However, my favourite function by far is the osaifu-keitai (the wallet phone). I can link my bank account details to this lovely little device so that when I go shopping all I do is hand over my phone, which is then scanned at the register like another grocery item, and kapish-all is paid! Marrrrvelous! No fumbling with my ever-growing collection of 1 yen coins (1 cent)!
Another function that serves us foreigners well is the character reader. Simply point and shoot the camera at any Japanese character, be it on a sign, a magazine, a menu…and the camera will then digitize that image and translate the character for you! Ingenious!! The crazy part about all of this is, unlike back home, these characteristics are standard on Japanese phones, and have been for a number of years.
Then of course comes the necessary ‘blinging’. Japanese girls are renowned for having charms hanging of their phones that often outweigh the phone itself! There is a massive market for these ‘straps’ as they’re called-you want plastic sushi hanging off your phone? You got it! There is also a mobile craze over here called ‘deco-den’. It’s where you try and fit as many crazy/glittery/delicious-looking objects onto the outside of your phone. Here is my attempt:
It makes for easy finding in the dark. And my fellow teachers at school think it’s hilarious!
Though I’ve clearly been outdone by the natives, who do it best:
On a side note this trend has also spread to fingernails:
My lovely keitai also has about 7 different coloured lights that I can program to different settings, so I am never without an amber-fading-into-teal message alert.
Needless to say my poor little Aussie Nokia is paling drastically in comparison…
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1 comments:
You're very proud of your phone bling aren't you?!
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