Sending emoji through your iPhone

As reported many times, the lack of emojis is one reason for a kinda slow iPhone intrusion into the japanese market.

Someone clever created a little nifty gateway to allow for such a send on the japanese carrier networks.

Just point your iPhone to https://www.utilz.jp/x2/mail.jsp 

The trick -and a potentially dangerous one- ? You need a Gmail account and the site wants both your userID and password.

As it’s a send-only tool, this won’t resolve the fact that the iPhone is unable to receive such emoji, transcoding them instead into strange ASCII characters.

For those who don’t speak a word of Japanese, Jared on the iphoneinjapan.com forums offers this translation:

送信先メールアドレス recipient address
件名 subject
本文 body
クリックで編集 click to edit
アカウント account
パスワード password

Have tons of fun and comment if you decide to try it.

[Original source: http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/ryoji02260209/56693673.html]

[UPDATE: possible introduction of official emoji with next firmware update: read more]

RSS reader on your iPhone

While it seems the Japanese don’t really use RSS as their main source of information gathering, RSS is still my #1 choice, replacing oh-so many bookmarks and webapps on my iPhone.

I am not willing to let my Google Reader go, as I use it to share news (like I do on the right column of this blog, even if this RSS was reformatted with Yahoo! Pipes to filter iPhone-only news) and find it the fastest and more convenient use on my Mac.

Using GReader on the iPhone is a snap, and can be done through Safari (the Google App [US iTunes Store link] has a dedicated direct link). However, as many of you riding the train & subway know, cell reception is not always on and leads to some frustrations and “when is the next station”-type of lingering questions. 

Here comes Byline [iTunes Store link], by Phantom Fish [link].

This application is just fantastic. Not only it looks like it was done by the Apple bunch, but it’s a snap to use. It pre-fetches and caches your GReader feeds, allowing you to read while on transit, marking items as starred or shared and allowing you to note them, even offline as the app will sync your actions when it online again.

The major drawback is that it cannot filter your feeds yet, meaning you have to read them all in a anti-chronological order, not allowing you to specify one single feed to read. Developpers are looking into that for a future update, though.

 

 

Now, I just wish they’d add an email feed-link option and all would be perfect.

 

I was my very first purchase on the iTunes store, as I’d rather use free apps, but the JPY 1,200 I shelled out were very well spent.

Not convinced yet ? Check their video.

Faulty iPhone USB adapter, exchange program

All Softbank iPhone 3G subscribers should have received the warning by SMS, but here it is again. It seems the iPhone USB compact power adapter is faulty, for the metal plugs can get off and stay stuck in the electrical socket.

Therefore, all users are requested to exchange their adapter starting October 10, either by going to an Apple Store or via the web [link].

Apple advises to charge the iPhone up via your Mac/PC in the meantime.

 

Today Apple announced the Apple Ultracompact USB Power Adapter Exchange program.  

Apple has determined that under certain conditions the new ultracompact Apple USB power adapter’s metal prongs can break off and remain in a power outlet, creating a risk of electric shock.  We have received reports of detached blades involving a very small percentage of the adapters sold, but no injuries have been reported.

The ultracompact USB power adapters were supplied with every iPhone 3G sold in the following countries, and may also have been purchased separately as an accessory:

(…)

Japan

Apple – Support – Apple Ultracompact USB Power Adapter Exchange Program.

Softbank is seeking corporate iPhone customers

Sotfbank is looking to attract the business crowd into using the iPhone with a 3 month free lease.

Softbank (SFBTF.PK) will lease Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 3G to corporate clients free of charge for three months as part of efforts to attract corporate users as the initial hype surrounding the device’s July release fades. Some 1,500 companies attending Softbank Summit 2008 are eligible for the free rentals, which are limited to five handsets per company. The promotion covers both the phones and the communications charges. Softbank president Masayoshi Son devoted most of his keynote address to the iPhone, giving concrete examples of how it can be used in business settings. Major apparel chains and banks are already looking at introducing the device. With the sales boom having passed, Softbank is looking to boost sales volume by cultivating demand related to business applications.

Japanese Tech Stock Weekly Summary (Sept. 8-14) – Seeking Alpha.

Omotesando Softbank shop to be iPhone only

It seems that the Udagawacho Softbank shop in Shibuya Omotesando (Harajuku) shop is transforming to be an iPhone only shop, with more than 3,000 accessories to be sold.

Want to check it out ? Here’s the address.

 

[UPDATE: my bad, it was the Harajuku shop and not the Shibuya one]

Slow iPhone sales in Japan ?

It seems Apple sold only 200,000 iPhone handsets in July and August, according to a recent WSJ article.

An analyst quotes a relatively high price, lack of TV reception, emoticons, RFID (radio chip allowing Suica-type services) and a Japanese market less prone to online shopping (iTunes App store).

According to market-research firm MM Research Institute, Apple sold about 200,000 phones in Japan in the first two months. Since then, however, demand has been falling steadily, and analysts now widely believe sales are unlikely to reach a total of 500,000 units. That is half the one million units that they previously thought Apple could sell.

Apple’s Latest iPhone Sees Slow Japan Sales – WSJ.com.

New iPhone firmware on Friday

Steve Jobs announced some new products at the Let’s Rock event.

You can catch a rerun on Apple website.

Apart from the 4th generation iPod Nanos and the new iPod Touch (looks really thin), a new iTunes was announced for immediate download (HD shows & Genius playlists are some of the improvements). A new iPhone firmware, 2.1, will be delivered on Friday.

Promised changes include no more App crashes, faster backup, less call drops, better battery life (let’s hope so!) and undetailed bug fixes.

The background push notification was noticeably not talked about.

iPhone pricing in Japan

TO READ THE FULL POST, PLEASE GO TO THE NEW HOME: www.mobileinjapan.com

Since I’ve received countless info request since my blog post explaining what you should do to get an iPhone in Japan, here’s a recap’ of the current iPhone pricing plan in Japan, as sold by Softbank (special offers by Yodobashi Camera, Bic Camera or others are not taken into account, for simplicity’s sake).

All prices include taxes. The iPhone has to be bought with a 24 months contract. Prices in red are the minimum requirements.

Contract fee:

JPY 2,835 for a new Softbank contract, or JPY 1,995 for a Softbank contract upgrade. This is a one-shot fee.

TO READ THE FULL POST, PLEASE GO TO THE NEW HOME: www.mobileinjapan.com

Japanese addresses look-up on iPhone Google Maps

TO READ THE FULL POST, PLEASE GO TO THE NEW HOME: www.mobileinjapan.com

Some people have asked me why the address book will not show addresses on the Google Maps application on the iPhone.

The only answer I’ve got for you: it has to be written in Japanese and in the correct japanese way of putting addresses.

How to resolve this ?

In a previous post, I’ve told you how to look up for an address written in romaji (in English, if you wish) on both the internet and the iPhone and show them on your map. Now, here’s the trick if you want to link your address book with the maps:

TO READ THE FULL POST, PLEASE GO TO THE NEW HOME: www.mobileinjapan.com

New iPhone pricing for Softbank

Softbank just announced that they will again cut the basic monthly fee for the iPhone in Japan.

It will now cost JPY 2,324 a month, from JPY 2,990 in August and JPY 7,280 when it was released on July 11.

It seems Softbank is feeling the heat from NTT Docomo and their new low-charge subscription. I guess Softbank also sees that the iPhone can only be a mainstream success if the price is competitive.