Japanese phone features outshine the iPhone

Apple's iPhone may still have the world's heart aflutter, despite a sharp price cut that stiffed early adopters and the recent release of a software update that turned some unlocked iPhones into electronic bricks. But there's more to the world of cell phones than Apple, and users outside Japan are missing out on some of the nicest-looking and most sophisticated phones ever made.

Japanese operator KDDI laid out the best that Japan's cell-phone industry has to offer at the Ceatec exhibition held this week in Chiba, Japan. Among the handsets attracting the most attention from visitors was the funky-looking Infobar 2, a KDDI handset with cutting-edge features that will hit the market in November for around ¥20,000 ($172), not including the cost of a service contract.

Inspired by the look of a melting candybar, the Infobar 2 has a 2.6-inch OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screen that offers resolution of 240 pixels by 400 pixels, a 2-megapixel camera, 100M bytes of internal storage, and a microSD slot for memory cards containing music or other files.

The cost of microSD cards has fallen in step with memory prices. A 2G-byte card now costs around US$20, and prices will continue to fall even as capacities rise over time. That's less storage capacity than the 8G-byte hard disk inside the $399 iPhone, but how many songs can one person listen to during the course of the day, or on vacation?

The Infobar 2, which comes in four color schemes, also has an embedded Felica smart chip for electronic payments. Approximately half of all new phones sold in Japan come with these chips, and Java applets are available that allow Felica-based phones to pay for subway trips and train tickets, as well as make purchases at convenience stores, vending machines, and restaurants.

The Felica system also allows Japanese air travellers who are registered with an airline's frequent-flier program to use their phones in lieu of a boarding pass on domestic flights.

There are similarities between the Infobar 2 and iPhone. For example, both handsets are tied to an operator, allowing tighter integration between the handset and mobile services available to subscribers. But much of the technology used with the Infobar 2 is one or more generations ahead of the iPhone.

Unlike the iPhone, the Infobar 2 doesn't have support for Wi-Fi but with KDDI's CDMA2000-1X EV-DO network, who needs it? Phone users can surf the Internet or send e-mails nearly anywhere in Japan at speeds up to 2.4M bps (bits per second). By comparison, AT&T Wireless Inc., the exclusive provider of the iPhone in the U.S., says the EDGE network used with the iPhone offers average download speeds of 70K bits per second (bps) to 135K bps -- hardly speeds that set your pulse racing.

When users get bored of sending e-mails with the Infobar 2, they can watch digital-television broadcasts. These broadcasts are free and are available across the country, with different channels available in each region. In Tokyo, there are seven channels available to viewers: two from public broadcaster NHK and five commercial channels.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.