer to make more many than slightly less money. Sooner or later consumers are going to take the matter out of the hands of the carriers. I do not think it will be pleasant.

Other problem of course is the lack of background processes or push notification. Hopefully OS 3.0 will help this out, but a phone that needs me to run a client app to receive a call is really not much of a phone. Well, on second thought, the I call you when I want and you can call me when I want thing might have some potential...

  

Not sure how this will effect my connectivity. I use fring mostly for IM and for emergency phone calls. skype has a nice app, but I'm not sure how much use I will have for it with the wi-fi only restriction. It does make a nice new option though and free is a hard price to beat.

update: Corrected the wi-fi/3G thing. Thanks Spundot! Blogging at 3am is perilous. Sleep now....

Mobility

Just made what has to be one of my favorite purchases in recent months.

I have now greatly improved my overall mobility in Tokyo.  Now that I have moved into downtown Tokyo, I can use this bike to easily get around.  Having tooled around for the last week, it is like discovering a whole new city.
I've figured out that it is a lot easier to get from place to place by using the backstreets, as they don't get as packed with cars and pedestrians.  Now I am seeing whole new areas filled with all sorts of interesting things.  Hopefully I'll find some things to post about later.
One thing that makes this a lot easier is the iPhone mount I found.  With it, I can use the GPS and mapping capabilities of the iPhone to navigate to my destination.

There is even an app I can use as a cycling computer!

Hopefully more things to come!

Metal Gear Solid Touch: touch and try event I'm Akihsbara

Just spotted this event going on in front of the Yodobashi in Akiba. Fill in a questionaire and get a free poster. Tried out the app this morning. Pretty fun, but too pricey.