CF Wireless Card with Voice and 128 kbps Data Capability

NEC Infrontia have announced a new wireless modem that in addition to a 128 kbps flat rate connectivity capability features voice capability on a PDA. Here's the news on Windows CE Fan:

http://www.wince.ne.jp/frame.asp?/bbs/cnBoard.asp?PID=592

Although technologically this may be interesting news and I'm happy DDI and manufacturers are pushing forward new products and services I'm dubious about the real benefits for average PDA users. Everyone in Japan owns a phone anyway, and I feel using your PDA as a phone is going too far, although in the longer term PDAs and phones will most likely merge. I just can't imagine it being practical - current PDAs are just not designed to be phones. In addition, if you want to use your card a lot for data access then you wouldn't be able to use the phone function at the same time. I would guess this is just a step along the road to the eventual merger of phones and PDAs and it will be interesting to see how widely used it becomes in Japan.

It is also rumoured that NTT DoCoMo may be planning to start a flat rate plan for their popular P-in Comp@ct 64 kbps data cards in October: http://www.wince.ne.jp/bbs/device.asp (Japanese only): A later poster points out that DoCoMo's 64 kbps PHS cards have the big disadvantage that the 64 kbps PHS connection cannot be used while in motion, although the P-in Master does also have 9.6kpbs packet switched capability that can. The P-in Master can also make calls but cannot receive them. Will be interesting to see what the pricing is (expected around 5,000 yen) if the rumour is true and whether they come out with any new cards with improved features at the same time.

VoIP phone functionality for PDAs is more interesting as it potentially offers cheaper calls and an alternative to conventional mobile phones. Yozan and SkyWave are two companies in Japan pushing this forward. See this AsiaBizTech article and the others linked at the end.

For anyone who doesn't already know, MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger and ICQ are already available for Pocket PCs. In addition Microsoft also have research software called Portrait offering voice and video chat on a Pocket PC and this supports various existing standards.

An Average Day in the Life of Pocket PC User in Japan

What follows is a brief description of how I use my Pocket PC on a daily basis to show how it fits in to a busy Tokyo lifestyle. Not all uses are unique to Japan, but the need to be able to read Japanese and significant commuting and desk time will be common factors among many people living here.

07.35 - Set off to from home. Listen to an audio book from audible.com on the way to the station.


07.43 - Board first train. Only two minutes on this one and two crowded to do much so take the opportunity to read the mails (news, stock prices, kanji of the day, horoscope) on my mobile (cell) phone. (Has the advantage over the Pocket PC of easy one handed operation).


07.51 - Board next train. Still usually got enough phone mails for this 10 minute journey, but Pocket PC is handy for jotting down any notes, tasks to do today, or referring to dictionary.


08.06 - Presuming I'm on time I can get a seat for the final 40 minute journey. Makes a big difference. Currently cramming Japanese study in the morning in some part using Pocket PC dictionaries and flashcards. Very useful to have access to EDICT and other dictionaries. JWPce and JFC are great tools. I also like King Kanji which gives you space to draw the kanji using the stylus.


08.46 - Just enough time to grab a coffee from Starbucks and get to the office for 9.


09.00 - Pocket PC goes into USB cradle for synch, backup and charging. Use Remote Display Control to see and control Pocket PC from desktop. Start up Pocket IE currently with www.newsnow.co.uk Live News feed as home page. Pocket PC uses USB connection to connect to internet via desktop in addition to synching and power. If I'm lucky I'll get chance to download and install a piece of software or two I've heard about recently. It's so simple. Simply click on a link, then 'Open' and 'Next', 'Next', 'Next' ... finished. Usually it will go on the 256 MB SD card as the internal memory was filled up long ago. Quickly check my favorite 3 Pocket PC sites WinCE Fan (Japanese), Pocket PC Magazine and Pocket PC Thoughts. I'm using NetCaptor featuring tabbed windows and these are some of the sites which automatically open when I start my browser.


Rest of working day - Pocket PC usually always leaves the cradle to accompany me to lunch and any meetings. I'm sure to need it for something ... perhaps the calendar, taking/referring to notes or tasks, dictionary or reading or listening to books if I get any free time or to answer an unanticipated trivia question which is sure to have an answer in at least one of the Tomeraider reference files I have on the SD card.


18:00 ~ 23.40 - Depends what time I leave work. I may check e-mail using P-in Comp@ct 64 kbps wireless modem as I walk to the station and reply to any important mails on the train using Calligrapher handwriting recognition. No chance of a seat so comfortable standing space is crucial. If I need to contact any friends quickly I can see if they are online using MSN/Yahoo Messenger or ICQ. One problem is that wireless modem only keeps a signal when stationary. Would really like DDI 128kbps flat rate (abt. 9000 yen/mnth) CF card which keeps the signal when moving but it's hard to justify this amount for the number of times I would actually need it. When mail is finished I set about reading any current e-books I'm currently engrossed in, usually using MobiPocket of Palm Reader Pro. May also read any doc, text, HTML or PDF files I synched for reading during the day. Walking back from the station I again switch to audio books. If I'm feeling in need of distraction I can play with any new software I've installed recently (including just a few games for emergencies only :-).


Back at home - Check the task list for any tasks I had to complete at home this evening. Using categories means I can easily filter home tasks, work tasks, tasks related to the internet or mail or any combination of these or other categories. Agenda Fusion may this very easy. Usually use laptop for any home computing, but if a quick mail check or web site check is required the Pocket PC is instantly connected using a CF WLAN card and 8 Mbps ADSL wireless LAN. If I'm feeling adventurous will look for a short movie or interesting video file to watch whilst eating from the increasing number of Pocket PC multimedia content providers out there. Before sleeping will check calendar and update tasks for the following day, before popping in the charger to ensure batteries are fully fueled for the journey the following day.

Those are many of the uses on a typical day, but always having a Pocket PC loaded with all the software I need close by means I always have important information to hand and there is never a wasted minute. Just the tool to help make a busy life in Tokyo all the better.

Portal for Japanese Pocket IE Web Pages

Compared to the other portals I've seen which are very shallow, Pocketnet looks very comprehensive. Worth a look for anyone wanting to view Japanese web sites designed for Pocket IE.