Sweet cellphone tech from Japan, finally?

According to a recent Associated Press article, Japan’s mobile phone companies will finally begin to push their cellphone technology to other countries. Don’t know about you, but I’ve always had phone-envy for those cool multi-tasking gadgets from across the sea. From the article, 3G phones make up 90% of the Japanese cellphone market – remarkable when you keep in mind that the 3G phones are expected to grow to just 31% of the US cellphone market by 2012.

In addition to your typical cellphone functions, here’s a mini list of other cool Japanese features that go above and beyond the average mobile device.

• [Video] It’s a train ticket! via a Pasmo or Suica smart card embedded in the phone 
• [Article] Use it at vending machines to pay for drinks via the same embedded smart card
• [Article] Watch digital TV

Assuming all this technology gets localized, imagine how different the US cellphone culture could be in a few years time. Fingers crossed we’ll also inherit some quirky cellphone designs, like the Japanese phone that transforms into a mini-robot.

Robot phone is simultaneously cute AND creepy (Photo cred: Akihabaranews.com)

Posted by Cristina on Tuesday, August 19.