I just got a new cell-phone.
I had my previous one for about seven years…so I thought it was time to replace it.
So I got myself my first “Smart phone”. It’s pretty nice…but I still learning how to use it.
I like the that I can add to my phone ! For example , I’m writing this post on my phone right now on the “WordPress” application on my phone while I’m riding the train.
Other applications that I like are the McDonald’s Japan coupons and ones for Japanese language study.
What are some Smart phone applications that you like?
In Japan , even many vending machines have “smart ” touch screens.
This is a screenshot of my cell-phone’s “WordPress” application:
I have a Sony “Android” phone. I put a photo of it in this comment.
What type of smart-phone do you use / like? Take this survey (and elaborate in the comment section):
Tokyo Five 
most of the time I can rely on my instincts but when in doubt I pull out the bubble just to make sure!
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>…when in doubt I pull out the bubble just to make sure!
I believe that you actually might do that. 😉
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Precautions you can take are installing additional interior locks or a security alarm system and yes a ferocious guard dog… Motion lights on the exterior help also… and you can go the extra mile and install booby traps like you see in the old war movies during jungle warfare but not sure if that would be leagal… have to protect the rights of the criminals you know! 😉
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…Or just live in a country with a very low crime rate…Japan, for instance!
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I can agree with you that the States are getting worse every day… Between the failing economy amongst other things I think it will be a while before We pull out of our downward spiral!
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>the States are getting worse every day…
I don’t know if it’s getting worse “every day”…but sometimes I read shocking stories of news from America.
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I use the bubble on people too… Just to see if they are on the level… l know having a lock-pick app available for anyone with a smart phone does make me a bit nervous but there are precautions you can take
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>I use the bubble on people too…Just to see if they are on the level…
HAHAHA! 😀
Does it work? 😉
>there are precautions you can take
Like what? A guard dog?
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tried the level app before… worked great! Also tried the lock pick app… again… awesome!
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Joe…do you have much use for a bubble-level?
And…why would you need to pick a lock?? Is such an application legal?
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when I play pool I need a level… And I locked myself out of my room so I needed to pick the lock
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>when I play pool I need a level…
That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of that use for a bubble-level!
>I locked myself out of my room so I needed to pick the lock
Doesn’t that make you nervous that someone else could use a similar app to break into your house?
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I don’t have a smartphone but I have seen the apps for electricians to be able to find out things like how many wires can be put into a certain size pipe, how many wires can fit in a certain size box, they also have a level app that really does work- pretty amazing.
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Dad…
they have apps for everything, it seems!
You should get a Smart-phone…those wiring-fitting and level apps would probably be useful for you on your job!
I never imagined there was such a thing as a “bubble level” application on a phone until you wrote this comment.
I checked it out just now, though. Looks interesting (I didn’t install it, though…I don’t have much use for it—and I have a “real” bubble-level in my toolbox. Hardly ever use it, though. 😉 )
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I guess Soundhound but a lot of the music I listen to it does not work on the songs…
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>I guess Soundhound
I just looked at that App…it tells the title of a song that you hear playing on the radio or somewhere, right?
Do you use that often?
My phone came with “TrackerID”…which I think is the same as that one. I never use it, though.
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i will try that one and see if i get more results… Thanks Bob
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>i will try that one and see if i get more results…
I wasn’t saying that TracerID is better or worse than SoundHound.
I have never tried SoundHound…and I only tried TrackerID once (as I said, it came pre-installed on my phone).
I tried it in a restaurant…it told me the name of the song and artist that was playing as the restaurant’s “background music”.
I was impressed that it was able to do that…but I don’t really have much use for such an application.
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I have an Android phone by LG… I am pretty happy with it
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You have an “Android” too? Did you “vote” in the survey in this post?
What are your favorite applications?
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The Android phone gives her so many errors. It’s really buggy. She doesn’t agree with the OS.
I remember seeing that blog post, I think. It’s been more than a year?
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>The Android phone gives her so many errors. It’s really buggy.
Really? I’m not having such problems at all.
>I remember seeing that blog post, I think. It’s been more than a year?
Yes, haven’t you noticed those machines have been all around Japan for awhile now?
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She also thinks iPhone is simpler to use.
To be honest, I haven’t noticed other than in 2 stations. I don’t use JR so much, as I don’t live near a JR station.
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>She also thinks iPhone is simpler to use.
Is it?
> I don’t use JR so much
I almost only use JR trains exclusively. I seldom ride a subway or other line…simply because my home is near a JR station and so is my work…as well as most anywhere around Tokyo that I go to.
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She seems to think it’s easier to use. I haven’t used Android myself.
I used to use JR almost exclusively, as I lived near a JR station. But now, it’s all Odakyu or Sotetsu.
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>all Odakyu or Sotetsu (train lines)
Do you live in 神奈川県 (Kanagawa Prefecture)? I like Yokohama and Kamakura in that prefecture!
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Yeah, I live in Fujisawa, but I lived in both Yokohama and Kamakura before.
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>Fujisawa…Yokohama and Kamakura
So, you’ve lived in Kanagawa the entire time you’ve been in Japan?
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Yeah, I have, though my wife is from Saitama.
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>my wife is from Saitama.
Saitama? I don’t go to that prefecture very often…but I like the 東武動物公園 (“Tobu Zoo”). Have you ever visited that zoo?
Crayon Shin-Chan “lives” in Saitama.
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Never been to that zoo. I’m not even sure where it is. I didn’t know Shin-chan lived in Saitama.
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>Never been to that zoo. I’m not even sure where it is.
You should check it out if you get a chance. It’s a nice zoo / amusement park.
Tama Zoo is western Tokyo is another one of my favorite zoos.
Tobu Zoo is at 東武動物公園駅 (“Tobu-dobutsu-koen Stn”) on the Tobu train line.
It’s pretty deep in the “boonies” of Saitama, though. Also, the zoo is about a 15 minute walk from the station.
>I didn’t know Shin-chan lived in Saitama.
You must not watch the show too often. 😉
The show takes place in the hometown of the manga’s artist (the late Yoshito Usui)…春日部 (Kasukabe, Saitama).
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I’ll have to check out both zoos. I still need to see Nogeyama Zoo and Zoorasia in Yokohama. I haven’t visited either of them, even though Nogeyama Zoo is free.
I’ve never watched Crayon Shin-chan 🙂
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>Nogeyama Zoo
Yes, you should visit the Nogeyama Zoo (especially since you live in that general area)…it’s very nice for a free zoo!
I wrote a post about a trip we took there:
https://tokyo5.wordpress.com/2008/04/07/yokohama-2/
(and another post about Yokohama:
https://tokyo5.wordpress.com/2008/03/28/yokohama/ )
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I have an iPhone, while my wife has an Android type phone. She’s repeatedly stated she prefers the iPhone, which she had before (and dropped into the bathtub…and it surprisingly still works).
What really surprises me is that we both blogged about the same thing within a day of each other. I was a bit surprised.
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>my wife…prefers the iPhone
Why? What’s the difference?
>we both blogged about the same thing within a day of each other.
You mean the new, high-tech vending machines in Japan (not smart-phones), right?
This post just has a couple photos of the machine…click here to read a post I wrote about these machines.
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I got my first smartphone a year or so ago, before this I’d have the same phone for 2 years and the phone before that for 4 (generally I never much saw the appeal of having everything on my phone).
However since I actually got my iPhone I really like it, i happened to get it around the time I started to become quite a serious member of the independent game design community, so I signed up to twitter and I actually use it a lot to speak to other game designers & whatnot.
I’ve also written several blogsposts from my phone, its quite convenient for this ‘on the move note taking’.
You’d also be surprised to hear that I actually get many of my game design ideas whilst im traveling, or walking about, so having the ‘notes’ app on my phone is where I write down all these ideas, I’ve probably got around 200 notes in there by now, I write a lot of ideas down and forget to remove them, from the app im able to easily email myself the idea for when I get to my computer.
I do enjoy having my music on my phone too, its easier to carry 1 object than 2, and I do text friends quite a lot, in the UK very few people use email to communicate, though the phone does give me the option its rare I use it, as most people don’t get email notifications too often.
The phones all have a bunch of stuff I don’t care for, such as stocks (undeletable app… how many normal people use this?). It’s interesting to see the point of view of someone who doesn’t generally use these sorts of devices, its a nice change from the many people who purchase a $300 phone but don’t use any of its features aside from texting and calling… they just want it.
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>I’d have the same phone for 2 years and the phone before that for 4
I have kept every cell-phone I bought until they were almost “antiques”! 😉
>my iPhone…I really like it,
I wonder how different an i-phone is from the “Android” type I have.
>I do enjoy having my music on my phone too
I like it but…I don’t like having to re-upload all the songs to another device. Also, listening to music drains my phone’s battery quickly. 😦
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What kind of smartphone did you get?
I just blogged about mobile phones http://bartman905.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/mobile-phones/. In Japan, we just used regular mobile phones, but in Canada, I am using a Blackberry.
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Did you come back to visit Japan recently? And you rented cell-phones here?
When we took a holiday in America years ago, we didn’t use cell-phones. I was happy to get a break from cell-phones and internet for a little while!
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Yes, we visited Tokyo at the end of last year and we brought the cell phones we had used while we were living in Japan (we had taken it with us back to Canada) and just rented SIM cards and paid by usage.
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>Yes, we visited Tokyo..and we brought the cell phones we had used while we were living in Japan
Cell-phones change / improve quickly. It might have cost about the same just to rent a (new model) phone while you were here.
BTW, I updated this post with a couple more pictures and a survey.
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>What kind of smartphone did you get?
I have the Sony-Ericsson “SO-01C” (an “Android” smart-phone).
Looks like this:
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What app do you use for Japanese language study? I looked around for apps but the free ones end up you have to pay for the content, and I don’t know which one to pay for.
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>What app do you use for Japanese language study?
I have a few of them…all were free.
Is your phone an “Android”, like mine?
I don’t know what your Japanese language “level” is…but, so far, I like “Obenkyo” and “JLPT Study”.
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Speaking of McDonald’s Japan, are you going to sample the new “Big American” burgers?
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>are you going to sample the new “Big American” burgers?
I haven’t tried the first three of the current “Big America” run…McDonalds Japan is currently offering the final one (“Beverly Hills Burger”). I may try that one…it has avacado on it—looks like it might be good!
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I tried the “Beverly Hills Burger” at McDonalds yesterday.
It was quite good!
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Congrats on your cell phone upgrade. Whoa, 7 years with the same cell phone! That’s old school there, Metal Buddy! 🙂
I upgraded to a “nice” cell phone this past year… nothing fancy, no internet. It would cost me an additional $50 (US) per month to have the internet on my cell! Whoa! So, I use the “texting option” very often, that’s for sure. I have a “family texting plan” so it’s just $5 per phone/per month.
Have fun with it! \m/
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Is “texting” on cell-phones and actually making “calls” on them as popular in America as I’ve heard it is?
In Japan, most people send “emails” (as opposed to “texts”), listen to music, use the internet and “cell-phone wallet” with their phones.
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Yep. People (especially students) text on their phones almost all day, that or go on facebook.
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>Yep. (American) People (especially students) text on their phones almost all day
Is “talking” (making calls) common too?
In Japan, people make calls on their cell-phones…but not so often. Mostly people here send e-mails (not “texts”) with their phones.
>go on facebook.
I don’t understand the appeal of facebook or twitter! My phone has a facebook application—I’d delete it if I could…I never use it.
https://tokyo5.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/facebook/
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