The Ubiquitous QR Code (in Japan, anyway)

Anyone who has been to Japan already knows this, but these things are everywhere. Yes, I eat fast food sometimes. So what?

There have been a lot of alternatives springing up over the last couple years, especially in Europe, but in Japan, along with "empty mail" "quick-response codes" the easiest way to get to a URL. It's also used for getting calendar events, contact info, etc. They were originally developed for shipping purposes. Nearly every Japanese keitai comes with a QR-Code reader. They are on you food wrappers, beer cans, sides of buidings, in subways and taxis, on clothes, in museums and restaurants, etc. You can see for yourself here.

DoCoMo Pake-Hodai!

This is the first all-you-can-eat plan I have seen in Japan that includes data traffic via the "full browser" you can use to view PC sites. I didn't see any indication if it covers the use of your keitai as a modem or if you can get the plan for a data card, but I doubt it (!_!). Would be great if that was the case, since 6,000 yen would be a great deal. There is also a "Biz-Hodai" plan for non-FOMA PDA phones. If you read Japanese you can get more info here.

DoCoMo D800iDS GUI in action

Ok, so I'm happy to post videos to my blog. While I'm on the topic of interesting interfaces, someone posted a nice vid of composing a Japanese email on the DoCoMo D800iDS. Anyone who has to enter Japanese text on a keitai will appreciate the benefits of the dynamic GUI.

Nokia Concept UI

Nokia showing off some cool concept GUIs for mobiles, and my first YouTube/Google Video post (^_^).


I have since gone back to add some videos to previous posts...