It seems that this is the time for those in the mobile scene to hit the road. While I am sorry to report that I didn’t bring back any images of mobile phone stores from England or France (I must have been busy trying to actually enjoy a vacation), I’m seeing that James Quintana Pearce over at mocoNews did take some time to snap photos of mobile stores in Japan. Having been to Japan in the past I can attest that they take consumer electronics, and especially phones, very seriously!
More importantly James does suggest that we might be closing the gap as the phones he saw for sale aren’t that much more advanced than what we’re doing. I’m not sure what James expected, but honestly what else do you want the phone to do. Still he gives some good insight on what we’ll be seeing in the next year or year and half. Consider it a look into the future from our friends at mocoNews.
A Quick Peek At Japanese Mobile Stores [mocoNews]
Well, I have been hearing and reading that virtually all Japanese phones have a couple of features that are virtually not present in Europe or North America, and are in wide use, too.
- 2D barcode reader integrated to other apps (e.g. browsing a URL encoded in the barcode)
- e-payment, substituting the need for traditional credit cards and cash
Maybe somebody with recent direct experience in Japan can comment.